Pictures from Day One

My parents brought the boys by to meet their new sister. Love the cautious look on Colin's face. 

Ethan warmed up quickly, but lost interest just as fast. "Can she crawl or do we have to carry her everywhere?" and then "When is she going to turn one?" He was more entertained by the hospital bed and the chair that turns into a bed for dad (the "Transformer" chair).

First family photo. I don't know that Colin is embracing the whole middle-child thing. Not that there's a chance he will ever get overlooked with his personality.

This is exactly what Maddie has done for 98% of the day. Since it's not my first time around the block, I know that means I might have a rough night ahead.

Jason's enthralled. He's wanted a daughter for a while, even though "I have no idea what to do with a girl." I have a feeling she'll let him know...

She can open her eyes...she just doesn't want to right now.

Wrapped snug in the blanket her great-grandma Kelley made her.

One of my parents caught this...she is either yawning or rooting...

New Arrival

Madeline Ann

7 lbs 14 oz

21.5 inches

July 28, 2009, 9:07 am

Welcome to the world, Maddie. We are SO glad you are here!!!

Random memories

Recent moments I don't want to forget: 

Ethan is so much like me in so many ways I tend to be surprised when I'm reminded that he's his own person. He's an extrovert socially, while I'm a textbook introvert. I hated new experiences/places/people as  kid (still not crazy about them). This week, he went to an art camp at Pump It Up. When I was driving him there, he asked who was going to be there. "Well," I explained, "You don't know any of the kids there." "Cool," he responded, "Do you think I'm going to make some new friends?"

 

I'm so proud of what a confident kid he is. 

Colin loves bugs. Although sometimes he spends a while looking at them and then announces, "Squish"...and does. The other day he was riding the Batman scooter down the sidewalk when he spotted a carpenter art. He stopped, picked it up gingerly, put it on the scooter, and took it for a ride. It fell off a few feet away and he cried and cried.

Conversation with Ethan: 

I was getting Colin dressed in his pjs after his bath, when he looked down at his chest, pointed at his nipples, and said, "Yuck."

Me: Colin, they're not yucky. They're just nipples.

Ethan: What are they for, anyway?

Me: Well....[thinking, I'm glad we're having this conversation now]...mommies use them to make milk to feed their babies.

Ethan: You mean, like, real milk? 

Me: Yep.  [watching closely to see what kind of reaction this was going to get; trying to mentally prep for the questions to come]

Ethan: That.....is.....AWESOME!

Me: [Relieved and amused] Yeah, it is, huh?

Ethan: What do boys' and dads' do?

Me: Um, nothing. I'm really not sure why you even have them.

Bald Head Island

After we left Sullivan's Island, the four of us drove north and caught the ferry to Bald Head Island, North Carolina. This is Colin saying, "Whooooaaaaaa," as the ferry pulled in. He's very animated. He was still sporting a banged-up face, so we're hoping people didn't wonder if his parents did it.

The boys LOVED the ferry ride. We did not purposely dress all 3 of them alike. We rented a 2-bedroom townhouse with a reverse floor plan (bedrooms on the first floor; living areas upstairs). This was the view from the deck off the living room. Because you can only access the island by ferry, the island is very quiet, especially since it was the first week of June so the summer season hadn't started yet.

The beaches were pristine, empty, and reminded us of New England (especially the houses). The sand was perfect.

Once you get away from the beach, the island is very wooded and full of wildlife, and is especially known for the turtles who lay eggs on its beaches. We went on a nature walk and stood right under these hawks. We drove right past this very curious fox. There are alligators everywhere, especially in all of the ponds on the golf course (the true definition of a "hazard", I guess). We visited this one at a local pond several times. They've built a deck off a walkway and he swims over when you walk up (too many years of crazy people feeding him?).

The funniest part of the entire trip happened at this pond. Another couple was there, and headed up the walkway back to their golf cart, which was parked right in front of the bulletin board at the head of the walkway. Colin and I were following behind them. They climbed in their cart and drove down the road. Now, our cart was parked on the far side out of sight. I guess Colin thought the couple had stolen our cart, because as they drove away, he started running after them and screaming, "Nooooo! Nooooooo!" He ran into the middle of the road pointing his finger and their departing cart and angrily chewing them out in his toddler gibberish. We were laughing so hard. Once we pointed out that our cart was still there, he yelled "Oh!!" excitedly and ran over and climbed right up. He is such a passionate kid. I love it. This is "Old Baldy," the lighthouse on the island. We climbed to the top. It was VERY hot up there. I have pictures, but everyone's dripping sweat. There are almost no cars on the island. A garbage truck and a few government vehicles. Everyone else has to use electric cars. The place we rented came with a 6-person golf cart. Ethan loved it. Colin spent the entire first day trying to climb out while it was moving (there were no seat belts to strap him in). It was a pain. He settled into it after a while, though, and liked it, too. Here he is making sure he stays well hydrated. He drinks more than any kid I know, with the possible exception of his older brother. He's not picky, but he does love his "dad juice" when he can get his hands on it.

