Reflecting on 2015

What a year it has been, I'm sitting in my dining room with a house full of sleepers trying to complete my last blog entry of the year before the ball drops in Central Standard Time, and I'm cutting it close. We spent the evening with our kids, eating take out pizza and ice cream and then watching 'The Incredibles,' we really wouldn't have it any other way.

There have been some sad and stressful times this year. We moved three times and unloaded a storage pod, all while being pregnant with baby number three. The house project is demanding and rewarding at the same time. We are so close(!) but have a little way to go. We said goodbye to my 99 year old grandpa and continue to pray for peace for my mom who is mourning his passing. Kenzie also moved on which was a difficult transition for all of us. We are grateful for the growth from each of these events, but are saddened by their void.

We celebrated the birth of Piper and have loved to see the way she fits into our family. She is the perfect blend of Sully and Greta, we couldn't ask for more. I'm excited about potty training two kids in one year (ok, Greta prolly has a week or so to go, but she is out of diapers!). We had two fun family weddings, making our family more diverse and complete. My friend family has grown by wonderful neighbors, an addition I have hoped for for years, they are really amazing people. We have reconnected with old friends, too. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to also spend short amounts of time with my college friends, they have made me me and I crave those weekends together. Im thankful for my immediate family, to grow with my siblings (+ spouses + kids) and both of my parents. My twin sis deserves her own blog entry, I am so lucky for her involvement and encouragement, often times first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, and especially in the delivery room. She is just what both Dave and I need. I love my village of people (my cleaning lady, babysitters, our designer, our contractor, my mom and sister) who are helping me through these crazy days with my young kids and a construction project, but I mostly love my husband. Dave and I celebrated 5 years this year and although I know these first five are just a drop in the bucket, I am thankful for each day. He is my sounding board and my biggest supporter through all of it. I hit the jackpot with that deal :). Ok, it is 11:58 and I need to add photos! You get the picture. The overriding theme is family, and Im so thankful for each and everyone of you, no matter how you fit in.

I'm looking forward to what 2016 has in store. I'm hoping for continued peace and love for our family and to all of those surrounding me.

Talking to daddy at work. 

NYE dinner chaos. 

Sweet sisters. 

Movie night with our little super hero. 

God Bless Piper

Piper was baptized on Sunday morning. It was sunny and cold and really a perfect day overall, for many reasons.

Pastor Val is retired as of today, which made Sunday her last service. What an experience it was. It was almost as if she was putting her philosophy on life out there for all to hear, one last time. It was moving, challenging, and refreshing all at the same time. She brought up controversial issues and passionately preached her views. What a remarkable woman she is. She has been Dave's pastor for years, and counseled him through the death of his father and his sister. She is so spot on with her words. It is a true loss for our church, but we are optimistic that we will be lead in the right direction. We were one of several baptisms that morning, but were lucky enough to be the last one, her last one. What a gift. As we stood in the receiving line after church, I was next to her and watch people approach her with their final goodbyes. People had tears streaming down their face and hugged her with such emotion. I was moved to tears several times throughout the morning, and I know Dave was, too. We will miss her dearly.

We chose Matthew Schock and Kirsten Biondi as Piper's sponsors. Matthew is Piper's cousin and has been a steady eddy in Dave's life. He is the youngest of the four of Dave's nieces and nephews and has a great level of maturity and faithfulness. Kirsten was one of Julie's best friends and has truly not missed an important event in our lives. She prioritizes Dave and has served as his North Star on so many occasions. We are lucky to have such awesome people in our lives.

All five of us for maybe 5 seconds before Greta went to sit with Isaac and Anna.

And then there were four...

And finally, three. 

Sweet Piper and Pastor Val. Piper is wearing a
family heirloom in her gown, she is number 4 to wear it. 

Brunch is served! 

Matthew, Kirsten, and Piper.  

Group photo. 

Christmas 2015

Another Christmas in the books. This year we celebrated with a new baby and a house half way under construction. Ok, more than half way, finally. The masons were here working on our fireplace until 11:30am on Christmas Eve when they had the plug pulled and had to clean up so we could have a house for entertaining. We took it easy on Christmas Eve, Dave and I had homemade nachos navidad while the kids had tacos. It was relatively early to bed in anticipation of the main man coming to town that night. 

