Preschool Program & Last Day 2009-2010

Tate's first year of preschool has come to a close. And to finish the year, the school had the end-of-year-program. This was the first time Tate performed with a big audience watching, so we weren't sure how he would do. He did great! My pictures are horrible and the video is messed up, but Tate sang his little heart out. He especially liked the part when they got to yell (loudly).

After the program we went back to his classroom for an Open House. Tate had a great year in his Bees class. I know he learned many great things like numbers, colors, seasons, etc. But to me, some of the best lessons and skills learned in a classroom at his age are sharing, taking turns, respecting and listening to teachers, waiting in line (quietly), good manners when eating, and all of those fun things. We are still working on some of those, but being in school twice a week definitely helped.

He made great friends and often talked about them at home. Most days when I would pick him up and ask him about his day, the first words were that "I played with cars." I'm pretty sure he found a way to incorporate a car somewhere in each day. He also liked going to Chapel and singing "with motions." I had known that they do a Spanish session during the day, but couldn't ever get out of him what they learned. Finally one day I heard him singing a song in Spanish counting 1-10.

Each day he would bound into the classroom barely looking back to say bye, so I think it's safe to say he enjoyed it. I know that he loved his teachers, Ms. Erin & Ms. Alicia, as we had many conversations throughout the week where he would talk about them. And now he LOVES watching the year-end video and pointing them out along with many friends.

Overall, it was a great first year. Looking at these pictures from his first day and his last day, I can't believe how much bigger and older he looks. Time is going so fast!

First Day ~ September 2009

Last Day ~ May 2010

And I hated that I didn't have any good video from the program. So the other day, I had Tate give an encore performance. Yes, we are in the bathroom. It was the only place I could find that he wasn't distracted...and even that didn't work entirely! The first video is their memory verse, Psalm 16:11. The second video is their song, Joy Down In My Heart. Be prepared as you may need to turn down the volume...gotta love him! :)

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The Big Day (and really big blog post documenting it)

April 15 was a big day for our family. We welcomed our newest addition, Baby Will, as he is affectionately called. My due date was actually April 22, but at my last few dr. appts., it was appearing that little Will might not be so little. At my 38-week appt., I had an ultrasound that measured him at 8 lbs. 7 oz. Supposedly those can be off by an entire pound either way. So my dr. and I discussed the different options, and it was decided to go ahead and induce me at 39 weeks to hopefully prevent him from getting too big. That proved to be a good decision.

There was a brief period of time when I didn’t know if I’d “make the cut” onto the hospital induction list for that day, but by 11:00 a.m. on the 14^th I got the call that we were set to go for Will to be born on the 15th (let's hope he doesn't want to be a tax accountant when he grows up as that would not make for fun birthdays). That day was surreal as I ran a few last minute errands with just Tate in the car.

And later that evening, Wade & I dropped him off at my parent’s house. I still tear up thinking about it. But after we said our goodbyes and took a quick picture, I had to leave fast so he wouldn’t see that I was a crying, blubbering wreck. So bittersweet to have the stage of our only child come to an end. Here’s the last picture of just the three of us.

Wade & I headed to dinner together at Uncle Julio’s (maybe spicy food will speed up labor?) and then went home to try to get some sleep before having to be at the hospital by 6:00 a.m. Here I am at a crazy early hour (very tired) by the final countdown for Baby Will.

As we drove in the dark to the hospital, we started guessing what time he would be born. Surely because this is my second labor, and that I’ve had LOTS of contractions, and made some dilation progress…surely this will go quick. And surely it will go quicker than Tate’s 13 hours of labor. Surely. (ha ha ha…can you guess the outcome?)

Well I can at least say this, because of the progress of technology and the beloved iPhone, the day at least seemed to go faster. The early hours (before the contractions got miserable) were passed with some riveting Words With Friends. Not sure I played some of my best words as I was a little distracted, but it sure nice to have something to try to concentrate on. And it was really different than three years ago with Facebook and texts keeping everyone updated on how the day was going. But then the day started dragging. And I started worrying that it was going to be another 13-hourer.

Another big distraction for the day was how much more intense labor pains are the second time around. Wow…no one gave me a heads up on that! But once my hero the anesthesiologist showed up with the epidural, it definitely provided some relief. Unfortunately it was only a little relief. For some reason, it didn’t seem to take quite as much as I remember it working with Tate.

