Third tooth

Luke got his third tooth today. Up on top.  And all without the slightest hint of drool. He must be some kind of anomoly.

Bath time.

I wonder how many more baths these three will take together.  This may be the last. That's a pretty full tub!

Will thid work?

Posting from phone.

Washington Fun

We have had a brutal spring/summer so far this year in dear ol' Washington.  The sun has barely shown it's face.  As a result, there have been no trips to the beach, no playing in the sand.  So what do we do for fun? 

 It's kind of a mix between jumping in the leaves in the fall and burying yourself in the sand.  This is a pile of moss we raked up from our front lawn. By the way, I have no idea why my photos are upside down and so I have no idea how to fix them. Any ideas?

Luke at 3 Months

Another beautiful photo of Luke at 3 Months old. (Way back in April)

Luke is a charmer.  He has a ready smile and is patient and good natured.  Especially if he has his cribby nearby.  This boy HATES to miss a nap.

Chess in the Sun

The sun came out this weekend!  Look carefully and you can see the cherry tree over my boys beginning to bloom.  When I first bought the house, I thought that tree would be a nuisance hanging over our porch like that, but it is worth it just for these few weeks when I have cherry blossoms right outside my glass doors.  We have been teaching Eli chess and he really actually loves it, understands the rules, how to move the pieces, and even a little strategy.  I am so impressed. In this pic he is teaching Isaac though I didn't stick around to see how the lesson went.  I was busy preparing for a Luke's baby blessing.  More on that later.

Our Singer

 

We hear these melodies all day long.  The girl loves to sing, especially at night in her crib. In addition to "Mary had a Little Ham" and "Twinkle," Eve sings Jingle Bells, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, and an assortment of medleys.  Thanks Grandpa Vern for taking this video on your ipod!  I need to upgrade!

Luke's Infant Photos by Jennifer Wilcox

I am so happy with these photos, I can't get enough.  And these aren't even my very favorites. I am saving those for the birth announcement.  I love them all! Jennifer did such a wonderful job.  She really is a baby whisperer.  And Luke already looks different, even though these were taken just a week ago.  Perhaps this is why I already treasure the photos so much.  Our newborns only look this way for a handful of hours and now I have Luke preserved this way forever.  We take a ton of photos of our babies on our own, but these capture the beauty and sweetness of a newborn like a photo taken in a shadowy living room never can.

Luke's Birth

(There are lots of errors,  Ill have to fix them later when I have some time)

Luke was born one week ago and I have spent this week loving him, resting, and pondering on the experience of giving birth.  Bringing a baby into the world is so raw and real it seems the whole world should pause and take notice.  Hey world, pay attention, don't you realize what just happened over here?  What my body just accomplished?  That there is an entirely new human being resting in the crook of my arm?  Don't you all want to hear how it happened, the details, the nuances and emotions and sensations?  What is there in life that is more than this?  And yet it is all so personal and private.  Do we make our sacred moments common my sharing them with others, do we make each other squirm to face flesh and blood, body and spirit so fundamentally, so pure?  Or worse than that, do we judge and compare?  I share my experience in thoughts and photos because I want to share some joy and beauty, no other reason.  So, read on if your in the mood for it, but be aware you'll see a pregnant belly and a newborn covered in goo.  Just had to provide fair warning!

The day started of with a huge blessing: Dillon slept in! He missed is alarm clock and thus his train to work.  We both woke up at 8:00 and I turned to him and said, "I think maybe you had better not go into work at all today."  The contractions I had had all week suddenly felt very different, though not exactly painful.  There was pressure on my pelvic floor that hadn't been there before.   We dropped off the kids at Dillon's parents house and headed over to see my midwife, Susan, at noon at her home office in Graham.  I was already dilated to a 7!  But labor was slow and sluggish and even stopped while I was in her office.  The contractions were 15 minutes apart and mild, as far as pain goes.  My body was sending conflicting messages.  Labor seemed to be saying, "relax, we'll be doing this all weekend," but my body was saying, "girl, if you don't pay attention, your water is gonna break and you'll be delivering your baby in you living room with no one but your three little kids to attend you."  We decided we would pay attention to my body and head to the birthing center.  First, though, we headed home.  Since labor stopped when I laid down I wanted to take a nap and Dillon was insistent on cleaning the house before the baby came.  He nested and I rested.   I also spent time praying and pondering what I was about to experience.  I felt afraid and asked myself and God what I could do to calm my fears.  I was reminded of the story of Jesus and his disciples on the stormy seas.  Jesus rested in the bottom of the boat while his friends were terrified, sure they were about to die. When Christ awoke and calmed the wind and waves, he rebuked the disciples and their lack of faith.  Going into what I knew would be an intense and harrowing, I was reminded that God is in charge.  I felt trust in him and in the body that he created for me, and in the baby that was inside my womb.  This is God's plan, after all.  I felt ready.

