A dozen cute things

I am a woman in the final months of a pregnancy and, therefore, in the midst of nesting.  This particular phase comes with a heightened appreciation of all things cute.  Here is a list of a dozen very, very cute things in no particular order.

1.  All of the outfits the grandmothers have bought for Baby Girl Gensic (from now on referred to as BGG).

2.  These two sets of brown eyes.

3.  Shepherd's dance moves:

4.  BJ fretting over "stupid teenage boys like I used to be" ever getting near his daughter.  It seems like a premature concern to me, but I think it is keeping this poor daddy up at night.  This is his reasoning: he knows what to do with a son as a teenager because that is just one stupid teenage boy.  It is the legion of stupid teenage boys that lurk around teenage girls that he doesn't know how to handle.

5.  This face:

6.  BGG's coming home outfit.  I picked it out a few weeks ago, and even BJ agrees that it is cute.

7.  Shepherd signing and saying "please" with his cute little toddler's speech impediment.

8.  Newlyweds.  My brother and his gorgeous wife of almost three months will be here Saturday morning.  I can't wait to see their cuteness.

9.  Aunts playing with their nephew.  These are some picture from our weekend with my family and our week with BJ's family in early May:

10.  While it is also rather annoying, Gus crying every time Shepherd cries is kind of cute.  He has no idea how much crying is in store for him once two babies are in this house.

11.  Baby bumps.  Despite being monstrously large and feeling fat all of the time, there is just somethings cute about knowing a cute little baby is growing inside of there. 

12. BGG's hiccups.  And every little movement she makes.  This is the main thing I miss about pregnancy once it is over. 

On anticipating my daughter's arrival

The due date for the birth of my daughter is officially less than two months away.  During the final stretch of my pregnancy with Shepherd, I did several posts documenting what I was thinking.  Here are a few thoughts as I anticipate my little girl's arrival:

1. I can't believe there is going to be a little girl in this family.  Shepherd is so very, very, very all boy.  He rolls in mud.  He chases frogs.  He smells bad most of the time.  He is just a boy.  I literally cannot fathom what a girl is going to be like, but I can't wait to find out.

2. I often hear people who are having or have a daughter say that they don't like things "too girly." I say, is there any such thing as too girly. I'm pretty much up for any level of girly-ness. I figure this may be the only daughter I ever have, so bring on the pink and purple and flowers and ruffles and bows.  I can handle it.

3. I hope my second child knows that we are just as excited about her as we were about Shepherd.  Subsequent children often feel cheated somehow (although my parents never made me feel that way.)  I'm trying to do everything for her that I did for Shepherd, which mean that a baby book has been started, she has her own painting by me, I've embroidered and sewn her a Christmas stocking, and I am currently working on making her space in our bedroom very special.  Honestly, it's a lot of work.

4. The thought of loving another person the way I love Shepherd is both exciting and terrifying.  It is such an overwhelming love, it is hard to imagine what life will be like when these feelings are suddenly multiplied and flowing out to another little person.  Of course, I already feel a huge surge of love for her, but I know that her actual presence in my arms is going to be like getting hit by a train; a good, happy, lovely, mushy train, but a train none the less.

5. I'm really excited about her name.  It is nothing fancy or unusual, but it is special to me and our family.  And the shortened version of the first name is super cute for a little girl!

6. It hit me the other night as it does all pregnant women at some point that, once again, this baby is going to have to come out.  Last time, I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting into.  This time, I'm quite clear on the particulars.  I'm not sure which is worse.

7. Shepherd as big brother is going to be a sight to behold.  In fact, it will probably be beholded quite a bit on this blog, so we can all look forward to that.

8. There are many physical attributes among my family that I would get a kick out of seeing in one of my children that didn't show up in Shepherd, like my skin that freckles, my father's incredibly light blue eyes, or my brother's curly hair.  I'm very curious to see if any of these show up in our coming attraction.

