~Lily & Ella~

Sisters

2011-03-16T18:37:00.002-05:00

We recently decided it might be fun to move Ella into Lily's room and have them share. Thankfully, it was a super easy transition and they are loving having each other. Mommy and daddy are loving the shared bedtime routine, which includes story time on the floor and an earlier bedtime. It has been really fun listening to them talk to each other and laugh together. I think that already in this short time they seem closer.

What, no pink?

2011-02-17T21:15:00.004-05:00

For those of you that haven't heard, we are expecting a little boy in early May. The girls are very excited about having a little brother, and Jeff and I are very anxious to meet him. He is constantly moving around in my belly and loves to kick in response to anyone pushing on him...especially Ella. I have one more sonogram with my doctor in 2 weeks, and then we are going to have a 3-D one done right after that (cool Christmas gift from Jeff). So with any luck we'll get a good look at him and be able to make a decision once and for all on a name. :) He will be here in no time!!

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-03T21:25:00.001-05:00

Disney World 2011

2011-01-28T20:52:00.001-05:00

As you might imagine, these are just a few of the many, many pictures we took on our recent trip to Disney World. We had the most perfect vacation and are already planning our return for when our little boy will be about 3. The girls can't wait, and neither can we. We made such special memories that we'll never forget!

Happy Birthday, Lily!

2011-01-21T20:17:00.003-05:00

As you can tell, we had a Disney-themed birthday this year in preparation for our upcoming Disney World trip. It is hard having a birthday right after Christmas, but there was still one thing on her list that she really wanted...Eugene. Flynn Rider (Eugene) is the doll from the girls' favorite movie, Tangled. Thankfully, Aunt Molly was able to find two of them, one for each of our girls. Eugene is actually Ella's most prized possession now and doesn't leave her side, and he is among Lily's plastic menagerie of toys that generally cycles in and out of her bed for naps and bedtime. All in all, we had a really nice time celebrating Lily's fourth birthday with our family, and Lily had fun sharing cupcakes at school with her friends.

School Girl?

2011-01-17T20:07:00.003-05:00

Ella has been excited about going to school ever since her older sister started in the fall. While there is a 2-year-old program at the school, I wasn't sure she was ready to start--or maybe I wasn't ready for her to start. :) Either way, she has been more than eager to go to school and has been asking often when it would be her turn. There happened to be an opening right after Christmas in the 2-year-old, 2-day-a-week program, and we decided to try it out. Needless to say, she loves it! On the first day I walked her in to meet her teacher and see her classroom. She seemed a bit unsure, but not scared. I watched with a tear in my eye as she walked down the long hall and around the corner with her classmates. She had a great first day, and on the second day I asked if she wanted me to walk her in again or if she just wanted to jump out of the car with her sister. She promptly replied with "Oh, I jump out with Lily, mom! " She is such a big girl now! Just in time for her little brother to arrive.

Sugar and Spice...

2010-12-03T13:00:00.002-05:00

and FROSTING and SPRINKLES...that's what our girls are made of. Ella pretty much will eat anything, and Lily is more our salty snack and picky eater, however when it comes to cookies with frosting and sprinkles that is a totally different story. Not the cookie part so much as the frosting. That kid will lick a cookie, cake, cupcake, or anything in frosting completely clean and not indulge in any other part. So needless to say holiday cookie decorating is one of my girls' most favorite and asked for activities.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-30T14:53:00.003-04:00

We sure had a fun Halloween this year. Hello Kitty didn't really want to get her full costume on (face paint), but she sure enjoyed knocking on doors and collecting candy. Batgirl loved her special costume complete with Uncle Packie's "Batman" boots from when he was a little boy and custom cape made by her Mimi and Aunt Margaret. She stomped around the house in those boots for days :) We were invited to a little party in her classroom for Halloween, and it was our first chance to see her interact with her friends and teacher. They were all so cute in their costumes and had fun singing us a few songs they had learned. If you look closely you can see Lily's "brother" Keaton in the background in his fireman costume.

Brothers and Boyfriends

2010-10-28T12:04:00.002-04:00

The only part of the IWU homecoming we could attend this year was the landing of the Blackhawk chopper. Jeff was , of course, there for all the events, but I had a wedding to attend later that day. Lily and Ella loved getting to see the chopper up close and even better they enjoyed the experience with some of their favorite buddies or as they call them their brothers. Lily and Keaton have known each other since birth and she refers to him, as well as Dalton and Calem, as her brother. Ella refers to Eoin as her boyfriend though :)

Ella Days

2010-10-26T10:03:00.002-04:00

Ella and I have a lot of fun on the days that Lily is at preschool. Sometimes we go out to breakfast or visit friends. Other days we enjoy strolling through Meijer and picking out fun treats. She talks non-stop and always has something funny to say. No matter what we end up doing each day, this is time I will always cherish :)

Back Blog

2010-10-26T09:52:00.004-04:00

I just found these pictures from a family brunch we had in August to celebrate Mimi and Papa's 30th wedding anniversary. Not only did we enjoy the company and the delicious food we also enjoyed a private room so that the girls could run around :) Congratulations Mimi and Papa on 30 years!!

First Day!

2010-09-14T15:17:00.005-04:00

Lily had her first day of preschool this past week. She has been talking about this day since March, and it finally came. I wasn't worried in the least that she wouldn't love it. She was so excited and couldn't wait for her classroom door to open and for me to leave. Jeff, Ella, and I dropped her off--and Ella wasn't very happy to leave her sister. However, Ella is happy to report to anyone that asks that mommy wasn't either. "Mommy cried," she says.

Ella is 2!

2010-09-04T14:38:00.004-04:00

What a fun second birthday Ella had!! Not only were all her favorite people at our house, she also had a special guest. Aaron from Funbelievable Balloons came and made all the kids (and adults) special balloons to take home. He was definitely a hit. We had such a beautiful day, and the birthday girl loved every minute of it!

My BIG Little Girl

2010-09-03T15:08:00.003-04:00

Our second child is now 2! I can't believe it. She has grown up so much in the last couple months and really has quite the personality packed into that little body. Jeff likes to say she packs a punch. It's hard to believe all the things that come out of such a tiny person's mouth. She loves to push her older sister's buttons on a daily basis, but at the same time loves to come and snuggle on the couch. Don't be fooled by that angelic face either because she knows exactly what she is doing :) She makes us laugh all the time, and I am so thankful she is a part of our lives. I love that she is a stinker, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Lily--HHI 2010

2010-07-12T20:23:00.001-04:00

Our serious child :) Lily really enjoyed being at the beach and playing in the ocean this year. She did plenty of running and jumping into the water like her crazy sister, but she also enjoyed just sitting in the water and playing nicely in the sand. What a great trip we all had!

Ella -- HHI 2010

2010-07-12T20:08:00.002-04:00

"The sea was angry that day, my friends..." Seriously, how funny is this kid? All she did all day was run down the beach into the water, screaming. She loved every minute of it too!