After a half hour of walking around the mall looking for baby hats and booties to keep our little one warm, labor started up again and this time it wasn't so hard to diagnose.  Contractions were closer and closer together, making me stop and breathe deeply.  We were soon on our way to The Birthing Inn in Tacoma where my midwife awaited me.  We arrived just after 5:00 and were soon joined by my mom and Mimi, who wielded the camera.  This first photo of me and Dillon shows him kicking back,eating a snack on the edge of the birthing tub.  In reality, he couldn't have been more involved and supportive.  He didn't need to do much, really, just knowing he was close by, that he loved me, and that he absolutely believed in me.  His quiet and sure confidence lifted me up.

I was surrounded by people I love and who love me in a beautiful place, watched over by my midwife, a woman who I deeply respect and trust as she uses her intuition as well as her training and experience.  I was ready.   I wandered around the Birthing Center (it was empty except for us) as everyone else bustled about getting ready for what everyone felt would be a quick delivery.  Susan preparing the room, Dillon ate a quick Taco Bell dinner, Mimi took some practice shots and replaced batteries, Mom started writing down contractions.  Everyone was in a flurry, it seemed and I walked calmly around my room and through the lobby, preferring to stand up during contractions.  I was entering that birthing place in my mind where everything falls away and all I care about is what is happening within my body.  After four babies, I am a little more familiar with that place, and it wasn't as scary this time.  It seems I was scared my entire pregnancy for this moment and when it was finally arriving, I welcomed it without fear.  I stayed in the moment.  Careful to enjoy each break between contractions, and focus on the feeling and weight of each contraction as it happened.  Leaving it behind me as it ended, not worrying about the next one, and definitely not thinking too hard about the fact that I had to push my baby out!  It seemed so impossible and intimidating, I could feel the fear creeping in if I thought about it too much. 

    

At 8:00 I was dilated to a 9, but still not contracting hard enough to bring the baby down.  I was in the birth tub and Susan suggested I try bearing down during a contraction to see if a little pressure would do the trick.  I pushed tentatively at first, afraid of how it would feel, what it would do.  I gained confidence with each contraction and my body gained momentum, helping me along.  Each time I pushed a little harder.  This was so different from my other births.  With the last two, pushing was something I couldn't have avoided if my life depended on it.  My body took over.  This seemed like more of a team effort, body and mind.  Susan suggested a shift in position, Dillon was in front of my encouraging and supporting.  A shift in my hips and my center of balance and suddenly I could feel the baby shift down into the birth canal.  One push later, my water broke with a force that startled me it seemed to shake the world. A moment passed, the contraction ended but I could feel the baby, ready to be born.  Susan reminded me to pause, to rest, to gather my strength,  I leaned back against Dillon, closed my eyes, and when the next contraction came I was ready. I pushed the baby's head out at the front of the contraction and the rest of the body followed at the end.  There he was submerged in the water, a blurry shape resting in my midwife's hands.  "Reach down and take your baby." She told me, and the sound of her voice brought me to action.  I took my baby in my arms. He was beautiful.

I held him in my arms and let the moment envelope me.  He took his first breaths calmly and sweetly, nestled into my chest like he was just settling in for a nap. Dillon held us both.
It was at this moment that we discovered out baby was in fact a boy!  I must admit a was surprised but never disappointed. I had an idea of a little girl created in my imagination, but this perfect baby moved in and took over.  He had a thick covering of vernix, the white covering that protects the baby's skin in the womb, but through that his pink healthy skin color showed through.  His hair, wet and curly, was lighter than the rest of our kid's hair had been.  He opened his steel grey eyes and blinked at us.  The most adorable thing we had ever seen.    His entire face was involved.  His brow and forehead scrunched down tighly to close his eyes and then pushed up like with what looked like all the effort he could muster.   We couldn't get enough.

After a moment, Susan has us dip him in the water a bit to get a good cry going, test out those lungs.  He wanted to nurse right away so as soon as I was out of the water and settled into bed we snuggled close and latched on like a pro, nursing for over an hour.  Again, activity swirled around me as the baby and I were examined and the room was tidied up.  But I was at peace with my baby, well taken care of with nothing to worry about.  We are so blessed to have little Luke in our lives, and for the wonderful experience his birth was.  It was like gift to me.  reminding me of my strength, power, and Independence, as well as the importance of security and love as we go to our most vulnerable places.

 

Dad and Carol made a quick visit that night and Mom and Mimi brought me an awesome pot roast dinner from Sheri's.  Everything tastes so good after laboring all day.  We spent the night at the Birthing Inn and Dillon's parents brought the kids for a visit the next morning. They were all so excited to see their new little brother.  A little tentative at first, Isaac was the first to give him a kiss, though only on his little toe. 

