Oh, That Michael

When Michael turned exactly 2 1/2 last week, we had wanted to give you an update on how he is doing. Then, all heck broke loose... So, here we are finally catching up:

LIKES: His pacis, his brown Snuggle-saurus blankie, Playing with his big sister and her friends, Visitors, Dancing to any music, Playing with cars and trucks, Mischief!, Chatting with his sister in their bunk bed

DISLIKES: Getting ready in the morning, Most foods, Sitting still at the dinner table, Cleaning up his toys, Diaper changes, Listening the first time Mommy and Daddy ask him to do something

NEW SKILLS: His communication skills are EXPLODING now! (Increased articulation, more complex sentences, etc.), Singing along to songs, Galloping like a horse, Eating more difficult foods (i.e. soups/cereals) like a big boy, Sleeping so well in his big boy bed

Ummmm....Yeah

This picture just proves that it is not a figment of Traci's imagination when she feels like all she does is feed Neve around the clock. Apparently, that is all her kids are seeing as well! Since Neve's birth, both of the older kids have taken a renewed interest in Katie's baby dolls. They have carted them around in strollers, changed their diapers, and...ahem...fed them just like Mommy. Oh well, no harm done.

Siblinghood

Before too much time has passed us by, we wanted to post this video of Katie and Michael visiting little Nevie in the hospital. It's fairly representative of Neve's life with her siblings these days, i.e., 75% adoration/sweetness and 25% instigation/pestering. Katie's and Michael's interest in and love for their new sister, however, has remained truly remarkable. Aside from a little extra attention seeking, they have really seemed to embrace the new arrival with open arms!

Clean Girl

Mmmmm....nothing smells better than a newborn fresh out of a baby bath. After putting the Bigs to bed, we finally had enough time and an awake enough baby to give Neve her first sponge bath this evening. She wasn't quite as calm and tranquil as her siblings were with their first experiences, but she fared well enough. She did totally go into a zen-like state when Mike rubbed her scalp with shampoo...a girl after her Mommy's heart. The best part of all was snuggling with her post-bath. We could drink in that smell the rest of our lives. (You really learn to savor this stuff when you know this is your last child...)

One Week!!

Can you believe that Neve has already been in our lives for one week?? We certainly can't! Looking back on Week One of Baby Bootcamp, we actually have to say its been an extreme pleasure and wouldn't change it for the world. Neve is still in the midst of her newborn fog, sleeping most hours of the day, so she has made the transition easier for her siblings. Unfortunately, she does like to be up for at least a couple hour chunk in the middle of the night, but at least we have Conan on TV, right? A few of the firsts we have accomplished this week? Today was Mommy's first solo day with the kids as Mike had to go into work for a VIP (Very Important Presentation). Everybody survived, although Michael tried to make preschool pick-up a bit difficult (why won't he just sit in the @#$% double stroller we bought just for him???). Other than that, Traci very proudly finished three loads of laundry, cooked dinner, and remembered to feed the baby. We also have had our first tri-kid bedtime story. As you can see from the picture, the party has become so large that we had to do it on Mom and Dad's bed.

With all of our great weather, we've also had the chance to take Neve to our neighborhood playground for the first time. She happily rode around in Mommy's sling (just like BELLY!), while the "bigs" swung and played on the slides and other equipment.

Overall, it's been a very positive week. We know better than to expect it to be this easy forever. Soon enough, Neve will emerge out of her fog and start her own demands. But, that is also when we will have the privilege to see her very own personality emerge. We can't wait. Finally, we wanted to thank all of our close and far friends and neighbors who have helped us through this first week with meals, gifts, and cards. We feel so blessed to have all of you in our lives!!

Equinox Arrivals

Kudos to anyone that actually figured this out, but we thought it was worth mentioning that we now have two kids that were born on different equinoxes (i.e., Michael and, now, little Nevie). Quite remarkable, actually! An equinox occurs twice a year (around 20 March and 22 September), when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator. It will be fun to celebrate the first days of Spring and Fall each year and to recall the crazy sequences of events that made up their respective births...