Shannon Tanner--HHI 2010

2010-07-11T19:50:00.001-04:00

Shannon Tanner is a fixture on Hilton Head Island--and he's a family favorite. He's been making children and grandmothers smile for years. This was our first year of Lily really participating, and while we weren't sure whether she would enjoy it, she very quickly answered that question. At the end of his show Shannon always invites kids up on stage, and if they want to they can come up and sing. Lily was insistent at this point in the show that she "talk to the guy," and while we were somewhat hesitant about it, we told her she could do so if she waited her turn and politely raised her hand when the kids before her were done singing. Within a millisecond of the aforementioned singers completing their rendition of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" or something similar, Lily shot both hands straight up in the air and asked "My turn next?!" Shannon immediately turned and picked her up, asked her name and age, and asked how old Lily thought he was. After correctly sharing her age, Lily then guessed Shannon was 21 (about 30 years shy of his actual age), and he--and the crowd--got a kick out of that. He asked what she wanted to sing, and she responded with "Tomorrow," then promptly launched into a well-practiced version of the popular Broadway tune. She neatly finished up, hopped down, and walked down the stage and back to us. Lily was all business. Something tells us this won't be her only interaction with Shannon Tanner...

Family Time-- HHI 2010

2010-07-10T19:35:00.001-04:00

For the first half of our annual summer trip to the island, our family came to play with us. The girls had such a wonderful time hanging out with some of their favorite people. They got lots of lovies from Dana and Larissa, lots of singing from Grandma, and plenty of silliness from Uncle Moks. They also were able to spend time with their soon-to-be Aunt Liz! We were so thankful everyone could be there to spend time with us--and the girls.

July

2010-07-09T19:28:00.001-04:00

Uncle Moks and Aunt Liz brought us all back some great treats from their recent trip to Hawaii, but this was by far the best! Obviously the recipient appreciated it. Thanks guys!

Lions and Tigers and Polar Bears ...Oh My!

2010-06-26T17:45:00.003-04:00

Grandma and Papou invited us to meet them for a day at Brookfield Zoo. The zoo recently opened a new polar bear exhibit, and Grandma was really excited to take the girls to see it. We had a very fun day visiting all the animals--and Grandma and Papou too!

To Infinity and Beyond

2010-06-10T17:32:00.004-04:00

The girls have been waiting all spring for the release of Toy Story 3. Jeff and I took them and a couple close toy friends to see it at the local theater. We all really loved it and I am sure it will be added to our movie library as soon as it comes out on DVD.

Girl Time

2010-04-19T16:02:00.005-04:00

The weather has been so beautiful this month! We have been outside almost every day and even been swimming several times. Here are few photos from a little play time before nap time:) I love being able to be with these little goof balls everyday!

Easter

2010-04-19T15:49:00.005-04:00

We spent part of Easter weekend up with Grandma, Papou, Aunt Dana, and Uncle Moks. The girls had such a wonderful time dying eggs and playing with some of their favorite people. Lily also got to participate in a subdivision-wide Easter egg hunt that she thoroughly enjoyed despite the chilly weather. Ella didn't make the pictures because fortunately for us she was napping through the hunt!

Ocean!

2010-03-17T16:10:00.004-04:00

When they weren't running around in the sand, they were running in and out of the ocean waves and loving it. We were able to capture some really great video of them together that I know they will enjoy watching when they are older.

Sand!

2010-03-06T15:58:00.003-05:00

Although Ella wasn't too thrilled about the sand at first touch, she, along with her sister, really enjoyed spending most of our family trip at the beach!

Chocolate Brown Eyes

2010-02-25T15:51:00.004-05:00

Still eating

Going in for more!

No doubt we have a sweets fanatic in our household that goes by the name of Ella. On this day, I had given her a small bag of cookies that had chocolate drizzled on them. She was sitting sideways on my lap with the left side of her facing me (the clean side). I looked down to talk to her and as she turned to me I saw what you see in the pictures above. I just about died. I quickly grabbed my phone and took pictures to send to Jeff and then decided to get out the camera and really document this ridiculousness. This kid just cracks me up!

Happy Heart Day!

2010-02-14T15:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday!

2010-01-29T15:32:00.001-05:00

Lilian Grace turned 3 on January 21st. The little princess-in-training requested a princess birthday cake with Kevin (the Snipe from the movie "Up" on it as well). Unfortunately, that was one too many characters to fit on the cake. However, the birthday girl was not disappointed at all! She had several different celebrations and thoroughly enjoyed them all! We all enjoyed the yummy cake from Janet's too :)

The Many Faces of 3

2010-01-28T15:10:00.008-05:00

Photos by Summer Knobloch

Can you believe our baby is three?! Oh Miss Lily, how much fun we have had with you. You sure keep us on our toes (literally and figuratively). Whether you are running your silly circles around the house or cuddled up watching one of your favorite movies, you make us smile. And while we love your smile, your myriad other faces are great because they are so YOU!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T19:55:00.000-05:00

As you can tell, the playhouse and new basement were a huge hit. From Santa, Ella received 150+ balls, as they are her toy and word of choice. Lily received her pink kitchen and has been cooking up a storm ever since. We were very thankful to be able to spend time with so many family members over the Christmas weekend. We look forward to many more fun Christmases to come!

Over the holiday break, Lily was happy to have some snow to shovel and Ella was happy to help her get all zipped up!

Holiday Make-over

2009-12-25T23:14:00.002-05:00

This was Jeff major project to end out 2009. We cleaned up the basement with new carpet, fresh coats of paint, and a special addition of a dad-made playhouse. We finished up the playhouse promptly at 3:30 a.m. Christmas morning. The girls love it and so do we!

New Tradition

2009-12-19T22:45:00.003-05:00

Mimi invited us along with Lily's other Grandma and her Great-Grandma to attend a very fun and special luncheon at the country club geared towards kids. Besides being a little scared of the Grinch, everyone had a really great time. When we first arrived the kids sat for a fun show put on by none other than the Grinch himself and the Mayor of Whoville. Lily loved being around all the kids and set aside her initial fear of the Grinch to enjoy the show. After the show we had a kids dream buffet of everything from hot dogs, pizza, and mac and cheese to cheese quesadillas. Don't worry--there was fruit and salad as well--but I think that was quickly passed by for the candy table and sundae bar. I think I was more in heaven than my children! After lunch we got in a long line to see none other than the big man himself. Lily was so patient and both girls hung in there long enough to get to see him up close. We all had such a wonderful time that it is now going to be an annual event. I can't wait until next year! :)

Sister Act

2009-11-30T15:01:00.001-05:00

Now that B. Ella is walking, this dynamic duo has become even closer. Ella wants to do everything her big sister does and she is very determined to keep up!

So Thankful

2009-11-27T13:21:00.002-05:00

This year we have so many things to be thankful for, I don't even know where to begin. We are so thankful for our silly, healthy little girls. They have filled our lives with so much joy and laughter. There is nothing better than waking up to their smiling, energetic faces and warm kisses each morning--especially if the first of those kisses comes later than 6:30 a.m.

