Brotherly Love

I am continully amazed at how different my two boys are. I keep telling peole, I must have thought I was going to have the same child twice, because I cannot stop staring at Aaron and marveling at how he is not at all like Andrew. Well, in some ways, I guess they are. Aaron is very content most of the time, as Andrew always was. But if his tummy is empty - look out! He is equally as adorable, but in different ways, having dark hair and dark blue eyes. I am anxious to see if these features will change and we will have two little blondies on our hands, or if he will keep the hair and eyes.

Andrew is quite the little helper - especially where the pacifier is concerned. As you can see above, he will make sure Aaron has what (Andrew thinks) he needs at all times. Be sure to look closely at Aaron's face in that pic! He also likes to bring me blankets and little toys if he is concerned about his brother's crying. At bedtime, he gives his brother a gentle kiss on the head with a big, "Mmmah!" Of course his jealous bone shows once in a while, too! Especially when I am nursing Aaron, and am somewhat unavailable to Andrew for a while, he tends to fuss or get into trouble doing things he knows he shouldn't. He gets ESPECIALLY jealous of Daddy! The other night, I decided to hand Aaron over to Phil and rock Andrew before bedtime (a habit I have really been missing!), but Andrew refused to let me hold him and insisted on sitting next to Phil on the couch. He kept bringing him books, Like he was trying to say "HEY! Put the baby down, this is OUR storytime!" It was so cute! My feeling were only a little hurt :)

Despite the challenges of having a newborn and toddler in the same house, I am SO happy to have the both of them. We are getting into a managable - even enjoyable - routine. I even took both kids to Target the other day AND, yesterday, I took both of them to church all by myself!

AHH...It's 7:25a.m., and the "big kid" awakes! Gotta go! Enjoy these latest pics of Aaron.

Welcome Home!

Okay, when I said details later, I didn't really mean this much later - but I know you'll forgive me! As you can imagine, life with two children has been quite an adjustment. My biggest challenge right now, besides recovering from c-section surgery (ouchy!), is nursing a newborn while I watch my toddler climb up and swing in the baby swing, go into the bedroom (I forget to close the door sometimes - imagine that) and pull all of the diapers off the pack-n-play onto the floor, or climb up and stand on the kitchen table - among other fantastic feats. I must say, though, nursing this time around hasn't been quite the challenge that it was with Andrew - I can actually walk around while Aaron eats and pull Andrew down from whatever piece of furniture he has managed to scale. Overall, however, I must say being a Mom again is the best thing I have ever done.

I must admit that I struggled those last couple of days of pregnancy with the idea of taking care of two kids on my own (at least during the day when my husband - who is WONDERFUL- is at work), but this morning as I rocked my newborn and watched my toddler play with the dog at my feet, I realized that I would be okay. I am feeling better and able to move around better everyday, and with that comes increased confidence and joy in being a mother to these two precious little boys.
SO here are a few details about the blessed day of Aaron's arrival as well as a few picturs of our lives that last 10 days or so:
On Monday October 6th, we were preparing for our trip to the hostpital. We were supposed to be there at 12:30 to prep for surgery at 2:30. I had given up hope that the Dr. Parker would call and ask me to come in early like he mentioned he might do at my last appointment. BUT at about 10:30, lo' and behold, the OBGYN office called and asked, "Can you come in right now?" In a whirlwind, we packed up the car with my bags and with Andrew, called my parents (who were on their way to our house to stay with Andrew during the birth) and told them to meet us at the hostpital. We checked in at 11:30, the same tme my parents showed up and took Andrew back home. In the meantime, another emergency c-section was called in, and they THANKFULLY decided to do mine first! I was rushed through the prep procedures (don't worry, not in a scary way), and at 1:22 p.m., precious Aaron Robert was born! Everything went well and both of us made it through the delivery just fine - although I must say I forgot how frightening it is to be numb from the chest down. I felt like someone put a blanket made of lead on me that covered my chest all the way to my toes. It feels not only completely numb, but also very heavy. I literally could not move a muscle - even my breathing felt funny. I cried the whole time. It was totally worth t, though, when I heard those first lusty cries from Aaron! He weighed in at 8 lbs 10 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long.

Grandma Shenk; Papaw Derr

I think everything they put in the spinal block had an "ichiness" side effect, because afterward I could not stop scratching everywhere! Did you notice my red nose in the picture on my last post? The next day, my nose was raw and dry - I had to put vaseline on it.
A surprise from Aunt Jenny!

