The time has come!

Just a quick update straight from my hospital bed! Kenny and I are sitting in my room waiting for this little one to be born. I am currently stuck at 8 centimeters. It has been a very long day. My contractions started at 8pm last night and continued to get stronger through the night. At 9am this morning we dropped Elise off at my mom's house and came to the hospital. After an agonizingly long wait for the anesthesiologist, I finally got my epidural at about 3:00. So now it is just a waiting game. I am not in any pain (thank goodness!), but Gabriel seems to be having issues with his heartrate dipping every time I have a contraction. Here's hoping that the rest of this delivery is speedy. Come on little guy!

When you just wish you could go back to sleep...

that's when you know it's getting close.
We are just about wrapping up the last couple weeks of this pregnancy and now it's getting really scary. The thought of having two kiddos to care for 24/7 scares me beyond everything I know. I know that I will be fine, and we will pull through any of the upcoming challenges (moving, unpacking, getting adjusted in a new city, caring for two small children, etc., etc.) but I also know that it won't be easy by any means. I flash back to the days when Elise was just born and we brought her home. I struggled just like any new mom to settle into my new role as full-time caregiver to this tiny helpless being. It was challenge, to say the least, as any mother will tell you. I hope that my experiences from that time and the past two years help me in the challenges I am about to face.
So now I am up at 5:00 AM because I can't get back to sleep. I remember doing this when I was about to have Elise. Why does the end of pregnancy rob people of sleep? Just when you should be resting up the most, preparing yourself for seemingly endless nights of exhaustion, you are up. I have my little checklist in my head of all the little things I need to do before this little one arrives. It's not much, really, just a few things, a frighteningly small checklist. I think that all there is really left to do is set up the new cradle for him to sleep in and put together the new stroller my sister sent (yay! thanks vero, you're the best!).
The night before last we went to the hospital at 11:00PM because I thought I was possibly in labor. I called my doctor who told me to go ahead and come in so they could check and at least make sure the baby was okay. It turned out to be a false alarm, which was a little disappointing, but we continue to eagerly await his arrival. I am excited to meet this little boy. It is going to be strange, I am so used to being the mother of a little girl. This new baby is going to be a whole new experience.
Elise has been so wonderful. I think she is really starting to grasp the concept of having a little brother and having a little baby around the house. The other day she woke up from her nap and came to me in her groggy half-awake state and rubbed my belly lovingly, she said "don't worry mommy, I help you". She is such an awesome little girl. Later that day she touched my belly and said "oh no, baby brodder stuck!". She was very concerned for her baby brother who continues to be somehow stuck inside of mommy's belly. She cracks me up.
On to the latest pictures!


Kenny and Elise picking blackberries at Sunberry Orchard


Elise wearing her new jammies which she had to put on right away and refused to take off. This was actually the middle of the day, at the babyshower my mom threw for me. (thanks, mom!)


Elise and I, checking out the loot we got at the babyshower.


The cake.


Me being rediculously large, two weeks before my due date.

The times they are a changin'- Summer 2009

This is Kenny finally writing a post on our blog. The summer of 2009 is certainly full of adventure for our family. March of this year we found out that I was losing my job as part of the general economic freak show in which our entire nation is embroiled, and especially as part of specific misfortunes happening at my foundation. Not to worry, we're all about turning negatives into positives and so we have done this time. After some months of hectic traveling and interviewing, I have taken a new position at the University of Toledo Depts. of Pathology and Neuroscience, effective this October. So we sold our house (lucky us, in only 2 weeks, at full asking price!) and rented what we call our "summer home", a lovely house in nearby Nichol's Hills. Here Norma can finish her pregnancy in peace and relative tranquility.

Speaking of pregnancy - we are all thrilled at our imminent new addition. We are going to name him Gabriel Owen Hensley. Elise clearly understands what is going to happen, in general terms. She totters around the house pointing to things we bought for the new baby and saying "diapers for baby brodder?" "bed for baby brodder"? Elise is a gem. She was a bit nervous about moving, initially, but quickly adapted. Everything new for her is an opportunity for discovery and play.

Attached are some recent pictures of our family, the first of Elise helping pack up the house, playing at our "summer home" and Elise's recent excursion on her 2nd birthday to Martin Nature Park. She loves the water so much!

Baby #2

I kinda feel bad about the title for this blog entry. Poor baby still has no name. I thought it would be appropriate to announce on here that we found out on Friday the gender of our incoming addition. We are very excited to announce that we will be having a baby BOY! He is due to be born on August 6th. The ultrasound was very cool. He was lounging in there with one hand behind his head and he was sucking his thumb on the other hand. Just like a boy! We are elated to add a little boy to our growing family.



I also wanted to put a new picture of Elise on here. Here she is being a cranky ballerina. My sister used her awesome photoshopping skills and colored it in, very neat. It is hard to believe how big she is getting. She will be turning 2 on May 31st!

