Rock-a-bye

So there is a lullaby that chelle's mom used to sing to the grandkids that we have always liked. Well, we decided a long time ago that we like it better in german. So we translated it and have often sung it to each other, especially at bed time or when tired. So when we were pregnant we sang it often to Kara, so that she would be used to it when she was born. I will now let you all in on the song, just because it's so special to us. Warning though, the german may not be totally grammatically correct because let's face it, I've lost a lot of my german since my mission in Switzerland.

Rock-a-bye, don't you cry,

We'll go down to grandma's.

Up the hill, By the mill,

To see the little lammies.

Baah Baah

Schaukel dich, weine nicht,

Jetzt gehen wir zür Omas.

Auf dem Hügel, neben der Mühle,

um die Lämmer zu sehen.

Baahzig Baahzig

So there you have it. Just a little insight into the world of the Sheldon's. Try singing it to your own kids sometime, it works like a charm.

Tales from the NICU

Dean here.
Life moves a little slower in this part of the woods, it's the NICU or Neonatal intensive care unit. Our little Kara has been here since 6 pm wednesday, I think. Heck, I don't even know if it's day or night here sometimes. Since monday life has been one big blur and wow, that's it, wow. So, she came down here on New Year's eve, so mama and daddy got to celebrate with her, which consisted of chelle waking me up from the floor where I'd conked out, me getting two Styrofoam cups filled with ice and Sierra Mist for toasting from the nurses station, a kiss for each other and our peanut, and a picture of the three of us together. Yes, it was certainly the best party around and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. They did frown on the fireworks though so that was a no go. Oh well, little Kara will just have to be satisfied with fireworks for her birthday for the rest of her life. Real rough I know.

So, since chelle is still recovering from labor way more than me, she gets the bed, which is upstairs in our room. But we always want to have someone with her. There are about 8 babies here and when you look in their room they are all alone, how sad, so it's been our goal to always be here for her. Since 6 PM wednesday she's probably spent a grand total of 20 minutes alone combined, counting potty breaks etc. What can we say, we just love her so so so much and can't stand the thought of her crying alone. So, I "sleep" down here. But whenever I wake up I feel like I just woke up from being dead and it takes me 20 full minutes to actually be awake, hence writing this blog at 2:21 AM.

But honestly being down in the NICU has been a great experience. Even though my main goal for the two days we had here was to lounge around our room, eat free food from the hospital, and watch cable TV (we use rabbit ears at home) all while letting Kara sleep on me and spending a lot of one on one time with my two best girls, the NICU has been a better experience for our family.

The nurses down here are all incredibly kind and smart and have helped us more with things like nursing than even the lactation consultant upstairs did. Though Kara is in room 3106 she's also the current resident of 'Rock-a-bye Rd' with neighbors on 'Lullaby Lane', 'Snuggle St', 'Dreamland Dr', 'Cuddle Ct', 'Baby Blvd', and 'Neonatologist C'. I guess someone dropped the ball on naming that room. But there are no fun names like that upstairs. No Birthing Blvd, Pitocin Park, Episiotomy Edge, or C-Section Ct. Guess it just doesn't translate.

But the very best part of all of this is that I've gotten a chance to bond with Kara in a way I probably wouldn't have otherwise. By being with her at least 23 out of 24 hours per day while her mama is getting some much needed sleep, I've gotten to let myself feel how much I love her, how precious she truly is, and that she is the epitome of the best traits of me and chelle. I've been here when she was first stuck for an IV, when she used her first pacifier, gotten to change some oddly colored dirty diapers with pleasure, and just comfort her through the tough times.

I don't get to bond with her in ways that chelle does; through breast feeding, actually being pregnant, and stuff like that, so I am going to take it where I can. I got to sit down here with my mom who came out to visit and just talk with Kara slept on grandma's chest, and so many other great experiences. I love our daughter so much and am so thankful to my wife for being such a wonderful mommy, for sacrificing so much to bring our little girl into the world. I could not have married a better girl and I know it.

Sleepless update...

From the Pitocin swollen typing fingers of chelle:

If I start typing in tongues, no worries, it's just because I have only gotten 6 or 7 hours of sleep since Monday morning and my mind is making me think I am a chipmunk or a squirrel and that I can commune with animals.

