We Have a Baby!!

Sorry I've been missing in action everyone, but it's with good reason. Our baby boy has made an early appearance! Without giving all the crazy details, here's what happened over the past five days:

Monday we went for another blood pressure appointment and to be put on the fetal heart rate monitor, as we have twice a week since bed rest was ordered. The baby's heartbeart kept doing dips, so I was admitted to the hospital for observation. My blood pressure was once again sky high and the heart rate continued to dip, so I was flown from Alamogordo to the University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque. This also happened to be our anniversary...what a day!

Tuesday I was kept on monitors all day and was given two ultrasounds to watch the baby. He appeared fine, but between my blood pressure and his heart doing weird things, they were still pretty concerned. Aaron and I were of course in a panic, because we knew we didn't want to have to deliver yet...it was too early.

Wednesday our worries were proved to be right, as the doctors decided to deliver me. I went in for a C-section at about 8pm and the baby was born at 8:35 pm on Wednesday, May 14th. He was officially at 27 weeks 3 days gestation and weighed only 1lb 5oz. He did give a little cry when he was born, but was then whisked away to the NICU. My uterus decided it didn't want to stop bleeding, preventing the surgery from being as quick as it should have been, but all ended up fine and I was able to see the baby about an hour later.

Now, baby Jacob Aaron Snow is doing remarkably well for his size. He is on a ventilator, but is barely needing it, which is great! Lots of tubes and wires coming out of his tiny body, but he is stable and hopefully will remain that way. We do not expect a perfect ride and know there will be setbacks at times, probably a lot of them. He is a tiny, tiny boy, but has lots of hair and is just beautiful. Already the nurses in the NICU call him the "cute one in bed 24."

Jacob will be in the hospital at least until his due date, which is still 3 months away. I will be living here in Albuquerque, 4 hours away from home, at the Ronald McDonald house. Aaron will be going back to work in Alamogordo during the week and coming up on weekends. Difficult, but necessary for the time being.

Jacob Aaron was named after my brother and his daddy. We, unfortunately do not have our nice camera with us, but this picture should tide you all over for the time being. I probably will not be posting reviews for awhile, at least until I recover a bit more, am discharged from the hospital, and get settled in at Ronald McDonald. I'll be updating lots on Jacob though, so stayed tuned and please keep him in your prayers. He's tiny and has a struggle ahead of him. We know God has a plan though and trust He will do what is best for our baby and our family.

Comfort Food

When I read last year's Friday Night Knitting Club, I was delighted to find a new author that wrote an enjoyable, comfortable story. The characters were all very relatable and the plot believable. Unfortunately, on Kate Jacob's second outing, Comfort Food, I found that the second helping of her book just didn't compare to the first. I didn't connect with any of the characters and though I love anything "food" related (I'm a food network junkie), I just didn't love this book.

Augusta "Gus" Simpson is approaching her 50th birthday and is stuck planning her own party and being forced to bake her own birthday cake. Food tv guru, thus making her world famous, planning parties and making cakes is her job, yet Gus wishes that this year, someone else would make her feel special, other than herself. She knows that in order for this to happen, she has to help the close people in her life learn to take care of themselves and not to rely so much on her to solve everyone's problems.

By creating a cooking show that will teach real people how to make gourmet meals and will incorporate her family and friends, as well as a couple of people Gus is less-than thrilled about, Gus hopes she will accomplish her task of ensuing a sense of independence in her family and friends, ultimately benefiting everyone's lives, not to mention Gus's career, and maybe even fall in love while she's at it.

Though very witty and description when it came to food, this second outing by Kate Jacobs just didn't stand up to the first. I love knitting and I love food, so I'm not being biased on the subject matter, I just didn't enjoy the characters nearly as much, nor did I really enjoy the storyline. I was more than a bit bummed, as I was looking forward to another book by an author I really enjoyed the first time around. Oh well, we can't win every time! I still look forward to a third by Jacobs, I'm not giving up!

Picture Book Saturday!!

It's time for another Picture Book Saturday folks! I have a few great choices here, ones I really enjoyed, so I hope you find at least one that you and your family will enjoy.

Rabbit & Squirrel: A Tale of War and Peas is written by Kara LaReau and illustrated by Scott Magoon. Both Rabbit and Squirrel love their separate gardens, until their vegetables begin disappearing. They instantly blame each other, without considering any other possible culprits and declare war on each other's gardens. Both Rabbit and Squirrel soon learn that jumping to conclusions is almost always a big mistake!

This was a really cute story, with a plot that kids are bound to enjoy. My only complaint about the book is the coloring of the illustrations being so dark. They are done in dark browns and greens and unfortunately, Squirrel looks more elephant-like than squirrel-like. Not a big enough issue to cause me to not enjoy the book. This would be a great story time choice as well.

The next book, 'Twas the Day Before Zoo Day, written by Catherine Ipcizade and illustrated by Ben Hodson, is a selection both my husband and I really enjoyed. To the tune of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, the reader gets to learn just how the zoo animals and their keepers get ready for the big day at the zoo. Unfortunately for the keepers, none of the animals want to cooperate, making for a very crazy day, filled with silly animal antics.

