Life's Many Chapters

Becoming parents was the start of by far the most exciting, amazing, fulfilling and challenging chapter of our lives...no doubt about that.

When Knox was first born, I think that chapter would have been titled "Holy Crap, What Happened to My Independence?"  (Am I the only one that went through that?  Man, it was hard.  Awesome - supremely and utterly awesome - but hard.)

But as he got older (and easier!!), the title evolved into "This is So Easy Now - Let's Do It Again!"

Enter: baby #2, the chapter that was at first titled "How Little Sleep Can One Really Subsist On?" (Seriously, the answer to that is about 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep to keep you going but definitely not sane.  And lots of coffee.  Lots and lots and lots of coffee...and prayers.)

Just a little over 3 months later, and we have arrived at the chapter entitled "We Got This Two Kid Thing Down."  Bahahahaha - I just made myself laugh out loud.  That is just an outright lie.  We have gotten used to having two sweet kiddos, but we by no means "have it down."  We take it day-by-day, even hour-by-hour some days.  Regardless, we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

I mean, look at these little faces - life is pretty.darn.good. with these two munchkins.

(I'm pretty sure Lucas will kill me later in life for posting his "junk" all over the interwebs.  Sorry, buddy!  The picture is too cute not to share!)

Beauty.

Mmmm, I could eat him right up.

Funniest kid alive.

Chubba-Wubba with Aunt Jackie.

Shnookums.  Love.

Cuddles with mom-mom before bed.

Even baby Lucas is rolling over now, playing with us, and is generally just such a joy to be around - he coos, smiles and belly-laughs, and it is the best thing EVER!

And now, we are about to begin an entirely new chapter.  The one that I have spent the past three years preparing for in grad school.  The one that will challenge us in new ways.  But it is the one that we (I, in particular) am so excited about.

It is the one that has both mommy and daddy working full-time.

Yup, that's right.  Mommy got a job!  And not just any job.  A teaching job at Hoover High School teaching 9th grade English/Language Arts.

Alleluia!!

It is truly a dream job.  It is the high school where I did my student teaching.  And it is the high school Knox and Lucas will attend one day.  It is a great school academically and athletically.  And I cannot wait to get started.

Did I mention that I start on December 1?  Oh yes, I have a whopping 15 days to prepare for my very first day in my very own classroom.  Gulp.

With that said, I have tons to do: lesson plans, final exams, oh and finding a day care for Lucas.  Prayers for strength, endurance, patience, and a perfect day care situation for Lucas would be so very much appreciated.

I can't wait for this yet-to-be-named-chapter to begin.

Love them!

They're bonding already, and I love it!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Creepy

Giving Kurt the ability to post on the blog from his new, fancy phone has been great, because I feel like it gets updated way more often now!  Unfortunately, since we aren't at the house together at the moment, and I just hopped on the ole blog to update it myself, I see that he has already done it for me.  Great minds think alike, I guess :)  

At the same time as posting the pic of Knox and Lucas in their costumes together on the blog, he also sent it to some family members.  Almost immediately after, I get an email from Uncle David with a comparison of Knox (aka Anakin Skywalker) and the "real" Anakin from the movies.  Check it out:

Creepy close resemblance, huh???

Star wars halloween party

Knox and Lucas attended a halloween party at the Elkins house. Of course they were star wars characters. Knox was Anakin Skywalker and Lucas was Yoda (the jedi master). They had fum but we enjoyed their costumes even more. Here they are with Nana. More to come as Knox has more halloween shin-digs to attend. May the Force be with you.

Molasses cookies

Quality tile with Nana included making molasses cookies (which have no eggs, so they're Knox-safe). I caught this pic of knox helping Nana clean up.

Go Vols!

Cheering hard today. Lord knows we need it!

Feeling better

Ive gotten a fancy new phone and am testing out this blog app. Knox was sick throwing up all last night. After worrying, googling symptoms and taking care of a pathetically sick little boy, he is back to normal this morning and eating well.

Seriously, Time Flies!