And while we're extremely thankful for all the good things in our lives, our girls are already looking past Thanksgiving to Christmas. In response to their enthusiasm, we took the opportunity this weekend to put up and decorate our tree, as well as make a few Christmas cookies. Well, maybe they really are Thanksgiving cookies--because they're definitely not going to make it to Christmas!

Daddy's Girls

2009-11-14T00:20:00.001-05:00

When mom is away, oh how they play. On this day, when I was out for a run, daddy took out the camera and got some pics of his girls supporting his team.

Little Miss Pigtails

2009-11-10T23:32:00.005-05:00

Lily is quickly approaching three years old and I can't believe it! We have embraced the mullet and let her hair grow out a little so she can wear it in a slightly more girlish manner. Lily loves her pigtails and really does not like it when people try to mess with them. She covers them and says, "Don't touch my tails." :) She is definitely pretty girly. She loves shoes and having her nails painted, and as a result of her Halloween face paint, she now loves makeup too. In addition to her growing up too fast, we have been attending weekly mom and tot gymnastics classes that have been a lot of fun. Her favorite thing to do is jump on the trampoline. I wouldn't be surprised if Santa brings something for her to jump on for Christmas. She is liking gymnastics so much, she comes home and works on it with Baby Ella. She has taught Baby Ella (all by herself) how to do the butterfly sit, and as a family we have practiced forward rolls over and over and over again. Ella can't get enough of forward rolling!

Lily's favorites:
Running, racing, chasing
Playing with her daddy
B. Ella
Animals and Dinosaurs
Dora
MILK (she loves her diary)

Trick-or-Treat

2009-11-01T23:12:00.001-05:00

We celebrated another fun Halloween at Emily's house with the family. Lily went as a mermaid and Ella a little pink fish. I had so much fun working with my mom designing and creating Ella bella's costume this year. Lily's we actually bought and then embellished with lots of "sparklies". I am already looking forward to spending time with my mom next year making some more fun costumes. Lily and Ella are already looking forward to the candy.

Last but Not Least

2009-10-13T15:10:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was Homecoming at Illinois Wesleyan, so the whole family spent some quality time on campus. While we enjoyed taking part in a number of events, the 5k run in honor of Ryan Beaupre '95 was undoubtedly the highlight. Katie continued her dominance in the "Used To Be An Awesome Sprinter but Then Retired and Was An Awful Sissy at Distance but Returned After Childbirth to Regain Her Old Form and Kick Butt in Distance Running" category. I don't know how many women are even in that category, but Katie was first to the finish among all women to compete in the Homecoming 5k, regardless. And she was probably about the 8th finisher overall. In addition, Lily participated in the Kids Fun Run just prior to Katie's race, so Katie's parents came out to show support for both their daughter and granddaughter. At one point, as Katie's mom and I were cheering for her to finish the race strong, we looked at each other and commented on how it seemed like just yesterday that we were doing the very same thing for Katie as a member of Wesleyan's track team.

And while Katie's heroics continue to impress, her daughter's finish was perhaps even more memorable. Lily was among the youngest runners in the field on Saturday, and I'm not sure she understood the purpose of the event. Nonetheless, she lined up happily, ready to "run with kids." Luckily, her friends Aiden and Alayna Geraty were right there beside her....well, Aiden started there, anyway. Aiden is a miniature form of his dad, which means he had the Eye of the Tiger and quickly left the girls in his wake. Alayna, however, was kind enough to share Lily's pace for the duration. In fairness, Alayna ran the whole way, while Lily made multiple (successful) requests to be carried by her dad. As the girls neared the finish, I put Lily back down on the track and we did what we could to persuade her to finish strong. And while that resulted in two or three slightly more enthusiastic steps, her indifference quickly took hold once again...or at least it did until she heard and saw the crowd that was awaiting her arrival. Since everyone else was now finished and just watching Lily and Alayna, they had little choice but to cheer the final two contestants to the finish...a fact that Lily relished. As soon as Lily and Alayna came within about 15 meters of the finish, a roar went up among the crowd that apparently lifted Lily's spirits because she grinned from ear to ear and waved to her adoring fans, all the while running to finish the race. Alayna was much more reserved and completed her race as a runner should, head down and pumping those little legs...but I won't address that yet with our little track star. At this point in her fledgling athletic career (and based on what I saw during the race), she's going to need all the encouragement she can get. Lily, you never stop making us laugh.

And congrats to Brooke, Ciarra, and Laine for running a great race, too!

A Family Affair

2009-09-05T14:08:00.007-04:00

Alternate title would definitely be: Cake, Cake, Cake....Ella loves cake!

Party #1

Uncle Packie came early, bearing gifts for both girls. So sweet!

Papa helping Ella out with the first bite of her first of three birthday cakes

Lily loved helping everyone get a bite.

She loved her cake, but was also willing to share.

Everyone dipping in.

Party #2
Grandma helping Ella walk.

Uncle Moks being silly

Lily being silly

She is about to really enjoy some cake!

Ella had a very special birthday weekend filled with visits from everyone she loves. We also found out this weekend how much this child loves sweets! She could not get enough cake and ice cream. I will have to say I couldn't blame her because those cakes were delicious!

A Celebration of Labor Day

2009-09-04T13:42:00.002-04:00

Ella's 1st Birthday just happened to fall on Labor Day weekend this year. I remember going to visit Dr. Thorton a year ago the Tuesday following Labor Day and she was in shock she hadn't gotten a call over the weekend to deliver me. I went into labor the very next day...after two trips to the mall for some major walking and a very spicy lunch :) Now here we are a year later with a silly little peanut. At her year check-up she measured in the 10th percentile for weight and the 20th for height. Yes, she is tiny. However, that doesn't stop her from being a total dare-devil. She tries to climb everything and is not scared of anything (the total opposite of her sister). She actually is very different from her sister in many ways, which makes seeing them grow up together so much fun. I am so looking forward to watching her grow up even more over these next few months.

Goodness Gracious Mavros, Where has the Time Gone?

2009-09-02T21:29:00.008-04:00

all images courtesy of Summer Knobloch Photography
(thanks Summer!)

"Goodness Gracious Magros, Baby Ella, No-No! " This is what I hear from Lily when Baby Ella is getting herself into trouble...a combination of Lilian Grace Mavros and Goodness Gracious Sakes, which is a common O'Rourke expression. Wait...what? Ella getting into trouble? But she's just a baby! Sadly, no, she isn't a little baby anymore--she is going to be 1 year old this Friday, and I can't believe it. My sweet little peanut, although still a peanut in size, is growing up so fast. I am so thankful that I was able to stay home this past year and watch her grow everyday, but I really can't believe how fast it has gone.

