Happy Halloween!

We just got back from trick or treating and put our exhausted, sugar-eating monster to bed. Starting tomorrow, there will be no more sugar in this house! Laura woke up this morning and the first words out of her mouth were, "Please, can I have a candy?" Halloween is so much fun, but I'm glad that it is now over. So we can move on to healthier holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. :)
We had a fun Halloween weekend and enjoyed every unhealthy minute. On Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch and let Laura run around and hug the pumpkins. Or kick them. Or hit them with a stick. Mostly there was a lot of hitting. This is Laura's new favorite game: hitting things. Is this normal behavior for a sweet little girl?

Saturday evening we went to our ward Trunk or treat. Laura ate way too much candy, got her face painted and wore out her mother who chased her around all evening!


Tonight we met up with some friends who have a daughter Laura's age to go trick or treating. These two girls are best friends.



And in case you want to see one more picture of our cute little peacock:

Laura the peacock

Halloween is so much fun with a 2 year old. Laura loves wearing her costume and especially loves the candy. We have already gone to a Halloween party and a trick or treating event. And we have more Halloween fun planned for this weekend. Let's hope she doesn't get sick of wearing the ridiculous feather headress I keep sticking on her head!

I love fall in Nashville. We have been enjoying temperatures in the 70's and sunny days. And the colorful leaves are just gorgeous with all the trees here. I think we got a pretty good scenario worked out: cool, moderate summer in New Hampshire and home in time for the beautiful warm fall of Nashville. Too bad we can't own homes in two different places because I kind of liked how that worked out.

Laura is still as fun and crazy as ever.


And we still think she is the smartest, cutest baby in the world. We still call her a baby, even though she is obviously not one. Until we get another baby in this house, Laura is our baby. She is okay with this arrangement because she recognizes she gets perks that other children her age do not. Like when Peter brought her into bed with us at 2:00 am a couple of nights ago. And like when she wakes up in the middle of the night and insists Mama sings her a song before she can go back to sleep. Is it normal for a 2 1/2 year old to not sleep through the night? She wakes up at least every other night needing a song or to be tucked back in. Sometimes he just screams, "I need something!" because she can't think of anything in particular. I know it is our fault- if we stopped going in she would stop waking up. But, like I said, she is our baby so we spoil her a little bit. Lately she has been sleeping in a tent next to her bed. We set it up for her to play in one day and she has been sleeping in it ever since.


She even takes her naps in there. She used to take them in my bed. But when I moved all the craft stuff downstairs this arrangement had to be changed. Shortly after moving my craft desk into my room, I came in to get Laura after nap time and found this:

Apparently she was having the time of her life with my markers before falling asleep.

And now she has one more bed in the house to take her naps in:
:
Shortly after we found out that Angelica wouldn't live long after birth, we decided to sign up to do foster care. It is something that I've always wanted to do, but I thought it would be later in life when we were done having children of our own. However, after finding out that it would just be me and Laura at home for another year, we decided it was perfect timing. My days with Laura are so much fun, but honestly, my life is probably a little too easy. It wouldn't hurt to have one more crazy to chase after in this house. And I figure until we can get another baby of our own, I will love other people's babies who need some extra love. I feel like it is a great way to let Angelica's short life bless another child's life since it is because of her that we decided to do this now.

All that being said, I don't know when or if we will even get the chance to have a foster child. We finished our last appointment yesterday and so once our caseworker finishes up the paperwork we will officially be in the program. But we have a specific age range we are looking for so it may be a while, or never, before they have a child in that range that needs a temporary home. And we are down to only 8-9 months left in Nashville.

But I had so much fun getting the child's room ready in case we receive one. I didn't want to spend money on a room that I wasn't sure would even be used, so I had to get creative in trying to make it cute with only buying a few things.


We found the bed and mattress on Craigslist for $20 and I bought a cheap duvet comforter from Target. The rest was made with stuff I have stockpiled in my craft supply. For the duvet cover I used a yellow sheet and white sheet from a yard sale that I cut in strips and sewed together. I love how it turned out. It had to be something that could be used by a boy or girl and I think it turned out pretty gender neutral yet fun and cute.
So now we wait and see if we ever receive a phone call asking us to take a child. And in the meantime, I am enjoying having a bed next to Peter's study desk. I go up every night and read a book and fall asleep on the bed while Peter studies. It's like spending time together without talking. When you have a law student husband you take what you can get!