Christmas morning was exciting. The kids quickly remembered their wish list items and ran down the stairs with excitement of what Santa had brought. Lucky for them, they both got their flashlights, and a few other things. We followed that with breakfast and then time to play with toys before naps and dinner prep. 

We hosted the Dave's family for dinner, our Christmas tradition, although this year we stepped it up a notch and had some fun games planned. We had brisket with all of the fixings, then gifts, and then fun. We picked out three 'minute to win it' games and it was a hit. Boys vs. girls and girls won, like usual. Enjoy the photos! 

PS. Greta is rocking at potty training! After a miserable day on 12/24, she has had minimal accidents. Yay G! 

Christmas morning survival mode.

Santa gift! 

Managing the chaos. 

Daddy got sox! 

Spiderman towel, spiderman helmet.
He is into it. 

And Hello Kitty.

Greta, the definition of a two year old. 

Family photo. 

Intense game of 'Hook the Candy Cane.'

Oreo success. 

The oreo master. Look at that 'storage' shelving. Yikes! 

Sarah!

Packing up the decor with three really tired kids. 

The reason for the season.
We loved cards from family and friends from near and far. 

I survived!

I survived Dave's first weekend of call, and even mustered up some Dora potty bonus points. I had help from my mom one evening and Courtney the other in order to make bedtime doable. They were really the saving graces. Not only were they helpful, but they were also something to look forward to. I find that half of the call challenge is loneliness, minimal adult interaction and my fear to take all three kids out at the same time alone. So, I feel kind of homebound.

I did manage to pack all three up to visit Dave on Sunday evening and it was kind of a sh*t show. Dave got called to OB within minutes of our arrival, so I kept the kids busy in his office with Christmas shows on youtube. When he returned we went to the cafeteria to pick up food to bring back to his department. Within about 20 minutes of being back he got called to the OR and OB, so we decided we would pack up as he would be gone for at least an hour. Sully was sad and dramatic so I asked Dave if he would make a swift exit, I would contain Sully, I just requested that he unlock his office door so I could get coats, bags, and the car seat. All was good when I calmed everyone down and we went to pack up when his office door was locked (Dave didn't hear the request!)! Oh no. I panicked, called him and he was right in the middle of a procedure so a nurse answered his phone. I calmly said enough words that he got the drift that we were stuck until he returned. The kids prevailed and found some fun game to play amongst themselves while I tended to Piper. It wasn't all that bad.

The highlight of the weekend was that GRETA STARTED POTTY TRAINING! The Dora potty has been a permanent fixture in our bathroom and we would frequently encourage her to sit on it with minimal cooperation, until now. I am so proud of her! Lets see where this goes...

Who needs personal space? 

Selfie with all three (not an easy task..I told the kids
Santa was in the phone ;)).

Survival mode, I slept in that mini spot between them. 

The first successful potty. Major celebrations! 

Visiting daddy. Lots of love in this pic.

Quicksand

Gosh, after my last blog entry, I was anticipating an upcoming corner. We were going to equal out and get back on the straight and narrow around here. Ha! Hardly.

Sully requalified for speech therapy, which is great. I really want him to get the help he needs, but therapy is one more commitment I wish we didn't have. It is crazy around here in the mornings and so hard to get everyone out of the house in time for anything. But at the same time it gets me out of the house, which is good for all of us, especially with all of the people coming and going around here. So, its a double edged sword. I am excited to see him progress. Even though he doesn't want to stay in his bed at night (more on that later) he is still my sweet and sensitive little boy.

Greta gave us a nice little surprise by having an allergic reaction to cashews last week. She ended up swollen, vomiting, and broken out in hives. It was very scary for Dave who was with her at the time. We ended up with an epi pen and an allergy consult, something Dave and I are both dreading, but know is necessary for her safety.

Piper is starting to smile and coo. She is so darling. Dave and the kids were running around tonight playing 'spiderman.' They were screaming and laughing and giggling and Piper just laid in her bouncer, sleeping though it all. How is that possible?! Thank God for it.

Just when things seem as busy as possible, Greta climbed out of her crib tonight. Ugh! Since she and Sully are sharing a room, they basically feed off of each other for way too long, in tonight's case, it was two hours. Are you kidding me!? Dave is on call this weekend. I'm sure I'll be at my wits end by the time Monday rolls around. Cross your fingers for me.

