Sunny Days

We have been loving the weather here in Bakersfield. Highs have been in the 70s (even some days in the 80s) and the nights have been cooling off so no heat or A/C!! The warmer weather has also meant that all of the cute summer dresses in size 3-6 and 6-9 months that Della only got to wear a couple times are like brand new for Cora! The girls have been playing outside and we have been spending a little more time at the parks too. We have been getting to know our neighbors who also have kids so in the evenings, Della has been riding her bike in the cul-de-sac checking up on our neighbors :) Bakersfield has really been suiting us well lately. Cora is going to be 6 months in just over a week. It is so hard to believe how fast time flies! We have been trying to treasure every moment though. She has been siting up pretty steadily on her own for a couple weeks now. She can even reach for stuff on the ground and then sit back up. We are very impressed :) Rolling over though, is another story. She is just pretty content to stay on her back or tummy and has little interest flipping to the other side. Just yesterday, she did roll from her tummy to her back but we have yet to see a repeat. She is such a happy baby and it truly is a joy spending time with her. When she wakes up, she squeals and talks in her crib and greets us with a gummy grin when we go to pick her up. Big sister Della has been a super help as always. Her vocabulary and understanding have exploded lately!! This morning she explained to Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse (her girls) that her Mommy was the one in the "yellow shirt with the black and white polka dots and blue jeans" which was exactly what I was wearing. She is definitely a little stubborn too. She saw a chihuahua dog in a yard a few days ago and said "look mommy! a dog!!" to which I said, Yes, Della, that is called a Chihuahua dog". Then she looked again and adamantly said, "No, it's a mouse" and continued on with her playing. Facts are facts you know! Della has been asked to be in our friends wedding on April 27 in Grass Valley so there are a couple pictures of her modeling potential flower girl dresses. Derek has been busy studying for his 4th exam (out of 8) on his way to earn his CLU designation (Certified Life Underwriter). He has been in his new job for about a month now and is quickly learning the ropes. He has also been playing on a church softball team so our Wednesday nights are busy ones. I have been working a little bit more during tax season. I am in the office 3 days a week and then the 2 work days I am home with the girls, I squeeze in a couple hours of tax preparation during naps. It has been the lowest stress tax season I have ever had. Tomorrow afternoon we are planning to dye some Easter eggs and on Easter Sunday, we are hosting an Easter brunch after church. I am so excited for the girls to wear matching dresses :) Happy Easter everyone!!

Cora vs. Wocket in the WWF lightweight championship

Growing up

I can hardly believe that I haven't posted a blog since Cora was born! I have been busy taking pictures and videos though. iPhones sure make documenting milestones easy :) Cora is 4 and a half months now and is getting to be so interactive and busy. She is a very happy baby and is content doing most things. She loves to play on her play mat, jump in her excerciser, and sit in her Bumbo. She is very close to rolling over and can roll onto her side from her back and from her tummy. I think she is just so content with wherever she is that she doesn't want to particularly do anything different. Della is loving her role as a helper/big sister and helps me out by bringing burp rags, turning on music for Cora on the swing, bouncer, or toys, and she even helps to set the table (she brings the napkins, spoons and her plate/cup to the table). Both girls will hang out in tummy time and Della makes Cora laugh by making silly faces. Della's latest favorite games are playing "Chase" and "lion" and her roars sometimes are so loud they scare Cora - especially right after she wakes up. The girls started day care the beginning of January and have been settling in pretty well. Right now they go three days a week while I work during tax season and then after tax season, I'll be working 2 days a week so I will use the third day to get some one on one time with each girl. Della has "kids" now and is very watchful of them. She will bring them all to Derek and I and ask if we will "watch her kids" and then she will fill up her play backpacks or lunchboxes and bring us their bag. They are all consistently stuffed to the brim with mac and cheese (a Tupperware container holding duplos or coasters), underwear, tights, play baby bottles, her play food, and her babies' babies. Every evening (while she is supposed to be sleeping) she chooses outfits for each of her girls (Daisy, Minnie, Dollie, and pink monkey) complete with undies, socks and shoes. It is very cute to see but it gets to be a chore putting away almost all of her clothes from her dresser each morning. She is quite the little mommy :) Derek's new job officially starts on Friday. He attended a week long training conference in Bloomington, IL earlier in February and gained a better understanding of what to expect. He is really looking forward to seeing what is entails. My work has been steadily picking up for tax season but I am definitely enjoying working a MAXIMUM of three days a week. It is a little strange not being so busy this time of year but I like it! The above picture is Della admiring our freshly planted seeds for our summer garden. This morning we planted 2 types of peppers, 2 types of tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, bunching onions, cilantro, parsley, and basil. Now we wait! We also have one of our avocado pits growing in a cup on our kitchen counter. It is so fun to have a garden helper! As you can see from following pictures, Della and Cora love to wear matching outfits. Della always wants to pick outfits or pajamas that have a match with Cora. She especially likes it if Mommy matches too. For instance, yesterday, Della and Cora each had a pink top on with jeans so Della chose the same for me. When we do wind up matching, she says "chink!". I think this comes from when Pake and Beppe visited when Cora was born, we toasted wine and said "chink" :)

