Don't Judge Me

If the next time you see me in the grocery store and I have my two-year-old strapped down with 10 feet of rope, don't judge me. Yesterday was our first big outing with both kids, plus Oma. We went to St. Louis so Gwyn could meet her great-grandmother, who flew all the way from North Carolina to meet her. It took us two hours to get ready to go. Luckily the kids slept for the hour drive, and we had a great time.

The trip home. We had to stop at Schnucks to get various necessities (milk, diapers, etc.) Oma was in charge of Lem, who got to drive the car-cart. I took my own cart with Gwyn in the car seat.

Well, those belts in the carts do not hold Lem. He managed to escape, and came and found me. I was already carrying Gwyn, since she'd started crying about five minutes after we got in the store. Lem cooperated for a couple minutes, putting the diapers in the cart for me.

And then he was off. And you can't sprint after a two-year-old with a 10-day old in your arms. He was running up and down the aisles laughing and disappearing. Oma had to abandon her cart in line to go catch him.

So, next time, Lem will either be tied down so tight he can't move, or he will be wearing his bear leash. Gwyn will be strapped to my body via sling or Baby Bjiorn, in case he escapes. And I will not care what other people think of me.

Slowly, I'm figuring out this whole "mother of two" business.

Oh, and our quick stop at the store? We were in and out of there in 45 minutes.

New Beginnings

Lots have been happening the past couple weeks. As everyone goes back to school, we have a lot of new things starting for us, as well as our families.

1. We have a brand new baby in the house.
2. Win left for Alabama today to start his training.
3. Lem, Gwyn and I will be on our own three days a week while my mom is back at work.
4. One brother just started a new "career" job.
5. Another will be a chiropractor in a few weeks.
6. A sister-in-law is spending a year teaching English in Africa.
7. Another sister-in-law just got a job as a nanny in England.
8. A brother-in-law is starting his Army career.

And in about a month, it will be time for us to pack up and head down to Alabama to start our lives there. It's been a pretty eventful summer.

One Baby, Two Baby

Big Baby

Little Baby

Here She Is

It's A Girl!

We have a beautiful little girl, Gwyneth Marie. She was born Aug. 19, and she has piles of hair. She looks just like Lem when he was born, just more delicate.

It's wonderful.

Still Waiting ...

... And that's all I have to say about that.

Due Date Come and Gone

Still no Grub. I know it is only one day past my due date, but I'm impatient! I want to meet this little baby. Not to mention that we are literally just sitting around twiddling our thumbs while we wait.

We are staying in St. Louis now so we are closer to the hospital, and I have to do back to the doctor on Thursday. Pray that I don't have to go to that appointment.

I guess I will go walk around town today ... anyone have any baby-inducing ideas?

Two Days to Go

Two days until my due date. My bag is packed, my room is clean, all the baby clothes are washed and folded and ready. I even finally wrote my thank you notes for Lem's birthday, and finished my book. Win is here. Now all we need is that baby. I was hoping today would be the day, I thought August 15 would be a good birthday, especially if the Grub is a girl (It's the Feast of the Assumption of Mary).

Yes, I did say that Win is here. The Army is all crazy when it comes to these things but in the end, it came through and let Win come home. All he had to do was drive down to Alabama, sign in, talk to a bunch of people, sign a leave form, and then turn around and drive right back. When he left, I honestly didn't expect to see him until we went down in September (after the Grub and I had recovered).

So the last two days have been kind of unique for us. Except for the waiting, we have nothing to do or worry about. Lem is incredibly happy to have the full attention of both parents. We are just relaxing, preparing ourselves and enjoying the last few days of being a family of three.

Today Win and Lem went fishing, played on the tractors, and then I came outside for a little swim time (meaning Lem naked in his kiddie pool). He had a blast, splashing around and trying to attack Win with mouthfuls of water.

So for now, the waiting continues ... maybe the Grub will end up being a due date baby like Lem.

While We're Waiting ...

A few pictures from July while we're waiting for the big arrival.

Two More Weeks

38 Weeks Preggo

Zoo Pictures