Grandparents' Day

Today was Grandparents' Day at Whit's school. This is where grandparents are invited to join the kids for their lunchtime, eat with them, and get a picture.

Needless to say, Whitney was very excited to have Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Vardell go to her school. They were so nice to attend, and even though my mom didn't want to eat what the school was offering, it still meant so much to Whitney to have them there.

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

So a couple years ago on one of our San Diego trips, we were roaming around the city shops when we found a charming toy store - full of classic toys. We looked around for a bit, and maybe consented to buy the kids each something small. As we were checking out I saw the cutest thing ever! Little letters painted different colors, each a small train car with rolling wheels and magnetic front and end, enabling them to connect to one another. I just had to get a T-A-Y-L-O-R, and of course, an engine and a caboose.

It was kind of pricey per piece, but it was too cute to pass up, so we brought it home and it sat on Tay's dresser for a couple years...

(Now Tay's sits on his shelf.)

Then James came! And after his birth we were decorating his room. I knew what was missing - his very own NAME TRAIN. I had seen them at Robert's, but unpainted, and, well, that's just work. So I went to the place we all go to find anything we need - I Googled it. Little did I realize the phenomenon these really were - they're EVERYWHERE! And they've got pastel colors for girls too! So I clicked on several sites, shopping around, and I really feel like I found the best price possible (much better than what we paid in the San Diego toy store).

So, I ordered from this site and became an extremely satisfied customer. Not only did they have the least expensive name trains, but also super fast shipping! I placed my order on 4/18 and received it today - now that's good customer service. I was so happy with my experience, I sent an email to let 'em know. (I think that's just as important, BTW, as letting a business know when you're dissatisfied.)

So here's to the NAME TRAIN! I like 'em a lot. Maybe I'd get the whole alphabet if they were more affordable. They are compatible with the generic train tracks that you can find in most toy stores and the magnets hook right up to all of Taylor's other trains (including Thomas).

1 Month Already!

Say it ain't so! It's true, number three grows so much faster than the older two did.

While I don't have official doctor stats for him right now, at his two week visit he weighed just over 8 lbs (30%) and he was his same birth length, 21 inches (63%). His little head measured 14.5 inches (44%).

You don't have to tell us, he's so cute!

Extension Cord

Today we had planned to go to my parents' house for Sunday dinner.

We were getting everyone ready to go, and while dressing James, noticed his umbilical cord had fallen off. We had been anticipating this, since he's a few days over two weeks, and in all the excitement Whitney exclaimed, "His extension cord fell off!"

Classic.

Weekend Visitors

We had a great Easter weekend with visits from lots of family members, most of whom were excited to meet James for the first time.

Aunt Julie and Uncle David flew in for the festivities.

Since Julie was going to be in town Granny Charlene decided to fly up too.

Then it was off to Steph's parents for the traditional egg hunt and what not. My camera battery died before the kids started their hunt, but we got some pictures in before that happened.

Aunt Teresa was very happy to say hello to our new one.

Much more so than Cousin Lily.

The adult egg hunt was a great opportunity for picture taking.

My lovely wife spotted this egg with ease. No fooling her.

Then inside we went where we helped the little ones dye some eggs. Steph did all the work but the kids made all of the decisions.

The Easter Bunny also came to our house that night and left wonderful baskets of goodies (did you know they now make a small Cadbury Creme Egg, it's the perfect proportion) and these cute clothes for our cute kids. Yes, this is the best of all 43 pictures I took of the two of them.

Taylor can be a stinker at times so it's a good thing he's so cute!

Happy Easter!

One Week Old

The little buckaroo is 7 whole days old. Steph has traded getting up every couple of hours to pee for getting up every couple of hours to feed. But I've gotta say that we're pretty glad we made this little guy.

Melinda made a request yesterday that I am happy to acquiesce, more pictures!

On our first day home Taylor and I sat down with James and watched the Jazz play. We were able to teach James what it is to be a Jazz fan as we watched them drop a game they should have won against the Nets.

Whit and Tay are so excited to have their new little brother at home.

Here is a slew of pictures taken this evening of our big little one week old.

This is what we call "The Position".

It's a little wobbly but you've gotta give him credit for trying.

He LOVES trying to eat his hands when he's really hungry.

Look at all of this hair!

Though he is becoming a side sleeper, like his dad, this is his next favorite position, stretched out on top of dad.

On an unrelated note, today is the first day of Spring and here's the proof. The crocus is up and I was really happy to see that. I was sure I had killed these last year by not watering them after they bloomed but I guess they did just fine.

