Tompkins Trio Update

Hello family! Here is a little of what the Naples Tompkins have been up to these past two months:

Our latest adventure was in early October, when we traveled to Minnesota. Kathryn, my best friend from high school, had asked for me to be a bridesmaid and for Joe to be an usher in her wedding. Genevieve and I flew up on Wednesday and I had the pleasure of experiencing the role of “that mother who just can’t get her baby to stop screaming” on the plane. Joe flew into the small local airport on Friday evening and made it in time for the rehearsal dinner. On Saturday, Joe took care of Genevieve all day (with the help of the Posch ladies) and skillfully performed his usher duties. I was proud that I made it down the aisle without tripping in the required 6 inch heels! It was a packed weekend and Genevieve was over stimulated for most of it, but a great experience overall. I was able to see my dear friend get married, spend time with the Posch family, and I finally got to show Joe my hometown. Besides, due to that weekend’s abnormally cold weather, Genevieve experienced her first snowfall!

Well Genevieve is now six months old! In the last two months, she has learned to sit up, turn her head when she hears her name being called, play peek-a-boo, and eat solid food. When placed on her tummy, Genevieve can pull herself around in a circle, scoot herself backwards (much to her confusion!), and she’s even gotten up on her hands and knees a few times. She loves to eat paper, books, cell phones, remote controls, glass cups full of liquid, plates full of food... pretty much anything she can get her hands on.

Genevieve enjoys eating rice cereal and so far she has tasted pureed apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, and peas (which she hates). She has moved into her own bedroom, sleeps in her big girl crib, learned how to blow a raspberry, and perks up whenever she hears Daddy’s voice in the house. She is quite the ham and will growl or shriek at Mommy and Daddy when they play with her. Genevieve's favorite songs sung by Mommy are “This Little Light of Mine” and “Following the Leader” (Peter Pan). Daddy can sing any song and Genevieve loves it, but one of her favorites sung by him is “Part of Your World” (Little Mermaid). In fact, when Mommy tried to sing that same song to her, Genevieve promptly screwed up her face and started to whine. As you can guess, that was the end of Mommy’s attempts to sing any song out of her vocal range.

Joe sprained his ankle three weeks ago and it is still giving him trouble. We know this because he tried to jump for joy when the Bucs won yesterday and he ended up collapsing on the couch in pain. It has been a long couple of weeks for Joe, with no relief in the near future. This entire semester he had to pull seven all-nighters just to complete various law school projects. As a reward for all that hard work and to prepare for the upcoming misery of finals, Joe didn't work AT ALL the following weekend and we had such wonderful family bonding time! We had a movie night on Friday, an evening of wine and great conversation on Saturday, and then on Sunday we visited our relatives in Ave Maria town, followed by a trip to the beach to watch the sunset.

For the Law Review, Joe must write anywhere from 25-40 pages for a legal note that is due in early January. He has chosen to write about the Catholic faith’s influence on the First Amendment and a couple of the professors have really taken an interest in Joe’s work. They are determined to get it published! Michael Novak has also taken an interest in the article and has offered his help to Joe. He is advising Joe to contact some priests and historians that he knows in Rome, as well as a descendant of Charles Carroll! Joe will have his hands full over Christmas break, but he is excited to devote his energy to such a worthy topic.

As for me, I am keeping busy with my duties as a wife and mother. I find that I do a lot of online reading about all things concerning Genevieve, like introducing baby food, baby sign language, the different stages of a baby’s growth and learning, etc. I have also been reading some classic books that I missed during my childhood: Robin Hood, King Arthur, The Three Musketeers, and The Count of Monte Cristo to name a few. Now that the weather is nicer, I hope to take Genevieve out for a daily rosary walk and start working on this post-pregnancy body.

Due to a receding gum line over the years on my bottom front teeth, I had surgery on Nov. 14^th. The surgery consisted of a labial frenectomy (snipping the band that connects the lower lip to the gums) and a gum graft (taken from the roof of the mouth to fill in where gum was lost around the bottom front teeth). Since I am nursing Genevieve, I could not be sedated for the procedure and I couldn’t take the usual prescribed narcotics for the pain afterwards. However, I was prescribed a high dose of Ibuprofen and have been recovering slowly but surely without too much pain. I have to wear a stent (retainer) to protect the graft site on the roof of the mouth, but can eat most solid foods at this point. I’m just glad that I’ll be able to eat on Thanksgiving day! I will get the stitches removed from the bottom gum line in about two weeks.

We were so happy to have Mom, Dad, Angela, Teresa, Robby, and Vanessa come to visit us in Naples a few weeks ago! They came to All Saints Day mass at the law school and got to see Joe in action as the Schola Master/Music Director. Then we were treated to a wonderful meal and got to catch up for a few hours before they went home to Tampa. We are looking forward to seeing them during Thanksgiving weekend -- and hopefully Jack, Christina, and the girls too!

Well that’s all that we’ve been up to these past two months! We are counting down until we are all together again at Christmas! Lots of love to everyone!!