I'm not sure if it flies by faster when you're having fun, when you're sleep deprived, or maybe both!  But the past 6 1/2 weeks have truly flashed before our eyes.  All of a sudden, Lucas is just over 6 weeks old, and Knox is just days away from being a 2-year-old.  How did that happen already?!

So, what have we been up to the past 6 weeks?  If you've ever had a newborn, then you pretty much know: feed, change diapers, repeat every 2.5-3 hours around the clock.  Not much sleep happens; but, we know it's worth it, and we know it's temporary.  We WILL sleep again...one day...soon...right??  (If not, just don't tell us!)

I always remember Jordan telling us when Knox was born that we just needed to make it to the 6-week mark - things would get better.  She was right back then, and she was right again this time.  We're still not getting tons of sleep; but Lucas is smiling, cooing, and even giggling occasionally.  And let me tell you, amidst tears in the middle of the night (my tears, not his), when I see that little smile, it is ALL worth it.  See, look how cute!

In other big news, Knox started school (i.e. Mother's Day Out) last week - he calls it "cool."  So cute.  And he LOVES it.  He found a little girlfriend (he tells me how "cute" she is all the time); and he's already learning a ton.  We wanted him to go for two reasons: (1) He's at the age where he REALLY needed some peer interaction.  He was craving it, and he seems to thrive on it.  (2) I'm working part-time at UAB as a tutor and from my house doing private tutoring, so it frees me up a little to do just that.  I do miss having my little guy at home some days, though.  He is always cracking me up.  I'll have to do an entirely separate post on all of the funny things he's doing these days.  He's a constant source of entertainment in our house!

We got Knox a Star Wars backpack, and he is OBSESSED.  Guess what he's dressing up as this year for Halloween? :)

The best thing for us lately is seeing how very much Knox loves Lucas.  We had about a week and a half where it seemed like Knox was struggling with the addition of his brother - he woke up a few times in the middle of the night with nightmares, and he was acting out a bit more.  But it was short-lived, and he really is obsessed with the "baby."  It is awesome.  I was telling my sister, Jennifer, about Knox's behavior problems, and she said the sweetest thing: "Doesn't he know that having a sibling is the best thing that has ever happened to him?"  She's so right - he may not know it yet, but he will one day. One day soon, Knox and Lucas will be as close as Jennifer and me, or Jackie and me.   I love my sisters.

Knox loves to help burp the baby and everyone else these days!

Getting ready to watch the Vols.  Knox loves Smokey, or "Po-pey" as he says.

That is NOT a cigarette.  It is the medicine dropper to give Lucas gripe water.  Kurt made me clarify :)

Don't let me fool you - things aren't always peachy.  (Don't you hate when you read blogs that make it seem like everything is so easy and wonderful?)  I LOVE our life and where we are right now; but we most certainly have our bad days.  Like yesterday.  It just plain sucked.  And my negative attitude affected everything.  It's like a cancer.  I kept trying to talk to God about it, but I could only say individual words to Him through tears while hooked up to that annoying pump - I just kept saying, "Abandoned.  Exhausted.  Alone."  I guess those were the words the Enemy kept whispering to me.  But GOD said, "My mercies are new every morning."  And they are.  I'm so thankful for that.  Today was a new day.  We still have some crappy days; but God's promises remain true.  Today.  Tomorrow.  Forever.

Hanging out on the screened-in porch enjoying the cooler weather.  Always carrying around his baseball bat.

One day Rosie will love Knox as much as he loves her!

I have lots more I'd love to blog about: my version of Lucas' birth story (didn't you love Kurt's post??  He's pretty awesome, that guy!); funny stuff Knox does; and other tidbits of our lives.  Hopefully I'll make it a habit to find more time to blog in my spare time - maybe in the middle of the night with a crying, gassy baby!  Those would be some comical posts ;)

Lucas David Thomas

Lucas David Thomas arrived here on August 1, 2011 at 4:46pm.  He weighed 7lb 15oz, and was 20.25in long.  I won't go into any finer details about Jill's labor, but compared to when she had Knox, this one was fairly easy (don't hate on her, those of you ladies that had long labors).  Jill and Lucas left the hospital very healthy.  You'll see from the pictures that Lucas looks exactly like Knox did when he was born.   I know, I know most new born babies look similar; red, swollen, wrinkly.  But, they do look slightly different from each other (especially to happy parents).  But Knox and Lucas looked EXACTLY alike when they were both born.  Considering his mom and I think he's a pretty good looking kid, hopefully that bodes well for little Lucas.