The Kingdom

2009-08-14T12:32:00.003-04:00

The All-American Kingdom

or as Lily likes to call it, "The Pirate House"

Daddy and Lily testing out the new digs
Clint and Ella making some calls to let everyone know the Kingdom had arrived
Jay giving Lily her first pushes on the swingsBoys watching the kids enjoy the playset after all their hard work

Six boxes and a slide

Ryan and Clint working hard on the finishing touches

Not much left to go!

So over this weekend, we had a good old fashion barn raising. We weren't sure if anyone would want to show up, but thankfully they did. The beginning of the All-American Kingdom started Friday night with Jeff and I sorting out all the nuts, bolts, and screws into baggies for each step they would be needed in the building process. Then Saturday afternoon the workers started showing up to get this massive job underway. Five hours later, the major portion of the set was up and ready to go. We really weren't sure who had the tougher job...the boys outside or the girls inside watching all the kids. Either way, we had a lot of fun, food, and the boys had some drinks too. On Sunday morning the workers showed up bright and early and the job was completed just a few hours later. Lily was soooo excited. On Sunday morning when she first woke up she turned to Jeff and said, "Swings and Slide, dad!" Without all the handy help from the boys there is no way we would have completed this in anything under a month.

Imagination Day

2009-08-12T16:32:00.004-04:00

Sugar Grove is a wonderful nature preserve South of Bloomington in Funk's Grove. The Three Amigos had a fantastic day checking out all the grove had to offer. We crossed the covered bridge to find a kid's dreamland... A small creek to splash in, zip line, big mud hole to dig in, sandbox, and much much more. After the kids were nice and dirty we had a nice picnic and played in the wildflowers. It was a great place for the kids to run around and be close to nature. We even saw a baby deer. I forsee many more trips out there.

July is gone already?

2009-08-08T12:21:00.013-04:00

This month has been a lot of fun...trips, visitors, and crawling. It was very busy and I apologize for not updating more often. Here are a few highlights from the month!

Melissa and Keaton took us out for an amazing day at her family's horse stable. I think this may have been the most exciting day for Lily in her short two-plus years of life. Melissa and I were both shocked and amazed at how fast Little Miss Cautious took to the horses, and what was even more unbelievable was how much she loved riding Elliot the horse. As she rode along, she yelled out "yeeha, ride 'em cowboy!" She made it clear that she did not want get off...ever. Thanks, Melissa, for a great day and great pictures too! I will cherish these forever.

My little baby is almost 1! I can't believe it! She is changing so much and so fast. In the last month she's started crawling, pulling up, climbing, and basically getting into everything, as all little ones do at this age. She is always smiling and is really trying to talk. Instead of sitting back and watching everything as she used to, she is now in the thick of things with her sister and the dogs. Lily is loving all the attention she gets from Ella and is looking forward to all the years of playtime together.

We were very excited and thankful to be invited to go for a long weekend to the Ozarks with Clint, Tara and the kids. We all had a blast, especially the kids. Lily totally stepped out of her scared and cautious box and enjoyed tubing and driving around the little boat we gave D for his birthday. Thanks, K family, for the fun time--and I hope we get to go again next summer!

For Uncle Patrick's birthday, we had dinner on BCC's terrace. After dinner Lily found some kids to chase at the tennis courts...and we all know how she loves chasing kids!
Happy Birthday, Packie :) We are going to miss you when you leave for school!

Summer Nights

2009-06-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

Long walks through the neighborhood, sitting on the porch, and playing with rocks. Life is good :)

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

2009-06-21T21:40:00.001-04:00

Father's Day this year was not the prettiest of summer days, but we wanted to do something as a family that dad would enjoy. So we hooked up the bike buggy and took a small trip in the rain around the neighborhood. Ella loved her first go in the buggy, and took even greater joy in bugging her sister. We were pleasantly surprised with how much Lily liked wearing her helmet and taking a ride, as last year at this time she wasn't really fond of any of it. Lily and dad have actually taken several more rides together following Father's Day, and we are looking forward to Ella getting a little bigger so she can go on longer rides as well.

More from the Island

2009-06-12T22:44:00.001-04:00

Ella and Mommy at the beach

The same hair stylist?

Daddy and his girls

Cheese!

The ubiquitous animals...

Cool in the pool

Lily says "macaw."

This was one hot day at the Salty Dog!

Ella loved sitting under the mist at the Salty Dog

Fun at the Beach

2009-06-08T21:25:00.001-04:00

Snack Time for Lily

Ella's favorite treat/pacifier on this vacation

Pretzel Rod and Sunblock, yummy!

Hilton Head Island 2009

2009-06-06T22:28:00.002-04:00

Grandma and Papou stayed and played with us for the first half of our trip. Lily loved to entertain her grandparents, and she was thoroughly entertained by them as well. It was great for all of us to get to spend an extended period of time together--and it was a great opportunity for Papou to teach Lily about stink bugs and laughing chipmunks.

Little Sister

2009-06-02T21:38:00.003-04:00

Ella will be 9 months old this week. I can't believe how fast she is growing up and changing. She still has a sweet disposition and loves to give shy little smiles. This week she has started waving and gets really excited when we wave back. She isn't really mobile yet, but can make her way to an object if she really really wants it. She is such a cuddly little baby and I love that I am able to be home with her all day and kiss her cute chubby cheeks.

Big Sister

2009-06-02T21:21:00.006-04:00

Lily is now almost 2 and 1/2 years old! This evening she got packed and dressed up to go to Mimi and Papa's to spend the night. She looked so cute and grown-up with her backpack on and her little ponytail ( yes, we really were able to make a little pony). Jeff and I both actually got a little choked up as she walked over to the door. I can't imagine how sad I will be on her first day of school. I am pretty sure I will shed some tears that day. :)

Sisters

2009-06-02T21:03:00.003-04:00

Lily's Naptime

2009-05-29T22:22:00.003-04:00

Grass

2009-05-29T22:18:00.002-04:00

8 Months

2009-05-04T21:10:00.003-04:00

Chubby, sweet, and cute.
She now is working on waving and clapping. She likes to say "Hi, Dada" and bounce in her jumperoo. Crawling is not too far off, either. She also is chowing down on all kinds of baby foods.

Mine that Jockey

2009-05-02T21:24:00.003-04:00

Clint and Beth hosted their second annual Kentucky Derby party. Beth's food was amazing, and the drinks weren't bad either. As you can tell, we all enjoyed getting dressed up for the occasion. Jeff may not have won the race that day, but he definitely won for best dressed....thanks to a little help from Mimi.

Lily's Boys

2009-05-02T21:02:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago, we planned an outside play date because the forecast indicated it would be warm. Unfortunately, it really wasn't all that warm, but the kids didn't seem to mind. As you can see, the moms decided to just lock them out there for the morning. Oh how nice it is to have a fenced in backyard.