Just like Honig wrote earlier today on our blog when he ran home after picking up his Mom from the airport, I had the honor to give birth to our daughter, Kara Faith Sheldon, the world's most beautiful baby girl on December 31st at 2:39AM. She weighed in at a healthy 9 pounds 1 ounce and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. Labor was 24 and a half hours long and was the most amazing, excruciating, adrenaline-filled, draining, spiritual, tiring, painful, and wonderful experience I have ever had in my 27 years on this earth. Nothing I've ever experienced even comes close to it, and I wholly and completely understand what mothers mean when they say "you don't understand it until you go through it." Amen sistahs. Preach on. I would do it all again in a heartbeat and then some for the reward of being a mother. It's still so surreal that Honig and I are parents and that our baby that we prayed so diligently and faithfully for is finally here. We are blessed beyond anything we rightfully deserve, and are eternally grateful to our Heavenly Father for granting us the privilege and honor of being parents to our gorgeous baby girl.

I'll do a posting later on the details of labor and what went on in the 24 hours it took to get our little Kara from the snug confines of my uterus to laying on my squishy belly. It's about time for her to eat again so I'll just finish up my post with an update on how she is doing.

Kara is actually in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit right now because she has an infection that she is being treated for with antibiotics. Once her lab work results were back about 14 hours after she was born, her pediatrician reviewed them and immediately called the hospital and had the NICU pediatrician come up to talk to us and tell us what was going on and that she needed to be transferred to the NICU to start early intervention. Her white blood cell count was sky high and that is indicative of an infection. She had her 2nd round of antibiotics today and she isn't outputting urine like she should be so they also have her on a saline drip to get some fluid going through her and to get her little kidneys doing their job. Kara's having some trouble learning how to eat so we're working with her on that, too. But thankfully as an answer to prayers from loved ones, her labs are looking better today and her white blood cell count is coming down so that is promising. She's a bit dehydrated and they won't let her go home until her white blood cell count is in normal range and until she's peeing more. Also, our poor little Peanut broke her left collarbone in the birth process so that's no fun but thankfully babies are resilient and are quick to heal broken bones.

Any prayers on her behalf are very much appreciated, and we would be eternally grateful for them. We know our Heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them.

She is such a content and observant little girl and hardly ever cries. She loves to just look around and do little stretches. She is starting to discover her hands, and she loves to have her face and head stroked. And I like to think that she loves being kissed because that's all I ever do to her. I love her so much I could just eat her up.

Sorry I don't have any pictures up yet. Those'll be coming.

Ok, time to go and feed our baby.

Peanut's Arrival

Dean here again. Just to whet your whistle I wanted to let you all know that our little peanut was born on December 31, 2008 at 2:39 in the morning. I know that chelle will be doing a lot of blogging but I also know that you are all curious as the who our little girl is.

Her name is Kara Faith Sheldon and she was 9 lbs 1.4 oz, and 20.5" long.

We'll posting more pictures probablly today.

We love her and are so thankful for her. She's got her mama and daddy's hearts tied around her little finger.

Peanut's going to be born today...

My water just broke!!! Yay!!! That's what I get for schooling Honig in Phase 10 at 2AM!
We're headed to the hospital because our midwife wants to check Peanut and make sure she's doing ok. We'll be holding our sweet baby girl by the end of today!!! Stay tuned for updates and please pray that everything goes well with the labor and delivery and that she's healthy!

Phototime fun-a-rooni...

And I present to you...

SUPERMODEL DOCUMENTARY HOUR!!!

And the sweetest one of all...

Christmas week pictures...

Just a couple of pictures to document the week o'Christmas out in "freezing Iowa." (I can't tell you how many time Pants said it was freezing and that the outside air hurt her lungs. We'll toughen her up yet. It was barely even nippy.)

*And once more to clear up any confusion, my sister's name is not really Pants, it's Tawny. Pants is just what I call her. I don't want you guys to think that my Mom was crazy enough to name her daughter Pants, but then again names that my Mom has given her children will have to be saved for another post all in itself...)*

Pants made some DELICIOUS chicken tortilla soup that we ate for 2 days in a row. Honig couldn't get enough of it.

Pants found a bedspread that she fell in love with at the most random store in the mall and she had to have it. She got a killer deal on it, too.

We ate at her favorite Mongolian restaurant in Davenport. But then again, it's the only Mongolian restaraunt she's been to in Davenport. No worries, those aren't just her take home boxes. She doesn't love it that much.

Loving Peanut after I just completely displaced her after eating an unholy amount of Mongolian noodles and chicken.

Pants L-O-V-E-S rice krispie treats and as much as she "protests" that she shouldn't have them because she'll eat them all, I knew she secretly wanted some so Honig and I whipped up a quick batch on Christmas Eve and as you can see, between the 3 of us, we almost polished off an entire pan within a couple of hours.

