Vake and Gil Martin

Mary Frances

2012-02-14T21:46:00.002-05:00

What a sweet little Valentine...

MD's visit and pictures of the cutest baby in all the land (except for his brother of course!!!)

2012-02-14T21:25:00.002-05:00

Ok, so here are the pics from Gil's one month photo shoot- I know I am biased, but this is one CUTE baby.

http://www.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=8406151

And his personality is starting to come out and it is just precious. He is still a really mellow, low-key baby. He loves to sleep. He is definitely much more of a snuggler than Vake- MUCH more. He insists on being swaddled to go to sleep and he adores sleeping while he is being held. MY KIND OF BABY. Seriously. I could just snuggle-buggle with him all day.

We went to see the doctor today. Both boys are off the charts for height and weight. At three, Vake is 43 pounds and 39.5 inches tall. Gil at six weeks is 13 pounds 10 ounces and 23.5 inches tall. BIG boys.

We got the bill from the neonatologist a couple of days ago. Dr. Murray was with Gil during the first five scary minutes of his life. I started crying when I saw the services- she billed us for infant resusitation. Yowzers. I am so amazed by that. She went to work on December 29th at St. Mary's and saved my child's life. Obviously, it is her profession and I assume she likes it (she was warm and had a very kind bedside manner). But in doing her job, she literally changed the entire future for me and my family. Sort of takes your breath away, right?

By 4:00 p.m. on 2/10/2009

2012-02-10T14:51:00.002-05:00

Here's to the baby who made me a mama. It's been a joyous ride so far. I couldn't ask for more.

Happy birthday to my brave, funny, fun, crazy, smart, energetic three-year-old. May all your days be cupcake days.

Vake's Third Birthday Cake

2012-02-08T18:55:00.003-05:00

This morning, when Vake went to school, I made his birthday cake for Friday. NOT TOO SHABBY, if you ask me.

I found the directions online. The cake is poundcake, cut into pieces.

The smokestack is a cake cone with marshmellow "steam" coming out of it. The wheels are oreos- big and small. The coal in the coal car is chopped up Hershey's kisses.

I wish I were more of a frosting master, but from a distance, the effect is really really good.

Can you believe my little baby is a big boy now? Crazy how fast time is going.

More Progress LOVE.

2012-02-08T18:51:00.001-05:00

Seriously. LOVE it. If you do not, please never tell me.

What a Blessing

2012-02-06T22:23:00.001-05:00

Went to the pediatric cardiologist this morning (who knew you had to get up at 6 to be on time for a 9:15 appt...ahhh the joys of two little guys!). Gil weighed 12 pounds 15 ounces. AND the really good news is that the cardiologist did a detailed exam, including an echocardiogram of the heart and RELEASED Gil from any more care. Thank God.

Vake's Pastel

2012-02-04T08:34:00.003-05:00

I AM SO THRILLED. So about last April, I had Vake's pictures taken for his portrait- and I just got the first progress picture from the portrait artist- I LOVE it. I think it got his personality- obviously it is not done but I just LOVE it...

Twilight Carniball

2012-01-31T18:15:00.002-05:00

We take a quick break from all this cuteness to ask you to consider attending Twilight Carniball at the Children's Museum on February 25. What a GREAT event- and the chair of the Development Committee is yours truly!

This year's theme is France- and there will be a minifashion show, a Tour Eiffel, and champagne. Save your nickels and dimes and bid in either our silent or live auctions.

To find out more information or to buy tickets, click here...http://www.c-mor.org/events/twilight-carniball

Gil Martin: One Month Old!

2012-01-29T14:34:00.002-05:00

It is so hard to believe that about a month ago, I was getting geared up for an epidural.

At a month old, Gil

weighs 12 pounds and 4 ounces

is 23 inches long

eats every three to four hours

sleeps as long as 4.5 hours at a stretch

has great head and neck strength

loves to look at the shiny lights

is a VERY sweet and easy baby- only fusses when something is wrong.

Eric has about another week or so left of parental leave. My big news is that now I can fit into my fatso prepregnancy jeans. They are tight tight tight but they are on! Yippee. Mom and I packed up all the maternity clothes yesterday- starting to feel like a human again.

Vake and the Mail

2012-01-28T18:44:00.002-05:00

Vake, like a lot of other two-almost-three-year olds, loves getting the mail. He's not particularly interested in the mailman, but loves to bring the mail inside of the house. He's especially excited when the mail is his "High Five" magazine that came from Grandma Sue- it's a super cute magazine.

So you can imagine his delight when a large package of mail arrived for him from Grandma Sue.

Here he is opening it. Needed a little help from Daddio to get it open.

And then everyone was very excited to see what was inside!

Weight Check

2012-01-28T11:09:00.001-05:00

Eric and I swung Gil by the pediatrician for a weight check yesterday- 12 pounds 4 ounces at one month.

For comparison's sake, Vake was 11 pounds 7 ounces at the same age.

Vake's first balloon?

2012-01-26T22:39:00.002-05:00

Guest post from daddy.

Alison & Vake walked to a nearby shop to buy a housewarming present for a friend. The 20-something clerk asked Vake if he'd like a balloon (obviously the answer was "yes, please!")

After the clerk handed it to Vake, Alison prompted Vake to remember his manners:

Alison: "What do you say, Vake?"

Vake (in his most reverent voice): "Oh, thank you. I've never had a balloon before!"

The clerk, of course, looked at Alison as if she were some sort of ogre - what mother would deprive her child of balloons?

How is Vake doing?

2012-01-24T09:13:00.002-05:00

After questions about how much baby Gil weighs and how the labor process went, the next question inevitably is "How's Vake doing with the baby?"

The answer is that he is doing GREAT. Vake LOVES having a baby around- there's been almost no jealousy, and Vake just wants to kiss the baby, hold the baby, help change him, help give him a bath, etc., etc., etc. (to quote The King and I, which Eric and I just saw on Friday night and that was WONDERFUL).

In fact, the other day, Eric was taking a well deserved sleep-in on a Sunday morning and I had both boys downstairs- Gil was fussing and Vake dropped what he was doing, ran over and said, "That baby needs his big brudder" and started kissing the baby. It was just too sweet.

I have pics from the birthday party but of course I accidentally left my purse that had my camera in the car of someone who lives in Williamsburg. Awesome.

Three Weeks Already-Gil!

2012-01-19T17:25:00.004-05:00

He's already so big. It is crazy that three weeks ago was such an eventful day.

Gil's super easy- as easy as Vake was, if not easier. Last night, he slept until 2 and then went back to sleep and I woke him up at 7:30 to eat.
The difference that I see in myself is that I am more confident in my abilities as a parent and a caregiver- I'm less concerned (or at least a little less concerned) about my ability to feed this child and to respond to his needs. (I found myself thinking, "Ok, whatever..." when our sweet young pediatrician was telling me that we needed to wake Gil up to feed him every three hours. I mean, does the child look like he's starving to you?)

I am much more appreciative too of how short this time is. It is going to be over before I know it. I love my toddler Vake but my goodness there is something about a baby!!!!!

Seriously, who is who?

2012-01-17T13:31:00.001-05:00

You tell me- who is who?

2012-01-17T11:45:00.000-05:00

It's a little uncanny how much these babies look like their dad.

12/30/2011: Gil's Birth Story- the really scary day

2012-01-17T10:50:00.002-05:00

On the 30th, I woke up and thought to myself, "Whew- we really dodged a bullet!" I was sore- a lot sorer than I had been with Vake's c-section- but willing to chalk it up to the nature of the emergency- there wasn't time to do the spinal (obviously) or to give me the other drugs that, even though they make me pretty nauseated, really cut through the pain of the incision.

So my Mom, sister and my sister's mother-in-law, Lety, had all been able to come and pay me an early morning visit- poor Anne still had to get back to Baltimore and keep on working!- but it was great to see them.

At that point, the nurse came and took Gil back to the nursery for the pediatrician's check up. The pediatrician is great- she's very thorough and very careful. She came back to the room to tell me- and of course this didn't mean anything to me- that she thought that the femoral artery pulses were weak and she was going to order a few more tests.

As the morning passed, the incision pain continued to increase for me until I asked for some morphine. As someone who likes to think that I've got a high threshold for pain, the whole experience of having Gil had been pretty humbling so far- I couldn't tough out natural childbirth and now my incision was hurting. Oh well. So much for being tough.

