Love Shines

Cameras...What to do?

2010-04-21T14:03:00.005-04:00

So I broke my Canon SD 1200 camera. And now I don't know what I want to do next. After reading reviews looking for a new one, it seems that the one I broke was one of the best rated lower priced pocket cameras. Since losing it, I have been using my 'monster' Nikon CoolPix 8800. Only 8 megapixels, the 10x optical lens is still fantastic and I love the clarity of the shots I'm getting. Based on how rough I can be with cameras, something rugged is appealing but those have even worse image quality. And I'd like something small and quick too (the Nikon takes forever between shots). Arg. Wish I could try a bunch of cameras for a week at a time to see what I like. The reviews only help me so much. IF anyone reading this has input, please do comment.

Moving on, here are some pics with the Nikon...

my home run king, jr (yes Daddy you can still retain the Home Run King title)

my adorable little girl...

March Fun

2010-03-30T07:15:00.003-04:00

Playing drums on tree limbs

Sara and D

Sara, Gwynne and Phil

Jumping around after Red Robin

Our Thursday entertainment at Dulles Town Center: Rocknoceros!

Devin is behind the stage playing with his drumstick and tambourine.

Recent Photos

2010-02-24T14:38:00.003-05:00

Air and Space Museum in Dulles

Flying the Cessna

Happy Birthday Nana

Meeting Father Jacinto (a friend Chris has known since middle school)

"Eye of the Tiger"

Watching the Olympics...Curling Rocks!

HARD!

Happy Birthday SuperBowl!

The Bounce House....now that's a SuperBowl party for kids...

Devin loved it so much, now we wonder if we might have to get one...

Olympic Trials

2010-02-15T08:40:00.001-05:00

Trying cross country skis for the first time.

There's Hope for Haiti

2010-02-12T09:06:00.000-05:00

It is hard to know what to do when tragedy strikes, like it did in Haiti. Thankfully, there are some great programs already in place that we can all support. One of our own midwives (when she is in the US) volunteers with this group that is doing wonderful things. Check out Wendy Dotson's story on her Haiti Babies blog. And get more info - even donate! - at midwivesforhaiti.org

Digging Out

2010-02-07T12:07:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm flying!

Trying out the snow tube.

That's the end of it.

Snowman and fort and slide...

They say Dulles Airport recorded 32"

Beautiful sky at the end of the storm.

Still trying to hide behind the bushes and eat snow.

Snow Cream...yummy! Made good milkshakes too.

Bilzzard of 2010

2010-02-06T13:11:00.003-05:00

Friday, February 5th - Morning. Just the Beginning.

Devin and Wendy actually having fun, waiting for Daddy to come home early from work.

Saturday morning. February 6th.

You can see the top of our snowman and the slide. The mini-fort has been buried.

And of course it's still going....

Precursor to the Blizzard 2010

2010-02-06T13:05:00.003-05:00

February 3rd.

Hiding behind the bushes, eating snow.
(and proud of it)

Chillin' in the mini-fort.

After helping Daddy brush off the cars before work. A snow ball fight followed.

Snow friend.

Pool Shark

2010-01-19T15:29:00.002-05:00

He made that shot.....Bampa would be proud.

Watching and walking...

After Bath Glow

2010-01-18T09:23:00.000-05:00

I cherish these brief moments.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T16:37:00.002-05:00

The tree

The stocking. Devin was up first of course (and all night for that matter) so he wasted no time getting his stocking before Gwynne was up.

Gwynne actually gave us a nice Christmas present and slept most of the night. Maybe she is turning a corner. We'll see about tonight.

Devin was happy to help Gwynne open her gifts

Playing together.

His big request to Santa: a microphone

Little santa girl ... and dolphin

Daddy had to get at least one transformer

BIG snow of 09

2009-12-25T15:24:00.004-05:00

I didn't expect to have a post about more snow this year. But here we are with a white Christmas. The weekend before we got around 20 inches of snow.

Devin was intimidated by all that snow so we didn't spend much time playing outside for the first two days.

We made cookies instead!

Daddy, after shoveling.

Warming up to the snow (ha). Sledding with his friend Sean!

Wendy, less than happy, with all this white stuff.

Blue, on the other hand, only comes in to eat. Great squirrel chasing weather apparently.

Interested in all the fun snow which is above her head.

First time out in so much snow.

We've had fun, but sleep has become an extreme issue (for Devin ad Gwynne) and YaYa thankfully was able to come up when I was going to lose my sanity. Despite some tough nights and naps we managed to have a little bit of day fun. Building a snow fort was a first for me (that I remember) AND Devin.

Through the fort window.

The finished fort with tunnel and window. Devin the destroyer knocked it over shortly after the photo.

Little Santa Girl

2009-12-17T21:43:00.000-05:00

ICE 2009!

2009-12-16T14:40:00.002-05:00

Pictures are posted on Facebook (anyone should be able to use the link):

ICE!

9 degrees wasn't too cold...especially since we have at least 4 layers of warm clothing. Gwynne was nice and toasty, loved looking at the lights and the people. Gwynne and I went down the ice slide, but we couldn't convince Devin to try it. Devin loved running around the sculptures. He went around the penguin sculpture many times and both kids were even filmed by a Brazilian video crew. Not sure what they were affiliated with but they liked taking pics of the kids.

Our first snow of the season

2009-12-06T08:25:00.002-05:00

Not snow related, but just had to post somewhere. Perfecting his sad face and a great shot of his heterochromia.

Pure dedication. Might have to get him snow tires though.

"towman"

Watch out Devin!

Gwynne's First Snow! She LOVED it!

She loved her first sled ride too. Cried when I stopped.

Bundled up for fun in the snow.

Took this picture in case things went bad once in the snow.

We didn't stay out all day and night. We took a break for a nap. And then Devin's friend who lives next door came over to play too.

Baltimore Aquarium

2009-12-06T08:18:00.002-05:00

Inner harbor

Outside the aquarium

"Big fish....! Fish!" "That one" "That guy"

Was pretty much all we heard.

Loved the dolphin show

Nice!

I think his favorite was the stingray

November Fun

2009-12-06T07:22:00.003-05:00

Devin's first bonfire and marshmallows!

"mahrmayo"

Playing around at Nana and Bampa's

Visits with Great Big Daddy and Great YaYa

Puddle jumping at YaYa's house

Rocking out with Daddy's bass

Touring Skyline Caverns

first ice cream cone after spelunking

Thanksgiving Pilgrim

Actually she is sporting a bonnet I wore as a baby, and a dress that was YaYa's.

Thanksgiving

Not long after this picture she said "Mama"

She's been babbling more since.

Dancing and singing at the player piano

Playing blocks together.

Hooked On Gwynne

2009-11-06T20:57:00.001-05:00

Well it's that time again. I had less free time this go around, but felt the need to make a video for Gwynne, too.

First Solid Food

2009-11-01T14:40:00.002-05:00

A far cry from Devin's little baby bird approach.

She seemed to like the cereal but got frustrated if she didn't get it fast enough and couldn't grab the spoon herself. In fact, I think our little teething girl liked the plastic spoon better than the food.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T17:41:00.002-04:00

Devin's first participating Halloween was a great success. He had fun walking to a few houses (the big baseball outfit made it difficult and we gave up sooner than we would have otherwise I bet). He really loved all the "people coming" to the house.

Daddy played 'coach', Devin was a Cubs Baseball and Gwynne was a ghost.

He fell in love with Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and learned how to jump in the leaves just like Linus.

In his baseball costume at a local store's Halloween party.

Our Little Crank

2009-10-30T15:23:00.002-04:00

I really should take more accurate pictures, but it isn't as much fun taking pictures of the normal fussing princess.

So here a few happy moments.

Working on sitting up.

Playing with the color accent option on the camera.

Another Fall Festival

2009-10-30T15:09:00.003-04:00

Fall Festival at a nearby Veterinary Clinic.

We went on a hay ride with a St. Bernard.

Devin learned that we need to wear a helmet for at least two things now.
1) Baseball
2) "Ride pony"

This is our second attempt. We tried at the Corn Maize and he got spooked when it was time to get on. This time he had a moment of hesitation and then went for it! The handlers were much more friendly too and I bet that helped.

Riding his first pony.

Before heading to the car, we rode once more. This time ...a horse!

"Giddyap!"

Running on Empty

2009-10-30T15:01:00.002-04:00

Gwynne is still not sleeping all that well for us. We had 3 nights in a row of normalcy before she went back to crying for an hour and a half last night.

But on occasion the two of then cooperate for a short run with Mommy.

