Grandpa Giove visits

Click here for photos of our weekend!

Papa Giove made a visit from Tennessee, and we had a great time with him. We made a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo, to the Kankakee Farmers Market, collected candy while we watched the Bourbonnais Parade, and had a Fathers day dinner at Brickstone. It was a really great weekend!

Easter Celebration!

Easter 2009

Easter is a big time of the year for our family. This year was very exciting because Noah understood a lot of what makes Easter a holiday. With exception of understanding death completely, which I hear he won't fully grasp until much later in life. He knows that Easter is a time to remember Jesus Christ, who died on a cross for our sins and rose again! I searched for creative ways of explaining atonement to small kids, as it is no small task. I really think he understands the concepts, as best he can. And I'm very happy with the holiday. One of the cool things we did (mainly because I dressed them) was wear all red on good Friday. I explained to the kids that we wear red because today is the day Jesus died on the cross. We also read a portion of scripture each day that correlated to a day of trials, persecution, and resurrection leading into Easter.

Easter at Mom's

We also celebrated Easter in Downers Grove with my mother, sister and cousin. The kids really loved it, and nana got to take them to her church for an Easter egg hunt while Amy and I spent some time along together. My mom made a ham that was amazing, and we left very full and happy. We got to visit with the neighbor girl who Rachel was babysitting for, and you will notice her in a few photos. The kids also got some really wonderful gifts, and they were pretty excited. We have always wanted to make Easter the big holiday of the year, and this year worked out nicely. Also, you are able to order prints of any of the images you see on the Picasa site. Enjoy!

One of those days

Yesterday was one of those days for me. It started off well. On my way out from work I walked past a DVD laying in the snow, partially covered with frosty ice. I picked it up thinking the owner wasn't going to be coming back for it, and it was a full screen copy of The Bourne Ultimatum! Happy day! I brought it to my car to find that it was dead. I'm guessing the door was partially open, and with our car if the door is open enough to display door ajar on the dash, it will drain the battery. I'm not sure why, but it just does. I got out of the car and started going over in my head what I could do. First I needed to get the hood open, which was currently covered with a nice inch or so of ice.

Giovanna Ruth Arlene

Giovanna Ruth Arlene Giove entered the world on November 8th at 6:18am weighing 8lb 14.5oz and measuring 21.5in long! Our home birth ended up going really well, and Amy did an excellent job! After waking up with some painful contractions, we called the midwife at 4:30am telling her that it was the real deal. At 6am she said, 'This is intense' as she labored in the pool. The midwife arrived and 18 minutes later and Giovanna made her entrance into this world. She was born in the bag of waters which was amazing, and to the delight of Amy as she was hoping that would happen.

Photos of Giovanna

We had planned for the kids to be at our good friends house (the Taff family) but it was so early that we didn't want to wake them to be picked up. It ended up being perfect. At 6am Frencesca appeared in the doorway of the kitchen with a look on her face to say, "Hi, what's going on in here?" She walked over to me and sat on my lap calmly and was able to witness the birth first hand. After Amy delivered the after birth, we were walking her back to our bed to lay down when Noah appeared at his door with the same wonder. He definitely knew something was up when he asked, "Did your baby decide to come out today mama?" He was definitely amazed and happy to see his little sister. Noah even exclaimed that he didn't want to leave his baby, when he was leaving to spend the day with our friends.

We definitely will be doing a home birth again, as it was an amazing experience. I'm sure Amy will get on here and express her own thoughts, and I'll probably have some more things to say later as well. I was definitely very impressed with Amy and her laboring. She did amazingly well, and it will always remain a mystery to me because she was in such intense pain, yet remained a lot more calm than you could even imagine.

P.S. I just noticed the other day that picasa lets you order prints from Walgreens, Shutterfly, Snapfish, and Photoworks. Enjoy!

Noah's Birthday

Noah's 3rd Birthday

Noah had a blast for his third birthday. The day started off with waking up and finding Bob the Builder and Wendy sitting in his chair at the table. Frencesca almost beat him to the table. My mom and sister were there to enjoy the day with him, and he loved it. We had a good morning and we opened some of his presents that we had for him. While opening cards Noah opened a card from my dad that played a little song. He loved it, and after he opened that one was surprised when the others didn't play songs either asking, "Is this broken?"

After presents at home we had planned an afternoon at the park with friends, and cake. We spend a lot of time decorating his cake, which we brought and shared with his (and our friends) that came. Noah had a blast, and even got a few presents there. His birthday ended up being a very happy time for our man, and he really enjoyed having his friends around to share it with him.

Biking to VPs

So I think I'm going to try and bike to VIPs tomorrow morning for our Men's Breakfast. Typically I would just drive, but I though I would ride this time. After Google told me to take Armour to Kinzie, I redirected it to avoid Armour, and then modified it to cut through a park and part of Olivet. I'm thinking it shouldn't be be too hard, as it takes me about 10 minutes to ride to work. And it's going to he 6:30am on a Saturday.

Because I love Google, I created a map for you of the route I'll be riding tomorrow. The red line is the route I'll take, and the blue line is the route Google gave me. You can click on the pins to see what they are.

View Larger Map

Home Birth

This may be news to you, but we've decided to have a home birth. It's going to be attended by a MidwifeWhat is a nurse midwife? allnursingschools.com, her assistant, and a DoulaWikipedia entry for Doula. A few years back we considered having a home birth, but we were told it was illegal in IL. It wasn't until recently that we discovered that it wasn't, and that started the ball rolling. (The AMA might actually want it to be illegalAs stated in the AMA Resolution #205, but hopefully they will not prevail.) We have received a great response from the people we've told so far, and we appreciate that. You have been really supportive, thanks!

For those of you who are skeptical, you would be pleased to know that the largest study of homebirths attended by Certified Professional Midwives, as published in the British Medical Journal, has found that homebirth is safe for low risk women and involves far fewer interventions than similar births in hospitals.Quoted from the Family Midwifery Service According to Amie's medical records her current pregnancy is low risk, and the midwife said we looked to be perfect for a home birth.

Please feel free to talk to us about the decision, and ask questions about the home birth. We are learning a lot! You should see the reading material we are getting from our midwife and doula!

Don't feel free to share negative comments or experiences (especially to Amie.) We've done our research and the facts show that an assisted home birth is completely safe, and any horror stories will only make Amie more tense and apprehensive during labor (It is well known that a variety of psychological factors can influence people's health and interfere with medical treatment. In obstetrics, levels of anxiety have been found to predict obstetric complications.Taken from a prospective study in midwifery practices in the Netherlands.) I may be preaching to the choir on this one, but I thought I'd throw that out there for you. :D

Also, you can search for your own information, or you can look at some notes that I put together here.