To give you an idea...

Here we are at 7:45 p.m...

Bumpin' bellies.

Pushin' baby sis out...

Showin' off the snowmen we made that morning...

Eating some dinner and jumpin' on the couch...

And less than 2 hours later, at 9:38 p.m. we were here...

Absolutely crazy.

She's (finally) here!

Genevieve Lane Schatzel

born at home on

December 14th, 2011

at

9:38 p.m.

8 pounds, 14 ounces

21 1/4 inches

Being 9 days late, she made her grand debut after only 2 hours of labor! She has quickly learned how to get everyone's attention!

We are all doing great. The boys were overjoyed to meet their "baby sis" but were happy to head back to pop and gog's for the weekend. Brad and I have done nothing but cuddle our beautiful baby girl.

She is pure heaven.

Gram and Sus' Birthday

Way back in November, we had a fun family celebration to honor our Gram and Susie Q's birthdays. They share one on the 13th, so Sunday we gathered together at Charleston's for lunch and then spent the afternoon at Gram's house with birthday cake and ice cream (and some wonderful fall weather!)

We enjoyed some time down by the pond watching the boys feed the fish...

and then made our way to the porch for some sittin'...

Since Ben is a November birthday too, he got to join in the candle blowin'. I love his cheeks...

This is what Gram got from us...a dala horse pumpkin bread. She loved it!

It was such a fun celebration!

Dinner Train!!!!

When my friends wanted to throw me a shower, I begged and pleaded with them that ALL I needed this time around was someone to bring me food. Dinner time is NOT my forte' and the thought of having three little ones and somehow finding the gumption to provide a meal at the end of the day boggled my mind.

Of course, my incredible friends took this and ran with it. Not only did they oblige my requests, but still went above and beyond throwing me that beautiful shower, spoiling us with gifts AND sorting out my meals until the new year!

The meal train started last night with Shauna. She is one heck of a gal. I met her when she was a student in my prenatal yoga class almost 3 years ago. She was pregnant with #2, little Millie Rose, and we have since both had (almost for me) #3, gone through Samatva yoga training together, watched our little boys become fast friends, and become such good friends.

And look what she showed up with:

1. Her sweet #3, Kate...

2. Two corndog "dogs" for the boys. Oh my gosh these were adorable.

and 3. The most gorgeous basket full of amazing goodness...

(Including: pink flowers, entree' of barley topped with roasted eggplant and chickpea soup, fresh oregano and greek yogurt for garnish, homemade nutella and strawberries for dessert, and of course, Reese's cups for fun.

The food was even put in adorable glass jars topped with fabric and ribbon! She is too much.

The boys loved their dogs...and the barley! They thought it was oatmeal! :) But I won't lie. As soon as they saw the strawberries they got busy, so we had the Nutella as an appetizer!!!! It is amazing!

We are just so lucky to have the most wonderful support system. Thank you to all of you who have and will hold us up through this exciting time in our lives! Your thoughts, gifts, prayers, calls, vibes, visits and FOODS are so very much appreciated.

For Pregnancy Posterity - 40 weeks + 1 day

Welp. Yesterday was my due date and here I am. Waddling around still pregnant.

Last Monday, I woke up (at 39 weeks) and felt weird. I was reclusive and foggy and just felt off. I thought for sure that the time had arrived...and even called Gaga to make sure she was ready. There was low back pain, tons of B.H. contractions, and the feeling that she was very, very low. I went to yoga and left feeling like this was definitely the day.

Needless to say, I woke up Tuesday morning and everything was back to normal. She still feels low, I'm still having TONS of braxton hicks that are slowly becoming more and more "painful" but still nothing to write home about, and the low back pain hasn't gone away. But I don't know, I just don't feel like anything exciting is happening.

My waddle is off the charts. It's ridiculous and I swear it is mainly due to the hip and pelvic pain more than the huge belly. I'm craving sweets like crazy and completely allowing myself to indulge in anything and everything I want because, heck, I'm pregnant. And I won't be for much longer!

Baby G has really slowed down a lot. She still moves around of course, but it more like a lazy roll or stretch than the crazy acrobatics she was entertaining me with the last few months.

We made it to the Bedlam game which was so much fun! All of our "seat mates" (the people that sit around us) were so shocked to see us and were very watchful of me throughout the game. I did lots of jumping and though I did have a little pee leak when we intercepted it in the endzone, there wasn't too much labor excitement. Lots of B.H.'s but nothing big. We had a ball though and stayed well after the game to partake in the massive celebrations!

