Lucy at 6 months

We always say that Lucy is such a good baby. If we are really being honest with ourselves, it's more like Lucy is such a happy baby.  She is likely my worst sleeper, especially during the day (this girl does not like to nap). But Lucy will wake up from a 20 minute catnap, cry in her bed, and the second you open the door, she's happy as a clam. Really the only time she's upset is when you try to put her to bed before she's exhausted. And if she's exhausted, it doesn't take her long to doze off, at least until you try to put her down. 

Lucy is also easy distracted during feedings, and always has been. Justin has never really enjoyed feeding her bottles, and even grandma, who spends my working days with her, will attest to the fact that she's difficult to feed. Heck, even I don't like giving her a bottle. I had hoped it would get easier when she started eating solids, which began just a couple weeks ago, but it hasn't.  If she's really hungry (usually because she was too distracted during her previous feeding), you can't get the spoon in her mouth quickly enough.  But all it takes is one little boy to come up and start talking to her and she too busy laughing at them to notice the food.  All that said, and she is by no means starving. In fact it is the opposite. Jack's new name for her is "squishy baby". I think it was her dad who lovingly called her that first, but it stuck.

I'm sure a lot of this is the result of birth order. She's distracted because there are more people running around, literally. She's an awful napper because we are always out and about, and car seat napping isn't easy when you're crammed in the car between 2 loud, crazy boys that fight for your attention. Finally, I think we consider her a "good baby" because our gauge has changed significantly. With previous kids it was all about the sleep. With her, it's all about the temperament.  If she's happy, she is definitely a good baby. We really lucked out!

Now for a squishy baby photo!

Elijah sweetness

Last night was tough.  I did not get 2 consecutive hours of sleep at any point. That's sometimes what it means to be a mother of little loves, I suppose. And to everyone's surprise, it's not Lucy that keeps me awake at nights.  She did get up once, but she ate and went right back to sleep.  She's such a good nighttime baby.

On the contrary, it is Elijah that keeps me awake at night. And not every night. Some nights he doesn't wake at all, while other nights he's up 3 times. Honestly I go to bed not knowing what it will look like. And while I won't miss the sleepiness that accompanies these nights, I want to treasure forever something that occurred in the middle of the night.

Elijah got up the first time, and came to cuddle in momma's bed.  I think I let him lay there for a little while, and I think I fell asleep (sometimes it's hard to remember exactly what went on in the middle of the night).  I don't sleep well with him in bed with me, so I carried him back to his bed. This woke him up a bit, but I told him to cuddle with monkey (his snuggle buddy), and I was going back to my bed because I was so tired.  About 15 minutes later, he returned to my bedside and informed me he needed to go potty. I was proud of him, and took him to the bathroom. I then went to tuck him back into bed, and this time he asked me, in the nicest of voices, to snuggle with him.  I agreed, telling him I would snuggle with him for a couple minutes, then go back to my bed.

As I laid down, Elijah scooted close to me so his sweet little face was next to mine. He whispered "I wanted to snuggle with you because I love you." I adore those words, especially when said without being provoked in any way to say them. I said, "I love you too sweetheart." Then he said something I hope to never forget. He said, "Mommy, will you be my best friend?" My response was "Of course, Eli. Of course I will be your best friend." He smiled from ear to ear, and I could see that glowing smile in the darkness of his room. I wouldn't trade that moment, or any similar moment, for a little more sleep, EVER!

Lucy's First Tooth

After 6 weeks, convinced she was actively teething, that first tooth broke through today. I felt the sharp edges of it as she chewed on my finger, then prayed her little mouth open to catch a glance. She doesn't like showing it off, but I'll see if I can capture it in the coming days, or at least when its neighbor shows up. For my tooth friend, it appears to be tooth 'P'. That is, middle lower right tooth. :)

Perplexis Part II

So I thought I'd posted the previous post a couple weeks ago, but it didn't work, and I didn't notice. Anyway, we now have 2 boys who love this thing, and they are known to argue over who's turn it is. Here's Elijah studying the ball in order to conquer it. He's won a couple times too:

This thing amazes me how it captivated us all. I will admit, we have now discovered a couple shortcuts that, with one or even two minor track jumps makes it a ton easier. Jack actually did one jump while I was watching, and we both realized what he'd discovered. Awesome!

Perplexis

For Jack's birthday, he received a puzzle ball from Justin's parents. I'll admit, I was very excited to give this game a try for myself, and Justin and I wondered which of us would complete it first. Jack initially showed little interest, at least compared to his parents. I also thought it would be difficult for Jack to do. Then, just over a week ago, he really started working with it, and guess who completed the little maze first? Jack!! He was so proud, but quickly dumped it out and started over. Then, in the same evening, he did it again. 