I read it out loud to the baby every few days and Aaron read it to my belly last night. The illustrations are adorable and the rhyming is perfect. I also really like how different activities are included in the back of the book, allowing the reader to do worksheets and puzzles on the different animal facts they learned throughout the story. It's a cute, educational selection that will definitely be kept on my shelves.

Finally, another book my husband has really enjoyed lately is author Frances Watts and illustrator David Legge's Kisses for Daddy. As a little bear is starting to get ready for bed, his dad wants a Big Bear kiss goodnight. The little bear refuses, so Daddy Bear begins suggesting other types of kisses, such as upside-down bat kisses, wiggly monkey kisses, and wet crocodile kisses. Though the little bear continues to refuse each kiss, it is apparent from the illustrations that he is very much enjoying his daddy's silliness.

I can definitely see this book being a lot of fun for kids and their parents to act out. Each different kiss is described and after reading the book I would suggest trying out the different kisses with your children. You'll end up in giggles! The illustrations are fabulous too...very detailed and vibrant. A great book overall!

Peeled

It's another one folks! Another title that I have seen rave reviews on, all around the blogosphere, that I just didn't really enjoy. Who knows why, just another I didn't get, though there must be something that is making the rest of you love this story so much!

Peeled, written by the popular Joan Bauer, is the story of Hildy Biddle (gotta love that name), a reporter for her school's newspaper, "The Core." The town newspaper has begun running stories on some eerie happenings around town, namely creepy messages that are starting to worry the residents of the town. Sensationalism gets to an all time high and Hildy decides to take on the story herself, for the school's paper, to get the truth as to what is really going on. The town's reporters only seem to be interested in selling the story and ultimately creating a huge haunted house amusement park in town, which would shut down farmland that the residents of Banesville make their living off of. Hildy begins her own in-depth investigation, resulting in her entering into incredibly hot water and risking everything to get the truth.

I honestly don't know why I didn't enjoy Peeled. Who knows...maybe it's just the mood I've been in lately, affecting my reading taste. It is written in typical Bauer fashion, with funny characters and humor spun throughout the seriousness of the plot, yet I still just didn't connect with the story. I do, however, need to comment on the genius of the cover. The cover depicts the plot perfectly and definitely is one of those that make you want to grab the book off the shelf and take it home. Covers too often stray too far from the story, though this one is just perfect.

Tera's Dawn

Those who love horse stories (you know you are picturing a little girl or two) will enjoy Susan Schank's book about a wild, young horse that is determined to not be captured by rancher's, as her mother was long ago. All Tera wants is to be able to see her mother again, when the worst that could happen occurs and she is indeed captured. While in captivity, however, a wonderful thing happens and Tera is still able to make her dreams come true.

The book is a quick, heartwarming read that children will enjoy. They will root for Tera as she works hard at meeting her goals while living on a farm, rather than in the wild where she belongs. The illustrations, done by Denise Seah are beautiful as well, my only complaint being that the text is done in white and written in a cursive-like font, making it hard to read out loud in a flowing manner. Other than that, a very nice book for the young ones!

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

17 year old Jenna Fox wakes up from a coma after a terrible accident, not knowing who she or anyone else around her is. She doesn't know her parents or her grandmother, does not remember the accident she is told almost took her life, and has no idea who she really is, only what she is told. As time goes on, Jenna begins to remember things, or at least she thinks she does. Some of the memories she has would have taken place so long ago, she shouldn't be able to remember them. And just how has she gotten so smart? She certainly doesn't remember being a genius, but now has all sorts of amazing facts in her head. What exactly are her parents hiding?

As Jenna learns more about her accident and what happened after, she wants to believe she is also learning more about herself, though instead, feels as if she is actually losing more and more of the Jenna she really believes is true. What really happened to her? How exactly is she alive today...and does she even want to be?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox, written by Mary E. Pearson, was a page turner from the very beginning. I was hooked from the very first sentence, instantly wanting to know what this character had experienced and how she has become the girl she now is. Lots of ethical questions are brought up in the text, making this a great book discussion choice, as well. Teens and adults alike will love this thrilling novel.

Someday When My Cat Can Talk

This new book, written by Caroline Lazo and illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker, is adorable and a lot of fun to read out loud, not to mention educational. An excellent combination, in my picture book-loving opinion!

Told simply, through cute, rhyming text, we learn of a little girl's fantasies as to just what her cat does during the night while the girl sleeps. She dreams that the cat jets off to England and participates in Parisian fashion shows, among a myriad of other lovely adventures. On each page, the reader learns a bit about the country the cat visits and at the end of the book, the countries and their cultures mentioned in the text are explained a bit more in-depth.

Someday When My Cat Can Talk is just plain cute and the illustrations are absolutely lovely. I also loved the fact that each page taught a short country lesson, which of course your children will not even realize they are learning while you are reading this to them. A great choice for one on one or storytime. Loved it!