So, I was basically out to lunch on a mind vacation when the pediatrician called me back to tell me that the results of the study hadn't been normal- she was saying a lot of words that I just couldn't understand. I asked her to call Eric- and she explained it to him- the specialist from mcv would be looking for an abnormality that would mean open heart surgery.

What a long afternoon that was- the nurses gave us updates and every doc in the place it seemed was taking a look at him. There's basically nothing more terrifying in the world than hearing that the cardiologist has called in a NICU consult.

So at the end of this day, the cardiologist (who turned out to be someone that I used to babysit for!!!) brought Gil in and told us that everything was going to be just fine!!!!! Apparently Gil's chunky little thighs had kept the pediatrician from getting the pulses- and then there's still so much going on with newborn hearts that they kept on getting these weird results.

The upshot is that we've got a followup at 6 weeks, but all is well!!!!! Hurray!!!!!

First Picture of my Big Man

2012-01-15T17:39:00.003-05:00

Here's the first picture of my big boy that Eric took- I think I was still in the operating room when this was taken. To me, he looks just HUGE in this picture.

I think they had him on his tummy to give his lungs a chance to get rid of all the fluid. But look at how beautifully pink he was by this time. Thank GOD.

Seriously, Alice Hirata can have whatever she wants.

12/29/2011: Gil's Birth Story

2012-01-14T12:53:00.004-05:00

*****ALERT****** if you are squeamish about childbirth stories, you may not want to read. It's not a particularly graphic account, but it is certainly not for everyone. I'm just writing it down so that before my memories of that day totally fade, I've got a handle on what actually happened.

So I woke up on December 29, 2011 at about 6am. My new nurse, Natalie, came in and updated my whiteboard. In what would prove to be an accurate goal, she outlined our "goals" for the day- the first one being a safe delivery. I think they know that a lot of times VBAC deliveries just don't work, so they want everyone to be focused on what's really important, which is getting everyone through the experience in one piece.

Here I am in the room.

Once they hooked me up to the pitocin, they had to have me on the fetal and contraction monitors. That wasn't so bad- I could still move around. I am not a huge fan (who is) of IV lines but other than that, it was ok. At that point, I was allowed to have ice chips and popsicles. I've got to say, I don't think I've ever eaten anything more delicious than the cherry popsicles I had that day.

Taren got to our house at 7 and Eric came over to the hospital. I was having fairly regular contractions but the pain was pretty manageable. I was feeling good! And the really good news was that Dr. Hirata came to see me and I was dialated to five centimeters- I was thinking to myself, "Ok, I can totally do this." It had hurt a little bit to get to a five, but not too much.

So, Eric and I sat there. And sat and sat and sat and sat. About noon, Dr. Hirata came back and examined me again. Still a 5. Ooof. That was NOT what I wanted to hear. So she broke the bag of water and OH MY GOODNESS. I am here to tell you that it was NOT AT ALL the same in terms of pain. All of a sudden, the contractions were really really painful.

Now in some ways, I was sort of heartened by this, because I thought we might be making more progress. We went through basically another 2 hours of these contractions. At this point, it was about 2 pm and Natalie, the nurse, asked if I wanted to consider some pain medication. I think poor Eric was bored out of his skull because it was basically watching the contraction monitor and giving me ice chips. I was well beyond the popsicle phase at this point.

I REALLY wanted to try to tough it out- so I asked Natalie if she could just check my progress at 2:30 or so and then let me know where I was- I just knew I was going to be almost done. At 2:30 Natalie checked again- still a 5. Ugh.

At this point, I knew I wasn't getting anywhere fast- and I thought, hmmm. I could probably get through another hour of this, but I cannot do another 5 hours. So at that point, it seemed to make sense to get an epidural (spoiler alert) which was a GREAT call for reasons that will become clear.

The anesthesiologist came in and administered the epidural- which is actually really cool- you can still feel your legs, you just cannot feel anything painful- totally different from the spinal that I had with Vake where your legs are completely numb. He was really nice- his last comment to us was, "I hope this VBAC thing works out for you, but if it doesn't, there will be another anesthesiologist on call to help you if you wind up needing a c-section."

So after the epidural was administered, Anne Monroe came into the room- she brought a DVD and some other stuff to do- I think we were all settled in for the duration. After the epidural, I was able to rest and it was wonderful.

Dr. Hirata came back into the room at 3:30 and did another exam. Still a 5. AARGH. She was great but also wanted to start having the conversation about moving to a c-section. She asked me to roll left and then right to see if we could get the baby's head into a better position.

All of a sudden, the fetal monitor started dropping (I couldn't see this) and Dr. Hirata looked up and asked the nurse if the change was caused by my rolling. Then she looked up and said to Natalie, "No, I've got a cord."

In that instant, her demeanor totally changed. She was all business and all of a sudden, so was Natalie. Natalie put an oxygen mask on me. I didn't really understand what was happening but I think that either she or Natalie told me that there was something wrong and they had to get the baby out NOW. (It's funny how quickly you go from just eating popsicles.)

Poor Eric and Anne- they were just stuck waiting in the room- but not before Anne asked Dr. Hirata, "Prolapse?" and Dr. Hirata told her that it was.

The next set of events are pretty hazy. Dr. Hirata sat on my bed with her hand positioned to take pressure off the cord and I was rolled down the hallway like that into the emergency room. When I got there, I could tell that things were not routine. There were three surgeons and three people in charge of anesthesia and what seemed like 15 other people. They put up a surgical curtain really fast and Dr. Hirata introduced me to one of the other surgeons- Dr. Overstreet, who was a really big, tall, athletic looking guy (or at least from my perspective on the table he was tall).

It was surreal- one of the nurses came over and asked me if I was Mrs. Foster and what procedure was being done- I am sure that's a requirement- and Dr. Hirata said, "Her name's Monroe. Monroe. Monroe." And I was trying to explain that I wasn't Mrs. Foster.

They increased the pain medication through the epidural, and then I felt nauseated and then I THINK I passed out briefly on the table. I came to pretty quickly and saw the bright operating room lights above me and thought, "Oh, what an odd dream." And then I realized that Gil was being born and I NEEDED to stay conscious. Eric was not in the room with me, which was pretty scary.

There was an enormous feeling of pressure and tugging and then I remember people saying "Oh, he's a big one." Which I thought was so funny because they had told me how much smaller than his brother he was going to be. And then I DID NOT hear him cry. And I was really really scared. It was 3:45 in the afternoon. They began the surgery at 3:38.

I asked the doctor who was standing next to my head if my baby was ok. His reply to me was "They're trying to get him to pink up." Gil must have just looked awful- at 1 minute, his Apgar was a 3. They had nurses and doctors in from the NICU looking at him but by 5 minutes, his Apgar was up to an eight. I think that's when they let Eric in to see us.

And then the nurse brought him over to see me- and then they took him away. He looked JUST like Vake to me. I think that he needed a little extra oxygen and they checked him out in the nursery but he was just fine. They took him away and Eric followed the nurses to the nursery to see how Gil was doing. I have no idea where Anne was during all of this- sorry Anne. And this shows you how prepared the hospital was- after they stitched me up (and this was done not by Dr. Hirata, who had ANOTHER birth progressing normally- the poor woman was dying to push while she was trying to deliver Gil), they kept me on the table and brought someone in from radiology to do an xray to make sure there were no surgical instruments inadvertently left inside of me- there had literally been no time to do a sponge and instrument count. That was a little surreal (as if the rest of it hadn't been!!!)

They took me back into the recovery room- good old Room 5- and then they told me that he was 10 pounds 4 ounces. What a miracle.

Of course, poor Mom was at home watching Vake and had no idea that any of this was happening- in fact, she tried to call Anne at about 3:30. But she was able to bring Vake over to St. Mary's that night. I actually felt a LOT better and a lot less nauseated than I had felt with the spinal (although the pain on subsequent days was much more intense).

After a bit, they wheeled me down the hall to the maternity ward- and I got to stop and see my my pumpkin in the nursery. Eric said specifically to me- THERE'S YOUR BABY. Mostly because I hadn't really remembered much about Vake's birthday.

Then Vake came to the hospital with his Grandmary, who had watched him all day like a champ. Gil knew the way to his big brother's heart- TRAINS.