Big Girl

2009-04-26T12:00:00.008-04:00

This month Lily has grown up so much, and in the last week alone we have had some major developments in the big girl department. Right before we went to Florida I had started to work a little bit on potty training. If she looked like she needed to go, I would put her on her training potty or talk about it with her. I really hadn't pushed it much at all. However, something stuck. When we were in Florida she decided she would start telling us when she had to go number 2. It continued even on our drive home. Now about 3 weeks later Lily has been diaper free for about a week. I even have had her wear her underwear for naps, and she has done great! I can't believe it! In addition to being potty trained she has also moved to a big girl bed. For about a week she was waking up and not sleeping well, and we really could not figure out the cause. On a whim, we decided that maybe the big girl in training just needed some more space to spread out. So we put her in the guest room "big girl bed" and that has seemed to solve the problem. She really has grown up so much...now she just needs to grow some hair!

Easter and Greek Easter

2009-04-19T11:30:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Easter Sunday at Mimi and Papa's house with a yummy traditional Easter feast. We totally stuffed ourselves and ended up taking a nap with the babies when we got home. After our nap we went back for leftovers and re-stuffing.

For Greek Easter we traveled to Grandma and Papou's house and had a lot of fun dying Easter eggs and playing Wii Fit. After lots of laughing and visiting, we went to Aunt Stella's restaurant for the extended family Greek Easter meal. The food and company were wonderful. Unfortunately, the babies got pretty tired so we were not able to stay for dessert, but Aunt Stella made sure we did not leave empty handed.

Clint Head

2009-04-06T11:20:00.006-04:00

One of Lily's favorite people is now, literally, a figurehead in our house. Clint is really one of Lily's favorite buddies, and he didn't want her to forget it either. So he gifted us a large cutout of his face from his surprise birthday party. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Thanks, Clint!

My Ella, 7 Months

2009-04-04T17:01:00.011-04:00

My sweet baby is growing up so fast. I can't believe she is already 7 months old! She still giggles and smiles all the time and loves to snuggle her face into my shoulder. She is sitting up on her own very well and babbling a lot more. She has started to enjoy biter biscuits and baby food. She made quick work of a whole container of bananas last night. Over vacation she lovingly acquired the nickname of P-Dunk and it has kind of stuck. My grandma had been calling her that for awhile and we really did not know where it came from or why she called her that, but we all started using it. When we got home my mom asked my grandma where she got the name from, and she said she really didn't know. So it's totally arbitrary, but we all like it. :)

Mimi and Papa

2009-03-29T16:18:00.002-04:00

Thank you for a wonderful trip!

Happy Girl

2009-03-26T13:35:00.002-04:00

Ella starts smiling the minute the camera is out!

Beach

2009-03-26T08:57:00.001-04:00

I didn't do a very good job of getting my camera down to the beach during the day... I had few other loads of fun stuff to carry down. So I borrowed my mom's camera for these pics. As you can see, Ella was a happy beacher in her bright green shades. She hated having to squint in the sun--so once the glasses were on she was ready to go.

"Come here, come here...Molly, Packie, Ashley."

2009-03-25T13:18:00.003-04:00

We had a whole team of wonderful people keeping our girls happy and entertained throughout our stay. Thank you Packie, Ashley, and Aunt Molly for all your playtime.

Always Entertaining

2009-03-24T16:33:00.002-04:00

Like Father, like daughter. Silly as can be.

Peazza

2009-03-24T08:38:00.004-04:00

My cousin Rachie's birthday occurred while we were in Florida, and we ordered pizza for the occasion. I placed an order for 2 pizzas. One was half sausage and half pepperoni, and the other half CHEESE and half veggie. When I got the pizzas back to the condo we were surprised to find that instead of cheese we got PEAS! Now if you were the person taking the order and maybe couldn't hear me very well, wouldn't you assume I was ordering cheese? Apparently not. At least they didn't cheat us on toppings. Look at all those peas!

Blue Whale

2009-03-23T09:02:00.002-04:00

Lily absolutely loved it when Uncle Packie and Ashley rented the "whales" (jet skis). She sat on her dad's lap and watched the whole time they rode, cheering them on for at least the first ten minutes. Probably because it looked the most life-like, she was most fond of the blue whale that Uncle Packie got to ride.

Family

2009-03-22T16:23:00.000-04:00

Toes in the Sand

2009-03-22T16:07:00.003-04:00

Busch Gardens

2009-03-21T20:56:00.011-04:00

While in Florida we spent a wet but fun day at Busch Gardens with cousin Rachey as our tour guide. By far, Lily's favorite animal to see was the hippo.

Lily Grace

2009-03-16T23:02:00.005-04:00

Silly Lily:
Lily is in full bloom this spring! She is talking non-stop and learning new things like crazy. Her favorite things to talk about right now are her animals and colors. Not only does she like to talk about them, she loves to quiz us on them.

Lily: "What's this, daddy?" (holding a zebra)
Daddy: "Umm, a zebra!"
Lily: "Right, daddy. Good job."

During her quiz sessions, she also demands that you be right down on the floor next to her. She will come over and pull your and and say, "come here, come here." Her other favorite thing to do now that the weather is getting warmer is go for walks. Walks with Lily are long and fun. She stops every few feet to tell you about the cars, the birds, the big rocks, the pine cones, etc, etc, etc. She is such a sponge right now and does not forget a thing. We are really enjoying watching her learn new things each day.

An Ella Update

2009-03-16T22:15:00.006-04:00

Little Miss Ella:
Baby Ella is now 6 months old and getting sweeter by the second. She definitely wants to be part of the action that is constantly occurring in our house. When Lily and her daddy are on the floor playing, she is always trying to dive from my lap to get down there with them. Pretty soon she will be able to safely be in the middle of things, as she is starting to sit up on her own. She loves to giggle and scream and is pretty much, as I would assume most second children are, along for the ride.

Happy Heart Day

2009-02-13T22:11:00.003-05:00

5 months

2009-02-03T23:06:00.008-05:00

Ella Kathryn is now 5 months old. Her little smiles makes my heart melt. She is growing up so fast and is getting very close to sitting up by herself. She loves to roll onto her side and belly and really enjoys watching her big sister run around. The girls are starting to interact with one another more than before, and Ella thinks Lily is pretty funny (come to think of it, so does Lily). She giggles at her big sister...well...being her big sister. Lily loves that she has a new person to entertain, too. Although Ella is very sweet, she is definitely a momma's girl and does not like to have me out of her sight. Lucky for her she is so cute. Now if only we could get her to take a bottle...

2 and Beyond!

2009-01-21T21:49:00.001-05:00

We can't believe that two years have gone by already! Lily is now officially a two-year-old. As you can see, she had a Buzz Lightyear Birthday. In the morning we enjoyed waffles and cupcakes with Keaton, Dalton, and Calem. Dalton gave Lily her first birthday kiss. In the evening, we enjoyed pizza with Mimi, Papa, Dorkie, Packie, Ashley, Molly, and Grandmas. Lily had a very full day and enjoyed every minute of it! I am happy to say she did receive a Buzz Lightyear action figure and he goes night-night with her every night and nap.