I was home at the time with the boys and my parents had come over so I could meet Justin for a dinner with his co-workers. I asked Jack if I could tell daddy he'd completed it, and he told me I could, but to tell daddy he's done it 3 times because he was about to get it again :), as he studiously and meticulously worked with it. Though he didn't get it a third time that evening, he has since done it again. And the second to complete the maze, me of course. Justin finished it too, a few days later. 

Survival Mode

Having a new baby at home feels like we are just trying to stay afloat each day. We love having Lucy here, but adding the third makes everything more challenging (to be expected, right)! And for a family that is used to getting out everyday, spending so much time at home is tough on its own. Jack literally asks where we are going each day we tell him it's a stay-home day, ifthat tells you about our frequent tendencies to leave the house. In our defense, the rainy weather has kept us indoors more than usual too. We will figure this whole outnumbered thing eventually. Until then, this is what survival mode looks like. A cluttered home with toys EVERYWHERE, and an unshowered mommy!

Lucy Adeline is Born

Today was my official due date, but like my previous children, our baby decided to come a tad early. Oddly enough, all 3 kids were born at 38 weeks and 2 days. At least it's consistent. We welcomed our baby Lucy to the world on April 21. She is an amazing blessing from God! Here is her birth story:

There I was, pregnant, baby's gender unknown. In the week leading up to delivery, I had begun having contractions, but they didn't hurt. They just put additional pressure on my already compressed bladder. I actually thought it was going to happen on the 18th as the non-painful contractions seemed somewhat regular. But then they stopped. No baby yet. I sadly went to work Monday. 

Tuesday morning, I woke up a little before 1am and felt another contraction. I waited to see if I would have another, and I did a short while later. I sat up in bed and noticed that these contractions actually did hurt. Justin, who normally sleeps through a lot (mainly my snoring), must have been on high alert because he woke up and asked if I was ok. We sat together through a couple more contractions, then decided this was it and he called my parents and the doctor.  Justin finished packing final necessities in the bag while I sat as still as possible, waiting for my parents to arrive so we wouldn't have to wake the boys. Grandma and Papa arrived just after 2am, and we were off to the hospital. The drive was uneventful, just more contractions becoming more frequent. Having not heard back from the on-call doctor, Justin called the hospital to let them know we were on our way. Contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart when we arrived at Saint Joseph's Hospital. I wanted a wheelchair to take me up, so Justin went in and got one. Maybe I was worried a baby would just fall out, which they don't do. But I was resolved that I would get up to that room before things got too exciting, so I wasn't going to tempt that. 

Justin wheeled me up to triage, where they assess if you're in active labor. We explained that contractions were getting more intense and frequent, and they hooked me up to monitors. About then, Justin finally received a call from the on-call doctor, who happened to be my actual doctor, Dr. Ginsburg. She had been delivering a baby at her other hospital. I explained to the nurses that I was feeling some low pressure, so they checked me and said I was 5.5 cm dilated and 90% effaced, -2 station. Dr. Ginsburg would be on her way, and they were moving me to my labor and delivery room. The nurse also asked me if I wanted pain medication, to which I replied not right now, but I'd like to keep the option available. 

They asked me to walk to my new room. On the way, I had to stop twice to get through the difficult contractions. Justin was amazing support on that trek! I sat down in my new bed, and the resident doctor wheeled in an ultrasound machine to check that the head was down. If I had really registered what she was doing, I could have saved her the trouble. I told her I was feeling more pressure and an urge to push, so she checked me. She told the nurse she couldn't feel any cervix. Yep, I was completely dialated. I turned to the nurse and confirmed that pain prevention was now off the table. 

This is about the time it got exciting. The nurse called in another nurse to get my IV started, as she was busy rushing to prepare the room for delivery. My doctor arrived and got herself ready. Other people were there also trying to prepare. Mad rush. I recall hearing the nurse tell another how quickly I dialated. We tried to tell people this would go fast, guess they didn't believe us. 

It was then time to push. I did, and reminded myself to hold my breath as I push, instead of exhaling which seems more intuitive. It literally took 3 or 4 pushes, and a baby was born. I couldn't see the baby's gender, but Justin says he saw immediately. He told me as I saw for myself. A baby girl!

Lucy Adeline was born at 7lbs, 5.5oz and 21 inches long. She is beautiful and perfect. Healthy! She laid with me the first hour, nursed like a pro when she was ready, and it was amazing. Her time of birth was documented as 3:13am, about 1.25 hours from when we left home, and roughly 45 minutes after arriving at the hospital. 

Fish Bowl

Elijah did the cutest thing Saturday morning. The boys were examining a stack of school projects we had brought home from the week (by "examine" I mean taking each piece off a nicely stacked pile on the desk, looking at it momentarily, then discarding on the floor). Elijah came across a flash card that had been given to him last week. It was a picture of a goldfish in a bowl, which fit the theme of the week which had been learning about animals and their homes. He said, "Mommy, Mommy." I looked at him, he showed me the card, then he very enthusiastically exclaimed, "fish bowl" while simultaneously showing me he knew the sign. He is so smart. Later in the day he reenacted their role call for the day, where when the teacher calls their name, they respond with something specific. In this case, the fish bowl sign. Fish is a wiggly right hand, then bowl is both hands moving downward in a chopping motion. Oh, why am I trying to tell you? You can just watch Elijah show you for himself.

