Babies About the House

Elizabeth is such a good big sister -- she hasn't once shown any signs of jealousy! I'm still amazed with this as I can't tell you the number of times she has asked for something (to play, to read, to get a snack, etc.) and my response has been, "In just a minute, I'm (feeding/changing/etc.) Baby Cate."

E has enjoyed exploring all of the baby items, including having her doll (the one that Aunt Anne gave her the day that Cate came home from the hospital) give Cate's car seat travel rocker a spin.

Reid snapped several cute pictures of me reading to the girls. E has assumed one of her new favorite positions -- with her head on the Boppy and her long limbs curled up between my legs in the recliner.

Cate is 1 Month Old!

Happy 1 month birthday, Baby Cate!

Unlike with Elizabeth, with Cate we had bigger concerns of jaundice. We had to make 2 trips back to the hospital for repeat biliruben tests, but considered it quite fortunate that Cate (and as a result of the feedings) didn't need to be checked back into the hospital so she could get the photo-therapy treatments -- AKA: baby tanning bed treatment. (Tanning bed treatments at such a young age would make her quite the envy of too many girls in the greater Clarksburg/Fairmont area...)

Cate, definitely unlike Elizabeth didn't have feeding issues! She regained her birth weight in just a few days after being born (it took Elizabeth over 3 weeks to do so).

Knock on wood she has been a better sleeper than E was, too -- although E set that bar pretty frickin' low! She eats so much, though, I am still quite groggy in the mornings as I am up several times at night with her.

She's such a good baby -- seldom fussing, but when she has cut a shine, it has been around midnight, which makes it additionally stressful on Reid & me -- just when we're needing sleep!

(The picture on the right is Cate at 1 week; on the left is Cate at 1 month.)

2010 - A Fabulous Year in Review

What a fabulous year 2010 was to our family! In brief, here's the recap on our 2010:

JANUARY - Elizabeth cheered for the West Liberty Hilltoppers! Her favorite players were Tori Hansen, Laura Malernee...and John Wolosinczuk! She loves watching John play so much that when he wasn't on the floor, she would often turn her back on the court in protest. (I mean seriously, with nothing but 20+ win seasons every year, what in the heck does Coach Crutchfield know about coaching hoops -- more Wolosinczuk!) Yes, she can say his name, too -- much to the delight of everyone and the demise of TV sports reporters! (wol-oh-SIN-chuck)

Elizabeth celebrated her 4th birthday (actual birthday) with a modest at-home event with Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma. We enjoyed dinner at Fusion with cake and presents at home where Elizabeth got her first Barbie from Aunt Anne (the start of another obsession I'm afraid!)

Three days later, Elizabeth had her tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears. Her ENT told us that her poor little ears were more infected than he thought they were and that her adenoids completely blocked her nasal passage -- making it all the more amazing that she didn't complain (EVER!) about her ears hurting and that she has always been such a good eater! In addition to the obvious reasons for which we were thankful following her surgery, I am additionally thankful that she doesn't take after me with allergic reactions to pain medication...but also frightened that hydrocodone causes her to strip naked and dance late at night. (At least her last dose of the good stuff caused her to do that, at which point we made the executive decision to stop giving it to her!)

We rounded out the month with her Sesame Street 4th Birthday Party! We were so thrilled to have Grandma, Nana & Papa, Rikki & (a guilt-ridden) Doug, and the Koeglers - Jason, Sarah, Campbell & Will as guests. (Papi wasn't able to make it due to weather. Doug was guilted by Elizabeth into taking whatever measures were necessary to ensure coming as she gently pointed out to him that he had never been to her birthday party and that she wanted him to come and bring her Aqua Sand. He complied, but perhaps in future years, I need to train her to ask for more expensive presents like a car or a college education...)

FEBRUARY - We continued to cheer on the Hilltoppers (the men's team was undefeated in January & February!). E's man, John Wolosinczuk, was featured on the Dorm Room website on Valentine's Day no less! Elizabeth was the darling of so many admirers at the West Liberty games in her uniform (custom made by Nana!) She got so many compliments on her game-day attire!

We got pummeled with snow (I didn't consider that part of our good fortune, but Elizabeth did when we went to Oglebay to sled ride and play in the white crap!)

MARCH - We were so excited to have the Martin family (Jason, P.J., John Patrick, and Jackson) move from Florida to Wheeling!!!

The Hilltoppers capped off great seasons. Hansen was a DII All-American, Malernee DII's two-time 3-point leader, the men were the 2009-2010 WVIAC Conference Champs! Despite her love and adoration of John Wolosinczuk, Elizabeth still refused to talk with him and she cowered behind either Reid or me when he came over to say hi or give her a high 5. She has more of a long-distance love affair with John...

