Judah Pedro Munselle

On March 4, we welcomed our handsome little boy, Judah Pedro Munselle into our family. We are obviously overjoyed and so in love with him. His name? We knew a while ago that if we had another boy his middle name would be after my father. Pedro is the Spanish name for Peter. Peter just happens to be our favorite person in the New Testament, so that was a lucky coincidence. It also means the Rock in Greek. And for 36 weeks, we called Judah "Rocky", another lucky coincidence. It took us forever to pick a first name. We knew we wanted it to be Biblical. We tossed around a lot of names, but we couldn't agree on any one name. Until we got to Judah and Asher. We chose Judah over Asher because Josiah is a direct descendent of Judah and Jesus is a direct descendent of Josiah, so it was a done deal. Besides, it's an awesome name. Not too common, but one people would recognize.
So far the transition from 2 to 3 has been easy. Our parents have been an awesome help taking the older kids for a few hours so I can hang with just Judah. Besides, I'm still healing so the rest and not picking the kids up is helping (although I miss holding them... the lap just isn't the same). Judah is an amazing sleeper/napper. We learned after having Josiah that holding our baby during his naps was not a good idea because it makes for a much more difficult transition later. So as much as I want to hold him when he's sleeping, I put him in his own crib in his own room. He falls asleep immediately, and if he doesn't, he is great at just staring at the mobile. He only cries if his diaper is dirty. I have to wake him up every 3 hours to feed him. If I didn't, who knows how long he would nap. He already has a 5 hour stretch at night, so that is a huge blessing. Breastfeeding is going great. The easiest one so far! I'm so grateful for that. I love breastfeeding my babies, it's such a special time for me.
Josiah and Layla are doing really well with him. They want to hold him and touch him all the time. Josiah is affectionate to begin with, but most people, understandably, don't like it when his hands are all over their child's face. I, however, don't care that he puts his hands all over Judah, so Josiah is in heaven. If Judah does cry, Layla immediately runs back to his room to give him his paci (even though he doesn't really take one). It's super cute.
My delivery was fairly easy. The Friday before I had Judah my doc informed me that he wasn't growing so she wanted to induce me on Tuesday (37 weeks and 4 days along). So at 7:30am Chris and I arrived at the hospital to get all hooked up. However, I was already in early active labor, so they didn't have to give me pitocin, the doc just broke my water. My mother, sister, and Aunt Judi arrived at the hospital at 9:30. I asked them to be in the room and watch the birth and they all said yes! I was so excited to share that experience with them. I wound up not getting an epidural because my labor progressed pretty quickly, unlike my first 2. By 2:15 I was ready to push, but we had to wait for the doctor to get to the hospital, so I had to hold in the baby for 15 minutes. Now that was painful! Finally I couldn't hold him in any longer so I started to push without the doctor there. One push with the 2 nurses, then I heard Dr. Hsu's voice and saw her run to deliver Judah. One more push and he was out! We all cried. It was awesome. I was so happy to have him in my arms. Mindy, Judi and my mom got to watch him get all cleaned up and took a ton of pictures. Judah had to stay in the nursery for 24 hours and be seen by the NICU doctor because the fluid wasn't draining from his lungs. I was a hot mess during those 24 hours. I missed him like crazy even though I only spent 2 hours with him. Chris kept reassuring me he would be okay, and I knew he would, but I had so many hormones running through me that I was completely irrational. The next day we got him back and he hasn't left my sight since then. I am so in love with my family. I love every aspect of having a newborn and expanding our family. I love watching my sweet husband take care of Judah and then play with the older kids because I really can't yet. I fall more in love with Chris every day, but watching him with my children is something I can't describe. It's the absolute best. Thank you friends and family for all that you are doing for us in helping us get adjusted to life with 3 kids 4 and under. It takes a village!

Really he mostly sleeps, so there are very few pictures with his eyes open.

 2 minutes old

 Like I said, Josiah LOVES being Judah's brother and always wants to hold him and kiss him and touch his face. While it's smothering, it's absolutely precious.

 Josiah used to make this face when he was a baby, and I am obsessed with it. It's usually right before he falls asleep.

 We all know I'm obsessed with my children's feet.

 Sweet little puppy dog.

 He still just smiles in his sleep, and I can't wait for him to smile at me on purpose

 I finally have a child that resembles me!