That's some rice krispie loving right there.

On Christmas Eve I forced the 3 of us to play games. Pants always complains that she doesn't want to play but as soon as you get the game going she gets all competitive and she detests losing and she loves to be a Gloaty McGloaterson when she wins, just like I do. She whomped on us in Boggle (yeah yeah, you're so great, you're so smart, I only have a 3 letter word vocabulary), but she found out that she was no match for Honig in Scrutineyes so when she lost she insisted that we play again until she won. Ahhh, Pants. What's not to love about you?

Merry Christmas morning!!!

Wow. That's hot. And aren't Pants' pants awesome? They are little green black eyed peas. Most random pants I have ever seen in my life. I want some.

Awwww, loves.

Daddy wishing Peanut a Merry Christmas. He's so sweet and is absolutely head over heels in love with her.

I am glowing. Bet you didn't know I could make myself glow.

Honig's Mom and Dad gave us a Garmin GPS!!

So this Christmas was a bit different because Honig pretty much gave himself presents this year. Since money is limited due to getting ready for a baby and paying an unholy amount for National Boards, I wanted him to get what he really really wanted and he had been Jonesing for the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, the kind he played with for hours when he was a kid. He found a set of the original 4 turtles and their motorcycle for $4 plus $4 shipping on ebay and he was dying to get them so I said "sure" and that was one of his presents. He was happy as a clam opening and playing with them, as you can see from the picture.

Then one day in mid December he was at WalMart picking up some groceries and he called me all excited and giddy saying that he found the 2nd Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in the $5 bin and wanted to know if he could buy himself another Christmas present.

"Of course you can!"

Now for the pinnacle of presents, which he, of course, got for himself. We have, or I guess I should say "had", a KelTek pistol that we got for our wedding as a present (I know, random present but Honig thought it was the coolest thing ever at the time) and but we rarely ended up using it. Honig had been asking for some time if he could trade it in and get himself a Ruger 10/22 rifle that he was head over heels for, and I told him he could as long as he didn't have to pay anything above and beyond the trade in. He knew exactly which 10/22 he wanted and he's very anal retentive about exactly which specifications his guns have so I would never buy him one in a million years because he wouldn't be happy with it unless it was exactly what he wanted. One day in December he called me to tell me that he was talking to his buddy and his buddy had a brand spankin' new Ruger 10/22 that had never been shot and his buddy was about to trade it in for a small pistol. He wanted to know if he could possibly trade our pistol to his friend for his rifle and that could be his Christmas present. Once again, sure, fine by me as long as it doesn't cost us anything.

So obviously you can see that they traded. Honig said he feels like Ralphie from A Christmas Story when he got his Red Ryder BB Gun.

*I look ticked in that picture. I promise I wasn't.*

Ummm, he's pointing that right at my sister. Maybe I'll have to sign him up for a gun safety course.

The 1 present that was actually a suprise for him. Some ammo for his new toy. Oh sorry, I have been informed that it's not a "toy", it's a "tool."

Pants was the proud recipient of an electronic Deal or No Deal game which she promptly opened before she was even done opening her presents. She had to try to beat it before she could be happy. See? I told you she's competitive.

Just wanted to show you "constellation face." And Pants is still there playing her game.

Peanut got some cute clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Holmes.

Pants eats at Subway religiously so it was only appropriate that she got a Subway gift card.

And I only asked for 1 thing for Christmas. A Colbie Caillat CD because I love her music and I want to listen to it in the labor and delivery room.

Umm, where is my neck?

Happy hubby and happy Pants. I'm not big on asking for and getting presents because I can't remember 90% of what I get anyways. Being together with family was all I wanted for Christmas and I got it and that I definitely will remember.

Sadly, Pants had to leave a couple of hours after we did Christmas morning to catch her flight back to Salt Lake. After we dropped her off and prayed she wouldn't make it on her flight so she'd have to come back to our house for a couple more days (she made it on, darn it), we came home and relaxed for a little while and then decided it was time for our delicious traditional Christmas dinner.

Raclette. Live it. Love it. Eat it.

It's this delicious cheese the Honig's friend brought back from Switzerland for him because we can't find it anywhere around here. Mmmmmmmm, so good...

Jon and Keriann, you know what I'm talking about.

Can't wait to eat. Just hurry up and take the picture!


He savors his food. I just swallow it without chewing. Red potatoes. Artichoke hearts. Baby corn. Raclette. A recipe for the world's perfect meal.


After we ate, we went out to go see Christmas lights and so I could listen to my new CD.


We have almost this exact same picture in front of this same house from last year.