Our First Family Vacation

These pictures are from our weekend trip to the mountains of North Georgia. Our first vacation for our family of four! I loved that the directions included turn off the paved road and drive for 7 miles - it was exactly the kind of cell-reception-free time away that we needed. We did figure out that Chloe is following in my non-nature-girl footsteps. And that she plays a mean game of Candyland.

Lena

Not Sure Why She Wanted To Take A Nap On The Porch; It was in the 50's

Shot From The Porch

Yep, A Real Nature Girl

Such Pretty Scenery

Umm...You Have Something On Your Front

A New Way To Play Soccer

It's Like He Belongs In The Woods

Daddy Loses Four Games In A Row...At Candyland

Time Keeps on Ticking...

Wow, it's been over a week since an update was posted. Sorry, folks, we've been super crazy lately. Plus, I was sick a few days last week, so that didn't help things. We have tons of pictures from Gavin's baptism to get up, so we'll shoot for that next.

On another note, Chloe and Mommy went to the "balday" (ballet) yesterday while Gavin and Daddy stayed home. Lena was given someone's seats, so she took Chloe. The little bear was so excited when they got home. She came running into the "diamond room" (living room...you're guess is as good as mine) to tell me all about it. The gist: jump, jump, jump. I guess she enjoyed it. That's my girl.

Happy Monday, everyone.

Our Little Gymnast

Chloe has gymnastics on Monday mornings at 10am, which works well with my Tues-Sat work week.  She started earlier this summer and really enjoys it.  They usually end the class with the kids on the uneven bars - kind of hysterical, and she loves it.  I love that it's through our county rec center, so classes are SUPER cheap!  This morning I'll be taking both she and Gavin there by myself.  Wish us luck!

Oh, Boy!

Sorry for the haitus. We've been busy. Chloe thinks you should get yourself some ice cream, too. She got "Purple Dinosaur" (vanilla with purple food coloring).

Grammy & Bapa Visit

Here are the first round of pictures from my parents visit this weekend. I'll post more over the next few days; I'm just tired right now. It was a long day at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, grilling out with neighbors, and trying to get two children bathed, one of whom took a nap WAY too late today. Enjoy!

Birthday Confession

Chloe Helps Mommy with Her Birthday Candles

Today is a little bittersweet. Not because I turn 31. My doctor's office had scheduled my pre-op appointments for this morning way back in May or June when my tests looked normal and they thought it looked promising that I would carry Gavin full term. I was scheduled for a c-section on Friday.

The woman at the office realized that a half day at the hospital might not be how I wanted to spend my birthday, and she had offered to move the appointment to Thursday. I told her to leave it.

I had secretly treasured the idea of celebrating following in my friend Wendy's footsteps and having an issue-free second pregnancy after a challenging first due to pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome. I had even looked forward to going out to dinner at Scalini's to celebrate the day and to order their famous labor-inducing eggplant parmesan. Josh and I started planning our date night months ago.

I have a whole lot to be grateful for, but I'm still mourning the loss of a "normal" pregnancy and delivery. I think I'll heal from that faster this time around, but processing the inability to ever be pregnant again is still a bit of a challenge.

I didn't lose the day to the hospital. Instead I struggled to bottle feed a 6lb baby that still can't quite get it together. But he is home and healthy, even if he was still scheduled to be in my belly for another 2 days.

I can't explain it, but we still went through with our plans to go to Scalini's tonight. I was at a loss for any other dining option. It was a little unnerving to walk in and see the wall of gigantic full-term babies whose mothers had come there desperate for any promise to relieve them from carrying any longer.

I had a good time there with my family including my mom, sister, and brother-in-law. Gavin even drank his bottle - with a lot of coaxing from Daddy. I had the lasagna.

Lena

Shopping

I am super excited to have found another source for preemie clothes! Thought I would share to add to my running list from a few weeks ago. Janie and Jack (www.janieandjack.com) has two locations in the Atlanta area, and we came across one while looking for something for Gavin to wear to a wedding next weekend after having no luck at my normal shops. Their preemie clothes are big compared to most at up to 7 lbs (most are up to 5 lbs), but that's exactly the size we need...for now! As he won't fit in preemie much longer, I was especially excited to find something on clearance! Finding clothes for a 6 lb baby can be a challenge. Luckily he'll outgrow that challenge soon!

Lena

At Home

Here are a few stats before heading to bed:

Birth Weight - 4lbs, 0.6oz
Discharge Weight - 5lbs, 1.5oz

Birth Length - 17"
Discharge Length - 18&"

And the most important fact, he's home. BOOYAH!!

Catching Up...Through Pictures

So, these are sort of in reverse order over the last few weeks. Here are the labels, sorry there aren't more detailed: Big Brother/Big Sister Class, 2nd Birthday, Hanging with Family, Georgia Aquarium with Isaiah. Enjoy.