Okay, not the greatest pictures, but I love that he's sleeping on his hands.

Do you have a song?

I have had 2 boyfriends my whole life. I dated others, but can only call 2 of them boyfriends. I remember when I was a young teenager, maybe even still a pre-teen, I would hear how couples had "their song". I didn't really get it. How can a song be a couple's song? I didn't have a song with my first boyfriend, but with Chris we do. The first time we dated back in 2001 (for those of you who didn't know, we dated for about 3 months before his senior year of high school, but then broke up. It wasn't until May of 2006 that we dated again) we were watching The Exorcist (romantic, right?) and the VHS (yes, you read that right) went blank. So we took it out of the tape player and Train was performing "Drops of Jupiter" on the Tonight Show. It was my first time to hear that song and I fell in love with it. After the song was over we got in the car to return the movie to Blockbuster and we turned on the radio and it was playing again. Coincidence? Probably. Well, when we got to Blockbuster their music video was playing on the television. Another coincidence? I think not! We immediately knew that was our song, and it has been ever since. During the 5 years that I pined away for Chris, whenever I wanted to really picture him and me together, I would play that song and go to my happy place. To some that might be creepy, but I just love how a song can take you right back to what you were doing the first time you heard it. And for me, that was cuddling next to my, at the time, boyfriend, happier beyond words. Not long after we started dating again in 2006 I was headed over to his place and "Drops of Jupiter" came on the radio. I knew that would be "our song" forever. If we would have had a first dance at our wedding, it would have been to that song. I hope that every time I hear it, I am reminded of how much I love him (and some of our first kisses) and am so blessed that God brought us back together after 5 years apart.

Pregnancy

I finally uploaded all my pictures and videos from my phone to my computer. It had been almost 2 years. Oops. I love watching videos of when my babies were babies. I love babies. I love the sleepless nights, I love trying to figure out why they are crying, I love being one of two people who knows them best in the world, I love watching them discover their fingers and toes. I could go on and on. I am so excited to be Rocky's (I promise we are working on a real name) mama. It took us right at 6 months to get pregnant with him so sometimes it feels like I've been pregnant for over a year and I just can't wait until he's here.
That being said, I am one of the worst pregnant women you will ever meet. This pregnancy in particular has been rough. I was really sick for the first 22 weeks and didn't contribute much to helping around the house. I was extremely tired and made Chris let me sleep in on Saturdays. Then I had about 2 weeks of feeling great, so I went walking (running was a hilarious sight to see, so I stuck with the basics). Then I got the flu which I didn't take medicine for because I am one of those people who like for my body to heal itself. That took a good 2 weeks, which then turned into a sinus infection. Finally, as of 2 days ago, I am 100% better. I was sick for a solid 4 weeks. Miserable.
Rocky has decided to grow a whole bunch this week, and, Lord willing, will continue that for the next 9 weeks. My torso, on the other hand, is mad that it's stretching. I'm 5'4'', and my torso makes up about 7'' of that. I'm not kidding. It's tinier than tiny. In fact when I put both of my hands on my belly, they don't fit. Only 1 1/2 do. So I am feeling every bit of the stretching. I make the most absurd noises when I bend down to pick up anything, tie my shoes, sit on the floor, you name it. Most people ask me (if they are within ear shot) if I'm okay. I just tell them Rocky is in the way. I also maintain a horrible diet. I can't help it. I eat all my fruits and veggies, but I tend to over eat with the not so good food. I have a sweet tooth like you can't imagine and it gets the best of me during pregnancy. But, thank the Lord, Chris doesn't care how fat I get, so I keep eating and having him go on chocolate runs for me.
As soon as I deliver Rocky and get the thumbs up from my doctor I am going to do Shawn T's Focus T 25. That's about all the time I have to commit to working out... 25 minutes. I will make a huge effort to go on walks with kids and ride bikes and spend a lot of time outdoors so that I can exercise in other ways than just videos, but I am really excited to start Focus T 25.
I am so thankful I have a husband who has loved every form my body has taken in the last 6 years. I know there are women out there who can't say that. Sometimes I am convinced that he likes me a little meatier (I won't go into detail as to why because my mother reads this :)). I am truly truly blessed by my family.

