Introducing Connor Samuel Francl

It didn't go like I'd planned.  At.  All.  But there will be time for that story later.  For now, it's enough to know that he's here, we're all safe, and he is ours.  Forever.

Woke up at 3am on 3/27 with contractions.
Picture taken before we left for the hospital in the late morning. 

Connor Samuel Francl takes his first breaths in this world at 5:06am on 3/28/14.
He weighed in at 8lbs, 12.5oz, and was 20 1/2 inches long.
I cannot even express to you how thankful this mama was that he was here!

Skin-to-skin time with mommy right after birth, aaaaand 26 hours of labor.
I feel like I look upset at him, but really we were just getting to know each other.
I *might* have scolded him just a little for being so big and taking so long to come.
But I love him and was SO glad it was over!  Daddy was thrilled it was over too!!!

Daddy gets time with Connor while Mommy got cleaned up.
My boys.  Love them!!!

I remember writing after Lily was born that she is merely on loan from Heaven above.  The same is true for Connor.  What a humbling thing that God entrusted Chase and I with the care of this particular little one.  He is ours, and we are his.  And no one and nothing can ever change that.

There are so many pitfalls in the world, things I don't want Connor to have to face, things he will have to navigate.  I pray, by God's grace, that we equip him to face them well, whatever they may be.  I want to protect him forever.  But I can't.  So we'll just face each day as it comes, because really that's all we can do.

I get Connor today.  That is the only thing I am assured.  And I will cherish today.  And I will cherish my son.

Welcome to the world, Connor Samuel Francl.  It is a brighter place because you're here.

One day at a time, sometimes as a hermit

Ok, so basically since my last post we have been sick around our house.  Thus we have been hermits, and it has been a long road to today.  I'm hoping we really turn a corner and can come out of our hovel by Monday.  Here's how the week of sickness went:

It all started on Tuesday

I worked on Tuesday but had a scratchy throat and the start of a bad cough.  But I made it through the day, picked Lily up from the sitter and got home.  When Chase got home, I handed Lily off and got into bed, where I had a horrible night's sleep.  

Wednesday

Chase stayed home from work to take care of Lily.  Can I just say that I married well?  After having a fever of 100 in the night, I was feeling a little better during the day, but Chase still took me to my prenatal appointment, and too me back home to rest afterward.  

Thursday

Chase stayed home from work again to take care of both Lily and I, because I was miserable.  I'd had another horrible night, and I ached everywhere.  I ended up back at the doctor (this time my mom took me because she was headed into town anyway - bless her!) for strep and influenza tests.  The news was not good:  Influenza A. 

Shouldn't we be past flu season?  And shouldn't a pregnant woman not get it when she's within weeks of delivery?  *sigh*  I started on Tamiflu.  Mom took Lily for the afternoon so Chase could get some work done from home, and I could rest.  

Friday

Chase stayed home from work again to take care of me and Lily, and I was starting to feel a bit better - the aches were going away and things were settling into more of a really bad cold kind of deal.  MUCH preferable to the aches and chills and hot flashes of the flu!

Unfortunately, Lily woke up from a super long nap absolutely soaked in sweat and with a temp of 101.  *darn*  I literally quarantined myself between the bedroom and the den and didn't hardly see Lily for 2 days so that this wouldn't happen.  I sat in the den and cried the night before while Chase put her to bed because I just missed her!  *darn*  

It was too late to get her into the clinic to be checked for the flu, so we did what any self-respecting family of 3 (almost 4) would do:  movie night and snuggles!  Special thanks to Grandma Becky for providing the movie, Lily's new favorite:  Frozen!

Saturday

We went to the clinic and were thrilled to learn that Lily does NOT have the flu, but probably just a virus.  And because I've been fever and ache free for about 36 hours, I'm probably not contagious anymore (at least for the flu).  Hurray!  So we've been hunkered down here since Wednesday and will probably stay here for a bit longer so as not to share anything with anyone.

Special thanks to our friends and family who have been so good to bring food and entertainment, or just provide encouragement.  I have learned a few things through this whole experience.

