Thursday, August 30, 2012

Allie Rebecca

Allie Rebecca

8 lb 6 oz
21"
10:25 pm
August 21, 2012 



Complete with fur on her forehead, back and some braidable strands on her ears. 
9 days old today, and still smothered in kisses all day from 3 adoring household fans.

Birth story to come.

Enjoy Jackson's reaction when we got home (just a little excited):  

Friday, August 17, 2012

An Extra Treat

We've given up waiting for baby sister and moved onto having fun with Grandma.






Of course Jackson's favorite is looking at pictures of Jackson on G'ma's computer. Shocking.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Waiting

Cell phones have really changed a lot in life. Perhaps the most poignant aspect I can think of is coordination. I remember distinctly as a child, waiting for rides (from other people or my parents), and figuring out that if I sat and watched out the window, they were less likely to come on time. If I did something productive--beside waiting--they seemed to come faster. A book, a little homework, etc always helped move the unknown wait period along. Cell phones seem to totally change this waiting game, since a quick phone call can let you know if someone's lost stuck in traffic, or just late. Bam. Expectations are shifted and waiting time has just been significantly reduced.

We're thrilled that baby sister doesn't have a cell phone, but boy has she thrown us for loops! I'm pretty sure, I've received 10 texts this week of people asking if she's here yet. I guess we over anticipated her early arrival and now this waiting for baby sister has been very much like my early days of waiting for rides.

So, why not continue to be productive. Contingent plans are a bit hard to plan around ("ya, let's get together on friday... as long as I'm not in labor"). But, I guess this is how God is teaching me patience and reminding me of that lesson I learned so long ago.

With our billion contingent plans this week, Jackson and I managed to have quite a bit of fun.

Sticks are always a favorite, but we now added bubbles being stabbed by the sticks!



(Our real life version of the Fruit Slice game)

We've played a lot of pretend--today's animal happened to be the horse.


And, we've been to our favorite neighborhood fountain 3 times this week. I finally brought the camera today to capture Jackson's incredible faces.







Amazing what a plastic cup and some water can do--even the 3rd day in a row. (Notice the horse is still in hand).

We'll keep waiting patiently and trying to remember that this little girl is a lot less work inside then she is outside! Hopefully Grandma doesn't get too bored when she shows up on Sunday.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Left and Right Coordination

I have an issue with a few basic things that 1st grade teachers should have mastered: spelling, and telling my left from my right. It makes me feel great that I married a man who is an expert in both fields, and I have learned to deal with both issues (spell check, and pointing are the easiest), but they seem to still haunt me quite often. Although there seems to be a correlation amongst all of us in-laws on Mark's side of the family, I am hoping that it's not genetic since I didn't seem to inherit it from my parents.

Every parent is always scared of passing on their weaknesses to their children--thankfully Jackson has not shown major signs of poor spelling or right left distinction. The only indication I can see hindering his future skills, is his tricycle riding. He has an awesome 2-wheeler skut bike that he's a bit scared of--but slowly warming up to, and then a normal tricycle. He LOVES being pushed on the tricycle, but before this week, could not get the coordination to push the right foot and then the left. I know bud. This two sided body thing is rough. Everytime I made him try to ride his trike by himself, he would get SO frustrated and end up falling off {who falls of 3-wheelers!?}.

We had a turning point this week. Apparently a slight decline in pavement, and a little help from gravity was what he needed to feel the coordination. He is ridiculously proud of his new abilities and now seems to want to do nothing else.


Now if we could teach him to turn around, and pedal uphill, this could be an independent activity. And we could determine him free from the genetic issue of right vs. left.