Elizabeth Funnies...

Still playing catch-up...but here are a few funnies from my funny girl, Elizabeth:

"Holy smokes guacamole!" (We're not sure what guacamole has to do with anything, other than we do love to eat Mexican food!)

Speaking of eating Mexican food...a month or so before I had Cate, the three of us went to the Mexican restaurant at the Highlands to celebrate E getting a good report from our parent-teacher conference. The person in the booth behind us was most annoying -- continually moving the seat (there was literally no room between my "big huge belly" and the table!) Every minute or so, he would move the seat. I seriously thought it was a kid, a bit older than Elizabeth, whose parents were just so tired at the annoying little brat they didn't care that he was pestering the people behind their booth - so long as he wasn't pestering them at the moment... After 10+ minutes of this, Elizabeth had all she could take. She squeezed as much of her face between the bench and the wall (which wasn't very much) and yelled to the booth behind us, "Stop it you lazy sack!"

Five days after I had Cate Elizabeth asked me, "Mommy, why is your belly still spongy?"
Me: "Because it used to be out to here" (hand gesturing the place where my stomach used to be)
Grandma: "Because the muscles in Mommy's belly were stretched out and it takes a while for them to get back into shape."
Elizabeth: "Mommy, you need to exercise! Do it now! Do it now!"

As Cate was lying on her Daddy's chest (he was fully clothed, mind you), Elizabeth inquires, "Daddy, are you feeding her from your boobies?"

Elizabeth asked for my autograph and after I signed the paper (in the crayon that she provided), she whispered in my ear, "Mommy, I'm a really big fan of you!"

Welcome Baby Cate!!!

I've been waaaay far behind on my Blogging (somewhat due to technical difficulties where passwords were changed to my gmail account, which is what I have to use to access my Blog...I didn't change said passwords, and couldn't fix the situation -- as when I attempted to recover my password, it kept asking me the name of my first teacher and then telling me I was wrong! I adored my kindergarten teacher and remember her and her name fondly...so I can assure you the problem wasn't with my recollection of my first teacher's name (tried my 1st grade teacher, whom I also adored and recall her name, which failed miserably.) Anyway, Reid had to get involved in order for the technical difficulties to disappear...

I've been a bit busy as well...which somewhat explains my neglecting my Blog...but perhaps not for as long as I have been neglecting this Blog...

Anyway, I'm back in the saddle and promising (once again) to be better about keeping you up-to-date via my Blog! Yada, yada, yada...

So...back to welcoming Baby Cate (if you say it like Elizabeth does, it will sound like your mouth is about half full of peanut butter!)

The Thursday before Thanksgiving, November 18th, Reid was on his way with the women's basketball team to Shippensburg for a tournament. When he was about an hour away from Shippensburg, I called to tell him that I was experiencing some early signs of labor...and as quickly as Elizabeth came, I just wanted to put him on alert. He made numerous calls -- had several people put on alert, and through the kindness and generosity of the Hansen family, who upon arriving at the hotel, cleaned out their van and gave Reid the keys to it to send him back home to be with me...and the Malernee family, who provided a taxi service to the Hansens to get them back to their van, Reid was able to get home shortly after midnight that night. I also called my folks who came up in the wee hours of the morning. Mind you, at this point, Dr. Coleman was only telling me that I would likely not make it to my due date in the middle of December...and she also talked with us about the possibility of inducing labor so that I would not only make it to the hospital in time, but would also be there in plenty of time to get my epidural...

So, Reid gets here...my mom is here...and a week later the rest of the Amoses (Rick, Carol, and the newlyweds, Rikki & Doug) are here to celebrate Thanksgiving...and no Baby Cate. Around this time Dr. Coleman sets a date to induce labor of December 2nd (which we would change the following week to December 1st since the Toppers had a home game on the 2nd and we were worried it would make Reid's schedule a bit too tight!)...

On December 1st, Reid & I take a few early morning pictures of me before leaving for Wheeling Hospital for Baby Cate's birthday. We are at the hospital at the scheduled time of 6AM. It took forever to answer the questions that were required before the real show could begin...like "during your pregnancy did you use any recreational drugs or stimulants (including caffeine!)," "do you meditate?," "did you crave chalk?" Seriously? Seriously.

The "show" didn't actually begin with the pitocin drip and Dr. Coleman "breaking my water" until shortly after 9AM. At that time, Dr. Coleman put the call in for the anesthesiologist to come for my epidural. I'm still texting updates at this point...but stop around the time that the anesthesiologist comes for the epidural. The epidural worked so well for Elizabeth's birth that I was giving Reid updates on the Syracuse vs. Gonzaga men's basketball game...with Cate...not so much. The anesthesiologist arrived around 9:25 AM, at which time I'm feeling the contractions (not fun!) She got a "wet stick" on the first attempt (wet stick = seeing spinal fluid = not a good thing!). The second stick went in without a problem, but didn't work...in other words, nothing was numb... Reid & Mom were allowed back into the delivery room around 10:10 AM.

