Meet Genevieve

Oh wow.  It's been a month and a half since I posted.  I have a legitimate excuse (besides being uber-pregnant, followed by giving birth and getting used to life with two kids): our only living compy decided to kick the proverbial bucket.  After that, I was constrained to checking facebook on my hand-me-down itouch, which, if you're as touch-screen incompatible as I apparently am, is a torturous experience.  So, now I am using a loaner computer and trying to catch you up while both my sweethearts  (ok, sweetheart and very lovable toddler-monster) are napping.




Since I last posted, some pretty major changes have taken place in the Twomey household, namely, the birth of my very first daughter!

Miss Genevieve Noelle Twomey was born February 14, the feast of St. Valentine, 2013 at 9:05  in the morning after a natural and easy (compared to her giant big brother's) labor, Thank God.  She is named after St. Genevieve, an amazing woman of faith who saved Paris from Attila the Hun, and my dearest and only sister, Noelle, who was an indescribable help and comfort during my pregnancy, as she has been my whole life. (Interestingly enough, her other patron saint will be Noel Chambard, one of the North American martyrs who was a missionary here in Michigan.)  She was 7 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.  She has her daddy's chin and bears a strong resembles to her mama's baby picture, except for the dark hair.  We are calling her Gigi, thanks to Finn's darling ability to say "Baby Gigi."  (It also reminds me of the musical Gigi, which I loved when I was a girl.)

It's hard to believe that little Gigi is three weeks old today.  She is an absolute angel, sleeping and eating like a dream.   We've had our rough nights, of course, especially after I tell people how well she sleeps, but overall such an easy baby to care for.   She is as laid back outside as she was in the womb.  So far, she likes: milk, being held and snuggled by her family, warm blankies, her pink swaddler, lights, and making noises like a creaky floor.  (I honestly woke up and thought someone was walking around on our old wood floors. Nope. That's my newborn making those sounds.)  She also doesn't mind being worn, which is a huge relief as Finn pitched a fit when his arms and legs were constrained.  I love that I can finally be a baby-wearing Mama!

so tiny!

Overall,  It's amazing how much more confidence I have with my second baby.  Going out, letting people hold her, feeding her, dressing her- everything is less stress this time around.  I think it helps just knowing that you've managed to keep one baby alive through the newborn stage.  Babies will survive most of the little parenting mistakes that feel like huge blunders to us.  I have a feeling that the fact that I am less high-strung makes Gigi less so.  I also just don't have the time to worry about every little thing with an extremely active almost-twenty-month-old running around.

Speaking of whom, I better give you a quick update on my incorrigible and adorable Finnian.  He loves baby sister Gigi, he wants to hug and kiss and hold her.  Except when he wants to bite and hit and squish her for taking all of Mama and Daddy's attention.  He has had a bit of a rough time of it so far, taking to biting everyone and long stretches of yelling to annoy his sleep-deprived Mama.  To be fair to the little mister, he also has a new tooth and another coming in to contend with, not to mention the obvious destruction of his whole world: aka not being the only child anymore.  He does seem to be doing better every day, however, and I expect that soon he will return to his normal (quite high) level of mischief-making trouble baby.

In other Finn news, he talks like crazy.  He will now repeat pretty mu€ch anything you say, regardless of whether he has any clue what it means.  That said, he does understand an enormous amount of what you say and can have whole conversations with you  He knows and says his own name and those of all of his extended family, repeating and learning new names extremely quickly.  He is talking in little sentences, telling little stories, and remembering things like you wouldn't believe.  Finn loves to point out things he recognizes like hats, dogs, trucks, people going for walks, songs, and babies.  He constantly wants to make verbal lists of things that are the same: "Finn [has] eyes, Daddy eyes, Mama eyes, Gigi eyes too."   or "Mama buhps, Finn buhps, Daddy buhps."

Finnian spends most of his time these days making blocks into space shuttles, asking to hold Gigi and then giving up after 3 seconds,  reading books, pretending to grocery shop with his little cart, making motorcycle noises, trying to steal my "hello" or "pod," and "bakin" pretend food.  He is growing into quite the little person, and if I brag a lot, it's because I can't quite believe that he is so big now and, I must confess, so cute.

So far, being a Mama of two has been both more and less challenging than I expected.  There are times when I feel like I am constantly changing a diaper or feeding someone, times when both my children are screaming and I don't know what to do, and times when I am so exhausted that I find it hard to even imagine how I will get dressed, yet alone dinner on the table or the house straightened up.  At the same time, I have an incredibly supportive and helpful husband and family.  Genevieve is sweet and easy.  Finnian becomes more like his helpful and sweet self every day.  I think I'm going to make it, guys.

Today is: The Feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
Finn is: going to be 20 months next week!
Mama's last book was:  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Gigi, the littlest one, is: 3 weeks old

p.s. sorry there are no pictures not from facebook, but the loaner computer doesn't read my SD card from the camera!