Sweet Gwynne

2009-10-14T15:19:00.002-04:00

Okay, she did cry for 3 hours last night, but at least she is making up for it during the day.

I have a pic of Devin and Blue that's rather similar. Somehow Wendy never cooperates.

Lunch in Middleburg

2009-10-14T15:03:00.003-04:00

We met Nana and Bampa in Middleburg - an almost halfway point to meet for us - for lunch.

After a perfect lunch we walked a bit in the chilly (hello Mr. Winter ...you are early, no?)

Devin asked to ride in the backpack since Gwynne is always in the pack. We had to twist Nana's arm to carry the little pink bundle. :-)

A favorite of Devin's: berry trees!

Ticonderoga Farm

2009-10-14T14:52:00.003-04:00

A wonderful trip to Ticonderoga Farms. It was fall fun week for us. First the corn maize on Monday.

Then to Ticonderoga Farms in Chantilly where we met up with friends for a whole lot of fun.

Devin was still blah about the slides, but got into everything else.

Like flowers, goats, chickens, noah's ark playground....

In the tipee with Noah

Flower cutouts in the hay tunnel

Big tunnels

Lots of running fun

And of course the Hay Ride. Gwynne even got into the ride. She had as much fun as Devin.

We're still working on posing all together for a family shot. I was happy to just have a picture of the three of us together.

Corn Maize

2009-10-14T14:46:00.002-04:00

A cold day for the Corn Maize in Leesburg, but we always go on Columbus Day since Chris and I were dating so we bundled up, and off we went.

Devin stylin' with his hat-hair and darth vader glasses.

Out in no time, even with Devin the Navigator.

Success!

Cowboy

2009-10-14T08:41:00.002-04:00

This post is for Uncle Fran and Aunt MaryAnn....remember those cowboy boots you got Devin back at his baptism when he was only 5 months old? Well he fits them now.

He had a great time stomping around the yard in them.

4 Month Stats

2009-10-09T12:13:00.002-04:00

So here's the latest with this little China Doll
(Thanks to Deb for the perfect outfit)

Head: 15 3/8 inches - 10th percentile (actually a smaller reading than the 2 months visit, which according to the doctor is not possible, so somebody measured wrong)

Length: 25 3/4 inches - 95th percentile

Weight: 15 1/2 pounds - 90th percentile

She's doing great. And aside from the opposite size head than her brother she seems to be following his trend with height and weight. Interesting. We also will be attempting to get her sleeping through the night by our only option left: crying. Heaven help Mommy who can't deal with the sobs.

The bottle struggle

2009-10-08T20:29:00.002-04:00

The post title doesn't match the pictures, but it is indeed a struggle. I have just about given up on trying to give Gwynne a bottle of breastmilk. She is SO stubborn. After crying through one with Daddy we got a couple good feedings with Bampa and a lovely one with Devin. But sadly she went back to fighting the bottle a week later.

She will probably go right to a sippy cup.

On our good days

2009-10-02T15:11:00.002-04:00

Dedication: practicing in the rain.

If you look at the larger picture you can see the ball. Home Run!

"I'm mowing in the rain, just mowing in the rain, what a glorious feeling, I'm happy again..."

jumping to the Beach Boys

My challenges - my joys

Spirit of Mount Vernon

2009-09-21T14:12:00.004-04:00

The kids' first trip to Mount Vernon. I'm sure we will be going back in more detail once they are in school.

The main event, the cruise down the Potomac on the Spirit of Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon from the Potomac.

"Birds!"

Chris holding on tight.

"Cool"

Neat tree (Chris the photographer here). Too bad we didn't get a picture of the tree that George Washington planted around the corner from this one.

Ahhh, what a back yard.

Devin's Wounds

2009-09-20T11:48:00.002-04:00

Not a good couple of days for Devin. We've had some discussions about picking up our feet and looking where we walk. For his face's sake I hope he gets the point.

Recent Shots

2009-09-18T22:22:00.003-04:00

Baby doll

Devin started trying to feed baby just like Mommy so we explained that Daddy and Devin can give baby a bottle. He's learning very well. Maybe one day he can help with Gwynne.

Babies in a basket. He really seems to dote on his sister.

Getting ready for Autumn.

Liking being on our stomach. She already rolled from stomach to back and is working really hard on the other direction. Gwynne can't wait to start running after her brother.

Reading Time

2009-09-18T21:51:00.002-04:00

Thank you's

2009-09-08T14:43:00.003-04:00

Devin had a wonderful birthday - thanks to all who were a part of essentially a week of events. Poor kid. Nana and Bampa didn't even get to see the finished product of their gift so we are sending it online. Then I thought it'd be nice to do thank you's to everyone...as you can see by the next video, we didn't get far at all before Devin lost steam.

His birthday party

2009-09-08T14:33:00.003-04:00

The baseball cake and cupcakes

The friends: Devin, Noah and Ben

batting practice

the baseball 'game' - first attempts at running the bases

A present from Nana and Bampa at the end of the day.

"Some Assembly Required"

Day 1. Unfortunately Nana and Bampa were off to Yellowstone the next day so Mommy and Daddy got to finish.

Birthday Boy

2009-09-02T14:26:00.004-04:00

Devin slept all the way in to 6:30am on his birthday yesterday. And he woke up saying "Mow-Mow". I had promised he could use his mower when he woke up in the morning. He obviously hadn't forgotten.

So as soon as we had breakfast and bundled up. It was a cool morning. He was out there working on the lawn. Gwynne enjoyed watching.

In the afternoon it was time to go to his first baseball game. The Potomac Nationals. They are still the Cannons to me.

Uncle Slam. Devin called him 'doggie'. He was so excited about him, right until Grandpa brought him up to give High 5's. Then he changed his mind. We later found a plush Uncle Slam in the gift shop and Devin didn't hesitate to give that one a High 5.

Gwynne was awake for one or two innings.

Devin watched one or two innings himself, and then spent 3 more innings down behind the bleachers practicing his swing with Daddy. I think he impressed some passerbys and there were comments like "next Nationals STAR player there..."

Last Days of Summer

2009-09-02T13:46:00.002-04:00

With this wonderful cool weather we headed out to Manassas Battlefield Park.

Devin loved 'hiking'. He lead most of the way and stayed on the path. He picked out 'bats' (otherwise known as weeds to the rest of us) on the way.

Very excited to see a cannon. We didn't get into detail about what they do.

We also liked the statue of Stonewall Jackson.

He was determined to pull the wagon.

Gwynne slept in the backpack for the hike.

And Gwynne is starting to get into the exersaucer, which opens new possibilities for me to be handsfree!!

Gwynne's Baptism

2009-08-31T13:41:00.003-04:00

A beautiful day at St. Francis

Unfortunately I'm missing YaYa and Laura from the picture because they were taking the pictures.

Sara, my cousin, on the left. Gwynne's new godmother.

The day before...she is wearing the bonnet that YaYa once wore for her own baptism.

The pretty yellow silk dress that YaYa wore for her baptism. Pretty cool to save it so Gwynne could wear it. And it matched so beautifully with her godmother's dress.

Tired, but still willing (mostly) to pose for one more family photo after arriving home from St. Francis

Devin's First Crush

2009-08-22T07:17:00.003-04:00

Just about 2 years old and he has had his first crush. Always a flirt, we weren't surprised that he liked our waitress at dinner on our last night. But this time, he focused on nothing else! He'd peer around the table looking for her to come out of the kitchen. He said "Ashley" or "waitress" non-stop. And when she favored him with a smile he'd try to climb out of his chair. When she patted his back on the way around the table, he was giddy. Dinner was good too, but the Devin Love Show was the best part.

Dewey Beach '09

2009-08-22T06:44:00.004-04:00

A few pics from our short but mostly enjoyable trip to the beach. After playing some games at the boardwalk in Rehoboth.

beach bum

Mommy/Devin footprints at sunrise

checking out Uncle Eric's body board

First kite flying

"up high...kite...sky..."

And what's a trip to the beach without a sandcastle

Devin and Uncle Eric after our run to the boardwalk. Devin was so kind to wake up at 5am on our last day so that we got a great sunrise shot.

Portraits

2009-08-03T12:30:00.003-04:00

Devin hits the big 2 in a month so it was off to the studio to get some shots taken.

And little grumpy Gwynne too.

She wasn't in her best of moods...

but still very sweet!

And my personal favorite!

Wendy Gets a Hair Cut!

