Two Kids and Counting

Yes, we will have three kids under the age of three.

Yes, they will all be 12 mo. apart.

Yes, they will all potentially have birthdays in March.

Yes, March will be an expensive month.

Oh, and yes, we do know what's causing this.

Ok, I think that pretty much covers the most frequently asked questions.

God has blessed us with another soon-to-be DeLuca baby. A sweet little boy who is set to make his open-air debut on March 31 (although secretly I'm hoping for April...you know, change of pace and all that).

We're super excited.... and a little nervous. Well, I'm a little nervous. Hello people, three kids under three. That means three kids potentially in diapers, three little people running around my house with limited verbal and physical abilities (aka lots of screaming and falling into things). In the last two days alone, Rowan has run directly into a folding table, eye first, fallen off the dining room table, gotten stuck in the bottom half of an exersaucer, and Emma has fallen on her head at least seven times - usually because Rowan pushes her over as he's running past. I can't help but think of cow tipping. Don't judge. Anyway, the result of all of this being multiple mommy heart attacks. Now add one more. Eek!

All of this to say we are excited and nervous and very thankful. More than ever we have the opportunity to completely rely on God for strength, endurance, and patience (oh do we need patience), among other things. I'm thankful to be directly in the center of His will and 100% counting on for my sanity anticipating His full provision. With God's grace baby #3 will be coming home to a pair of blissfully exhausted parents, an adoring sister and a brother who has lost interest in drive-by baby tipping.

Just another summer day, heart attack included.

Summertime in New Orleans -- like walking face first into a hot, wet towel. Sounds appealing right? Right. In an effort to avoid said towel, we moseyed on over to the aquarium this past weekend (it's too hot to do anything more strenuous than moseying). The aquarium here is pretty sweet. Not as good as the one in Atlanta, but I think that one is like the biggest in the world or something. Stiff competition. 

I don't think it mattered to Rowan though, he was on Cloud 9 the ENTIRE time we were there. 

I realized when we got home that pretty much all of my pictures were of the back of his head, but I seriously couldn't get him to turn around long enough to look at me. He LOVED the fish. I think we found a new favorite thing.

Speaking of new things, allow me to share with you the newest trick my son has learned. Before we begin this story, you should know that he is safely in his crib taking a nap right now. I always have to start my stories like that when I talk to my mom, otherwise she assumes he's in the hospital, or sick or stuck up a tree or something. Go figure. 

Anywho, we busted out the kiddie pool today. Super fun, Rowan loves it. Eventually though, pool time was over, time for us to go in. Time for me to take my kids inside. Two kids. One me. Neither of them are very good at walking....especially Emma. Here is where my dilemma began.

Time out. In the middle of the aquarium, Rowan literally stopped dead in his tracks and gazed longingly at this Haagen Dazs poster for a full 30 seconds, no prompting. Thirty seconds is a long time to do anything for my son. Unless, apparently, it involves ice cream. He is his father's child.

Also, we had some difficulty keeping him out of the fish tanks.

Back to my dilemma by the pool. Two kids. One me. "Well," I think, "Rowan seems to be entertaining himself pretty well. I can probably get Emma in, set her down and come back out to get him." Now for all of you moms who are getting all judgey and concerned that I left my son unattended by the pool, cool your jets, I had my eye on him. However, my next move was not one of my prouder moments. 

Isn't this picture so cute?? 

I just love them. :) 

Anyway, I put Emma down inside the door, looked back over my shoulder, saw that Rowan was still occupied and decided it would be the perfect time to jet down the hall and start his bath. It's a long(er) story but he was covered in charcoal mud that was not welcome in my bedroom. The faster I could get him to the tub, the better.

So I literally ran down the hall, turned the water on, poured a little bubble bath and was on my way to the door. Now is a good time to get judgey and concerned, because it was at this point that I realized my 15-month-old was coming in the back door. In the time it had taken me to walk 10 feet to the bathroom and start a bath, Rowan had left the backyard, climbed up the wooden steps to our back porch and was now teetering dangerously on the threshold of the back door.

