So pretty!

4 of the 5 of these were taken today! We are seeing her eyes a lot more!

My friend sent Cassie some bows, homemade bows and they are just so cute. I have my friends web site linked on the right- Mad About Baby. Thanks Erica!

my babies...*sniff * sniff* they grow so fast...

Luke and Cassie- a side by side comparison

Luke's picture was taken his first week home.
Cassie's picture was taken today. She is 3 weeks old!

Looking at these two pictures side by side, I see a lot of resemblance. Mostly in the nose and the mouth, the ear too! I tried to get pictures while Cassie was awake, but as you can see she wasn't. And I forget that Luke had soooo much dark hair! Poor Cassie doesn't have the head of hair that Luke did, but she does have hair...more in the back than the front!

Quick post

Going home day!

Cassie and I have been home just over a week now. I have given Cassie a nickname...Chiclet! Yes, like the gum...she's just so small and sweet!

Michael's Mother was here helping last week and we were really grateful for that help! (and will miss Grandmother and Grandpa while they are in WA. for the summer)

I'm not sure yet what Luke thinks of all of this change going on, but I did manage to snag these pictures... The first picture, that's the closest he's gotten all week, and then the second picture was taken about 5 minutes after the first.

Luke does know who Cassie is because he will point, wave and blow kisses her way!

1 Day Old

And I guess I should tell the birth story before I forget. Tuesday I had my 39 week appointment, I was dilated to about a 3. My Dr. had called the hospital and made arrangements to go in the next morning (June 3rd) at 5am. We got to the hospital about 5:30 and after about 45 minutes of paperwork and forms to sign (about 6:30 by the time I was changed and everything was done), I had my IV in and pitocin was started. My Dr. came by at about 8:40 am to break my water and at that time we ordered the epidural. By the time my epidural was in and working about 9:10-9:20 I was dilated to a 5. we were able to get a little bit of a rest, but not much because I was progressing a lot faster than I had with Luke's induction. By 10:30 when the nurse checked me I was at 7, and then by about 11:30 I was at a 10 and all ready to go! We had to wait a bit for the Dr. to come, good thing her office was right next door to the hospital! The Dr. came a little after 12:00pm, and by 12:15 I was good to go! I pushed for about 10 minutes and then we had our beautiful baby girl. A bit of a side note, with Luke's induction my water was broke about 8:30 am and epidural by 9 am, but I wasn't ready to start pushing until 4pm, and he was born at 5:24pm. So we were all surprised that this time around it was so fast...and really it was easy too!

And in case anyone is wondering since I can't remember if I posted before... Cassie is short for Cassandra, and we decided to not give her a middle name...it's I guess you can say it's kind of tradition. I don't have a middle name, my mom doesn't have a middle name, my mom's sisters don't have middle names, you get the idea right?

Welcome Cassie!

We welcomed Cassie today at 12:26 pm. 7lbs. 2.4oz. 18 1/2" long! All are doing well! Cassie's labor and delivery was about 1/2 the time Luke's was so it felt really easy and fast! More details to come later. Time for rest!

Saturday was a fun day!

We decided to go to the Zoo again (yesterday)! It was a lot warmer out since we waited to go in the afternoon, but it provided me with a good distraction and it felt really good to get out of the house! This time at the zoo some of the animals we saw were the otters, penguins, pink flamingos, and we visited the petting part of the zoo. Luke LOVED to pet the baby cow! He would have dove right in if Michael didn't have a good hold of him! Luke also LOVED the otter that was there, I think there was only one that day, that we saw, but since otters are pretty active and swim all over the place it was fun to see the joy on Luke's face as the otter would swim past him and then swim out of the water and then dive back in! Luke also liked to see the train that they have at the zoo. I think we have an animal lover! We didn't ride the train, the lines were crazy long so if we ever do ride the train we would do that first thing. We decided that we love our zoo pass! It allows us to just stay a little but if we want, and right now we are finding that short outings are good and pleasant. And all it costs us is the gas, so all in all, it's a pretty cheap thing we can do as a family!

new and improved isn't always better...

