Update

My poor little blog.  As if I wasn't a bad enough blogger, now I've gone and left it for months.  Well, I'm hopefully back now.  Now for a quick catch-up:

January: Judah was born a full six days early on January 4th!  He decided to surprise us by coming on the most inconvenient day of that time period right after Andy's Christmas vacation, but before my sister arrived to help out.  His birth was rather chaotic mostly due to the nutsy hospital staff.  The labor itself was pretty smooth, but I was darn lucky this was our second kid and I knew what I was doing.  The dramatic part of the story is that Andy almost caught him.

The rest of January we spent adjusting to a new little one.  Lu went through a crazy sleep strike that was super fun.

February: We continue learning how to take car of two.  I pick back up working 15 hours a week grading papers. Andy's family came to visit to see Judah Baptized.

March: Work, work, work, and studying on Andy's part.  I also turned 25. I started running again thanks to the sweet new running shoes Andy got me for my birthday.

April: Andy really starts to kick it into high gear preparing for finals, and writing his thesis.  He spends many nights studying late, I spend many nights on duty with the kidlets so he can work.

Now, gloriously, Andy has his final final on Thursday!  It has been a long three years of school for him, but he will finally have his masters!  I am so proud.

I think we have also adjusted well to having another kid.  It's busy and tough, but awesome to see the little sibling relationship bloom.  I am able to enjoy Judah so much more than I was able to Luthie at this age because I am just so much less nervous! I worried about everything with her.  With Judah figuring out what to do has been easy.  I'll get more pictures up soon :)

Judah

Well we have a baby--Judah Andrew Horner! He was born January 4 a little after 1pm. I went into labor around 9:30am, and fortunately Andy had not left for work yet. My sister wasn't arriving until the evening so we scrambled around, got Luthien to her beloved babysitter, then took off for the hospital. He came fast, and we stuck it to the man by not listening to most of the instructions from the hospital personnel. Andy was a great support and advocate for me. I am so glad he can support me like that.

Thinks have been hectic but I think we are adjusting well here. The boy himself is super chill. It feels so easy taking care of a newborn this time around. He nurses well, and rarely cries. He's a tiny little guy, only weighed 6 pounds 5 ounces at birth. Today was Andy's first day back at work since the baby was born, but my sister has been helping out a ton. We have been enjoying her cooking thoroughly :)

Luthien has had some rough times. She is extra clingy, and has been having some trouble getting into a regular sleeping pattern. But she loves Judah, and tries to hold him and kiss him as often as possible. I'm sure it's quite an emotional adjustment for her.

It's so amazing to see our expanded little family. It is crazy and hectic, but there is so much joy and laughter too.

2012

Hi all. I know it's been a long absence. I got out of my blog habit then it's just that much harder to start again, like when you put off calling someone, and the longer you wait the harder it is to do, even though ultimately you want to.

Here's to 2012! I think this is going to be a very good year.

We are starting it off expecting our little baby boy in a very short time. I'm due the 10th, but Lu was a 8 days early so I'm feeling paranoid about being early. I can't believe this baby is so close to being born, and I really cannot wait to meet him. It's amazing how I have been carrying this little person around for nine months but really don't know him yet. I can't wait to see what he looks like and what his personality is like. There is so much less anxiety this time around due to lots of different things, mostly I am just not scared. There was so much to learn with Lu, and although we made it through it was tough. I'm sure this baby will present new challenges, but I know how to change a diaper, and give a newborn a bath, and burp one effectively. And I cannot wait for newborn snuggles.

I got another job! I'm working for a homeschool organization as a grader ("Instructional Assistant"). It's based almost completely from home, and I think it will be a very good thing for us in the finances department.

One last thing for the new year, I want to start running again. I was doing really well this year until I got pregnant then it just lost its appeal and I lost my drive. I'm planning on getting some new running shoes and signing up for a race in the summer, 6-10 miles long. I will have hot calves again!

Are you guys done yet?

I know in theory that most people have one or two kids, maybe three if they are really living on the edge. But I didn’t realize it in its realness until recently when we found out we are having a little boy. We have one girl, and now one boy, and a dog—we are the cliché American family! And man do I hate being cliché. Many people have asked us if, since we will have one of each, if we’re done. It makes me feel a little defensive of a possible little girl we would have had. If I was carrying a girl instead of a boy would she be somehow less since we wouldn’t have our one of each quota? Would people still ask if we were done, or if we are going to try for a boy next? We honestly have not set about building our family with some kind of formula in mind. So far we've taken a pretty laid back approach.

I don’t know if we are done or not. I don’t think we are. At some point after Lu we just knew we were ready for another baby. After this baby is born we’ll see what happens. I don’t think we are ‘done’ at two, but even if we want to have a third maybe we won’t be able to for some reason.

We love having children. It is beautiful and hard, and the most philosophical moments of my life have been watching Luthien as she learns about the world. I can’t wait to meet our little boy and find out who he is. I do not know how many children we will have. Our Catholic beliefs come into play as well since we believe that a huge part of marriage is geared towards raising children together.

One baby at a time is what we often tell each other when we start worrying or planning unnecessarily.