A long fun weekend...

Here is a picture of the kiddos after getting home from the 4th of July parade. We had intentions of doing lots of yard work this weekend, but, well, that didn't happen. Instead, we had lots of fun outside in the swimming pool and sprinkler, and just enjoyed the nice warm weather. I guess the yard work can wait till next weekend...

Not much more to update--Little Man's stomach has officially woke up. He is eating like crazy now--4 oz every 3-4 hours. Bug is still lovin' on him every moment she can get...she loves him so! We have enjoyed getting into a schedule...finally. Bug is back to her normal sleeping schedule, and Little Man is getting into a schedule too--which always helps Mommy and Daddy. Luckily, I still have about 2-3 hours of "free" time in the afternoon. Little Man always naps when Bug does in the afternoon....YAY!!! I will still be able to scrapbook....for now anyway. I am sure that will change soon.

Not much more...Here are a large batch of pictures from our long weekend: Lovin' on her brother He is so smiley all the time...(must be gas again!!)

Little Man's first real bath...he liked it most of the time. Mmmmm, clean baby! A lazy saturday morning in bed...Like Bug's new earrings?? (they are from her Mr. Potato Head..) Playing with her water table on the deck (a birthday present from Daddy and Mommy) Having lunch at her picnic table Here is Bug trying out her new sprinkler (from Grammy and Grandpa for her birthday). She wasn't so sure about it in the beginning, but...
In about 2 minutes, she was running through. I am pretty sure she liked it more than her swimming pool! It was so funny to see her having so much fun.

Swimming after church on Sunday morning...
Last chance swim after dinner on Sunday night... One last picture of Little Man....

Learning about Gee-Da....

Here is our story time last night...a story about Gee-Da's (Jesus') birth. This is her favorite book, and Little Man seemed to like it too. The book plays the song "Little Town of Bethlehem", so I think he was enjoying the music.

Well today was my first day at home with two children. It went well...although by 9pm, I was more than ready for bed (which is why this blog, over time, will probably be less and less words, and just more pictures...) :-) I am sure once a schedule is established, it will get more easy.

This past weekend, DH's parents visited. It was nice to have them here, and they fell in love with Little Man. Luckily, they were here, because I got a raging ear infection, and they stayed with the kids while DH took me to urgent care. I was miserable....but nothing that some vicodin and a stiff antibiotic can't take care of, right??

Ok, not much more...our social worker is visiting tomorrow night. I think just to make sure we have all made the transition well, and that Little Man is doing good. We are just so overjoyed, and count our blessings many times a day. Please continue to pray for Little Man's first Mom...she needs all the support she can get. She is so courageous, and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. Please also pray for my best friend and her family. Her husbands grandmother passed away this morning, and along with her death they have so much (medically) going on in their family, so please keep them in your prayers. Thanks...

Now, onto the pictures--Enjoy!

Bug, Grammy, Grandpa, and Little Man

Playing outside with Grammy and Grandpa

Lovin' on her baby brother...

Grandpa's hand looks so big next to Little Man!

Little Man is always smiling....such a happy baby!!

Daddy doing some maintenance on the roof, Grammy documenting, and Grandpa helping! (and mommy re-documenting!!)

Bug loves her Grandpa...

On Saturday after dinner, Grammy, Grandpa, Bug and Mommy went to the park, while Daddy had some quiet time with Little Man.

One of my favorites....Grandpa and Bug look so happy!

My all-time favorite picture of the three of them...

Our little peanut...
Our precious Little Man...

What a good big sister...

Here is a picture of Bug lovin' on Little Man. She loves her new brother, and is quite a good helper too!! She loves to hold him and feed him....Now we just have to figure out how to teach her to change his diapers!! :-)

Both kids went to the doctor on Tuesday. Little Man got checked out and is healthy. No need for a "billy blanket", like the hospital thought he might need. On Monday, he looked a tad yellow, but the doctor wasn't worried. I don't see any yellow now at all, so all is fine. Bug, however, was very unhappy at her appointment. She started to cry the instant we walked into the exam room (and she saw the nurse). When we were waiting for the Doctor to come in after the nurse left, Bug immediately said..."All-done, bye-bye, car." Both DH and I cracked up laughing....she hadn't even gotten her shot yet, and she wanted to get the heck out of there!! She is a smart cookie!