As for Katie, she was just a full moon baby. C'mon, big sister, couldn't you be a bit more original?

Hospital and Homecoming...

As promised below, I've attached a photo album to the right which includes a few pictures from Traci's and Neve's brief hospital stay, family introductions, and Neve's homecoming. A huge thank you goes out to Papa T., who drove in from PA on short notice upon Traci's water breaking 13 days early! He did an fantastic job keeping the kids happy until the entire family was home together again.

Thanks to everyone for their notes and well wishes! More pics to come throughout the week...

Introducing Neve Ryan!

We are very excited to announce the arrival of our third child, Neve Ryan, born on March 20th at 9:51pm. She weighed in at 8 lb 9 oz and measured a lanky 22 in. Her hair is currently light brown with a tinge of red in it (nothing like her brother's yet, but her eyebrows are red so we'll see what sticks...). Mommy and baby are doing great. Traci eased through with only two pushes, but insists that she could have done it in one if the nurse hadn't stopped her (i.e., because the doctor wasn't in the room yet!).

We are all home now and adjusting to the life of a Family 5. Sorry for the late update for everyone that hadn't heard the good news, but it seems I've been running around forever. 3 kids are primarily a logistical challenge so far! Anyway, I'll try and get the hospital and homecoming photos up later today...

Is it Really Still Winter?

You know, when I signed up for delivering a baby in spring, I did not account for 80-degree weather! Whoo-eee...we were all hot today! We spent our glorious morning outside at one of our favorite playgrounds, playing with friends old and new. We even broke out the sunscreen (which, admittedly, should be a year-round thing)! It was nice to see the kids overjoyed, running around everywhere, working up quite a sweat. They even broke in the new weather with lots of new boo-boos on their arms and legs, as kids should!!

One of the hot spots for both kids was definitely the sandbox. What a universal joy for kids of all ages. While Michael dug and dug and dug with all of the big trucks, Katie ran a pretend ice cream stand with some of her buddies. Thankfully, Mommy could just sit to the side and talk to other adults. We finally had to bolt when we ran out of snacks and water and just felt too darn hot. Seriously, do you realize we have not even hit spring yet????

Pregnant Me, Take Three - Third Trimester

Since we don't know when the not-so-little gal is coming, I've decided to write my third trimester synopsis a little early. As most of you know, we are just about two and a half weeks from our due date, so everybody in the house is getting excited! We enter every day with the anticipation that today could be the day...which will please just about everybody except the unsuspecting Michael.

Anyway, you know that California woman who just gave birth to a 14-pounder? Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel right now. This baby is definitely sticking out more than either of the other two, which is scary knowing how big Michael was at birth. I seriously don't have a single shirt that completely covers my belly, which is a little bit embarrassing at preschool drop-off. At least the 70-degree weather of late has helped with the lower belly wind draft that I had been feeling. And, my feet, oh my feet. They were already touched upon in an earlier blog entry, but they are getting bad enough that I have begun soaking them in ice water in the evenings. As for the trimester as a whole, my body has certainly felt its extreme ups and downs. At about the 27-28 week point, the baby must have shifted its entire weight on to my sciatic nerve because I could hardly walk. Seriously, if you had seen me, you would have thought I was a 90-year-old blind invalid, groping my way from support to support. I couldn't lift anything, and I literally had to crawl up and down my steps. At that point, I couldn't fathom finishing out this pregnancy. Luckily, that passed, and I have had most of my strength since then. Exhaustion has followed me throughout, but that is to be expected, right?

We've also had plenty of emotional ups-and-downs. We have triumphed through some major purchases (mini-van, double stroller, etc.) and arrived at a beautiful name that we both love. But, we've also weathered the worst of storms, losing our baby's grandmother. Now we are faced with yet another timing conundrum. Our ob-gyn, the only person I've ever seen throughout the five years of having my babies, will be out of the country the five days surrounding my due date. She has given us the choice to be induced early or just to go with the flow and hope for the best. Sigh....yet another timing issue to deal with, and we'll try to make our best judgment there.