We stayed at Grant Hostpital until Thursday, then we came home to start our life together. Thursday morning, as I was getting the baby ready to go, the door opened, and I fully expected to see my husband - who called earlier to say he was on his way. Instead, in walked my sister, Jenny - a surprise visit from Missouri! We cried together, and I was thrilled to hear she was staying until Sunday! Consequently, my youngest sister also came up with my Mom (who I was already expecting), and so did her two year old daughter and her thirteen hear old son. Whoa! Quite a house full when you are post-surgery with a newborn. But my family was incredibly helpful, and I really did not lift a finger the whole weekend for anything other than feeding Aaron. What a blessing!

Cousin Hannah; Grandma Derr

This week I am on my own during the day, except for a few helpful visits from Phil's mom, and yummy dinners from a few volunteers at church. God is so good - He always know just what I need!
Thank you for your many calls, cards, and visits. I am happy to take calls anytime, although I may have to call you back! Feel free to give us a call or drop in for a visit!

Introducing Aaron Robert Shenk!

I'm tired...more details later!

Little Pun'kins

I have been blessed during this pregnancy to be able to share the experience with two friends.

EMILY

Emily is the art teacher at my school. Her classroom is right next door to mine. One day, I went in to say "Hi," and I found Emily in her office, resting with the lights out. "What are you doing?" I demanded. She then gave me her happy news. Coincidentaly, I took a pregnancy test the very next morning...when I got to work, I walked into her office and swore her to secrecy! These last 9 months we have visited each other daily and shared our joys and trials. She gave birth to a little boy last Thursday - Lucas Allen! Congratulations, Emily! My fellow teachers are now awaiting news of the birth of another little boy - Aaron Robert Shenk - scheduled to be delivered in just five more days! Of course, he is welcome to come early if he chooses!! The teachers at work threw a surprise shower for me to celebrate. Here I am - I think this is my only "belly picture" from this pregnancy!

DANIELLE

I have also had the pleasure of sharing this pregnancy with my very good friend Danielle. Danielle and I were roommates just before we were both married in 2005 - our weddings were 3 weeks apart. One day, back in February, Danielle called me, and she said, "How is everything?" I said, "Fine..." (not wanting to spill the beans, yet). "Are you pregnant?" She asked. "Why would you ask me that?" I shot back. "Because, I had a dream, and in the dream you were pregnant," she said. "Well I just found out YESTERDAY!" I replied. She then revealed to me that she was "late," too, and promised to keep me posted. About two days later, I got an email from her, and the subject line said, "Sure enough..." How funny!

Danielle's daughter, Isabelle, turned two years old in August, and for a while, she and Andrew were in the same class at daycare. And here we are now each having our second child just two days apart from each other! (Danielle is scheduled for an induction on October 8th!) This past weekend we decided to take our kids to Circle S Farms here in Grove City. What a sight we were - two very pregnant moms chasing around two adventurous toddlers! Andrew thoroughly enjoyed himself, even though we decided AGAINST taking a hayride on the big flatbed pulled by a tractor. (It just wasn't the opportune time for early labor.) He and Isabelle were so cute together. And, uh, I just popped over to Danielle's blog a minute ago to see if she posted any of these pictures, yet. Yeah...so I guess that picture up there ISN'T my only belly shot from this pregnancy. Thanks a million, Danielle. The link to her blog is over there on the left, if you'd like to see it. Here's our little pun'kins.

Andrew Appleseed

The Lord is good to me,

And so I thank the Lord,

For giving me the things I need,

The sun and the rain and the apple seed,

The Lord is good to me!

Five more days and Aaron will be here! I am so grateful these last few days (and the next few, too, it looks like) to have nice cool weather. Fall is my favorite - and it makes it much easier for me to take Andrew outside to play! Andrew is such an outdoorsman - like his Daddy! He has LOVED having apple trees in our backyard this summer. He walks right up and picks the apples himself, and earlier in the season, when they wouldn't come off, he'd chew on it right on the branch! (I'm not sure but I think he learned that from the dog, who also loves apples.) I have been amazed at how he just bites right into them and has no trouble chewing them at all. If the skin is too thick, he just spits it out. For a few weeks I chased him around trying to stop him, but alas, I gave up the battle. Now I just try to make sure he doesn't pick up any rotten ones from the ground. A couple of weeks ago I picked some to make a cobbler - YUMMY. Here's Andrew helping Mommy pick (and eat) the apples!