Dancing in the Rain

Yesterday the heavens opened and dropped a bunch of rain, cooling the temperature down from near 100 degrees to maybe 85 or 90. Afton took full advantage.

It didn't take her long to be joyously soaked. She also had a partner in crime, who was trying to get a little yard work done.

But, Afton managed to distract him from that from time to time for a little romp around the yard.
Yes, this is the rough stretch of the summer, the stretch where we check the weather report in a vain hope that the temperature won't crack above the 80s and where we find little consolation in the fact that we don't have much humidity like the east coast or the fact that it's not 110 like Vegas or Phoenix. It's hot. It will be hot for weeks to come. I suppose this is what makes mid-September weather seem so glorious.

A little more of Afton and Ainsley

Afton returned from her grandparents this past week with a little darker tan, a few mosquito bites, a new small owie (which she was very proud of -- it even had a bandaid), and pink pink fingernails and toenails. When the pink nail polish wore off due to a couple baths, she insisted I repaint them. Luckily I had one crusty bottle of pink nail polish in the bottom of a random drawer.

Needless to say, Afton is turning into a little girl.

As for me, I don't know what day it is, or often what time it is, but it's been a good couple weeks with Ainsley. No, no magical sleeping through the night. However, Tony has been off work this week and a great entertainer for Afton. I've napped more days than I haven't, so life is generally good. We'll see what happens come next Monday when my help disappears back to work.

Here's the latest on Ainsley. She occasionally opens her eyes during the day.

And by way of comparison, a picture of Afton about the same age. (Note that Afton has a bow in her hair primarily because she had no older sister to come and rip it off. Luckily Ainsley didn't lose any skin when Afton decided to pluck the last bow.)

She has been named

Ainsley Irene. Ainsley was a name we liked (the Ains is pronounced like the "ains" in the word rains), and Irene is Tony's grandmother's name.

Other highlights of the past week include:

• Ainsley was not in a rush to be born, but my blood pressure shot up last week.... Thus the doctor's decision to induce labor.
• The one person who had not prepared himself for a June delivery was Tony. Yes, that's right, the guy who was giving me shots for 16 weeks with the warning that the shots may only get us to mid-June. His explanation was genetics: He figured that this kid had enough of his genes that it wouldn't trend toward "excessively punctual," shall we say, as do most of the women in my family. (We don't like to be late.)
• I distinctly remember saying, "Don't take a picture of me in a hospital gown."
• The labor and delivery was fast -- 3 hours. Tony came back from lunch at the hospital cafeteria in time to hear me say, "Bring the garbage can over here, I think I might throw up, and get the nurse I think the baby is coming."
• Speaking of labor, the epidural DID NOT WORK! I fully realize that many women have gone through much longer labor feeling every ache and pain, including my mother. But the whole point of an epidural is to avoid that. I was peeved.
• In the final 45 minutes of labor I said things such as, "I can't do this," "This is ridiculous," "I'm not paying the anesthesiologist's bill," and in relation to Tony's constant urging for me to breath, "Breathing does NOTHING!" -- but I don't think I swore at him or anyone else.
• Afton likes to hold Ainsley, whom she refers to as "Afton's baby."
• Since Ainsley's birth, Afton has been truly entertained by her grandparents, her aunt and uncle, and her dad. While still hoping for the best, I'm fairly sure there will be some fireworks when all these parties end and we settle into life with just the three of us hanging out all day.
• For now, Afton is hanging out in Oregon with her grandparents and all seems to be well. So a big thank you to my parents who will be celebrating their 33rd anniversary tomorrow by... hanging out with Afton. :)

And a couple more pictures of the crew...

#2's Arrival

Today at 4:15 p.m. our newest daughter (name TBA) was born. Here are some pictures:

Heather did an amazing job. Here she is before the fun started.

Just after birth.

You'll notice the very light hair. It's light brown, almost blonde in places. I'm wondering if I should be asking for a paternity test. .....
She weighed 6-lbs, 8-0z and was 19-inches long.

She's a great baby already; sleeping and eating.

We feel very fortunate to have another daughter in our family and that mother and new baby are doing well. Afton has yet to really know what is in store, but she is enjoying her time with her Grandpa G and waiting for Grandpa Reed and Grandma Debbie.
More to come-Tony

This & That

Here's a bit of this and that going on in our household as of late...

