Birthday Season is upon the Lindquists

So it's birthday season for the Lindquists. 

And if you haven't heard (which would be a little surprising) we've added a third birthday along side Faith (June) and Gabby (May). Calvin Robert Lindquist was born on April 23rd at 10:45pm. He was the largest of the three, coming in at a staunch 7lbs 12oz and 19.5" long. 

And that's where I come in (wait, actually about 9ish months ago, but that's another story). It's time for my post-baby post. 

What an amazing experience this was. Now, I realize all three were unique and have their own crescendos to them, but this was fast (in the perspective of labor) and furious (in terms of the movie). And while I "helped" with the girls, this was different. I won't go into details, but I was so overwhelmed with what I saw I was crying with joy. 

The girls instantly fell in love with him. 

Everything went well, and we are in the throes of the first few days with a newborn (so hopefully this as coherent as sleeping pizza). But even better, we are a family of five, and with four birthdays in three months (plus our 10-year anniversary this June 2nd) we have an exciting few months just starting, and I'm glad I get to live it and love it with the family I have. 

Here are a few photos from the first moments of Calvin's life. 

Our first photo together.

Two hours after birth, Cal is weighed.

A quick bonding moment for me and the boy.

Here, I believe, I'm imparting some great wisdom... or he tooted.

Definitely a toot.

He looks like A)mom B)dad C)Faith D)Gabby E)all of the above

A very proud big(gest) sister.

A very proud big(ger) sister.

The men of the house doing what they do best. I swear I was awake for this, right?

And finally, the name. I bet you're wondering how we got to Calvin. Well, it just so happened to be on both of our lists, and we loved it. I think our "top five" was something like: Calvin, Clark, Leo, Hudson, Theo. But, I'm going to let you in on a little secret on one of my reasons I liked it: 

"Cal L."

- "Rob L."

The day the earth stood still... again.

Wow, barely the title and the seasonal allergies are already flaring up. Whew. I at least made it to the first sentence with The day the earth stood still.

Hello Gabby. This is my formal introduction of you to the rest of the world. I want your mom (I call her Nic) to have the chance to tell the birth story of how you were brought into the world (there are some funny parts, obviously). But I wanted to let you know just how much we already know about you.

It's funny, because with your big sister, your mom and I were deer in headlights. We didn't know what to do, what was coming next, or even what...

Quick pause. I just got to pick you up again: Mom needed a nap! I know you can't tell, but I'm now typing one-handed.

... or even what we didn't know! And with you, we get to really enjoy you. We get to stare at you. Mom held you for an hour-and-a-half before I got to... but I'm okay with that!

We loved our experience with Faith, and we are still in the hospital, and we love it with you for different reasons.

First, let me just tell you that your mom and I had a little debate with your name. But when I was calling people to let them know of your arrival, I had to stop on each one just so I didn't cry over the phone (that doesn't mean I didn't cry every time tried saying it). I think Gabrielle Grace is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Just ask any of your grandparents, I was a mess.

You also have had many visitors. And you are very generous to all of them. You haven't fussed, you're generally very content. And you're rocking all of your standardized tests (as a teacher, I'll let you know more about this stuff later).

We are so blessed to have you, your sister, and our little family (and just wait til you get home and meet your "brother" Howie; Faith will show you all of his tricks).

Cheese---ie

Love,
Dad

Proof of what you're stuck with

PS - if someday you're reading this on your own (crap, tears again), you know by now that I'm a huge geek. You'd better get used to it. People will know you, and feel like they've always known you, because you are a special person, and your mom and dad are writers by trade.

It's been a while for me...

So as it turns out, I (Rob) haven't written on here in a while. And looking at the blog - it doesn't look like Nic has kept up maybe as much as she would have liked to. So here's what you've missed since I've last posted (9/19/12 - The Birthday Post):

The President was re-elected

Faith is fully potty trained (knock on wood)

ISU Football became Bowl Eligible

I got to dance with Bruce Springsteen (well, touch him; creepy)... Amazing concert.

That happened... 

And I created a 1-minute movie trailer:

                                                                        Cute, huh?

It's very artsy-fartsy and hoity-toity. It's an indy film, so I don't expect everyone to get it, but I do want the feelings to be expressed throughout the magnificant artistry and benevolence that come with... That's what directors sound like right?

If you didn't watch the video yet (or follow us on Facebook, or Twitter, or in real life): SPOILER ALERT! Baby numero deuce-o is on the way. Expected arrival - end of the school year (Late May/Early June 2013).