2009-08-01T19:35:00.004-04:00

We always said we'd get Wendy groomed one day. That day finally arrived. As sad as I was to leave her alone at the Grommer's she apparently did really well and will be so much more comfortable for the beach and rest of the summer. Not only that, but she looks adorable and I think it makes her look younger!

Devin loved the new do. As you can see in the movie below, it was like we brought home a new puppy.

More pics - Baseball and Gwynne

2009-07-30T09:21:00.003-04:00

The cute swing

The focused swing

On break

I just love these moments!

Fun With Nana

2009-07-29T14:13:00.000-04:00

Playing hide and seek with Nana.

Gwynne loves napping on Nana's shoulder. Nana didn't mind it either.

Hope you feel better Nana!

The (Next) Natural

2009-07-28T16:57:00.000-04:00

Daddy says Devin is a natural and a lefty besides. Not bad for not quite 2 years old. It is also impressive to me how much focus Devin has when it comes to his new love, baseball. He will practice batting for 30 minutes to an hour. When he's not doing that, he's reading about baseball.

No more what, Devin?

2009-07-27T07:45:00.002-04:00

That's right...for the daytime anyway. Devin is growing up so fast and is in his big boy pants. Doing really well the last few days. A few "oops" here and there but he seems to be more aware all the time.

Birth Stories (long post)

2009-07-26T09:07:00.000-04:00

At long last we have written our accounts of Gwynne's birth. Something we did after Devin was born and cherished so even though it took longer to get to this time, it was definitely something we wanted to do. We also have three to read. Since Grandma ended up being present for the birth, it is fun to have her perspective as well. Lots of reading here, for those that just can't get enough detail (nothing gross).

Chris's account:

I begin this story about the birth of my daughter completely humbled and in awe of how little a person can understand the events that dictate his life. I have to preface with the fact that up to the moment that Gwynne was born I had concerns that there would be nothing new to say, no personally enlightening insights, that the births of my two kids would mirror each other and that by fate's guiding hand, the unlucky second child would unfortunately live in her older sibling's shadow. Gwynne however must have sensed this concern and made sure such things would never happen.

Now not to take anything away from the birth of my son Devin, which was a defining moment in the lives of both Cate and myself, the birth of Gwyneth Enora Sia was equaly remarkable and distinct in its own right. The day started out as a usual day. I got up, helped with Devin in the morning, and went to work. Cate had been feeling pre-labor contractions for the last week or so, so we had it in our minds that our baby girl Gwynne would be coming soon. I however still held the belief that she was going to come closer to her due date...stupid me!!! My parents along with my aunt Mary-Ann and Uncle Fran were visiting when I got home from work. All the guests, Cate and Devin were gathered around the table when I walked through the door, the smell of my mom's lasagna filled the house and Devin was the center of attention, as one would expect. Unknown to me, my mom had already decreed earlier that due to her lasagna, Cate would deliver the baby that day. I heard this when I got home and at the time it seemed, well.... a little ridiculous. Anyway, Cate told me after dinner that she felt like the contractions were a bit stronger, and that this could be the night, ha! Mom! I gave our on call midwife a call just to give her a heads up. I assured her that it was early, Cate was still walking around and talking, so it will be several hours until we are even remotely ready to come into the hospital.

With the prospect of a new grandchild's arrival, my parents, aunt and uncle prepared to leave for the evening to allow us to get into our relaxation exercises and prep Cate for labor and delivery. At this time i was thinking, Wow! by tomorrow I'll be a Dad again, I didn't know how right I was at the time!!!! What I should have been thinking is....in an hour I will be a Dad again!! or..... before my parents make the trip home to Winchester I'll be a Dad again!!!!, or....... in the time it takes to pop 20 bags of popcorn...(I like popcorn), I'll be a Dad again!!!! We waved goodbye to my parents and began Bradley relaxation in our basement while Cate's mom was upstairs ready to take over the evening watch of Devin who was fast asleep upstairs in his room. At this time our thought process was to relax in the basement, wait until Cate was getting close and pack up the car for the trek out to Loudoun Hospital. This was so we could limit the amount of noise in the house so Devin could stay asleep, being the type to wake up at the smallest creek or lightest bump.

It had been no less than 10-20 minutes after my parents left the house that Cate started to make deeper moaning sounds with each contraction, however still not as deep and chilling as what I was calling the "marker moans". The "marker moans" were the deep spine chilling moans that Cate let out during Devin's labor which signaled to me it was time to head to the hospital. It was these "markers" that I was listening for this time....<>. Cate's contractions started getting stronger and closer together.

Only 30-40 minutes after the parents left us to our work, Cate looked at me and said, "maybe we should head to the Hospital". "Naw!!!!!", I thought to myself, "We still have 6 hours to go at least!". "We don't want to go in too early." "Maybe we should." Cate stated again. "Okay, I'll start packing the car, you head upstairs on the couch". I helped Cate up the stairs to the main level of the house and her mom took over watch as I started packing the Mazda. "Now what do I need to take to the Hospital?" I asked myself as I tried to maintain a cool and collected facade to Cate and her mother. "Hey babe, where did you put your bag again?" Cate response: "Uuuuuggggowweeee!!!!!" Mother-in-law response: "Maybe you should hurry yourself up!!!!" The six hours I had in my head quickly started to whittle down to next to nothing as Cate stopped responding to me all together. At this point panic started to set in, followed by doubt, followed by self doubt, followed by confusion, followed by profuse sweating, and finally resting at a place where even figuring where to put a pillow in a car seemed like an impossible decision.

T-minus 10....": The car was finally set, and Cate needed one more stop in the bathroom before heading to the Hospital. She slowly brought herself into the bathroom and closed the door. I waited anxiously by the front door, my heart pounding through my chest thinking, "Do we have time to make it to the Hospital?" "CHRIS!!!!!!!!!" "Come here!!!!!" "My water just broke and.......I feel a head!!!!!!" The answer to my previous question....."No!"

"T-minus 9.....": So now I see my wife standing over the toilet in our downstairs bathroom, water broken, and the very obvious mass protruding from her unspeakables. All in one instant, I felt every vein in my body constrict in unison, as almost to say, "Dude you're F@#%'ed". Fortunately I had been reading a lot on birthing and delivery procedures, so while my nerves were halfway down the street, my mind could stand back and say, "Okay, we are doing this.", or was it the other way around?

"T-minus 8.....": I had my mother-in-law get my cell from my bag and dialed that "number-people-dial-when-they-need-help" number and got the operator. "911 can I help you?" Now my first inclination was to yell as loud and as long as I could "HELP!!!!!!" into the phone. I figured though that that would not do me any good. "My wife is having a baby in our bathroom, now!!!!" "Okay sir, what is your street address?" "It is ...um....uh...." Funny the things you lose. "Okay I just sent an ambulance to your address they should be there shortly...tell your wife not to push." At this point I figured that there was no way she was not going to push. I could see two-thirds of baby Gwynne's head. "Sir tell her not to push.", the operator stated again. So half-heartedly I said, "Honey, the operator says not to push." As if she was going to listen to me, nor did I expect her to.

"T-minus 7.....": At this point Cate was curled up in the corner of the smallest bathroom in our house. Dang that Murphy and his law! I was on the phone staring at what looked like a mango coming out of my wife. My mother-in-law ran to go get some towels and blankets for Cate to lay on, and boy did we need them! I was still on the phone with 911 and they realized now that nothing was going to stop Cate from pushing. "Okay make sure your wife is laying down and tell her to start pushing." "Once the head starts to come out reach in and see if the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's head." "REACH IN!!!!!!.....What you talkin' bout Willis!!"

"T-minus 6....": Between trying to listen to the operator, hearing the high pitch "Oh my God's!" from Cate and attempting to feel around for the cord a million thoughts were racing through my head. "What if I screw this up? Why doesn't this look like a head yet? Is this really natural?" Slowly the head crept further and further out until eventually I could see the cord. I grabbed the phone that was logged between my ear and shoulder. "Sliiipppp......CRACK!!!" I looked at the phone on the floor and tried to pick it up agian. "I see the umb....." "Sliiiippp.....CRACK!!!!" The phone was now like holding a greased pig, or one of those water filled rubber inside-out thingies. I handed the phone to my mother-in-law and said, "Tell her that I see the cord around the baby's neck!"

"T-minus 5....": My mom-in-law said, "Well she says use your finger and gently pull it over the babies head." "Gently." I thought....."hah!" So as if Cate and Gwynne knew that I needed a moment to get the cord free, the contractions and pushing slowed down! I reached in and tried several times to pull the cord over baby G's head. No luck! Those things are slippery!!! At this point I could see most of Gwynne's head. Cate had just knocked her water bottle over by her head, and water gushed over the corner of the bathroom. I would call this foreshadowing if Cate's water hadn't already broke. I'm not sure she realized it when she did it.