The to-do list is done and has been for over a week, so I really am just "sittin' and waitin'" as patiently as possible. Yes, I am so very excited. I'm excited to labor at home in front of the christmas tree surrounded by my hubbie and the three wonderful women that make up my support team. I am excited to see her sweet face, find out what she looks like, hold her in my arms and see Brad become a daddy to a little girl. I am excited for the thrill of introducing her to our friends and family. I am excited to curl up in our home as a family of five and just hunker down together as the weather has gotten super cold and Christmas is just around the corner. And honestly I'm excited to not be short of breath, groan with each movement, and be in constant wonder if "this is it".

But. I'm still doing just fine being able to tote her around so easily while she is snug as a bug in my belly. I'm not up all night feeding and I haven't changed a diaper in days. So, I'm doing just fine waiting on this baby girl. She has the time picked out...or the stars do, and I believe that she will arrive when she is ready! Here's to you, Baby G! We can't wait to meet you!

For Pregnancy Posterity - 39 weeks

I'm 39 weeks tomorrow and in a little bit of shock.

I feel huge...but good. Better than I have in a while. Sleeping is hard. Reflux is back. But all else is ok.

I can't believe I have to go through labor any day. It's like I forgot about that part of it. But I'm so excited to meet this little girl.

Here's to the WAIT!

more gifts!

I know I said I wouldn't be posting more pics of the gifts baby g is getting...but guys. Check these out!

Sweet Nat Attack sent these two outfits all the way from Venice Beach...

(yes. it is a polka dot fur lined puffy vest with matching boots. I KNOW.)

(sparkly red christmas dress? every girl's dream. yep. and a fleece hoodie for fun? yep. yep.)

And Grandma Mary MADE these two dresses for springtime! They are ADORABLE and each come with matching ruffled bloomers!

I am totally getting into this girly business!!

booty shelf

Des seems to becoming even more of a mama's boy these days. I'm not sure if it is my disappearing lap or if he can sense his baby sister's arrival or what, but he is clinging to me like never before. He wants "up" constantly and though it is getting harder and harder for me to hold him...I have developed quite the perfect little shelf to rest him on...

I guess this is easier than holding the two of them at once! :)

For Pregnancy Posterity - 36 weeks

Here we are, one month to go. 36 weeks is such a complicated time of being pregnant for me. I start thinking, "we could have this baby any minute." when in reality, there is a probable 6 weeks of cooking left to be done. This time around has been especially complex for so many reasons. I'm not sure if I've adequately shared the hormonal influxes that this pregnancy has brought on...but let me just say it so we're clear, I am a mess.

This pregnancy has been so different from my other two since day one. It hasn't all been worse. For example, I haven't had the horrible sensitivity to odors like I did with the boys, meaning that I can actually walk into the kitchen without gagging. I haven't had any bizarre cravings, like my indulgence in 150+ popcicles a day. :)

But honestly, it's been so much harder. Many have said it's because I have to take care of two little ones this time around, or because I've had three pregnancies in 4 years. Who knows. All I can say, is every step of the way has been harder. The extreme nausea that lasted 14 1/2 weeks and made me lose 10 pounds was just the beginning.

And what I hate most about it is that it sounds like I'm complaining. Which I guess I am, but I am never regretful and I feel so very lucky to get to bring this little girl into the world. I do not take the priviledge of being her mama lightly. I savor her every kick, I cry at the very thought of seeing her face for the first time, I am giddy at the thought of all the adventures we have in store. I am beside myself with joy that I had the experience of being pregnant with her for the last 9 months.

She has just given me a run for my money, that's all.

How has it been hard? Well, I've decided I need to list it out. That way, someday, when little Genevieve asks me what it was like when I was pregnant with her, I can shake my finger in her face and say, "What goes around comes around little girl."

~The 1st trimester. I've already mentioned the nausea for 14 1/2 weeks. It was horrible. I was in bed most days which meant the boys watched movies all day and ate things like cheerios 3 times before brad got home to normalize things. I could not move or I felt like I would vomit. It was lovely.

~The fatigue. It was also fairly icky. I would have to admit that it wasn't as bad as with the boys and was more than likely just from the nausea and not eating.

~The HIPS/PUBIC/SCIATIC pain. As soon as the nausea began to fade, the body pain immediately clicked on. The somewhat uncomfortable pubic joint and hip pain that came late with the boys, hit with full force at about 14 weeks. It's the kind of pain that makes me feel like I'm 90 years old and seriously can't even walk across the room. My mama waddle is embarrassingly exaggerated and I have been brought to tears many, many times just getting out of bed.