In short, it's been a wild and wooly third trimester, but we hope it all portends to great things come baby's arrival. We can't wait to meet our baby girl and watch her grow up with her older siblings. Michael and Katie are at a fun age, where they actually enjoy each other's play and company. We can't wait until the Three Stooges are all running around our little house like crazy. Cross your fingers, because here we go!!!!

March Madness

It's that time of year again...time to enter the office pool!!! No, we aren't talking about anything to do with college basketball. It's time to join our Third-Ever McGillicuddy Baby Pool! We invite you to submit, via the comments section below, your best guess on three items:

1.) Date of arrival
2.) Time
3.) Weight
4.) TIEBREAKER - Hair color (Dark brown, light brown, red, none, etc.)

Here are some clues to help you with your thought process:

Our official due date is April 2nd, just 3 weeks away!
Katie arrived 8 days early, while Michael had to be induced 5 days late.
Mommy seems to be carrying a pretty big baby.
Katie had a mess of spiky dark brown hair as a babe. Michael, of course, came out with his signature auburn locks.

Good luck and have fun! The winner will receive a special shout-out on a future blog posting.

Best Birthday Evah!

Wow, how does a person get to be so spoiled??? After what's been a rough week for our family, the weekend turned out to be wonderful. The family treated Traci to so many nice surprises for her birthday today. It all started with a yummy breakfast, went on to a complimentary grocery shopping trip completed by Mike and Katie, included some awesome presents/flowers/balloon, and ended with a truly fun dinner out. Seriously, Traci didn't know what to do with all of her relaxation time (including a nap!!!!). Can't it just be March 11th every day of the year?

Here are a couple more cute pictures from our dinner this evening. First, you've got the two cool guys on one end of the table. And, then you've got the ladies on the other end. We were all just having fun, eating some terrific bites, waiting for the NCAA brackets to come out. Go Irish! Go Duke! (Uh-oh, will they meet in the second round?)

Ride 'em, Horsie!

Just for something different, we decided to meet up with some buddies at a free equestrian show today. As Katie loves all things animals right now, she was quite excited. Unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate for us as the winds were as frigid as Traci ever remembered them in Chicago. Also, none of us really understood what we were watching (a lot of walking around in circles, judging, standing still, etc.), but it was cool for the kids to be so close to the horses. I think the kids just loved playing in the horse's dirt, pointing out and giggling at the huge piles of (ahem) horsie poop, and pretending to be horses. But, isn't that what life should be like at ages 3 and 5? Maybe next time we'll try to hit a jumping competition for a little more excitement.

Mommy's Little Helpers

Too many cooks in the kitchen?? Nahhhh! Mommy's little helpers were a delight in helping Mom to prepare their favorite Lenten meal, meat-less taco soup. Usually, Katie and I try to cook it while Michael sleeps, but we let him in on the action today. He couldn't have been more psyched. While Mom took care of can opening, draining, etc., Katie handled the pouring duties. Michael finished up with some great stirring action. Best of all, they both ate well! How much longer until they can handle all meals?

Giganto Baby

So, I've finally figured out why I've got two huge pufferfish dangling off the end of my legs... I guess I am just destined to carry GIGANTIC babies! My doctor scheduled me for a late-term ultrasound today to monitor the weight of our little one-to-be. She had been tracking 1-2 weeks ahead for a little while. We're happy to report that all looks wonderful, baby still looks content in her environment, and (at 3.5 weeks to go) she is measuring at 8 POUNDS! Now, let's calculate ahead to the due date, and I've got a 10-pounder in there!!! God help me....

Isn't She Lovely?