Sweet Baby James

After hours of tense negotiations we decided on James Moroni for our wonderful son's name. (Named after his paternal great great grandfather.)

We are now home from the wonderful stay at the hospital getting some much needed rest. Both mom and baby are perfect.

You should meet him, he's great!

I'm too tired to think of anything else to say, so here are some pictures of our time in the hospital. The pictures don't do him justice cuz he really is the most beautiful baby. When you see him you'll agree. Enjoy!

His first bath. This was the only part he wasn't crying.

With Great Grandma Barb

Meeting brother and sister.

"No more pictures!"

OK, maybe one more.

With Aunt Jenny.

Grandma Brenda

Precious.

Beautiful boy.

Big yawn.

Yup, he sometimes does this too.

Grandpa Marlow

And Grandma Joan.

Ready for his first car ride.

All tuckered out.

Welcome to the World Baby Boy!

I am sitting in our room at the hospital trying to come up with words to describe what the last 24 or so hours have been like. Steph is getting a few minutes of well deserved sleep. I'm looking at my son in awe.


A word like exhaustion doesn't seem to do it justice. Yesterday started as a normal day. I worked from home to help out with the kids since Whit was too sick to go into school. At about 1:40 pm Steph and I went to our weekly doctor appointment. The contractions that had been going for almost 2 weeks had come to a stop and we had given up on the child coming anytime soon. That was more than a little frustrating when I had about 5 days of no teaching at work he could have chosen to come. (But since when were kids ever convenient?) We scheduled an induction for the 18th and went out to eat. With the induction scheduled I felt that it was safe to make plans for my Thursday at work and the meetings I needed to attend. That's when things started getting interesting.

Mimi's is one of our favorites and is near the hospital. I was craving a grilled ham and cheese. The meal was yummy, quick and uneventful. We quickly hurried back to Brenda's to pick up the kids. Shortly after returning home I started feeling a bit queasy and ill. My first thought was indigestion, that's how us acid refluxers think. Tums didn't seem to do the trick though and within an hour or so I was hurting pretty bad. After about 6 hours of suffering I finally decided that it must be food poisoning so I forced out the offensive food that was causing so much pain. That wasn't the end of it but it certainly did help.

While I was upstairs thinking the end of the world had come, Steph was downstairs in a bit of pain of her own. Contractions returned and they were pretty strong. By the time I was rinsing foul tastes from my mouth, the contractions were coming regularly about every 10 mins or so. By 11 pm they were just 5 minutes apart and we knew we'd be heading to the hospital. We were timing the contractions and watching Bill Cosby on Leno when Whit came into the room. She wasn't feeling well and just wanted to cuddle. Unfortunately Steph was in worse shape to comfort her than I was. She decided to lay on the bed with us. When a big contraction was tapering off she said to Steph "Mom, I know you're hurting but I don't think it's as bad as I hurt!" We just chuckled thinking someday she'll know better. For all the pain my insides were giving me I knew it was nothing compared to what Steph was going thru.

After a quick midnight stop at Walmart for Whit's cold medicine and some ginger ale for me, we dropped off the kids and headed to the hospital. I have to say that when you're running to the hospital midnight is definitely the best time to do it.

The nurse who took care of us all night was amazing. She took great care of Steph and even tried her best to help me out. Unfortunately, baby was in no mood to come so soon. After 8 long hours (during which I got a couple hours of sleep while Steph watched Friends) our doctor finally said it was time to start pushing a little to "see what happens". About 15 minutes later he announced what so few of you guessed on the poll, "It's a boy!" I cut the cord and he's hardly left his mom's arms since.


Pride isn't a good enough word to use either. I'm enormously proud of my wife and how strong she is. I'm so proud as I look at my new boy and think of what lays in store for him. Humbled might be a better word, but it still doesn't do justice to all of my feelings.

Coming at 8:17 am and weighting a perfect 7 lbs 6 oz (my greatest fear for the last 9 months was that I had given Steph a big baby) and 21 inches long he's a perfect little bundle to hold. Now if we could just decide on a name. I asked him what it was but he just gave a cute little wimper.



Gratitude I think is the best word to use. I'm so grateful that both mom and baby are healthy and that there were no complications, something for which we prayed countless times. I'm grateful for the chance to welcome this baby into our family. I'm grateful for our loving family and friends that have always been such a support to us. Thank you all. I'm sure more pictures will be posted soon.