This Explains A Lot (Happy #3 to The Dom)

The night Dominic was born I put Gianna to bed as usual and exited the bedroom mid-contraction. Brad says I had my game-face on. When I got in the tub at about 7:30 pm I thought I had a night's work ahead of me.

Instead, less than two hours later I was apologizing to my mother for needing push and the midwife wasn't here yet. The baby came so quickly my water didn't break; my mother knelt on the floor behind me as I braced myself on the bathroom vanity and Brad relayed instructions from our midwife over the phone. My clearest memory is of the brightness of the bathroom lights and my mother's voice, praying aloud for guidance and safety for the baby.

And then, and then! I knew he was a boy even before he was in my arms. My first thought was, "Wow...you aren't cute at all, but I am SO glad you are here!" That moment when you look at your new baby and think, "So it's you! It was you, all along!" is unmatchable. Incredible.

My Dom is still on the unpredictable side, to say the least. Today, he turns three years old. And that is straight up crazy.

So you see, he's been pretty funny the whole time. Happy birthday, buddy!

Dinnertime; A Little Vlog for Your Tuesday

Pia thinks Dom is the best. He doesn't even have to be doing anything particularly funny; if she happens to see him walking by she will giggle and squeal. Not that I blame her. He is, after all, the same kid who shadowboxed alllllllllll the way down the aisle after we went up for Communion. The same kid who plays air drums and head bangs while sitting in the grocery cart at Trader Joe's (it was during this trip that a fellow shopper leaned over to me and stated, "He's hilarious." Yep. I know. I live with him. Hilarious is the least of it.)

Anyways, for your immense enjoyment I offer you this little video of the Schueler Family Dinner Hour, Super-Fancy Style

Worth noting:
1. The constant waving hands in Pia's face is an acceptable way of getting someone's attention in Deaf culture. Well...usually you just wave your hand in the person's direction. I will allow that my kids are a little....over-zealous. 
2. The word G keeps repeating is "focus" and not a bad word. I promise.

12 from 2012

So I saw that Dwija posted 12 pics for 2012 and I thought, "I'll jump on that bandwagon." So here they are. I noticed as I combed through our pictures that we spend about 99% of our time in our pajamas. Make of that what you will. 

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

 

September

October

November

December

BOOM! Takes less than a year to become a legit fam of 5.

This Is Important

Celebrate New Year's with the good stuff

it was for the egg nog...i promise

 Keep your kids up super late.
Throw out a few New Year's resoltuions, like:

yell less, be on time more.
empty email inbox in a timely fashion
listen to voice mail messages on phone with regularity
grow things (kids, garden, etc)

This past year was biggish, on account of the Pia Baby making her entrance. But 2013 is looming bigger....Dominic turns 3 years old in 9 days. Gianna will begin mainstreamed schooling in the fall (gulp.) And my sweet Pia will get her new ears this summer. DEEPBREATHICANDOTHIS.

It's going to be crazy. And fun. And maybe even crazy fun. Many blessings to you and your families in the upcoming year!