Flower Girl

2009-01-16T21:42:00.004-05:00

Lily recently had the honor of being a flower girl in my cousin Emily's wedding. She absolutely loved wearing her beautiful dress. Both flower girls were pretty tired when it came time to walk down the aisle, but they rallied and made it. Lily made it almost the whole way down before she decided she would prefer to turn around and go sit with Papa.

Friends and Family Come to Visit

2009-01-09T17:21:00.002-05:00

Aunt Dana, Uncle Mike, and Lil

Lily in her break dancing outfit with Uncle Mike, who gave it to her. Only one of these two is a good dancer.

Clint teaches Lily the art of the fake laugh. Strangely, she took to it quite easily (notice her hand on her belly for effect).

The extended break allowed us time to catch up with several friends and family members. Here are just a couple of the picture-worthy moments.

Happy Feet

2009-01-08T15:59:00.000-05:00

The leg warmers that Grandma made for Lily have been quite a hit. Our little dancing queen likes to run around the house in her warmers and ballet flats. Otherwise she prefers to be naked.

I Funny, Mommy!

2008-12-29T09:36:00.003-05:00

This morning I sat on the couch and fed Ella as Lily sat at the table having one of her favorite breakfast items, yogurt. Lily most likely enjoys yogurt in part because it has the potential to be very messy. And while she does realize this potential from time to time, she has never put as much zeal into it as she did this morning. I was quietly nursing the baby when Lily broke our silence by calling for my attention. I glanced over, and she promptly splatted a handful of yogurt on the side of her head. She laughed and declared "I funny, Mommy." While it is difficult to dispute her claim, I tried at least not to encourage her. Needless to say, we followed breakfast with a very soapy bath.

A Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-28T15:40:00.005-05:00

Lily's first peek at the toys

Dorkie surveys the scene

Grandma enjoys holding Ella

Aunt Dana helps Lily open a gift

Lily's new break dancing suit from Uncle Mike

We had a very nice Christmas this year with all of our family. Lily is starting to understand Christmas a little more, but she's still a bit fuzzy. By the end of the day she was very practiced at ripping open giftwrap (which should come in handy on her birthday in about a month), and she was quite excited about each and every gift she received. Ella enjoyed meeting the extended family up north and getting tons of attention from her grandparents. We are really looking forward to next year when Lily fully understands Santa's role. Hopefully, she will be on the nice list...

Our Little Christmas Elves

2008-12-24T15:31:00.002-05:00

Ella had her first encounter with Santa Claus today, and thankfully Lily's second encounter with Santa went much better than last year. Both girls posed very nicely with Saint Nick in their cute striped outfits. We were even able to get Lily to give us a small smirk, and Ella pretty much looked like she does in the above pictures.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like...

2008-12-20T00:23:00.007-05:00

Please take notice of the awesome 'stache

Most...but not all...of the sweaters

Games, anyone? Ciarra, you don't need to raise your hand.

Classy Clint with is classy wine cube

Unfortunately Clint Kruger left before we could get a picture of his award-winning sweater

...an ugly sweater party. Ugly sweaters and one sweet mustache were the theme of this holiday get together. Some of the main highlights were Bad Clint's light-up socks, Good Clint's sweater and matching purse, and Beth's secretary sweater, complete with a calendar on the butt with "payday" circled. We look forward to seeing what next year's party will bring.

I Stuck!

2008-12-18T00:11:00.000-05:00

One of Lily's favorite phrases these days is "I stuck!" She absolutely hates to wear socks and as soon as we get into the car she pulls her hat off. Now that we are in snowsuit weather she is none to happy to be "stuck" in her hat when her hood is up. She yells at me, "mom I stuck, I stuck, I stuck!" over and over from the backseat. After a few minutes she usually gives up and starts singing along to her favorite tunes, but once we are in the house she cannot wait for me to get her out of her getup. The only time she is more than happy to wear her gear is when she gets to go out and play in the snow with daddy.

Christmas Card Bloopers

2008-12-16T21:22:00.005-05:00

Well, we had fun...sort of...getting our pictures taken for our Christmas card. Tara was so nice to come over last Sunday and try to capture a few good shots amongst the chaos of two 2-year-olds and two babies. Thankfully, she is a good photographer and an even better friend to put up with us. She did get a couple really nice pictures and even ended up designing our Christmas card for us. Thank you, Tara!

Hide and Hide

2008-12-16T21:10:00.005-05:00

Lily's favorite pastime these days is hiding out in her little spaces. However, she does not like to be bothered while in these places. She calls for you, but once you find her she quickly closes the door or window and says, "Bye bye--have good day, mama." The box is still the best toy in our house. Every few days I cut a new little slot or door, and we start a whole new game. One day it was pushing old gift cards through like mail and the next was playing with a flashlight. Pretty much every member of my family including Mimi and Uncle Packie have played in the box with Lily. When Mimi tried to leave, Lily pointed back at the box and insisted that she get back in. While in the box, Lily put her hands over her mouth and quietly giggled as if they had a little secret. She is constantly cracking us up and always has us wondering what she will do next.

Giggles and Grins

2008-12-04T20:47:00.008-05:00

Ella Kathryn is now three months old and has already changed so much from her newborn pictures. She is all giggles and grins these days. She loves to smile and laugh at her dad. She will spot him from way across the room and flash him her darling smile. He, of course, can never resist and goes over to talk to her about her day. She coos, babbles, and screeches back at him. She especially loves to have little chats with him in the evening after her big sister goes to bed. She is still really easy going and happy almost all of the time. Thankfully, Lily is still loving being a big sister and is starting to really enjoy listening to Ella babble back at her. Lily gives her lots of hugs, kisses, high fives, and fist pounds (knuckles) throughout the day. I can't wait to see how the girls get along as Ella can start to interact more with Lily.

Play Date

2008-12-03T20:30:00.004-05:00

Alms for the poor?

I had the privilege of watching Dalton recently while his mommy went to her Mom-2-Mom group. Lily loves playing with D, and every time we get in the car she asks if we are going to see Dalton and Calem. On the day Dalton came to play, we had a new and exciting toy for the two of them to explore...a cardboard box! They had snacks, toys, and books in there, but what they loved most was opening and closing the windows I cut out for them. They thought it was hilarious, and I was cracking up too. A new dishwasher was something we desperately needed--but perhaps the best part of the transaction was acquiring the box it came in! That's the beauty of kids...a simple box can give a desperate mom hours of respite from active toddlers. Who needs toys?

Sick Little Lily

2008-11-23T19:34:00.003-05:00

About 2 weeks ago our sweet little Lily got even smaller. She came down with a terrible first case of the flu. She was sick for about a week and it really took about all of the next week to start to really feel like herself. If you can't tell from the pictures she did lose some weight and her face definitely got thinner. I am happy to report that she has been eating non-stop now that she is feeling better and the cheeks are slowly returning as well as a huge distended belly. Not slow on the return was her energy and non-stop talking. Over the past few weeks her vocabulary has expanded like crazy and she has no problem verbalizing what she wants to tell us.