You know that moment in movies, right before someone gets attacked by a wild animal? It's the stare down moment when the soon-to-be attackee is trying to remember if they're supposed to play dead, or charge, or run away, or what. That's what this was like. Both of us staring at each other. Me realizing that if I made any sudden movements, Rowan would probably take off running toward the stairs. And he did. I ran, screaming his name all the way to the door and caught him just as he was taking his first step off the porch. I'm not sure it needs to be said, but in case it does, this particular 15-month-old does not do stairs by himself. Period.

I dragged him into our room, crying all the way because he wasn't ready to come in (he was crying, not me, just in case you were confused). I then realized I left Emma's baby seat outside. (ps..isn't that shark coming at me and Emma super scary looking??) Rowan seemed to be entertaining himself, curled up in a ball, pouting on the floor, so I decided it would be the best time to go get the seat. Looking back on it now, it really seems like I made the same mistake twice within 5 minutes -- assuming that Rowan would stay where I left him. At the time, it did not seem that clear. 

Out to get the seat, back into my bedroom. No Rowan. Great. I remembered then that I left the bath running. Figuring he probably heard it and decided to check it out, I hustled down the hallway. I walked into the bathroom, and there was my son, sitting in the bathtub, attempting to wash his hair. I still have no idea how he got in there as he's never climbed into the tub by himself before, but he was there none the less, and washing himself to boot.

Aside from me having a new respect for Rowan's abilities, I realize that there were at least 5 ways he could have killed himself in this story alone. Thank you Jesus for the hedge of angels that you put around our children daily. Also, thank you for protecting our children from our sometimes ridiculous parenting skills. I love you!

Blessings...

Delayed gratification. Iced coffee tastes a little bit sweeter when it's been waiting for you in the refrigerator for a day and a half. Thank you, Lord.

A quiet house is like salve to the soul. And it's a little bit salvier (I understand this is a made up word) after hours of crying - usually babies', sometimes yours. Thank you, Lord.

The fellowship of women feels a little more like coming home when it has been sorely missed. Thank you, Lord.

Meeting someone who is thriving in the same life stage as you is like being thrown a life preserver. Thank you, Lord.

Challenging words are more riveting in the midst of complacency. Thank you, Lord.

A desperate heart is easier to mold. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you Father for what you are doing in my life, in the lives of my children, and in this crazy city that we live in. Thank you for being always present, even when we think you're not. And thank you for loving us, even on our ugliest days. Thank you for the blessing of your Word and for the assurance of Your gift of salvation. Thank you for friends, for family, for husbands, and thank you for your constant provision in every aspect of my life. I love you with all my heart. Thank you for knowing this in spite of me.

Thank you for this stage of life and I pray you would use it to Your glory.

Shhhh....

I'm beginning this post in a very precarious position. I have a (barely) slumbering Emma on my lap, who's slowly stretching her way to being awake, and any minute I'm anticipating coughs and cries from Rowan's room that let me know he's done with nap time.....a simultaneously exciting and dreaded moment. It's really my own fault. I've had peace and quiet now for about an hour, but honestly, I spent the majority of it mindlessly organizing my boards on Pinterest...LAME! I don't even feel bad. A girl can take a break.

And there are the cries...cool.

Crying babies make it really hard to think. Just so we're on the same page here, I wrote like half this post and deleted it because it didn't make any sense.

You're welcome.

 For those of you who are here anticipating baby pictures, I will not disappoint.

I'm currently working on a video montage of our last two months as a family of four. 

HAHA! It's funny even when I type it. Seriously though, I'm working on it.

Just don't hold your breath.

This sweet little lady is two months today! It goes so fast! She's an angel. She pretty much has to be since Rowan is a demon tornado most of the time. It balances things out. 

