the upload that took forever

no i did not forget to post the video of mary's dance.  it just took youtube that long to finish.  so here it is (hopefully it works just fine now)!
if you can't tell which one she is, because she looks different with her bangs pulled back, she's the fourth from the right.

how do you camera?

this is all being typed one handed, thanks to miss claire, so please forgive any typos.
once upon a time, i had the great idea to take my own shots of claire for her birth announcement (which we are still working on getting out there, by the way).  but taking shots of newborns is a lot harder than i thought.  partly because claire wanted to be awake the whole time, thus protesting my moving her around.  and also because mary did not want to be outshone.  or rather, she wanted her time in the spotlight.  so while i'm trying to make these pretty, artistic, ooh la la shots, i'd hear mary shouting, "look i'm a baby too momma take a picture mom mom momma i'm a baby goo goo ga ga take a picture momma please" etc etc.

 sometimes the pictures were too dark, either all over or just in one spot (ie her face)

or they were too light

sometimes i'd like a shot then notice something like drooooool

or...MARY!

or i just didn't think they were ~good enough

 

  

oh well.

claire is almost one month old.  i can hardly believe it's already been 28 days since she was born.  it seems like just yesterday i was being sent away from the hospital because they didn't believe i was really in labor (oh hey, i guess i'm still a little bitter about that whole thing...).  already, she is so alert and big and strong.  she is constantly trying to hold her head up or using her little arms to try and push off my chest so she can roll over into a different position.  i want to scold her for doing too much too soon.  stop! slow down! you're still itty bitty.  no more!

this past weekend was mary's dance recital.  i was lucky enough to get a video of her doing her routine (well, all but the first few seconds) while at her rehearsal - which is slooooowly uploading onto youtube as i type (the upload video option on blogger hates me.  always has, always will apparently).

(the following are courtesy instagram. darn you, overly hipster camera app. *shakes fist*)

it was also super hot during the weekend.  as a family we were able to enjoy a day at the "beach" aka, the lake near gpas koz.

in other news, brent is officially meat manager at niles as of TODAY.  of course he's putting in a 12 hour work day because that place is in shambles (shhh i didn't say that).  but we're excited for the promotion.  and for the opportunity brent has to whip that place into shape.  it's definitely weird to know i will still shop at mettawa without actually seeing him there.
there was actually a bbq/softball tournament for the nearby costcos on memorial day.  it was a lot of fun.  i unfortunately didn't get any pictures (i was too busy playing babysitter for everyone's kids.  it's as though they all saw i had a tiny baby and knew i had to stay with her the entire time so they just shooed their kids to me so they could go run amok.  meh).  it was a nice little hoorah for brent before leaving his warehouse (too bad they lost in softball) and a chance for me to see friends/coworkers from glenview.  i'm actually going to miss some of them...

Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing...

Claire Elizabeth Kozlowski!

This little bundle of adorableness arrived on May 1st at 3:36 am - weighing in at 6 lbs 11 oz and measuring 19" - after quite the eventful day.


It all started about 12 hours previously.  I had been feeling like poo all day, Brent was at work and had just called to check in on me.  We were discussing car shopping, glad we'd be able to do so before we had the baby.  And how I was glad baby was waiting until I got over the cold I could feel coming on.

Then I get off the phone, stand up and...well, I had to call Brent back with a slightly frantic, "I'm pretty sure my water broke."

I had this fear when I was pregnant with Mary that I might mistake something like, oh incontinence, for my water breaking.  But when it happened with her, it was pretty dang obvious so we drove off in the night to have her.  So I knew what to expect this time, right?

Well.

We got to the hospital and the nurse informed me that they needed to check to make sure it was really my bag of fluids (which really doesn't sound that great) breaking.  This is done using some kind of paper not unlike litmus (for all I know maybe it is).  And if it doesn't turn blue, that means it's not amniotic fluid. Apparently the paper they used on me wasn't "blue enough."  A doctor was called in, they did a closer exam and it was determined that what I experienced was just heavy watery discharge.

...

Yeah. Okay.