Happy Happy Holidays

It seems the holidays are finally over. Oh my, what a stressful time they can be. Between trying to control an over-active one year old, trying to find just the perfect gift for everyone and doing your best to get everything in order and on time, holidays will wipe you out! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the holidays, but they sure do make me tired. I guess I just really want to make it special for Elise so, of course, I end up over working myself over it.
This year Kenny and I decided not to give eachother presents, and boy was that a stress relief. Instead, we opted to buy presents for a needy child together. That worked out really well.
Elise had a blast, of course. She was so excited to open all the gifts she got. This year she really got into tearing them open, which was so great. That girl is constantly making me laugh and smile, the holidays only make it extra special.
We started off this year on a good foot, hopefully. We recently found out that we are expecting a second little one, so we are VERY excited. I also haven't been nearly as sick or run down with this pregnancy as much as I was with Elise. It's been so great, sometimes I even forget that I'm pregnant! Haha! Now that's good.
I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that this new year brings lots of joy, happiness, and peace.

On to the pictures!


Being a princess, she made me put this dress on her, notice her Dora jammies poking out underneath.


Elise in her Christmas dress, one of the few pictures she stayed still long enough for.


This picture almost made it to the Christmas card, if Elise didn't look like a hostage.


Elise and Mia, starting work on the pile o' presents


Matching Christmas jammies!


I love Christmas! HAHAHA!!!!


Taking a much needed break, and trying out her new princess lounger.


Me and Elise with our Christmas tree, notice the ornaments have migrated to the top, out of reach for little hands.

Second Halloween, woohoo!

Happy belated Halloween to everyone!
I hope you all had as much fun as we did.
This year did not disappoint, as I hoped it wouldn't. We had so much fun fussing about and getting ready for the event. Elise had a blast going trick-or-treating with her cousin Mia, who is about 6 months younger than she is. We were so excited to have Elise actually participate in the holiday. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays so I was especially excited. Kenny and I took Elise out to a pumpkin patch last weekend where she got to pick out her very own pumpkin, pet some animals and ride a real pony.
Elise loved getting dressed up and showing off to everyone she saw, it was very funny.
I actually got her a costume about a month before Halloween. I was really excited when I saw an adorable little bunny costume and got it for her right away. I had originally wanted her to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, but I remembered that it is always so cold on Halloween and the bunny was just so cute, so I decided to go ahead and get her the bunny one.
Well, come Halloween and it is so hot outside, I realized at 5:30PM that the bunny costume was just not going to work. So I left Kenny in charge of Elise and dashed out to the store. They only had two costumes in Elise's size left. Lo and behold, Dorothy was one of them. The other was a wierd Sleeping Beauty ballerina outfit, so, naturally, I went for Dorothy. I went around the store and was able to pull together her costume and have her dressed and ready to trick-or-treat in thirty minutes, it was awesome.
So, yes, we had a really great Halloween holiday. Despite some tragedy and heartache this month (you can ask me about this, if you don't already know the story) we managed to get to spend alot of really wonderful family time together. We are so happy, and so lucky!
Of course, here are some pics of the fun things we did this month:


Kenny and Elise, Elise showing us the reject costume and her grumpy face. It was still cute!



Down time at the zoo, riding the baby rhino.



Riding a pony at the pumpkin patch



Elise, being gentle with the bunny at the pumpkin patch.



Somebody get me a bottle to put this stuff in, I'm taking it to go!



Me and Elise in the hayride, Elise showing us that yes, there is actual hay in the hayride.



Looking for the perfect pumpkin.



I think we found a winner.



Kenny and Elise, on our hiking excursion at Lake Arcadia, preeetty.



Dorothy and Toto, ready to go.



Got what we came for.

Who's the boss?

Haha, what a funny title for a blog entry.
But I often find myself asking that very question around here. Who is the boss? I certainly don't know. I know that I probably am not. The truth is that Elise is the boss, I think, well, it's likey that she is. That sweet girl runs me over on a daily basis. She has so much energy, it is hard to keep up with her. She has Kenny and me wrapped around her little finger, and the problem is that I think she's starting to figure it out.
We are still having issues with her sleeping, which is a frustration. The good part, though, is that it seems to only be a frustration to me! Ever since Kenny came home from D.C. a few weeks ago (he was gone for a whole week), Elise seems to be unwilling to let him go or be more than an armslength away from him when she sleeps at night. So, consequently, she's been sleeping inour bed at night. Kenny loves it! He especially loved it at first when he got to snuggle up to our sleeping baby any time he wished. Unfortunately, we found out that Elise is probably the wiggliest sleeper ever. That girl doesn't stop! Not even for sleep!
She is getting better, though. We are working on her moving back into her own room. We got her a big girl bed, because apparently she is SO over her crib. She now takes daytime naps in her own room on her own bed again. So, I'm getting her back there, slowly but surely.
Other than our silly bedtime issues, things have been great. Elise is so funny and whacky, she cracks me up every day. She is talking alot now, which is great. We recently got a webcam so we can Skype with my sister in California. It is so cool to be able to see her and Elise and her even play games with eachother, it is awesome. I get to show off all of Elise's new tricks to her, haha!
Here are a few new pictures:



Tearing up the kitchen (July, 2008)



At the fair, collecting chicken eggs (September, 2008)



Picking apples at the fair, I think there's child labor laws against this, oh well.



Cleaning up the yard, I have to redirect her energy somehow!



Pulling out, I mean, smelling the neighbor's flowers.



Mexicaning it up at uncle Adrian's birthday party (August, 2008)



Fancy lady (August, 2008)



Hanging out with cousin Mia on the princess couch (October, 2008)



Her very own Elise-size house, thanks Aby! ( October, 2008)



My painting of Kenny and Elise, kinda creepy?