In all seriousness, they've both been a blast the last couple months and they love each other soo much. "Emma" is one of the only words Rowan says clearly and his voice gets all soft like he's talking to a...well a baby I guess. He's so smart :)

Ok, gotta go get Destructor from his crib. Look out for the movie (chuckle). And I'm not sure who knows what about Emma...for example if you live within a 50 mile radius of my mom, or are friends with her on facebook, or have ever given her your telephone number, or maybe you just stood within shouting distance of her, you probably know most everything about Emma already, so I don't want to bore you all with old news. But if you have questions about her just leave a comment and ask! It's literally one of my favorite topics to talk about....literally.

The waiting game

We now officially have 3 days until Emma Rose DeLuca's due date.

It would be an understatement to say that I'm getting a little antsy.

It's a wee bit easier to keep my mind off of the looming day this time around, mainly because I have a teething one-year-old who recently decided to start asserting his own will via high-pitched screams....super fun. :)

But it really hasn't been bad. Rowan's been keeping me busy, we have family in town keeping us company, and I recently picked up sewing. That's right, another step toward unlocking my inner suzy. I'm currently in the middle of making seat cushions for our dining room chairs. We'll see. I'm totally enjoying it and I'm in love with the fabric that we picked out - yes, WE....apparently John has quite an eye for fabric. I've been trying to take pictures as we go so I can share the process - the good, the bad and the ugly (hopefully not too ugly...I'd actually like to use them). So that's coming soon....along with my baby girl. Eee!

I'm just ready. Ready to get the show on the road; ready to see what she looks like; ready to introduce Rowan to his little sister. I hope he likes her. I hope he doesn't try to tackle her, or eat her, or lay on her like one of his stuffed animals. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad. He really likes stuffed animals.

Anywho, here we are, playing the waiting game. I'm pretty determined to win.

A day of rest

Saturdays are very much our day of rest. Because most of our week is chock full of football, Bible studies, cleaning, staff meetings, hanging out with friends and work, John and I try to reserve at least Saturdays for just hanging out together and doing whatever the heck we want. It's my favorite day of the week :)

But to say it's our day of rest is maybe a little misleading. We definitely rest at points....primarily when Rowan's conked out. But for the most part, we end up doing what we love to do....go! No two weekends are the same so every Saturday looks different. But they all tend to have the same feel

Wake up
Feed Rowan
Hang out with Rowan (maybe take a walk?)
Put Rowan down for a nap
Call of Duty/blog reading - you can probably guess who is doing what
Feed Rowan lunch
Go somewhere fun (fun for us...i.e. anywhere outside our home)
Bring Rowan back home for a nap
Throw in some P90x and mommy/daddy hang out time :)
Feed Rowan a snack
Go back out and do something fun
Eat dinner
Watch a movie or one of our favorite tv shows
Hit the hay

And there you have it....a typical Saturday in the life of the DeLuca's. Notice there is no cleaning involved...this is my favorite part. It's not much to write home about, but again, my favorite day of the week.

Yesterday, our big outing was the Home & Garden Expo in the Superdome. 

While we could pretend to be all cool and HGTVish let's be real and just say up front that we paid $9 each to stand on the floor of the Superdome. Well worth it.

However, I did score a pretty nifty cookbook from the Junior League of New Orleans 

They have some really neat southern/new orleans' cuisine inspired cookbooks. This is the next one on my list to get. And I got a sweet new vegetable peeler.

I was a little perturbed at how excited I was about the veggie peeler...but seriously it's AWESOME!! Easiest peeling experience of my life, plus the blade is made out of that crazy tungsten metal. And it's Swiss so....

My favorite part of the day, though. really centered around the food....as usual.

John had a delicious pulled pork sandwich (don't tell Tony!)

and I stuffed myself with this mouth-watering bowl of red beans and rice. It wasn't Monday, the typical red beans and rice day in New Orleans, but pregnant ladies get to eat what they want, when they want. I'm pretty sure this is an actual law. Like a physics law or something. It probably originated with Newton.

Rowan tried the red beans, liked it at first, then threw the spoon back at me when he decided it was time for Cheerios instead. We're really rockin n rollin on the manners thing. What am I going to do with two?!