"T-minus 4....": As I fumbled around with the cord, I thought to myself, "You can read a million books on this and you still wouldn't be prepared for what I am seeing now!!!" I kept recalling the stories in our Bradley class were the instructor spun tales of births of yore, where the babies were delivered in the backs of cars, in elevators and on rooftops of multinational corporations...okay I made the last one up. :P And at the time I thought "Wow! Glad that ain't me!!" Well now I was the story and as I searched tirelessly for the cord, I could hear Cate, almost in the background moaning with every contraction, her big beautiful eyes full of surprise and worry, and I knew I coulnd't let her down!

"T-minus 3....": At this point I was full into the fear-pain-doubt cycle, but I wasn't the one in labor. Out of sheer frustration I yelled to my mother-in-law, "Where is that AMBULANCE!!!!!" As if to say "I CAN"T DO THIS!!!!" But all I got in response was "Its on its way." Huh.

"T-minus 2....": Finally the head was out far enough for me to grab the cord wrapped snuggly around little Gwynne's neck. I slowly started to pull it over the babies head, and wouldn't you know.....it wasn't long enough. "CRAP!!!!" I pulled a little harder, still not enough!!! "Oh God, I hope I'm not pulling too hard!!!" So one last time I pulled harder and streched it over Gwynne's bloody matted hairy gray noggin. "I sure hope I didn't damage anything!"

"T-minus 1....": As if a ripcord to a fighter jet's cockpit seat, the cord flung out to the side and immediately Cate's contractions picked back up. "Uuuuuuooooowwwwweeeeee!!!!!!" Gwynne's head came jetting out fully, and I could see her little face in full view. Now for anyone who has had kid before you know what came after the next contraction......

"LIFTOFF!!!!!.......": Gwynne came flying out shoulder's knees and toes. As if I was the quarterback receiving the ball from the center, Gwynne plopped into my arms. The first thing I thought was "Turn sideways, clear mouth, spank." I did that, in that order and.....nothing! No cries. My heart stopped! I looked at Cate anxiously awaiting the first sounds from our baby girl, and there was silence. I thought, "Did I do something wrong, did I mess something up?" I tried the turn-clear-spank again....nothing, just a very brief false start and silence. The sweat was dripping from my brow, by heart was beating through my chest and stomach felt numb. "Come on baby, cry!!!" I did one more turn-clear-spank and.....what appeared to be another false start and then the faintest..."Waaaa." Then a louder "Waaaaa." Then a full on "WAAAAAA!!!!!!!" SUCCESS!!!!!!! WE HAVE GWYNNE!!!!!!

The operator instructed me to hold the baby between Cate's knees, and put a blanket over her while we waited another 5-7 minutes for the ambulance. I don't think I moved a muscle until they arrived. As I waited, Cate and I looked at our new baby girl as the pink slowly crept into her skin. "I'm thinking she's a 10 on the APGAR if I do say so myself." Cate and I looked on as the little one was crying and I said to Gwynne, "Hey, I was the first person you ever saw, I'm your daddy." Just then I felt the warmest sensation a father could feel....on his forearm, as Gwynne's first act in this world was peeing on her father. "Cate.." I said, "I'm pretty sure it's a girl." as in all the commotion, we forgot to check.

Seven minutes later the ambulance arrived and the EMS personnel rushed thought the door to see me holding my new baby while squatting in front of Cate. Apparently it is a high honor to deliver a baby in the field, so I think they were a little disappointed that I beat them to it. After cutting the cord and checking over baby G, it was at last time to go to the hospital, but not our hospital. Cate was carefully placed onto a stretcher and after realizing that we were no longer headed to Loudoun Hospital whisked away to Fair Oaks Hospital. I wasn't able to ride in the ambulance, but I followed behind, one hand on the wheel and one hand dialing family. It was the best feeling in my life being able to call my parents, whom I had just seen in my house and hour and a half earlier, and say, "I just delivered my baby girl!!!!!"

Oh by the way, Devin slept through the whole thing. Go figure.

Cate's account:

June 9, 2009. The morning began like many others of the last few weeks. Me, anxious and wondering if the very mild cramps/Braxton-Hicks contractions that I felt were actually going to lead to real labor. After Devin’s nap (and mine too), I was sure it was nothing again. Time for Nana, Bampa, Uncle Frank, and Aunt MaryAnn to arrive for a nice dinner. Nana brought her special lasagna. I felt something again soon after everyone arrived but easily ignored it until just after dinner. I realized that I’d been feeling light contractions for maybe 4 hours. Interesting. They had never lasted this long before.

Now they were hard to ignore completely. It was 6pm and I began thinking this could be ‘the day’ – or rather ‘the night’. So tired of giving the family the wrong idea, I didn’t say anything until after dinner. Chris didn’t really believe me then anyway. Just to be safe, something in me said to call Grandma for a heads up. When it was time, she was going to come to the house to take care of Devin when we were in the hospital. She almost expected me to call it seemed, since she had company. Her own parents were in town. An hour later, with bloody show and continuing contractions, I had Grandma on the phone again to say she had better come up for the night. Of course, she dropped everything and was on her way.

By 7pm, the 6 of us (Nana, Bampa, Uncle Frank, Aunt MaryAnn, Chris and myself) had put Devin to bed. I was proud of myself to have sung Devin his usual lullaby during a contraction. Couldn’t be too far into labor if I was still singing.
Just before Grandma arrived, at 7:30pm, I noted on Facebook that I was 99% sure we’d be at the hospital that night. Amazingly, still not completely convinced this was it. We packed up our last minute items for the hospital and I puttered around the house. We called our midwife-on-call, Margie, (who also delivered Devin) just to give her a heads-up that I was in labor and would probably be at the hospital in the middle of the night sometime. When I spoke with her on the phone, she agreed it was too early to come to the hospital. We didn’t need to call again since she was only minutes from the hospital. We were to go to the hospital when we were ready and she’d meet us there.

Around 8pm, we sent the rest of the family home. Having the extra conversation was a nice distraction up to this point. Now, it was time to focus on our relaxation techniques that we’d learned from our Bradley class during my pregnancy with Devin. The contractions were painful enough that I didn’t want to talk through them anymore, but my masterful coach and husband, helped me work through relaxing. I felt like it was working even better this time. I was thinking, “I can handle this…just let the baby move down the birth canal.” I also knew I still had a long way to go and the pain would get worse so I tried not to get overconfident. I started to moan through some contractions.

This made two people (Grandma and Me) start thinking about the hospital. With Devin sleeping, I didn’t want any noise to bother him and was thinking that we could go to the hospital a little early to avoid waking him. Grandma on the other hand, kept reminding me that I came a lot faster than my brother when I was born and that we should really think about heading to the hospital soon. Chris still figured we were a long way off, but knew not to argue with a woman in labor and packed the car while Grandma helped me through a contraction. The contractions, though only two to three minutes apart, were not painful enough for us to hurry. I needed a bathroom break before heading to the car. It was about 9pm.

Chris returned from packing the car to hear me loudly squeak out that my water just broke. Before Chris could compute that statement, I threw him another shocker: “I feel the head!” Though I don’t know how and when, Chris had 911 on the phone right away. I don’t remember him ever being out of sight. Grandma and Chris urged me to get off the toilet, though I really didn’t want to move at that point. I managed to pretzel myself around our tiny half bathroom so that my head and shoulders were squished against the wall and to the side of the sink pedestal. My legs stretched out to the hall where Chris was uncomfortably crouched. At the same time, I saw sheets and towels appear. I’m still not sure how Grandma performed that trick…and not a moment too soon. In two minutes, with the next contraction, I was pushing her head out. The dispatcher kept telling Chris to not have me push. Ha! (all you mothers out there know what a joke that is when a baby has made up her mind). Chris kept dropping the little cellphone and soon Grandma had the phone and was relaying messages from the dispatcher. The next contraction followed shortly and her head was out, but Chris had to get the cord out from around Gwynne's neck. One can imagine the looks of shock/fear/excitement/terror on our faces during these few minutes. He did great of course and seconds later she was out. Interestingly, as soon as the cord was free, another contraction had her entirely out. I think my body knew to wait because there was a longer space before that last push. Though she was out, she didn’t immediately make any sounds . Another heart-stopping moment (even though I knew this was also common). After a little encouragement from Daddy (a swab of the mouth and spank on the bum) she was crying. I exclaimed, “Is it really a girl?” Chris hadn’t said nor had he bothered to notice with the all the excitement.