Her favorite phases at the moment:
I stuck ( in regards to being on the wrong side of the gate)
I funny ( in regards to the fact that she thinks she is funny)
More baba please dada
More cheese please mama
Have good day dada
Later dude
See ya dude
Thank you much
Nice meet you

2 Months Old

2008-11-04T19:22:00.001-05:00

Ella Kathryn is now 2 months old and still so sweet. She is super laid back and loves to smile and coo. At her 2 month check up she weighed in at 11 lbs 12 oz. Only 6 more ounces than Lily was at her 2 month check appointment. Dr. Boe was impressed with her over all strength and gave her a clean bill of health.

Last week we went over to Tara's house for a play date and she took a ton of darling pictures of Ella for me. The first three are a few of the ones she took, but I am saving the best ones for later.

The other three are ones I took when Lily was taking a nap. I love our special time together when Lily naps. We sing songs and coo at each other. At night after Lily goes to bed, Jeff and I get more special one on one time with Ella until about 11:00 p.m. when she goes down for the night herself. Jeff and I would probably prefer to go to bed just a little earlier, but her cute smile and sweet little noises are well worth the late night.

Thanks for the great pictures Tara! I can't wait to reveal the rest!

Leaves and Lily

2008-11-02T19:17:00.003-05:00

Here are some pics of Lily playing in the leaves on one of last nice days. She loved throwing them up in the air. She also really loved watching the birds fly over her head.

Superheroes, Movie Stars, Fortune Tellers and More

2008-10-31T08:54:00.003-05:00

He fights the evil forces of dirty diapers and scraped knees, he is
Family Man!

Six kids and counting. Somehow we were able to snap a quick shot of
Brangelina

Doris the tarot card reader says "You have a very bright future."

Lily the lily, entranced by Dorkie's talking crystal ball
Patrick and Ashley... I mean the Joker and Harlequin
Mother Nature and Family Man

Ms. Candi Corn (Aunt Margaret) and Little Ella the calla lily

Lily took over the fortune telling for awhile.

At grandma and grandpa Kohn's house to visit baby Eoin the lobster
Eoin the Lobster boy. So cute!

Lily's practice round

2008-10-30T09:53:00.002-05:00

Trick or Treat

Today we did a test run of Lily's costume to see if she would be happy wearing it and if it would stay on. Thankfully, the costume and Lily held together. She practiced saying Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween. She seemed to mostly emphasize the Treat part, which, I guess, is the most important part. She also did very well at saying the ween part of Halloween. I think the costume turned out super cute and I really enjoyed working on it with my mom. Thanks for all your help Mimi on two darling costumes for the girls!!!

Lily and Ella

2008-10-27T21:55:00.004-05:00

Playing in the rain. She just had to go outside.

Waving to Mama. Telling me to go away so she could stay outside longer.

Maxin' and Relaxin'

2008-10-24T22:04:00.001-04:00

This is how I found Lily sitting on the couch the other day. Just chillin', eating her turkey dog, and watching some Pee-Wee. I wonder where she learned how to sit back and relax on the end of the couch like this? Does this remind you of anyone? Papa O'Rourke perhaps?

Fall Fun

2008-10-20T21:18:00.009-04:00

Daddy with one of our little pumpkinsJordan helping Lily at Rader's Pumpkin Patch

Little Eoin enjoying the outing

Lily scoping out the perfect pumpkin

This past weekend marked our first official fall weather weekend, and we celebrated with all the fun fall pastimes. On Saturday, we went to the Kohns' house for a bonfire and chili dump. I know "chili dump" sounds questionable, but it actually is a lot of fun. Each couple brings their own batch of chili, and then they are all combined into one pot. In essence, the chili is dumped. Ciarra had all the fixin's to top off the chili, along with corn bread muffins and s'mores for dessert. We enjoyed a nice evening sitting on hay bales around the fire with all our friends. On Sunday we worked on carving our pumpkins for Halloween. Lily helped scoop out the insides. She mostly just held the scoop, but she did decide to taste what came out of the pumpkin, and the pictures below show her reaction to that. While I am not necessarily looking forward to the winter weather, I do love the changing colors and crisp fall air that we enjoyed this past weekend.

What is that?

Cheese!!!

Uncle Packie

2008-10-18T22:12:00.001-04:00

Lily with Uncle Packie and his darling girlfriend Ashley

Lily and Pat being silly!

Since Lily has been born she has been present for all of Patrick's important dances--and of course Uncle Pat had to have her in the pictures. So this year was not unlike the past, as he stopped by with his girlfriend before taking her to her senior homecoming. They are so cute!

6 weeks!!!!

2008-10-15T22:25:00.005-04:00

Where has the time gone? Six weeks old already?!? Above are pictures taken by the wonderful Summer Knobloch when Ella was about 2 weeks old. The pictures she took are amazing, and it has been so hard to choose which ones to purchase. I can't believe that she took those a few weeks ago already. The time has just flown by and Ella has changed so much from those pictures. She is gaining weight like crazy (about an ounce a day) and now weighs 10lbs. 5oz. She is so easy-going and happy. Her darling demeanor has been a huge help to momma, as much of my time is spent chasing big sister around and getting her out of whatever she is getting into. Speaking of big sister, Lily is doing very well and if you ask her how she is doing she will quickly answer, "good." We were surprised and amused when we realized she was answering this question, but a little disappointed that she was not using the proper grammar. Oh well, baby steps. She is also learning her colors and starting to recite the alphabet. She also loves to sing and dance. In addition to her developing mind, she is also a very loving big sister. Her favorite past time with "da baby" is a game of peek-a-boo. She loves to cover Ella's eyes and say "peek-a-boo, baby" and then run around in a circle and laugh. She gives her tons of kisses and tries her best to be gentle. So far for me the hardest part of having two little ones is not being able to fulfill Lily's desire to be outdoors 24/7. From the minute she gets up in the morning she asks to "go outside" and if the answer is no then she asks, "take a walk?" On Saturday morning we said, "Lily you can't go outside. You don't have any shoes on." Next thing we know, she is running to the closet to get her shoes. Nothing holds this child back from getting what she wants. So now I sit with Ella by the sliding glass door and watch Lily as she plays right outside of it on the patio. She loves to open and close the screen constantly and let as many bugs as possible in the house. Both girls are doing great, and thankfully I am getting plenty of sleep and feeling pretty good (having a baby that actually sleeps helps, I've found). I definitely wouldn't have been able to survive the last few weeks as well as I have without Jeff and my family, either. Jeff is a great daddy, and having my parents and siblings as back-up on days that Jeff isn't available has been a life saver too.

*I promise to update this more often now that we are starting to get settled into a routine!

Two Weeks of Two

2008-09-19T17:26:00.004-04:00

It has now been just over two weeks since Ella joined us, and we're all doing great. The little one had her two-week appointment with the pediatrician this morning, and she is weighing in at a stout 8 lbs, 14 oz! That places her in the 75th percentile of all two-week-olds, and just 18 pounds behind the Olsen twins. We're proud, to say the least.