I'm talking about food. Last week I bought some Cheetos Puffs. I don't buy them very often, I think the last time I did I may have been pregnant with Luke, maybe a bag between then and now, I can't remember. I get home, open the bag ready to eat them, and notice that they are HUGE! Now, I don't usually complain about food, but this wouldn't be the first time I bought something that was a bum product...Twinkies without filling for example. No where on the bag did it advertise that they were a different size. I don't like them, I find them slightly harder to eat, and they seem to dry out my mouth faster than the smaller ones. I decided to write the company, not so much a complaint, but I wanted to know if this is the way they would be making them, or if it was a fluke, could I get the smaller ones, or what??? Well, I did here back from the company, they are now making the Cheetos Puffs in the larger size, so I'm out of luck. I realize that just because I don't like them and complain, that they aren't going to change just for me...but they are sending me coupons for free product, so I guess that's nice! I guess I just won't buy them anymore...but it won't stop me from eating them if someone else had them!

Week in review. Long post, but lots of pictures!

I'll start with what we did today! We had a really fun day together as a family. We went to the Fort Worth Zoo. I think Michael was more excited than Luke, but it was cute! We were there about an hour and a half so we didn't get to see all of the zoo, but we thought that we had better leave when Luke was still in a good mood and not have a bad experience that might make us never want to take him to the zoo again. We were able to see the gorillas, the elephants, giraffes, zebras, birds, rhinos, and some kind of monkeys, and I can't remember what else.... but if the animals weren't moving, Luke didn't seem to notice them. We ended up getting a year pass, so now we can go whenever we want and even parking is free! We figured since the zoo is open year round, if we went at least 4 times in a year, it pays for itself. I think we will end up going as a family at least that many times, and I can take the kids during the day, or with friends if I want.

Next time we go we will have to start at another part of the zoo, and end at the petting zoo part!

And earlier in the week Luke and I played in the water in the backyard. We had to wait for the sun to move so we would have shade in the backyard, but as soon as I thought we had enough shade, I slathered Luke with sunscreen, and out we went! He loved the sprinkler, and to throw balls in the pool, and then fish them out...and then repeat! The water was on the cold side since it hadn't been in the warm sun, but it felt really good to soak my sore swollen feet! And even though the water was cold and Luke was shivering, he didn't want to come in!

And in the beginning of the week I took Luke to get another hair cut. I had them cut it short for summer! I was going to wait to cut it, but after giving him a bath one day, and seeing that he had a comb-over, I decided it was time. He looks so much older with his hair cut, like a big boy!

He's just so stinking cute!

Lots went on today!

Today at the group meeting at Michael's work, they surprised him with a baby shower! He had no clue, so he said that was fun! There was cake, punch, and fruit, and there were some gifts. One of his coworkers put together a basket and it was very cleaver to package the clothes the way she did, fun! We now have a going home outfit for Cassie!

Luke had his 18 month appointment today:

He is 34 1/2 inches tall, and he is 25lbs.

His Dr. says that he is growing great! And he even did well with the shot that he had...a bit of a delayed reaction on the crying, but he did well, and won't have to have anymore shots til his 2 year appointment.

These are some pictures of the past week. Luke has found and now knows how to unzip his zipper to his jammies. He likes to sit in the front of the new double stroller, he wanted to be there several times that day. And the car seat we have just barely fits in the back, and even though Luke's head touched the car seat when he sits there, he doesn't seem to mind. And we think it's very cute when he curls up to watch a show!

(sorry no pictures of me, maybe another time)

I even saw the Dr. today. My Dr. had a death in the family so she wasn't there, so I saw the other Dr. in the office again. Everything looks good, and even though the pain that I am having in my legs is for the most part annoying, I just have to ride the next few weeks out. I am still having braxton hicks every now and then, and have dilated a bit more than 2 weeks ago.... Now I see the Dr. every week, I'm hoping my Dr. will be back by next week, I'll just have to wait and see.

I have to go and find the courthouse down town this week. I was pulled over for having an expired state inspection (it expired in Feb.). So now that the state inspection is done, I have to go and show proof that it was done and pay the fine and/or whatever court costs there are. I have 11 days from when I was pulled over to do that, so I'll have to make sure and get that done to avoid a warrant out for my arrest...can't very well now have this baby in jail now can I!

And Ender (not to be left out!) is doing good! He was so good with Luke when Luke was born, that we're sure that he will be just as good with Cassie when she gets here!

Pictures from the past few days

Luke really likes to play in his tent. He plays in it the most when there is someone to play in it with! It was really cute the other day when Michael came home from work they were both playing in the tent and Luke would bring Michael book after book after book! (and I actually dressed Luke that day!)

I was in the process of cleaning out our front room the other week, making moor room for us (since we are growing), and the picture of Ender....that's how I found him! He decided that he would jump up on the table, possibly to avoid the sun, and have a snooze!