~The heartburn. This was around in the beginning and thankfully ceased for several months, but over the last few weeks it has been back full force.

~The migraines. I never had these with the boys but have had them in the past. Something is just mean about having them while your pregnant though.

~The panic attacks and shortness of breath. This has been one of the strangest ones for me. I kind of see myself as a very laid back sort of person and I really don't tend to get stressed easily. But even when I do get overwhelmed, or anxious, it has never been to the point where I was physically affected. However, for the past 4 months, I have nightly had the sensation of something super heavy resting on my chest and have been unable to take full deep breaths. It never seems to correlate with my emotions...just a short period of feeling like I'm gonna panic. It's so irritating.

~The insomnia. THIS is the one that makes me the most irritated. I definitely had some of this with the boys but maybe just a few nights each and mainly due to the excitement of planning for their arrival. This time, I live my entire day extremely exhausted and then as soon as the clock hits 9 p.m., my eyes pop open like I've just chugged a Red Bull. I can't make my mind stop. I have made probably 400 lists, redecorated my home 10 times in my mind, planned every possible future celebration, you get the idea...my mind does NOT stop. This has been far too frequent for my liking.

~My lack of food luvin'. This hasn't been a huge problem, but it definitely isn't a perk. I am usually someone that can find anything to eat, loves everything, and eats all the time. I have had a real hard time having any kind of relationship with food. I'm hardly ever hungry, but because I know I must, I try to find healthy things to eat, none of which sound good. I have hated cooking and when I do finally eat, it just doesn't have the same flavorful satisfaction that it used to. Major bummer.

~Then there was the whole breech scare. Basically she was head-down and then she wasn't and just as I was over-reacting and going absolutely insane with the irrational worry, I turned her. Seriously. I saw the midwife on Tuesday, heard the news, spent Wednesday morning pushing and pulling and tugging the hell out of her little body and when the Midwife came back at 3 p.m. on Wednesday to check she had turned. (Which I had kinda guessed based on the crazy flipping sensation I felt followed by much more intense kicks in the ribs.) Talk about over-reacting? I began JUMPING ON MY BED and kissing her when she told me. I'm crazy.

~And finally, the emotions. These actually are getting a bit better, or maybe I'm just getting better at controlling them, but I am simply struggling with the dynamic nature of how I feel. Going from high to low and back again is just annoying. My typical even-keel outlook has been out the window for so long, and I spend a lot of time hoping and praying it returns. How quickly I go from being thankful to sad to worried to joyful to proud to lonely to bored to anxious to irate to peaceful to nonchalant back to irate is actually something that some scientist somewhere might find great interest in charting. It's mind boggling. And exhausting. And annoying.

And yet, I'm still not convinced that I'm through with this whole pregnancy thing. I still find myself not wanting it to end. Or wanting to do it again. Or being sad that it might be the last time.

Crazy, right?

I mean, it still just completely bowls me over that there is a beautiful, tiny little baby growing inside of me. No one in the world knows her yet but me. We are already bonded, already connected, in a way that we never will be with any one else on the planet.

Sure, my body and mind feel wretched. But the profoundness of it all fills my heart in a way that nothing else ever will.

And to think, she will be here before we know it! So, for now, I'm trying my darndest to simply soak it all in. The bad with the good, because it is what it is...a once in a lifetime experience.

A journey with just her and me...but boy will she hear about it!

***These gorgeous photos were taken Sunday (11/6) at 36 weeks by my lifeline of a friend Katie. She keeps me sane, listens to my rants, and helps me in every possible way...even if it is simply offering to take maternity pics for me for free. xoxo

the shower for baby g...

A couple of weeks ago, the girls threw us a baby shower, and I seriously don't even know where to begin. Not only was it the most gorgeous baby shower I've ever attended, it was just the most beautiful expression of love. Could that be any cheesier? I don't think so, but these creative, thoughtful friends of ours put together an event so special that made Brad and me feel so very loved and even more, feel so very thankful. Every single detail made me smile and I could never thank them enough for how much they brighten this mama's life.

Here's the brains behind the operation (minus Carrie and Jillian who had already left with their littles):

The incredible setting:

Some of the wonderful people we shared the afternoon with:

An obligatory gift-opening pic...


And as for the boys. They had so many friends there so between the football and the cupcakes, they had a pretty awesome time too!

I'll say it again. It was just the most perfect celebration. My heart overflows.