Baby Steele Came Early...

Timothy Steele Hitchcock

February 20, 2014

6:00 am

6 lbs. 11 oz

19 3/4"

My official due date was March 17th.  Steele decided to make his debut into this world almost 4 weeks early.  During this pregnancy, Steele had been a mover.  It seemed as if he never slept and was constantly kicking or hitting me.  On Wednesday I had realized I hadn't felt the baby move in more than 24 hours.  Sampson and I decided we needed to go to the hospital to be checked out.  I am so glad that I was in tune with my body enough to notice his movements and lack of movement.  Early the next morning the doctor performed an emergency c-section.  Once they got Steele out, it was clear that something was wrong.  He was extremely pale and was having problems breathing.  The hospital I delivered at did not have a NICU so a transport team was called in to take Steele to a children's hospital in Nashville.  I was in my recovery room for a few hours before I got to see my baby for a few minutes before the transport team took him away.  They had started a blood transfusion and needed to get him to Nashville as soon as possible.  It was an emotional day and very weird to be recovering from a c-section without my baby. I was blessed the next day to be released so that I could go be with my baby.  I spent the next week down in Nashville watching Steele recover and get stronger and trying to recover myself.  I am so thankful for all of the nurses that took care of him while he was there and for all the love and support we got from family and friends.  I could have never made it through that week without my parents.  They are such a support system to me.  I am so grateful for all that they have done for me and my family and I love them so much! 

Newborn Pictures

Phoenix's 5th Birthday

I can't believe I have a 5 year old.  Time seems to go by way too fast these days.  Phoenix is currently obsessed with Frozen.  If she wears two braids she is Anna for the day and if she wears one braid she is Elsa.  On her birthday she wanted to wear her Elsa dress and wear Elsa hair.  The other "Elsa" (Eva) made frozen marshmallows for Phoenix's preschool class.  It was so fun to eat lunch with Phoenix and see her interact with all of her friends.  Sampson was even able to get done with his rotation early that day to eat lunch with us. Lunch is always fun with Phoenix because the boys are already fighting over her.  One boy is constantly trying to "casually" put his arm around her or hold her hand.  Another boy gave her a special rock because he doesn't sit by her anymore and he misses her.  The funny thing is, Phoenix is oblivious to everything.  She is just in her own little world constantly singing "Let it go" which only makes the boys like her more :) After lunch, Eva went back with Phoenix to her class where Phoenix did the penguin dance for us....funniest dance ever!  After school Phoenix wanted to fly her kite with daddy.  They spent the afternoon flying "Mushoo" and pretending to be boys to fight the "Imies", as Eva calls them, or the Huns from Mulan.  That night Sampson's family came over for birthday dinner and cake.  Phoenix's birthday dinner consisted of macaroni and cheese with hotdogs and blue Koolaid.  Not sure if the adults liked the dinner, but Phoenix loved it!  Phoenix was very lucky to have so many people that love her and give or send her presents.  She was so excited to open each one.  The party closed with a performance from "Elsa" during a disco party (thanks to Sampson's phone and Phoenix's sparkly jacket).  Phoenix loved her Frozen party.

The Holidays

Faddis Family Pictures 2013

Christmas in Texas

My dad and Houston came up to Rock Island for a few days to hunt coyotes on our property and then drive us back to Texas.  I was so grateful to have help getting us down there because Sampson wasn't sure with his new rotation that he was going to be able to come down.  Once we got to Texas, we went to see Santa and the girls mailed their letters to the North Pole.  We also went to see Frozen again...that movie has forever changed my girls.  They sing and act like Elsa and Anna CONSTANTLY!!  They can't seem to get enough.  They also went to dance camp with Brooke.  Eva was so excited because last year she was too little to go.  She kept reminding us that she is 3 now and she that she is really big now.  She is so eager to grow up and I just want her to stay little forever.

 

Luckily Sampson was able to drive down and get there on Christmas Eve and enjoy Hin's Garden and Christmas Vacation (The Faddis Family tradition).  Eva became a little daddy's girl and wouldn't leave his side the entire time he was there.  It was so cute.  When the girls went to bed on Christmas Eve, Kenny made reindeer sounds in the attic and the girls went nuts thinking that Santa was up on the roof with their presents.  We told them that Santa wouldn't come in until they were asleep.  I am pretty sure that is the fastest they have ever gone to sleep.  Christmas was great and so much fun to have everyone there together.  It has been a long time since we have all been together and it was great!  