We left Friday and headed home, after 10 days and 3 beaches. It was a whirlwind trip, but I'm so glad we did it. It was our only chance to hit the beach this summer since we are stuck home waiting for this baby to make her appearance...hopefully soon!

Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

The last Saturday in May, LaDonna and her kids left me and my kids at the resort in Myrtle Beach and drove home. Sunday morning, Jason drove down and picked us up, and we continued on south to Sullivan's Island, which is just outside Charleston, South Carolina. We joined up with our friends Anna and Ryan and their two kids. Anna and Ryan rented this incredibly charming beach house with her family for the week, and invited us and another couple in the ward (Matt and Rachel) and their four kids down for the first part of the week, before Anna's family arrived. We also had 2 young women from our ward there to be an extra set of hands with the kids, which was great. The house was gorgeous and sat on the beach just behind some beautiful dunes.

Most of the pictures are of Colin, because Ethan was in perpetual motion, as usual. He had a great time and it was fun for him to have other kids to play with. Anna and Ryan were so gracious to let us crash their vacation, and we loved every second!

Here's a pregnant picture of me, although I'm much bigger now. Do I look like a woman who does not want to get sun on her face?

Jason and Ethan decided to dig this hole in the sand. Colin decided to plop himself down in the middle of it and chill with his Sunny D while they worked around him. He is such a nut.

Monday night we left the kids with the babysitters and went into Charleston. It's a beautiful, charming city and it was so great to have some adults-only time.

Thanks for the great company and great time, Anna & Ryan and Matt & Rachel!

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

The last week of May, Jason went out west on a flyfishing blitz with his friends Dave and Chris. I kept our camera, so this is the only picture I have of their trip (thanks Dave!). Jason had a blast.

Ethan was out of school, my babysitter was away, Jason was gone, it's hot in the south in the summer...and I didn't want to spend the whole week home alone with the boys. So I packed them up and talked my sister-in-law into joining me in Myrtle Beach for a few days with her two kids. We rented a 3-bedroom condo in a resort on the beach. Two moms, plus a 5-year-old, 4-year-old, 3-year-old, and a 1-year-old. At the time, it seemed like more work than was worth it. Now, all I can remember is how much fun it was. Traveling with another mom is very helpful, and I discovered that LaDonna is the perfect traveling companion. She's completely laid back and up for anything.

We arrived on Wednesday and hit the beach first thing Thursday morning.

I love this picture because I accidentally got all 4 kids in the frame, without anyone else's random kids in it.

Colin helped Lonna dig in the sand.

The resort had several heated outdoor pools, including this outdoor lazy river, and 2 indoor water parks. Ethan tried the 30-foot adult water slide once, announced it was fun, and never went back. Lonna and Bryce went down so many times I lost count.

Ethan was very excited about his shark face painting.

Here's a view from our balcony...you can see the pool below us, the beach, and one of the walkways to the beach from the resort.

Ice cream sandwiches on the balcony. Isn't summer so great when you're a kid?

One of the play areas in the indoor water park.

Saturday morning, LaDonna and her kids left and Ethan, Colin and I moved to a smaller room for the night. Jason came and picked us up Sunday morning. The room was smaller, but the view was amazing. Notice Colin vegging out in his pjs watching TV. We wore the kid out.

Despite me repeatedly telling Colin not to stand on the chairs on the balcony, he kept doing it. Sure enough, he tipped the chair and fell into the metal railing. He bruised both sides of his face and got a nice black eye (which you can see better if you enlarge the second picture). He cried for a few minutes, then was standing on the chairs again the next day. Stubborn, tough kid.

Thanks, LaDonna, Lonna, and Bryce for helping us kick off our beach vacation!

Party

Last year, we held Ethan's birthday party (the first week of June) at our house. I planned the whole thing for outside, made the cake myself, designed and organized the activities, etc. It was a lot of work and happened to be almost 100 degrees that day. This year, I decided I was playing the pregnancy card, and we held his party at Pump It Up. I got the cake from Cold Stone and basically did nothing except show up. It was GREAT. And Ethan was thrilled, which is always a nice bonus at your own birthday party. We invited everyone in his preschool class, primary class, cousins, neighbors, friends from Durham, etc, thinking most people would be busy with summer schedules. Almost everyone came. I was worried they might get bored, but aside from a few rug-burn type injuries, everyone seemed to have a good time. If you really want to feel like you were there, Mark posted some video footage in his Picasa album. Ethan went to his friend's party at Monkey Joe's a couple of months ago, and his friend got to sit in a similar inflatable chair. Ethan wanted to sit in it so bad, but his friend wouldn't let anyone else do it. Ethan was SO excited to sit in this chair, and made sure everyone who wanted to got a chance to join him. He's such a considerate kid.

I let him pick out his cake from the Cold Stone catalog. It turned out to be a huge mistake, because...

...apparently black icing dye and messy kids don't mix so well. I think there was more than one shirt ruined, and the kids left looking like they'd all attended some Goth party.

But it tasted great!