What a prize. Totally worth every second.

10 pounds 12 ounces and gaining!

2012-01-13T13:10:00.002-05:00

Gil made his second trip to the pediatrician today- he's now tipping the scales at 10 pounds 12 ounces. Go Gil go!!!!

So basically he's up 6 ounces in seven days, which is pretty impressive considering the size he already was when he came into the world!!

Happy Two Weeks, Gil!

2012-01-12T18:45:00.001-05:00

I know I am biased, but don't we have beautiful children?

Wow, I am lucky.

Gil's Birth Story: 12/28/2011

2012-01-11T17:52:00.002-05:00

I'm writing all this down in an attempt to be able to remember in years to come. My one big regret from Vake's birth was that I am still a little fuzzy on everything that happened.

I think I remember more from Gil's birth but I am still a little fuzzy on the details. But here goes:

I went to the hospital on the morning of 12/28/2011- Eric went to work. I got to Labor and Delivery and a really nice nurse named Lindsay checked me in- we worked our way through a bunch of paperwork. This was all before my workday at the office began.

Dr. Hirata popped her head into the intake room and told me that she wanted me to come back after work- she was going to do a procedure to try to get me ahead of the curve to make the VBAC possible.

So I went into the office, wrapped up a bunch of loose ends, made sure that all my files were complete and then once work was over, I headed back to the hospital.

Dr. Hirata rolled in and did the procedure and then I settled in for the evening. Eric came and checked on me and then went home. I read, listened to my IPod, took a shower and tried to get some rest. The hospital dinner arrived- it was roast turkey and stuffing and green beans- probably not what I would have chosen in a vacuum but it was fine...I was hooked up to a fetal monitor and a contraction monitor until about midnight but after that, they unhooked me and I could just sleep.

Probably the coolest thing was that I woke up at about 2:30 in the morning to the sound of a baby crying- another baby had been born across the hall from Room 5, the room in which I was staying.

My nurse that night was named Janet. Like all the other nurses who took care of Vake and of me, she was really really good at her job. She made me comfortable and I got a relatively good night's sleep- which turned to be a good thing because I was in store for a wild ride over the next 24 hours.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011!!!!

2012-01-10T15:09:00.005-05:00

On Christmas morning, Vake woke up at a normal time- so funny- my only memories of Christmas were that it was impossible to sleep- but pumpkin slept like a ROCK. So eventually he woke up, and we went downstairs.
You can see the excitement because the living room had been turned into a Thomas wonderland, complete with a new big train table from Santa, with parts like the Tidmouth sheds (the big engine roundhouse).

Vake was thrilled.

And cheerfully played with his train table for about two hours until Anne, Mom, Mary Frances, Lety and Dennis came over!!!!

That's one thing that I thought was so interesting about Christmas this year- Vake wanted to open and play with everything- he was so (no pun intended) present- had NO idea that there were additional presents waiting for him that he needed to open.

Everything was play worthy- right at the minute that it was opened.

He liked opening his stocking (likely one of the six made by Mary Sabra the Machine).

And we all got all kinds of good treats!!!!!

The other huge hit was the bicycle helmet and the bike- he LOVED them- Eric brought the bike up from the basement as Vake's final present (it was from Grandmary) and I thought Vake was going to lose his mind!!!! You also will notice that at this stage of the game, he's insisted on changing into the Thomas pajamas provided to him by Lety. Obsessed.

He loved the helmet so much that he basically wore it all day and then wore it to Christmas Dinner- I know, Mom's a sucker.

And here's the pile of wrapping- it is Eric's family's tradition to put it all into the center of the room until the unwrapping is over and it makes me crazy!!!

Here's Vake sitting on the new bike- you would not believe how well he is already riding it- I will have to post pictures!

My big boy- he grew up so fast!!!!

And then we had dinner. We worked on trying to get a picture of the cousins wearing their matching outfits, but this is as close as we got- we'll have to try again at Vake's birthday.

This is probably the best one- I need to red-eye correct but cannot do it until the computer gets fixed.

And then we tried the photo session this way...look at how confused everyone now is!

And here's how we all felt by the time Erico's delicious dinner was done- it was almost too much!!!!

Looping back to 2011- Christmas Eve

2012-01-09T13:47:00.003-05:00

Oh, I am so annoyed- I just finished this post only to find that the internet connection kicked me off- so here we go again.

So I finally got the camera cord downstairs from our office- our home computer needs to be debugged so it will work again- so I pulled all the pictures to Eric's computer so that I could show you how our Christmas and the first couple of days with our new pumpkin were. The GOOD news is that this gives me days and days of posts!!!! Yippeee.

So at school, they spent a lot of time talking about not only Jesus (thank you First Baptist) but about Santa and the reindeer, too. It is well-documented that Vake does NOT like Santa- last night he again informed me that Santa was a "scary guy" and when I asked him if he liked Santa, the answer was an emphatic "NO"- but Vake also knows all about Santa's jobs and his reindeer.

So one of the craft projects at school was making reindeer food- too cute...here Vake is looking for Santa and the reindeer.

And then spreading the reindeer food.

Then we went to Grandmary's for a Christmas Eve feast- delicious. I hate to admit that the Martin family did not make it to Christmas church- I was just feeling too crummy.

Here I am with my number one son and my number one niece. Forgive the dark circles.

After dinner, it was time to hang the stockings. MS made 6, I made 2. Embarrassing. Mom's a machine.

Don't they look GREAT?

Then Daddio and Vake wrote a letter to Santa. Requested items were Bash, Dash and Ferdinand and Thomas on a raft. If you don't know what I am talking about, then you've missed the feature length film "Misty Island Rescue"

Then we put our letter to Santa where he could find it.

Tested out the cookies.

Left some for Santa.

And then went to bed- my guess is that this is the last year that we will get any rest the night before Christmas at this house.

Back up to Birth Weight- plus a little!!!

2012-01-07T13:47:00.001-05:00

We had a successful pediatrician's visit yesterday- Gil is now up to 10 pounds 6 ounces. Which is pretty incredible, especially when you consider that he lost down to about 9'10"- it is a little harder for the big ones to bounce back up to their birthweight- so we are super proud of our little Mooseman.

He's still slightly jaundiced although his bilirubin levels are down- Dr. Tennis recommended that we take him outside and let him sun a little to help break down the remaining bilirubin. That's right- the weather's 60 degrees and sunny and gorgeous again today.

I did not green light the taking off of baby shirts, but Eric, Vake, Gil and I did stroll down to Fox School to play on the playground this morning- you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer day in January.

Had a slightly rougher night last night- it is amazing how the first couple of nights of interrupted sleep aren't so bad but after about a week or so, they start to wear on you a little!!!!

Doing Great!

2012-01-04T15:13:00.002-05:00

I will say, these massive babies are amazing amazing sleepers. Love it.

I've got pictures from Christmas and the hospital- unfortunately our computer at home appears to be suffering from a nasty virus and I cannot download the pics to it to post- but I am working on it.

Gil and I slept a lot today- I am getting over the last bits of the cold that Vake and I shared and Gil just loves to sleep. But we'll get back to the regularly scheduled pictures soon.

We are going to drop off some "grateful patient" cupcakes tomorrow at the LandD wing and the maternity ward at St. Mary's and then show the baby to the nurse-practitioner who took care of me who I just love.

Friday's Gil's first trip to the pediatrician.

Hospital Pics

2012-01-02T13:13:00.002-05:00

I think they did a great job- St. Mary's has outsourced its photography of infants to Bella Baby photography- they come into the room and take about 25 pics of your baby. The woman who did Gil's pictures did a super cute job- I've got to figure out which one I want to have accompany the baby announcement.

If you are interested, please feel free to pull up the pics at www.bellababyphotography.com. Click on "view my photos" and the password is ncam1229monroe.

What a Lucky Mama...

2012-01-01T21:10:00.001-05:00

My two beautiful sons, both healthy and happy. I am so so so lucky.

Bringing it in with a Bang!!!

2012-01-01T11:36:00.002-05:00

Here's to 10 pounds 4 ounces of sheer cuteness!!!!!

Harold Kress Gillespie Martin ("Gil") arrived on Thursday, December 29, 2011 via emergency c-section. He gave us 2 real runs for our money in the first 24 hours of life but now things have slowed down to a normal (!) pace and we are all recovering nicely.

