Nora Blue Pictures

Nora Blue Kleczka

Nora Blue Kleczka is laying contently in her mother's arms as I write this. She and her mother are healthy and happy, with more than a fair bit of tired thrown in for mom. Nora is just shy of four days old and already holds her mother's and I's hearts in her little soul. Her big sister Lucy can't stop hugging her, kissing her, and "beeping" her nose. We're all adjusting to the changes, but we realize even the more difficult adjustments can be more aptly described as blessings.

Nora Blue decided to come into the world by scaring the be-jeezus out of her parents. On Saturday I was just getting out of bed when I heard Carrie yelling for me from downstairs. A second yell qualified as a full-fledged scream. I ran downstairs to find Carrie standing in the kitchen, blood pooling around her feet, her pants soaked completely through with blood. She thought her water had broken, but it was not water. I had never been so scared in my life.

Lucy, bless her heart, had grabbed a paper towel and was trying to help clean it up. Amazing that even in a moment of complete dread that her two-and-a-half year old response could warm my heart.

Fortunately, Carrie's dad was already on his way over and so we were able to rush to the Lakeview hospital which is only a mile or so from our home. It was not the hospital we were planning on going to, but we decided speed was critical. In fact, Carrie said I was going 60 mph down the Stillwater side streets, although everything seemed slow-motion to me. I should have gone faster.

The first few hours in the hospital didn't bring too many answers. The doctor's and nurses weren't telling us much. One option was that the placenta had torn slightly. They didn't tell us the other option until well after Nora was born healthy- namely, that it was Nora's blood in which case a stillbirth was likely.

In fact, we found out afterwards they had prepped for an emergency c-section and our nurse was so nervous about what was going on that the doctor had to calm her down. They ran a battery of tests, and the one that was most reassuring was the "poke" test. The doctor literally poked Nora in the head with his finger (still in the womb) and watched her reaction. If she hadn't reacted positively they would have rushed us for an emergency c-section. Nora's reaction was active, so the doctor decided we should help jump-start labor.

The broke Carrie's water around 11 a.m. and the rest of the birth was thankfully routine and natural (a routine labor of course being deeply moving.) Carrie pushed only 4 times and Nora Blue popped out with her thumb in her mouth, a full head of dark hair, and a wonderful hawk-like cry. She was beautiful!

We don't know the reason for the blood, and it sounds like at this point we never will. The doctor assured us several times we don't need to worry about any resulting danger to Carrie's health.

Lucy loves her baby sister dearly, and can't get enough of her. For some reason she likes to poke Nora's nose and say "Beep." Every time she does I am reminded of the doctor's "poke" that helped reassure us Nora was doing okay in the womb.

Maybe Nora just thought Halloween was a good time of year for scares. With two girls, I know I have a lot more scares ahead of me (please don't even mention the teenage years) but hopefully none of them come even close to the scare that morning. Considering how it turned out though, I'll take any scare that comes with even a tenth-as-happy a result.

PuddleDeuce

PuddleDeuce is coming in Nov. Wednesday we're going to try to find out if its a boy or girl, so we're going to run the sex predictor tests that were right last time to see what we come up with this time:

Chinese Lunar Chart
A chart was found in an ancient royal tomb near Beijing, and is said to be over 90% accurate in predicting sex. Result is based on age of mother (29) and month of conception (February.)
BOY

Where is the extra weight on the mother?
Out front = Boy. Hips and bottom = Girl.
BOY

How cold are the mother's feet?
Colder = Boy, No Change = Girl
GIRL

Does the mother refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread?
No = Boy, Yes = Girl
BOY

Is the father gaining weight along with the mother?
Yes = Boy, No = Girl
GIRL

What is the maternal grandmother's hair color?
Gray = Boy, Other = Girl
GIRL

Does the mother look particularly good during pregnancy? (Girls steal their mother's looks)
Yes = Boy, No = Girl
INCONCLUSIVE (PuddleDaddy and PuddleMama had mixed opinions- obviously PuddleDaddy predicts a boy based on this test)