What I've learned

1. Being sick with the real flu (I've had it twice in my life) is as bad as labor and delivery.  You absolutely think you're going to die, and there is no reprieve.
2. Labor and delivery is actually preferable because you get breaks every 90 seconds, and you end up with a fantastic outcome - a child.
3. I do not ever want to face labor and delivery while being sick with the flu.  That would be TERRIBLE.  I think I really would die.
4. You use WAY more muscles to cough and blow your nose than you think you do.  (Did you know that you use back muscles to blow your nose and cough?  Well, you do.  Trust me.)
5. It is possible to go through an entire box of kleenexes by yourself in a single day and not end up with a sore nose.  The key is to get good kleenexes.  We prefer Puffs with lotion at our house.  We should have bought stock in the company before this all hit...
6. Frozen really is all it's cracked up to be.  See it if you haven't.
7. Inhibitions about too much screen time are overrated when you have a sick toddler, when you're recovering from the flu and (very) pregnant, and when your husband has been carrying the family for 5 days.  Watch movies together and don't feel guilty.  You will not watch like this when you're all better!
8. Marry well.  That "for better or for worse" line can mean really bad, hard things like family struggles, deaths, or any number of major events; or it can mean just minor bad, hard things like being sick with the flu, but that's part of the "worse" and I'm telling you, marry well.  It will make all the difference in every circumstance.
9. Take it one day at a time.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring...

The proper motivation

We hit 37 weeks today, officially full-term according to most medical standards.  YAY!!!  Now if only I knew the proper motivation to get baby boy to emerge from his little haven, then we'd be in good shape.  The truth is, I don't really want him to come until he's ready; however, I am ready for him to come any time.  Today, even!

37 weeks

I'm thankful for a normal, healthy pregnancy so far and for no major or serious complaints or complications of any kind.  The list of minor annoyances and things I hate about this stage of pregnancy is long, and I'm ready to be done, even with what "being done" means in those last few hours.  Chase may differ from me a bit on that - he's not really read to take on the whole "ending" process.  But at least this time we both know the outcome will be worth it!  The crib is up, the clothes are washed, the car seat is ready, the bags are (mostly) packed.  All we need are those first contractions...

What spurred the title of this blog was not the impending arrival of our son, but rather the actions of our daughter.  Today she absolutely cracked me up!  Here's how it went...

We had a lovely morning at home of reading, cuddling, playing dolls, and playing toys.  I just played with her all morning, and it was glorious!  It got to be lunch time, so I heated up leftovers from Saturday.  We sat down, and she scarfed the bread, ate 1/2 an apple, but refused to eat the casserole.  That's fine.  I get to decide what, when and where she eats.  She gets to decide if and how much she eats.

She (as she typically does) asked for "Candy?" to finish the meal.  I told her that she could not have candy or a cookie unless she finished all of the casserole on her plate.  (And let me tell you, it wasn't that much.)  She asked to be excused and off she went to play.

A little while later, maybe 20 or 30 minutes, she asked me if she could sit on her potty chair because she needed to go potty.

*NOTE*  About 2 months ago I pushed the potty thing hard one day and got absolutely nowhere except both of us frustrated and crying.  So I haven't even mentioned anything to do with potty unless she brings it up.  And at this point, with a new baby arriving sometime in the next 4 weeks, I have no desire to be running my toddler to the bathroom every 20 mins!  So I am very content to keep paying for diapers for her for another few months at least.  Ok, now back to the story...*

If she's asking to go and we're in a place where I can accommodate the request, I decided long ago that I probably should.  So today she asked and we had plenty of time.  We got her pants and diaper off and her situated on the potty chair.  Then what was really going on came out.

"Mommy, I pottied.  Can I have a lollipop?"

She hadn't actually pottied at this point.  She had just sat on the potty chair for about 10 seconds.  So I told her that no, she could not have a lollipop until there was yellow potty in her potty chair.  She determined to continue sitting.

We sang songs, did action rhymes, and drank water.  After about 10 minutes I asked if she was all done.  She said yes and got up and asked (for the 100th time) for her lollipop.  I (for the 100th time) explained that she couldn't have a lollipop until there was yellow potty in the potty chair.  She decided to sit some more.

Eventually I decided to go grab my phone from the kitchen table.  When I returned, she was triumphantly standing over her potty chair.  "Look, Mommy!  Yellow potties in my potty chair!"  And sure enough, there it was.  Yellow potty.  In the potty chair.  "Can I have my lollipop?"

So I praised and clapped and made a big stinking deal out of it, and promised to get her the lollipop as soon as we wiped, flushed and washed.  I asked if she wanted a diaper back on or if she'd like to wear big girl underwear for a while.  She responded without missing a beat, "I want my diaper on."  So that's what we did, and we got her the coveted lollipop.

I honestly don't expect that we've turned any kind of a huge corner on potty training.  In fact, I'll be shocked if we did.  Today wasn't at all about potty training.