I am feeling better and better with each passing day (thank goodness- I will tell you that Friday was REALLY rough) and we're looking forward to going home tomorrow with our little Mooseman.

Once we get resettled, I'll fill you in with all the details!!!!

Due Date's Tomorrow- and holding

2011-12-27T19:59:00.001-05:00

I'm not feeling very well. But nothing that having a baby cannot fix. In 48 hours, we'll have our new angel to help us ring in the new year.

I go to the MD tomorrow morning- then need to finish packing and get ready to meet this little man.

Bets on size? Eric says 9 pounds 10 ounces. I am thinking about 9 pounds flat.

No Baby Today

2011-12-26T16:59:00.002-05:00

Would have been just fine with me if today had been the day- BUT- doesn't seem as though we are getting there.

We did have a great day and I've got a ton of Christmas pics to post- Vake slept until almost 8:30- so sweet- last night as his father was putting him to bed, he said "Daddy, that was too much Christmas." and I actually think he was legitimately exhausted- so much excitement in one day I think had him totally worn out.

I tried to let Eric sleep in some- but by 10:00am my philanthropic impulse had passed and we woke Eric up. Then Vake rode his bike for about a hour and a half, which made for a GREAT nap for him this afternoon, which in turn meant that I was out cold until about 4:30 myself.

We're going to have leftovers tonight and hopefully everyone will get rested. Both Eric and I have to go to work tomorrow and Wednesday- and then on Thursday we go to St. Mary's to get this baby one way or the other!!!!

Still Pregnant

2011-12-22T17:39:00.002-05:00

What a boring post title. But here we are. Now the big goal is to make it through Sunday lunch. I figure any time after that is fine to get the baby party started.

I vote for Monday, December 26, 2011.

2011 In Pics!

2011-12-20T22:13:00.000-05:00

Another slideshow design by Smilebox

Still Pregnant

2011-12-20T18:47:00.002-05:00

Just for those of you who are interested in our gestational status, I am sitting here at the end of week 38- tomorrow will be 39 weeks.

No progress yet. Dr. Hirata, who is super patient and understanding, is willing to just play it by ear with the hopes that I don't wind up in labor on Christmas Day. Famous last words, right?

The Christmas Pageant

2011-12-18T20:15:00.003-05:00

So today was the GHTC Christmas pageant. Sunday School this morning was the rehearsal- an unqualified disaster for Vake- he must not have slept well because he was just a cranky mess by 10:15 this morning (a fact, incidentally, probably not helped much by the fact that his Mother is his class' teacher).

So, I called Eric on the way home (by 11am) and Vake was in bed taking a nap by 11:15. He slept until after 3pm. When he woke up, he was in an appreciably better mood- and again talking about being Gordon the sheep who says "baa."

And it is at points like this that you realize that the Christmas Pageant moments in life are for the parents as much as they are for the little ones. But anyway.

Here's the little man all decked out in his Christmas pants (a size 5- can you believe he is already there? I thought we'd get a slight reprieve once we kicked diapers to the curb).

"This is me with Raffi on my head."

The little boy in desperate need of a haircut. Hopefully this week while things are slow around the office.

Here's my little sheep- the church actually has a good system worked out- they buy and keep all the costumes- and all the little ones are animals- this year the costumes came from Oriental Trading Company and were cute.

My little sheep. Baaa.

He did pretty well sitting with the other children in the pew- it was all timed pretty well to keep the little ones from getting restless.

When the time came for him to go up and participate, he decided he'd prefer to watch- but he was pretty brave about not trying to come back into the pew where I was sitting. Of course by this time he'd shed the sheep hat- too hot.

The Audi is a total loss and I am still pregnant

2011-12-16T08:34:00.002-05:00

I talked to the nice people at USAA today- they are still working on figuring out how much the Audi is worth but it confirms my belief that the Audi's not coming back.

Had a great visit with Dr. Hirata yesterday- I am measuring big (big shock) so she's trying to maybe squeeze me onto the calendar for next week. I'd rather not be in the hospital for Christmas but also could be done being pregnant right now. The sweet technician took pictures of this baby's face for me- continues to be amazing how much he looks like Vake to me.

I'll keep you posted.

This morning's docket stinks for me- but after this one only two (really short ones) left!

YAY!!!

Two Weeks Left!!!!

2011-12-14T16:33:00.003-05:00

What a wild and wooly couple of days we have had! The good news is that by TWO WEEKS from tomorrow, we will have baby Gil with us!!!! The REALLY good news is that I managed to hold on through today, when Eric finished up the work he was doing out of town.

It's been crazy over here. Monday night (of course when MS is out of town) I started feeling a little sick and by 1 am on Tuesday morning I had what turned out to be a little stomach virus. YUCK. Toughed it out through court on Tuesday, though and then went home and took a rest.

Today was just an odd day- the lowlight was going to view the wrecked Audi at the tow yard. I've been to more than my fair share of them in my life but there's something uniquely horrible about going to view your OWN car and realizing how lucky we all were to walk away from that crash totally unscathed. The great news is that Nationwide has accepted liability, so now we're just waiting to see what they'll do. I've got to tell you, my car looked B-A-D.

I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow at 12:45- will be interesting to see what she says- but I can honestly gut it out until the 29th if I have to...

Sibling Class

2011-12-10T18:58:00.002-05:00

From the file of things that are extremely funny.

So, we hadn't gone to pick up the white Chevrolet Impala that USAA has provided me with while they figure out my car situation so Eric had to go with us to the sibling class at St. Mary's this morning.

Let me preface this by saying that I am married to possibly the most patient man in the United States of America. He has the patience of Job with his family.

So we arrive at St. Mary's at 9:35- the class is starting. There's a nurse who is the teacher and 3 other little children and their parents.

The entire curriculum has just been rewritten and it is not all that effective- every "lesson" is set to a nursery rhyme that the parents sing to the children. It was a LONG session. And Eric just sang along with the whole program as Vake got more and more restless.

I will say that Vake really seemed to like looking at the baby who was in the nursery asleep. So we've got that going for us.

R.I.P. (we think) Audi A6

2011-12-09T21:44:00.002-05:00

What a strange day.

I went to the MD this morning at 7:45- I would have guessed if you had asked me that based on the amount of downward pressure that I've been feeling that the doctor would tell me just to head over to labor and delivery. BUT goes to show you how in tune with the old body I am at this point. NO progress in 10 days. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

So I'm leaving work this afternoon to run home and pick something up. I've got a green light and the next thing I know, a guy comes flying out in front of me. That's right. Tragic end to the Audi. Poor guy who hit me, who TOTALLY conceded 100% liability at the scene, was not belted and looked as though he had seen a ghost when old fatso rolls out of the car and says, "I'm 38 weeks pregnant- I don't think I am hurt but can you please call 911."

An ambulance later, let's have a moment of silence for the 2001 Audi. Damage to his car was minimal. Cannot say the same for the poor old Audi. Good thing I have the rental coverage (or it has turned out that way this year!!!!). We'll pick up the rental in the am and take it from there.

Poor Eric who had to get all my stuff out of my car. Aargh.

20 More Days

2011-12-08T08:19:00.003-05:00

We are on the final countdown. Full term yesterday. 20 days left until due date. 21 days until SOMETHING is scheduled to happen. Thank the Lord.

Other stats:

1 bassinet in our room that Vake thinks is hilarious to climb in and out of;
2 finished little boy rooms;
3 carseat bases in need of installation in various and sundry automobiles;
4 more appointment days left at my office;
5 (after today) dockets left to work in traffic court;
7.5 predicted size of this baby.

I've left out packages to wrap, baby announcements to address and pound gained by mama- all too depressing!!!!!

Getting Closer

2011-12-06T20:26:00.001-05:00

I am now roughly the size of a VW beetle but we've only got 23 days until SOMETHING'S going to happen, according to Dr. Hirata.

Thank God the finish line's in sight. I am not sure that I am inspiring a lot of confidence with my clients right now as I can barely catch my breath. Very unsettling to be represented by the huge woman who cannot breathe.

Yikes. And on top of it all, I am now forgetting where I park my car in the lot. Yep. Time to be done.

I go to the doctor again on Friday. Would love it if they told me this pumpkin's going to be early. I think I mentioned that at the last visit they were estimating weight (at 35.5 weeks) at 7.5-8 pounds. Egads!

