Water

I played in the water today.

This is what Emma Grace did. How long until she can play with me?

Weigh in

Today we took my baby sister to the pediatrician for her 10 day check up. Doc said she was perfect and everything looked super. Mommy was worried because she's been peeing and pooping like a champ up until yesterday. NO poop diapers to speak of. Don't you worry though because she had 3 poop diapers during the 20 minutes we were in the examination room! When Emma Grace was born, she was 7 lbs 5 oz. Upon discharge she was 6 lbs 14 oz. On day 4 of her life (a kind nurse was sent out to Great Gma's house to check her out for a follow up), she was down to 6 lbs 10 oz. Now that Mommy's milk is in, she's up to a whopping 7 lbs!!!!! This is awesome and very relieving to Mommy and Daddy. Now Mommy feels okay with letting her sleep a little longer in the morning as opposed to waking her up to feed her all the time.

Speaking of sleeping... Emma Grace likes to sleep most of the day, but is having longer and longer periods of awake time during the day, which is lovely... we can see more of her baby blues. :) She's been waking up around 3 am each morning for a feeding. The last couple of days that has been known as the 'feeding from hell.' (Excuse my language... I heard Mommy and Daddy say that.;) ) After eating she was wanting to stay up for hours... and when I say hours... I mean 3-4 hours. This was allowing Mommy maybe an hour tops of sleep until it was time for me to wake up for the day. NOT GOOD. Last night though wasn't bad at all. Daddy was able to rock her back to sleep after about an hour and a half... BUT she did sleep in the bed with Mommy and Daddy as opposed to her bassinet. She can be very finicky during these wee hours and tends to wake up the second you put her down in her own bed.

Nonetheless she's super sweet and we're having oodles of fun with this little one!

The Duck Pond

After our visitors left this afternoon, we headed to campus and to The Duck Pond to feed the ducks. Daddy and I kept offering the ducks bread, but they didn't seem very hungry... perhaps it was the 4 other families ALSO feeding the ducks bread.

No worries though... the bread did not go to waste. :) (Yeah I'm wearing an AC~DC shirt... because that's how I roll! I have a Rolling Stones one too if you really wanted to know. I mean I like Raffi, Veggie Tales, and Laurie Berkner alright... but there is something about rock 'n roll that just speaks to me.)

Here's Emma Grace... the ducks just don't give her the excitement they give me.

Because the ducks weren't biting, we headed on over to The Horticulture Gardens to feed the fish. "Hello fish... here is some for you..." "AND here is some for me."That's me and the moms... watching the fish swimming around.

Grandma and Grandaddy meet EG

Grandma and Grandaddy brought Nana down to meet my sister for the first time. She cried most of their visit... newborns. :)

Emma Grace with Grandma and Grandaddy

4 generations

Boys

The boys have moved.

I looked for them all day today.

I am sad.

Progression of a marriage

Rachel here. So today is our 5th year wedding anniversary. Yay us! We have our moments... sometimes they are quite often, but when it comes down to it... we love each other. :) As we sit here at 7:15... me in my pjs and Bryan having not had a shower, I can't help but reflect on what our lives have become. Let's reminisce shall we?

