Other Stuff We Do

We've kept pretty busy since Calvin was born, even if we never leave the house. But we did manage to get some extra fun things in lately. Aunt Rachelle came for a visit from Montana, and we went to the trampoline bouncing place with her, Aunt Jessica, Paisley, and Cruz. The pictures are terrible quality, but I forgot to bring a camera and had to use my phone.

 

Millie is pretty much in love with Aunt Rachelle. They speak the same language, which pretty much means anything goes. Face painting? Slumber party? Shopping trips? You betcha. :)

 

We also bought some kites from the dollar store and flew kites for the first time with the kids. While they loved it, we need some stronger wind to really keep them up in the air.

Grandma gave the kids bird house kits from the Home Depot. After we built them, they insisted on painting them. I was actually quite impressed with both of their careful painting skills. When she was all done, Millie declared, "Now that's what I call a work of art." 

Miniature Golfing

Guys. When Mark and I were in college, we both went miniature golfing at Trafalga at some time or other before we met. That was over ten years ago, which is really hard to believe. But when we suggested miniature golfing to Millie for her 5th birthday, we saw just what ten years can do to a place. A place that was once swarming with grubby kids and young college kids who were looking for an inexpensive date. 

Our first clue was when pulling into the pot-holed parking lot and couldn't tell if it was even open. There were exactly zero cars in the parking lot and there was no indication of where you were supposed to enter. But Millie was so darn excited that we parked and checked the door, and it was unlocked. So in we went. 

I went to the counter to buy a pass that would let us all golf and would include 30 game credits for the arcade. The manager who was running the counter gave me a funny look and said most people don't want the credits since so many of the games are broken. Clue number 2, and I still didn't really realize what was going on.

We then picked out our golf clubs. Pretty much we just had to find the least sticky of the bunch. Ew. Clue #3.

The green carpeting was ripped to pieces on every hole. Clue #4.

The last hole (where you try to get a hole-in-one and then you can't get your ball back) had a box to hold all of the balls which was smashed in where we probably could have helped ourselves to all of the colored golf balls we wanted. Clue #5.

After we finished up, I noticed a sign that said, "For your convenience, please skip the Castle and the Schoolhouse holes." Seriously, for our convenience. Thanks for looking out for us. Clue #6.

We went inside and I was looking for a place to get coins for the arcade. Only then did I notice the sign from the health department stating that they could not sell food anymore due to health code violations. Clue #7, and by this point I was laughing when I pointed it out to Mark. 

The kids had a total blast, and it was SO fun to watch them experience this for the first time. They never knew what a dump it was, so honestly it was all worth it. Well, except that it was way overpriced.

Calvin Mark Transtrum

Calvin Mark Transtrum was born on March 16, 2015 at 12:01 pm. He was my smallest baby, weighing in at 8 lbs 11 oz. Life is certainly more of a juggling act with 3 kids, but I'll do my best to remember as much as I can about Calvin's birth and get it written out before some disaster strikes. 

We knew this birth would be a c-section since the last two were, and I was actually really glad about that because it was a rough pregnancy. It was all around harder on me, and at the end I was dealing with bronchitis that landed me in the hospital a few weeks before my due date and left me with some very sore, bruised ribs. I was happy to know it would end 3 weeks earlier than Millie's had even though it meant going under the knife. 

The day before delivery

Things were a little crazy beforehand because we were trying to sort out all of our help while I would be in the hospital and when I came home. My parents had planned to be there when I came home to relieve Mark's mom (who would be with the big kids all week), and then my grandmother went into hospice care after a long struggle to recover from a bad fall. She ended up passing away the day before Calvin was born, which was really a good thing as her health had really gone down hill in recent years, and she was in her 90's and has been a widow for about 30 years. We like to think she was happy to reunite with her sweetheart and give Calvin a kiss before he joined the family. 

Getting ready for surgery

We got to the hospital on a Monday morning and I got all hooked up to monitors and IV's. I was not terribly nervous, but I remember having a panic attack when Luke was born and I was not dealing well with not being able to move my legs. Fortunately, this time I did not get nauseated nor anxious, so I was totally alert and calm through the process. 

Mark all suited up

There wasn't anything crazy to remember about this c-section, but there are a couple of funny things I can remember. First of all, the nurses were all really excited when I told them this baby was a surprise. They asked if Mark wanted to be the one who got to look and see what it was and announce it to everyone. I said sure, but then we got to talking about it and realized he'd have to look in the general direction of my disemboweled stomach to do so. We decided it was cool with us if the doctor just let us know. 