Vake REALLY still does not like Santa.

2011-12-04T20:43:00.001-05:00

So yesterday we were the guests of the Mullens at a Santa brunch- we arrived and Huff was already in line to get his picture made with Santa- we watched Huff- who did just GREAT and was having the time of his life explaining to Santa that he wanted a frog.

Eric stood in line probably for 35 minutes- it was a long wait- and then Vake again refused to speak to Santa but the new twist was that he wasn't even willing to pose with Mom, Dad and Santa. So we wound up sitting in Santa's chair, with Santa hovering creepily behind us.

Happy holidays!!!!!!

Waiting For Santa...

2011-12-02T16:42:00.003-05:00

So I thought we were doing so well yesterday. We got Vake and Huff to the Museum early enough that they could see the elves and the Snow Queen and listen to people telling them about Santa. I got them a seat in the front row.

And they were pretty happy to sit and watch.

And they were rapt when they heard that Santa's reindeer were on the roof- they listened to the hooves and the bells.

But I should've realized we were in trouble when Santa came down the chimney and Vake started backing up towards me.

But he was even willing to wait patiently in line. Shortly after that, friends, it all fell apart. Oh well. Better luck next Christmas!

At least we made up for it with a ride on the Holiday Train.

Vake STILL does not like Santa.

2011-12-01T19:58:00.002-05:00

That is all for now.

Thanksgiving Weekend!

2011-11-27T21:02:00.003-05:00

What a GREAT Thanksgiving weekend we had- and I do think that I am a little sunburned, too- the weather here has been really amazing- sunny, not humid and highs in the low 70s!

We started out the holiday weekend right- Vake's first ever parent-teacher conference was Wednesday- he's doing really well according to Miss Laura. The whole thing was pretty intimidatingly formal but Vake's doing just fine.

Then I ran into work for part-day (until the courts closed) and Mom watched Vake- we had a small hiccup when Mom and my bedframe (!) had a difference of opinion that sent us to the emergency room but FORTUNATELY it was a big no harm no foul- we were in and out of there in less than two hours- pretty amazing.

Thursday was marvelous- our friends the Morses came up from Williamsburg and we had MF, Dennis and Anne in town.

Eric worked like a dog and we were all so psyched for dinner!
I wish I had gotten a better close up of the turkey- it was delicious- so were all the sides- and Eric made the most amazing biscuits- what a challenge because biscuits are NOT easy.

Here we are getting ready to eat- please don't mind me in all my huge glory- it will be over a month from now, thank GOODNESS!!!!

So we had a great meal and today we started to get to work on our Christmas decorations. Vake was very excited to help his Daddy by using the hammer.

And my funny little monkey likes to take the occasional break to check himself out in the mirror!

And we finished off the day (no nap!) by starting to put the decorations on the tree and by putting out the creche (Vake called it a dollhouse).

Of course, as we enter the home stretch, I am increasingly tired and Eric's not only busy at work but is picking up the slack for me at home too.

We get an ultrasound on Tuesday so that they can tell us how big they think the baby is- I'll let you know!

Thanksgiving Hawk?

2011-11-24T09:30:00.002-05:00

Don't know if you will be able to see this, but we woke up to turkey day to find a hawk guarding our front porch. Our little urban toddler immediately identified it as a seagull. Eric thinks it is a Cooper's Hawk.

Compared to the city birds we usually see, it was humongous.

Thanksgiving Preparation

2011-11-22T19:19:00.003-05:00

What a full kitchen!

It's about to happen- holiday feast 2011. Eric went to three stores on Sunday and stocked up- it is time to get psyched for the annual Chexmix celebration!!!!

Gil's Room- Progress Pics

2011-11-21T19:50:00.003-05:00

The room is SO close to being done now- yippee!!!! And it looks really great!!! Here is the quilt that Mom made sometime in the 70s- got it framed at Ben Franklin and they did an amazing job- the light's a little weird in this pic because I took these pics at night- I will have to take more once I finish off the room.
The dresser/changing table got moved from Vake's room to Gil's room- Vake just got a bigger dresser.

Detail from the quilt- it is Noah's Ark- so sweet and I love the bright colors with the soft baby blue- makes for a very good little boy room I think and I really love that you don't feel as though you're going to see this quilt everywhere you go!!!

So here are the roman shades- could the colors coordinate any better?

And the rug worked out so well here- only disappointment is that it is not super soft- and I sort of thought it would be- oh well...

I'll get the room tidied up and then take good pics of it "done"!!!!

Vake and Mary Frances in Living Color

2011-11-20T10:07:00.002-05:00

So it is not as easy to get a picture of the two of them as you might think. Last night, everyone put on their holiday best (ok, everyone except me, mostly because I am reduced to a wardrobe that is mostly stretchy fabric now...) to go to an event for the Children's Museum.

Vake was the first to get dressed.

He's been very sweet with baby Mary Frances- he's not quite big enough to really hold her, but he's very willing to try.
This was probably the most successful picture of their interaction.

And here I prove that I have the ability to take a pic where NO ONE is looking at the camera!!!!

And talk about a sweet, tolerant baby.

Vake got to give MF a bottle.

And then we went to Santa night. Vake was SO polite- "Excuse me Santa Claus, may I please have a raft for Christmas?"- in a Thomas DVD that he watches, Thomas is on a raft. The part that he didn't understand is that Santa doesn't immediately hand over the presents- and Vake, who was already tired, just lost it.

Full on temper tantrum in the parking lot of Saks. Awesome.

But at least Mom, Anne and MF look good.

Hoot and a half!

2011-11-20T08:49:00.002-05:00

We've been chillin' with baby Mary Frances this weekend- pictures to follow.

You'd be hard pressed to find a sweeter or easier baby that MF.

Mom and I are ALMOST done with the advent calendar- anyone who's crafty should try to make it- the kit is awesome...

Halloween Preparations with Rockstar Daddy

2011-11-18T20:41:00.002-05:00

Eric was in charge of the Jack-o-lanterns while I handled the costume. Eric and Vake selected 4 pumpkins (somehow this year we didn't make it to the pumpkin patch- I don't really know what happened- the timing was just never right...) and they set to work.
Vake's getting to be so much fun now- he really wants to participate in activities now- he'll ask, "Can I help?"- very sweet.

Here's the finished product.

Vake of course made scary faces to match the scary pumpkin faces (all of a sudden, "scared" is definitely part of the vocabulary- didn't use to be).

Hard to believe that at this time next year there will be two boys up on the porch with their Dad!!!!

Behind the Scenes- the COSTUME

2011-11-16T08:10:00.002-05:00

Ok- so you would not have thought the costume was so freaking hard to make- but it basically took a total of somewhere between 6-8 hours of work- and I like to think of myself as crafty, but COME ON...

Anyhow, once the boxes were painted, I worked on the box that Vake would stand in- first painting the red trim.

Then, I used construction paper to cut out the Thomas "1"- this was about the time that Vake told me he wanted to be Gordon- who is NOT No. 1- and I started to truly freak out. In my defense, I am also preggers, miserable, and Halloween was the day before the trial of my career.
Here's a close up.

Once that was done, I needed to figure out a way to attach the two boxes together to create the "tank engine" part of the costume- one box was resting on its bottom, one was flipped up on its side.

It was looking pretty good at this point, mostly thanks to all the construction paper "flare" I had put all over it.

And from the file of overengineered products, Eric attached 4- that's right- count them- four bolts to hold the two boxes together- then I hot glue gunned the box tops on. Victory.

I think the total cost for this costume was about $30- if I had known how well the construction paper worked, I probably could have saved about $10 in paint costs. Oh well.

Halloween Pics!!! At long last!!!!

2011-11-14T19:05:00.003-05:00

Where oh where did most of November go? I've been recovering from the total exhaustion brought about by the Richard Wallace trial- I have to say that I am thanking my lucky stars I will never be 8.5 months pregnant trying what was basically a life exposure case evah again!!!!! Yippee.

So I will say that I am incredibly proud of Vake's costume but I am even prouder of Vake's daddy- dressed up exactly like Sir Topham Hatt. Vake and I are really lucky to have this hardworking man in our family.

I thought about doing posts on the building of the costume and pumpkin carving first, but let's be realistic- the costumes were pretty great!!! So without further ado, I give you Thomas the Tank Engine and Sir Topham Hatt.
Erico even ordered a yellow vest- come on people- it doesn't get much better than that!!!