9.  BJ is often thought of as a harsher personality.  This is in fact not true at all when it comes to being a husband and father.  I predict that when he holds this little girl, he will basically turn until a giant bowl of mush.

10. I'm excited to bring her to our church.  She is going to be so loved there, and any gift God has given her will be encouraged and nurtured in the best possible way.  I am so grateful God put us here for the birth of our daughter.

On that note, Shepherd just ran by the computer leaving a very pungent small in his wake.  I should go take care of that.

You know you're looking pregnant when...

I was doing my grocery shopping late last night when I had one of those moments that assured me I must really be looking pregnant.  I was on one side of aisle across from a mother, father, and their 7 year old boy.  All of the sudden, a man's voice from behind me yelled something, and the little boy went running towards the man.  Turns out, the voice belonged to the couple's much older son who was simply giving his little brother an exuberant hello.  Apparently, I was jumpy last night, because his yell startled me enough to cause me to jump.  The older brother immediately apologized for scaring me, but it was what his jokingly gruff father said while scolding his older son that made me realized just how pregnant I must be looking: "Son, if you burst that woman's water, you're mopping it up!"

Just returned

After over a week of family time, we have just returned to Ardmore.  Two Fridays ago, we headed down to Ft. Worth for a weekend with my family, and then we went to Alton, IL, last Sunday for a week with BJ's family.  We had a wonderful time, and I was fully intending on posting some pictures, but I forgot to get my camera out of the van, and BJ has the van at work this morning.  Sorry.

Suffice it to say, it has been a wonderfully relaxing and revitalizing week and a half.  It was wonderful seeing so much family, Shepherd just seems to thrive when he is around his grandparents and aunts and uncles, and BJ, Shepherd, and I had fun spending so much time together since the past couple of months have been too busy for much family time. 

I want to take a second to tell my favorite story from the week.  One day while we were in Alton, Shepherd was happily digging in the kitchen trash can when I caught him from behind in the act.  I clapped my hands three times to get his attention and said a very stern, "No!"  He immediately turned around, clapped his hands once, pointed a little chubby finger at my, and gave my a equally stern and clear, "No!"  I had a very hard time not laughing.  As Shepherd is learning more and more words, it is becoming clear to me that we are entering a very entertaining phase.

What Shepherd did yesterday

He got a toy bowl from his room, took it to the bathroom, used it to scoop water out of the toilet, and drank it.

He used tomato sauce meant for the dipping of bread sticks at lunch to paint his torso and arms.  He proceeded to try and lick it all off.

He put a running hose on top of his head and let the water absolutely soak him.

He "helped" me in my ever-going attempt to create room for a second baby by taking all of his old clothes out of their storage box and putting them on the floor of my closet.

Guess what I did yesterday: I cleaned up all the messes from everything he was doing.  I can't wait to see what he comes up with today!

Summer Days

What Shepherd plans to do this summer:

What Mommy plans to do this summer:

That is, until Baby Girl arrives. Then, it is all the aforementioned, plus a baby and a breastfeeding cover.  Yeah, that pretty much covers the summer.

Baby Girl Gensic's Painting

At pretty much this exact same time in my pregnancy with Shepherd, I painted him a watercolor painting for his room. The idea was for him to always have a painting I did specifically for him while I was waiting for his arrival. Thursday, I finished my little girl's painting. This isn't a great picture of it, but you can get a general idea.


Overall, the nesting instinct is starting to kick in pretty severely. I know I'm nesting when I start cleaning in the places no one ever actually sees, and that is what I've been doing every day for the past week. It makes sense. The third trimester officially kicks off tomorrow. Even though this pregnancy has gone fairly quickly for me, three months still sounds like an eternity. I can't wait to have my daughter here in our crazy little home. Shepherd and BJ are currently practicing drum technique with BJ's old sticks and practice pads. Basically, she won't have a quiet house to come home to, but we will make it fun for her.

Things 18 Month-Old's Do

They eat goldfish. Lots and lots of goldfish.

They ask to have their shoes put on at the most nonsensical times, such as on their way to bath time.