Little Man is such a good baby...so good natured. He only cries when he is getting changed, or is hungry. Even then, sometimes you have to wake him to feed....he is such a good sleeper!!

Prayer request: Please continue to pray for Little Man's first mommy. She has some tough, emotional days, and could use all the prayers she can get. We love her, and just want her to be able to heal, and be happy. Also, my best friend's (who is having a boy who will have the same name as our "Little Man" in October) husband may have cancer again. He is going to be going to numerous doctors in the next few weeks to determine if the swelling in his face is cancer, or HOPEFULLY, just a swollen/infected lymph node. Please pray for good test results, and NO CANCER!!!

I am too tired for more--I have the early (Little Man) shift tonight which means my bedtime should have started an hour ago....I am short an hour of sleep already for tomorrow! Yikes...Here are some fun pictures from the last couple of days. Enjoy!

A Daddy's Love... A fresh, clean baby....and a half-smile too!! Bug must think we are Jewish and celebrating Hanukkah....it seems as though every day she has had a gift delivered either for being a new big sister, or a belated birthday gift...this one came from Great-Uncle John, and Great-Aunt MJ. She loves it!! Daddy goofin' with Little Man, while Mommy and Bug had some shopping girl time... Bug feeding her little brother Bug helping Daddy fix the recliner His first trip to the park....3 days old. He loves being carried in the front carrier! I saved the best for last....what a little peanut. We love him so much....

Happy Birth Day, Little Man!

Our little adoption blessing we call "Little Man" arrived on June 21st (he shares a birthday with his big sister!) at 11:04am, weighing in at 7lbs 2 oz, and 19 in long. His first mommy only pushed for 15 minutes, through only 6 contractions, and then Little Man made his debut! He had some minor problems breathing (because the delivery went so fast--he had some trouble transitioning), and was on oxygen for about 4 hours after birth, but is fine now. We feel so blessed that "H" chose us to be his parents, and are so overjoyed we can barely stand it! Words cannot express the joy we feel...

While DH and I were at the hospital getting ready for Little Man, our little bug was celebrating her second birthday with a party at home. Grandma and Grandpa were there to help out and be in charge of the party for us..Thanks so much Mom and Dad!! Don't know what we would do without you!! Happy Birthday, my dear Bug Bug--Mommy and Daddy are sad they missed your party, but I am pretty sure you didn't really miss us! :-) I think the cake and all the presents made up for that!!

Anyway, here are some more pictures of our Little Man, and of course some from Bug's party:

Should we build an ark???

Here is a picture of DH with Bug on a walking bridge in our downtown area. The river was at an all time high--although it is nothing compared to the poor people in Iowa. Our town is primarily ok. Yes, there are quite a few with water damage, but if you look at the big picture (easier for me to say--our sump pump never even kicked on!) our area was not as bad as lots of other areas.

It has been another busy week here. Tuesday saw another doctor appointment with "H", followed by some yummy Dairy Queen. (Mmmmm, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard!) Update on Baby: Baby still is loving the warm inside. "H" is 50% effaced, and not quite 1cm dilated--this was as of Tuesday. The good news is she was 0% effaced the week before, and has gone to 50% in a week. We are definitely getting close. We are (hopefully) going to get together with "H" on Monday too--just to spend more time with her, maybe show her our neighborhood, church, etc.

Uncle Matt and Aunt Kim are coming Saturday for our annual baseball weekend. We are looking forward to catching up with them, having fun at the ballgames, and eating burgers and brats!

