Time Goes By - Vivi at 1 Month

Time flies when you are not sleeping. Vivianne is one month old already. She is gaining weight, filling out, and can now actually fit into size NB clothes. Her hair is still a reddish brown and as you can see in the pic, her eyes are still a blue grey. I so hope they stay that color. She appears to have the same big eyes that her brother has. She also has long arms and legs like her Daddy.

All three of us are delighted by this little gem. She is quite the individual already and we can tell that she has an independent streak. Last night we moved her into her own room and she slept longer than she has since we brought her home. We think she likes having her own space.




Vincent is completely aware of her now and is a great helper. He helps throw away diapers, put laundry in the hamper, and even presses the button on her bouncy seat to turn on the music when it stops.

He is also teaching her the finer points of watching TV. Today they were sitting side by side watching Madagascar 2. Vin was telling her all about the lion, giraffe, zebra, and hippo. He even sang her the "You've got to move it move it" song.



They are a lot of work but I am learning day by day how to be more of a mother and less of a control freak. I am so thankful that I am able to be at home with them everyday.

Hello Sister

It is the President’s Day holiday weekend and we have a 96. (96= Rob has 96 hours/4 days off.) It has been a relaxing weekend. We have both been able to catch up on some sleep. The weather has been overcast and rainy so we have been hanging out in the house playing with the kids and watching movies.

Vin riding the horse he got for Christmas.

After 3 weeks Vin is starting to get comfortable with his baby sister. He is paying more attention to her and giving me the blow by blow of her daily activities. “Baby sleeping.” “Oh oh, baby crying. It’s okay.” “Baby wants milk.” It is really adorable.

Then yesterday, it happened…first he got very close to her and then he touched her! He gave her five, shared his Nemo fish, touched her hair and said “soft.” He was so happy. He is getting to be such a sweet and goofy little dude.

Click on the video below to see it for yourself. Please forgive the weird background noise from the TV. We really need to learn to mute when filming.

Every day we look at Vivi and try to figure out who she looks like and what color her eyes and hair are going to be. I love the mystery but can't stand the suspense. Right now her hair is a reddish brown and her eyes are grey. She is a sweet little thing who rarely cries and has no idea that she is supposed to be asleep when it is dark outside and not the other way around.

Vivianne 3 weeks old

Two Weeks Old - Side by Side

Here are pics of Vin and Vivi each at 2 weeks old.

I don't know that they look very much alike but boy do they have great hair!!

Vincent & Vivianne

Cribs - Kiddo Edition - Schrock Children

Right before Thanksgiving we moved into a bigger apartment. We went from a 2 bedroom to a three. Now each child has their own room.

In our old apartment we had converted our dining room into a playroom for Vin and that is where we kept all his toys. His room was only for sleeping. In the new place, Vin has a much bigger room so he has all his toys in there now. He shuttles them out to the living room one at a time to play with them all day long. By the end of the day we have to do a clean-up with a big bin and haul them all back to his little dude cave.

It has worked out great. I am happy he has his own space because now that Vivi is here he sometimes just goes in his room and plays in his own little world and it seems to give him comfort. The baby has thrown him for a little loop and he seems to enjoy his alone time in his mini man cave.

On one side he has his Car's bed* with his Car's stickers on the wall. We framed photos of he and Rob doing cool things at Disney World and hung them on the wall too. This helps keep Daddy close when he is away for work.

We used the rubber flooring from his old playroom and made a play area on the other side of the room. He had cars, blocks, dinosaurs, animals, etc in bins on the shelves. On the wall there are all kinds of cool English/Japanese posters with letters, numbers, animals, vehicles, and the park. He also has a cross-stitch that was made for him by his Grandma Michelle when he was born.

For Vivi's room I ordered everything online. Depending on the shipping methods used mail can take 7 days or forever to get here. It seems that everything for her room came to us USPS via Timbuktu and then through Newark. The last pieces of bedding finally arrived this week.

We have her sleeping in a bassinet in our room for now so Vivi's room is mostly for pretty. Really it is more like a delightfully large closet where we keep all of her cutie little clothes.

Daddy hung all the butterflies and flowers on the walls for her. He did an awesome job.

Vivi's room has a crib, twin bed, and a nightstand in it. We have a huge dresser with mirror in the closet.

I know that I said that I was anti-pink but it is sort of growing on me. I figure pink is not that bad if it is mixed with other colors. Plus Vivi (aka. Baby Bunny Hiccup) looks kind of cute in pink...lol.

*See Yvonne, Vin still loves his blankie!

On My Own - Almost

My sister went back to the states on Tuesday, Rob went back to work on Wednesday, and I had a minor panic attack. As noted earlier I now have TWO whole children that are my responsibility and I am afraid!! I like schedules, cleanliness, and predictability on a day-to-day basis. Having TWO complete and total human beings that rely solely on you does not really lend itself to my idea of organized utopia.

Wednesday after Rob left for work Vin started his day screaming bloody murder. While getting him dressed I realized that his issue was diaper rash. He absolutely would not stop screaming as long as he had a diaper on. I believe that he was in minor pain from the rash but enjoyed the full on shrieking and attention much more. He has endured rashes much worse with hardly a peep in the past. So to alleviate the noise, he went bottomless the entire morning. I hoped it might be a teaching opportunity for using the potty chair…lol, oh boy was I the tired optimist. Vin spent the entire morning saying “uh oh, mess” and peeing all over the living room rug. It was charming. On a positive note, I think he may have peed somewhere near the potty chair at some point. I take that as progress.