Some photos for your enjoyment

Here's what we've been up to lately... at least through pictures

 Our entire house caught the flu. It was miserable, but I got to spend quite a bit of time with this little love

 Practicing washing a baby, and in the meantime falling in love with dolls

 Getting new shoes for Christmas

 Getting the rest of the Ninja Turtles collection

 Spending time with "semi cousins"

 Refusing to smile for mommy

 Playing with friends at our new house

And falling in love with comic books, which makes daddy very happy

New Year's past

Flashback to New Year's Eve 2005. I was single and had a MAD crush on Chris Munselle. He had been dating a girl for almost 4 years, but I knew he was meant to marry me, not her. So, I did what all girls with crushes did. I threw a New Year's Eve party (Chris and my brother, Scotty, had been best friends for a long time so Chris was over whenever he was in town) in hopes he would come. Chris's band, Barefoot, had just gotten off tour with Ashlee Simpson so I knew he was home and I knew if I had a "joint" party with my brother, Chris would come. And I was right. However, he brought his girlfriend with him (like all good boyfriends should do). At midnight I just HAD to kiss Chris (because, like I said, I knew we were meant to be together) so I went around to every single guy at my parents house and kissed their cheek just so I could kiss Chris's cheek. I made his girlfriend mad, as I'm sure I would have been mad had some ex-girlfriend of my current boyfriend (confusing? yes) just kissed his cheek, but I didn't care. And you know what? 2 months later Chris and her broke up and 3 months after that Chris and I started dating. I was right all along :)

So long 2013

Hello 2014! I must say, I'm excited about 2014. First off, I don't really like odd ending numbers (I know, I'm weird). Secondly, I will be a mama to 3 awesome children! Obviously I'm most excited about that. I already know Josiah and Layla will be great with Rocky. Side note: we have been calling him Rocky since I was 10 weeks pregnant because when I showed Josiah a picture of the sonogram and told him that was his baby brother or sister he said, "that's not a baby, that's a rock". So my friend, Jen Joy, suggested we call him Rocky, which we have for almost 5 months. Every day, more than twice a day, Josiah asks how Rocky is doing and if he's laughing when Josiah tickles my belly. He kisses my belly, asks to lay on Rocky, rubs it, scratches it, pats it, hugs it. You name it, he does it. He genuinely cares for his little brother whom he does not know but already loves. Layla, too, expresses interest in Rocky by hugging and kissing my belly. I can't wait to see them in action with Rocky. We have not chosen a name yet. We like about 5 or 6 but just can't decide. I still have 10 more weeks, so maybe when it becomes crunch time we will choose.
Another reason 2014 is going to be so awesome is because I will almost be done with my pre-reqs for nursing school. I honestly can't wait to take Anatomy. I know it will be difficult, but there are so many things that I want to learn about the human body. If you didn't know, my desire is to become a labor and delivery nurse, so I must learn about where everything is! If all goes as planned, I should be done with nursing school in May 2017. I know that sounds far off, but it's really not. The reason it took me so long to actually start with my pre reqs for nursing school is because I knew it would take 5 full years until I could practice nursing, and in my mind I thought 35 was too old to start a new career. At 35 I will have been out of college for 13 years. When I was 18 years old I had no idea what I wanted to become when I "grew up" so I just picked something. And that something turned into a non career of bouncing from job to job trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Then, at 30, I knew what I wanted to be, but it seemed too late. Then I thought, why would I continue to have a job that takes me away from my children that I only half like and am definitely not making a difference in other people's lives? Even if I don't get done with nursing school until I am 37, that still puts me in a career that I will absolutely LOVE for 30 years... nothing compared to the 12 measly years I spent doing work that I didn't love. Anyways, there's that.
2014 will be the last full year Josiah isn't in school every day of the week. He currently goes to school 2 days a week while I work and I love being home with him the other days. I can't imagine not being with him all day long other than the weekends. That's going to be a hard adjustment, I can already tell.
Chris and I haven't made any New Years resolutions yet. We did last year and did pretty well with sticking to them, so this year we are going to think about how we want our family's life to make a difference in our community. So, when we have some, I may or may not write about it.
I will do another blog later this week on how great my children are and some adorable pictures of them, but I've already written enough and am impressed if you got this far.  Cheers to 2014!

 Cute flashy Minnie shoes

 Sweet cousin love

 Boy cousins digging away

Superheroes!