My little Thomas...

Good side view- Vake really liked wearing the costume, which was sort of touch and go- he was a little less sure about the whole collecting candy component of Halloween.

First we went and saw our neighbors on the Boulevard.

Chug-a chug-a chug-a choo choo...

Please also notice the conductor's hat that Vake is wearing courtesy of Grandma Sue.

Here are Sir Topham Hatt and Thomas headed down the Boulevard.

Collecting candy from our neighbors!

If asked, Vake repeatedly said that he wanted Mommy to be a Mososaur- so whilst Daddy looked dapper as Sir Topham Hatt, my dreams of being Mrs. Hatt, or even the judge from the train show were dashed. Eric did get me an most excellent Mososaur head.

The really frustrating thing was that it basically poured rain and cut our stroll up and down Hanover quite short.

But we did get to check in on Grandmary- who was pretty excited to see Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt.

Gratuitous Friday Cuteness

2011-11-04T17:42:00.001-04:00

I promise I will get reorganized just as soon as I get well-rested again but really, does it get any cuter than this?

Answer is no or no.

Defense Verdict.

2011-11-02T16:25:00.000-04:00

That is all. Now I must rest.

Lazy Sunday!

2011-10-23T20:04:00.001-04:00

Today was absolutely gorgeous- the highlight was a trip to the playground.

I am still plugging away on the Halloween costume. Progress pics tomorrow.

New Rug for Gil's Room

2011-10-22T09:32:00.002-04:00

We ordered the new rug for baby Gil's room this morning- I think it should look great- very fun and very fresh with the light blue walls! I am psyched.

Should take two weeks to arrive.

Making the Thomas Costume

2011-10-21T17:33:00.003-04:00

So making the Halloween costume is something I think I can do (I hope!). I'm still using that picture from the internet- Taren went out and bought paint for Vake and me today so Vake and I painted for awhile after work today. There's nothing like a craft project after a hard day figuring out exactly how I'm going to tee up a case to a jury.

Please forgive the HORRIBLE pics of me. I am cruising into the last nine weeks of being preggos and I just look GODAWFUL. As Eric was taking these pictures, he kept on saying, "Yep, that one's not good. That one's terrible, that one's not good." And he's right.

But the good news is it is almost over.

Here we are hard at work painting the boxes blue. Once they are totally blue, then we'll add other stuff to them.

Mama, are we making my Halloween costume?

Ugh. Pregnancy Insomnia

2011-10-21T04:05:00.003-04:00

It is 4:05 am and I am wide awake- and have been for about an hour- started out at about 2:45 when I woke up STARVING. I stayed in bed just staring at the clock for about 45 minutes then conceded defeat and came downstairs where I ate not one but two honeycrisp apples.

Now the hunger appears to have subsided in favor of a sick sick too-many-apples feeling. So much for my attempts at weight control.

Ugh.

And of course, the cross-examination questions that I need to ask the expert in my big jury trial next week are looping in my head. Double ugh.

Without further ado, I present to you the light fixture for baby Gil's room- how much do you love it? If you do not love it, please fake that you love it.

Getting Started on Christmas and More Baptism Pics

2011-10-18T18:11:00.003-04:00

So I got the letter from St. Mary's scheduling the c-section for December 29! Yippee. Dr. Hirata and I talked about it at the last appointment and it is such a relief that I will only go one day beyond the due date.

Depending on the size of this baby, she said she would not be at all opposed to letting us try to do a VBAC- we'll see how it goes- I think it's pretty telling that the hospital is planning for the c-section. You just never know.

Anyway, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I realized today when I was checking facebook and my favorite consignment shop over off of Lakeside, Kids Grow!, had a train table for $50- and the roundhouse/firehouse and a HUGE set of trains for $70. Christmas for Vake Martin, check!

If you live in Richmond, swing by there or friend them on facebook- the woman who runs the place is seriously precious and she's great about learning what you like and calling you when it comes into the store.

Isn'[t that a great looking family- and you cannot even tell that Anne had a baby! It's impressive.

And here is a pic of Mary Frances with her cousins- you notice that Vake wasted no time in fitting himself in with Aunt Anne in the pic. Good times, good times.

Sunday Activities

2011-10-16T17:57:00.002-04:00

We've all got a nasty cough around here- and I've got the added fun of mixing mine with a third-trimester case of heartburn- it's funny- I DEFINITELY had it last time too but had forgotten what a horrible feeling it is. This time, I thought I was such a rockstar because I hadn't gotten it yet, and earlier this week, it was back. All I could say is "Hello, not-so-friendly-friend. I thought I had you beaten." Oh well.

Anyhow, what with the sickness and the antacids (doesn't that word even sound like old people) I am behind on housework but thank God Eric was home this weekend- he did so much, like putting my car back together. We've decided that we're going to try to squeeze the last few dying breaths out of the Audi but will then replace it with the Subaru Outback. I was still thinking Volvo until last week when my co-worker got hit with a $1200 bill at her Volvo's 60k mile checkup.

Mom and I picked out Thanksgiving outfits for MF and Vake.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/83569276/reversible-monogrammed-thanksgiving

I think they're pretty darn cute.

So anyway, we got up pretty late (Vake slept 'til about 8:15- pretty unusual) and there was no earthly way we were going to make it to church so he and I just went to Sunday School- he's doing better now. It is a big class- with children between him and 5 years old and it must be hard to have your mother be the Sunday School teacher. Then I worked on the auction packages for the Children's Museum auction.

I've got a big jury trial set to go on November 1- it's going to be all hands on deck until I get that behind me!!!!!

Progress: Baby Gil's Room

2011-10-15T11:01:00.002-04:00

We're getting there- last weekend, Eric worked like a dog and moved the dresser/changing table into Gil's room. We got all the stuff cleared out and put away. I found a chair for $45 at an estate sale (I am kicking myself because I forgot to take pics of it before I sent it away to be recovered).

Gil's got the big comfy chair in his room now- and an empty bookcase- I need to move the true baby books into this room.

Here's the first of two views from the door.
And here's a shot of both windows.

Looking into Vake's room.

And as you can see, Vake got a big boy dresser and we took down the shelves that had been above the changing table. I don't think they're going back up in Gil's room- I wasn't all that impressed by how sturdy they wound up being.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the light fixture and the rug that I am thinking of for baby Gil's room!

Making progress

2011-10-13T19:17:00.001-04:00

I've got to post pics of Baby Gil's room- it is really coming along...

Eric, Vake and I are all battling colds so we've been a little slowed down this week. But look for pics in the next couple of days!

Bloggy Bandwagon!

2011-10-10T20:53:00.001-04:00

Aunt Anne has jumped on!!!! Check it out.

http://somethingaboutmaryfrances.blogspot.com

We need new neighbors!

2011-10-10T18:09:00.001-04:00

It breaks my heart to say that our neighbors are moving- so so so sad...

The MLS listing went up today- if you are living in the Richmond area and thinking about a Fan/Museum area house and you move in next to me, I'll make you a pie.

Birthday Touch-A-Truck

2011-10-09T16:38:00.004-04:00

Hey there- Vake and I've been basically grounded- he woke up today feeling crummy and running a fever- he's been really quiet and not himself all day. I ran out to teach Sunday School and Mom watched him.

Eric's at the Seahawks game today- so fun. I texted him with a reminder that some sort of present would be welcome after the day Vake and I have had. Ahem.

But back to our birthday celebration last week- we woke up on Saturday and Eric asked me what I wanted to do- I really wanted to take Vake to the Touch-a-Truck at RIR. And it did not disappoint at all- and Vake loved it- there was so much to see- it was actually pretty crowded- and there were lines for all the heavy equipment.
Vake loved the helicopter.

And some sweet old man let him have a long turn driving his bigrig.

And Vake thought that all the heavy equipment was just great.

Eric and I thought that he would be more excited about getting to stand in the bucket, but he was pretty unimpressed.

And after that, we got Chipotle for lunch!!!!! Yum!!!!!

Halloween?

2011-10-07T18:11:00.000-04:00

So I've still got big ambitions for the Halloween costume but Taren and Vake went to the costume store and Vake fell in love. He was hugging this Thomas costume the whole way home.

What a Happy Birthday Weekend!!!!