For the next 40 minutes, the contractions came on harder and quicker. And there was one particular swear word (rhymes with duck) that I was quite fond of using at the conclusion of each contraction. Fortunately Mom and Reid have been exposed to me using "the bomb" on an occassion or two. (Reid later reported that there may have been one nurse in the room for at least one of those, bless her little heart!)

Around 10:35, Reid lest the room to get the nurse, Patty. She and the rest of the nursing team came in immediately to finish preparing the room for Dr. Coleman. Reid recalls that Dr. Coleman arrived between 10:45 and 10:50 AM. After pushing through three sets of contractions, Dr. Coleman held Victoria Catherine up for me to see at 11:00 AM!

(Note: I only said "fudge" with Dr. Coleman in the room. How's that for respect???)

Reid, like he did with Elizabeth, cut the cord. The nurses took pictures with my camera...the entire staff at Wheeling Hospital was truly amazing!

We are so amazingly blessed!

Later that day when Elizabeth got to meet her baby sister, she said, "Thank you for giving me a baby sister, Mommy!"

A short while later as Cate was stirring, Elizabeth said in a most irritated voice, "Mom! She stuck her tongue out at me! That's not very nice!"

Elizabeth, with a little help from Grandma, welcomed us all home from the hospital with a "surprise" Welcome Home Baby Cate party on Friday, December 3rd. She served things that start with C: cake, cupcakes, cheese, carrots, cauliflower (and a few other veggies). She is such a great big sister already!

Elizabeth's Big Week

On Thursday, Reid, Elizabeth, and I went to Idlewild & Soak Zone for a day of fun. E had an absolute blast! Idlewild, if you haven't been, is a great park for kids -- 2nd best in the world, in fact! I don't know where I would rank it for a pregnant lady, but definitely not in my top 10 can't miss activities! I was able to capture plenty of the day in pictures, though! It was so much fun to watch Elizabeth experience such new fun adventures!

Today at my old summer stomping ground, the Sutton Pool, Elizabeth decided that she wanted to go off the diving board -- and into the deep end (11'). Mom and I were treading water in the area where she would jump in and Reid was on the side of the pool where she would need to swim. She got half way out on the board and said that she was scared. I told her that was okay, she didn't have to jump...but we weren't going to do this again, so she either needed to jump or to get off the board. She cautiously walked out to the edge of the board, gave it a quick second thought, and JUMPED!

She easily swam to her Daddy...and went at it again...and again...and again. Every bit of 30+ times. She is absolutely amazing!

It has been so much fun to watch her go from "swimming" with a vest on at the beginning of the summer, to ditching the vest and paddling on her own...to really swimming! She is great! She doesn't hold her nose (as I would not allow this -- holding your nose is for wusses!) She can easily stay under water for 10+ seconds. She swims really well for a 4-year-old. Thanks to spending a week here in Sutton with Aunt Anne and Grandma, she's nearly learned to dive.

I love her so much!!!

Unfortunately for lifeguard Ryan Swecker (the son of a friend of mine from Kindergarten on), Alex didn't jump off the diving board today. Anne told Ryan she would give him $5 bucks if Alex jumped off the board. I said, "Heck with that, I'll give you $20." Ryan couldn't have cheered harder for Alex, but no dice. Anne told Ryan, "You can see which sister makes more money." I said, "No, I just figured it was a safe bet."

Alex was jumping in the deep end and making some good independent strokes, though! Once he learns to actually put his chin in the water, he'll get his body in the position that he is moving forward rather than just treading water.

The two water dogs were most impressive today. My Grandpa must be smiling...

New Adventures for E...New Discoveries...

On Saturday evening after Reid, Anne, Sean, & I gorged ourselves on our seafood bake, the kiddos got baths and we did the bedtime routine.

Elizabeth and I were cuddling in Reid's & my bed (as Anne was putting Alex to sleep in the crib -- despite a series of protests from Elizabeth as that crib is for HER baby! Since HER baby wasn't going to be using the crib over the weekend, she eventually agreed it was okay for Alex to sleep in the crib in her room...) anyway, E & I were cuddling in the bed when Cate started kicking around a bit.

I took Elizabeth's hand and told her to be patient and she might get to feel her kick. Elizabeth wanted to sing to her -- in my mouth so she would be able to hear it. I told her that she could just sing to my tummy, that would be easier for Cate to hear her. (We went round and round on this issue...eventually, as I refused to just open my mouth so that E could sing into it, she just started singing...) Elizabeth sang the song that she and Alex learned at Bible School, "Peter John and James in a sail boat," and she was able to feel the baby kick once. Elizabeth was really excited and started singing louder (until I had her quite down so as not to get Alex disrupted.) She hasn't gotten to feel her since, but it was pretty sweet when it happened!