These last two weeks have been a blur, and it seems like just four or five days ago that we were in the hospital. Of course, if we factor in all the well wishers who have stopped by with cards, food, or clothes, it seems like we have had Ella for a full month. We have been absolutely inundated with visitors and couldn't be more grateful. We have eaten food provided by friends and family since the day we left St. Joe's, and, as a result, Ella is not the only one who has put on a little weight in recent days. Our book shelf by the front door is covered with cards, and we enjoy looking over at them from time to time to remind ourselves of how lucky we are to have such support.

Lily has been a fantastic big sister to this point, as well. She routinely walks up to "Da Baby," bends down, and kisses her head. In addition, Lily likes to share fist-pounds with Ella, and apparently it doesn't matter to her whether the baby is sleeping or not. In fact, the other day Lily approached a sleeping Ella, told her to "pound it," and punched her little sister's closed fist. This caused Ella to stir and open her hands, at which point Lily proceeded to slap her five and say "yeah." Our girls are already making a good team.

We're sorry we've been slow to update the blog, but we're underachievers by nature, and having two kids only exacerbates our condition. Stay tuned, though. As always, we vow to be better.

Moving in for the kil...er, a kiss.

Lily says "NOSE!"

Being such a great big sister tuckers a kid out.

Will Ella get these lashes? We'll see...

Sister Act

2008-09-07T13:24:00.007-04:00

Well, here we are, three days after the birth of our second child. All three of the Mavros girls (that's even scary to write) are sleeping right now, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to update you about the events of the last few days.
Let's start at the beginning...

TUESDAY
10:10 a.m. -- Katie's 38-week appointment. Doctor Thornton told Katie she couldn't believe she didn't get a call from us over Labor Day Weekend, and I don't think she was just taking the opportunity to use such a sublime pun. In fact, Dr. T really believed after seeing Katie the week before that she was ready to go and would deliver over the weekend. However, it was not to be, and while Katie did have some forceful contractions on Monday, they were not in close enough succession to warrant a trip to St. Joe's. Thus, the good doctor examined Katie again, told her she was progressing and could go any day, and sent her on her way to eat more pickles and hidden chocolate chips (I thought those cookies were missing something!).

WEDNESDAY
4:52 p.m. -- I arrived home from work to find that my wife had developed a greater interest in evicting the little one from her cozy one sac apartment. She had been having contractions much of the day (though they weren't consistent yet), and Grandma and Grandpa had offered to take Lily off our hands for an hour that evening so we could take a break and relax. Katie decided this time would allow us the perfect opportunity to go walk the baby out at the mall. While I hoped it wouldn't happen exactly like that, I was game for going.

6:18 p.m. -- We dropped Lily off with Mimi and Papa and continued on to Eastland Mall. Katie's contractions continued, though still not consistent or close together. Approximately 45 minutes and three full laps later, two things became clear: 1) Katie's belly was contracting with more regularity, and 2) there was really nothing that we felt we didn't have and needed to buy for this new baby. Satisfied with these developments and hoping to scoot before either condition changed too dramatically, we left the mall to pick up our big-sister-to-be.

6:23 p.m. -- Katie's parents' house. Dr. T had told Katie on Tuesday that, because of how much she had already progressed, as soon as her contractions were fairly consistent for an hour we could go to the hospital without fear that we'd be sent back home. As the night went on and the contractions stayed about 10 minutes apart, yours truly lobbied for a trip to the hospital. Needing another (and perhaps far more qualified) opinion, Katie called our friend Kim, who is an RN, to ask her advice. Kim said once Katie had experienced 3 or 4 of the strong variety of contractions, we could feel comfortable packing our bags.

11:50 p.m. -- After a few hours of indecision, second-guessing, and Finding Nemo (I can't really recall what we were watching, but this is as good a guess as any in our house), we made the executive decision to call for back-up and head to the hospital.

11:58 p.m. -- With all the efficiency of Chinese food delivery, Tom and Susan arrived at our door to stay the night with their already-out-of-the-womb granddaughter. After a few instructions for the babysitters, we made our hasty exit.

THURSDAY
12:09 a.m. -- Check-in, wheelchair ride up to second floor, blood pressure cuff, craftmatic bed (as seen on TV), yada, yada, yada.

12:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. -- Political pundits talking about Sarah Palin's invigoration of McCain's campaign (oh, God), Evan Almighty On Demand (really, oh God), there was about as much on TV as there was going on in Katie's insides. For hours the contractions were, while strong, still about 8-9 minutes apart, and the nurse on duty even toyed with sending us home. As it was, Dr. Thornton was to be in the hospital by 6:30 a.m., and the decision was made to have her make the final call on whether we stay or leave at that point. As we both drifted in and out of sleep (probably I was more in and Katie more out), the waiting game continued.

4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. -- At about 4am, Katie got restless and decided she wanted to walk around. She did so for a while until the nurse returned for her first progress report in hours. To our surprise (more Katie's than mine, truth be told), Katie had progressed from 4cm to 7cm in that time, most likely due to getting out of bed and knocking that baby around! This is when the fun started.

5:03 a.m. -- Katie is pretty uncomfortable at this point. She is asking (politely at first) for an epidural, and it just so happens that the anaesthesiologists turn over at that time of day, so the day shift takes over for the night shift (we found out later that promptness is not the strong suit of the day shift). Katie gets her medicine to counteract her betastrep-positive condition, and the pace in the room quickens as nurses prepare for the delivery and try to get Dr. T on the horn.

Time is a blur -- From here until the birth, I have no sense of time. Katie is getting more adamant about an epidural, and I am doing all I can do about it.....nothing. She doesn't really want to be touched, and I have no medical training. So, I am sitting in my most encouraging and supportive manner next to the bed, wondering where the damn anaesthesia is. When Dr. T arrives, Katie is visibly comforted, but her pleas for some relief of the pain of back labor (yes, this one was backwards too) continue. Dr. Thornton is the consummate pro, and she assures Katie that she will soon receive her drugs, though it is too late for the full monty. She says she'll get a spinal block when possible (apparently when the anaesthetist has both his cream and sugar to his liking in his coffee), and she would deliver the baby immediately after. At this point I'm still sitting/standing on the side trying to sit/stand positively and supportively.

7:17 a.m. -- Spinal block is a go after repeated unsuccessful attempts by our man to get the frighteningly long needle between my wife's vertebrae. After bending one from so much unsuccessful pushing, he unwraps another and chooses a different spot. At this point I'm thinking I should have been an anaesthesiologist. All kidding aside, Katie shows immediate relief as soon as the needle is withdrawn.

7:24 a.m. -- About 5 or 6. That's how many times Katie had to push (Lily required about an hour and a half of pushing, if you recall). Ella Kathryn popped right out like a good girl, and both she and Mommy couldn't have been better. Katie really did look gorgeous 5 minutes after delivering an 8-pound baby, and little Ella Kathryn was an absolute angel. 20.5" long and 8 lbs even. And no jaundice! So, life has changed. Again. Stay tuned.