Life With Three

This video is a pretty good representation of just how chaotic Violet's day to day life is at only 6 weeks old.

BJ and Lydia

I remember when he was afraid he wouldn't know what to do with a daughter.

You know you've been in newborn-baby land for a while when:

-you walk out of the house and the wind blows a forgotten burp cloth off your shoulder and across the yard.

-you become an accidental exhibitionist. I didn't realize until I'd walked out into my back yard and sat down in a lawn chair that my shirt was pulled up over my bra from the last time I'd breastfed. It's that bad.

-6 hours of sleep is the new 8 hours of sleep. I feel positively invigorated after a 6 hour night.

-a trip to Walmart (aka the worst place on earth) becomes a luxury for the sole reason that it isn't your house.

-your husband spends an hour putting an additional hard drive on your computer to compensate for all the pictures like below that are clogging up you memory space. Worth it.

A boy being a boy

Shepherd loves to play with his Transformer toy that Mamm and Pap got him back in July. I love to eaves drop on his play time to hear the dialogue he creates as he is playing. I have no idea where he comes up with this stuff, but here is what I overheard this morning: 

Deep Voice: I'm a big bad scary man and I will never love you. I will eat you.
High Voice: No, don't eat me. I'm a good little man.
Deep Voice: No. I'm a robot and I will eat you.

The Hair Issue

Sometime in the past week, Violet acquired a tiny mohawk. I'm not sure when it happened, but I'm in love with the Kewpie-doll look on her.

I'm hoping that this mohawk portends to a repeat of Lydia's hair during her 3-9 months-old phase.

That hair was just way to awesome not to repeat.

Shepherd is also spiked these days, but that is because big boys who go to school spike their hair. Obviously.

And since I have an up-to-date picture of Violet and Shepherd on this post, here is a picture of my beautiful Lydia after being told she can't play with the camera. She's pretty even when she's sad.

Thoughts at Two Weeks

1. Two weeks ago today at 12:25 in the morning, Violet Beverly Gensic joined our family. She weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.

2. My labor with Violet was the longest and hardest of my three children. My theory is that this is because my water broke much earlier this time. I was in labor off and on for 30 hours. It would ramp up, and I would be positive I was moving into transition only to have it completely stall out. We went to the hospital 3 times in the 30 hour period. The second time, after watching the labor stall out at 4 centimeters, I requested that the nurse take out the IV and let me go home because I was hungry and sitting in that hospital was just stupid. I wasn't in the cheeriest mood after loosing a whole night's sleep and having no baby to show for it. The nurse obliged, I went home, got dressed, and went to church where I had extremely painful contraction about every ten minutes. I think it is safe to say that it will go down as one of the more memorable church services of my life. At 10:45 that night, we headed to the hospital for the third time. As with both Shepherd and Lydia, Violet arrived an hour and 40 minutes after our arrival at the hospital via an all natural delivery. Despite the exhausting longevity of the labor, the end went perfectly.

3. This was the only delivery in which I actually ordered an epidural. I was terrified the labor would stall out again, and I knew I didn't have the physical stamina to face a second night in labor. Fortunately, as soon as the order was placed, my labor cranked up. Violet was there 20 minutes later, so I didn't have to worry about the needle in my back (one of my worst fears!).

4. Violet looks like mine and BJ's kid. We are nothing if not consistent.

Shepherd

Lydia

Violet

 

3. We finalized Violet's name five days before her arrival. Violet is after my mother's mom, and Beverly is for BJ's dad's mom. They are pretty outstanding women to be named after.

5. Violet is a pig. As soon as she was born, she nursed for an entire hour. We didn't get to our hospital room until well after 2:00 in the morning because she ate for so long.

6. Violet was borderline jaundiced the first week, so for two days she had to be wrapped in a plastic lamp/blanket. It was sort of awful. Imagine nursing a taco. And on top of that, I had to wear sunglasses to hold her.

7. Lydia has never been a particularly happy child. Since the arrival of Violet, Lydia has been happy. She is happy everyday, all day. Violet was what we needed.

8. Shepherd thinks Violet is cute. He tells Violet she is cute about 20 times a day. He's right. Violet is really cute.

9. While I was pregnant, all the ladies at church told me that oops babies are the best kind. They're right. Violet is the best baby ever. I've always had pretty high-octane babies, but Violet is totally chill. It is not unusual at all for her to be awake and not crying simultaneously.

10. I've had two weeks to assess the situation and I can now make an important declaration with absolute certainty: I'm so deeply grateful and overjoyed that me and BJ botched the whole birth control thing last November. 

A few points of interest...