They get really happy when they are naked.

They give Sesame Street their undivided attention. (Incidentally, this means that for the first time since Shepherd was born, my hair and makeup are done most days.)

They use their pointer fingers to make they gibberish sound more authoritative. It is actually a pretty effective rhetorical technique.

They know exactly what to do with a steering wheel.
And when their face is positioned just so, their fat cheeks make them still look like a baby in their mother's eyes.

A Few Pictures from Easter

As seems to always be the case, Easter day was wet and cold. Fortunately, Shepherd's expectations of an Easter egg hunt are pretty much non-existent, so we just did a little hunt down our house's hallway. Each egg had a chocolate graham cracker bunny in it, so he just made his way through his afternoon snack one egg at a time.
Shepherd also got some an Easter package from his Mamm and Pap. Here he is opening it!
One last picture. This is Shepherd all after we got home from church. Isn't he so cute in his little suit?!?

The Family Tree

Shepherd and I are spending a few days in Menard so that we can help my dad celebrate his 60th birthday tomorrow. Being around family has reminded me of the gene pool where my son's eclectic personality comes from. So, briefly, here is a list of the parts of our immediate families that I see in Shepherd:

BJ: Just look at them.

BJ's Dad (Papa): Inquisitiveness. Papa is a chemist.

BJ's Mom (Nana): An outie. Everyone else in the family tree has an innie belly button. Incidentally, this is the feature of which Shepherd is by far the most proud and the most apt to show off.

BJ's Sister (Auntie Al): Busyness. Just plain old busyness.

Me: A shy streak. When meeting new people he always breifly looks down at his shoes before offering them a smile.

My Dad (Pap): Gluttony.

My Mom (Mamm): Sociability. Mom is the only other person I know who socializes as much as Shepherd when they go to church.

My Brother (Uncle Bro): A love of books.

Sock Man

Every week of toddlerhood brings new developments, obsessions, and (in our son, anyways) quirks. This past week, Shepherd kept pulling BJ's socks out of his sock drawer and bringing them to me. I couldn't figure out what his wanted, so eventually, I just decided to put the socks on him.

He thought this was pretty great, so he brought me another pair. Since he only has two feet (both of which already had socks), I put them on he hands.

Now, socks are officially the coolest toy in the house. Here is a picture from a few days ago when he brought a pair to his father. BJ calls it "Socks on the Go":

I don't know how long socks will hold a fascination with Shepherd. All I know is that toddlers are wonderfully weird little people, which makes them really fun to live with.

A Muddy Puddle

After five days of rain, my little out-doors-man son nearly went in sane this past week. Only once during the week did the rain let up enough for us to run outside. Here's what happened during our brief outing.

Shepherd immediately noticed the giant rain puddle outside our backdoor, so he did what any self-respecting toddler boy would do. He stepped in it.

Then, he squatted down and ran his fingers through the murky waters.

Soon, he realized that muddy puddles were capable of being splashed much like his bath water.

Of course, he isn't allowed to stand in his bath, but he eventually realized that the muddy puddle was a perfect spot to experiment with step splashing.

And the splashing-by-jumping technique.

Then he found a stick.

And he found that you can splash muddy puddles with sticks.

So he set in the middle of the puddle and splashed the muddy waters with his stick for a good fifteen minutes.
As a result of everything I have hereto mentioned, this is what his face looked like prior to me stripping him down in the yard and carrying him at arm's length to the bath tub.

Needless to say, in Shepherd's book, this was the greatest of all great days, and he finds most days to be pretty great.

Mommy's little farmer

This summer, we are hoping to have a garden in a raised bed in our backyard. Currently, the bed is full of very tall grass, but yesterday afternoon, BJ and Shepherd worked together on remedying that problem.

During the afternoon of hard work, it is possible (that is, if the muddy drool is any indication) that Shepherd ate some (or a lot) of the soil.

He ran circles around BJ while BJ pulled and pulled and pulled.