I've heard many opinions about going from two to three kids. At this stage in the game I'm willing to admit that it is not easy, not at all easy. Im sinking one moment and feeling in control the next. I can't wait to feel like I've got my groove back. Thank God for my village of friends and family who keep me afloat.

How could I forget...we celebrated Christmas with my family last weekend. What a nice time we had. Everyone was together and lots of fun was had. Gifts were minimal this year which made it even more low key, just what we need :).

Helen and her child, grand children, and
great grand child. A whole lot of love. 

Silly Greta. 

A clean bill of health at the dentist. Yay! 

Moving into Sully's room. 

Rub a dub dub, that's a full tub! 

After cashews.  

Notice her lower lip. Is she after the pancake or
the syrup? 

Sisters. Piper is trying to get a good look at her. 

Watching her big bro (while he is watching a show:)).

Six weeks and one day, and a huge smile. 

Christmas popcorn balls. 

Santa chaos.

Connelly cousins with the grandparents. 

Grey hairs and a newborn.

Its no secret I'm 35, I'm really comfortable with where I am and how long it took me to get here. I remember fretting about not being married earlier in life, but it turns out, timing is everything. Four kids was my magic number, Dave's was six, until we had a couple and then his turned in to 4, too. I feel like I'm about two years too late for #4. Why roll the dice when we have three healthy great kids? My mom keeps calling me a professional mommy, get pregnant, deliver, nurse, and settle into a new routine. Granted, she is not around 24/7 so she doesn't know how hectic it is (although she did it, and she had twins on top of it! She also admits to not remembering those crazy 20 years of having small kids), but I do appreciate that she recognizes that I'm doing it.

We have had some regression from both kids since Piper's arrival, boy have we ever. Initially Sully was acting out and being more aggressive then we are used to, this has improved, although has not completely gone away. He had been coming in at night to crawl into bed with us and secretly Dave and I loved it. We were worried how it would go with an extra babe in our room, but Piper does great in her rock and play, so Sully has his spot secured in our bed. He continues with his school routine so I think that has helped him to adjust. 

Greta had her 2 year appointment yesterday, she is 24lbs and 33inches (25th percentile for both). Her post Piper behavior has been more significant. The hitting, biting, pushing, kicking, and sleep habits have all taken a turn for the worse. The sleep, or no sleep I should say, is awful. She and Sully share a room and she has been up in the night at least twice, screaming. Dave and I lay in bed and hope she works it out before waking Sully, usually she doesn't. Dave ends up going in to provide some comfort, but we are tired. Between Piper waking to feed, Sully waking to come in to our room and Greta and her new sleep habits, nights are long. Dr Sam pretty much told us we have a normal 2 year old and there is no fix, more of a 'they call it terrible twos for a reason, hang in there.' It is reassuring that we are not doing something wrong, although the aggressive behavior towards other kids does feel like a direct result of our parenting which is both frustrating and embarrassing. This too shall pass. 

Greta isn't all naughty, she is sweet, lovable, and silly, too. She wakes up smiling, she always asks for daddy first, and then her blankey and her baby Lulu, and then a pancake. Last week she brought a pad (mommy's diaper) to our painter who blushed as she and asked him if it belonged to Piper, I quickly took it away and said 'yes, that is Piper's diaper!' 

Dave and I are exhausted, sleep and behavior issues are nonstop right now. I have moments of feeling too old for this, I can't imagine how he must feel ;). However, I can't imagine having to have sacrificed any of my single experiences in order to have done this part of life sooner. I'm nursing my baby one minute and seeking out grey hairs the next, but that's normal for me. I know Dave still holds out hope for one more down the road, but we are content for now, lets face it, we can hardly tell which direction is up half the time. 

Thankfully I have an appointment to color those grey hairs next week.

Sully and his sculpture (and his bball uniform).

Teeth brushing with daddy. 

Christmas jammies- Piper's 1 month old today! 

Just another day at the Munce household. 

Piper grins. 

Hi Pip!

Pretty Greta. 

Pics when Piper was 10 days old. 

Melts my heart. 

Snow day on 11/30! 

Christa Ballard Photography.