Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Visits Here, Visits There

We've had some fun visits with family over the last week. Last Tuesday Gran and PopPop (my parents) came to see us for the day. LL loves her PopPop and as soon as she sees him she starts asking to "fwing!" They must have spent hours out on the patio with her swinging, but here's a fun moment captured inside.
Gran got to cuddle with SJ some, and of course AG keeps a close eye on her baby sister at all times! She keeps me in line, reminding me often to feed SJ and change her diaper.

Last weekend we went to Mimi and PawPaw's to introduce SJ to her great-grandparents! Here she is chatting with Mimi.

Mimi rocked SJ for hours, and SJ loved every minute of it! (I'm sure Mimi did, too!) However, Mimi did find some time to read a Curious George book to AG.

LL took over PawPaw's rocker for a little while and gave it a good "test drive"! Think she enjoyed it?

We are so thankful to have chances to spend time with all our dear family!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Recycling?

Here's a story I forgot to share earlier... before I tell it you should know AG has a doll that she calls the "potty baby" (you know, one of those dolls that tinkles in the potty, or anywhere else you happen to feed it it's bottle).

SJ's little cord came off last week, and AG was with me as I was changing SJ's diaper and discovered this. I told AG what had happened and she asked what I was going to do with the cord. "I don't know," I said, "maybe save it or maybe throw it away."

AG quickly replied, "Maybe I can use it for the potty baby!"

Monday, September 17, 2007

Pretty in Pink

Here are the girls wearing their pink pillowcase dresses before SJ's first time to go to church (weekend before last). I made these months ago, and AG and LL have worn them through the summer, but it was really fun to pull out SJ's from the closet for the first time... even if she was barely seen since she was asleep in the sling all morning! For now this is the only matching outfit for all three, but maybe I'll work on that, eventually!


Sisterly affection!


Nothing adds elegance to a nice dress like a matching camo hat!


Here are AG and LL after church yesterday. We are so thankful their sweet smiling faces are part of our family!

Super Saturday

T's Dad and brother came to visit us on Saturday! The girls had a great time playing with Grandpa and Uncle Matthew and we all enjoyed watching MSU win over Auburn...Go Dawgs! SJ woke up to meet her uncle...
Here's another shot of the little cutie. When we went to her two week check-up last Thursday she weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces (just an ounce shy of a whole pound more than her birth weight) and had grown half an inch. She already seems to be growing up right before our eyes!

Keeping Us Rolling...

Well, here you see that LL keeps us rolling in more ways than one! Even though AG can ride by herself, sometimes a little sister just wants to lend a hand!

A few nights ago we went into the dining room to discover the above scene... LL was sitting at the table, where T's books were spread out, and she announced, "Look, Daddy...I'm studying!" A little engineer in the making? We'll see! If that doesn't work out she could almost certainly make it as an entertainer... she continues to make us laugh with her funny words and ways. Most of what she says now is in complete sentences, and there doesn't seem to be much she can't communicate clearly. I am amazed daily by what she soaks up and remembers and repeats... just this morning as we drove home she said, "The wise men...told baby Jesus...happy birthday!" Yesterday we all went out for a walk and as we passed a neighbor who was unloading groceries in her driveway, LL looked down at her own shirt and said, "Look! I have a pretty dress!" Tonight she got AG's backpack, put on my tennis shoes, and went to the door with a set of toy keys and said, "Go to school! I'm ready!" When she's not putting together and saying every thought that crosses her mind, she's singing the dozens of songs she knows, and I think her little flat, raspy singing voice is the sweetest I've heard in quite a while as she belts out her one-of-a-kind medleys!
She's been wearing this beret around and likes to pull it down over her eyes and run through the house. Today she put it on to sit down and color...talk about abstract art!
Peekaboo!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Sweet SJ

3 days old: Snuggling after her first bath at home


4 days old: Napping on Daddy


5 days old: Flexing her muscles :)


6 days old: Enjoying her new bouncy seat

What a Day!

We had a very exciting day! Here's what LL thought about it:Actually, after I took this she said, "Like a tiger!" She is very into animals and their noises these days and asks T all the time to "do the elephant." However, when he does his elephant impression, she immediately starts backing away from him and saying, "No, Daddy!" with a mixture of terror and delight, and as soon as he stops she asks him to do it again. Anyway, back to our big day...

We all got up and moving early this morning because it was AG's first day of preschool! We have been talking about this all summer and yesterday we went to orientation and she met both her teachers, saw her classroom, the playground, the snackroom, etc., so as I drove her there I was hopeful that she was ready to jump right in. And she was! Here she is just before we got there:

She hopped out of the van and I did manage to give her a hug before she bopped away with one of her teachers to the playground. And although I had at least considered that tears might be shed at this moment, I didn't expect that they might be mine instead of hers... but seeing her walk away carrying her little backpack and into a whole new stage of life was bittersweet! I sat at the stoplight and watched her through tears as she walked out onto the playground and climbed the ladder into the "treehouse," and I felt excited and proud, but I also couldn't help but think, "Who will help her get down?" It is strange to know she is now going to be having 9 hours of activity each week that I don't have a constant window into. It is even stranger to be entrusting her to people I don't know very well. I guess this is the first of many parental "leaps of faith" that will be taken through the years... we pray and trust it will be a wonderful experience for her, and if today was any indicator, it will be. I picked her up 3 hours later with a smile on her face and a neat painted picture in her backpack. She told me the names of some of her classmates, that she had cookies for a snack, and showed me how she learned to sit "criss cross applesauce." She is growing up!
AG holding SJ...just one of her new favorite things to do!
Showing off her sassy "first day of school" skirt!

One other fun story: Tonight Trey was reading from the creation narrative in Genesis. He was at the part where God created the sun and moon and asked AG, "What gives us light in the day?" to which she answered, "The sun." Then he asked, "And what gives us light at night?" Her answer came right back, "A flashlight." Of course!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Our First "Labor Day"

Well, yesterday was nice, especially since it meant T got to be home with us an extra day. But certainly the most significant Labor Day for our family happened 6 days ago, when SJ came to join us on her due date! August 29 the contractions started at just before 5 a.m. and she was born just before 3 p.m. It wasn't the "quick and easy" delivery I wondered if it might be, but thankfully, she was born safely and is healthy, and we rejoice to have her here with us! She shares a birthday with her maternal great-grandmother and T's beloved aunt Camille, who said she was praying for contractions that day so she'd have a new birthday buddy! She was given two special names... S is a family name from generations back in T's mom's mother's family, and J is T's mom's middle name. Here we are with her in the delivery room right after her initial "check-up"...
Here is her first introduction to her two big sisters:
LL is really interested in "baby S" and loves to kiss and "hug" her.
Do you think AG is proud? She is taking her role very seriously!
Welcome home, SJ! We are so glad you are here!

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Baby Girl is Here!

Just a quick post to update this family record, in case anyone happens upon it who has not yet heard our news...

SJ was born on Wednesday, August 29 at 3:56 p.m.!
She was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 19 3/4 inches.

Thankfully the delivery went well and she is healthy; we were able to come home yesterday afternoon and she was warmly welcomed by AG and LL. She was also introduced just hours after arrival to all four of her delighted grandparents.

We give thanks for this blessing and will post more pictures soon. By the way, if you are a family friend seeing this but did not receive an earlier email sharing the news including her name, leave a comment or email me to let me know and I'll send you that important detail!