April 2013

             As expected, this blog update is a little late as our hands are a little full right now!  As the previous blog post mentioned, Sarah Elizabeth was born on April 6^th.  After Deb went into labor, it only took a few hours and Sarah was here!  After our 2 days in the hospital, we went home on Monday around noon.  This was great, as Allison was at daycare and we were able to get settled in before bringing Allison home for our first night.  Hard to remember everything since it was a month ago and we have been pretty busy, but Sarah is a good eater and a decent sleeper.  At night, she has transitioned to the crib which is in the room next door to ours.  This is much better than earlier in the month when we would sleep and hold her in the basement.  We had her in the basement because we didn’t want to wake up Allison, figuring it was easier to deal with one child instead of two in the middle of the night.  She is eating very well and surpassed her birth weight after the first week.  Deb is doing well with her “2-hour naps” each night along with hopefully an afternoon nap.  We have had many visitors, meals and gifts brought our way.  Things appear to be calmer this time around with Sarah, and we don’t know if Sarah is just an easier baby or if we are just calmer about the situation.  It is probably a combination of both.  We are tired, the laundry is piling up and the grass is probably overgrown, but we couldn’t be happier with Sarah or with how the first month has gone!

The weekend after Sarah was born, we went to Charleston for Julie and Kyle’s wedding!  We went into the weekend with little expectations and didn’t know exactly what we would be able to attend, but our hopes were for Debbie to go to as much as she could and anything I could make it to would be bonus!  We arrived around 4pm on Friday afternoon and we got settled into the rooms.  We had 2 hotel rooms adjoining a suite that Randy and Anna had reserved, so I was with Allison and Deb was with Sarah.  A family friend came and watched Sarah as Allison slept on Friday night so I could attend the rehearsal dinner with Deb.  Saturday morning flew by and Deb was busy with Sarah so I found myself showering in my hotel room while Allison was eating lunch in my bathroom.  Deb made it to the wedding and I showed up with the girls at the end of the ceremony for pictures.  After the wedding, we were back at the hotel and Deb took a nap while I went out to find some food.  Anna had organized a babysitting service for the kids at the reception and we pulled one of the babysitters to watch Sarah off and on all evening, which allowed for me to make it to a lot more of the reception than I thought I would.  Once Allison was down for the night and Deb had fed Sarah around 8:30, we went down to the reception and were able to dance and enjoy ourselves.  We appreciate all the help we were offered and given this weekend to make it memorable for us! 

 

Not to be forgotten was Allison turning 2 at the end of the month!  We had a party at our house on her birthday and it was a great time.  We enjoyed some deli sandwiches and cupcakes.  She got several fun gifts, with many clothes, books, a potty chair, an outdoor table, a basketball goal and a gymnastic class.  She is getting very good at opening presents and enjoyed the attention!  She had a doctor appointment and is about 34 inches tall and 27 pounds.  It appears she has flipped a switch and is getting more stubborn and difficult at times.  On the other hand, she is talking a lot more, which has her singing and saying new phrases all the time, which is hilarious.  She has been great toward Sarah, wanting to kiss her all the time and very concerned when she cries, telling us to get her “out” of her crib or bouncy seat. 

Allison still doesn’t play by herself very well, but it is probably because she is rarely alone at daycare and Deb and I have always been there to play with her.  Randy and Anna came for Allison’s birthday party and stayed a few days into the next week to help out with Sarah.  They kept Allison home from school one day and went to the zoo!