Another thing that was kind of funny was that after they got my spinal done and were getting ready to operate, a nurse came in to tell them that another woman was ready to push her baby out. She had gone really fast from about 5 cm to fully dilated. I was a little nervous they would have to go deal with her first (I sure wouldn't want to wait around for an hour or so to push my baby out if I was completely dilated) but they decided I was the first priority because the spinal gives them a time limit to work with. I hope they found someone else to help out that other lady. . . 

I remember feeling a bit nervous before the c-section as it hit me that this little person was about to enter our family and we knew absolutely nothing about it. I never once regretted not finding out what this one was, but it was a bit surreal at the very end to not even have a small bit of information about this baby. I do remember being very happy when they told us it was a boy, though I'm sure I would have been happy with a girl. It certainly would have been easier to choose a name. We made sure that Millie was the first person we called as soon as we could, and she was thrilled that it was a boy. She'd wanted one from the start.

We were surprised and excited to find out that the kids could come visit us in the hospital. They had raised their visiting ban on small children due to a bad flu season like the day before Calvin was born. When Luke walked in the room, he immediately found a binky and we sort of cringed. We had just managed to wean him from his binky about 3 months ago, and it was quite the battle. But he picked it up and tried to give it right to the baby. Both of the kids seem to really like the baby, and have adjusted about as well as could be hoped for. Luke struggles sometimes because he doesn't get as much attention, but never takes it out on Calvin.

Millie and Calvin

Luke & Calvin

Choosing a name was hard again. We had narrowed it down to about 3 boy names, but didn't really actually love any of them. And I was so exhausted that I didn't even think about it for the first couple of days. Not to mention Mark was back at work the next day and I didn't see him much in the hospital. The nurses kept asking me if he had a name, and I offered to let them name him. They laughed, but I was a little bit serious. Calvin was one of the names we had discarded even though we both liked it. We knew it was one we might come back to if we couldn't decide, and for some reason I kept thinking he looked like a Calvin. I'm not usually that type of mom who needs to see a kid to decide what name fits them, but I sort of secretly started thinking of him as Calvin before Mark and I ever really got to discuss it. It's always hard for me to commit to a name and announce it to people for fear that somebody will give me a look like I'm totally nuts. But now that it has been a month, I think his name totally fits and I'm glad we chose it. 

We had a couple of scares in the hospital where Calvin was turning blue and lost too much weight, but everything turned out fine. He put the weight back on super fast, and he has been a great nurser from the start. In fact, he has been a very easy baby from the start. This kid almost never cries, and if he does it's usually because he's having a hard time with gas or a bowel movement. When he wakes up to eat at night, he just sort of squirms and whimpers until I come get him. He rarely spits up unless we lay him flat on his back. We're just really happy to have this little stranger in our family now, he makes this parenting thing about as easy as it can be. I'm crossing my fingers that he stays this easy-going and perhaps he'll even be my first baby to sleep through the night before about 18 months. My recovery has been really good as well, and I'm hoping we can start feeling kind of normal again pretty soon.

Love this picture of Calvin & my dad (my parents finally got to come visit!)

I'm still here

It has been a long time since I blogged. While I don't feel all that concerned about keeping this thing updated frequently (and it actually will probably live longer if I approach it casually), there are a few things I wanted to write about. This will be lengthy, and I almost never read anybody's posts if they are way more words than pictures. So I will totally understand if everybody skips over this one. :)

First of all, I need to document this pregnancy. I'm not super comfortable talking really openly about this stuff, largely because I have been the one on the infertility/miscarriage end of things, and it's really hard to know how to approach it without being insensitive. I know several people struggling with these very issues right now, and I'm actually really bad about showing sympathy because I preferred to be very private about them when it was me. So if you are going through struggles with infertility or miscarriages, please believe me when I say that I know how much it sucks and that I understand on some level even though I probably won't bring it up.