Panty Picnic

Laura hates clothes. I've pretty much given up on keeping her fully dressed through out the day- these days I feel like a sucessful mother if she is wearing panties. This is a definite result of potty training. She is constantly stripping down to use the toilet and it is so much work to get all the layers back on. And, since Peter keeps our thermostat set at 87 degrees (I am dead serious)I am secretly jealous when she gets to run around naked. Last week her friend came over to play and I fed them a picnic lunch on the patio. Laura, as usual, was wearing only her panties.

Our New England Summer

We just got back from a very fun summer spent in New Hampshire. Although I wasn't sure what to expect having never been to this part of the country, I fell in love with the Northeast. I loved the cool summers, the ocean, the rivers and bays, the trees, the beautiful houses, lobster, everything! Here are some pictures of the fun we had:

Eating Lobster

I figured that we couldn't truly experience New Hampshire with out eating lobster. So, one day after spending a few hours at the beach, we walked across the street to a little seafood restaurant and ordered it. I admit I was a little intimidated by it when they brought it out to me, but it was actually quite tasty. Laura was more interested in eating the sugar packets on the table.

Our last night in New Hampshire, my sister prepared a lobster feast for us. Each person got their own lobster. What a fun way to spend our last night in New England!


The Beach:
I can't believe how much fun it is to live close to the ocean. Laura loved the beach. She spent hours digging around in the sand. This is Grandpa Fielding and Laura at the beach.

Eating Cannolis from the North End in Boston: Wow. Are you kidding me? These are the most delicious things ever. I only had them twice but I can't stop thinking about them. I would move back to the Northeast just for these.

Fourth of July: We had a bbq at the Casper house. It was a perfect fourth of July with great food and great company.


Meeting Mitt Romney: We tagged along with Kashann to see Mitt Romney announce his candidacy for president. I wish I could have heard more of the speech, but I was busy making sure that I didn't lose Laura in the crowd of people since she insisted on walking everywhere and refused to be carried.

Four Weeks Ago

Four weeks ago, today, the doctor put little Angelica on my chest for the first time. We were finally meeting our special little girl after 9 long months awaiting her arrival. The past four weeks have been the hardest, saddest weeks of my life as well as the happiest and most wonderful. I miss Angelica so much, but I know that she will be part of our family again someday and I am grateful for the five days we got to spend with her in this life.






Maybe the most important lesson I learned from this experience is that Heavenly Father is watching over us and listening to our prayers. This has been very clear since the first ultrasound when we found out that our daughter had severe abnormalities. Although we didn't have any answers at that point, we knew that the baby we were expecting was going to be a very special baby. We were obviously confused, sad and worried. But as I said my prayers that night, I felt peace and knew that Heavenly Father was watching over us and everything would work out for our good.

And it has. Heavenly Father has been there for us, answering our prayers and strengthening us when we needed it. I prayed so hard that Angelica would survive the birth and that we would be able to meet our little girl, if for only a few minutes. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father not only answered our prayers, but gave us five days of precious time with our daughter. He didn’t cure our baby; that was not part of his plan for our family. But he strengthened us and brought us peace. Our experience reminds me of a scripture in the Book of Mormon: “And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”

It would have been a lot easier if the Lord had simply healed our baby. But if Heavenly Father always answered our prayers in the easiest way, we wouldn’t learn all the lessons that we were sent to Earth to learn. He didn’t heal Angelica, but he strengthened us so that we could bear the burden. And although we were not always cheerful and patient, I was amazed at how much joy and happiness we felt during this experience.

I am grateful for our belief in a God that can turn a tragedy into a tender learning experience. And I am grateful for the knowledge that this good-bye is only temporary and we will have our daughter again with us someday.

Angelica Fielding Munk 05/04/11 - 05/09/11

After five special days, our sweet baby Angelica has passed on. We laid her down to sleep between us around 11:30 pm, and she never woke up. Candice said that Angelica was breathing well and had good color around 2:15 am. We found that she had passed around 3:15 am. Angelica was pronounced dead at 3:55 am.

The funeral home picked up Angelica's little body within the hour. Among the multitude of tender mercies that we have experienced in the past few days was that the funeral director lived very close to our home, and had taken the infant carrier and our information home with him just yesterday. After the many blessings we have received in the past five days, I can't say that we were surprised that Heavenly Father was watching over this small detail as He has everything else.