March was basketball heaven for the Amoses and our fellow Mountaineer fans! The WVU men's basketball team, behind the leadership of Da'Sean Butler, won the Big East Championship endearing the team to many more fans in the metro-NY area (as so many of the team members were from that area) earning them a new nickname in NYC, the Metro'neers...much to the delight of Anne, Sean, & Alex (who, at 2-1/2 does a mean John Flowers impersonation and when asked who his coach is will reply, "Coach Huggins.") We went C-R-A-Z-Y here in the Amos household when the #2 seed West Virginia Mountaineers upset the #1 seeded Kentucky to reach the Final Four!!!

APRIL - Reid & I made the trip to Indianapolis to watch the Mountaineers in the Final Four (while Elizabeth celebrated Easter with the Mortons). We were obviously disappointed that the Mountaineers didn't win the national title, but what a fabulous trip we had in spite of the team's loss! While enjoying a couple of beers at a pub before taking in the Indiana Pacers' game (thanks to former WJU men's basketball and current Pacers' assistant coach Jay DeFruscio for the free tickets, I took in my first NBA game!) we met Butler's assistant SID, Josh Rattray. He's a fabulous guy -- and gave us a tour of historic Hinkle Field House the afternoon before Bulter played in the championship game, which they ultimately lost to Duke (blech! I hate Duke after that weekend more than I thought possible!) On our trip back home, we stopped by Historic Hoosier Gym (where the home games for the movie Hoosiers was filmed) and got to shoot some hoops and hang out in the locker room before stopping at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

After having four previous miscarriages, we are cautiously optimistic when I get pregnant again. I teased Reid by telling him that we would be obligated to name this "Final Four baby" Bobby John Da'Sean Amos if it was a boy -- in honor of the Mountaineers...

MAY - Hans graduated from WJU with a degree in nursing! We're so proud of you, Hans!!! We're bummed that he would be moving back to Philadelphia, but can't say that we will miss his Communist soccer games ;-) Congratulations to Hans, too, for being named 1st Team All-WVIAC and 2nd Team NSCAA All-Atlantic Region!!!

We rounded out the end of May with a surprise 80th birthday party for "Grandma" Helen Wine and Alex's 4th birthday!!!

Reid got the opportunity to broadcast the MCLA Championship (lacrosse) in Denver, despite never having watched a live lacrosse game. He was fabulous!!! No surprise there as he is such a talented broadcaster! (Anne noted that Reid was the Keith Jackson of lacrosse -- "Woah Nelly!")

JUNE - My pregnancy progressed well, but we were still nervous...

Elizabeth got to watch her Daddy play golf (at least a few holes) for the first time. Mind you, I told her she HAD to be quiet...that she HAD to whisper...when Reid & Jason are approaching the area where we are sitting with Sarah, Campbell, and Will, and Elizabeth belted out a big "Hi Daaaaady!" before I knew it! Fortunately, he and Jason were amused by her...and they made the cut in the tournament...

Elizabeth got her very own set of golf clubs -- complete with the panda bear head cover...

Elizabeth was really taking off in the water with the help of her swim vest. She didn't at all complain with having wear the ear plugs, which we had our concerns about that being a battle before the start of summer...

JULY - We celebrated July 4th with the Cunninghams...getting to be with Alex for his first fireworks display (in the big town of Gassaway) was a lot of fun!

Elizabeth got to spend a week in Sutton with Grandma & Papi -- and Aunt Anne, Sean, & Alex! Swimming every day was the highlight of her time in Sutton! (In order to sound like Elizabeth, you have to make your voice rather nasal-ly and say "Aunt Anne" rather quickly, loudly, and very, very frequently! I don't recall her saying just Anne, it's always "Aunt Anne! Aunt Anne!")

Elizabeth began swimming independently (no vest!) E and I were at the pool at Oglebay and she said that she wanted to take off the vest to which I said sure. She jumped in and swam right over to me without hesitation. She never looked back at wanting that vest. A couple of days later when Reid was able to join us at Oglebay we surprised him when she jumped in and swam to me without her vest! She is truly remarkable!

Reid and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary! :-)

Late in the month I discovered that removing the wallpaper in the dining room wasn't going to be the complete headache that I was anticipating it to be...the exorcism began!

Reid began tearing up the bricks on the side of the back side "lot" at our house to make way for a small spot where we can get some grass growing to eventually put in a playground for Elizabeth.

AUGUST - My pregnancy was going well and we were able to breathe a bit easier with that!

We took Elizabeth to Idlewild for a day of fun. (I went along basically to serve as Reid & Elizabeth's personal photographer as being pregnant you aren't allowed on any of the rides.) Idlewild was great fun, but I cannot recommend it to anyone who is in the family way...

Elizabeth went off the diving board by herself! She was amazing!!!