Chuck E. Cheese

To celebrate Brooke and Eva's birthday we all went to Chuck E. Cheese.  As an adult you would think this place is for kids, but for my family it means 2+ hours of pure intensity.  Dad, Kenny, Houston, and I took turns setting the record for the basketball game.  We all wanted to be the one that held the record...I don't think anyone else got to play that game the entire time we were there.  We are a slightly competitive in our family :) We also had competitions at Skeeball and Sampson and Kenny disappeared for about 30 minutes as they were conquering the world by shooting one alien at a time.  The girls loved every minute of it, especially when Chuck E. came out.  Derek, on the other hand wasn't too excited to see him.  The girls looked so cute in the new outfits Pitty had given them for Christmas!

Bowling and Trip to the Houston Temple

We all went bowling together. I hadn't bowled in a long time and bowling when your pregnant isn't as much fun.  I just wish I could bend over!  It was fun to watch the girls though.  They are so cute.  This was the first time Eva had ever been bowling.  She loved it.  She carried her ball up to the ramp by herself every time.  As soon as she let it go she would run back to her seat before the ball even reach the pins.  And her shoes were too big for her so she almost tripped every time. She bowled for about an hour and half straight before she got really tired.  She is so funny.  Phoenix and Brooke had their rotation down to a science.  I think they ended up bowling more games then we did.  

We also had a picnic at the temple.  They loved walking on the temple grounds. We talked about how families can be together for ever after they are sealed in the temple.  Then a bride came out to take pictures and Eva and Phoenix proceeded to tell me that after they get married in the temple to a boy, all their babies will come out of their tummy (the currently think they are pregnant with me:).  At least they are understanding the order of things haha 

New Year's Eve

Nate and Houston got sparklers for the girls...their favorite!!  Phoenix was dancing and spelling her name in the air while Eva kept trying to light the grass on fire.  We went through a lot of sparklers.  Meanwhile, Kenny, Nate, Houston, and my dad kept throwing these adult poppers on the road so that when the cars ran over them if sounded like their tires popped.  Most cars kept driving, but a few stopped and got out to look around all the cars parked by our house for some punk teenagers.  If they only new they were all adults doing it...hahaha. 

 New Years Day at the Houston Zoo

Every time we are in town our goal has been to go to the zoo and we just can't seem to get there.  This time we actually made it happen!  It has been a long time since I went to the zoo.  The last time I was there, Houston and I were in high school and we got kicked out for feeding goldfish to the monkeys.  We tried to be on better behavior this time :) The day was perfect: weather was great and Luke even came! (he always hates going anywhere with crowds :)  I think my favorite part was when the girls fed the giraffes.  They weren't afraid at all.  The only person who screamed was my mom (of course) because she thought one was trying to get her.

Fall/Winter in Rock Island

Here are a lot of random pictures from my phone.  

What's Happening: Eva turned 3, Eva started gymnastics and got the star card her first day,  Phoenix dressed up and Rapunzel for Halloween, the girls played dress up, and a picture of Phoenix's "rope" hair.

What's Happening: We set up our Christmas tree and train, the girls danced in the window at dance class, they visited Gingy at Opry Mills, sat on Santa Jefe at church party, went to a Christmas concert in a cave, Houston and my were shooting guns and black birds in the bamboo, and Eva ate purple pancakes on a purple plate with a purple fork in her purple leotard!

The Fall

Eva's Birthday Pictures

These pictures were so fun to take in our backyard and with the longhorns.  Although the longhorns thought we were bringing them food and started to surround our car and it scared Phoenix a bit. Eva wasn't afraid and posed proudly in front of her pets :)

Phoenix's Gymnastics Meet

Phoenix started gymnastics in August and loves every minute of it.  She picked everything up so quickly and isn't afraid to try anything.  Eva has been counting down the days and now she is finally in Phoenix's class with her. It is fun to watch them together. 