Candice and I are happy. We feel that Angelica passed in the best possible circumstances. Heavenly Father blessed her in life and in death. We both agree that the past five days spent with Angelica were among the sweetest of our lives, and we look forward to seeing her again someday.

The Best Mother's Day Ever

Angelica has been alive 106 hours! We are going on our fifth day and we can't believe it. Going into this, we were really hoping for just a few minutes with her and we feel so blessed to have the time that we have had. This is truly the best Mother's Day present ever.
Here are my 2 little girls wearing their matching dresses I made for them:



Peter has been such a good husband and makes sure that I get time for a nap every day. I love snuggling up to my baby and taking a nap together. Peter took this picture yesterday while we were sleeping.

Update on Angelica

Angelica is now 80 hours old and still going strong. We have had a few close calls where she has stopped breathing for a few moments, but she was able to revive herself each time. We appreciate the chance to get to know our little girl.

Angelica Fielding Munk

Our sweet little daughter Angelica Fielding Munk was born on May 4 at 8:57 am. Despite a few tense moments during the night, labor and delivery went very well. We were blessed to have both sets of grandparents present, along with Laura and her own personal baby-sitter (thanks Julie). Angelica was 4 lbs 12 ozs and 17 inches long at birth.

After delivery, Angelica was placed directly on Candice's chest with minimal intervention from the hospital staff. The nurses and doctors were very sensitive to the fact that we might not have much time with the baby, and largely left us alone for the entire day. It was a special experience to spend the day with our new sweet baby. Candice said that it was the happiest day of her life. We didn't know if we would have minutes, hours, or days, so every moment was precious. We have since returned home, and are enjoying her here.

We have found out a few things about little Angelica (or as Laura calls her, Gicala): she is really cute; she looks like her big sister; someone is watching over her short little life; and she is quite the little fighter. To the last point, she has now been alive for over 48 hours, and is more alert and vigorous than any of the doctors expected. She drinks from a bottle, screams, makes messy diapers, and burps when she is done drinking. She is exceeding all expectations.

That being said, her grasp on life is tenuous. Yesterday before we left the hospital she turned dusky and stopped breathing for a few minutes. We thought that Angelica's time here was complete. However, Angelica surprised us all and revived herself. During her little episode, Angelica was peaceful, with no sign of struggle or pain.

Angelica has had two more episodes since we have been home, reminding us that every moment with her is special and shouldn't be taken for granted. The doctor said that she could go on like this for a week or more. Or it might not. We will enjoy every minute.

Thank you all for your concern and prayers. We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for the many blessings we have enjoyed these last 48 hours. We will keep you all updated and provide more details as things develop.





For more pictures, see my friend Abbie Rufener's blog. She took some absolutely beautiful pictures for us. (abbierufener.com/blog)

Laura's Birthday

I feel like we have been celebrating Laura's birthday for the past 2 weeks. But I guess it all ended today since it is officially her birthday. She got to eat a cupcake for breakfast and open presents this morning. And then she got to open more presents (thanks to our good friends Paul and Nicole who spoil Laura) and eat cake and icecream this evening. It didn't take her long to get used to all this special treatment and by the end of the day she was running around saying, "I need more birthday."

I made her a farm cake with animal cupcakes. Laura loves animals right now so she thought it was pretty fun. She mostly just wanted to eat the candy off the top of each cupcake and would then put it back and reach for another one. Which was fine with me since I didn't want the candy on there spoiling my cupcake anyways.




I mentioned in my last post that I have been doing a lot of sewing. And I meant it. Lots of sewing. Laura's present for her birthday was a doll with lots of matching outfits. I'm not going to say how many because it is kind of embarrassing how much time I wasted on this project, but seriously how fun is it so sew something cute for your daughter, and then make a miniature version for her doll? Here she is in her matching giraffe jammies and knot dresses.




She also got a backpack with her name on it so she can store all the fun things that she constantly wants to bring with us when we leave the house (stuffed animals, snacks, balloons, blankets, Peter's football, etc...) She loves it. She calls it her "packpack" and insisted on wearing it to church today. She keeps putting it on and saying, "bye bye, mamma" and walking to the door. When I ask her where she is going she answers, "cools" (school). She knows the drill from watching her Daddy leave every morning.




Being Laura's mom brings me so much happiness. I love it! Even with everything we have been dealing with the last few months, it is hard to ever feel sad with such a beautiful and happy little daughter. I just wish she could stay this age forever because it is my favorite.