We took Nana with us as we made our annual Amos family visit to "the Big City" of Washington, D.C. to spend some quality time with Rikki & Doug. Each year we take in the National Zoo -- the giant pandas remained Elizabeth's favorite. This year's trip was made even more special (Reid would say by his continuing bro-mance with Doug) with the celebration of Rikki & Doug's impending nuptials with a bridal shower in honor of Rikki! My favorite moment from the shower was when Rikki, with the help of Elisa, started opening the picture quilt that Carol made for her...and everyone that was there just got up and started gathering around the quilt. Everyone was holding a part of it and pointing out pictures -- truly sweet! Some other brief highlights of our trip: Carol learned from her future son-in-law that the public begins on the other side of the front door of their house...and we learned that Doug especially loves the adult mac & cheese...

SEPTEMBER - Reid interviewed the legendary Jerry West at the Greenbrier while at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Business Summit! Awesomeness!!!

We took Elizabeth to her first Mountaineer football game...I thought I could pass out from heat exhaustion! Seriously...I don't think I've even been that hot before -- the extra weight from the pregnancy didn't help matters! WVU beat "the bad guys" (from) Maryland 31-17!

We traveled to The Homestead for the wedding of Rikki Amos and Doug Eckstein on September 25th! On the drive over the mountains on Thursday evening, I don't believe I've ever seen the moon look so large...unfortunately a camera wasn't handy for me to snap a picture of it! I wasn't on my camera A-game on Thursday at all, as I forgot to put the SD card in before we headed over to Sam Snead's Tavern...I wouldn't make that mistake again! Over the next three days, I took more pictures than could be counted. Elizabeth became instant friends with Lexi and Stella! After the rehearsal we all enjoyed getting to hang out at the Presidents Lounge (the boys enjoyed hanging out a wee bit more on the front porch...and raided the kitchen...and eventually retired at 4AM!), the wedding was simply beautiful and touching, we danced for hours at the reception...and before heading home, Elizabeth went bowling for the first time -- and even bowled a strike under the tutelage of Doug!

OCTOBER - We completed the dining room make-over (aka exorcism!) We love the room now (as opposed to cringing with the hideous 80's flowered wallpaper and border)!

We had a great time at my 20-year high school reunion! (20 years?!? Man, I'm old!) Everyone continues to Blame Palmer...some things, I guess, will never change!

We thoroughly enjoyed the time we had with the Perrys (Kristin, William, & Greer) as they were able to make the time to come to West Virginia during their trip to the US from Berlin! My friendship with Kristin is so incredible -- that we can have a great time doing nothing exciting (well at least "going Krogering" isn't exciting for me, but Kristin is excited to shop when she's in America as we have so much crap on our store shelves!) Reid took William out to golf with some of his buddies, who were all charmed by his Scottish wit! Elizabeth and Greer became great friends, too! It was especially fun to get to share my last big ultrasound with Kristin, who is preggers too (with an Alpha Gam legacy!)

Elizabeth dressed as Jessie from Toy Story 3 for Halloween! Nana, of course, was once again to thank for her over-the-top costume!

NOVEMBER - We were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Cate...who gave us a "scare" that she would come sooner than expected. We quickly learned the efforts that people (not just family members) would go through to help us welcome our baby!

Reid and Elizabeth went to the Wheeling Christmas parade and got prime seating thanks to Bill & Debby Koegler!

We feasted at Thanksgiving (seriously feasted!) and were delighted to host Grandma (who had come to stay with us until some time after the arrival of Baby Cate), Nana, Papa, Rikki & Doug. We feasted (did I say seriously feasted?) on turkey (highly recommend brining the bird!), mashed potatoes, stuffing, oyster casserole, corn pudding, green beans, rolls, pumpkin pie, peanut blossom cookies, and Pilgrim hat cookies.

DECEMBER - Victoria Catherine Amos arrived at 11:00 AM kicking off the month and rounding out a quite perfect year! After all of the issues I had experienced the previous two years, we have felt additionally blessed with the addition of Cate! She brings us such joy!!!

Although we were most saddened with the news of the fire that destructed the Koegler's home, we were happy that no one was home at the time of the incident, no one was harmed...and happy to be a part of the group of friends that helped set them up in their temporary residence (before the real temporary residence) shortly before Christmas. Wheeling is a wonderfully friendly place to live and this effort was a testament to the people we have had the good fortune of meeting in our brief time here!

We celebrated the end of the year at Christmas getting to introduce Cate to her family and rang in the new year with just the four of us -- watching the ball in NYC's Times Square drop with Dick Clark doing the countdown.

2010 was a truly awesomely great year!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All!