Elizabeth is getting really excited about becoming a big sister -- so long as she can keep some of her baby things for herself...at least at this point the items she thinks are precious aren't essential for a baby.

I was downloading pictures earlier today when I had a new discovery...out of Play-Doh!, Elizabeth created "Mommy." Reid snapped a picture of her creation, but forgot about it until I was asking him about the pictures on the camera. It's pretty darned cute, if I do say so myself! (That is some Morton nose I'm sporting, though!)

Corny Cob

Uncle Sean calls Elizabeth "Corny Cob"...I'm not sure if it because he likes to tickle her in the ribs and that's why...

Or because on Saturday evening while at Campbell's 4-1-/2 birthday party she ate 4 ears of corn...which she followed up on Sunday for the Father's Day dinner with an additional 4 ears of corn...

Ohhh child! I love ya like a pig loves corn!

Happy Father's Day

OK, so I guess this will be my new thing...one post every two months, not too shabby ;-)

Elizabeth has been moved up to the Pre-K room for the summer, despite Pre-K not starting until this fall. Yesterday she came home with a decorated rock that has a sign on it that says, "My Daddy Rocks!" It will be a lovely, sparkly paper weight for his office! She also brought home a card that she made for him (with the help from one of her teachers who filled in the blanks as dictated by Elizabeth):

"My Daddy Is the BEST Because...

My Daddy is as handsome as an elephant.
My Daddy is as tall as Hans.
My Daddy looks silly when she shaves his face.
My Daddy is as strong as a wrestler.
He is so strong he can even lift me.
My Daddy's favorite food is corn.
My Daddy's favorite thing to do is pat me when I'm asleep.
My Daddy's favorite sport or team is Basketball - WVU.
When my Daddy is little he was a football player.
I think my Daddy is so funny when he tickles me & makes funny faces.
I know my Daddy loves me because he takes me places like everywhere - Oglebay, golf.
I wish my Daddy could do golfing with me every day.
My FAVORITE THING about my Daddy is playing golf with him.
I wouldn't even trade my Daddy for a real horse.

Happy Fathers Day 2010!!!
Love,
Elizabeth"

Playing Catch Up

For starters, I'm still damn proud to be a Mountaineer! Last week, Da'Sean Butler threw out the opening pitch at a Little League baseball game in Bridgeport and then stuck around to sign autographs. How cool is that?

In addition to work, which has been crazy...and Reid's schedule, which has also been crazy...and Elizabeth, who is growing like a weed and today (while Daddy was at a work function) had a crazy meltdown...we've been good. Busy, but good. I'm also trying to pick up some more skills on PhotoShop -- just in time for Alex's 3rd birthday party invitations.

I held my annual Champions Dinner this year on the Saturday of the Masters. Seriously, one of the best meals that I have ever made for the Champions Dinner. And, unlike Phil's 1st dinner (sooooo excited he won, BTW!!!) of the lobster ravioli, I didn't have to spend the entire day in the kitchen making the meal, which meant I actually tasted it and liked it! We were happy to have Johnny Lynch, Eric & Leigh Bovaird as guests this year. Unfortunately the Martins had to cancel out, but we're looking forward to them joining us next year... Anyway, here is what I served from 2009 Champion Angel Cabrera's menu:

• Locro (Argentine Stew)
• Carne Asada a la Parrilla (grilled meats with Chimichurri Sauce) -- the pile of Fred Flintstone-like meats took up my entire Fiestaware pizza tray...
  
• Ensalada (heirloom tomato salad with onions, green bell peppers and Sweet Ginger Vinaigrette Dressing)
• Potato Salad
• Sweet Bread (very dense beignets)
• Grapes in Grappa with Mascarpone
  

Speaking of the Martins, it's so great that P.J., Jason, John Patrick, and Jackson have moved back to WV...and are practically our neighbors! John Patrick and Weezie get along famously; and we're looking forward to getting to introduce them all to the Koeglers -- long over-due for that! Tomorrow night P.J., Jason, Reid, & I will be going to the Wheeling Symphony for the "Music of Champions."

So Proud to Be a Mountaineer!!!

The good folks at MSN did, as usual, a fantastic job with this send-off to the Final Four video...just had to post it here on my Blog so that you could always come back here to watch it when you're having a bad day.

Best wishes to Da'Sean Butler and Truck Bryant as they recover from their respective surgeries!

Let's Gooooooo Mountaineers!

