Five Years Ago...

Five years ago, I FINALLY went into labor with Kate, after trying to get her out of there for at least a week. First gently, then more forcefully, ,and by the time I gave up on it, she decided that maybe she was ready to come out... Not easily though, she was one of my hardest births, I think she was posterior, even although we didn't realize it during labor.

Usually I don't bother with trying to evacuate babies who are overdue, but that time was special. Because we were supposed to fly to the Netherlands early April, to get our green cards at the American consulate over there, and the consulate was not willing to change the date of the appointment. They were willing to cancel it though... That wasn't very helpful. We badly needed the green cards, so decided to fly with a newborn (and a few older kids), it would have been nice if she had been born a bit sooner...

We flew to the Netherlands when she was 10 days old. A very stressful 10 days too. Ever tried to get a passport for a newborn within that amount of time? Two very essential things are a birth certificate and a picture with the eyes open.... With the head a certain size, and a white background. The normal passport pic places can't do babies because their heads are too small.... Imagine two people, putting a newborn baby on a white sheet on the floor, trying desperately to get her eyes open enough for the picture. We took a lot of shots like that and hoped for the best. LOL

We were able to get the passport just in time, by using all kinds of special procedures and a lot of extra money. The trip to the Netherlands was pretty stressful too, I wouldn't recommend any one to do an international trip like that when 10 days post partum! But we did end up with a green card!!! Still shudder when I think about all the stress though. Now, after five years, I can even start my naturalization process. Just waiting till next month, so I will have the money to do it :-)

Kate is having a wonderful birthday. Well, if you ignore the occasional fight with Erik, but that's something that happens all the time anyway. She got lots of presents this morning, including a gameboy color and a 'Princess Barbie', which she had requested. She did have her ballet class, we visited the thrift store (where she got a 'new' dress, t-shirt, bag, book, and swim suit), and we even went to the party story. She is thoroughly enjoying being the birthday girl.

She opted for a ladybug cake. It has been baked, but still needs to be frosted. She will have a birthday party on Saturday, but wants a castle cake for that birthday. She is in luck that I like baking cakes :-)