Visiting London (…the baby)

On Tuesday, The Renaud Empire visited our fellow Renaud realm in Rolla, to see our new niece/cousin London Olivia. What a cute girl! Justin was out when we first arrived and Becca was dealing with London, so Hayden and Keaton showed us their bedroom and their playroom in the basement.

Justin’s house is pretty nice. They bought it, gutted it, and built the inside anew. They have a great basement, and we spent some time playing Wii games. We also played outside, and I got to enjoy his portable disc golf basket. Justin also took me to their church (where he works) and took me on a tour of the new sanctuary and other stuff they are nearly finished building.

All in all, it was a fun day. Here are some photos to enjoy:

A few more photos of Joseph

These are from when we left the hospital and recent days

Pastor Bob comes to visit Joseph.

Sleeping beautifully.

The eyes have it.

Quick portrait of Yoli and Joseph before we leave the hospital.

Papá, Mamá, and bebé

This is sort of what our house is like now. Totally overrun by children.

This photo is much more recent than the others.

VIDEO: Joseph’s second day

After a long day Tuesday, I decided to try and edit the 30 minutes or so of video I had shot from Joseph’s birth.

But I got an unpleasant surprise. Something is amiss with our Sony HandyCam TRV-280, and it is not playing back the video correctly.

Anyway, I borrowed my dad’s camcorder and shot some video at the hospital this afternoon. Click the “continue reading” link below to watch the video.

Continue reading “VIDEO: Joseph’s second day”

Birth stories and more photos

Here’s a little more background on the birth of our first boy, Joseph Martin Renaud.

Monday night I was working a sports design shift at the Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals home opener and breaking news about Stan Kroenke’s intention to buy the Rams kept me busy all night.

I got home around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. I found Yoli in the kitchen making crepes to eat at breakfast. She had intended them to be for the whole family. But at 12:38, she had her first real contraction followed by a couple more over the next hour. “The baby is going to be born sometime today,” she told me.

Continue reading “Birth stories and more photos”

Important announcement from the Renaud Empire

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled afternoon tea to bring you important updates on the status of the Renaud Empire.

While other nations continue to struggle with job losses and brain drain, the Renaud Empire is pleased to report that all its citizens are fully employed:

  • Josh: Emperor, dad, newspaper designer
  • Yoli: Empress, mom, librarian
  • Jadzia: Princess No. 1, pretender
  • Ludi: Princess No. 2, player
  • Josie: Princess No. 3, wake-up-in-the-night-cryinger

Additionally, there has been no brain drain. Our heads of state today celebrate six years of holy matrimony, so neither is going anywhere anytime soon. The rest of the population is happily employed (and unable to drive, and therefore leave). But we are not content to stand pat. If we are to achieve global domination, our population must increase.

And so it is that we are pleased to make this public proclamation: We are expecting our fourth child, who will be born in April!

Ugh

Well, I’ve been a bit under the weather since last Friday, so I’ve been away from the computer more than usual. I have some stuff I wanted to post, but just haven’t had the time/endurance to do it. Ludi seems to be teething, so she has been a bit fussy since yesterday, and Jadzia had a weird episode last night. Not sure if she was imitating Ludi/me, or genuinely not feeling well. Today she seems fine.

In any event, I do think I’m feeling better, and so hopefully we can enjoy these last 3 days of “baby vacation” before I head back to work.

Yoli has been doing well, but obviously has a ton on her plate. Josie is nursing well and growing more beautiful all the time. She has given us 1-2 hours of screaming the last 2 nights, but after those periods has slept much better.