Here you go, a little sneak peak at the newest memeber of the Terry clan…. Samuel Keali’i Walls .

Well, I suppose technically he’s a Walls, or a Terry/Walls. Either way, he’s one cute little noodle!

He’s here, he’s here! Samuel Walls was born this morning down in San Diego surrounded by smoke and fire.

Unfortunately, we decided to use my dad as the main contact and all he can remember is that Samuel is over 7 lbs and looks like a worm. Men. Grrr. So I can’t give you any more details until my mom gets them but he’s here!

With Daniel, the big adventure was a car accident just days before his birth. With Samuel, it’s the fires that are raging all around their home. They’ve already been evacuated once and their doctor was blocked from his office due to freeway closures. But, as with Daniel, all the details have worked out and Samuel has arrived happy and healthy. Leina has herself another cousin. Yipee!

Seems like only a few weeks ago I was bring home my own bundle of joy. (oh, wait, it was just a few weeks ago!) So this morning, Leina and I said a little prayer while we changed diapers. We prayed that Samuel enter this work joyfully and healthly. We prayed for Suzy’s speedy recovery and extra strength for Dan. We prayed for Daniel as he adjusts to life with a sibling. (I know my life was never the same after Suzy appeared.) And finally, we just said a great big Thank You for giving our family another member to love and adore.

Oh happy day, he’s here!

Babies are so amazing adaptable.

I’m still suffering through this miserable cold and am coughing/sneezing up great globs of disgusting stuff. I’m going through Kleenex like it’s nobody’s business.

Now, the first time I sneezed holding Leina, she about jumped out of her skin. Her big blue eyes opened wide and she looked up at me as if to say “what in the blazes was that noise mom?” She had a pretty similar reaction to my coughing too. Now, after a few days, sneezing, coughing, the blowing of my nose has no effect on her.

Well, that’s not totally true. I think she secretly likes it because she has developed a love affair with Kleenex. She loves to watch the Kleenex as I cough or blow. It seemes to fascinate her to no end. So instead to dangling a baby toy in front of her, I’ve found that she can be easily entertained by watching me hack, sniffle, mangle a Puffs with lotion.

Crazy kid. Ah well, at least she finds this whole sick thing amusing.

Kevin brought home a cold last week and it appears he has passed it to me. I’ve got all the symptoms – sore throat, stuffy nose, headache. Normally, when I’m sick, I just sleep and sleep and this always works. Well, I’ve tried explaining this to Leina but so far, I don’t think she understands.

Kevin called the doctor and it turns out I can take Sudafed but, since I’m nursing, one of the side effects will be that it will make Leina sleepy.

Um, hello? Make her sleepy?

Does anyone know of any long term health hazards from taking Sudafed for oh, say, 6 months continuously? If not, I’m thinking forget the nursing vitamins, I’m popping a Sudafed every four hours!

Today was a sad day in the McLaughlin house. Today, I let Leina cry herself to sleep.

Yup, that’s right, I’ve given up and decided to go with the old “cry it out” method. The kid has broken me. I’ve bought every book, tried every technique and she just won’t sleep. Well, that’s not true. She will sleep if I hold and rock her and as much as I love doing that, I just can’t do it any more.

Last night was particularly bad. She woke at 7pm, 9pm, 11pm, 1am, 4am, 6am, and 8am. Then today, she refused to take her first nap. I spent 50 minutes trying to get her to fall asleep and then gave up. Instead, I held and rocked her for an hour. Next, she refused to take her second nap. Again, another 50 minute battle of her crying in the crib while I kept picking her up, soothing her, putting her down just so she’d start to cry again. Exhausted, I resorted to holding and rocking her. By the time her last nap rolled around, I was a wreck. I hadn’t had a chance to change my cloths, eat, or even brush my teeth. I fought with her for 30 minutes in and out of the crib when I just couldn’t do it. So I gently put her down, kissed her little cheek, and left the room.

And then I called my mom.

Yup, I talked to my parents while she cried and cried and cried. She went from 4:40 to 5:20 on and off before she finally fell asleep. It was horrible but at the same time, I was so relieved to be about to eat something and crack my aching shoulders.

So I’ve given in. She’s going to cry. I know, that’s what babies do but I still feel awful. I was so nervous when she woke. I was afraid I’d go to get her and she’d turn her head from me or refuse to look at me after that horrible cry fest. But you know what, when she saw me, she cooed and smiled. Her lashes were wet from crying but aside from that, I couldn’t detect any obvious signs of trauma.

I think the next few weeks are going to be tough on both of us. Sigh. Why can’t this baby thing be easier?!?!

Leina had her first power lunch.

Well, sort of. I met up with my old work girlfriends for lunch on friday and brought mini-me along too. I dressed her extra cute in her pink overalls and frilly pink shirt. We was quite the crowd pleaser. She was also an angel baby. She spent the whole time looking around at everyone, wide eyed and observant. When she had enough, she literally crashed in my arms. She was quite the hit with the waitresses and patrons. Of course, my girlfriends were all shocked when they saw her because they said she looks 100% like Kevin. Grrr. Ah well, I suppose she’ll have to just grow into my good looks later.

It was such fun to see my old friends. At RLPC, all my girls had babies while I worked there. It was a pregnancy epidemic. I was the only one who didn’t succumb. It was a running joke that there was something in the water so I always came to work with my own bottle. My only regret is that there’s a huge age difference between Leina and their children. But I’ve decided I need to start looking for other stay-at-home mommies with kids Leina’s age. She loved getting out and about and I sure do love hanging out with someone who can say more than “cooo”!