The dispatcher had us wrap Gwynne in a clean towel and place her on my stomach. Then it was the waiting game for the fire and rescue crew. I don’t know how many times Grandma and Chris shouted : “Where are they?!?!” I have to admit that I was content with my healthy-looking, crying baby in my arms and wasn’t worried. I didn’t even realize how sore I was from the awkward position of this childbirth or the birth itself. The paramedics did arrive just a few minutes after Gwynne’s birth - in time to tie off the cord and let Chris cut. Somewhere around this time Chris and I asked about Devin who must have been upset by all the commotion on the floor below his room. Finally Grandma had a chance to check on him, and amazingly, he slept through it. The kid who wakes up at the drop of a hat! The paramedics helped me up and I happily walked to the stretcher for our ride to the hospital. I tried to get them to take me to Loudoun Hospital as planned, but they wouldn’t have it. Fair Oaks was closest and that was where we were going. I didn’t put up a fight. I felt fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for a more natural labor.

Gwynne and I rode in the ambulance - sirens and all - and Chris wasn’t far behind us. After the paramedics checked her out again, she and I got some more bonding time as I nursed her. Eyes on me the whole time, I told her how wonderful her daddy was and how he would meet us at the hospital. The ambulance crew kept us great company too and they even took Gwynne’s first photos while we waited for Chris to arrive at the hospital.

Once at the hospital my euphoria wore off once the placenta was delivered. We were glad that messy part was saved for the hospital and not our bathroom floor. But, it was just as annoyingly painful as I remember with Devin’s birth and the doctor-on-call was not my cup of tea. I really missed our midwives! And, much like with the first birth, I lost a lot of blood after the placenta and felt faint. The doctor didn’t like my blood pressure reading, so I had to have an IV (just when I thought I’d escaped without it). After resting in bed and drinking lots more fruit juice, I was more than ready to walk to the restroom. Then we were finally moved to our postpartum room – our little corner of a room. And this time, I got to be present for the first bath. After all his hard work, Chris slept on the couch for the rest of the night. Gwynne slept well, too. Just like with Devin, I didn’t sleep until the second day. I just kept looking at my little miracle and reliving a second amazing birth experience.

Grandma's account:

My job was to respond immediately upon getting "the call": drive to Chantilly and take care of Devin, anytime day or night. Chris and Cate would go to the Loudon Birthing Inn for the birth of Gwynne. The concept was easy enough to understand; it was the unfolding of the actual event that I hadn't anticipated.

Cate informed me in mid-May that she didn't think that Gwynne would wait past Memorial Day to be born. But the due date was June 14! I had informed students and parents that exams for my classes would run from May 28 through June 3, more than a week ahead of schedule. In my clever scheme, Cate could deliver more than a week early and I could still have completed my essential end of year duties at school. Her scenario raised my level of tension a tad. So I packed my suitcase and left it in the car. Inevitably I needed something from it, say a hairdryer, and would have to run to the car many mornings to get it. Then I tended to forget to repack it. At school, I checked my e mails many times during the day, wondering which one would tell me to drop everything and head to Chantilly. I warned the kids at school to behave for the substitute, whenever one should be sent to cover for me. At home, I cooked and froze a few things, assuming that they would come in handy when Chris, Cate, and the baby returned from the hospital. That's when things would get really hectic.

The days passed, the emails from Cate indicating mild contractions on a number of occasions were followed by others saying that it was not the time. Then along came June 9. My parents were arriving that day, so I told Cate to tell Gwynne to hold off at least 24 hours till I had a chance to visit with them. Apparently Gwynne didn't see it my way. In the early evening the phone rang. Cate said contractions were there but not real painful. I should just be aware. An hour later she said, "Why don't you just head out here to be safe?" I still say there was an edge to her voice. This must be the real thing.

When I arrived, Chris' parents and aunt and uncle were there visiting. They soon headed back to Winchester and I thought Cate looked less than comfortable, even though she declared that the pains weren't severe. At this point time seemed to pass in a surreal fashion. Chris and Cate went to the lower level to concentrate on her contractions, a definite sign to me that things were progressing. I sat in a chair on the main level opposite a digital clock. I was supposed to be reading a book, but couldn't get past the first page. Cate's vocalizations through her contractions seemed to be wafting my way in frequent waves. With my eyes glued to the clock, it seemed to me (I'm no authority, just a nervous mother) that they should have already left for the hospital. After an eternity, 10 minutes or so, the two of them appeared. They thought they'd head out to the hospital. "Really? You think that'll work?", was my thought, wondering if the window of opportunity might have already closed on that timetable. My insides were churning. Cate declared that she needed one more visit to the bathroom before getting in the car.

From the bathroom, came a lovely high soprano note. Her water had broken and she felt the baby's head. Chris was on the scene immediately to concur in her assessment of the situation. He called 911. I took a quick look at my daughter, sorry for her discomfort, and hoping this would all turn out OK. Never had I imagined being present for the birth of anyone but my own children, and that was from a completely different point of view. I raced upstairs, fumbling in a closet in the dark (I should have paid better attention on previous visits to their house as to the location of light switches) for clean sheets to put underneath her. It seemed to take forever, but Cate said she thought I returned pretty quickly. Chris and Cate wanted me to check on Devin (he was in bed for the night and is normally a light sleeper). I ran back upstairs to check the monitor but heard and saw nothing...he was still sleeping. When I returned to the bathroom, the top half of Cate was pretzeled under the sink, and her lower body extended out the door. Gwynne's head popped out. I recall saying, "Oh, Chris, the cord is around her neck!" As if he hadn't noticed! He was talking with the 911 dispatcher but couldn't work with the cord and hold the phone. He handed it to me. I relayed whatever the dispatcher said to him. I repeated a lot of stuff. I don't remember it now. I do recall Chris' asking, "Where are they?" I recall saying the same. The answer was the same from the dispatcher every time. "They're on the way." Chris deftly removed removed the cord from the baby's neck...NICE JOB! More directions came from the dispatcher. The rest of Gwynne slid out, but no sound! That was scary!! Chris cleaned out her mouth, she took a breath a let out a wail, then several more. WONDERFUL! The dispatcher sent me back up the stairs for a towel in which to wrap Gwynne. I fumbled in the dark some more, making comments out loud to myself that I didn't know where they keep things, so the dispatcher got to hear that too. When I returned with the towel Chris wrapped the baby. More advise was forthcoming from the dispatcher. Again we asked, "where are they?" Seemingly it took forever for the ambulance to arrive. Finally, I heard the deep throb of a powerful engine and saw flashing lights. The dispatcher said, "goodbye". I thanked her for her help. The EMT's...seemed like 6 of them, squeezed through the front door with their equipment. And I thought that front hall and tiny bathroom were crowded with just the 3 of us there! At this point, time began to flow in a normal fashion again. I'm guessing that not much over 10 minutes had passed from Cate's entering the bathroom to the arrival of the ambulance, but it seemed like 10 hours. I'm sure we 3 wore the "deer in the headlights" face throughout the event.

I struck up a conversation with one of the guys on the team who informed me that when they heard the part about the cord around the baby's neck, they hurried faster to the scene. Meanwhile, Chris cut the cord, the baby was cleaned up a little and wrapped in a more traditional receiving blanket. Cate prepared to get on the gurney for the short ride out her front door to the ambulance. An EMT asked me, "Would you like to see the baby, Grandma?" This is the cutest part for me. I swear to you that she looked me square in the eyes (Yeah, yeah, they can't see that soon...whatever!), and uncovered her left hand (it had been wrapped in the swaddle), spread out all five fingers to wave at me! The next thing I knew, everybody was gone and the house was quiet....Just Devin sleeping and me. I was a little to keyed up to sleep that night.

Ah... Sibling Resemblance

2009-07-24T14:01:00.005-04:00

Well, my goofy daddy started it...now Chris wants me to post the sibling comparison photo.
And just for fun, for those that haven't seen the pics recently...do you know who's who? They both have worn those outfits and both outgrew them in the same time.

In case you didn't notice

2009-07-19T15:24:00.002-04:00

The blog was due for a face lift and we certainly needed to add the newest member of the family. Next post: Our birth stories...

Photo Shoot

2009-07-16T20:43:00.003-04:00

Looks really familiar to our photos with Devin.

Beginning to get the smiles..

Clutching Daddy's shirt

Wearing an outfit I made when pregnant with Devin. For her, we (mainly Grandma) added the blue rose ribbon on the arms and waist.