Some of my favorite articles on WVU:

From Sports Illustrated, author Andy Staples, "Huggins shows softer side with Butler embrace"

From the Miami Herald, author John Marshall, "WVa's love affair with Mountaineers runs deep"

From The Smoking Muskett, author Dr. Charley West, "West Virginia in the Final Four: What It Means to Me (and the Entire State)"

From MSNSportsnet.com, "Butler Wins Lowes Senior CLASS Award"

We're so proud to be Mountaineers!!!
Check out the new "house" numbers painted on the sidewalk:

Ugh! I'm so over the weeds...and it's only April...

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful to/for/about:

• The Mountaineers making it to the Final Four
• For Reid scoring tickets for us for the Final Four
• For understanding & supportive parents who will be spoiling and entertaining Elizabeth over Easter so Reid & I can cheer on the Mountaineers

I would struggle to come up with as many "thankful" thoughts as John Flowers did -- as is recounted in this post from the Smoking Musket:

John Flowers Loves West Virginia Fans

by 5th Year Senior on Mar 16, 2010 10:04 AM EDT in Mountaineer Basketball 4 comments

More photos » David Smith - AP

John Flowers is not happy about Jim Burr telling him he is not icey. (AP Photo/David Smith)

Browse more photos »

From everything I have seen, John Flowers is the best entertainer on WVU's basketball team. He started the season by winning the slam dunk contest at Mountaineer Madness, trademarked the catchphrase "So icey!!" and has gotten nothing but 10's for his pregame dances. He is an endless source of laughs.

He seemingly capped it all off with his Irish jig in front of the Notre Dame pep band but once again, he has outdone himself. Today, John Flowers is tweeting all the reason he loves Mountaineer fans. If you want to see the tweets live, follow him @jflow41. If you don't have twitter, just check back here all day for all the reason John Flowers loves West Virginia fans.

My comments about Flowers tweets are in italics.

• I love west Virginia fans bcuz they love us
• I love west Virginia fans bcuz y'all r so spirited!
• I love west Virginia fans bcuz if a fight broke out y'all would rush the court lol
• I love west Virginia fans bcuz there's millions of y'all

Updates after the jump... [Updated 3:00 pm]

• Sittin in class..teacher gave me and @Truckbryant25 a shoutout lol
• I love west Virginia fans bcuz y'all get wasted! Lol
• I love west Virginia fans bcuz y'all wana b so icey! (Over/Under on use of "So Icey" today 14)
• Soo #IloveWestVirginiaFans becuz y'all don't boo us 4 missin wide open lay ups lol shout out 2 Killa Cam (#IloveWestVirginiaFans, is used because he wants to start a "trend" on twitter)
  
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans becuz y'all drink moonshine! Haha
• Yup #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz y'all camp out in front of the coliseum b4 games!
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz y'all responded well 2 hurricane mazzula! @Jmazzulla21 hahahaha
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans bcuz y'all stand behind us no matter what!
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans becuz I feel like if we went 5-30 y'all would still b behind us! (obviously he doesn't read stories about the football team)
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz y'all show us maaaadd love at the football tailgates (only high fives)
• One of the mane reasons #IloveWestVirginiaFans is becuuuzzzz y'all literally ..BURN COUCHES! Hahahaha I need a couch!
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans becuz y'all are unruly! Lol I love it
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans becuz y'all hit dude wit a penny! Gangstas! (do not agree)
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans becuz y'all are not traders!
  
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz at the games y'all always cheer 4 the YMCA man! Hahaha I love that guy! Saw him drivin a Bus the Otha day! Lol (That guy is embarrassing)
  
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz y'all listen 2 coach huggins wen he got on the mic and said "it's stupid!" lol
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans if we had a game on the moon! Sum1 lol one of yall would try 2 sneak on da spaceship! Or build their own lol

• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz y'all talk as much shit as We do on the court lol
• Sooo Ima try 2 get at a youngin And b like.."aye! Yo baby waz ya name!" (Trey songs voice)lol y'all think she gona b feelin me?
• Man my phone bout 2 die...WTF I been tweetin that much! Lol (so not icey)
• Hahaha RT @Eskins21: @jflow41 if/when yall see UK..what's the over/under on cam and d.cousins gettin in a fight? lmao
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz y'all sing country roads at da end of every game!
• I think west va band should change it up..play sum stuff off drum line lol..James brown!
• Hahaha #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz y'all fight other fans lol (not something to be proud of unless they started it which they normally do)
• I would LMAO and dance if our band played "shake ya ass" by mystical hahahaha

• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz y'all waz cheerin 4 @campayne20 2 get in the the last home game.
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz if my house blew up..sum1 would b crazy enough 2 let ne stay in there basement!
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz wen my dog ran away y'all returned him and didn't shoot him thinkin he waz a dear lol
• Bout 2 shoot

UPDATE 3:00

• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuz the chant "eat shit pit!" haha
• #IloveWestVirginiaFans cuzmy freshman year y'all welcomed me and my twin Will Thomas wit open arms! Smh man I miss my dawwwgg!