2011-10-03T18:50:00.004-04:00

I'll post more and better pictures from this weekend- but here was our big highlight!!!! Baby Mary Frances- Vake LOVES this baby!!!!!

Roman Shades, check!

2011-09-30T17:14:00.002-04:00

One more step in the process...

Don't they look great?

The color is not as accurate as I wish it were- the background is more white than it appears.

Next step, get all the stuff out of there except the crib so I can figure out how to organize.

It's Blue!!!!

2011-09-29T19:44:00.002-04:00

So the room's completely blue now!!!!

Let the decorating begin!

I've got to figure out where the crib goes, get a rug, get a set of bureau drawers, get a comfy chair for the room. All of a sudden, I may need to move faster on this room than I've been moving.

Halloween Planning

2011-09-27T19:58:00.002-04:00

So we got this fantastic train conductor's hat from Grandma Sue for Vake- and it gave me the perfect idea for our family's Halloween costume. Daddy is going to be Sir Topham Hatt and Vake is going to be Thomas. (Mommy on the other hand is just going to be 32 weeks preggos...).

Here's the hat- please ignore the treats in Vake's mouth- we've been rocking out the pottytraining but it has come with a lifetime supply of M&Ms!!!!!

And here's what I am going to try to build- my partner in crime/slave in the fabrication department Mary Sabra needs to rest up, because this one's a doozy!

Preschool, Pottytraining and Painting!

2011-09-26T20:01:00.005-04:00

Whew!!!! What a week- I am almost at the end of the second trimester- thank GOODNESS!!! Only 13 more weeks and one big jury trial until I meet baby Gil! Hard to believe we've already gotten 27 weeks down!

Finally, the long-awaited pics of the first ever day of school. Someone was a little apprehensive at first...

But finally decided he could smile for the camera!

I knew HE was going to be ok because when we pulled up he said, "Hey, here's my school!"

Amazingly, we were basically the first people there (obviously we were first-timers!). Vake knew right where he should go.

But somehow agreed to pose for some more pics!

Finally it was time to go inside!

And into the giraffe classroom...

...and poof! My baby disappeared.

And if that wasn't a big enough change, last week we got rid of diapers! Yippee! He's done GREAT!

And loves big boy underpants...

And as if that's not enough, the painters showed up to end the dream of the pink baby room for-evah. We're going to blue. By tomorrow, it will be like I was always meant to have two boys!

Little Litigator

2011-09-18T12:14:00.002-04:00

So we're working on potty-training, and the reward for actually going to the potty is to get to watch an episode of Thomas.

This child now will take a break about every 5 minutes, squeeze out a drop of urine and then demand to watch Thomas videos as his reward.

Shame on Mom and Daddy for being so gullible.

First Day of School

2011-09-13T20:31:00.002-04:00

So the first day of school was a big hit!!!! I've got pics that are a lot better on my camera- I just need to get them uploaded and I've been feeling a little under the weather, sorry. I promise I will do it by the end of the week...

So we got there a little early and Vake was VERY excited. He went straight into his classroom and started playing without any hesitation whatsoever. He was happy to say goodbye to us! Thank GOODNESS- as hard as it was for me to see my big boy, I was really relieved that there were no temper tantrums.

When Taren went to pick him up at noon, he was interacting and following Miss Laura and Miss Susan's instructions- I think they were putting the teddy bears to sleep!!! Taren took the pic to calm my nerves.

I was a little weepy as we left- seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Next stop, Princeton!!!

First Day of School Tomorrow!!!!

2011-09-11T19:54:00.002-04:00

Hard to believe.

Pumpkin's first day of school is tomorrow- we met Miss Laura and Miss Susan last week and saw the classroom last Friday, all of which went well.

We had the first day of Sunday School today- Vake is in my class which is a little odd but should wind up being ok- hopefully some practice with a "real" teacher will do him some good!

Late Night with Vake Martin

2011-09-10T11:30:00.001-04:00

So last night, Vake woke up probably at 5- he and I conducted an exhaustive search for Percy, his engine, that had gotten under the covers and was missing.

So Percy's returned and Vake looks at me and says, "Mommy, it is dark outside. I should be sleeping."

Amen, brother.

Westover Cleanup and the coming up week!!!!

2011-09-03T16:33:00.003-04:00

We spent the morning out at Westover helping with cleanup. Westover's front lawn and bowling green both took a real beating in Hurricane Irene- thank goodness there was little damage to the house itself but the property lost a number of beautiful trees, including a huge old tulip poplar on the front lawn. Again, merciful that it fell away from the house and not towards it.

Eric spent the morning with his chainsaw, lopping off branches and then loading them into a wood chipper that Andrea was operating- it's a many hands makes light work type situation- and we are so lucky that Vake is getting to grow up with the Erda kids enjoying all that Charles City has to offer.

So this week is going to be busy! We've got Labor Day off, so we'll probably say goodbye to summer by hitting the pool on Monday- then on Wednesday we've got our sneak peek of the Belmont Branch of the library, then Thursday we're kicking off the Board year for the Children's Museum, then Friday is Mom's birthday.

Whew. Tired just thinking about it!

Paint it Black.

2011-08-29T20:31:00.003-04:00

Vake and I have been talking more and more about Baby Gil. If you ask him, he knows that we are having a baby and that the baby's name is Gil but that's about it. He knows that the room next to his is the baby's and that we have some clothes in it that the baby will wear.

So today, with the hurricane day, I took him with me to look for a dresser at the thrift store- I don't need anything fancy- just something I can pop a changing pad on top of. So Vake and I were talking and I asked him what color we should paint Baby Gil's room.

Vake looks at me and says, "Baby Gil's room: uuuummmm. We should paint it black."

Silver Lining

2011-08-28T22:10:00.001-04:00

to Hurricane Irene is that I have the day off tomorrow! Yippeee!!!!

Irene...really?

2011-08-27T15:28:00.003-04:00

Sort of unbelievable. First the earthquake and now a hurricane. Is it possible that the universe is trying to tell us something?

But on the positive side of the ledger, it is so dark in Vake's room that he's liable to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

Earthquake?!?!?

2011-08-23T18:48:00.002-04:00

What was that shaking Richmond this afternoon about 2? It was Vake Martin, tipping the scales at 41 pounds and 41 inches tall!!!! Yikes!

Great visit to the pediatrician this morning- he's hit all the developmental milestones. Go Vake!!!!

By the way - according to one totally reliable internet source, Vake is expected to hit 6"8" by the time he's 18.

Transformation

2011-08-20T16:55:00.002-04:00

Does anyone remember this room from our house and the Mother's Day House Tour 2010? I LOVED this room- I thought it was so pretty and would be SO perfect for a little girl.

Ha!!!! Fate does have a way of laughing at you- and I've started to take this room apart for baby Gil.
As it just so happened, Mom needed the bed (which I love- and love in its new location at her house, too) for a guest room- so since about April, this room's been a wasteland of toys, books, a crib, a really depressing playmat "rug", etc., etc.

But today, everything started to change. Finally tackled this closet, with its melange of too big clothes, items leftover from various house projects, etc.

So the weirdest thing about this room (I think) is that it has the two carve outs for closets- one for Gil's closet (on the left) and one for Vake's closet (obviously accessed from the other side) on the right- it's part of the original design- and the rooms actually open up onto each other.

Ha! The empty closet! Thanks Mom! Mom's been helping Anne out in Baltimore- I've forgotten how great it is to have someone who is a huge fan of helping you with unpleasant chores like closet cleaning.

Oregon Vacation Day Eight

2011-08-17T19:46:00.002-04:00

This day was definitely the highlight of Vake's vacation- in fact, he's still talking about when he saw a train "on Oregon" and "got to touch the wheel."

On Friday, we took a one way train ride (about a half-hour) down the Pacific Coast- it was an absolutely gorgeous day and I really think my little pumpkin believed that he had died and gone to heaven. All aboard!!!!!

We got to sit out in the open air. And I am not kidding when I tell you that this was his expression for the vast majority of the trip.

This outing made the whole long journey to the West Coast totally worthwhile!!!!!!

Tree Climbing

2011-08-14T20:24:00.001-04:00

We needed some help from Daddy, but look who climbed a (very short) tree tonight at the Fan concert.

Oregon Vacation Day Seven

2011-08-13T17:52:00.002-04:00

So on day seven, we awoke to rain...too bad for us.

