My Birthday

My birthday this year was fabulous. David returned from his work 'vacation' (it's a vacation when you get a full night of sleep for 3 days in a row!) and Grandpa Jim and Nana were here to help me. Boy, were they a help! I was really sad to see them go. The company was nice but the best part was the fact that Grandpa Jim and David are made from the same cloth...they always have to be cleaning or doing something. It is really nice to have the dishes done when I return from taking Luke to school...just an example! Nana was a great help with Haydn and Luke. Plus, I had a girl in the house to talk to for a change! That night, we went to a 'fancy restaurant', as Luke would say. Luke did fairly well for being out so late and Haydn slept the first half of dinner, but was quiet in our arms the rest of the night.
Thanks for coming in, guys, and for a terrific birthday! We love you!

Nana with Haydn

Luke loved the tongs!

This is Luke's 'new face' and I LOVE IT! It makes me laugh when he flashes it at me!

Daddy and deliriously tired boy!

Nana holding Haydn

Grandpa Jim is an iPhone addict!

Abundant Blessing

Over the past few weeks, MANY friends have blessed us with dinner each night. It's truly amazing that Haydn will be 3 weeks old tomorrow and we have had food almost every night since we got home from the hospital....AND it's STILL coming! I am overwhelmed by the generosity, for sure. It is such a big help to not have to think about dinner. We are all getting pretty spoiled by it and Luke is always interested to see who is bringing food each night. He has to show them his baby sister and his big boy room. I guess he is expecting someone to bring food for every meal because this morning he said, "Mom, who brought us this oatmeal?" I laughed..."No one, honey...Mommy made it for you!"

THANK YOU to everyone who has blessed us with dinner! It has all been SO yummy!

Who does she look like??

Haydn 1 week


Me at 1 week

Luke at 1 week

I wish I had a picture of David, but we lost them all when my computer crashed. (All of his baby pictures are on slides and we spent a day taking pictures of the slides...we'll have to do it again next time we are at his Mom's house.)
Until then...what do you think? Does she look like her Mama or what? She definitely has my unfortunate cowlicks! They are actually a mirror image of mine! Poor girl! No pigtails for her...our hair just won't do it!

Luke's First Day of School

Just three days after baby sister was born, we had Luke's meet the teacher time at his new school. He will go to Mother's Day Out two days a week this year. His teachers are so sweet and he declared today that he loves them both very much.




So far we haven't had a day without tears, but he really talks about how much fun he has there and is excited to share his day with us. He told me that he cries because he doesn't like it when I leave and go home without him. Can you say, 'break my heart'? We are praying he does better in the coming weeks.

No longer a family of 3...

Haydn Grace is here!

Labor and Delivery
This labor and delivery story will not be near as long as Luke's story. It was pretty uneventful, really. I am VERY thankful that the Lord blessed us with such a good experience and a healthy, sweet baby girl.

I sent out an email on the 24th about being induced the morning of the 25th. I did not want to be induced and came really close to backing out at 10pm that night. There is just something with messing with God's timing that I wasn't comfortable with. Plus, I wanted the 'spontaneity' experience (or the movie experience). I didn't have that with Luke. However, after talking with Mom and David and praying about it, I knew that we needed to keep the appointment. The week prior I had two bouts of false labor and it was really tough on everyone. My mom came over at 4am one morning and skipped church the next time. Dealing with a toddler and making arrangements for him to be cared for makes it hard to be spontaneous...especially when the hospital is 45 minutes to an hour away. Looking back, I am thankful that I didn't have to bare the contractions in the car for an hour!

The evening of the 24th we spent the night at my Mom's house and kissed Luke goodnight as a family of 3 for the last time. We had to be at the hospital at 5am the following morning for our appointment. Knowing this would be out last night of good sleep for awhile, we should have gone to bed early, but no...11pm. We woke at 3:30 to get ready to leave. Arrived at the hospital at 5am on the dot, checked in and went to Labor and Delivery! They showed us to our room. Mary (the best nurse EVER...second to Staci (Luke's L&D Nurse), of course!) was ready for us! We talked with her for the next hour or so while she prepped me for Pitocin. Funny...she was from Wisconsin, so we had alot to discuss from our bout in MN. I was 'hooked up' and ready by 7am. Mary made the comment that she usually finishes prepping by 6:30, but she was enjoying talking with us so much that we didn't get 'started' until 7am. As I labored and contracted for the next 2 hours, I asked Mary (mother of 4...birthed naturally), if she would get an epidural if she could go back and do it again. Without hesitation, she said, "YES!" I asked why and she said that she spent the last 13 years in Labor and Delivery watching both natural and pain free deliveries. In her experience, pain free deliveries were more enjoyable and restful than natural. That's all I needed to hear! I had the 2 hour experience of pain and was ready for the epidural. Mary predicted that she would be born by noon (she was close!) and I didn't see the need to feel the pain for another 3 hours. She called the Anesthesiologist as soon as I said the word. I barely had time to go to the bathroom before he arrived and was smooth sailing by 9:30. He did a MUCH better job than the Doc in MN! For the next few hours, we laughed and talked...talked to a few people on the phone...and, yes, I updated my Facebook status:
8:57: Admitted, all hooked up and epidural started. Hoping to get some rest. I love my nurse!!
11:28: Dilated to an 8 already...nurse said she thinks we'll see her a little after noon. YAY!!
11:47: Getting ready to push...waiting on Dr. She'll be here soon!