I caught up on chores, did laundry, and fixed meals for most of the first day.

Vin took a small break from screaming and peeing to help me vacuum the house.

Vivi slept quietly and ate.

Vin eating one of the 2 food groups: pancake/waffle group & the peanut butter/honey group.


and Vivi sleeps on and on.

For the rest of the week we’ve managed quite well. I am exhausted but everyone is happy and my house is still clean. I am so happy it is Friday and Rob will be here to help out for the weekend.

I get to go grocery shopping alone tomorrow. I am very excited. I look forward to organizing my coupons and catching some great deals. Speaking of coupons, THANK YOU to everyone who sends me coupons from the states. I LOVE THEM! When I get them in the mail I do the happy dance, to me it is like getting an envelope of cash. I save an average of $50 every two weeks using them. The best part of using coupons overseas is that we are allowed to use expired grocery coupons for up to 6 months after their expiration date. It is awesome!

We have kids now!

We have TWO kids now!! Holy Cow!!

That has been hitting me over and over these past few days. How very exciting and scary that is.

I think they are both so beautiful that I can't help but take pictures of them all the time.

I am so happy that my friends and family care enough to return to our blog to look at our babies over and over. Thank you everyone. We love you!

Vivianne - The Birth of a Beauty

I am feeling much better today so I thought I’d share the play-by-play adventure of the day we met our Vivi.

We had the surgery scheduled for 9 a.m. on Monday Jan 26. I had been fasting since the night before and was very ready and excited to get things going. Shannon will be staying home with Vincent while Rob and I spend the next 48 hours in the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital we were taken in to get prepped for surgery. I was starting to get a little anxious and while the nurse was tapping my arm looking for a vein for the IV, I passed out. I have horrible veins in my arms and it is always an ordeal when I need to have blood taken or an IV started. I have no idea if I lost it because I was afraid, exhausted, dehydrated, or a combination of all 3 but once she tied up my arm and started tapping I got very woozy and said, “um I think I’m going to pass out.”

Rob said that right after I said that my head rolled to the right, my eyes glazed over and I stared blankly at the wall, I started making weird sounds, and then started to vomit. The room filled with people and everyone started freaking out. Rob was shoved back into a corner. I started having a seizure and they even brought in the crash cart. Yahoo what a way to start a party!

I don’t remember anything in between saying “um” and when I felt the suction tube in my mouth. When I came back around there were a ton of freaked out people in the room. I had my IV started, was receiving fluids, and had on an oxygen mask. I scared poor Rob and the hospital people pretty badly. I was kind of scared myself, I’ve never even fainted before.

After they got me stabilized we headed off to the OR for the big show. I used my earlier episode to get them to allow Rob to follow me into the OR right away. I told them that I was less likely to pass out again if they let him come in with me and hold my hand. Otherwise they would make him wait outside for another 20 minutes while they set up the spinal and catheter. Rob was a total trooper though because I know he was looking forward to the free 20 minutes to go outside and smoke. He did not even get a chance to calm down after my near death experience before I drug him into the OR. It is a good thing I brought a pack of gum for him. He was chewing like a fiend the whole entire time. He did not get a minute to himself for another 6 hours after that.

The surgery from start to finish took only an hour. It went great. The doctor did a wonderful job.

Vivianne Lorraine took her first breath in this world at 10:25 a.m. She weighed 6.7 lbs and was 19 in long. She was perfect and healthy.



Her Apgar score was 9 because her tiny feet and hands were blue when she arrived. Once she was warmed up her color evened out and she let out a nice loud cry.




We spent about 2 hours in the recovery room until we were taken to our room. Vivi got all her tests done and I tried to nap a bit.




After we got settled into our room Rob came back home and picked up Vin and Auntie Shannie.

Shannon was very excited to hold her niece for the first time.




Vin mostly kept his distance and eyeballed her from a far corner.

We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and had a really pleasant experience. I had a much better stay this delivery than I did in Red Bluff with Vincent. Now that Rob and I knew what to expect we had a game plan going in. I got up and started walking as soon as they would let me and made hallway laps as often as possible. I drank boat-loads of water and took every pill they gave me. It was not too bad at all.

Rob is the best caregiver in the world. He took care of both Vivi and I tirelessly and never missed a beat. All I had to do was make a face or look mildly uneasy and he just read my mind and had it taken care of. My meds were always on time, my sheets were always fresh, and everything I could possible need was provided without hesitation. I think he was much more in his element in a military hospital than he was in the civilian hospital in CA.

My husband is a truly amazing man and I thank God for him every day of my life. There are times in life when you can actually see love in action and it always amazes me to see how much my husband really loves me. Having a baby incapacitates me 100% and he is driven by pure love and desire to protect during those times and I never have to worry about anything. He is a man of very few words so when I have the ability to see his love in action it is a heartwarming and humbling experience.

Seeing him with Vivianne is a gift in itself. The man is completely in love with his daughter. He finds such joy in his children that it makes me wish we were younger with unlimited resources. I’d love to give him many more babies to love. He is a great Dad.

(My sister wrote a really sweet blog about my husband that I wanted to share. Check out Shannon's blog here.)