Eli couldn't wait to hold him and Eve kept shouting , "Baby, baby baby!"  It is a wonderful feeling, having your family all around you, and feeling in your heart that everyone is finally together, everyone has made it safely into our arms.  

We took Luke home later that day in his hand me down pink car seat.  We had a laugh and tucked him in, cozy as can be.  He slept the whole way home and we were soon tucked into bed napping together. All calm and cozy and exhausted.  I have tried to savor every moment with my little infant, knowing that things they change in the blink of an eye.  Trying to burn in my memory the sensation of his weight as he falls asleep on my chest, the way he melts against me, molding his body into the curves of mine.  The way he smells, the small sounds he makes, the smiles he gives in his sleep.  All are rare and precious. 

Luke Lorenzo Peter Eugenio

We finally decided! We have named our little guy:  Luke Lorenzo Peter Eugenio, although this did not stop me from calling him Isaac not two minutes ago!  We love the name Luke, it is strong and masculine and the name of one of Christ's twelve apostles.  Lorenzo is an ancester of mine, the brother to Brigham Young, he and his son, also named Lorenzo, traveled on the first wagon train to Utah.  Peter is a family name on Dillon's side.  His grandfather Pedro Eugenio was a good hardworking man.  Dillon's father and brother Derrick have Pedro as a middle name, though it was changed to the English version, Peter, with Derrick.  So there you have it.  We couldn't find a combination that sounded right and had great meaning, so we decided on two middle names!

A Name for Baby

We are 98% sure out little boy will be called Luke Eustaquio Eugenio, though we have a last minute contender.  Amos is creeping into the possibilities.  We like it, and it fits in with the bible/vowel theme we have unintentionally created but now feel a little bound to follow.  (Elijah, Issac, Eve) Though to really follow the pattern we would need an "I" name.  "Israel" is the only one we can think of.  However, since the boys have called him Luke a few times, we are starting to get attached.   I think we will give it one more day to be sure.  A name is something too important to rush anyway.

Eustaquio is a relative on Dillon's family tree know in the family as Uncle Taquio. (talk-ee-o) So we aren't sure if the beginning is silent or if that was a nick name.  We need to get these things figures out. He was a pretty cool guy though.  A cowboy/farmer in Hawaii said to have rescued a girl from being pulled out to sea in in a tidal wave.  I have an ancestor on my side named Lorenzo and we could use that one as a middle name too.  (Amos Lorenzo sounds pretty nice)  Anyway, we have a little more figuring to do.  What do you think?

My wonderful sis Mimi took photos for us and so many of them turned out AMAZING.  She promised that they will be even better with a little editing but I want to post a few for now.  I'm have a great birth story, too beautiful not to share, but it will take some time to write it all down.  For now, check out this once in a lifetime moment:

Honestly, these aren't even the best photos but my favorites would have you all crying just looking at them.  And I don't want to do that to you!

A quick thanks to Mimi and my mom for the meal that night and for being behind the cameras.  (Mom filmed)  But most of all to Dillon.  You were the all star support.  I love you.

Our Baby..... Boy!

Nothing could have been more perfect than the birth of this little angel.  He was born at 8:23 this evening after only one push!  I am so proud of us!  He is 8 lbs 1 oz, my smallest baby yet.  He is also my earliest, born nine days before the due date.  We have a name we are almost settled on so we will announce that as soon as we know for sure.  For now, we just need some sleep.  More photos and details tomorrow. I can't wait introduce him to his big brothers and sister.

Photos I Love (from our summer months)

 Not sure they know what they are looking at, but sure that it is man business.

 They look like a little gang, so cool.

 That's just cute.

 I love that you can see Dillon in the background shoveling the sand.  What a great day that was at Point Defiance, just our family.

 Yup, just too cure for words.

We like to instill the love of firewords early in our family.

More Brave

Because I am a mother, I am automatically a different person.  I don't know how it happens, but I know the change actually reverses when I am not around my kids.  For example:  When I am home alone, I am likely to lock myself in my bedroom because I am worried that there might be a man prowling through the house at any given time.  However, when the kids are asleep in their beds, I NEVER think about things like that.  I walk around my house in the pitch black dark without a single fear ever entering my mind.  Also, whenever I have to get blood drawn I get nervous, my heart pounds, I talk too much, I can't bear to look at the needle, and I am very close to acting like a baby.  But last week I brought my kids with me for my maternity check up and my midwife drew some blood for the glucose test.  They were right there in the room with us and when she got the needle out it was as if she had pulled out a pen to take notes with, or something equally as boring.  I really didn't care.  I watched the entire thing, and it didn't hurt, didn't bother me a bit.  She even had to fish for the vein that rolled. She might as well have been taking my temperature.  And this all happening with my kids watching.  So I suppose my kids make me a more brave, more confident person and this without any deep self analysis or applied parenting theories.  I have to be a strong foundation for them in a scary world, as so I am.  That is that.  And yet it seems a miracle.