Mary actually checked me at 11:30 and said, "Whew...don't push...she's ready!" We waited on Dr. MacD (nicknamed 'My Lucky Little Leprechaun'...seriously...he's about 5 feet tall, Irish, and such a great doctor! We love him!). He showed up at noon. I pushed 3 times and she was here! It was such a great experience! I cannot tell you!

Name Sake

(Haydn holding me at 6 months)

I am sure you figured out by now that we named her 'Haydn Grace'. I know we had a poll and Haydn was pretty low in popularity. As David and I discussed it, we decided that I would probably regret it if we didn't name her Haydn especially if this is our last child. My Grandfather, Haydn (spelled like the composer, Haydn...), was very instrumental in my life (and Donna's). He and Memonnie supported us when our parents divorced. We spent several weeks there each summer growing up. They encouraged us as we grew and loved us with an unconditional love that cannot be explained. They supported us through college and bought us both our first cars. I wouldn't be where I am today or who I am today without them. We went back and forth on the spelling, but realized that if we were going to name her after him, then we should spell it like he did. It will be hard for her and us, but naming her after him is worth a few misspellings....and gender mix ups!

In July, we went to visit Memonnie (Dedaddy/Haydn passed in 2000) and I emotionally thanked her for all she and Dedaddy did for us. She said, "I am so glad we did, because you would never have met David if we weren't there for you." I boo-hoo'd...she was right! I am so grateful! (Can you tell she LOVES David? She tells me that he reminds her of Dedaddy. He definitely helps out in the kitchen like Haydn did and has a similar demeanor about him. Maybe that's what drew me to him...)

Dedaddy was the main reason for the name. However, I also had a camper in my cabin one summer, Hayden. She was so cool and, at that point, I had never heard of a girl named Hayden. The wheels started turning and I told David that one day I wanted to name a girl Haydn after Dedaddy. Haydn is gaining popularity as a girl name and that helped our decision as well.

We named her Grace after the abundant grace that God gives us that we do not deserve. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and thank you for her!

Luke's Thoughts

The first thing Luke said when he came into the room on the day she was born:
Luke: Hi Mommy! Is baby sister out of your tummy?
Mom: Yes, she's here, look!
Luke: OK...can I get in there now? It's my turn!
Mom: NO! You had your turn 2 1/2 years ago, silly!

He is doing so well with her! He LOVES her! (See the pictures and video below!) We are so proud of our family and excited to be a family of 4 now! All of this makes me love the Lord, my husband, and my family so much more!
Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.

Luke's Song to the tune of Brahm's Lullaby:
Haydn Grace
Haydn Grace
You are our baby girl.
Haydn Grace, Haydn Grace
Mommy, Daddy, Luke love you!

Lukeisms...

1. Saturday Luke said the prayer before lunch which is pretty customary. He used to pray for everything he saw, but lately it's been a 'short and sweet let me eat' prayer. We were very proud when he said,
"Dear Jesus,
Thank you for today. Thank you for this food. Thank you for the
bucket**. Thank you for spending time with Mommy and Daddy.
Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies. Amen."
**(Our neighborhood pool has a huge bucket that dumps and he and David had just returned from there.)
We had a great Saturday together as a family and I guess he was thankful for the time spent with us. He knows baby sister will be here soon and has been a little anxious about it. I treasure these last few days as a family of 3....

2. We were on our way home from church on Saturday night. It was past his bed time, but we had to return a movie. While David was in the store, Luke and I were talking about all of the people going in and out. "Who is she, Mommy?" "What is that guy doing?" and on and on...
Out of the blue he said, "I know I miss Grandma." I said, "I know you do, Buddy, but you will see her later this week." THEN he said, "She was a great lady!" HUH?
(At this point, I'm calling Mom hoping that Luke didn't know something that I didn't know...making sure she was ok...I couldn't get a hold of her. No big deal. I knew she was fine.)
So, then I asked, "Luke, where do you think Grandma is?" "Home." Shew! "Yep, Luke, she's at home!"
*She did call me back later. She was in the shower...not dead. I felt better! It's so fun to watch how he is working on his verbiage. I love watching him learn!