1st anniversary: A lovely trip to Chicago. The gifts were adorably thoughtful... paper was the theme. I made B some 'paper' coupons and got him a subscription to Sports Illustrated. He put a little scrapbook of postcards together for me of all the places we were to visit while in Chicago. I believe we ate at 'Harry Cary's'... it was super yummy.
~
2nd anniversary: New York. We did the regular New York touristy adventures. If I remember correctly we saw a Broadway Show... 'Rent'... or maybe it was 'Chicago.' Either way it was lovely. Now that I think about it... it was definitely 'Chicago', and we saw Liza Minelli being rushed out of the theater as the lights were coming up. We ate a lovely Italian dinner somewhere in some village. :) And then walked aimlessly through Time Square. The theme was cotton... I got Bryan a vintage Wild Turkey Bourbon t-shirt. He got me a bouquet of flowers with cotton balls as the buds. Good times were had by all.
~
3rd anniversary: Cross country trip... celebrated in San Fransisco. After venturing all over the city... visiting Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, the most crooked street in the world, and hitting up a Giants game, we ate a super yummy dinner at 'Gordon Birsch'. Famous for their beer samplers... that I could not partake in because we were in fact expecting Reese. Theme: leather... I got Bryan a leather case of adorable shirt collar straighteners that have little sayings on them from Red Envelope. He got me a little leather bag with a gold chain in it to replace one I had broken.
~
Now this is where things start to head south...
~
4th anniversary: Blacksburg, VA. Our great friend Angie offered to babysit Reese for us while we got gussied up and headed to 'Book Binders' for a lovely... quiet... child free meal. One where we spent most of our time in silence or talking about Reese... we don't leave her with people often... if at all... and were curious as to what she was doing... she's probably eating dinner now... Angie is probably trying to coral her upstairs... she should be in bed now... ahhhhh... the life of a parent. Theme: flowers... I made Bryan a vase with chocolate covered peanuts acting as dirt and put oversized fake flowers in it. Attached to all the flowers were little sayings expressing everything I loved about him. He got me a flower and little gardening tools.
~
5th anniversary: Blacksburg, VA. Bryan is heading out shortly to pick up our burgers from 'Red Robin'... oh and a cheesecake from the Wal-mart. We're in our pjs... for the record I've had a shower... someone else hasn't. ;) We will more than likely eat, nurse (me... not B), watch tv, nurse, sleep for a couple of hours, nurse, sleep for a couple more hours, nurse... and start all over tomorrow. Theme: wood... I got Bryan an antique Budweiser bottling box filled with supplies to brew his own beer. He got me... well... nothing. :) He planned on ordering and putting together my gift nearly 2 weeks ago, but with the world wind life we were living wasn't able to. For the record... Reese and I still haven't been able to finish his Father's Day gift, so I can't really validate giving him a hard time. :)
~
Here's to calmer anniversary next year... one where we shower, get a babysitter... maybe overnight, and eat OUT, talk about things other than the kids... and here's to me being able to drink alcohol in celebration. No matter how we celebrate or where we are it doesn't change how much I love you Bryan!

Related?

Do you think we could be related?

(Reese is on the left and Emma Grace is on the right.)

Squeaker

So I have a baby sister now... bum bum bum. I can't decide how I feel about this current situation I find myself in. While I think her feet are super adorable, and I love giving her kisses good night... the other day I had an intense urge to throw a hairbrush at her. Luckily I'm only 20 months and my aim is not all that precise. Something tells me I would have been in super big trouble had I made actual contact. I'm enjoying acting out a little more than usual. I have to get some attention somehow right? Thing is... I know I'm being naughty... because while I'm unrolling the entire roll of toilet paper in our hotel room, I'm loudly saying to myself "no no!" It'll take me a while to adjust, but I do secretly love my little sister. Check out some of these super cute pictures of our little squeaker!

Emma Grace with Great Grandma Betty

Dr. Berger... only the coolest flip flop wearing Hawaiian shirt sportin' doctor there is!

Getting ready to go "home"

Who knew I was this big? Don't I look like I could eat my baby sister for breakfast?

With our Great Grandma Nita

What a miracle

Rachel here... again. Now what I didn't tell you about Friday June 19th was that that morning my water had broken. With Reese my water was broken in the hospital, so I had no idea what it felt like. I honestly thought I had wet my pants. Having no idea I was in labor, I got ready to bury my gentle and kind Grandpa Jack. Following the burial, we headed for lunch with the entire family and close friends. The following morning we were supposed to be heading back to Virginia, so we thought it best to go get checked out at the hospital before leaving.


We left the lunch and headed for the exact hospital I was born in 28 years ago, which was also the hospital my grandfather passed in earlier in the week. After being registered and checked... we learned we would in fact be having a baby in Iowa (second hurdle crossed... not having the baby in Lebanon, Indiana... or worse... ANYWHERE in West-by-god Virginia). HOLY MOLY. Good thing we had taken the extra time to do all that packing because we were going to need it all.


That very night... after saying our final good byes to Grandpa Jack, we welcomed our baby girl. Thank you Grandpa for watching over our travels and taking care of us on this wild and crazy journey.


And now... presenting...

Emma Grace

June 19, 2009

11:13 PM

7 lbs 5 oz

20 inches

I only hope Emma Grace turns out to be as gentle and kind as the man who helped bring her to us safely under such unbelievable circumstances. :)

Gentle and Kind

Rachel here. Gentle and Kind. Two words used to describe my Grandpa Jack. Simple words? Probably, but no two words could be more perfect. Monday morning June 15th, I received a call from my mom saying my grandfather was not expected to make it through the day. What? He was a fighter. He fought for nearly 25 years. He was superman. he always came out of it. Tuesday morning June 16th my superman was gone. I quickly realized I wouldn't be able to make it back to Iowa for his service. The devastation set in. I called Bryan... he rushed home. He said we would make it there no matter what. The preparation set in.