It's been a week and a half since he was born, and Jill already says it's hard to believe life without him.  It's true.  We haven't slept much, and quickly remember all the tough times when Knox was first born.  But it really is amazing how much you remember, and how quickly you fall back into the old routines of washing bottles, standing over the crib with one finger in a pacifier for 20min hoping he falls asleep, etc.  It doesn't seem as hard as it did the first time, and you KNOW the rewards to look forward to (like their first smile, holding the bottle by themselves, eating solid foods, crawling, walking and in Knox's case, doing track block starts over and over and over and over again).

I'll answer the most basic questions people have for us.  Knox has been an amazing big brother.  He really loves his "be-be", and wants to drag his Elmo step stool everywhere to "help" change a diaper, watch you feed him.  He is so gentle with Lucas, and always wants to look at him and wants to know if we are including him in things ("be-be?").  He has been slightly more needy, and thrown one or two little tantrums, but overall it could be worse.  Plus we expect some behavior change from time to time.  I really don't think he will ever take a back seat to anyone.  Knox has too much personality.  Rosie has done really well.  I guess it's not such a major change when she's had almost 2 years of being the low man on the totem pole.  And know she's one notch lower.  She is curious about Lucas, but in a good way.  With Knox she was in denial, and mostly just stayed away from him.  Overall the Thomas household is doing great.  We are just adjusting, but enjoying it.  Here are some pics of Lucas, and the rest of us.  Enjoy.

Let's Make This Fun, Shall We?

Since I'll undoubtedly be waiting for some undisclosed amount of time for Lucas to arrive, I say we make a contest out of it!

If you want to participate, just comment on this post with what DATE you think he'll finally join our world!  You can say today (since there are a lot of hours left in this day - and I may make you my new best friend for giving me some hope!!) or any other date hereafter.

I'll even give away* something to the winner - I just don't know what yet.  Kisses from Knox?  (He gives the BEST hugs and kisses!)  Chocolate?  Startbucks?  I'll think of something...

Just a head's up:  his "actual" due date is August 11th.  But, keep in mind that I have already been 4cm dilated for at least a week.  Seriously, the "could be any time" mantra I keep telling random strangers is getting olllllddddddd quick.

OK, start guessing!!!  (I have a guess, too, but I can't decide if I should post it or not?  What do you think?)

*I am editing this word because, in the middle of the night while racing to the potty for the 1,000 time because of the 16lb. baby resting on my bladder, I realized that "giveaway" is a noun, and I needed to use a verb here (to "give" something away).  Yes, I just exposed my absolute nerdom to the world.  I like grammar.  Good thing since I have a Masters degree to teach it to high schoolers one day!

Full Term!

I have officially reached the 37-week mark as of today which is (thankfully!) considered full term.  With the news last week that I was already dilated to 4cm, none of us (Kurt, Dr. Hoover, me) thought we'd make it through the weekend much less this entire week.  And after my appointment this morning, it appears Lucas is still holding strong in my belly.  I have always thought that the longer a baby "bakes," the better - so I'm all about him staying in there as long as possible!  Only God knows when he'll come...and as anxious as we are about when that time will actually be, we are certainly planning to cherish our last few hours/days/weeks as a small family of 3 (well, 4 including Ro-Ro)!

So, that was a pretty anti-climatic post, huh?  I don't really have any news to share other than...I'M STILL PREGNANT :)

I'll leave you with two recent pictures, both taken on Kurt's birthday.  We were able to celebrate with a quiet night out, just the two of us...and it was exactly what we needed.  I love that man so much.  He blesses me so very much, and I love celebrating his birthday every year!