We have had a great Christmas -- too much indulgence...so much so that we may need to build onto our house, but a great Christmas! We started with a trip to Fairmont on the 23rd to celebrate with Rick & Carol (aka Nana & Papa) for their anniversary. Rikki & Doug arrived that evening and got to meet Baby Cate. It's so special when you get to introduce your baby to her aunts & uncles! And there is no doubt in the looks department that Cate looks like the Amoses -- as she looks so much like Elizabeth did...and they couldn't deny E if they wanted to!

On Christmas Eve, Reid & Doug continued their bro-mance with a shopping trip to Morgantown. (Reid was the one who needed to shop, Doug was along for the ride...not that it should come as a surprise to anyone that Reid was still shopping up to the last minute...) Rikki made her award-winning chili -- yumminess! The evening concluded with the traditional reading of stories: Rikki "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," Doug "The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story," Me, "Santa Mouse," and Reid always finishes the stories out with, T'was the Night Before Christmas."

2010 Christmas might be definition of over-indulgence! E got everything that she wanted from Santa and more (Mimi must have given good reports every night when she went back to the North Pole!). She & Cate both got lots of clothes (Cate got the same adorable bear outfit in three different sizes in three different colors - one from Nana & Papa, one from Rikki & Doug, one from Aunt Cathy & Uncle Rich -- great minds must think (and shop) alike!) E especially loved her Barbie & Barbie car (both from Santa), her Bride Barbie (from recent bride Aunt Rikki), the pack & play for her baby doll (like Baby Cate's pack & play -- from Aunt Anne, Uncle Sean, and Alex), and her TWO pillow pets (from Grandma & Papi). We've been having a lot of fun with the Wii (the epitome of over-indulgence from Nana & Papa)...Reid & I are looking forward to getting the bed-frame that matches the rest of our bedroom suit (thanks to Mom & Daddy aka Grandma & Papi). Cate doesn't even know she has hands but got more cool things than she has finger to eventually count on!

Despite all of the wonderful surprises and gifts that Reid and I -- or our daughters received, one of my favorite gifts were two that we gave. Wedding scrapbooks to Rikki and Doug and then another one to Rick & Carol. I had so much fun making the books and am still amazed that with Elizabeth being in the know that I was able to pull off the surprise.

After spending the morning with the Amoses we were off to Webster Springs to celebrate with the Mortons. There we were excited to get to introduce Cate to Aunt Anne, Uncle Sean, Alex, and the rest of the Mortons -- especially her name sakes, Uncle Joe (Ernest Victor Morton, III) and Aunt Cathy (Mary Catherine Morton-McSwain).

We were able to get out of Webster Springs to head back to Sutton for a few days just before the weather got too bad. It was, as it always is, too short of a visit with the family!

Before we got back to the Friendly City of Wheeling, we were able to squeeze in a visit with the Cochrans -- where Elizabeth got a cheer lesson from her buddy Haley.

We spent a nice quiet NYE here at home. On New Year's Day (after Reid did his obligatory gumbo dance), I got to cooking gumbo, kielbasa and sauerkraut, and peanut butter log cookies. E enjoyed getting to play with her buddies John Patrick, Jackson, Campbell, and Will. We enjoyed getting to spend time with their parents.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

The Elf RULES!

Seriously, the Elf rules!!! And not just the Elf on the Shelf...as "Mimi" that's what Elizabeth named our Elf on the Shelf rules! Elizabeth took such delight each morning in locating Mimi in her new hiding place. And we took such delight in getting better behavior out of Elizabeth by threatening her with, "Do you want Mimi to have to tell Santa ___?"

Once again, our best neighbor ever, Marie (and Jim) Ritz spoiled Elizabeth (and us!) with the hanging of the stocking on the back door beginning on December 1st -- and putting presents in it each day until Christmas:

1. Water color book with brushes for E; "The Autobiography of Santa Claus" book for Reid & Me (to eventually share with our girls)
2. Santa placemat
3. Hot chocolate
4. e ornament
5. Pink hoodie jacket
6. Chapstick (Hershey & Jolly Rancher flavors)
7. Candy cane with hard candy in it for E; c ornament for Cate
8. Santa coloring book
9. Barbie nail polish
10. Orange and cookies & cream candy
11. Disney princess stick on earrings and rings (1 for each day of the week!)
12. Dr. Seuss - Big Blue Book of Beginner Books (6 books in 1)
13. Merry Christmas bulb ornament with a Santa hat on it
14. Pencil with eraser (like a wand)
15. Tootsie rolls (in a bank) and $1
16. Magic growing clown fish egg
17. Glitter heart tattoos
18. Department 56 snowman snack set (cup and plate)
19. Snowman white chocolate suckers
20. The Lorax card game
21. Santa tissues
22. Flute horn
23. Princess magic water color paint book
24. Wooden top (toy) and Teddy Grahams

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

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!