Here's what was really going on:  Lily figured out that she wasn't going to get candy by finishing her lunch.  She didn't want to finish that casserole on her plate.  So she found another way to get what she wanted - pottying in the potty chair.  She knew that if she put yellow potties in that potty chair she would get her lollipop.  And that (though it took 15 or 20 minutes of sitting there) seemed preferable to eating something she didn't want to eat.

To quote Little Einsteins, "I cannot BELIEVE it!"

They are smart, these little ones.  They get it.  And sometimes all it takes is the proper motivation.  Maybe I should make food she doesn't like at every meal and we could conquer this potty training thing in no time...

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Changes, they are a comin'

35 weeks - this was taken 11 days ago (I'm a little behind in posting).

I came into the living room the other day and found Frazier thus.  It cracks me up!

He didn't find the flash on the camera amusing.
Also, I think he knows changes are coming soon.
He knows he's about to be downgraded again.

We've been spoiled lately with some really great weather!
On the first 70+ degree day of the year, me and two friends got out our strollers
and pushed the kids.  It was the maiden voyage of my double stroller, and Lily loved it!

I decided to clean out the van with the weather being so nice and all.
Turns out it's one of Lily's favorite new places to play.  She plays with the buckles,
puts on her sunglasses, reads books in there, and eventually has a fit when it's time to get out.

Mommy, will you play with me?

These days are full of hard decisions.  Hard decisions and great delights.  

"Mommy, will you play with me?"

This is her latest, most common question.  And it's hard for me to answer.  With dish soap half way up my arms, and 1/2 of yesterday's dishes staring me in the face.  With a kitchen floor that hasn't been swept (let alone scrubbed) in over a month.  With laundry making a mountain range through my house.  With exhaustion hanging around my leg, and Baby Brother beating my ribs and bouncing on my bladder.  With my hips and back aching in protest as I sit and look into her rich chocolate brown eyes.

Yes, my darling.  I will play with you.  

Sometimes I ask her to wait or to play on her own until the dishes no longer glare at me from behind their grimy facades.  Sometimes I drop it all, ignore it all, because I know that someday soon the question will be reversed, and I will be the one asking (and hoping for a positive response), "Lily, will you play with me?"  

These decisions are hard because each moment could be our last together.  There are no guarantees in this life, and it's only by God's grace that any of us makes it through a single day.  Why can't we bottle moments to relive and cherish forever?

I don't mean to be melancholy or put a damper on life, but quite the contrary, to live each day and each moment to the fullest, taking time for the important even in the midst of the urgent.

Baby Brother is due in only 5 weeks.  Life will change in huge ways for my baby girl who will no longer be my baby, but rather the big sister.  These are my last weeks to cherish her as my only baby.  I want to do that well.

Yes, my darling.  I will play with you.

Snack and "coffee" [i.e. chocolate milk] break.

A visit to the 'Dale

So there was a grandma, a pregnant lady and a toddler who went on a 13 hour road trip...

It sounds like the start of some joke, but it was reality last week.  Mom, Lily and I headed out for a long weekend in Michigan.  And it wasn't horrific at all - it was actually a really, really fun trip!  We made it to Hillsdale without so much as a hiccup in the trip, and got to spend some time with my sister (a freshman) as well as some friends from my years of living in the 'Dale.

Lily finally got to meet Pat, one of my dearest former coworkers and friends.

We spent an afternoon with Dr. Elmer, my roommate from college.
The last time she saw Lily was literally the day Lily was born - then a med student,
my roomie flew out to assist in the delivery.  Trust me, she's a keeper!  

My mom with my roommate's mom.  I was blessed to spend time with the Elmer family throughout college.

Lily with Lydia, the daughter of one of my friends in Hillsdale.
The two girls share their birthday (Sept. 28).
I think Lydia was probably as excited as I was the day Lily was born!

How did we make the 26-hour car trip with a 2-year old?
Well, now you know.

I didn't even get a picture of my sister while we were there, but it was so fun to meet her friends and spend some time in their world.  It was also great to see old coworkers and bosses, visit our old church and worship with the body there - it brought me to tears.  

Lily was a champ traveler, as long as either the Kindle or the DVD player was available for her use, and I simply had to put aside my aversion to her and "screen time."  Peaceful travel trumped screen time concerns.  We split the drive and drove after she was asleep as much as possible.  

Thanks all in Hillsdale who made our trip particularly wonderful.  However, I have to admit, there was nothing better than sleeping in my own bed the night we got home!