What a smirk!

Reading the Bible

2009-07-10T12:20:00.003-04:00

Devin just loves the drawings in a children's bible that was given to him by his godparents. He recently started saying and recognizing Jesus. "JeeJee" It would be wonderful if he keeps this pure, innocent love throughout his life!

Surprise Birthday Visit

2009-07-10T11:22:00.002-04:00

With a toddler and a newborn, I haven't been getting out by myself too much...especially to go shopping. We had a little 4th of July party (on the 5th) at our house also in celebration of my dad's birthday on the 7th. It didn't feel like enough, so on the morning of the 7th, I packed the two kids in the car and surprised Grandpa at breakfast!
That was more like it. He hadn't held Gwynne since the day she came home from the hospital.

Happy First Month Precious Little Girl!

2009-07-09T20:13:00.002-04:00

A family shot just a couple hours before her "1 month birthday"

This is the "you'd better feed me before I start to cry" look and flail.

Taken a few days earlier. But too cute not to include. My little Russian doll. Hopefully her godmother sees this pic.

Fun with Dad

2009-07-05T13:25:00.002-04:00

The shirt says it all....

his love of basketball came from dad too...

"Hoop! Hoop!" Devin requests to go to the dunking rim in our neighborhood park often. Daddy is happy to oblige.

Again, Gwynne's favorite pose.

She has been sleeping in her crib a little better the last two days.

Fun in the Pool

2009-07-05T13:20:00.002-04:00

We may not like geting our face wet during bathtime, but pooltime is another story. Lots of fun to be had.

Getting sprayed with the garden hose.

What's more fun for the pool than having friends over?

Ben brought a cool watering can that Devin just loved.

There is a picture somewhere at Grandma's of Uncle Eric in with this exact same pose and facial expression!

The Guessing Game

2009-07-05T13:16:00.002-04:00

Devin's guessing game:

Dress from Quebec

2009-07-05T12:57:00.002-04:00

Nana and Bampa brought back a lovely little dress from Quebec for Gwynne. And it's blue! :-)

We had to take a picture before she outgrew it.

Gwynne's favorite pose.

Week 3

2009-06-29T11:26:00.002-04:00

On my first day without Grandma's help, we had company from Becky and Ben. Ben had his own lawn mower that he brought. Although he was not as dedicated to "mow-mow" as Devin. Devin even had both mowers at one point.

Cooling down after all that hard work. Devin very excited about taking pictures now with his mini camera.

Sweet little sleeper. Out cold after a feeding.

And she feeds well. Adding on the chunk daily...

Devin can't get enough of giving Gwynne kisses and I can't either. I don't look forward to the day they will be fighting over toys and, well, everything else.

First Day On My Own

2009-06-22T15:40:00.002-04:00

Chris went to work, and I was on my own. Well for maybe 45 minutes before Great Grandma and Great Big Daddy came for a brief visit.

It was great to see them again even if only very briefly. And it kept me from being all alone with two kids. I guess tomorrow will be more of a test.

4 generations = lots of memories and laughs shared.

Sibs

2009-06-22T06:30:00.002-04:00

I was so excited to get a couple of sweet sib shots yesterday evening on the deck.

Devin is great at giving baby kisses to Gwynne!

Proud of his new sister!

Gwynne, not so sure...

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T10:30:00.003-04:00

To a dad who rocks! He taught Devin all his basketball moves and is just the best fun. He even delivered his own daughter almost 2 weeks ago! And, he's just the best guy I could ask to be around through the tough times and the great times. Right now we have an interesting mixture of both....

Love you Daddy/Chris!

From Gwynne, Devin, and Cate

Stats

2009-06-19T20:53:00.002-04:00

Really just the weight: 7 lbs 11 oz
The doctor was amazed she gained so much in a week and said she was doing great. At our first visit upon getting out of the hospital, Gwynne only weighed in at 6 lbs 5 oz. Thankfully the breastfeeding is going really well. She has also already lost the umbilical cord stump which is so much nicer for dressing her. Now we don't have to go back until she is two months old!

One Week

2009-06-18T13:15:00.002-04:00

A week old already. Pediatric visit tomorrow so we'll have stats then.

Daddy likes to take sleeping pics.

Baby in a mirror

Devin has been handling things well. A box with gifts for Gwyneth made for a good toy for him after opening.

He had a 104 degree fever two nights ago and is just about recovered from whatever bug caused it. Since feeling better, things are more manageable again. Although I have to admit, I still don't know how it is going to work when it's just me in the house.

In the sling. She is already a pro. It is so much easier this time around. I think it took Devin and me two weeks to get it comfortable.

5 days old

2009-06-14T21:40:00.002-04:00

sweet little girl

A newborn outfit that was for me as a child. I never wore it because it was too small. Grandma is happy to see it actually worn as Gwynne is about 2 pounds smaller than I was at birth!

Devin's gift from Gwynne upon arriving from the hospital. It was waiting in her room when he got up from his nap! His reaction couldn't be captured. Boy was he excited about his "Mow-Mow"

It is requested about every 10 minutes from 5am - 7pm.

LDR

2009-06-11T15:54:00.002-04:00

Gwynne's makeshift labor and delivery room.

The designers really should have allowed for more space.

I know we said we wanted a natural labor, though this wasn't exactly what we had on our birthplan.

My awesome 'delivery' man. And of course the precious delivery, herself.

Home

2009-06-11T15:04:00.002-04:00

Going home from the hospital.

Silly Daddy

Grandma and Devin's Welcome Home chalk drawing.

Welcome home Gwynne!

Awesome surprises.

Flowers and teddy bear from Chris's coworkers.
Balloons and flowers from Grandma and Grandpa.

Hello Gwynne!

2009-06-10T03:27:00.002-04:00

She's here! Born a little after 9pm at our own home! (Not the plan mind you). But once she decided she was on her way she wasted no time and we didn't make it to the hospital.

Daddy delivered her and then the paramedics arrived and took Gwynne and myself to the hospital. Not even the hospital we had planned on. We're at Fair Oaks. Very nice, too.

They have wireless - yay!

We're all doing well. I finally delivered the placenta hours after Gwynne was born. We haven't gotten any great pics of Gwynne yet but will after her bath coming up at any moment.

Here is a shot soon after arriving at the hospital with our paramedic team. They were actually disappointed that Chris got to deliver Gwynne. They were hoping to do more. :-)
We are still in shock at how quick things progressed and tired of course. But I can't sleep yet. Gwynne is doing well - sleeping, eating and peeing.

Oh and the formalities:
Gwyneth Enora Sia
Born on 6/9/09 around 9pm.
7 pounds 2 oz
20 1/4 inches long

Piano Heaven

2009-06-01T12:09:00.003-04:00

I must be dreaming because there is an Estonia 168 (5'6'') grand in my living room! It's perfect. I can't wait to play it. I got to play one song before Devin's nap and don't dare ruin his nap now.

The ultimate living room/music parlor.

Trying to be artsy.

Spoiled Rotten - End of May

2009-05-31T12:54:00.004-04:00

We always say the the grandparents spoil our kids, but heck, they spoil us too.

Thanks Bampa! This weekend he handed down his BMW to us.

As if the love of two great guys isn't enough, there is a little girl on the way any day.

And Devin has his fun too. All the basketball he could ever dream of with

Daddy

And

Uncle Eric.

(Uncle and b-ball are synonymous at our house)

And great friends.

Ava and Devin enjoying lunch. And I got to visit with my great friend Dale, too.

What a way to end May. June promises to be just as exciting.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-24T15:10:00.004-04:00

We started with a day trip to Nana and Bampa's house.

Lots of laughs, food and hugs!

And some funny faces....

We had a nice time at a bbq hosted by a former coworker of Chris's. Here Devin got to meet Gabrielle (another former coworker's daughter). The two of them seemed to hit it off - one running after the other around the backyard.

Chris had fun talking shop, too!

What could be more fun than mowing the lawn? Not much, says Devin. Practically anything, says Daddy. At least having a captive audience must have made the chore a little more enjoyable for Daddy.

If Devin wasn't sitting in his new chair, chanting "moh-moh", he was following after Daddy with his little popper.

And, in continuing with our tradition, we took a quick trip to PW Forest Park to "our" tree and added Gwynne's initials. (good thing we finally settled on her name).

It was also really cool to take Devin there and show him his initials. We hadn't been back since we carved his initials about 2 years ago.

Wonder when we will get back there to take a picture with Gwynne.

