Peter Butter and Jilly

Here are some photos from the first month of Peter's life. We should have some fun, and more professional, ones to post tomorrow that a friend so generously took for us.

Please can I have another cookie, Mama?



Jill is always happy when Baby is at her side. It has been so insightful and fun to watch her as she cares for her baby doll as if it were a real child- from regular feedings to the sweet and mature way she carefully carries Baby everywhere we go.

Isn't he tiny?

I often find Jillian watching Peter or patting him, usually softly, while he sleeps. She also plays the "sleep police" lately - patting, somewhat harder, the person she doesn't want to sleep and shouts "Wake UP!"

Jillian loves placing Baby next to Peter and covering them both with a blanket.

My hard workin' fellas finally take a break

Kevin and the kids on walk with our new double jogger - Thanks Grandma Gertsch!

Hmm...now be honest. Who looks like they are having more fun here?

Charades time! What are we? That's right - we're a stack o' pancakes! Again, who looks like they're having the most fun?

Peter is enjoying more awake time during the daytime. He's so sweet and watchful, even though he can't see too far away yet.

Chillaxin' on the bed after church while feeding Baby




"Not really enjoying this photo shot any longer, Mom"







Not really the best photo quality but I just love this little face she is making and the way she props Baby up so she can "see" too as we drive along.

Happy Birthday Peter, Peter Pumpkin

Jillian has coined a few fun nicknames for Brother over the past month. Two of our favorites are "Peter, Peter Punkin" and "Peter Butter," which she incidentally calls peanut butter now as well. It has been fun to think over the past month tonight. I was just replaying Peter's birth in my mind, minus the pain. It was such a special moment when they placed him on my tummy and, as I mentioned before, I really appreciated that it was just the four of us, plus the baby. It was so quiet and in the still of the morning hours. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. And it makes me want to have a lot of children. I wish I could just keep those memories saved in a box and revisit them exactly as they were day after day. I suppose in a way I can. It’s so uncanny, I suppose is the word, that as soon as you feel that baby close to you, they are yours and you feel you’ve known them forever, which I suppose you have. Even now we have only had Peter one month and he will look up at me with those trusting, sweet eyes and I feel like we’re the best of friends talking intimately with one another. And on the other hand, I feel like I know Jillian so much better. I’m not doing a good job of explaining myself- life is just a paradox!
It took us several days, basically until right before we were discharged, to decide on the name Peter James. At first we were almost positive about Peter Ray but it just sounded like so many R’s to me, with Gertsch. So right at the end we started throwing around all sorts of names. We also really liked Tate, but didn’t think he looked like that. Sam was another option. I loved Parker but Kevin wasn’t as fond of it. So then I suggested Peter James, with the middle name after my dad, and Grandma Jamie and her dad and my cousin Jaime and it just sounded right. So now we have our sweet little Peter and I think he looks more like a Peter every day. He’s growing so big and looking around more at the world and at people. I love this stage but each day brings another fun something new.

Overall, we have had a great month since Peter’s birth. I can honestly say it has been somewhat bittersweet. It breaks my heart when Jillian’s feelings are hurt because I can’t hold her and Peter at the same time. I do miss being with just her and giving her my undivided attention. I guess this time comes for every child that has siblings and hopefully she won’t remember a thing about this time or getting her feelings bruised. She has looked at me a few times with her eyes brimming with tears and it’s all I can do to keep from crying myself. It’s also hard to think that when Jill was brand new I could just sit and hold her for hours uninterrupted. I’ll have to cherish the few moments I get like that with Peter even more, even if they are at 2 or 3 or 4 a.m. (smile).

Recently I heard a song on a country radio station called “You’re gonna miss this” and broke down into tears- can you tell I'm still full of emotions, and hormones? This happens most often when I am driving, so I need to find some other way of letting my feelings out, as this is a major hazard but anyhow I heard this song. It is about a dad and a daughter. It starts out with the father visiting his newlywed daughter in her one bedroom apartment. She is talking big about the house she and her husband will one day buy and the baby they hope to have soon. The father tells her to slow down because she is going to miss this stage once it passes her by. Then it moves ahead a few years to when she has two children and she’s apologizing to her father, who is again visiting her home, because one of her babies is screaming and the other is crying. Once again he gently reminds her to slow down and enjoy life because she will miss those days with her little ones. He also reminds her that he has “babies” of his own. (I am about to cry just thinking about it.) Quite honestly I haven’t heard the end of the song because I get stuck thinking about the first few lines. Granted it is a cheesy country song but it sure hits a chord with me! Time just goes by too quickly and half the time I feel like I am wishing some aspect of it away! The fact is that we can’t replay the past and we had better do our best to enjoy the present! I know it’s a selfish thought but I have also been feeling resentful lately that I don’t get to keep these little ones little forever and, in fact, they really weren’t mine to being with! All these feelings stirred up just from a country song!
I sure got wordy there but I am so grateful for my little family tonight. Yesterday I was so frustrated with, well, with Kevin and then I realized “I am just POOPED and, for some reason, I am looking for someone to blame for it.” Why do we do that? I don’t know but my husband is such a…words really can’t express…example of sweetness and loving unconditionally and overlooking my faults when he has every right to look them right in the face. Do you ever wonder how you got so lucky? I DO!

