Brothers: Kyle and Erik

Erik's birth has been a little bit more traumatic for Kyle than we originally anticipated. Kyle really seemed to miss Mommy and Daddy a lot while we were away at the hospital. He visited us twice during our three day stay, but we got the sense that he knew something was different. It took us a while, but we were able to encourage Kyle to kiss Baby Erik hello. When we got home on Thursday afternoon, we also had Erik give Kyle a Big Spiderman doll - something he really wanted for Christmas. Kyle was thrilled to open his gift. Since Thursday, Kyle has told Erik to stop crying several times. It's now Saturday night, and after many tantrums, pouts, and attention seeking moments, Kyle seemed much better about the idea of Erik living with us permanently, and about the idea that we still love him very much as well. Although it's going to take a while, I think Kyle and Erik are going to grow to be best buds :)

Erik John

Erik John was born on Tuesday morning - December 16th, 2014 (an all even date just like the three of us) at 8:53am. His arrival couldn't have been any quicker - except of course for the pain. I tried to hold out as long as possible to go to the hospital this time, and it might have been a little too long. I was having contractions all Monday evening and throughout the night, with the beginning of the worst ones starting around 4:30 in the morning. Until about 5:15am, I was still considering going to work, but then I decided I really couldn't take it anymore, so I fired up the lab top to put in for a sick day, jumped in the shower, dried my hair while sitting down screaming oh I don't know, every 5 minutes or so, ate my breakfast eggs while screaming oh I don't know, every 5 minutes or so, and jumped in the car while screaming oh I don't know, every 5 minutes or so. My screaming must have really scared Kyle. When we dropped him off by Mimi and Grandpa, he told them that "Mommy is sad." When we got to the hospital around 7:00 am, I had Chris park the car and we walked on over and up to labor and delivery. I was screaming, oh I don't know, pretty much the whole time at this point! Turns out I was already dilated to a 6 and ready for that epidural. It took longer than it did with Kyle to kick in, but I think that's because the pain was so much more intense this time around. By 8am, Dr. Lolly said I was ready to push. Unfortunately, the epidural had just set in by the time she made this decision, and as I finally was no longer feeling any pain, I was not much use in the push department. She had a c-section to perform and said she'd be back in 30 minutes, which she was. She had me start pushing again for round 2 around 8:40am, and like I mentioned above, out popped Erik John at 8:53. I pushed for about 3 rounds of contractions if that - quick! So far we've been calling him Erik, Erik John (after my brother's middle name and my dad's middle name), Little E, and Mr. Dimples. So excited that he has dimples! He was born 8 lbs 4 oz, 20.5 inches of cuteness, with strawberry blond hair like Kyle when he was born. Erik is so excited to nurse, and then he poops within 5 to 10 minutes of starting and immediately falls asleep. When this happens it's pretty much impossible to wake him up again. We love him :)

Future Hawks!

Sunday after church, Uncle Kevin came over. While Chris did some work around the house, the three of us went to the ice rink for their annual Skate with Santa event. Kyle got the opportunity to sport his first pair of skates. After every lap or two, Uncle had to take a breather and stretch his back. He quickly learned what a workout it is to teach a 2 year-old new tricks :)

Lincoln Park Zoo Lights!

Saturday night we met some of my sorority friends, and some of their sons, at the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights. The weather was absolutely perfect, which meant one thing: LOTS and LOTS of TRAFFIC. It took us about an hour to drive down there, and after another 30 minutes of looking for parking on the street, and at the lot, a car randomly pulled out in front of us smack dab in front of the zoo's main entrance. How lucky were we??? From then on, the night seemed like a success. We weren't in any kind of rush to leave since we had the perfect free spot right out front. Kyle seemed to enjoy "all the pretty lights". While we were waiting for Chris to grab us dinner in the cafe, Kyle and I passed the time by taking silly selfies of ourselves with my phone :) What a character :)

Peanut Butter: 39 Week Appointment

Peanut Butter was very active at my 39 week appointment last Thursday (12/11). His/her heartbeat was up to 160 ... I think that's the highest it's ever been recorded at. The head is down - way down - which is probably why I find myself going to the bathroom literally every half hour, or every time I stand up, whichever comes first. Other than that, there wasn't much to the appointment, as usual. I was only 0.5 cm dilated, but seeing as I had Kyle 3 days after I wasn't dilated at all, it really doesn't seem to mean all that much.

My due date is this Wednesday (12/17), but if the baby doesn't come by then I will have another ultrasound on Thursday (12/18).

Happy Birthday, Steph!

Friday night, my longtime friend Allison and I went out to celebrate the 31st birthday of our other longtime friend, Stephanie. She always hosts a little get-together at Lincoln Karaoke in honor of her birthday. Since I've had a head cold all week, and am due pretty much any day now, I only stayed until 10pm, but it was still fun to sing some Train songs with some of my best buds.

Cozy Home :)

We found a great deal on Angie's List, and on Friday, we had new insulation blown into our attic. I know it's 40 degrees and all, but our upstairs is feeling nice and cozy.