John's first blog post

Ashley has encouraged me to write a blog post, probably before she even started the blog, so alas I will comply. 

Reasons why I am complying:

1. In an effort to be a good husband, I should put forth the effort to help make my wife smile.
2. Ashley is 2 weeks away from our second child’s due date. 
3. I have never written a blog post, so when in Rome... I don’t know if that applies here.
4. She has been extremely helpful with P90X stuff and I probably owe her a few posts at this point.
5. I love Ashley!

On with the post... so what to talk about. I feel like as a guy I should talk about the latest sports news, or maybe some work out routine; however, I believe the majority of people who will actually read this post have little interest in these subjects. If I have offended anyone, I apologize. Let’s talk about Rowan. I feel like he is the most interesting part of my life right now, and Ashley posts a lot about him. So let’s put a man’s perspective to this thing we call parenting. 

I work a lot and am often left missing my wife and son. I spend a good amount of time at work some days thinking about how I would like to be home playing with Rowan or taking him on a walk. I feel like these ‘daydreaming’ sessions are always a little unrealistic. 

DayDream: Rowan is always right on the same page with what I want to do. We roll the ball back and forth multiple times; he sits patiently while I read him a book; we go for a walk and Rowan points and yells at different things; he laughs and I never seem to have to change a diaper. 

Reality: I get home from work most days rather tired and try to play with Rowan; but many days I fail and Rowan for some reason never wants to play the game I want to play. Last night Rowan woke up around 11:30 pm - a few hours after bedtime. I made the attempt to go in his room, calm him down and put him back to bed. As Rowan has become extremely attached to his mother (which, to be honest, I can’t blame him), he relies on her comfort to calm down. I went in to put Rowan to sleep and the crying/screaming only got worse. I don’t think I calmed him down one bit, but instead I worked him up a little more (close to a frenzy). Long story short, I failed big time. I went back to the bedroom defeated and sent in the heavy artillery. I could hear the calming effect as Ashley walked in his bedroom. Three seconds later, silence. Rowan is falling to sleep in Ashley’s arms and everything is at peace again. She lays him back down he makes a little fuss and then we are all sound asleep for the night (well Ashley is super pregnant, so she may not be sleeping soundly, but from my perspective it was quite sound sleep). 

Now to my favorite part: Tonight! Sooo tonight we had a monthly group meeting for Cru/Impact. The house was full of people and we were enjoying some fellowship, Jesus, and fun. Ashley put Rowan to sleep about half way through the shindig. However, about an hour later Rowan was crying and screaming (we might not have been very quiet). So  I figured why not try another attempt at calming my son. Ashley was busy talking about prayer and its importance, so I had no back-up. I walked in thinking this may be a feeble attempt and feeling a little defeated already, but hey what’s a guy to do but try.

I slipped in the room and reached for my son who was already standing in his crib. I calmly placed him on my shoulder and the crying continued. But this time instead of increasing it seemed to be tapering off. After a brief minute, Rowan was not crying but instead laying his head on my shoulder, first on the right, then the left, then the right, then the left (it made me think of myself trying to fall asleep). And then the moment came when everything in his body seemed to relax and he was asleep ("SUCCESS!!!" is what screamed in my head, but silence on the outside). I layed my son back in his bed after reveling in the moment for a good 10 minutes and with a smooth rub on his back he barely made a peep. I tiptoed out of the room to join back in the festivities. 

I think God blesses us with these little moments when we need them most. With Rowan depending on mom so much and a new baby on the way that will literally depend on Ashley for sustenance, at times it seems like the “dad role” is not as important. I know that providing for my family is a huge blessing from God, not just for the opportunity, but also just having a good job. I can’t thank and praise God enough for those things. He truly is the great provider. I will say though that when God gives me the chance to help put Rowan to sleep and calm him down, when God helps my work daydreams come true, those are the little moments when I feel most blessed to be a father and get a little picture of how our Father holds us in His hands and calms us.

“big gulps ehh.... welp see you later”