Two is Twice the Fun!

The age that is:) Come on now... it's only been 3 weeks with 2 little ones, and so far that has just meant trying to keep the smallest one full, dry and content while we pour most of our attention into the one that just got a new little brother. Don't worry, we get lots of cuddle time with Clark during the day while Norah is off having fun at "school". I love that she loves school!

Anyway, Norah's really having fun with these play-dates she's been having! Friends come to visit Clark and bring their little ones along to play with Norah. She loves it since Clark is not the only one getting attention from visitors and I am proud to say she is getting much better at sharing her toys. The other day some friends were nice enough to bring some lunchables along for the kids so we could have a break from cooking. Norah was in heaven (they come with cookies!). Of course she ate the cookie first and was the last to finish :) These 3 were so hilarious to watch eat together. Never a dull moment...

Love ~ Renee

Our Sweetest New Addition

Our sweetest newest addition made his entrance into the world a little early! Clark Michael was born on November 16th, 2010 at 12:49 AM (four days early) weighing in at 8 lbs 10 oz and measuring 22 inches long.


I was praying that this birth would be nothing like Norah's, which consisted of 32 hours of back labor, 5 hours of pushing and a vacuum assist leaving her momma unable to walk well for weeks due to a separated pelvic bone. Oh, and Norah was 14 days overdue! Well my prayers were most definitely answered...


I went into labor on Monday evening as we were picking up Norah from daycare and the contractions started right up at 6 min apart. This time felt nothing like last time since Clark was in a better position and I wasn't having back labor at all. These lasted until about 10:45 that night when they got closer to 5 min apart and I started to feel some extreme pressure. So extreme that it actually scared me, so I called the midwife and she said that normally they would not have me come in just yet, but since I was feeling some pressure I might as well get checked. So we called Grandma to come over and stay with Norah while we went off to the hospital.


We arrived just after midnight. Colin dropped me off at the ER and I was wheeled upstairs. The midwife checked me as soon as I got to the room and told me I was at 9.5 centimeters and would be ready to push soon. I could not believe my ears. First I screamed "WHAT!?" and asked her if she was sure. She laughed and said that we were lucky we didn't have this baby in the car. I was so relieved and happy I burst into laughter and tears all at once. Then she asked where my  husband was. I told her he was parking the car, and the nurse decided that was a good time to tell me the story of how her husband missed the birth of their child because he was parking the car! Well, I was lucky that night... Colin walked in just as I began to push and 20 minutes later our son was born. We had a hunch this one really was a boy (we had a hunch Norah was going to be a boy too :) and when we discovered we were right on the money, it was the most amazing feeling in the world. To have one of each. For Norah to have a little brother to love and teach how to be naughty. To have the most proud daddy in the world. There is nothing better.


Well, maybe there is one thing that can top all that. The look in Norah's eyes when she met her little brother for the first time. I have never seen her light up in just that way before. She was so proud and so happy and so filled with love for this little guy that she had never even met before. I could see her melting when she laid eyes on him. She still can't smother him with enough kisses and hugs and wants to help do everything for him. It is the sweetest thing I've ever seen.


I love my little family to pieces. 

Love ~ Renee

Caught up in the whirlwind

... of preparing for one more.

... of being overjoyed with the vision of a family of four, what a wonderful big sister Norah will be and how happy a little brother or sister will make her.

... of being terrified at the thought of losing that special something I have with her now. She is my one and only. My favorite.  

... of wondering how I will be able to juggle two little ones at once.


Roll all of this up along with hectic work days and nights consisting solely of dinner and bedtime routine with a dash of late nights spent working instead of sleeping. Weekends filled to the brim with as much fun as we can fit in with a touch of household chores. Oh, and our lame attempt at trying to prepare for this upcoming birth. Roll all of this up and you've got yourself a whirlwind! 

It's wonderful though, and I am so grateful for it. Deep down I know that once this baby arrives my fears will vanish into hormonal fits of nonsense. I know this because before I had Norah I had the same fears. Fears of losing the dynamic Colin and I had; it just being the two of us for so long. That wasn't ever even a thought after she arrived though, and on the way home from the hospital I was sobbing in the backseat because "she's going to grow up, and she'll never be this little again!!!" Which I knew was ridiculous as I was saying it... but I couldn't help it. Actually, it still makes me a little sad ;) 

So in these last few weeks before the big day is here, I want to take our one Mommy-Daughter day we have each week and just revel in our time together. Instead of filling our day with grocery shopping, laundry and a trip to the park down the block, we will fill it with trips to fun places, lunches of "mac cheese" with chocolate milk and cozy naps in the sun-filled car as we take our journey as to not waste a single precious minute!

So here's to whirlwinds... may they keep on whirling!

Our last adventure was the Children's Museum. We played there for hours and then had a lunch of what else but mac cheese & chocolate milk at the Great Waters Brewery Co. After we got home that evening Norah took my face in both of her hands, tilted her head with raised eyebrows and said "Mom! Yet's go back to de fun place on Sunnnnnday.... OK? Would dat be fair? Dat probly be fair." Who could resist her charm?  :) 

Norah Cleaning. She would rather wipe the chalkboard clean than draw on it any day!

She waited oh so patiently for one of the kids to leave 

a grocery cart open and then she dove in and grabbed it... 5 min later another 

little girl wanted to play with it and she was so sweet to give it up to her!

Deciding what to make :)

Pancakes it is!

There she goes cleaning again!

...and again!

She loved the hand dryers. 

Every time she saw one she had to dry her hands for a few minutes (literally).

Chocolate Milk!

Checking to see if her mac cheese was coming

It was soooo good she had to use a fork AND a spoon to eat it it all :)

Love ~ Renee

In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines

...lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. 

They left the house at half past nine in two straight lines in rain or shine. 

The smallest one was Madeline...

The words to the Madeline books have been etched in my mind forever now :) It was only fitting that Norah wanted to be Madeline for Halloween and she had oh so much fun! Each time she got another piece of candy we had to explain why exactly she couldn't open it immediately, but she got the hang of it after a while. She even worked up the nerve to timidly say "Trick or Treat" by about the tenth house, and then was just as excited to go home to give out candy to all the other kids we saw milling about the neighborhood! 

As soon as we stepped inside the house she had to tear off her costume, change herself and her baby doll into their matching ghost costumes (custom made by Grandma of course), dump out her candy and try each one. She only wanted one bite of each kind and then it was OK to save the rest for another day. She stayed up waaay past her bedtime watching "Scared Shrekless" in between running to the door at every ring of the doorbell to pass out candy. We counted 30 kids in just over an hour! My little Madeline is a Halloween lover just like her Mom & Dad :)

Apple Picking at the Orchard

Last weekend we took a trip to the apple orchard with Grandma. What a grand way to kick off our most favorite season...We were the first ones there when they opened in the morning, so we had the whole place to ourselves for a little while! The day started off cold and cloudy, but soon the sun broke through to give us the most beautiful fall day.

We shared some hot cider and sugared donuts before we made the trek down the dirt road to the little red barn so we could visit the animals. Mostly Norah just wanted to see the brand new "baby cow", but the miniature pony and big soft bunnies won over her heart.

After we said hello to the animals we climbed half way up the haystack mountain, played at the playground for a bit and then took a hayride through an enchanted forest to the orchard. We spent hours meandering the rows and rows of apple trees while my little apple picker carefully tried to twist each apple off its branch just as we'd been instructed to do. She chose the teeny tiniest apples because she thought they were cute, and because they fit in her shirt pockets :) I think the biggest grins appeared when Colin lifted her up over his head so she could reach the apples at the top of the tree!

.

Love ~ Renee