Next week is looking awfully busy...Monday is (probably) a day visiting with "H", Tuesday afternoon is "H" weekly appointment, Wednesday Bug gets her 2yr pictures taken, and Thursday my parents are coming to spend some time with us before Bug's 2nd birthday party (on Saturday--her actual birthday). It will be nice to have them here to help (and even better, if a certain baby decided he/she wants to come out of it's warm comfy world!) We are looking forward to her party, and are having quite a few people over. Should be a jumpin' "Abby Cadabby" party!!!

Here are a few pictures of our downtown flooding and a few of Bug at the park yesterday:

More than a fingertip!!!

Here is a picture of Bug in her swimming pool this morning. When we woke up, the outside thermometer said 91 degrees. We got up, went on a bike ride to a park to play, then came home for a swim. Yay!! Summer is finally here--you also know that by the amount of severe storms and tornadoes we have had recently. Yikes....I guess that would be the not-so-fun side of summer.

This week was crazy--we were so busy, by last night, I was starting to feel sick. I think I just got worn down from the crazy busy week we had. I have been taking OTC allergy pills, and am starting to feel better. We are going to be pretty low-key this weekend (and week), and stay home (except for "H's" appointment on Tuesday)

"H's" doctor's appointment went well on Tuesday. She had a non-stress test done, in which she had a contraction during the test. The baby is fine, still measuring right on. She was dilated to "half a fingertip", and her cervix is softening. We were all hoping for "a fingertip", but I guess you have to start somewhere, right?! (for all of us, please pray for "more than a fingertip" for our next appointment!!) After the appointment, "H", her mom, and I went out for dinner. On the way to dinner, they showed me the hospital, and the entrance we will use when we arrive. That hospital was nice!!! It didn't even look like a hospital.....very modern and sleek looking. Next time we are there for an appointment, I will try to remember to take a picture. After dinner, and much conversation, I headed home. It was a long, emotional drive home for me. I cried most of the way, just thinking of the selfless act that "H" is doing, and the unbelievable joy this is bringing to us. I think it finally hit me that we will have two children very soon, when "H" started talking about what will happen at the hospital. I had tears just listening to her talk. God planned this whole situation so well, I am constantly in awe of HIM. It is amazing how much love there already is for this child...

Here are a few more pic's:
Our baby birdies learned to fly, and are gone now. (This pic was taken on Wednesday)
Bug in her "pool". I didn't realize that the "pool" was only ankle deep (and you actually didn't blow it up, you filled it with water causing the fountains) when I bought in on clearance last fall. O-well, she doesn't care....she is in the water!
Sitting on the fountains..
Drink Break!!!

Four Eyes!!!This last one is of Bug and her friend, Lily at a kids museum on Tuesday. The girls are playing dress up on stage!

My sweet Pillow People...

Here is Bug opening a gift that was given to her by my bible study ladies group--We call ourselves the Pillow People ( I can explain the name another time!). Tonight was our last bible study for the year (we break for summer, and pick up again in the fall), and they held a surprise mini-party and got some baby gifts for us. They gave us another pack-n-play (which we needed for all our travelling), and a baby girl outfit (they all think it is going to be a girl!). Another lady made a quilt for the baby. How sweet!! It was a complete surprise, and I surely wasn't expecting it at all! Thanks ladies--you are all such blessings!! Also, special prayers for Sue (also in my bible study group)--she is getting ready to have a stem cell transplant for her cancer.

Tomorrow we are headed to an indoor water park for a play date. We (ME) are looking forward to going swimming (floating down the lazy river about 20 times!). When I told Bug that we had to go to sleep so that we good get up and go to the pool in the morning, she started crying and saying..."Poo..." She fell asleep crying "Poo...Poo..." I have to remember that she actually understand much more now...

I am super tired tonight, just wanted to post these pictures: Bug sitting on a quilt made for the baby by Linda--Thanks Linda, for the beautiful quilt!

You ladies are so thoughtful--Thanks so much!!