We needed to pack for the regular scenario... a family visit out of town. We needed to pack our hospital bags in case we needed to go in while on our trip. We needed to pack in case there was a baby born in Iowa. Our car was packed with various Vera Bradley patterns for the corresponding scenario. The following day we visited the doctor and explained to her what was going on and that I WOULD be traveling and could I have copies of all my test results through the pregnancy and any other documentation an out of state doctor may need. My blood pressure was taken. For the first time in both pregnancies it was high. This triggered an NST... stress test for the baby. The beginning of the test showed that the baby's heartbeat was flat lining. This resulted in an ultrasound that checked for various things like the level of amniotic fluid around the baby and her lung function among other things. All looked well... I passed... we were on our way.

After driving 2 days (not something we would have done if I weren't pregnant), we were with my family in Iowa (The first of many hurdles we would cross)... trying to wrap our heads around what was happening.

Thursday June 18th we faced the wake and funeral of my gentle and kind grandfather. It was probably the most gut-wrenching thing I've ever gone through. He had so many people in his life that loved him; it was incredible to see them all file in to pay their respects. People told stories. My mom even spoke. I've never been more proud to call her my mother. She spoke from the heart... my brother and I cried.

Friday morning June 19th we buried my gentle and kind Grandpa Jack. Something I never in a million years thought we would do so soon. We were given so many chances to love him. He was given to many lives to live.

I feel so blessed to have had him see me graduate high school and college, see me get married, meet his first great grandchild, and know that he was to be a great grandfather once again. I love you Grandpa and miss you terribly... I only hope I've made you proud.

Who loves their pool?

It's me... It's me!

Pattison family fun day

Today Mommy and Daddy took me to the zoo and to Chuck E. Cheese! You would think something super big is about to happen in my life, so they are trying to make it up to me now or something. ;)

Here are some cute pix from the zoo. (Yes I am wearing a leash... and frankly if you have something to say about it my Mommy is willing to fight you to the death.)

Oh and check out this super cute video from Chuck E. Cheese. I had SO MUCH fun!

It's raining babies!

Rachel here. Yesterday two of my GREAT friends Angie and Laura threw me one of the sweetest showers ever. The weather was beautiful, friends and family were plentiful, and there was cheesecake. :) I couldn't have been more grateful! I love you girls tons!!!! Pretty soon she won't be the baby anymore! She's turning into such a big girl. :)

Ahhhh... the dirty diaper game... what a classic!

Even Reese got to open a gift!

Some of my amazing friends and family!

Reese sporting her 'Elton John' glasses.

After running around with Brett and playing in the pool all afternoon, she slept super soundly. :)

Opening all my diapers and wipes.

Heather and Amy... friends from my working days. I'm retired now. ;)

My only regret of the day... not getting MORE pictures taken! (Especially with my SUPERWONDERFULLYADORABLECOULDN'TASKFORBETTERFRIENDS hostesses!) Thank you so much to everyone who could make it, and those that couldn't that sent their love! I just know this little girl will be just as loved as her sister! :)

20 months

Happy 20 month birthday to moi! I am seriously the light of Mommy and Daddy's lives these days. They are constantly laughing at me and my antics. I guess that's okay with me... it's better than Timeout I always say. ;) Here's the rundown of me:

I hate it when you cut up my food and forks are for sissys when it comes to eating. (She'll be 45 before she uses a spoon or fork I've decided.)

Language. Always a fun one... she has such a sweet squeaky little voice. Mommy reformatted her computer and lost the file of the words I know (yes... she does indeed have an Excel file of the real/make shift words that come out of my mouth), so hopefully she got them all. Here goes nothing... rock (like in the garden), up, down, open, cold, fafa (pasta), bock bock (chicken), caca (cracker), t.d. (t.v.), something that sounds like Aaron, peas (please), play (play doh), cuhyer (color), cow, oink (pig), maaa (sheep), neigh (horse), pants, dressed, juice, Mommy (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!), bird, read, ouchie, peas, more (has been saying it forever, but I noticed I had never written it), sorry, a do (thank you... same as more), Teetee/Beebee/Fafa (Tutee, Brobee, and Foofa from 'Yo Gabba Gabba'), no more, bye bye all done no more (yes she says all three upon completing something or when something is over), buhbum (Brown Bear Brown Bear), cool, eat, chalk, shovel, boat, pool, brush, clock, out, Barley (neighbor's dog), and yesterday she said bambam (which I can only guess means broken or sunglasses because she was holding my sunglasses in her hands... two different hands that is!) Rachel here. She's starting to string words together, which is so super cute. We were watching 'Cars' yesterday, and after the scene where Mater and Lightening McQueen go tractor tipping she said "Car moooooo.... teeth!" Then she started cracking up... as did I when I realized she was talking about Mater. :)