Photo Shoot (1 of 2)!

Before we moved to Bakersfield, our good friend Heather Henderson, took a few pictures of our family and they turned out beautiful. I was getting the Christmas cards ready to order and wanted to share all our favorites; not just a couple.

The Littlest Poppell

Yesterday marked 3 weeks since baby Cora Beth was born. This was also our first week on our own as Derek's parents left Monday morning. We were so glad to have such wonderful company and assistance during such a big period of transition for us! Mom and Dad Bokma helped us in the first week of Cora's life by grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, replacing slats in our old rickety outdoor benches, pulling all my weeds in my garden and flower beds, and painting our pool fence. Dad also repaired a purse of mine that I thought was a lost cause. Then the Poppell's came for a second time (they had spent a week with Joy and Charles in Santa Maria)and also helped with cooking, cleaning, painting the pool fence and sewing curtains for Della's bedroom! We have some awesome parents!! The day of Cora's arrival was spent mostly waiting. The day before (Tuesday), we had a doctor's appointment and had decided to try inducing birth as Cora was 7 days late from her due date of 9/25/2012. The inducement was scheduled for Wednesday morning at 8 AM. Little did we know that when an inducement is scheduled, the timing is dependent upon beds being available at the hospital so when no phone call came by 10 AM, we wondered what was going on. It turned out that we would just need to wait for other families to be discharged from the hospital so a room could be available for us. At 7 PM on Wednesday evening, we got the call that said to came in. We wrapped up dinner, Derek and I both took showers and then headed to the hospital. Pap Pap and Duckie stayed at our house with Della. We got to the hospital around 8 PM and were checked into our room, I was set up with an IV, and the nurses explained how the inducement would work. While we waited for the doctor to come check in on us, Derek went to the store to get some snacks and drinks. We watched the 1st Presidential debate and then tried to get a little sleep... the doctor did not come in to check on us until 11 PM. When she checked me, I was already dilated to a 3 cm and she said she would go ahead and break my water so no induction was necessary!! Yay! She indicated that it could possibly not spur labor on at which point I would need to be given Pitocin. All the nurses said delivery probably would not happen until the next morning or midday so again we tried to get some sleep. The contractions started to get really strong quickly and so around 12:30 AM we called our doula to come and assist with the pain. About an hour later, the nurse checked me and found I was dilated to a 6 cm. At this point, we called Saxon so she could be at the hospital for the delivery. By the time Saxon arrived (about 20 minutes later), I was dilated to a 10cm and was ready to push. The nurses and doctor, however, were not prepared for me to push. They kept having me change positions to keep me from pushing while the doctor was scrubbing down to prepare for delivery. At 2:22 AM the doctor arrived and told me to push. Four minutes and two pushes later (the head and then the shoulders) Cora was here. Derek cut the cord and our family was officially expanded from three to four. Things have been going quite well since Cora's arrival. I feel much better physically and emotionally than I remember feeling with Della. I think I am more confident as a mother this time! Cora is a very alert baby and loves to interact with her sister. Della is always doing whatever I do with Cora with her little baby. When I burp Cora, she burps Baby. Cora even has to "reserve" spots in her swing because whenever Cora is not in it, Baby is :) It is very sweet to watch. Della of course, now seems HUGE compared to Cora. I am not sure when the transition was made from baby to toddler but she definitely made it. Needless to say, we love Cora to the moon and back :)