And it's funny because Nic and I have had this grand master plan for a while now, and things are still working for us. But planning for #2 and knowing #2 is on the way feels different. Everything has been different for Nic. Faith seems to think she's getting another baby Susie (doll).

So that means we've been looking for our old baby stuff. Found out, Nic has "lost" all of her maternity clothes. We get to buy new I guess. We were walking through Target and a teacher-friend of mine happened to be purchasing a baby shower gift, and was getting Baby Crack (something remembered from our post), which made me look for ours (check).

It's Baaack: the Baby Einstein Baby Take-Along Tunes Infant Toy

Anyway - we're happy. Nic is doing well. I have already gained the required empathy weight. Faith seems to get it... I think. And now that Howie is completely comfortable with Faith, we're going to throw this at him. Good luck, buddy.

I can't go into much more detail because Nic is going to be sending out the Christmas letter soon. It'd help if she had started writing it I think though. Have a Merry Christmas.

~Rob

The day the earth stood still...

Happy Birthday on June 24 to my daughter (wow!) Faith Janna Lindquist! Crap, this might be tougher than I thought because I already have a tear in my eye after one sentence. This was quite the experience. I had two goals for last night: 1) don't pass out and 2) don't pass out.

I don't want to go into all of the details (shocked?) about the day and evening leading up to the night of Faith's birth, but I did want to mention how extremely blessed we are! As Nicole started what everybody knows as labor (PUSH!!BREATHE!!PUSH!!), I was lucky enough to be by her side. The nurses had asked me my goals (see above) and put me to Nic's ride (ride, really Rob? I mean right) side. Before I knew it, I was holding a leg...

There was an instant where I thought I would be lucky enough to cut her cord, but there was a slight problem. As my daughter formerly known as Baby L came out, she had her cord around her neck and body (so two complete entanglements). Needless to say, I didn't cut the cord. Nicole didn't have any idea until well after the fact, which was good. So WHEW!

Anyway, she is the most precious girl ever - and I don't think I'm being biased at all. I have pictures on Facebook, so if you haven't seen them, just go there. I'm going to totally be "that guy" that posts anything and everything on Facebook, but I'll keep it clean. It truly is amazing how fast you can fall in love with someone; and now I have the two most beautiful girls ever!

~Rob

Facebook album made public:
click here
(this link disables every time I update the album; if you want to see the pics, just comment and I will update them here)

The Eagle has landed - a look into nesting at 37 weeks.

Even my daddy's guide to parenting website says that men can nest. It's when the parent wants to make sure everything (yes, everything) is perfect for when the child comes home. Cooking, cleaning, dusting, cleaning, rearranging, cleaning... you get it.

We have made some major changes in our household in the last week, and have at least one more major change to make. We now have a new living room. The overstuffed blue furniture is gone, and we now have a blue (original, huh?) sectional couch. The glass coffee table is out as well, replaced by an ottoman with storage in it. This was done to save space, and give more playing room. We've also added baby furniture: an electric swing and baby play-yard. If somehow you missed my (one of too many) Facebook posts, you saw the couch is very comfy. I tend to fall asleep as soon as I sit (and inevitably lay) down. Oh, Howie likes the new stuff too. He has claimed about four different spots as his. The one major change left? Front door. I will be picking it up today (presumably). It will have a window in it to let sun in during the afternoon hours. It also allows us to not cool the outdoors during the summer (as our current door has a leak).



The cooking has started as well. I've been joking with Nic that we need to freeze pretty much everything we eat, even things that don't need freezing. Restaurant appetizers would be wonderful, but she nixes it. Alas, ask and you shall receive. I woke up this morning to the wonderous smell of raspberry muffins and hamburger. Nic was cooking lasagna to freeze. It's a great idea, and we will have a stuffed freezer for at least a few days after Baby L is born.
 

Baby L is (less than) three weeks away. There is a baby pool on Nic's side. I have the 13th, a full week early. Nic has the actual due date, June 20. All but a few people in the pool have her coming before the 20th, and the earliest is June 1 (someone also had June 6, my bday). The latest is the 22nd. What this tells me? I only have about two and a half weeks to repaint the house, mow the lawn four times, trim the hedges, manage the garden, re-upholster the kitchen chairs, re-side the house, dust the ceiling.........
 

Favorite song heard while writing this post? If you're wondering if I want you to (I want you to) by Weezer.

~Rob

Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting!