Has the mother's chest development been dramatic?
No = Boy, Yes = Girl
BOY

Is the mother's urine bright neon or dull yellow?
Bright neon = Boy, Dull yellow = Girl
BOY

Has the mother been craving meats/cheese or fruit more?
Meats/Cheese = Boy, Fruit = Girl
BOY

Has the mother's nose spread during pregnancy?
Yes = Boy, No = Girl
GIRL

Is the baby's heart rate above or below 140 beats / minute
Below = Boy, Above = Girl
GIRL

Has the mother been craving orange juice every day?
No = Boy, Yes = Girl
BOY

Does the mother's abdomen look more like a watermelon or a basketball?
Basketball = Boy, Watermelon = Girl
GIRL

Mix the mother's urine with Drano.
Brownish Color = Boy, Clear = Girl
INCONCLUSIVE (We still didn't do this test)


TOTALS:
Girl = 6 (40%)
Boy = 7 (46.67%)
Inconclusive = 2 (13.33%)
Margin of Error = +/- 100%

BOY!!!!!!!!

Yah, Ticko Nafer Smile

Lucky is over 14 months now, and cute as ever. Here are a few of my most favorite cutenesses recently:

1. Lucky knows where her tongue is thanks to Grandma Patsy, but doesn't know where her nose is (when asked where her tongue is, she sticks it out. When asked where her nose is, she grabs her tongue instead of just sticking it out.) Grandma Patsy- work on the nose next, okay?

2. Lucky doesn't know how to say "no" but says "yah" all the time. The combination of #1 and #2 make me even more afraid of the teenage years, as if I wasn't already worried enough.

3. Lucky's vocabulary is limited to: "yah", "dada", and "ticko ticko ticko" (tickle tickle tickle.) Yes, she'll say tickle tickle tickle but not mama. Actually, she did say mama for one day, which leads us to believe she intentionally says "dada" instead of mama, especially since an evil laugh usually follows.

4. Lucky will make a constant gurgling sound when PuddleMama takes her for a run in the stroller. This is, of course, so that when she goes over bumps the gurgling changes sounds and she can laugh at herself.

5. Lucky loves Nilla Wafers more than anything else in this world. She knows how to get them too- whine at PuddleMama or smile at dada. In our house, they are known as "Nafers."

6. Lucky also loves to let PuddleDoggy outside. She runs to the door and needs to go outside to let him into the yard, or back into the house. She loves her puppy.

7. Lucky carries around one of her little dresses with shoulder straps as a "purse" and often will put her "cell phone" (a fake wood piece of bread) into the purse after chatting baby-alien jigaboo into it.

8. Actually, Lucky uses pretty much every single toy she has as a phone. Lucky using a remote control as a phone is one thing. Lucky using a fake plastic frying pan as a phone is an indication she sees PuddleMama talking on the phone too much.

9. Lucky learned how to high-five yesterday. I hope this doesn't go the way of her saying "mama" and become a one day skill, because her giving me a high five is so.... awesome.

10. And my most favorite- Lucky smiles at everything. Take her out of her stroller? Smile. Give her a grill cheese? Smile. Pick her up? Smile. Set her down? Smile. See her when I get home? Smile. And it is the most fabulous smile ever (she gets it from PuddleMama.)

How many juices is one juice too many? (and other adventures in Florida)

(I wrote most of this post the last few days of our trip to Florida, but am just getting around to finishing and uploading it today...)

PuddleMama, Lucky, and I are enjoying a few sunny weeks in Florida. We drove down in two long days. Lucky did great for most of the trip. She complained a little about being couped up in the car for so long, but probably less than PuddleMama and I did. PuddleMama had to keep pressing Violet's (her talking/singing/blinking teddy bear) paw (thanks Aunt Trisa!) in order to play a tune and keep her happy. Without Violet the ride would have been a bit whinier, and certainly longer.

We took Lucky to her first Twin's game, let her walk on sand for the first time (after a long time of just standing on sand for the first time), took her swimming for the first time, and witnessed Lucky go from walking everywhere to running everywhere. Like any couple weeks, we saw Lucy do new wonderful things and grow too fast. Only we did it in sunny, 85 degree weather.