I also feel bad because I've been incredibly neglectful of all of my friends and family for several months now. This pregnancy has really wiped me out, and I just can't wait to get through it. I pretty much hurt all the time, and have dropped anything out of my life that doesn't feel absolutely essential. A trip to the grocery store one day means my hips are going to hurt for two more days--partly because of all the walking and pushing a heavy cart, partly because there are days when that precious 2 year old is way more than I can handle. As much as I used to wish I didn't have to have c-sections, for now I am just relieved to know the exact day this baby will come and that it won't be two weeks late. (It will be March 16th, if you're wondering.) Sorry for the complaining, I don't want to sound like I think life is awful and I hate babies. I love them and I'm getting excited to meet this one (especially because we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet). But I do know that I'm as guilty as most people of forgetting how difficult this can be when I'm not in the midst of it, and I tend to lean towards honesty and bluntness as much as possible.

22 weeks pregnant

32 weeks pregnant (and clearly I don't have the energy to clean my bathroom mirrors anymore)

Life has been fairly uneventful for us lately, but the kids have been pretty patient and willing to hang out at home a lot. One of their favorite things to do is play video games with Daddy. It started out last year with Minecraft, but we had forgotten about it for a long time. Recently he tried it again, and both kids love to sit and watch Daddy explore caves, build his farm, grow vegetables, and kill zombies and creepers. Millie is pretty bossy about it and tells him exactly what he should do next. Luke eventually loses patience and tries to push buttons himself or just use Daddy as a jungle gym. Another game they have gotten into is The Legend of Zelda, or The Hero Game as they call it. If you're not familiar with it, it consists of a lot of monster slaying and exploring of deep, dark dungeons. I'm really surprised they don't have nightmares, but they both go running to the couch when we ask if they want to play it.

Millie is doing awesome at preschool. I'm so happy that she loves to go and that she loves to learn. I would never have known how smart she is until her teachers started to tell me so. I want to avoid having any sort of specific expectations for her academically--not that I don't want her to have a great education, but I don't want to assume things will come as easily for her as her parents--but it is kind of nice to know that school is something she isn't likely to struggle with. Millie also adores crafts. It's hard to stay patient when my house is littered with confetti, tape, and bits of paper, but it's really nice when she will happily work on something independently for a long time. She's also getting a very stubborn streak when it comes to choosing her clothes, her hairstyle, her food, etc. I try to relax and accomodate her as much as possible to keep the peace.

Millie on Christmas morning--all she asked for from Santa was a globe

Playing in the snow

A Millie approved hairstyle needs at least 3 clips or bows

Luke is getting both easier and more difficult as a child. On the one hand, he is more capable of getting into trouble and hurting himself. A few weeks ago, he fell down the stairs twice (once causing a nasty scrape on his forehead) and somehow tried to strangle himself (we did not see it, just the mysterious sore line across the front of his neck). He also is incredibly headstrong and prone to throwing fits about not getting his way. I resort to bribery way too much to just get things accomplished. On the other hand, he is starting to communicate so much better. He talks a lot more, imitates most of what we say, and loves nothing more than for somebody to laugh at him. He is so funny and so mischievous that it's hard not to find him adorable. It doesn't hurt that he loves to snuggle and that he still takes a nap most days. He is also OBSESSED with the color green and Mickey Mouse. It can cause some frustration, but it's kind of endearing.

Luke on Christmas morning - we still need to get rid of that stupid binky, but for now it makes life easier *sigh*

He would play in the snow all day if we let him

Mark is really busy at work this semester since he picked up another class to teach. We look forward to a time when he won't have to stress as much about establishing himself in his position and in his field, but for now it's like he's started out all over again at the bottom and has to fight his way back up. He's been on several trips lately and has more planned for conferences and colloquiums around the country. I look forward to the day when I don't have little tiny children at home and I can accompany him to some of these places.

I kind of went through my nesting phase early. I think I have everything ready for this kiddo, and I'm glad to know I won't be scrambling when I'm even more huge and uncomfortable. It was kind of nice only needing to buy two outfits (one boy, one girl for coming home from the hospital) since we already have everything we could need. I did manage to squeeze in a couple of sewing projects, but I kept it to a minimum: a few more burp cloths, a carseat cover, and a quilt. Now can somebody just push the fast-forward button to March?

My very first quilt ever! It is FAR from perfect, but I actually finished it!

Transtrum Family Pictures

As promised, here are our family pictures taken in Montana. I think they turned out pretty good, though they will be outdated in a few months. I have a little bun in the oven, due in March. I am both excited and terrified at the prospect of another kiddo, but now that I'm almost done feeling miserably sick I hope I can enjoy the next few months with these two love bugs.