We are so very devastated to report that Mike's mother, Traci's mother-in-law, the kids' Grandma, the lovely Martha, passed away today. She was surrounded by her children and all the love that they could radiate toward her at the time of her passing. In due time, Mike may want to write his own thoughts about his mother, but please let me describe what she has meant to me and the kids. She was probably one of the kindest, gentlest people on the planet. She was a grand listener in the best sense of the word...she was one of those unusual people who actually LISTENED and THOUGHT about what she would say before saying it. She always had a smile on her face whenever she was surrounded by her family...NOTHING made her more happy than to have her three children (and spouses and kids) together in the same place. But, she was no push-over either. You've got to give the biggest kudos in the world to somebody who loses her beloved spouse at a very young age, pulls herself together, and moves on so that all three of her kids could have a normal, happy life. (That takes guts and determination, no doubt!) She was also willing to speak her mind whenever she thought anybody in her family was slighted or hurt by another. She was a great hostess and cook...we always looked forward to visiting her house for her chicken divan, twice-baked potatoes, home-baked chocolate chip cookies, and the ever-present bowl of M&Ms. And, she always had a twinkle in her eye whenever she would speak of her beloved husband, Mike. (I thank God for every story I got from her so that I could, in a tiny way, feel that I knew him somehow.)

In choosing which images to post here tonight, I went farther back in time to capture her grand spirit in healthier days. The photo above was taken when the entire extended family took her to Disney World to celebrate her 60th birthday. Isn't she just so lovely? And, the video below spans back to 2008, showing her gentle nature and smile as she teaches Katie the fine art of catch. We love you so much, Grandma. To end, I'm going to steal a quote that Mike wrote in an email today, because I think it perfectly sums up how Martha left us today: "she passed peacefully, with a strong heart that only yielded to our Dad's extended hand." Yep, I'm wiping away the tears right now, too...

Out of the Box

We are trying to fill our hours as best we can while Daddy is gone. The weather was pretty stormy this morning, so Traci desperately looked through the paper to see if any interesting family activities were planned for today. To her surprise, she found an ongoing theatre company which presents child-specific plays at a very nearby mall. Today's feature presentation: a 30-minute 2-man show called "Out of the Box." We gave it a try, and it was a success! The play was a cute, dialogue-free show about a "little girl" who finds a zillion different ways to play with a set of boxes (and her stuffed animals). Amazingly, every child in attendance was enthralled, either by the actress herself or the guy who was playing the bass to accompany her every action. She came out into the audience a lot to let the kids touch stuff, so she actually had my kids attention for a full 30 minutes (give or take a potty break, of course). Here is a photo of Katie with the two leads!

After the show, the theatre group put out a bunch of cool toys (including some big boxes) so that the kids could use their own imaginations. Katie had fun with the hula hoops, puppets, and boxes. Michael gravitated more to the Legos and construction stuff. All in all, it was a successful way to waste a couple hours on a Saturday morning!

Grandma Update

Just wanted to interrupt our usual cheerful blog postings with some sad news. As some of you may already know, Mike's mom was placed under Hospice care a few weeks ago. She has been battling with her health for a couple of years now and started to deteriorate quite quickly last month. Mike had been monitoring her progress from afar with his siblings and the Hospice workers, but he finally decided to head out to Michigan yesterday to be with her in the end. Thankfully, his mom is a FIGHTER and is holding on with all of her heart. Although she is relatively unresponsive for most of the day, she has shown signs to her three kids that she knows they are there with her. Many family and friends have dropped in on her, which we are sure has relieved her pain and suffering. Mike continues to update us as much as he can, as we are now home-bound with this being Traci's ninth month of pregnancy. We wish we could be out there and send all of the love in our world. To end on a sweet note, we've been discussing Grandma's impending death a lot with Katie. She doesn't understand much, but she realizes that Grandma is very sick and will not be with us much longer. A few cute observations from her: 1.) Katie knows that when she is sick, Mommy often gives her "healthy snacks" to help her feel better. Therefore, she picked out an apple to send with Mike to Michigan for Grandma. It nows sits next to Grandma in her room as a symbol of her granddaughter's love. 2.) She really, really wanted to draw something for Grandma to make her smile. She drew a beautiful picture of what she imagines Grandma's heaven will look like. It was a wonderful house in a field of grass. In the picture, Grandma is dressed in a princess outfit, complete with a flowy crown/hat. 3.) She keeps looking up at the clouds in the sky for Grandma's face, ala Mufasa in the Lion King.

Anyway, we just wanted to update you all as we go through this most difficult of times. Everybody's kind words, actions, and prayers have already helped to lift us through so much.