And then finally by 5:00 p.m., things begin to progress. Fast. In fact, really fast. Just like with my labor with Tate, it took forever most of the day, but when it was time, it was time. Things moved really fast, and I had to call the nurses in quick to get the show on the road. The benefit to that is that the really hard part of labor went really fast. It was still pretty hard, and I definitely felt three years older, but before I knew it, they were placing this wonderful baby in my arms. Born at 5:30 p.m. (10 ½ hours later…but who’s counting?)

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Will arrived perfectly healthy and with the sweetest sounding muffled cries. At the hospital, they’ve started cleaning the babies off and checking vitals while the baby is in the mother’s arms. It’s kind of amazing to watch considering that two seconds before he was in my body.

For some reason in the video, I look very serious. But I was actually full of awe, happiness, and tears. Will also arrived as a big baby. 8 lbs. 8 oz. My doctor was spot on with her prediction of an 8 ½ lb. baby. Who knows how big he would’ve been a week or so later?

My friend Alyssa should get some kind of award for the help she provided that day. I had assumed Will would be born by the time Tate was out of preschool. That didn’t happen, so she took Tate to her house to play (note that he hadn’t had a nap that day), took him to eat dinner, and had to go buy some more Pull-Ups. Woops. I was nervous about how the logistics would all work out, and she helped to make it effortless for us and the grandparents. Thank you Alyssa!

So about an hour or so after Will was born, the big brother and grandparents got to come meet him. I had no idea what to expect from Tate since he had such a long day. But he was so sweet. I won’t ever forget Wade walking in holding Tate and the HUGE smile he had on his face. Wade brought him over to the bed where I was holding Will.

Tate’s words: “Look, it’s Baby Will! Baby Will is looking at me! (Will really did turn his eyes toward Tate) Now can I have my race cars?”

I was happy with that. At least the first two sentences were ones acknowledging and excited about his brother. Tate’s visit was quick, but he was excited about holding Will and kept looking under his hat and saying over and over that “he has a lot of hair.”

And both sets of grandparents (Grandpa, Mimi, Poppy, & MoMere) were there to meet their 4^th grandchild as well.

All in all, the day was one to be extremely thankful. Will arrived wonderful and healthy. I made it through labor with no complications. And Wade didn’t pass out! :)

In later days I started to get very nostalgic and emotional about that day. Although nothing is 100%, we’re thinking we may just be a two-kid family. So I’ve later wondered if I soaked in the moment enough? Could I remember the last time I felt him kick before he was born? Did I spend too much of the pregnancy complaining about being uncomfortable rather than marveling at the miracle that was growing? Did I soak up every last minute with just Tate?

I’m not sure how good my answers are to those questions, but a friend gave me some good advice about focusing on what’s ahead for our family rather than what has passed.

So as we left the hospital and made it home with our new baby, I had quite the boo-hoo (hormones flowing!) session as I said praises and prayers of thankfulness for this amazing gift of life that has been formed and that we’ve been entrusted with.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above…” ~ James 1:17

Baby Will Is Here!

William Cullen Strzinek

Thursday, April 15, 2010

5:30 p.m.

8 lbs., 8 oz., 21 inches

Baby Will is here! We of course think he's pretty perfect. We are all doing well and are at home starting the adjustment of becoming a family of 4. Even Big Brother Tate has taken a liking to him.

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for this incredible gift!

The Possibilities Are Endless

Who knows what this little guy will do one day?

Maybe a handyman?

Baseball pitcher?

Or doctor?

I can't wait to watch and find out.

Easter 2010

As with many of our holidays, Easter was celebrated several times this year. It started a couple weeks before with a new activity that I'm sure will be an annual one in the years ahead. The pool/gym/rec center we have a membership to has an Easter egg hunt in the indoor pool. Oddly enough on this day, it was about 40 degrees and rainy outside. But inside was nice and steamy.

Wade had a conflict at the same time, so I was glad that our good friends Clint & Alyssa were there with their two girls. Their oldest, Lauren, helped Tate during his age group's hunt. The funny part is that by the time he got out there most of the eggs were gone. He really could've cared less. He was just excited to be swimming. Sweet Lauren was determined, though, and found a bunch of eggs for him.