Dirtch and Pars

Jillian can't quite pronounce her Grandmas' names yet so to her they are "Mama Dirtch" (Grandma Gertsch) and "Mama Pars" (Grandma Powers.) We had great visits from both of them after Peter was born and Jill keeps asking where they are! It must be so strange in the mind of a child for people to, seemingly, randomly float in and out of their lives. Where to they go when they're not here? Anyway, we appreciate everything both Grandmas did for us while they were in St. Louis and are excited to visit both D.C. and North Carolina shortly. We really are blessed to have such young, active, and fun Grandmas for our kiddos!

Grandma Powers with Jillian and Peter

Cooking with Grandma Powers

Grandma Gertsch with the gang

Pomp and Circumstance

Presenting Dr. Emily Gertsch! (Affectionately known as Dr. Em) The graduation ceremony on May 15th, 2008 was held in SLU's new Chaifetz Arena, which you can see behind us in some of the photos. It was a lovely ceremony but if you ask me it would have been appropriate to have fireworks and a live band playing at the end - for all the effort that the students have put in over the past four years nothing seems like quite a big enough finish! That afternoon Emily, Gayle and Kevin went car shopping :) and afterwards the whole gang went to Maggiano's for a celebration dinner. We're so proud of Emily and cannot wait to see what the future brings for her at the Mayo Clinic! Here's some photos from the big day...

Emily and Mom after the ceremony

Dr. Gertsch and Student Dr. Gertsch

The girls

Dr. Em and the Kevin Gertschs...good thing we got Peter in the photo for posterity's sake

Welcome Home Peter James!

"D (as in delivery) Day"

On Wednesday morning at 2:30, I started having really strong contractions. They were still 20 minutes apart so we weren't sure if they were just more of the same thing I had been experiencing for the past week or two. Then they were 15 minutes apart so I decided to get up and see if I could walk them off. I started putting out some towels for Emily and my mom and thought about cleaning the bathroom when I realized the contractions were coming A LOT more quickly. So I jumped in the shower, I still needed to shave my legs, and by then I was doubling over in pain every three or four minutes. Emily got to house in the knick of time and we took off to the hospital.

You could tell that the nurses thought I was a little wimpy...stopping to work through the pain every few minutes. When our nurse was finally able to check me her eyes got wide and she said "No wonder you are in so much pain! We'll get you upstairs as quickly as we can, and unfortunately it's probably too late for an epidural at this point." Previously, I had decided, once again, that I was going to try and deliver naturally. Whoa, but once I felt the full intensity of the pain again all I could concentrate on was getting to the hospital and getting rid of the pain. Luckily, I didn't have much longer to go! We got to the room around 5:00 and although it was a long 50 minutes, I realize I was totally spoiled to be able to deliver little Peter in that short of a time. He was born after about 4 pushes at 5:54 a.m. We were lucky to have our doctor - Dr. McCloskey- on call that morning and she was AMAZING. We also had wonderful nurses. It was a much more intimate experience this time- just us, one doctor and one nurse- which was also neat. Anyway, thanks for indulging the nurse and maternal instinct in me that makes me feel like I need to share the ENTIRE story with everyone:) Who knew when we went to bed Tuesday that we'd have a baby by Wednesday morning? Here's the little guy in his first few minutes of life, and before he was officially Peter.

Dad is so excited his son is here! I couldn't ask for a better labor coach!

Whoa! No wonder they call it labor!

Jillian meets Baby Brother

As soon as Jillian woke up and ate breakfast, Auntie Em

brought her to the hospital to meet her little brother.

She was immediately taken with him.

Auntie Em with her newest (by two days) nephew

Peter's cousin Mason was born on Monday, April 28th!

Mr. Bright Eyes

Let's hold our babies together!

Aunt Katie and Baby Boy

Katie and Grandma Powers drove here from Utah

and got here just in time on Wednesday evening.

Dad and the kids- plural!

Jillian trying her hand at breastfeeding - very observant!

Grandma Powers and the grandbabies

Mom and Dad finally decide to call me Peter James

Laying on Daddy's tummy at the hospital

A welcome home kiss!

ANOTHER WALK?

Much of last week was spent on walks around the 2-mile Flora loop, a pretty street nearby. Jillian was a trooper and participated whole-heartedly in each one. What choice did she have? Notice the double-ponytail! Very chic!

When we're helping, Mom's happy!

The other night we had some friends over for dessert and as we finished Jillian started taking dishes from people and walking them back to the kitchen. We heard clanking and figured she was in the right spot. We encouraged her to keep making trips back with dishes. After our friends left this was what we found in the kitchen. The chairs were lined with bowls and spoons. What a big helper!

The St. Louis Zoo - Can you come out and play?

Jillian and Auntie Em at the Zoo

I think they were looking at the Giant Anteaters here.

In an attempt to get labor started, Dad suggested we head to the Zoo. Maybe with lots of lifting Jill up and walking, the baby would come! This was also designated "Jillian's Day". We did what she wanted to do before baby brother came. Afterwards we went to Coldstone, which was what Mom wanted to do. Anyways, here we are looking at the Baby Elephant. Jill thought he was "So toot!" (cute)

Jill and Daddy

Every kid needs lots of pictures on their daddy's shoulders

Lazy Daisy Mornings

At the end of Mom's pregnancy, we spent some lazy mornings in bed while I waited for her to get up. Dad would set me up with a sippy cup and some books before he left for work and I would play and read to Baby while Mommy rested. I was a very patient girl! Here I am practicing how I will hold baby brother when he comes.




Don't I look grown-up in my ballerina nightgown?
Mom says she could just eat me up!