Transition

We are almost completely settled in our new home in Bakersfield. There are only a few pictures left to be hung and one room that is waiting to be painted (Della's room). So far, we have been enjoying our time here although I am getting a little tired of this hot weather. The next week is projected to have highs in the upper nineties. I am ready for some cooler nights, that is for sure. We'll be able to use the pool for a while longer though! One unique thing about this area, is that we are able to plant fall vegetable gardens so I have been planning mine out. I am hoping to do broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, peas, lettuces, radishes, and beets. September is the time to plant but I still need to get the garden beds tilled with the added compost and fertilizer. We'll see if it gets done before the baby arrives. Della is quite excited to welcome her baby sister into the world. Every morning she wants to "see" her baby sister and give her a hug and a kiss. As you can see at the very end of the video, she knows that her sister is coming on her birthday and everyone knows that chocolate cake comes with birthdays. Ever since Della was born, Derek has been putting all his pocket change into her piggy bank and every so often there is paper money included. Della loves to help in this process and it has made an impact! We recently withdrew some money to have on hand for an emergency fund and I had placed it in my bible for temporary safe keeping. Della found it and Derek found her with the money laid out on the table in front of her but the amount was $100 short... We looked high and low and eventually asked Della where it was. She told us it was in her piggy bank so we checked, and sure enough, she had figured out how to get paper money in her piggy bank! She's bound to be a saver! Since we have been home more, Della and Dutch have become the best of friends. There is a definite hierarchy in the family with Dad and Mom on top, then Della, and finally Dutch. Della drags Dutch around the house by his collar and loves to chase him around her room or our room with her stroller and thinks it is so funny when he jumps up on the bed to escape her. There have been a few times when she gets a little too bossy with him and we have been working with her on being kind and gentle. He is such a good sport and I think he actually enjoys playing with her. He loves laying by her bed during story time and normally in the evenings will lay by her door before we get into bed. Her vocabulary continues to grow and now she is gaining very adult sounding voice inflections and compassion and concern too. This morning I sneezed in my bedroom before getting her out of her room and when she heard me sneeze, she said "bless you, honey". Very sweet. Another time, I had just taken some cold medicine and Della came up to me and asked "Mommy, do you feel better?" Derek's job has been keeping him very busy and on the road a lot. I think he has been enjoying it though. I started attending a women's bible study at a nearby church last week and met a few young moms. Della really looks forward to nursery there (even though she says it is too hot in the video). The downside of nursery (as was with daycare) kids are exposed to lots of fun viruses so the whole family is currently sick with a cold... bummer. I have been staying busy being a stay at home mom/wife. There are definitely some days where my patience runs low at the end but mostly I like it. I have been learning about growing flowers in an area this hot and baking and cooking quite a bit. I did interview for a couple jobs to start during tax season. I was offered a position at both firms but the one I accepted with allow me to work as much as I want from home. I am hoping to do 2-3 days per week during tax season and then 2 days per week during the off-season. The great thing about this job, is that the 2-3 days are not set so I can work 2 days while the girls are in preschool/daycare and then the third day I can piece together during the evening or on weekend when Derek is home. I really am excited about this opportunity. It will also give Della the chance to start a preschool here. We are hoping to find a daycare that is transitional into a preschool so the baby and Della can go to the same place. I am making it a goal to post a blog at least 2 times per month to keep everyone updated! It has been a while!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRP8OEkg5y4

The Latest

Once again, Della continues to grow and learn faster than we thought was possible. Her personality is really starting to shine through and she is wrapping us tighter and tighter around her fingers. She can count to 10 and is starting to sing snipets of songs. The bad news about her counting, though, is when we count to three to put her in time out, we'll say, one.... two.... and then she'll continue for us (fee, fo, five, sick, sefen, eight, nine, ten). It's hard to remain firm and upset when she is so cute but we try our best. She always wants to know where everyone is at (where Pake at? wanna see Beppe! where Dutchie go?) and she loves to take care of her babies and dollies by feeding them, changing their diapers (with at least 10 wipes), and reading them books. Della continues to love to be outside which is great as the weather has been so nice lately. It truly is hard to believe she is going to be 2 in just a few days. We have talked to her a little bit about her new baby sister on the way (which we still are calling Spud). Each day she wants to say Hello to Spud and give hugs and kisses to Spud (Hug, Spud, Me!) Here are some pictures from some our latest adventures: Daddy's 30th birthday, outside in the little pool, visits from Pake, Beppe and Julia, and a trip to the Monterey Aquarium with Louis' family.