He examined the integrity of the bed walls while the wind blew his hair in a super-model way that makes me giggle.

This photo is only here to demonstrate the general cuteness of dimpled elbows on toddlers.

He also talked and talked and talked about gardening. Of course, his 'talking' has very few actual words in it, but it still all sounds very important.

All in all, it was a good day outside. All this boy wants to do these days is play outside, and when he is happily playing with rocks, sticks, and dirt, I can't help but think that is exactly where little boys belong.

A totally inappropriate blogpost

Words of wisdom I overheard passed from father to son tonight while BJ gave Shepherd a bath:

"Trust me son. That is the last place you want an infection."

The Wedding

As of Saturday, my brother is officially married. When I sat down to write this post, I quickly found that a day and an occasion this momentous and joyful is hard to put into words, so for the sake of ease, here is a top ten list (in no particular order) of my favorite things/moments about Bro's wedding.

1. the rehearsal dinner. Of course, the rehearsal dinner was my family's 'job', and we had a blast doing it. We gave out paper-back classics for party favors, had handmade bookmarks for the place cards, and had beautiful, handmade menus. And the food! The food was a feast of Egyptian food. Sounds odd, I know, but Egyptian food really should be more popular. It is amazing!

2. playing dress up. It had been a while since I had the opportunity to put on a formal dress and really do my hair. Despite being the size of a small fishing boat, there is a little girl within who just wants to be pretty. Also, it was fun seeing my family dressed up. Mom, Dad, and Bro all looked pretty dang spiffy.
3. seeing Shep in a tie. Being a product of BJ's gene pool, this is sure to be a rare thing, so I am choosing to enjoy it while he is too young to protest.
4. catching up with old friends and family. After three years of being secluded in Kentucky, there were a whole lot of people at this wedding who I hadn't seen for years. Also, I'd never met the one-year-old son of my brother's best man, Will. It was a treat both catching up with the old and meeting the new.

5. being a 'groomswoman'. I stood with my brother and Will for the wedding. As cliche as it sounds, it was truly an honor. When I was first asked to be a groomsman, Mom declared that I would be the prettiest groomsman ever. I responded that while I didn't know about that, I was quite sure I'd be the most pregnant. I was right. (As an added bonus, Will was happy to stand next to me because I made him look taller and skinnier.)

6. watching BJ officiate the ceremony. BJ did a wonderful job officiating the wedding. He shared the job with a wonderful minister from the Methodist church were the wedding was held, and they matched up perfectly. BJ gave the sermonette at the beginning of the ceremony, and it was about how marriage is one of the 'thin places' where we see the character of God and the good he intended for us. Hearing my spouse's view on marriage was pleasantly eye-opening. Basically, I'm really glad I'm married to someone who sees marriage the way BJ sees it.

7. BJ dropping the ring. In a priceless oops, BJ dropped one of the rings while he was praying a blessing over them. After amen-ing, he announced, "I just dropped one of the rings, and it is right there (pointing at the bottom of Stephanie's full skirt)." It was easily retrieved, and things moved on.

8. imagining incredibly cute nieces and nephews. Stephanie was a breath-takingly gorgeous bride, so what can I say? My mind went there.

9. taking communion. Bro and Stephanie decided to take communion as their first act as a married couple, and the rest of the church was invited to join them. It was a perfect reminder of the sacredness of marriage, the beauty of our faith, and the generosity of God. Simply put, it was one of those moments when the presence of God was tangible.

10. seeing my brother happy. Honestly, is there anything better?

The Difference Between a Mother and a Father

On learning our second child is a girl...

One of the first things I said was, "Yay! I get to plan a wedding one day!"

At that exact moment, BJ later informed me that he had been thinking, "Oh crap, I have to pay for a wedding one day."

Forget Super Tuesday: Here is the really important news of the day!

Last time, I let BJ share the news, so this time, I'll let Shepherd do the honors.


She is healthy and beautiful and wonderful. She never stopped moving the whole ultrasound. What an unbelievable blessing!