1. A pictorial definition for the phrase, "About to pop."

2. I know it is just the hormone cocktail I have going right now, but I definitely cried when I walked in the living room and saw my babies cuddled up like this watching a movie.

3. I am officially aching to hold my third baby, but I suspect that all of the bouncing, nudging, and screaming Shepherd and Lydia have done around my belly these past 9 months have her cowering deep within my uterus. Who can blame the pool girl?

Nesting, Third-Child Style

Nesting is very different this time around. With both Shepherd and Lydia, I thoroughly enjoyed creating a space for them. For baby number 3, though, there is no space in which to carve out a space. We are sardines in our little matchbox house. So here is what nesting is looking like with #3.

1. As with Shepherd and Lydia, I painted her a painting for her room. I had to do something that would look right in Lydia's room since they will likely be sharing for the next 18 years or so. I was pretty pleased with how it came out.

2. Next, I made t-shirts for Shepherd and Lydia to wear to the hospital. Last time, Shepherd was a little freaked out by the whole hospital experience, so I wanted to try and build it up as a fun experience that come with its very own wardrobe!  So far, Shepherd is excited about wearing his new shirt to meet his new little sister. He has also informed that he will wear his Big Bro shirt on his birthday. He likes to plan ahead.

3. The biggest nesting project has been cooking, cooking, and more cooking. By the third baby, one is pretty realistic about what they are going to get done the first three months. My expectations for home-cooking and a clean house are pretty low. So I decided to make a list of freezer meals that could be made ahead of time:

Then, BJ's mom came down to stay with us for two weeks while BJ was at Lipscomb for school, and we cooked until our little freezer chest was full of over 30 dinners and 15 breakfasts.

Other than these major projects, I've just been doing the small stuff: washing and folding clothes, packing the hospital bag, trying to keep the house tidy enough that I won't feel horrible leaving it when I do go into labor, and most importantly, spending as much time playing with these two crazy kids before our world gets turned upside down again (in a good way, of course.)
 

 

Lydia's Birthday in Pictures

 I am heading to bed after a wonderful day of celebrating my beautiful little girl turning 2. Here are some snap shots of all the fun we had celebrating with dear friends and family.

First, we have Baby #2 perched on Baby #3. It is one of Lydia's favorite spots, and right now, its pretty roomy.

Here is Lydia's cupcake. The theme of the night was ladybugs for our Lydi-bug.

She was both perplexed and impressed by everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to her.

Eating homemade ice cream with Nana!

Shep and I had to do most of the unwrapping. Lydia just watched attentively. I'm guessing next year she'll be digging in!

It wouldn't be a Gensic party without Shepherd disrobing at some point and running into the room in just his underwear. Apparently, he suddenly really needed to put on his Batman shirt, but he couldn't find it.

Lydia made Donna read all of the cards to her!

All girl.

Lydia LOVED her new stroller from Mamm and Pap. She immediately strapped in her new doll from Aunt Marcy, and from that point onward, she didn't pay much attention to anything but walking her baby.

Both kids were taken with the Minnie Mouse doll. They are cuties.

Thank you to everyone who made the day special! It can be really depressing having BJ at school for two weeks at a time, but it is a huge comfort to have our friends and family around us on the big days!

For all the family who has sort of missed out on this pregnancy because BJ and I live close to exactly no one in our family tree, here's the view at 5 weeks-to-go.

Six Thoughts At Five Weeks To Go

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone, but here we are again with the finish line of a pregnancy well within sight. So as I did with Shepherd and Lydia's pregnancies, here are a few thoughts swirling through my head.

1. I've always heard that no pregnancy is like the first. This statement has always been meant to convey that the first is somehow more special or fun. That is not my experience. While the first does have the intrigue of the unknown, subsequent pregnancies don't lack any of the joy. Yes, number three is less suspenseful, but it is no less blessed. I actually like the more relaxed ambience of this pregnancy.

2. This baby had better not come too early. BJ leaves Saturday for his two-week residency in Nashville at Lipscomb. I cannot imagine walking into a delivery room without BJ. We've done this as a team twice now, just the two of us, and I don't want to do it any other way. I figure if a strategy isn't broke, don't fix it.

3. If she does come before he gets home, she gets a time-out. Right after I'm done cuddling with her. It could take a while.

4. We are about to reenter the two-kids-in-diapers zone again. I suppose I could give Lydia a crash course in potty training over the next few weeks, but I like the wait-until-they're-super-duper-ready approach, the approach I took with potty training Shepherd. Here's why I'm in that particular school of potty training: I have a potty trained boy in my house, and yet my couch has never been peed on. This is one of the great success stories of my adult life. So once again, if a strategy isn't broke...

