Things I love today

* the way tommy puts on a ball cap.  He's all boy ready to run off and be all rough and tumble...then he chooses footwear, his rubber frog galoshes of course...then he wants to wear my "beaufital neck-a-lis." (his pronunciation is hilarious).

*Greg, just Greg.  Especially doing anything dad related. 

*Finn.  Not much happens yet, but his hobbies include napping with dad and staring at his big brother.

* when Tommy says, "Oh Finners is crying, he wants his big brother!"  Then he runs over and hugs and kisses him.  Or when I walk by and find a little car or truck tucked in with Finn, because Tommy wanted to share.

* fighting with Tommy over cleaning up his blocks.  He has some funny tactics, I'll admit.  One of my favorites is when he has alligator arms and says, "uh, uh I can't reach them!" 

* they way Tommy pretends.  He likes to make pizza pie and drink coffee.  He asks me to cheer for him when he participates in a variety of sporting activities.  He says things like, "Hey you tree, you're gonna go in a penalty for being naughty!"

* when T "reads" his books to himself.

* the questions, including:
       What are you doing?
        What am I doing?
        What?  (this one is best if you can hear the inflection)
        Can I have some?
        What's that noise?

* that Tommy thinks there is a train and a conductor involved when his dad "trains people" at the gym.

that's all I can think of for right now...but this was refreshing, maybe I'll do it again sometime.
       

Baby Finn

So the big news...the newest member of our family is finally here. I say finally, but he was two days early so I should be less dramatic. However, I have been pregnant since right around the time we moved back to MN, so at my work I've been pg for as long as they've known me which = forever.

Finnegan John Young was born Tuesday, August 11, 2009

9:40 a.m. 8 lbs 9 oz 21 inches

WARNING!

If you are not interested in any details no matter how mild, skip this section!

My last day of work was Monday, August 10th. As we got closer to the end I was getting more nervous about our decision to try and labor after ending up with a c-section last time. (Tommy = 36 hours of labor including approx. 4 hours of pushing and forceps then a c-section) The recovery was not good so I was nervous in general for any way that this baby wanted to enter the world. Monday a.m. we had an ultrasound to gestimate the size of baby. The reasoning being Tommy was 7 lbs and 19 1/2 inches (average to small), so if this baby seemed like it was going to be bigger, we'd just schedule a c-section. The results didn't really help. They said the baby was approx. 7 lbs 12 oz, BUT that could be + or - a pound. So basically this baby could be anywhere from about 7 lbs up to almost 9 lbs. We had to wait for the "official" results at our next appointment anyways, so we decided it didn't really offer us an easier way to make or change our decision.

Off to work for my last day which was going along fine, until the kids woke from nap. Someone wet their cot, another kid had a bloody nose and then I was pretty sure... then yep totally sure my water broke. At first just a little, then huge! (like my shoes were wet) A few details in between Greg takes me to the hospital. I was having contractions but nothing major. We gave it through the night but by morning less than nothing was happening. Our basic wants for trying to labor again were:

1) didn't want to pick baby's b-day

2) wanted to try because after the 2nd c-section, I won't have a choice

3) it's nice to avoid major surgery and the recovery

Basically I wanted to give my body a chance to have this baby and it wasn't doing anything and I wasn't so gung-ho about labor thing that I was willing to move into pitocin etc., so we decided to just move on and have the c-section.

Having made that decision, this time the surgery experience was really different. Last time it was a relief and I felt like everything happened so fast. This time I was very aware of everything getting numb, how heavy it felt to breathe, that Greg couldn't be with me until they were ready to start. Plus, I was freaking out about if we made the right decision. But once he cried, it was all right. I also got to see him coming into the world (or at least his butt being born).

Excuse my nose, they told me that the numbing stuff would make me itchy. They did not mention that it would be my nose itching and I would be able to stop. So it's swollen and itchy, and I itched it so much that I had to grow some new skin. ouch!

The recovery part has been way, way easier this time and Tommy has been an amazing big brother. So helpful, compassionate, loving, and patient. I keep waiting for that to change. Finn has been awesome! Super laid back, a fairly decent sleeper, hardly fussy and has gained 1 lb 1 oz in a week. (The opposite of my first experience)

getting ready to go home, practicing his future profession, hog calling champion

The thing that strikes me the most is the first time you do certain things or go certain places after a baby is born into your life. It always feels so strange to stand in a place you've been many times without a child, or being the parent of only one. It is really weird to hardly be able to remember the experience as it was before...

Before we had kids, plural. Before it was "our boys."

Back from a hormone-induced hiatus

It's been a while. It seemed like the longer I waited and the more I made the statement, "I should really put something up on the blog," the less I felt motivated to do it. Now it's just plain awkward. No time like the present I guess. Here is the quick version of all that has happened during July and August.

Me = Big, hot, swollen, and irritable. Then I had a baby, more on that later.

Greg = Working hard and definitely fulfilling the role as the fantastic guy I married.

Tommy = Awesome! He has been growing so fast. Only complete sentences for this guy, followed by tons of questions. (Most popular question: "What are you doing?") My favorite thing lately is to watch him eat raisins out of those little tiny boxes. He concentrates so hard on shoving those pudgy fingers in that little box and he is so joyful about eating them. Funny guy!

Some pictures of what we've missed.

Fourth of July parade in Forest Lake. I got hot, Tommy had a tantrum and a subsequent 2 minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, I fell grabbing him as he darted for the street, got a grass stain on my pants, If I remember correctly there may have been a messy diaper involving some time spent walking around with no pants. (Tommy, of course) ;) Later for fireworks he freaked. Happy Fourth of July.

Tommy showing off his fire fighter hat from The Taste of Shorview. He got to man the fire hose and go inside a real fire truck. A very popular activity.

Also a very popular activity, getting some loving from Ella!

Also shameful from these past few months...the picture taking of thing happening in our lives. Oh well, maybe next time.