Lounging, The Farmer In the Dell & Something to say about that!

The last few weeks we have been lounging around a bit - up to the pool, reading books from the library and enjoying each other's time and John's mom came to meet Elizabeth -

Laura and I got creative with a box and decorated it as a policeman and fireman (one on each side).

Drew got a sandbox from his Baba while she was visiting. This has been great fun for Drew and nice when I am getting dinner ready - he can go out by himself and play on the playset and in his sandbox. Here Drew had a play date with Connor from down the street and they played with Drew's new Cozy Coup (compliments of Nana for Drew's Bday) and it's pull behind trailer (compliments of Baba). They had a great time and then went to the pool to play - I'm sure Drew will want his Nana and Baba to come in often - he seems to do alright ;).

Laura let us drop off Elizabeth at her apt the other night so John and I could take Drew to the 'Farmer in the Dell' petting zoo at a local park -they had tractors and animals everywhere. Drew ran up to the ducks yelling quack quack quack - good times, he was very interested in picking up grass and feeding it to the animals.

Lots of pictures - this is only a few. A quick video of him trying to feed the sheep - the goats were way more into the eating than the sheep and this little goat jumped up on top of the chicken cage while roaming free around the area. Drew had games to play there - he helped do the chicken dance (Chick-fil-a was sponsoring) with the Cow's and got to eat his first sno-cone.

Elizabeth has started making noises - tried to capture here on video for a bit - she is continuing to grow like a weed - I have already had to adjust the straps on her carrier to help her very tall








body fit in it. She is a very happy baby and sleeping from about 9:30-6am already - some earlier and some later mornings - she is taking almost 4 oz each feeding with 2 feedings topping 5.5 oz - goodness - I am pumping to bottles but winding down on that - with two kids it is very hard to keep breastfeeding and chasing a toddler.

I have started back at work a day or two a week - it is earlier than expected but I got a new role in our Fabric Care business on Tide and there is a huge meeting on 8/3 I want to be prepared for so I don't get something I am not sure about :). We are continuing to find a balance with 2 kiddos in the house but starting to get our groove on and figure it out. Trips coming up soon at the end of July and the first of September. More to come.

Elizabeth 1 month and Drew turns 2!!

Well we have had a busy month - Elizabeth has made progress on sleeping is only waking once during the night - around 3-5am after her last feeding at 8:30pm so not too bad!! We head in for her 1 month check-up on Tuesday and think she will be off the charts like her big brother - she had to measure in at 2 wks to check her weight since we are breastfeeding - 11 lbs. - seriously - the doctor said no need to return for weight :). We have had some rough 'gassy' nights but all in all she just rolls with the punches. She loves her baths and sleeping in your arms or should I say her grandmother(s)' arms.

Nana had to leave and head back to Dallas but I managed to get a quick picture where Elizabeth is holding her neck up at 9 days old - nice.

Daddy and Drew are the bestest of friends these days, Daddy takes Drew everywhere with him while Mommy manages baby days. Hopefully we can do some switching soon to help Daddy with Elizabeth and Mommy with Drew playtime.

Drew has spent alot of time outside playing to 'wear' him down for naps - we are still lucky to have the 2-2.5 hr naps in the afternoon for a sanity timeout :). Here is a video of him playing in his pools outside.



Drew went in for his 2 yr check-up and measured in at 37.5in and 31 lbs - still off the charts and VERY advanced motor skills, we are still working on verbal skills but if you had 3 adults that knew everything you wanted when you pointed, you wouldn't talk alot either :). Nana got him a couzy coup for his birthday - it only took Laura and John 2 hours to put together - Drew had to sit in it while he was waiting for it (not so patiently).

Drew also loves to head up to the country club pool and take over the toy organization at the baby pool - he gets everyone's toys and lines them up along the edge of the pool in a row - just a bit OCD :).

Drew got a present from his great aunt (or should I say, GREAT Aunt) Sarah for the birth of his sister, she still hasn't gotten over mom coming along :) so sent both Drew and Madeline gifts to make up for the new arrivals to mine and Jeff's house. It is a giant pirate's castle - here is Daddy playing in it with Drew, his legs hanging out the door.

I am still at home till first part of August - we try and go for walks in our double stroller that allows Drew to climb and off and on and stand or sit while we move along. He also loves to push Elizabeth and really only wants to go on walks with her.

Baba (John's mom) is in town this week and John has shoulder surgery this Thursday for a torn rotator cuff - more to come in our circus of a household :).

