A FEW PICTURES

from our week

happy june! can you believe we're already half way through the year? yeah, me neither. i hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend. cheers! - murr

LIFE AT THE LAKE

when paul was told he would be going back to the night shift, i was a little disheartened.  nights can be so stressful and it was so nice to have him home at a normal time.  but now that summer is practically here, it's been absolutely wonderful having him home during the day.  i don't think gemma, maible, and i would be enjoying the days as much as we are without him here!  we get to spend quality time with him, when he's not completely exhausted - plus, i can keep a little of my sanity when we're out and about, by having an extra set of hands.  i don't think i'd be able or want to spend time at the lake, of all places!, with just me and two kids under two.  not that they are bad or anything! it would just be a handful, to say the least.  maible has been great though.  she sleeps almost the entire time we're there - and gemma has been having a blast! i love how she is interested in more than just throwing and eating sand.  she isn't afraid to take on the water & is becoming quite the little fish!  i'm really loving the age she's at... for the most part... i could certainly do without the tantrums or the bloody murder screams when it's time to pack up and leave.  i guess it's the sign she's been having a good time?

BACK TO "NORMAL"

maible's first week home was incredibly pleasant and relaxing for all of us.  it was an especially easy transition for me, which i was not expecting!  paul had the week off work, gemma was as sweet as ever, my c-section recovery was going extremely well - we were all just enjoying time together as a family of four!  and then this week hit.  paul went back to work, gemma started throwing some wild tantrums - especially at bed & nap time, and my post-partum hormones hit like a ton of bricks. i was not prepared for it. i felt like i was almost purposefully finding reasons to cry about a-n-y and e-v-e-r-y thing - like crying because the pink "welcome home" balloons that paul put in our room were starting to deflate. or shedding a few tears while gemma watched the "family" episode of yo gabba gabba...  i don't know why i thought i had avoided a hormonal crash.  maybe it was all overshadowed by the utter bliss of having this sweet, tiny little person in our lives.  thankfully, the crazy hormones have passed and i'm back to normal... well, my "normal".  it's nice to spend quality (tear free!) time together as a family.  i'm just hoping this phase gemma's in is over with soon.  until then, i have to make sure i take a healthy dose of patience each day - it's always in high demand!

**thank you, God, for post-partum hormones... they help me realize that my normal personality isn't all that bad**

MEET MISS MAIBLE

i planned on doing this post earlier in the week, but honestly, i just wanted to spend time with my little family & catch up on some much needed rest - but here i am & now you can meet the newest member of our little family!!

Maible Clementine

born on friday april 13th, our lucky day! she is a dream. and as you can imagine, we're head-over-heels!

i want to sincerely thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for us on friday.  it was quite the day! while i don't want to write out her entire birth story, because it is very personal to me & my little family, i do want to share a few happenings from that day. -- we had the version (ECV) scheduled for late friday morning. after several attempts it finally took and baby's head was down!  we were immediately brought into a birthing room where i was induced.  after about an hour or so of labor progressing, my doctor came in to check up on me. she pulled out an ultrasound and said the baby had moved back into breech position, which meant my plans for delivering naturally were no longer an option - i felt so defeated. i was almost immediately brought into the O.R. and at 2:58 in the afternoon paul announced that we were parents to another beautiful little girl!

and just like with gemma's birth, no words can come close to describing the incredible joy & tremendous love i felt when i saw maible for the first time. how blessed we are to be parents to two sweet, beautiful little girls - i felt like my heart was going to burst!

they brought paul & maible into another room to take her measurements - she weighed a healthy 8 lbs 11 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. while they were gone, my doctor told me that when maible was delivered, her umbilical cord was wrapped so tightly around her neck that her face was blue.  which, she explained, is why maible was breech during the last part of my pregnancy & why she went back into breech position after the version - when her head was down the cord would only wrap tighter & tighter around her little neck. the poor girl! but i am so blessed to have had such a wonderful doctor taking care of us. this whole birthing experience quickly taught me that no matter how great my plans may seem & no matter how dedicated i may be to them, they are never as great as His plans.

maible's big cousin, & our sweet goddaughter, bernadette

i am so lucky to have such a wonderful, caring, patient, and incredibly loving husband to walk with through all this. he's an amazing father and is completely smitten by his two little daughters. i can't tell you how much i truly love the man!

and our dear gemma has been such a trooper! it's been extremely hard not being able to lift her up or hold her like i used to.  i still have to wait another week for my incision to heal before lifting anything heavier than maible.  it's been rough.  but she's become quite the helper - grabbing burp cloths and toys for her little sister, helping her papa make dinner, folding and unfolding laundry.  its been a fun (& at times a little interesting) transition for all of us!  the love i have for each of them is indescribable. i am so happy, so blessed, & so grateful for the family i've been given. i couldn't ask for anything more.  life is  so very good.

A LITTLE PREGNANCY UPDATE

yesterday i had my 39 week appointment and what do you know...  no progress and baby is breech, again! i'd be lying if i said i didn't feel a little frustrated when my doctor told me. it was disheartening enough to hear i've made little to no progress but then to be told the baby's not even in the position he/she should be this close to the due date - it became icing on the over-emotional cake! we have a version (ECV) scheduled for early tomorrow morning and we're all hoping it takes. if not, they'll be scheduling a c-section for sometime next week. we'll see what happens! my doctor said to pack and bring my hospital bag for tomorrows appointment, just in case! so with the slight possibility that the baby could make an appearance by this weekend meant today was dedicated to cleaning. i mean really cleaning. lots of dusting, vacuuming & decluttering - the place is pretty much spotless & hopefully it'll stay that way until he/she arrives!