Wow, I am cheesy-lame guy. Admit it, you knew I was Captain Corny, but that's just a new level. Anyway, Happy belated Easter. And as you might have guessed, I have finally felt Baby L kick. Honestly though, if you did guess that you're either 1) extremely gifted or 2) extremely bored. It was such a weird, fantastical feeling that I didn't expect to have. In the 20ish weeks leading to me feeling a kick, I have stayed away from all other baby kicks (and quite well thank you), for the simple reason that I want to make sure to have no expectations with Baby L. To the point: I felt what I thought was a little hiccup by Nicole, but I had a fleeting suspicion. As quickly as I thought it was a hiccup by Nicole, she looked at me and asked if I felt it. Heck yea I did. On my right palm, near the pinky-side of my wrist, at 10:40ish on a Saturday night. That's just something I need to write so I don't forget (I feel that Nicole will have a test for me on this).

As if that wasn't good enough, Nicole woke me from my Post-Easter-Lunch Nap (yes, it's a real thing; and for a quick digression: I use parenthesis way too often) to have me come back to the table and feel another kick. It's such a magnificent feeling - like I did something right in the last bit of "baking time." Of course, I haven't done anything but support my wife, but that counts I think.

Oh well, it was great. And as much as I wanted to have a picture of Nicole in a Ninja outfit to go with the title of my post, I will let you enjoy her Easter Sunday dress. 10 bonus points if you can find the hidden basketball :)


~Rob

"Baby Class"

Um, nobody told me this was going to happen. I mean, I get it. But wow. And there were parts that were an animation too! Actually, there was a lot shown - with no warning. Graphic stuff. Real stuff. In fact, the "teachers" (a term I use loosely with the two ladies in charge) left the room during each of the videos we watched. But I learned a lot: like when not to pass out, and how to avoid watching certain facets of the whole birth.

Really though? Overall, it was good information, and I suppose a good refresher for those couples who were less than two weeks away from birthing. But they made about 3 hours of information last 7 hours... yikes. We do have certificates though. I'm not sure why - it doesn't say we did anything, accomplished anything, or won anything. It is just a certificate with our names. Yeah, now I can go pay for my new ____ with it... maybe not.

Kidding aside, "Baby Class" taught me how to swaddle, bathe, hold, transfer, clean, re-diaper, clothe, and burp my yet unborn girl. We also learned breathing and relaxation techniques(both of us, because I'm support).

I'm glad it's done because I feel we will have a lot going on in the next few months, but I hope I can remember when to HEE and when to WHO. Nicole is depending on me. Baby L is depending on me. Those animations aren't depending on me, but I have a feeling they will never be forgotten. This was baby class.

~Rob

24 weeks

This is taking a while :) I don't know what it is, or why, but I'm becoming impatient. I know it might be the winter blues (still - sick of winter), but I'm ready to see baby already. We're 24 weeks in, and I've found myself saying "our" due date and "we're" pregnant. My thought is that I'm not the one carrying the baby, so I'm not pregnant - yet I still find myself doing that. I fondly remember telling myself I wouldn't throw myself into the stack of cheesy men who say stuff like I'm the one going through all of the pain and struggling, when in reality I'm just an on-looker. Oh well. Today (2/27) we will be working on the walls of the baby room. We will be putting up "words for walls" and it should look nice.

Oooh, as a reminder: we are having a garage sale in April, so save up your dimes and buy some of the stuff we don't want!

Nicole at 23 weeks:



~Rob

Once Upon a Child doing step aerobics!

Allow me to explain the title of this blog.

My friend and neighbor, the lovely Mrs. Carrie Wilcoxen, introduced me to Once Upon a Child located in Omaha yesterday. At first it was overwhelming, but as I started thumbing through the racks I realized it was my new favorite store! They carry gently used name brand baby clothes, shoes, toys, swimsuits, etc. I wasn't planning on buying any clothes until after the baby shower but I couldn't resist. It's so fun to buy things for baby L! Most of the outfits I bought were less than $2! I didn't realize just how great of a deal that was until I stopped into Baby Gap later that day and saw one little shirt that costs $24! Anyway, here's a pic of all the goods I got. In total, 9 onesies/sleepers/outfits for $25 plus tax. And once baby grows out of them, I can take them back (as long as they're still in good shape) and get store credit to buy more goods! Life is good :)

And now for the second part of the post.
Baby L finally kicked the other day! I think she probably kicked before I knew what a kick felt like, but now I can definitely feel her lil legs movin. It's ever so slight, but you have to remember she only weighs a pound. I can't wait for Rob to feel them too! Happy 23 weeks :)