We headed over to the town of Seaside to check out the sights- the first stop was at the local aquarium which is cut from basically the same cloth as the Richmond Zoo. The highlight was that you got to feed sea lions some fish- the net effect was somewhat reduced because you had to feed them through wire...
And then we checked out the touch tanks.

The next stop was the indoor mall, where the highlight was a pretty old restored carousel. Loved it. Vake picked an ostrich to ride on- I was surprised by that...

And fortunately Daddy was willing to ride along!

Boys 4: Girls 2

2011-08-10T19:53:00.002-04:00

It's official. As of December 2011, the tally at the Martin Household will put the boys ahead even more.

Baby Gil is definitely a boy.

Oregon Vacation Day Six

2011-08-07T13:47:00.002-04:00

By the time that Wednesday rolled around, we were feeling a little more like getting back into the car- so we did- to take the self-guided tour of the Tillamook Cheese factory. Believe me when I tell you it was the perfect toddler activity. We got there about 11:00, took a quick look around the factory, bought some cheese and then settled in for ice cream by about 11:30.

What we didn't know was that our friend Brad would order the "38 flavor special." For about $25.00, you got a "golf-ball sized" sample of every flavor of ice cream that Tillamook makes. So there was root-beer flavored ice cream next to peanut butter and chocolate. I only wish that I had brought my camera to capture the moment. Suffice it to say that I felt like a big sticky piggy by the time we got up!

Oregon Vacation Day Five

2011-08-04T20:32:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday, neither Vake nor I had any desire to get back in the car- fortunately it was a nice enough day that we spent a lot of time doing this... ...and getting hugs from our friends....

...and digging in the sand...

And I got the best pedicure I think I've ever had at the Spa Manzanita in town- it was awesome.

Day 4: Voyage to Manzanita

2011-08-02T21:28:00.002-04:00

On Monday, we headed up the Oregon coast to Manzanita, where we rented a beach house with some of Eric's best friends from law school.

When we left it was raining and probably 55 degrees- I was freezing- wearing a sweater and jeans in July for goodness sakes!

But we persevered and we were rewarded with Manzanita, Oregon- a wonderful little beach town- not touristy at all- just a great little downtown street and tons of rental houses and of course, the beach!!!!

If you look at this pic, you can see the stretch of beach where we were all week.

And how amazing are the views- I mean, the combo of the mountain ranges and the Pacific is stunning.

It probably took us about 4 hours to get from Florence to Manzanita-and the trip was beautiful. We arrived at the house shortly after lunch and got settled there- that's one thing that I am learning about traveling with toddlers- you can do maybe one big activity per day- but that's probably it.

Oregon Vacation Day Three

2011-08-01T21:02:00.002-04:00

This picture was taken on day three of our vacation, Sunday- it was relatively late on a very relaxing day, complete with naps and trips into downtown Florence, Oregon- a trip that meant clam chowder at a local chain, Mo's, for me and a Thomas the Tank Engine playset for Vake.

When we got back, the family had decided to scatter Vake and Milly's ashes. I am so glad that Eric could be there.

If you look in the picture, I am on the right- looking 5 months pregnant- because I am...well maybe not quite 5 months, but 19 weeks! That's right, people of the internet. I've been trying to tell all of our friends, but having a hard time getting it done. I owe so many people calls to tell them the good news but, as with Vake, I just haven't been feeling like myself (see e.g. the absence from this blog) and I am just trying as hard as I can to stay afloat. So please don't be offended if I didn't tell you personally.

On another note, Vake's now decided that staying in bed is for suckers- a cute trick he picked up on vacation. If anyone has any surefire way of getting a toddler to stay in bed that does not involve a bell and a rope, please weigh in!

We Interrupt This Vacation Recap...

2011-07-31T18:19:00.002-04:00

...to bring you the weekend....

And what a great weekend it was- after a rough start Friday (I was feeling under the weather) we were finally able to get under steam and get down to Hatteras. We stayed with our friends Brian and Matt, Matt's son and of course Neil.

Saturday brought awesome weather at the beach- 15 degrees cooler than in Richmond- and a fun day digging in the sand. We drove back today, stopping in Williamsburg where Erico humored me with Pierce's Pitt BBQ.

We'll be back with the play by play tomorrow.

Day 2 of vacation

2011-07-28T19:11:00.003-04:00

So the second day of vacation was the Sampson family reunion. Sue organized it very well- everyone wore name tags identifying which branch of the family the person belonged to- definitely helped everyone figure out who everyone else was- there were about 35 Sampsons there- very impressive.

Here's a pic of Vake with one of his cousins- I think the family resemblance is pretty uncanny.

The family reunion was at Eric's Uncle Mark's lake cabin- absolutely gorgeous location.

Once the reunion was over, there was time for going out and walking at the sand dunes at Siltcoos Inlet- I think Eric and Vake had a great time. It was cold and a little rainy- you see that Vake was wearing his raincoat- and Eric was wearing his barn jacket- and it was basically 100 degree in Richmond this whole week.

Day 1 of Vacation- travel to the West Coast

2011-07-27T11:38:00.002-04:00

Vake did so well on our first day of vacation- we left our house pretty early (those of you who know Eric know that he likes to be a total early bird to the airport). We arrived and had plenty of time to check in to our flight to Chicago.

The flight to Chicago was a piece of cake- we made it there in about an hour and fifteen minutes. Vake watched videos for most of the flight (that's the one true benefit of restricting t.v. access that I can see- they are FIRED UP to watch videos for hours at a time when you let them).

Unfortunately, we had a really really long layover in Chicago- I definitely wouldn't do it that way again- I think travel is just so busy in the summer that it was our only option. The flight to Portland was also easy- it was LONG and the DVD player batter gave up the ghost in hour 3 but Vake was perfectly happy to do other things.

Once we got to Portland and got our rental car, Vake was willing to snooze for part of the apr. 4 hour drive to Florence- we hit a little snag at the very end of the trip when the poor pumpkin got super carsick- so that was too bad- we showed up at the end of 16 hours of travel with a vomit covered Vakey and Mommy.

Have to say, if I had it to do all over again, the change that I would make would be to stop in Portland overnight then tackle the Portland-Florence leg the following am...

Home Again, Home Again

2011-07-25T12:51:00.000-04:00

We're back from 10 days on the Oregon Coast...More pics and fun stuff to come!!!!

Homecoming Pics!!!!!

2011-07-13T21:31:00.001-04:00

Look at this tiny little one- so glad to be home!!!!!
And the very proud daddio!!!

Headin' Home!!!

2011-07-07T16:06:00.001-04:00

That's right- beating all expectations- Mary Frances is headed home today- SO EXCITING!!!! Good luck Anne and Dennis. Hope you all got enough sleep in your 30 or so years on this earth....

Mary Frances Making Progress

2011-07-02T07:59:00.001-04:00

Anne got to hold her outside of the isolette last night!

What great news!

Mary Frances Update!!!

2011-06-30T19:43:00.002-04:00

So Anne and Mary Frances had a great day. She's still getting her nutrition via an IV but Anne got to hold her and feed her a little breastmilk via bottle today so that's pretty exciting.

She got a little spongebath in her isolette yesterday- she was very feisty and not at all pleased with that program.

Anne's already a lot lot lot better. She's totally turned a corner and is getting around like a champ, which is wonderful.

She's Here!!!!

2011-06-30T14:09:00.001-04:00

Anne's baby arrived on Tuesday night at 7:51pm. Her name is Mary Frances Elizabeth Rivera. She'll go by Mary Frances. She's a little peanut- tipping the scales at 3 pounds 13 ounces. Anne's doing well and so is Mary Frances. She's taking a little break in the NICU to get her weight up and then she and Vake will get to play together.

Happy Father's Day 2011!!!

2011-06-20T20:17:00.003-04:00

Father's Day 2011 was a great day!!!!

Vake and I let Eric sleep late (which means 9:30 in this neck of the woods!). Vake entertained himself in part while waiting for Daddy to wake up by watching YouTube videos of "tractors and dumptrucks". Really, Vake? Why won't you focus on your ice dancing career????

Anyway, once Daddy came to and down the stairs, there was much excitement and exchanging of gifts and hugs.

Vake made his father a hat, a card and a trophy. It's official. World's Best Dad.