Playing has become pretty funny too. Earlier in the month she started grabbing her blanket (which we have to have in our sights at all times now it seems), running and flopping herself onto the floor, covering her head, saying "ni-night" and then snoring like an old man! We about died. Her and Daddy have been playing it ever since. She gets quite the kick out of it. I can only guess she learned this from the 'Nap' episode of 'YGG'. (I swear I do not sit my child in front of the tv all day... it's just been raining so much here!!!!) She LOVES to color. I've recently started letting her use regular Crayola markers as opposed to the Magic Wonder ones. I think she likes it more when she gets messy. :) Saying she loves to dance would be an understatement. It's pretty impressive how fast she can get those little legs moving. Outside is by far her favorite place. And the pool has become a HUGE hit... thank god! Now this summer won't seem so hectic I feel. Hopefully we can try the arts and crafts stuff again in the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping she's overcome her 'fear' of glue. ;) I bought some foam beads from the dollar store, and she loves to try to string them... which is funny to watch because her hands are still so little! I want to start doing some of the more knowledge based activities with her... like colors (she still says everything is yellow) and the alphabet... I can only watch her throw so much pasta. :) So we'll see how that goes. She LOVES to dress up! Mardi Gras beads have become her all time favorite accessory, which is great because we have TONS... who knew our college days would have such an affect on our current lifestyle? ;)

We bought a second potty in preparation for the big deed. So now we have one upstairs and one downstairs. I recently bought the Elmo potty movie after hearing it was super cute and kids love it. Reese knows what the potty is, and barges in on us and screams 'pee pee' while we're going potty, but when I put her on it, she just dances around and tries to put the seat around her leg. Needless to say we'll be waiting until after the baby is here to take ourselves seriously with even attempting to train. I'm sure there are pros and cons to whatever we choose to do, so our style is going to be to roll with the punches... the three of us will figure it out together.

I know there is probably tons more I could be writing about, but the days at this point are blending into one another trying to get ready for Reese's baby sister. We take Reese to the ped. next Friday, so we'll finally have some stats to share. I can't wait to find out how much she weighs!!! We should probably start talking about the status of her belly button too. Bless her heart. She recently discovered it and LOVES to play with it! I'll leave you with a funny story about that... So Reese was playing in her pool a couple of days ago when the neighbor boys came out to visit with her. Reese was wearing a little bikini because frankly I don't care what people think about it... she's a little girl, and plus... her bikinis are to DIE for. :) So anyway... apparently after we went inside the older boy asked his mom why Reese was playing with her vagina. WHAT?! She was so confused. She said to him that Reese had a bathing suit and her swimmie diaper on and she didn't see her playing with it. Finally she realized he was talking about her belly button! Poor Reese! I was so sad after she told me. I hope Reese doesn't start to feel self conscious about it because I think she's adorably sweet... yes even when she's testing me. :)

Stir fry?

Rachel here. So for both of my pregnancies I put myself on one of those baby e-mailing lists that updates you weekly on how far along you are, what your body is doing, how you may be feeling... blah blah blah. They also tell you how big the baby is and what it might look like developmentally. I've never actually thought too much into most of it until my friend Erin recently brought it to my attention. She's preggers now with Brett's little brother or sister (and we could not be more excited for them!) and had a funny status up on her Facebook account about unborn babies being compared to vegetables by this sight when talking about their size. It cracked me up because my veggie was something I had absolutely NEVER even heard of. I mean basically if it's not the size of some sort of squash... I've probably never heard of it. :) So to celebrate the pending birth of my unborn veggie, I reveal... this week Deuce is the size of Swiss Chard.
Intriguing isn't it?

Worth a thousand words

Rachel here. So it's raining here in The Burg... AGAIN... shocker. Luckily we've gotten a lot of outside play in the last few days thanks to 'the boys' next door and our little pool. Reese now lives in her bathing suit because she has a tendency just to jump right in the pool now no matter what she is wearing. Anyway back to the rain... Winston hates the rain. If he hears thunder all hell breaks loose and he morphs into the biggest chicken known to man. He often cowers as close to you as he can get, crouches in his house, or runs for the hills. Today he ran for cover. Can you find him in this picture?

Reese caught a glimpse of him and thought the bookshelf looked like a great place to play.

She soon realized she was far too big and quickly gave up. Now we sit and watch "Cars" for the 7th time in 2 days, giant Legos are sprawled all over my living room, and my daughter is sitting in a diaper and bikini top with her good friend Balloon. :)