PS We have had a great fall. 

An 'Isaac' Post

I love my little man Issac. There is just something magnetic about his personality. I have often said it is an inner sense of self confidence. He sees the world clearly and makes himself known.



In addition to being adorable, these photos also provide a quick summer review. The above photo was taken at Long Beach where we had our Young Reunion. (Yep, our claim to fame is that we are related to Brigham Young with pioneer blood in our veins).

This is Isaac's reaction to a mosquito bite on his forehead. (No this did not happen during one of Dillon's boxing lessons) It was swollen comletely shut for a while.
Isaac couldn't quite make it through dinner at the Conway/McDonald camp out one night. Fell asleep right at the table.
In fact that happened more than I would like to admit. I have always been pretty strict about my kids getting enough sleep. And here is is crashing at dinner once again. Those long summer days just take it out of you!
Our backyard is a wonderful place, but it is also a very dirty place. To be sure, bath times increased over the summer!

Looking back on this post, it seems that Issac spent the summer dirty, bitten, and tired, but I promise you, he had a great time too!

Tree Fort and other updates

I was so impressed with Eve today. I just plopped a corn on the cob down on her plate with a mental "good luck honey" and busily started eating my own corn. Hey, a pregnant woman can't be expected to go hungry, right? Eve got busy on that corn right away. There was barely a kernel left by the time she was done! This girl loves to eat, there is no question.


Now let me just say that I love our house. It is cozy and comfortable, but I wouldn't call it particularly remarkable. However, I LOVE our backyard and it is is about to get even better. Dillon has started on a tree house perched on the trunk of one of the mammoth trees we have back there. He spent all saturday on it and confessed to me that it was one of the best saturdays he has had in a long time. Who doesn't love a tree fort? And building one is even better.
Eli and Isaac are Daddy's big helper and can't wait till the platform is safe enough for them to be able to get up there and do some hammering!
And I just had to put this cute photo of Isaac in because, why not? I bought a super fancy camera from a friend yesterday (she gave me a great deal) and this is one of my first photos. Not award winning, but they can only get better from here.

And for those of you who are curious, yes I am home schooling Eli this year, as an experiment, and so far so good. We are all having a lot of fun. I am starting a blog about it, to track our progress. It will probably be private so let me know if you want to check it out and I will make sure you are allowed.

The Best Kind of News, and, An Odd Tradition

Yep, our hens are finally laying eggs. This is good news, but not the best kind of news. I've got a different kind of egg in my basket...

That's right folks, number four is on the way! Wooo-hooo! Give it up for the Eugenio's and their efforts to populate the world with adorable babies. We will be welcoming the little guy (or girl) mid-January. I am three months along and enjoying a slacking off of miserable early pregnancy woes and anticipating those first baby kicks. We are compiling our list of names for people, especially grandparents, to grimace at and, who knows, maybe this time we will go through with one of them. Maybe this will be little Zephyr or Lincoln or Atticus or.... some other name we haven't thought of yet. But if we follow our current trend we will have to use on Old Testament name that starts with a vowel. Not so easy. We may end up with a little Orpah or Obediah. Just kidding folks. But anyway...

So I thought I would post photos of each of the four times I have found out I was pregnant simply because we started the strange tradition and it's kind of interesting. I realize that not one of these photos is flattering, (perhaps that is why I did not lead with them), but real life moments rarely are, wouldn't you say?

I think these photos are interesting in a historical sense, too. Home pregnancy tests. There may be a reader or two who squirms that I am holding up a picture of what a good friend of mine lovingly refers to as a "pee stick." I'll bet our daughters will just have to breath on something, or rub a test strip on their foreheads. Who knows?

So this is 2004 when we lived in Utah. I found out I was pregnant with Eli and was ecstatic. Dillon went into a kind of shock from which he did not fully recover until after Eli was born.

This is pregnancy test number 2. As you can see, Eli is a thriving little chunky man at this point. This was on my birthday, August 18, 2006. We celebrated with Thai food take out. A great day. Both Dillon and I felt happy and ready.

Pregnancy number 3, March 2008. Surprise! We were living in our little duplex in Puyallup. I was happy, at first, then terrified because Isaac wasn't even one yet! And three, as we all know, is a lot bigger than 2 when it comes to children.

And here we are in May 2010. I had an extra test laying around from years before and just decided to take it. Why not? my period was a few minutes late. Another surprise, but this time, no terror. It immediately felt right. And it also immediately felt like the last one. (Though we reserve the right to change our minds) What a wonderful thing it is, knowing that soon our entire family will be here together. I can't wait to meet the little sweetie.

So there you have it. I am officially announcing it to the world, or to the 20 readers or so who frequent my page. Same diff!