Fashion Photo Shoot and Big Brother Time

So Mom, Laura and I were a bit bored the other day - E is so good - sleeping almost 6-7 hours a night now with naps during the day - we decided to do a Fashion Photo Shoot - granted it took all three of us to pull this off - I was in charge of photo set-up and accessories (watch out JCPenney photo studio), Laura with outfits and camera shots and Mom with assistance. Thought you would love these pics.

Drew was napping while we took pics but Mom was able to capture a few great photos of Drew this am while he was 'holding' E. His face lights up when he holds her - checking out her fingers, toes and facial expressions - she was just staring up at him - enjoy! And of course he looks awesome with his Texas hat Tiffany gave him and he wears it ALL the time - his favorite way - backwards!!

Welcome Miss Elizabeth!

Miss Elizabeth Anne decided she couldn't join us by her due date and my back was wrenched - so we induced on 5/26/11 and she came into the world on her own time. We checked in at 8 and started pitocin around 9:30 once vitals were done and IV administered. By lunch time we were ready for epidural and the breaking of my water (contractions were about every 60 sec and I was in some pain :)). A bit of some issues with the epidural but we finally got where we needed to be and I was in the 'zone' - we thought we would have a baby by around 5:30. After complete boredom on John's part, he ran home to help out with a leak Laura found from all of the rain. I just told him to come back within a few hours.

At 3:30pm - the nurse checked and we were around 7-8cm maybe close to 9cm so I called John at 3:40pm and told him to head back because it would be sooner than 5:30 - he said he was leaving at 3:50 and would head back - WELLLLLLLL - at 3:43 I felt EXTREME pressure after I had been turned to the other side. Mom - go get the nurse - something's not right. Nurse checked - we were ready to push - BUT John's not here.....hmmmmmm -

Mom is calling John every few minutes - where are you? how much longer - he got stuck behind a school bus dropping kids - good times - I am holding my legs together - she is not coming out, John is not here - everything is set in the room, nurse, doctor, baby catcher - we are all just waiting until John enters the room - OMG - this is crazy pressure. Mom is on the phone, he is in the elevator - assume the position - he walked in the room - we pushed for 9 minutes and Elizabeth entered the world at 4:09 pm - the same time as her brother.

I thought she was smaller than Drew - everyone in the room said, hmm - she is a big baby but she was measured at 8lbs, 5oz and 21.5 inches even a few days late - Drew was 9lbs. 1oz and 21.5 inches and a week early. Brother Drew and Auntie Laura (Lala) visited her at less than 30 minutes old - Drew was so great with Elizabeth - happy and smiling to try and hold her and give her a kiss. With technology today we were skyping with Papa and Mimi (Dad and Suzette) at an hour old followed by Ed visiting the hospital, skyping with Baba, Aunt Jenny, cousins Hunter & Gunnar and the last skype with Auntie Erin. It was quite busy but glad we could share with everyone.

Mom stayed at the hospital with me that evening so John could get home and put Drew to sleep and Mom could nap the next day. We were up most of the night between feedings, VERY uncomfortable beds (especially with my back) and nurse visits for vitals and such - with Elizabeth's weight measured at 10 pm - we had a discrepancy. She had either gained 1.5 lbs or was measured incorrectly at birth :) - so after lots of measuring and re-measuring - her birth weight was 're-recorded' to 9lbs., 11.5oz - so she was bigger - good lord - that explains the stitches - that little rascal.

Needless to say - after a busy night and not alot of sleep - my doctor said we had the choice to leave after E was 24 hours old - so we scheduled all of our shots, vitals and tests to get up and out of there by 5 pm Friday. We got home and had a good night sleep in our own house and beds. She is very healthy - the pediatrician is impressed with how strong she is and she is already lifting her head.

Milk has come in and she is sleeping VERY well - we are getting on a bit of a schedule and she is already taking close to 3 oz a feeding right now. We are headed to the pediatrician today for her check-up and will report back with more pictures soon.

A Finished Yard and Playset!!! Hallelujah!

So we finally got the backyard done and the playset finished- 5 days of no rain and it's done - needs a bit more stain but the mulch, canopy and swings are all installed. The guys came to finish leveling, topsoiling, seeding and placing straw everywhere - Now we just pray for more rain - a bit ironic since I haven't stopped complaining about the rain -but the water bill is NOT an option :). Now we watch mother nature get us some green green grass.

Baby should be here anyday - we are 39 wks and 3 cm - mom gets here on Tuesday the 17th so more to come. Here is a pic of Elizabeth's finished room and my big ole belly!

Cutie patootie!!

Drew is all decked out in his Texas gear - the weather is crazy here and he finally got big enough to wear this 'fall' outfit. He is active, active, active and won't sit still.