The New House

After 3 months of living at Sampson's parents lake house, our house was finally ready for us to move into.  We are renting this from a family friend for the 2 years we will be here.  I never thought that I would have a driveway that is 1/2 mile long.  I have to admit I was a little nervous at first about driving through all the longhorns to get to the house, but I was glad to have a little piece of Texas here with me in Rock Island ;)

Life through the Galaxy

Phoenix started preschool this year.   I thought that she would have a hard time going, but as soon as we got through the door she was so excited she never even looked back at us.  Eva on the other hand had a harder time having a sick pregnant mom as her new playmate.  She seemed to keep herself busy as she decorated herself with cards before falling to sleep.  The girls ran in their first race.  Sampson ran the 5k part and I ran with the girls for the 1 mile.  Phoenix came in first place!  Eva was a good running buddy for me even though she set a pretty fast pace. We got to see Kat win Miss Congeniality at the Fairest of the Fair.  The girls were so excited to see Kat Kat in her princess dress.  They loved riding all the rides with cousins.  The girls have left their mark on the new driveway, at target with crazy Halloween costumes, the football games dancing next to Kat, and eating all the peaches Jefe had down at the green houses. 

The Last 6 Months...

 Soccer

Phoenix played soccer this spring and somehow I ended up being the coach.  Being the coach helped Phoenix not be scared, but it was a lot of work on top of getting ready for the dance recital.  Eva was always a good helper though.  She kept track of everyone's soccer ball.  Phoenix scored two goals during the actual games and you would have thought she won the lottery.  I have never seen a kid get so excited.  I was really proud of her. 

Last Months in Tazewell

The last 4 months in Tazewell consisted of Sampson taking me to Gala, Phoenix graduating from joy-school, the dance recital, soccer, swim lessons, gymnastics, and two crazy girls helping me get organized and pack for the move all while Sampson is spending every second of his life studying for the Comlex.  As much as we missed having daddy around, we always found a way to have a good time.  Eva's favorite thing became organizing.  Every morning she would come into my room and lay on the bed moaning that she wanted to go organize.  I have never seen a kid more eager to organize.  She is a great helper though.  She helped go through and fold up all of their clothes from newborn to the present.  Had Eva not been such a slave driver in organizing I would have never got through it!

Texas

We spent Easter down in Texas as well as Memorial day.  It was fun to eat with the Easter bunny although he looked really creepy to me.  Good thing the girls didn't seem to notice.  I love getting all three girls together because they just want to hug all the time.  It is so funny because they normally end up falling down on top of each other because they won't stop hugging.  The girls loved being with Derek too, especially Eva.  She would not let him out her sight.  She was constantly taking care of him and making sure he had a toy to play with.  We spent Memorial Day down at Galveston.  It was so fun.  The girls had a blast playing in the water.  And Houston and I spent most of the day surfing. It was so fun to have the whole family together even if "Steve Jobs" spent the entire time under the umbrella :) 

Lake Nantahala

Our first family vacation where Sampson didn't have to study in 2 years!!!  It was very last minute, but turned out to be amazing.  We had so much fun hiking, swimming, and riding in the canoe.  We hiked through this Virgin forest with yellow poplar trees that were over 15 ft. wide.  It was amazing that these trees could even get that big.  The girls are great hikers.  They can hike for almost a mile before needing a rest.  And luckily Eva is small enough to carry on our shoulders every once and a while and we don't have to have them strapped to back packs all the time. 

Fall Creek Falls

Before the fourth of July we went camping for a couple of nights at Fall Creek Falls.  It's always nice to have some family time before we go see all the extended family.  This time we used all mountain house meals for our food, which means there was little to no clean up.  It was nice to not have to worry about getting the fire going during all the rain.  We saw all the water falls and hiked down to fall creek falls.  I have seen it a few times over the years, but I have never hiked down to it.  It was so awesome!

Nursery Catalog Pictures

I am so lucky to finally live by the Nursery all year around!  I love to see everything in bloom!  You would never guess that it was pouring all day as we setup and took pictures.  Haley always does an amazing job getting all the flowers together and organizing them.  Such a beautiful backdrop!!

Amazin' Acres

Life has been crazy getting our schedules together with Sampson's.  Each rotation brings a different time schedule and a different set of stresses.  It is nice that he is actually doing "doctor" stuff now instead of studying for 12+ hours a day.  The girls had so much fun there especially with daddy.  They got to pick there own pumpkins, go through a few different corn mazes, drink hot chocolate, slide down the "country" slide, and jump on the huge bubble.  They loved watching the moon rise on the hay ride...it looked so sweet that night.