And it was perfect timing as Lauren headed to her group's hunt, my Dad showed up to watch the craziness. It really was crazy with so many kids and parents all over the place. And since there was absolutely no way I was going to squeeze into a maternity swimsuit, he was able to help me keep an eye on Tate. That kid doesn't stop moving. Thanks Lauren & Grandpa!

Then at Tate's preschool, his class had an Easter party and egg hunt. He was pretty excited to run around and pick up the eggs. He's not one to stop and open them. He's the type that is running as fast as he can, getting as many as he can. Finally, I had to tell him to stop and leave some for his friends.

Since he finished pretty quickly, he was also just as pleased to put the eggs down and run out onto the basketball court for a few hoops.

We celebrated Easter at our church Saturday night at a wonderful service. We've been reading all of our Easter books and stories, but it still kind of cracked me up that when he would tell what Easter is all about, he still refers to "Baby Jesus." I guess I need to transition from Christmas to Easter a little better.

So on Easter Sunday, Tate woke up and got to go through his Easter basket. No surprise, but the monster truck was the hit. Nothing says Easter like a monster truck!

Then we headed to brunch with the Strzinek side of the family.

And after a quick afternoon nap, we headed over to Mimi & Grandpa's for a yummy pork tenderloin dinner and Tate's own private egg hunt outside.

Yet another wonderful Easter weekend!

Day Out With Thomas (Year #2)

This was the second year for Tate to go to a Day Out with Thomas. It was a gorgeous day, and we were able to enjoy all of the trains with Tate's friend, Caleb, who is the most-dedicated Thomas fan I think I've ever known. That's the right person to see Thomas with! I didn't really get many great pictures, as Tate was moving about 100 mph (combination of fun and excitement along with a week's worth of Allbuterol breathing treatments, which make him a crazy man), and at 8 months pregnant at the time, I didn't move near that fast. It was a great day with great friends!

Goodbye Texas Stadium

So this morning Texas Stadium (or local eye sore as it's also been called) was imploded. It was quite the news story over the last few days. I'm sure when it opened 30+ years ago, it was an impressive sight. But poor thing has seen better days and now lives in the shadow of the new and improved, ginormous-screened stadium. I wonder at what point that one will seem old?

So for my own memory file, my visits to Texas Stadium:

• Michael Jackson concert (20th row on the field)
• various high school football playoff games
• a few Dallas Cowboys games (I guess I should remember those better)
• the one game I do remember was when Wade & I were dating...Thanksgiving Day game 1996
• 'N Sync concert (I have no shame to admit that)
• Tour of Texas Stadium (me, Wade, Shannon, & Brad)
• and for 4 years, we lived in apartments very close by and I drove by it every day to work

So long Texas Stadium!

Baby Showers

In early March, I was blessed to have a fun evening with great friends all celebrating the upcoming arrival of Baby Will.

These lovely girls did a great job of hosting a beautiful shower. This season of life has been such a fun one as I've had the chance to continue some friendships that I've had since the college days and begin new friendships just in the past couple of years. Both make my life richer! Thank you again Kristen, Monica, Alyssa, Holly, Melissa, (and Chris)!

And sweet sister Shannon headed in town to celebrate as well. Here we are with Mimi.

I forgot how cute little bitty baby clothes were!

All of the gifts were so thoughtful and sweet. One especially fun one was the set of onesies/shirts made by my sister (plug for her business here....Jelby's website link). For Tate's first year, I took a monthly block picture (wow, look at him grow). Shannon made some adorable onesies and shirts for Will to wear on his monthly birthday with the number for that month. So cute!

So fun seeing his name!

Evenings like that remind me of the many blessings I am surrounded by. Friends, family, generous hearts, and the gift of a baby...my cup runneth over!

We were also able to celebrate again a couple of weeks ago when the staff at Wade's office threw a luncheon and shower for us. I'm so bummed that I somehow didn't take any pictures. It was another time of feeling oh so thankful and appreciative of the thoughtfulness of others. It was a yummy lunch (I so need that recipe Lynette), a yummy and adorable cake, and so many wonderful gifts (and lots of diapers...yay) for Baby Will. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Top 10....woops...Top 9

Never quite got around to an AI post last week. Was bummed to see Didi go but figured it was going to happen soon. LOVED Lee last week.