He has recently started to FOCUS more (thank the lord he is slowing down a bit) - he is all about reading EVERY book on his shelf - or more importantly have us read every book on his shelf - if he is playing with tractors, trucks and baby strollers. He really has no idea that his world is about to get rocked with the entry of baby Elizabeth - LOL!! We are working on teaching him to be 'gentle' - hmmmm - not so much - he would rather wrestle and run :).

He can climb up to the island in the kitchen and get into alot but he likes to go through the mail and find new pictures - here he is studying the toys r us catalog - let's hope he doesn't follow his father's footsteps for shopping - either way, I will take the stationary 15 minutes where a 22 month old little boy sits still -

He loves watching animals - Lala took him to feed the ducks at Anderson Town Hall - finally a day with no rain!

John also got a 'deal' on a 'free playset' - so he took it apart, moved it down from the neighbors and has been working on it little by little, day by day - you can also see the muddy backyard we have had for the past 1.5mos - pls - enough with the rain!! This has been consuming almost every free minute John has!

Trip to the Zoo

Drew's first trip to the zoo this season - finally warming up here a bit and the rain stopped for a few 'seconds' - I had business out there so we had a rendezvous over lunch -

He and Lala rode the train but their favorite part (or should I say Lala's favorite part) was the feeding of the polar bears!

Easter follwed up by John's Birthday

We headed next door to dye easter eggs - so he is a bit too much into touching and getting into new things - the easter egg dying last about 7 minutes - we just aren't at the patience mode of life.

John, Drew, Lala and I went to church and then headed to the country club for brunch with the Herringtons. They had an bunny there but Drew wasn't so sure on sitting on his lap but was willing to touch him with Mommy holding on strong (hardly any lap at this point, sooo pregnant).

It was very exciting to hunt for Easter Eggs - with the continued rain it was only right that the Easter Bunny hide eggs in the basement - he came and wrote a poem for Olivia and Sophia next door to hunt eggs with Drew since he didn't have his sister yet so hand in hand, they moved from their basement to our basement for over 30+ eggs each. It was quite a day and when Drew found candy in the eggs - good lord - what a happy sugar high little guy!

Daddy turned 38 this year and Lala made him a from scratch chocolate cake which I came home and decorated - we had an early dinner and John decided to play basketball at the gym with Drew since Mommy is a bit exhausted these days. The Herringtons came over and we sung Happy Birthday while he blew out all the candles at once - here's to wishing your dreams come true, honey!!

April 2011- 22 months

Drew is growing like a weed. Here he is shopping at his favorite mass retailer outlet, Target - posing for the camera. This is one of my favorite pictures because it is very hard to get him to sit still with his legs moving faster than I catch.

When we moved Drew to his new room we opened up our bonus area for playtime and filled it with an easel, bookshelves and his kitchen set from downstairs (in hopes of returning our living room to a bit more adult time - yeah, right). He looks so grown up coloring on his easel with markers.

He is headed to the gym every Monday, Thursday and Saturday while his Daddy plays bball - he runs and hollers with the kids in the play area there and comes home a trainwreck tired mess :) but loves it! And mommy gets a bit of time by herself as well. He has become quite the 'rider' in the car wearing his glasses to look 'cool' - he and Lala run all over from parks to grocery stores, etc.
John got a 'deal' on 'free dirt' for our backyard to help level it out. As a result, we had over 140 dumptrucks of dirt dropped in the backyard while a bobcat moved it around to level it out. A very positive aspect of this messy situation, Drew was entertained for hours in front of the windows, eating lunch, having snacks and just watching the trucks dump and move dirt. Good times.

Unfortunately we then have had almost everyday with rain since then so needless to say, muddy laborador retrievers, 30+ wks pregnant and a toddler - it has been crazy!!

I traveled to Minneapolis in April and got to hang out for a night with some good friends. Keva gave me some very adorable clothes for Elizabeth and one was a bathing suit that Drew then decided to put on his head and run around the house like a wig. Could not stop laughing!

Here is Drew at the Children's Museum on a play date with his friends - it was his first trip and he had a great time! Here on the 'big truck' driving the big wheel.

March - Family Updates!!

We headed to Dallas for a week in March and caught up with some friends and family. We don't have a ton of pictures but we do have this one of Matt and his new wife, Lori. They got married in a small close ceremony and are having a party in May to celebrate but we managed to grab lunch and visit for a little while.

Another brother story, Jeff and Angela welcomed their second little one at the beginning of the month. Braden Jeffery Fowler joined his sister, Madeline, in Seattle. Angela is doing great and we are very much looking forward to meeting him soon - once both families are a bit more mobile. Here is a wonderful picture of him and Jeff in hospital.

I have thrown a picture of my belly at 29 wks on here so you can see how big Elizabeth is getting - not much longer now.