Baby Girl Update

2009-05-21T20:02:00.002-04:00

Wow, we're coming up on 37 weeks - almost full term. We went to the midwives the other day and they did a very quick sonogram to be absolutely sure that she is head down. And indeed she is. Yay! I was just reading a birth story where all four midwives were sure a baby was head down and were shocked when the mom went into labor and they then saw that it was breech. So, I was quite happy to check again. The goal was to see the baby's position but Wendy, the midwife, did a quick scan over the rest of the body and it seemed to confirm (it was a very quick look) that baby is indeed a girl. That was also nice to hear since we received so many adorable clothes from goofydaddy and goofymommy.
Oh and baby girl has a name: Gwyneth Enora ...already affectionately known as Gwynne

Great Mother's Day

2009-05-13T20:17:00.002-04:00

Started the weekend with a visit from Jessica who I hadn't seen since high school 10 years ago (we're still in denial about how long it's been). Now she's due with her first a few months after our baby girl is due. Devin also latched on her and would only let her hold him for our pictures together. It was very cute!

Then, we spent Mother's Day at Grandma and Grandpa's place with the whole family together. It was such a beautiful day that we were outside most of the time. Devin practiced his moves on the court with Daddy and Uncle Eric coaching.

He also got to try out the classic red wagon. With rides from Daddy and Nana. He also took Wendy for a very brief ride before she jumped to safety.

Baby's Room

2009-05-08T14:00:00.002-04:00

Don't have to say what the theme is.

Now that she has a room and crib ready for her, I feel better.

Note: The crib was the one I had as a baby. Which is kinda cool because Devin used the one Chris had as a baby. It didn't last too long and this one may not either, but it will be good for at least a few months.

It starts already...

2009-05-05T12:30:00.002-04:00

I left the front car door open this time for some reason while I let Devin out of the car. He ran around and wasted no time getting in the driver's seat.

Then he proceeded to sing the Wiggles' song "Big Red Car"

Look at that face. I'm not looking forward to the driving years...

Forget the Antibiotics - Our own treatment

2009-04-27T12:59:00.004-04:00

So after 2 weeks of being sick and our spirits in the dumps, along comes this wonderful 90 degree weekend. Two hours after Chris got home from work on Friday and suggested we pick up and head to the beach, we were in the car. I didn't take much convincing.

We didn't arrive until midnight due to an accident and a detour we had to take, but still worth it. Devin even slept in until 6:30am (this is late for us).

As soon as we started breathing the salt air we felt better. Granted there was still some coughing.

Helping Daddy throw rocks ('Ahcks') in the ocean.

He knows it his name, but will rarely say it. When he does, it usually sounds like 'dada'.

Devin playing the 'so big' game.

After Devin tripped in the ice-cold water he wore Daddy's shirt for a bit to warm up. And of course is too kool for skool.

Eeww... sand. Devin had no issue with the sand this past summer, but he wasn't walking. The first time we put him down in the sand to walk he didn't like it and kept asking to be carried. He got over it quickly. Interesting reaction though.

More sand came out of the pail than in it.

Family shot. Gotta love how the dogs are front and center. Once they were in a good position I didn't dare rearrange anything since I was using the tripod and Devin only had a short window of staying still. We also had to include Chris's family monument...see pic below.

Chris's masterpiece, right before Devin destroyed it.

Sick

2009-04-27T12:54:00.003-04:00

After Easter, I got hit with Strep throat which was followed by a sinus infection (still lingering). Devin got sick with something that wasn't strep about the same time as I did.

So Grandma and Grandpa came up during the week to help me rest and watch Devin. By the end of the week, both Grandma and Grandpa had strep too.

So Bampa came to help. Sadly Nana was already dealing with some virus of her own. And guess what a few days later, Bampa got something other than strep too.

Somewhere in the middle of that Chris got steadily worse and was given antibiotic just because half the family had strep even though his quick throat culture was negative. Sheesh!

Easter

2009-04-27T12:41:00.003-04:00

Sorry it took so long to get this post out. We were all sick from Easter until now.

This is before Easter, reading with Nana and Bampa.

Coloring eggs during a playgroup.

Easter at Nana and Bampa's. Devin had a blast finding the plastic eggs and playing with the toys inside them.

Devin in the 'Junga' - his little hideaway jungle.

Devin's favorite hobby other than basketball. 'Daw'. Favorite things to draw: basketballs (go figure), MacKenzie (my parents' dog) and birds.

Egg Hunt

2009-04-06T13:36:00.003-04:00

Devin's first Egg Hunt. He knew just what to do and love it! Looking forward to a couple more egg hunts this weekend we hope.

This one was set up at our neighborhood park - our community here is great! Every time I get to meet more great neighbors.

Right after he took a dive, running after an egg he saw.

Toddler Bed Regress

2009-04-01T11:03:00.003-04:00

Maybe we celebrated too soon. The last week has been as rough as having a newborn at night. I wonder if it even has anything to do with the toddler bed right now and instead possibly nightmares. There was no calming Devin the night before last. It's nice he wants to prep us for the newborn phase but, really, I'd rather have the extra sleep now while I can get it.

So my theory to deal with yesterday and no sleep. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade and take it to the beach. We got in the car and drove to Sandy Point State Park. I didn't tell Chris where I went until I was there since I knew he'd try to tell me not to drive that far. Devin slept the whole way. That's my kind of nap. And we got to enjoy a really nice day.

Found some cool driftwood. And, yes, Devin would have run into the COLD water had I let him. "Wawa....wawa" He said.

The entrance to the park is just before the Bay Bridge.

They even had a playground at the beach. Devin was able to go down this slide all by himself and really wanted to climb up it alone too. Gravity won on that one.

Toddler Bed Progress

2009-03-24T12:05:00.003-04:00

Good news after a week of being in the toddler bed. Devin will now go to sleep on his own!

That meant he got the toolset I'd promised him. Not sure he was really aware of the reward or not, but it almost seemed that way. Either way he'd been interested in my hammers, screwdrivers, etc forever so it he got his own set.

He is very serious about his work.

Oh Boy, Big Bed

2009-03-21T08:13:00.002-04:00

Well now we're in trouble. Based on our first few tests of putting Devin in a toddler bed (crib conversion) we decided we'd wait until AFTER baby girl was born. The last pediatrician also advised that 18 months was too early for him.

Wrong! He climbed out of the crib Monday with a loud thud - thankfully barely any tears. He's a solid baby, not much seems to phase him. Even so, that's the end of the crib. You can see he's rather excited about that.

The only problem: he has no intention of staying in his bed for sleeping. So technically I think we're right. He's not ready, but for safety we have to make the switch.

This week has been an experience, one lacking in sleep. It takes a good hour to two hours to get him to sleep. And so far we end up have to hold him down in bed until he nods off. Lots of sleep training ahead for us. And all to be done before little baby arrives. Yippee!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T12:43:00.003-04:00

Ah, one of my favorite days. It has always been a family tradition to celebrate it and get together as long as I can remember. Oddly enough, it was often the Italian side of my family doing most of the gatherings.

This year we celebrated early at Grandma and Grandpa's house with all the local family.

Nana and D

Daddy and D

Learning some ping pong

Bye Snowman

2009-03-07T07:13:00.002-05:00

Seems strange posting this now since all snow has melted and we have a 70 degree or warmer day on the way.

But here's Devin's first snowman built with Mommy and Grandma's help.

Recently

2009-03-02T11:29:00.002-05:00

Devin testing out the Christman piano.

At Keelyn's birthday party. All the boys got in on the action helping unwrap her presents. As you can see from Deb and Josh's blog - Keelyn seemed to really enjoy herself! Devin had a wonderful time playing too of course.

He loves to try to feed the dogs. The dogs would love to actually get all the extra feedings.

Note the new Cubs hat. More a present for Chris than Devin.

Using a cup. We're getting better and proud of it. He showed off for the camera by purposefully letting the milk run down his chin.

Finally - some snow!

2009-03-02T11:09:00.003-05:00

Just when I thought it was all over, we finally got a little bit of snow this winter. Just enough to use my grandfather's sled which was in as good a condition as ever.

First we must have a fire. Devin gets his first lesson.

Despite the face, Devin had fun helping to attach the seat to the sled.

And the fun part. Going down hill.

Wahoo! It's a wild ride down the hill...

Unfortunately the wind and snow were in his face the way up the hill and put a damper on all the fun.

New Floors

2009-02-17T19:44:00.003-05:00

Well here is a photo of the new floors. We still have rearranging to do obviously. Although they look nice, the installation was not wonderful (edges not level and splits at the edges of some slats among other things) and we'll see how our meeting goes tomorrow with the installation manager.