Swimming Lessons

Luke took swimming lessons this summer at the indoor pool near our house! He did really well. I took him every Wednesday morning until I got too big. He had this annoying habit of crawling up my belly and standing on it....hello...not a step ladder! So, the last few weeks, we rescheduled him for a later class and David took him. We are so proud of his progress that we are keeping him in for the fall and possibly the spring sessions. It will be nice if he can swim by next summer when I need to tend to Haydn in the water. The pictures below are from one of the last sessions. I am amazed at his progress!

Swimming to get balls into the basket. I wouldn't move unless he was kicking his feet.

Jumping off the side was still a challenge. He always wanted to hold on to our hands.

David would let go and he would swim to him...

Crawling out...elbow, elbow, belly, knee...

Blowing bubbles

Floating on his back!

Swimming to the star fish!!

Got it!!

Floating on the duck....

Swimming to the steps at the end of the lesson...

We will update his progress later in the fall!

Baby Sister's Shower

Several close friends threw us a shower a few weeks ago. It was a great time with family and friends. I am humbled to have such wonderful people in my life. Thank you for a terrific Saturday morning!

July 2009

The 4th
We had a great July. We went to see my grandmother for the 4th and Luke watched his first firework show. Mom, Donna, Mark, Haley and Will went, too. We drove up on Friday and went to the 4th of July carnival, dog show, and old car show. It was very small town. The kids got their face painted and seemed to have a good time. They then played outside on the water slide and in the pool. My genius husband thought to bring those at the last minute. (See the pictures below...it's obvious that he brought it for himself more than the kids!)
It was a great time with family and good to see my 93 year old grandmother doing so well.We also drove over to see my mom's mom! She is always a delight. I still am in awe that she is still working as a CPA at 86.

The firetruck pulled up right in front of my grandmother's house. The kids loved seeing the ladder go up. The fireworks display was so close to the house that they were nervous that debris would catch houses and other things in the area on fire. Luke LOVED watching the firemen!

Watching fireworks in the front yard!

Sea World


We went on a mini vacation to Sea World as a 'last hurrah' as a family of three. It was a great time together just the three of us. Boy was it hot. I think I drank more water than ever before. We got to see some great friends while we were there. It's funny...Luke was a little confused by all the Jonathan's we saw. We met up with Libby (from school), Jonathan, and Baby Wortham for dinner one night. Worth is so cute and we had a great time meeting him. He looks just like his Grandad, I tell ya! Like a mirror!!
Then we went to lunch with a friend that I used to work with, Jonathan. It was good to see him...it had been so long. He and I LOVED to play jokes on each other. For instance, one day I walked into my classroom and all of my desks were turned upside down. Nice!
That evening, we met up with our friends, Amber and Jon (yes another Jonathan), at Sea World to finish out the day and to see Shamu. Amber and Jon are such a wonderful friends. We really enjoy hanging out with them and miss seeing them more often. We went out to eat afterward and Luke didn't get to bed until 11pm. It was the latest that he has ever been up. He did ok considering. He LOVED playing with Morgan and Natalie so it was fine. He did play catch up once we got home, though. It was a great trip and he talked about it for days. When we arrived home, he kept saying, "No...we need to go to the hotel!"
*side note*
Another Jonathan came over that weekend for a cookout and really sent Luke for a whirl! It is so fun to watch his little brain try to put it all together.

Bah and Papa's Lake House

Our good friends, Nikki, Scott, Hudson, and Hadley invited us out to her Mom's (Bah) house. It is a gorgeous house on the lake with a spectacular view and yard...it's just an all around great place for a kid, especially!

Luke was so scared of their precious (super friendly) dog (see him in the background) that he would run to us screaming when he came around. Poor dog...

Pushing baby sister in her stroller...

Luke and Bah feeding the ducks.

Scott and Hudson

Hudson heading back to the house.

On Papa's sailboat! It was awesome!

Baby Hadley up from her nap and loving the view.

Hudson and Papa driving the ski boat over to get the sailboat.

Luke showing Papa how to steer the boat. HA!

Heading out...

Always in love with the steering wheel!

Captain Luke at your service!

Potty Training

July was a fun month with many wonderful activities. Most of July was spent potty training, however. (Read more on that here.) Luke said some pretty hilarious stuff while going through PT.

• 'I tooted Mommy, can you laugh?' (Mainly, because David, of course, always laughs!)
• While we were in a public restroom, Luke yelled, "Good job, Mommy! You stayed dry and tt'd in the potty!"
• David came home from work and asked Luke, 'Did you poop on the potty today?' Luke replied, "Yep, I grabbed the handles!" (There are handles on his potty insert!)