5. If you want the secret to staying cool during a summer pregnancy, here it is: Spend the hottest hours of the day in your kids' kiddy pool with them. It pretty much makes everybody happy.

6. And last but not least, I've mentioned before on this blog what a shock this pregnancy was to both BJ and myself. Now I've had 35 weeks to get used to the idea, and I still find myself shocked. I'm starting to think that when I sit in the audience watching this daughter walk across the stage to get her high school diploma, I'll still be shaking my head going, "I can't believe you exist. But don't get me wrong. I'm really glad you exist."

Shep's Confusing Morning

This past Sunday, BJ and I kept our neighbor's 2-year-old daughter. Due to some work scheduling changes, he needed a babysitter for Sundays. She was dropped off at around 7:00, so when Shepherd crawled out of bed 45 minutes later, he was surprised to see a little girl he'd never met on the couch. So he came into the kitchen where I was preparing breakfast and asked, "Mommy, did the baby come out of your belly last night?" Suffice it to say, he hasn't quite figured out this whole having-a-baby thing yet.

Thoughts leading up to Father's Day...

Father's Day snuck up on me this year, so I had to rely on gift cards and Hallmark to get the job done. However, this Father's Day weekend has me thinking a lot about parenting and the man who raised me. My dad and I are a lot alike. My parenting is very much a reflection of his parenting throughout my childhood. So here are just a few things about my father for which I am deeply grateful. Happy Father's Day, Dad (Pap)! 

1. My dad always made me feel like he felt lucky to have me. Every kid should be as aware as he made me that their mere existence is a blessing.

2. He gave up vices for our family's sake. During BJ's years in ministry, we've seen some fathers who were unwilling or unable to do the same, so I've become extra aware of how lucky I was to be the daughter of this particular man. Case in point: when BJ asked me why my Dad gave up snuff, all I had to say was, "Because I asked him to."

3. He's a real sport about Lydia. If you've ever been around Lydia, you know that she isn't that friendly to most people. Dad finds her constant rebuffs funny and loves her anyways.

4. He can laugh at himself. And he does. Frequently.

5. He says sweet prayers for his family everyday.

What Not to Say to Your 6 Months Pregnant Wife

As I climb into the van on our way to the beach:

BJ: Well, I see we packed the beach ball.

Future Parenting Technique

One day, when Shepherd and Lydia are fighting and frustrated with each other, I'm going to remind them of how they used to take pretend "naps" together. They passed an hour this evening "snoring" next to each other.

My Children, In a Nutshell

We spent our first evening at the beach on Murray Lake tonight. It is one of our favorite summer past times. Shepherd was already having a pretty great day because while I was doing my grocery shopping, I came across a Monsters University mask. He hasn't been without it since I gave it to him. He even had it in his bath tonight. Here are some pictures of my very content son.

My daughter, however...oh, my daughter. Let's just say that for the most part, she was unimpressed with the whole beach thing. While we were playing on the beach, she just kept walking around griping. Once when she was walking away from me, I asked her to turn around and smile so that I could snap a picture. Here is the Kodak moment she gave me:

When Shepherd saw this picture tonight, he said: "Oh, Lydia looks mad." Yep. She does.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

ME: What should we give Nana for Mother's Day?
Shepherd: (huge intake of breath, and then in a conspiratorial whisper) Secret crackers.

The Mother's Day gifts of my future are looking pretty bleak right now. Let's hope the little sisters are better at coming up with gift ideas.

My life is a mess. Literally.

For the past few weeks, our little family has been taking turns being sick, and when my family is sick, I sort of shut down to the outside world and just focus in on them. As a result, I am horribly amiss on blogging this month.

To reinitiate myself into blogging, I'd like the make a list for posterity's sake of everything I've cleaned up in the past 24 hours:

1. An entire bowl of oatmeal dumped on the floor.
2. An entire bowl of cheerios and milk dumped on the floor.
3. A handful of peas thrown throughout my kitchen. 
4. Half of a Starbucks drink spilled under my dining room table.
5. About 4 poopy diapers.
6. A mixture of snot and ash spread across my son's face after he got into our chiminia.
7. A full sippy cup of milk whose lid I forgot to screw on before Lydia found it.
8. An entire bottle of Benadryl that I dropped at midnight last night during a drousy effort at medicating my sinusitis-addled self.

 And last but not least, here are some pictures of the laundry "beach" Shepherd constructed using a basket full of dirty clothes along with Shepherd (aka "the lizard") crawling around in them. This is the next thing I get to clean up.

Oh, and here is a picture of the beautiful, sweet, wonderful little person who spilled the oatmeal, cheerios, peas, milk, and filled all of those diapers.