Luke has started to lay on his tummy every now and then when playing or watching TV. I just thought it was cute!

And Luke has been doing some coloring lately. I put down a big piece of butcher paper down on the table, and tape the edges down so it stays, and Luke can just color away. Coloring is short lived however because he likes to eat the crayons! And then he cries when I take him out. Poor kid!

I guess I really am that big!

I always feel like I don't look that big until I look in the mirror, or see a profile picture... is this what others see?

Picture # 1... 3 days before Luke was born. (Oct 21, 2007)

Picture #2.... 35 weeks pregnant with Cassie. (May 3, 2009)

I decided for this picture, I would wear the same clothes as I did right before Luke was born. The angle of the picture is a bit different, but now I know why I feel like I should be done already....because I look just as big now as I did with Luke 3 days before he was born (at least to me it looks that way!)

5 more weeks to go! Hopefully a little less than 5!

We love when Daddy comes home!

Luke is always (well mostly) excited when Michael gets home. Sometimes we go out the garage and greet him! The other day Michael oped up the car door, and Luke jumped in. He thought it was great fun to beep the horn and pretend to drive! If Michael has made it out of the car before we get there, Luke will run to Michael. Yesterday it took us a few minutes to get out the door to go find Daddy, but when we did Michael was over talking to the neighbor. It was way cute to see Luke running down the driveway to go see Daddy!

Baby update

My 34 week Dr.'s appointment was yesterday. I had an ultrasound before I met with the Dr. Everything is looking good and I got several pictures from the ultrasound. The baby is head down, and I have even started to dilate. Right now at 34 weeks the baby is weighing in at about 5 1/2 lbs. It's estimated that at this point the baby will gain about 1/2 a lb. a week until she is born. When I had my ultrasound with Luke at 36 weeks, he was weighing in at about 7 lbs. Luke was induced a week early and weighed at birth 8 lbs. 4 oz. So I'm thinking I very well may have another 8+ lb. baby. I'm hoping that my Dr. will induce me at least a week early with this baby too...even a bit earlier would be okay with me too! I have another appointment in 2 weeks, and then my appointments go to every week. It's getting down to the wire!

I still have some things I would like to have done actually get done around here before Cassie gets here. They may or may not get done, I just can't do some of the things on the list...or I should say I shouldn't do some of the things on my list because it's just not safe for me to do...standing on a very tall ladder for instance. So I wait for Michael to help me with that list, I'm just not a very patient person right now, I need things to get done! I can pretty much cross off the garage from my list, I did that the other day. And the bulk trash that I wanted to get out went out Sunday night, so that is done (still need to take a couple of things to the dump since bulk trash wouldn't take them), I have the baby clothes all washed and put away. I have organized all of the clothes Luke has grown out of and put them away. So the small stuff is done. Oh, and I have been slowly putting meals (not made but bought, I just don't have it in me to make extra meals) in the freezer that Michael will be able to help out with dinner. And as time gets closer I may just have to toss up my hands and say oh well, what gets done gets done and what doesn't doesn't and admit defeat!

Not one tear was shed

Luke had his first day of nursery today! And no one cried...not even me! I think I was so glad to not have to chase Luke through out the halls of church today that it was a relief. Even if it does remind me that my baby is getting bigger, and really not a baby anymore....which is fine, because I'll be having another one here soon enough! Michael and I both took him in, showed him were the toys were, and that was that. Didn't even look back! Michael was able to look through the little peep hole in the door a couple of times and all was well! They did have to bring him to us once for a diaper change, and then when Michael took him back he got upset just a bit and then was fine. Here's hoping kindergarten will be this easy on all of us!

Field trip

Well, not really, but were going to call it that! These pictures are from our trip to Seattle. In the 3 weeks Luke and I were there I actually didn't take that many pictures...I guess we were busy. One of the days we were there my Dad took us to Ft. Lewis in Tacoma. There was a retirement party for one of the guys he use to work with (my dad retired last year), so we made the drive down there. So here are some pictures that I did take!

Luke really like the Chinook helicopter that was in the hanger, especially all of the buttons and knobs there were in the cockpit, and he loved all the space there was to run around. The food was good too, and Granddad gave him his first taste of root beer! This is one of my favorite pictures of him that day, I just wish the lights in the hanger didn't reflect so much on the windows, but I love how big his smile is!