On to this week and the Top 9. I live with a serious Beatles fan, so of course, all performances were under major scrutiny. Overall opinion was that it could've collectively been much worse. But again, this season is not proving to have an overall impressiveness to it yet.

The star of the night surely had to be Casey.

I had never heard that song before but loved it. He was great and the guitar playing was impressive. Speaking as someone who knows nothing about guitar playing that is. With the looks, guitar, voice, and hair, I'm thinking he's in at least the Top 3.

The others:

Aaron ~ Wade says I'm way too harsh on the kid. But come on, this week was cheese. Same thing I keep saying...yes, he has a good voice. But I don't see more than that.

Crystal ~ Great performance. I half expected the judges to say it was too similar to what she normally does. But it was still great. She's still great. The "diggety-do" or whatever it's called was funny.

Katie ~ Normally I'm not her biggest fan, but I thought she did pretty great this week. I was impressed.

Lee ~ Well, he definitely wins the award for randomness. I couldn't stop laughing when the bagpipe guy came walking down the stairs. So strange? And it was right at the part of the song that he was getting really good. I want him to do so well (like last week) but think he lets his nerves get the best of him.

Michael ~ It's not my preferred style of music, but his rendition I thought was pretty cool. Different and unique. Not necessarily what I'm going to pay to listen to, but I'm sure there is a market out there for it.

Siobhan ~ I love that song but agreed with what Kara said. I didn't quite get it. Not sure why, but I wasn't crazy about it. It wasn't bad. And thank goodness, she finally didn't scream, but I still just didn't get it. Maybe I just don't get her?

Tim ~ You've got to hand it to the guy for persevering. And you have to admit that it could've been much worse. Not bad. Not impressive by any means, but an improvement for him.

So for me (sounds like Randy-speak), it's time for Andrew to go home. I just wanted him to do so good, but it's not going to happen. I didn't like tonight's song choice. It was too cheesy/poppy. Too bad as he seems to have lots of potential.

Still waiting for a wow moment from someone. Not sure with this group that it's going to happen. Or did I just miss it?

Baby Will

The time is getting closer until we get to meet the little guy that will turn our family into a party of 4.

William Cullen Strzinek, who we plan to call Will, is due in about 2 ½ weeks. We can’t wait to meet him. After saying no to so many different boy names, a couple of months ago, we agreed to go to the name that always came back up. William is a family name on my side, as both of my grandfathers are Williams. Tate has the Robert name passed down from the Strzineks, so I love that this baby will have a name passed down from the Enrights.

And Cullen is the chosen middle name. However, it has nothing to do with vampires. Surely in a few years the Twilight fever will pass and people won’t wonder anymore if I was really that in love with Edward Cullen. Actually the name is from the location where Wade proposed to me about 12 years ago…Cullen Auditorium on the ACU campus.

Around here, he is affectionately referred to as Baby Will. Being pregnant for 9 months is a good thing in some ways as it gives you time to get in the right state of mind. Early on in the pregnancy, I was pretty nervous about the thought of two kids. I’m sure for any of you out there with 3 or 4, you think I’m sounding a little wimpy. I of course was over-the-moon thankful for the gift of a healthy baby, but wondering how will I parent two kids. Let alone, two boys.

And with the second time around, comes the awareness of what is ahead. With your first, you get to be blindly naïve. There are some good things about that. This time, I know exactly what those sleepless nights feel like.

And this pregnancy has definitely been different and much harder than when I was pregnant with Tate. I’ve felt guilty having any kind of complaints about pregnancy, because I know firsthand from several years ago and know so many others that right now would do anything to be suffering through the last few weeks of pregnancy.

Throughout the uncomfortableness, the hairline fracture on my rib, the sciatic nerve pain, and the swelling, I’ve worked hard at being “positive pregnant person.” Not sure that was always accomplished, but I wanted so bad to honor this gift that has been given to me.

And so as time has gone on and my belly has become insanely large, I have bonded with this little mover and shaker (seriously, this boy can move) so much and can’t wait to lay eyes on him…sleepless nights and all. That is the blessing of pregnancy. What was once very uncomfortable and painful at times will change in a heartbeat to a beautiful feeling that is impossible to describe.

I already have an intense love for this little boy. I already want and desire the best for this life that hasn’t even let out its first cry yet. I’m in awe of the miracle of life forming in me every single day.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful.

I know that full well.” ~ Psalm 139:14