I will be asking him what signs he is learning from now on, as it is just too darn cute!

Bedtime Prayers

This is a blog I wrote in October, but never downloaded the video to include.  Until now...  The video was taken October 21, 2014, and the text has not been modified:

The boys are both adorable during evening prayers. In the last week, Elijah has become a real talker at prayer time, often not waiting for me to finish with the Our Father before chiming in on what he wants to pray for tonight. Jack has learned to recite the Our Father, and recently took a real like to the Hail Mary. Then he prays for other stuff after. They both melt my heart!

Elijah's prayer time sounds a little like this... Ozzie, owie, leg, band-aid not fit (Ozzie had a stroke, which is topic for a whole different blog post), gorilla playing with the bucket up high sleeping, hippo outta the water eating hay, BIG elephants (and he really emphasizes the BIG), usually Grandma and Papa, sometimes daddy, Jack and mommy, sometimes Grace and Sam. But it is so fun to watch his sentences extend past three words and for his thoughts develop. 

When Jack says the Hail Mary, I sometimes well up a bit. I'm so proud of him. He seems to enjoy the memorization of it, and that goes with mealtime prayers as well. But, I managed to get a video of Jack praying the Hail Mary. The sound quality isn't great, but I will treasure it always!

Elijah Update

I have had the opportunity to spend the last couple days at home with Elijah, as he has been a little under the weather.  Honestly, most of the time you wouldn't know he was sick, but his fever kept me from taking him to school.  He's so wonderful, and I'm so blessed to be his mommy. 

Elijah celebrated his second birthday back in November, which was a lot of fun. It was a low key event, with family coming over to our house for dinner and cake.  His 2 year appt had him at 36" (85 %ile) and 29lbs 2oz (60%ile). He is generally healthy an happy, and here are some other fun things I want to remember always about this little boy:

      I know I'm biased, but Elijah seems to be very smart. His vocabulary continually amazes me, as he speaks full sentences and demonstrates appropriate uses of words he's heard previously in context. My jaw drops probably once a week, while I stand there thinkin, "Did he just say that?" And he now articulates well enough that others understand him well, though there are some things I can understand quicker than those who don't spend as much time with him. But he clearly wants to be understood, and will repeat himself and even find alternative ways to say what he means so as to be understood.

     Elijah loves his brother, Jack, very much. Whenever Jack isn't present, Elijah inquires as to Jack's whereabouts. Elijah has always enjoyed playing independently more than Jack ever has, but Elijah generally plays well with Jack and looks to spend more and more time with his big brother.  On the note of siblings, it will be interesting to see how he does with a new baby. I used to feel like he'd just be angry he's not the baby anymore, and a new little one will be seen as more competition for attention, but lately he has me thinking he just might handle it better than I originally thought.  He will hug my belly, and he's even come over to whisper to the baby. Super cute. I think he'll be a great big brother, at least once the shock wears off.

     Reports from school indicate he is a pleasure to have in class. It actually seems he's better with other students and teachers than he probably is at home. 

     Eli can throw a wicked fit, and we continue to work on using words when frustrated prior to the grunts and groans and yelling that tends come first. Sometimes he succeeds, but when he's tired, his reactions amp up. He'll get there. Like we've always said, he seems to have along fuse with a big explosion. 

     He can be a picky eater, but he usually will try new foods unless he hears his brother refuse first. He likes his vegetables and fruits, especially oranges, broccoli and corn, but meat is difficult to get him to consume most of the time. He loves yogurt and cheese, and will down some mac and cheese like nobody's business. 

     I have to add that this little guy gets so many compliments on his incredible eyelashes. Only by women, of course, but I can't tell you how many times we've heard about his eyelashes, and the last time Eli even put his finger on his eyes indicating he understood. They are long, curl on their own, and are considerably darker than his hair, which is why I think they seem to stand out. 

There is so much more to this incredible kid. But I'll end this long blog already. One last memory I care to capture though... yesterday, as we were snuggling up for nap time, he told me he loved me, and for the first time he initiated the I Love Yous. I know he loves us all, and one way he shows us is with his great hugs. He throws every ounce of his weight into it, and it seems like his whole being is loving you at that moment. He melts my heart. 

New Year, New Look, New Title

The blog needed a few updates. Visually I really needed something new, in hopes that it would bring me back to the world of blogging the events in our life, instead of just reading other blogs.  But most importantly, the blog title needed to change for obvious reasons.

Baby Buckmaster #3 due May 3, 2015.