"Cucus Sleep"

That's how Knox will tell you where Lucas will be sleeping once he's finally here!  We have a 3-bedroom house, so Kurt and I have a room, Knox has a room, and Lucas will be sharing with the guest room temporarily.  Once Lucas starts sleeping through the night consistently, we'll move Knox into the room with Lucas in order to have a dedicated guest room once again.

However, since Lucas's room and the guest room are one (for now), I opted to go less "nursery" and more just simply decorated.  I fell in love with this color called "Blue Nova" from Benjamin Moore, so I had my heart set on painting the room that color.  I wanted everything else to be clean, crisp white (for the most part).  I am NOT a decorator, but I do love me some HGTV!  So, here's my attempt at decorating a room for both adults and a newborn:

 Jordan so selflessly let us borrow a crib so we didn't have to go out and purchase one right now.  It works PERFECTLY in the room, and we are SO thankful to the amazing Elkins family for always helping us out!!

 And the crib bedding came from Pottery Barn Kids.  Some of my unbelievably gracious, loving friends here in Birmingham threw me a little "baby sprinkle" and blessed us with a gift card to PBK so I could get the bedding.  Love love love those sweet friends!  (Sense a theme?  I am one blessed girl!!!)

 Jordan is also letting us borrow her glider.  I seriously could sleep in that thing, it is SO comfortable!

 For a bit of whimsy, Kurt's unbelievable talented mom (Knox's sweet nana) painted a few Cat in the Hat canvases to put above the changing table.  This is BY FAR Knox's favorite part of the room!

Now all we need is that little bundle of joy to come out and use his newly decorated room!  Can't wait to meet you, sweet baby Lucas!!!!!

"Selfish Blogger" and Knox Gets a Hose-Down!

I've decided to dub myself a "selfish blogger" - i.e. I will wake up early every.single.morning to drink my coffee and catch up on all of my favorite blogs; but when it's time to update mine, I think of every excuse in the book to not do it.  Why is that?!  I really do think that it boils down to the fact that typing something semi-creative and entertaining is flat out daunting lately.  Perhaps I've used all of my brain cells incubating this baby and trying to raise a wild little-man successfully?  Yes, let's go with that excuse :)

Truth be told - LOTS has been happening around the Thomas household lately.  We are obviously anxiously awaiting the arrival of sweet baby Lucas any day now; and in the mean time, we are cherishing every minute with Knox as an only child.  He is very excited about "Cucus" (the "L" sound is evidently very hard for kiddos to say!!), but that might change once he's actually here - ha!  We know how "easy" life is right now with Knox in a great routine, sleeping 12+ hours each night and 3 hours each day...but we are prepared for the first few tough weeks of having a newborn (are you really ever ready??).  

So with all the waiting, we have successfully done the following: cleaned out all closets in the house, painted and decorated the nursery/guest room, cleaned out drawers, washed all new and old baby clothes, reorganized the playroom/office, sanitized all old baby stuff (infant car seat, bouncy seat, swing, etc.), moved around/reorganized furniture in master bedroom, cleaned the garage, and many many many more tasks that I'm sure Lucas will be very thankful for once he's here - right???  The astonishing thing is that we've gotten all of this done while both Kurt and I have been working (I got a part-time job as a tutor through the Athletic Department at UAB) and while he has been traveling (to Bloomington, Des Moines, and NYC most recently).  Whew!  Busy, busy!!

We have definitely had time for some fun, too, though.  For instance, a few weeks ago, I met my friend, Ann Wade, and her fur-baby, Sadie, at the park so the doggies could get some exercise.  It has been brutally hot here, so we let the dogs play in the hose.  Turns out, Knox LOVED the hose!  And, sweet AW (during her time off) busted out her camera to take some of my favorite pictures of Knox to date.  

Love love love this sweet-natured, energetic little boy.  He is going to be a GREAT big brother to Lucas, we have no doubt!

Tomorrow, I'll update with some pictures of Lucas's nursery; and Thursday, I'll update everyone with my 37-week appointment.  Did I mention I was already 4cm dilated at my 36-week appointment?!  This baby is a-comin' quick!!!!