Brent and I left, having spent 2 hours in the hospital.  I felt embarrassed and idiotic to say the least. We decided to stop and get dinner since we were already out and Mary was already being taken care of.  I'd been complaining to Brent about how I couldn't believe it wasn't my water breaking before and blah blah blah  as we get out of the car and walk to the restaurant, there's that sudden gush (I'm sorry, this is maybe TMI for some of you and I'm trying to think of a more appropriate way of wording it without grossing you out but...) of liquid.  I had to run to the bathroom for refuge.  I ended up calling Brent from the bathroom all, WE NEED TO LEAVE IT LOOKS LIKE I PEED MY PANTS.


It only got worse from there.  And, because my pride felt wounded, I didn't want to go back to the hospital right away in case I was somehow wrong again (in truth, I never thought I was wrong to begin with but.  But.).

Walking back into the Labor/Delivery ward, I was filled with what can only be called Vindication.  That's right, nurses and doctors, I was BACK and ready for ACTION.  HA HA HA.  Claire waits for no one.

After that, the delivery progressed almost exactly like Mary's.  It was quick, not exactly painless, but relatively easy all things considered.  For more details, you could just go back 4 1/2 years to the post about Mary's birth and really, it reads the same. Thank goodness.  I think I said it back then, but I'll say it again.  If all my pregnancies result in the same type of delivery I can keep poppin them out.

While Brent and I were at the hospital, Mary was off with some friends, getting a make over.  It only took a few minutes after her arrival to want to undo her hair (I don't know what it is about being near me that makes her want to not be all dolled up) but I managed to get a picture of her cute bun at least (you don't get to see the tiara comb that was in there unfortunately).

Mary has been so unbelievably sweet with Claire.  At first, she was scared to touch Baby Sister, but once she realized it was okay (even when she's sleeping), Mary would take the opportunity to randomly run up to Claire and give her sweet kisses on the top of her head.  She even got to hold her, something she wants to do all the time now.  

 And now we're all home, healthy and happy and getting used to life with two children.  It's definitely an adjustment, but a good one.  We're looking forward to experiencing a whole new set of milestones together!

our house in the middle of our street...

or rather lane, since that is technically what we live on.
yes, you read correctly.  the day we feared would never come is here.  on march 30th we officially closed on our house.  and after a weekend of slaving away with a paintbrush to cover every last inch of hideous paint (haha just kidding we didn't end up painting, some much more talented and more importantly quick, people painted for us) we moved everything in.  i'd like to say that two weeks later everything is in its rightful place but...then i'd be lying to you.  it's not quite so easy when both adults are working, one of which is weeks away from popping out a baby, and the only other person living in the house is just 4 years old.
we have, however, managed to complete the entire main level of the house.  it's both a blessing and a curse.  because while it's great to have everything put away and sorted, it makes it that much more tempting to just sit downstairs and watch TV or something else rather than tackle the mess upstairs.
i will admit that today, since i was off from work, i was able to finally finish mary's room (for the most part).  she was off playing with some neighbors which allowed me to actually go through her things without her wanting to stop and play with everything.
so while we're not quite finished, we won't leave you empty handed...or rather lacking of pictures.  without further ado, may we present some before and afters of our downstairs.

BEFORE

AFTER

brent took the pictures, which is why mary and i make an appearance in some.  and while i am sitting down on the couch, apparently all lazy like, i promise that's not the case.  it was close to mary's bedtime, and i had already put in a great deal of work (remember how i'm pregnant and shouldn't overexert myself?).

which brings me to an update on the pregnancy.  with just a little over two weeks until the official due date, brent and i have finally settled down on a name.  you can ask, but i can't guarantee i'll share it...we've had several issues with naming this baby and i don't want to jinx what we've picked out.  so it'll be a great mystery/surprise for all of you.  mwahahaha.

my official last day of work before i go out on leave is THIS TUESDAY AND ADSKFAPF;OJEFK I'M SO EXCITED CAN YOU TELL?! it's gonna be great.  you can all anticipate a greater volume of posts to this blog (i know what you're thinking.  "i'll believe it when i see it."  but i swear. it's gonna happen). especially as everything gets settled and baby girl finally gets here.  the photo opportunities between big and little sister are endless.  and i, for one, am super excited for the possibilities.

lastly, in case you're wondering how i look, all "pleasantly pregnant" (as a woman at mary's preschool called me) here's a pic: