P.U. in the Pew

This past Sunday (2/28/10) we took Finn to church for the second time. We sat in the very back with much anticipation that we would have to remove him quickly from the service if he started crying or fussing (which is one of Finn's favorite hobbies currently). Never, though, did we think we would have to remove him because of explosive gas!! Finn started ripping some loud, long, and juicy farts during the middle of the sermon. And it seemed to always be when the pastor was pausing between sentences. Needless to say, we were dying laughing and quite embarrassed. The row in front of us and behind us were laughing as well. After the third round of explosions I turned to Tradd and said, "What should we do? Should we take him out?" Tradd, Paige (Tradd's sister), and I truly had the giggles and couldn't stop laughing. Oh, it is the worst when you have the giggles and what you started laughing about isn't really that funny anymore but you just can't stop. As you can imagine, we really didn't have the chance to enjoy the sermon but it was good to feel normal again and be back in the environment of friends and fellowship. Sorry on Finn's behalf to all those who we disrupted from listening at church!

Finn @ 7 weeks old

Enjoying Finn's heart melting smiles

The newest "Ernest A. Rodenberg's" photo

Finn @ 10 weeks old

Bruce, Kathy, and Finn for Kathy's Birthday

Finn's first snow!

Last night Finn got to see his first snow! Who would have thought it would have been here in Charleston, SC! I seriously was expecting to introduce Finn to snow for the first time when we went home to Ohio. Tradd and Finn made there first snowman together!



On a sad note two of my sweet besties, Corrine and Jenny, were suppose to fly down from Ohio this weekend to meet Finn for the first time. They planned this weekend months ago! As we all know it hasn't snowed in Charleston since 1989 and of course it has to snow the one weekend they choose to come. Unfortunatley, their flights got cancelled! I am so bummed, but I am sure they didn't want to leave snow to come see more snow :)

Bliss or Bust Adventures

So in the past 2 weeks we have decided to take a few adventures:

Avatar...
Two Saturdays ago Tradd and I decided it was finally time to take a break and go on a little afternoon date to go see Avatar. Little did we realize the major production it would create to just get out of the house let alone the complications that followed. The movie was at 2:45 so we had to start the preperations around 11! Yes 11. Gone are the days where you jump in the shower 45 minutes before you have to be some where. Tradd and I were trying to get showers amongst a crying baby, eat lunch, pack the diaper bag, pack the pump and supplies, prepare the bottle for grandparents, and the list goes on and on. Those who are mothers know that you are on the clock the second you are done feeding your child. So my parents generously came over to pick up Finn right after his feeding so we wouldn't have to waste time dropping him off. Once he was loaded in their car... we were OFF!! Off to West Ashley so we could see this 3D movie on the IMAX screen. We rolled into the parking lot and came to find out it was sold out!! WHAT!! There is no way...all of that for nothing. Now what, we need to take advantage of this time. So we drove back to Mt. P and decided to settle with just seeing it on the Palmetto Grande 3D screen. Bought tickets for the 3:50 showing, went in the theatre and come to find out.. NO SEATS!! Are you freaking kidding me! Third time's the charm...exchanged tickets for the 7:30pm showing and got to enjoy the fabulous movie. All of this with pumping in the car 3 times, trip to grandmas to drop off more milk and complete exhaustion! Didn't get home till 11pm. A 12 hour day just to see Avatar. At least it was worth it, I think :)

Check out our new 3D specks!!!

Starbucks...
This past Saturday we woke up to realize we were out of coffee. Bummer! We are pretty much dependent on our cup of coffee to get through the day so we decided to take a walk with Finn to Starbucks which is across from our neighborhood in the Belle Hall shopping center. Had a great cool brisk walk there, got our coffee, and then Tradd looked at his phone to see that a down pour of rain was approaching us. We couldn't of have moved fast enough as the rain started. Trying to cover up Finn, walk/run with coffee in our hands and try to laugh at the same time was truly a sight!

Finn & me, home from Starbucks

The Crib...
Ahh yes, the dreadful crib! Did we wait too long to put him in it(some would say yes)? Are we putting him in it too early(some would say yes, as well). With all the different advice and opinions, we tried today to take a baby step of placing Finn in his crib to nap. We thought we would start with the naps before doing it for actual bedtime so he can get used to it. Let him cry for 15 minutes the book says and then go in and console. Oh how awful it is to hear the cry of your little one. Tradd could listen to it for hours, on the other hand only seconds for me before I want to pick him up. This adventure is not over but just beginning!!

Finn's digs

Pics from the month...

Sweet Daddy time :)

Where's Waldo??
or
Where's Finn??

Finn's Arrival

"This is the day the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Finn Rodenberg
December 18th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
7 lbs 15 oz

What a week it has been!! One of the most trialing and difficult times Tradd and I have endured BUT one of the most indescribable, miraculous, joyous moments that we could never even have dreamed of. It all began last Thursday night when we went to the hospital for a scheduled induction...

So much excitement filled us as we had been counting down all week to meet our little Finn :) I started laboring at 3 in the morning on Friday and did not stop until 10:52 Friday evening when sweet Finn was born. It was a long and rough day of almost 20 hours of labor and no progression! We were very bummed, but truly felt the Lord's hand in every decision we had to make throughout the day. It finally came down to the decision of having a C-section and we felt so much of God's peace as we decided this with our doctor, even though that is not what we initially wanted. We couldn't have asked for a more supportive and trusting doctor. She was not on call Friday night but she actually went home and found a babysitter for her kids so she could be at the hospital to deliver Finn! Praise God!! I quickly was rolled to the OR and endured an out-of-body experience. There is no way to really describe being able to feel people pulling, pushing, and poking around inside you yet not feeling the pain. Tradd was amazing as he encouraged me throughout the process and then I heard the beautiful sweet cry of our little boy!

Saturday was a complete blur and a struggle as I was in so much pain and came to find out that my pain had not been managed properly throughout the night Friday after surgery, and into Saturday. It was very frustrating as I felt discouraged and was now a day behind in the recovery process. Tradd literally had to take over and become a new parent all by himself as well as take care of me because I could not do one thing for myself. Tradd went above and beyond my expectations and served me so well throughout the weekend and continues to all week long.

Sunday we had many visitors and Finn was able to meet some of his friends and family. It was such a joy to see loving faces in the midst of an exciting but difficult time. Monday late afternoon I was discharged and we were set free on our own!!!!

Here are some shots from the weekend...

We'll put up some more shots of the munchkin from this week soon...

Love,

C&T

Christmas Card

So, I love to send and recieve Christmas cards, but this year we just have had a few other things going on :) It actually was on my "to do" list but quickly got scratched as it wasn't a priority. So here are some (cheesy) Christmas pictures to say Merry Christmas!! 7 more hours till we roll into the hospital. So excited!!

Sooner than Later

It has been an interesting week in the Rodenberg household. I finished classes for school on Monday knowing I had 3 weeks to prepare before this little boy was coming! That was, until Monday night (1:30a.m., actually) when my heart decided to start racing at almost 200 bpm. We were ready to go to the ER, when it decided to calm back down. It has been a long week of Dr.'s appointments (everyday except Wed.) and my doctor decided it was best to induce me on the 18th instead of waiting for his arrival naturally (due date Dec. 25th). So then the fun began...

My nesting, motherly instincts kicked in to SUPER high gear with a million things that I realized that needed to be done before Finn's arrival but trying to obey the Dr. with modified bed rest. So the "To Do list" began...

We were very hesitant about decorating for Christmas as we thought we would be in the hospital over Christmas and didn't want to deal with the hassle but now that we know we will be home for Christmas, I decided it was of the most importance to have our house decorated and ready for Finn. Not only Christmas decorations up but the garage cleaned, closets organized, cupboards stocked, Christmas presents bought, car detailed, phone calls and e-mails returned, finish baby room etc, etc. You would think the world was coming to an end! Tradd was like, "Its not like Finn is going to know if the garage is cleaned or not," and my friend Lindsey said it perfectly... "For some reason you think you won't be leaving your house for months and you need to stock up on a 6 month supply of everything." So we are trying our best to prioritize.

(We found the perfect Christmas tree after driving to multiple places)

Thank you mom for the long days of running me around to do errands, cleaning our closets, washing load after load of laundry, organizing my life, and dealing with my hormones and tiredness! Thank you Robin for running errands for me and making sure we have the perfect labor nurse and best hospital experience! AND...Thank you Tradd for being so loving, supportive and PATIENT in helping me check things off the list! For all the hard work I ask you to do and most of all for being sooooooo stinkin' excited about being a dad :)

Tradd and I truly appreciate everyone's prayers and support!

Quit Your Belly Achin'

For all of you out-of-towners who have been dying to see my belly, here it is!

8 weeks pregos

15 Weeks


24 Weeks


31 Weeks
(oops! forgot to take a pic between 24 & 31 wks)


35 Weeks

39 weeks