We had some good friends down for the first week. We visited a bunch of beaches, drank some beer/wine, and played cards and dominoes while the little ones slept. Suck it PuddleMama and Brian, maybe next vacation you won't lose 4 games to 1 at Buck.


We also had an adventure visiting my aunt, uncle and cousins over on Sanibel Island. We went for a walk on the beach and PuddleMama stepped on a Cuban Sea Conch Crustacean which spewed.... gunk. Everywhere. It was gross. And hil-arious.

Another not-so fun adventure with Lucky happened when PuddleMama went shopping for the afternoon. PuddleDaddy didn't realize Lucky doesn't usually drink a full sippy-cup and a half of undiluted juice for an afternoon snack. A gigantic ass-plosion occurred. Poop everywhere. This did not make for a happy PuddleDaddy.

The ride back from Florida was as unexciting as the ride down, but we made it home safe from Lucy's first full fledged road trip vacation. I am already planning when we can rent the R.V. and head to Mount Rushmore. Now that I know the proper amount of juice is acceptable I am all set.

Partied. Out.

Lucky's one year bash was a roaring success! Cake was eaten (or at least smashed,) presents were unwrapped, and general merriment ensued. The love surrounding Lucky was amazing to say the least. However, there are always a few lessons to be learned:

1. Get more Rolling Rock.
2. Don't forget the (awesome) seven layer salad in the fridge.
3. Invite more kids. The chaos level needs to be kicked up a notch, and keg stands are no longer a viable option.
4. Dress Lucky up in more embarrassing outfits (see below.)
5. Walk/Run away as fast as possible when Papa Willy starts talking about the bottle opener in his pocket.

We didn't dress up Lucy too embarrassingly at her party, as seen here holding two of her favorite things- crackers and a picture of herself:



However, Lucy did get a hula outfit for her birthday direct from Hawaii via Grandma and Papa Duluth. I felt it was only right to share the outfit here:






Oh what (embarrassing outfits) will the next year bring?!

O-N-E.

Lucky is one.

The months have flown by. Lucky changes so much every day I am intimidated by trying to keep up with her on this blog. The biggest physical change is she's walking like a champ now. Actually, more like a linebacker. She doesn't go around anything. She'll walk right over laundry, toys, other kids. If she falls she laughs and gets right back up. She is definitely tough. Her attempts to play tug with Clancy are hilarious. She'll bat the ring at his face until he grabs it and pulls her over. She actually won today because Clancy wasn't used to her hanging on for so long. Even Clancy is amazed by her daily changes.

Lucky's big b-day bash is on Saturday with family and a few close friends. I definitely have a new perspective on birthdays now. It sounds so obvious, but having a child with a birthday gives you a new view. I always remember my mom reminiscing about the day I was born every August 15th, but of course I didn't remember the day, so I thought about cake and presents and the end of summer (my mom would always remind me of that one.)

Now I'm the one reminiscing with PuddleMama about watching Celebrity Apprentice in the hospital when Lucky was negative one days old. I'm the one remembering what PuddleMama's..... face... looked like when Lucky arrived. I'm the one remembering holding Lucky for the first time and wondering when her head wouldn't look like a purple cone-head. Birthday's definitely take on a whole new meaning when I look into Lucy's baby blue eyes.

We gave Lucky a kitchen for her birthday. It comes with pots and pans, a "stainless" steel fridge, and more. Lucky is already whipping up meals and pretending to eat them. She hates eggs and chocolate, loves spicy pickles (but cries after eating them), and loves to sit on daddy's lap while he eats supper. Lucky seems to use her left hand more than her right when eating real or imaginary meals, which I am encouraging if for no other reason to add another nickname beginning with "L" to her aliases.

Oh, and she loves, LOVES, to brush her teeth after said meals. Where did that come from and why isn't my toothpaste so good I cry when someone takes my brush away?

I know everyone says it, but I already think she's growing up too fast.

Happy first birthday Lucky!