Gotta love my little man peaking around the corner though...

Happy Love Day!

2009-02-14T21:44:00.005-05:00

As it was called on Blue's Clues. I can't believe I actually watched that show with Devin today.

We had the quietest, least 'cuddly' Valentine's Day ever (not counting the ones pre Cate+Chris). Yet, still one of the most special. It started out bad and with me being grumpy after a bad experience with our floor installation (still dealing with it as a matter of fact) and Chris being sick. With us both being upset and Chris keeping his sickness at a distance, I found little to look forward to.

Just the same, I end the day feeling so blessed, happy, and loved. So we didn't kiss or even cuddle on the couch.

We got to a least share our favorite meal. Fondue! Glorious cheese and then chocolate fondue. We got to share the day with our son who can make us laugh even at our worst moments. We got to reminisce about our childhoods, dating stories, and our recent history with each other, while finding out new things we hadn't mentioned in the past. We got to look forward to the birth of another child and wonder what stories we'll have next year. (Okay we also worried about when the kids will be old enough to have their own dating stories - especially our daughter. Yikes!) I guess we are getting old as the Valentine's Day hype is much less important than just being able to enjoy a quiet evening to count our blessings. I think I'm ok with that.

Floors and More

2009-02-11T07:18:00.003-05:00

More money that is. Argh...So this was not on our list of upgrades for our house. But what can you do when you start getting splinters in your feet. Two for me and one for Chris. Thank goodness none for Devin. We could have sanded the floors down and tried refinishing, but once the veneer on the wood floor was already splitting the best guarantee was only 2 years. New, stronger, oak hardwood floors guaranteed for 30 years seemed like a much better idea.

So, here is the house yesterday:

Wendy of course was the most affected.

Chris: "They get to live out their puppy dream of living in an abandoned house..."

Devin didn't mind. Except all of his toys were gone from the living room. We ate dinner there instead. Talk about ambience.

The new floors will be gunstock and much better quality. Although I admit I did love the exotic look that was there.

Fun in the Snow

2009-01-29T10:11:00.002-05:00

Finally a little bit of snow this winter.

Devin's favorite activity so far: clapping the snow off his mittens

Mommy's favorite activity: keeping the mittens on.

The first taste of fresh snow.

Half of a snow angel, too.

Grandparents and Naps

2009-01-27T10:43:00.004-05:00

These two rarely coincide with each other. (Family visit = bad sleep for Devin).

But we love and celebrate both just the same.

Fun winter walks with Grandma and Grandpa.

And Nana and Bampa.

And Devin must have both hands or no hands at all. Then he leans forward with all of his weight (which is close to 30 pounds these days).

Ah, sleep. We've made the switch to one nap a day. And for the last few days Devin has gotten a good 3 hours or so. Now to get rid of the early morning wake-up and we'll be set!

This is the typical sleeping position. Thumb in mouth, bottoms up, cuddly blanket, and Snarls (his black and white tiger - probably under him)

It's a...

2009-01-20T13:30:00.002-05:00

Girl! We celebrated the inauguration today with a sonogram!

Here's her profile.

And she's a squirmy one too! Interestingly though she does kick me as strongly as Devin did (yet) but we could see her moving all around in the ultrasound. It even took a little while for the technician to get all the views she needed.

In her room...

First this...and then this

2009-01-20T13:11:00.003-05:00

Ah, snow. Barely. We had enough flurries in the air to see it in the picture. Since we haven't had much of anything to date, I decided to put Devin in his snowsuit anyway. It was one I wore as kid as well. Had to make sure he wore it before it was outgrown.

So first we played in the 'snow' and tried to play with Blue. Blue doesn't like playing with Devin for some reason. I believe he is trying to make a point.

Then this happened. He actually fell twice. The first time Wendy came running over and jumped at his back taking both Devin and me by surprise. This was almost harmless and after the surprise and washing of the dirt Devin was fine. The second time we weren't so lucky. Not used to his boots yet Devin tried to take off running down the sidewalk at normal speed and skidded on his face instead. A minor scrape and Devin handled it well (just a few tears until we cleaned up) but it's our worst yet. And I know, so many more are to come...

It's not just about basketball

2009-01-12T19:32:00.003-05:00

In Devin's world of sports there is now a little competition. His playset for Christmas came with a golf club and golf balls and he took to it immediately. We're impressed how much he puts around the basement. I hope to have a video or pic soon.

The basement is also fully finished now and just a tiny bit of trim painting left for me to do. So more pics to follow on that as well. And hopefully more sleep too. We have been staying up WAY to late to get the work done the last two weeks.

Lots of space behind the couch for Devin and his sister to play.

A little tile entryway from the basement door - you know, for muddy paws and the like.

The music studio/office.

Lost in the tunnels

2009-01-04T19:38:00.003-05:00

Words and Signs

2009-01-04T19:05:00.004-05:00

Anytime people ask me if Devin is saying any words I blank about his recent accomplishments so after a rather educational day today, I feel the need to jot them so I don't forget.

Regarding the sign language it has been interesting, we let the sign language drop away the last several months as he began actually speaking and he'd only used a couple of signs anyway, but we kept up with a couple signs which stuck and then a friend turned me on to a great resource: Signing Time (also on youTube) The following link also has an adorable animation/song which is how Devin quickly picked up 'please': More Milk Please

Based on our experience with Devin, we will definitely continue baby sign language with our second baby. It's fun, can't hurt, and I love learning the language myself!

Signs:
More (like crazy the last few days)
Milk
Please (today!)
Basketball (last few days)
Potty/Bathroom
Bath
All done/All gone
Eat
Apple (today!)
Hot

Words Spoken (not in the order in which he learned them and some are obviously more clear than others):
more
milk
please
basketball
ball/bike (they sound the same at the moment)
bass
poo
done/gone
apple
banana
Boowa
door
bath
bird
duck
cat
dog
fish
goat
donkey
BooBoo (Blue) Poor Wendy is just 'dog' or gets BooBoo as well
Nana
Grandma (finally getting the hang of this one)
Bamba/Grandpa (I'm not sure they count as separate words yet)
Bambi (not to be confused with the above)
Mama
Dada
Jesus (was too cute just before Christmas)
YoBaby
baby
byebye
hot
uh-oh
nose
bump
car
truck
cheers
star

Quiet Christmas

2008-12-28T16:26:00.006-05:00

Okay this post is way late. I guess I'm already off to a great start for 2009....

Before Christmas we were finally able to attend another one of Uncle Eric's basketball games because it was schedule at 5pm instead of 9pm! Unfortunately it was after Chris had left the team, so Devin missed seeing his Dad play too. But he had a wonderful time watching the b-ball game anyway and cheering Uncle Eric on (who scored 16 points that day I believe and had a lot of rebounds).

Devin's favorite activity everyday is basketball. (Guess how happy Chris is about that?!). It wasn't hard to get him to post with the basketball. He wanted to run out to the court with it.

Shortly after, we had a nice, quiet Christmas morning with Devin at home. Shown here is his big Christmas present. It's called Magic Playground -by Playhut- and is appropriately named. It's a wonderland for Devin.

With a ball bit, fun tunnels and two basketball hoops guess where we spend most of our days now. Playdates welcome!

Just getting the hang of opening presents...and not really fond of the Santa hat...oh well.

He made the shot.

Most probably haven't heard of Boowa & Kwala, but we happened upon it because of a former neighbor who gave us the software and baby keyboard to go along with it. Devin fell in love with Boowa and so we thought maybe he'd finally get a 'lovey' if we got the stuffed Boowa. Jury is still out on that.

In the evening we headed over to Eric's for Christmas dinner - grilled steaks, what a nice change of pace! - with the rest of the family. And more presents of course.

Made my day

2008-12-18T13:18:00.004-05:00

It really is the little things. Devin made my day today when we quite happily ate broccoli. (And was still eating by the time I got my camera). It's been a fight recently to keep the vegetables on his tray/plate.

Poor dogs, no extra treat for them at lunch. Hopefully their diet continues.

In other good news, the second trimester energy must be kicking in. Devin and I went for a little jog/walk in the neighborhood. Boy did it feel good.

Blocks aren't just for tearing down...

2008-12-16T19:41:00.003-05:00

Devin has mastered the art of building!

It was so exciting to see him finally take interest in stacking as opposed to tearing down what we'd build and throwing the pieces.

He only knows one way to build right now...up!

He takes his newly found architectural skills very seriously.