1. Each morning I wake up, grab the bedpost, heave myself out of bed and think, "hmph, still pregnant...." My doctor cautioned me that even with the shots, the goal with this baby was to make to at least 36 or 37 weeks, and she told me not to bother to schedule any appointments in July (my due date is July 14th) because it would be unlikely that I'd still be pregnant then. Now I find myself cruising though week 37, soon to be in week 38 with no obvious signs of imminent labor and delivery. So this is what the last month of pregnancy feels like. Even Tony admitted the other night that my swollen feet are looking "a little Hobbit-y."

2. We've been slowly whittling away at our "Things to do Before the Baby Comes" list. Chief among these was painting Afton's room.

3. Father's Day came and went and I sucked it up on another gift-giving holiday. I'm horrible at gift giving, especially for men. I think Afton had a better day than Tony did. Somehow she convinced her dad to give her a bowl of the coconut cream pie filling, which he was making for his own father, for her lunch. She finished that off by joining Tony in the backyard for a round of potato chips.

At dinner with her grandparents, all she ate was tortilla chips and a whole piece of coconut cream pie. (We don't fight the good food fight around company.)

Perhaps the only gift Tony got was that I sent him downstairs to sleep in the basement that night so that Afton could be my roommate (the paint in her room was still drying). This meant that he slept right through Afton throwing up all her coconut cream pie and chips in the middle of the night.

4. Afton marches on. She attended her first parade. Her political loyalties are won rather easily. The main question: Who is giving out balloons? But she cheered for many floats and conducted/danced to a lot of bands.

5. We're all getting anxious for Baby girl #2. We have everything (I think) ready, but a firm decision on the name... Stay tuned.

The Band Got Back Together

On Memorial Day weekend, we made Tony's favorite trek -- the eight-plus hour drive to the Garden of Eden, aka Oregon. The occasion was my grandmother's 80th birthday party, and most of my mother's family was there. It had been a long time since so many of us had gathered all at once.

Whenever Tony grumbles about how depressing old age will be, I remind him of my grandmother who is still going strong at 80. I expect to celebrate her 90th birthday in 10 years :).

Being Memorial Day weekend, we decorated graves of our family members. None of the in-laws came along, so it was just the six of us (plus little Elsa who fell asleep on the long drive to the cemetery).

There's not too many occasions anymore where we adult siblings hang out with our parents without our spouses and our kids. It was fun. It kind of felt like old times -- except that we were cruising around in my brother's minivan, and we never imagined any of us owning a minivan. (For crying out loud, our parents stuffed us into a four-door sedan for more than a decade.)

Speaking of bands, my mother insisted the four of us pose like this -- all standing apart instead of close together. We felt like we were posing for an album cover.

A tribute to the men in my life, who have done a lot for me since I don't have any sisters to listen to all my thoughts and validate my feelings. Evidently a conversation between the four of them out in the yard went something like this:

Brother 1: How did your blackberry bushes die?

Dad: They're not dead. I just sprayed them for bugs.

Brother 2: They look dead.

Dad: They're not dead. Look at the green leaves.

Brother 3: There seem to have been a lot more leaves before you sprayed them.

Dad: They're fine.

Brother 1: Does Mom know you killed the blackberry bushes?

Sometimes my poor dad gets it coming and going....

But, my dad has an ally in Afton. She helped her grandfather pick rocks out of the garden, walk around in the dirt, look at mud puddles, ride around the farm in the truck (where she sat on the pop-down armrest so she'd be tall enough to see out the window), and, of course, cruise around on the four-wheeler. She wouldn't make eye contact with, speak to, or smile at him during these excursions (and maybe that was a relief after my dad's talkative children and wife), but she definitely wanted to go. Especially if she could take along her pink purse.... When we got back home, Afton would say, "Appa Reed" and then just laugh.

Afton also connected with Grandma Debbie during their dance parties. I believe Grandma Debbie is teaching Afton a Zumba move here. Evidently they had a good time together at a park (sans Tony and I), as Afton now reminds me that Grandma Debbie "wing" (swings) on occasion.

It was a fun visit with our family that's now spread out across four states. We can't wait until the band gets back together next year!

Mother's Day

A little late, but this past Mother's Day provided some memories that must be preserved!

For Mother's Day, Afton gave me her cold and this card that was made during church nursery:

The front had a cute photocopy of her hands...

And the inside had a picture of her taken during nursery.

I think the caption should read, "No, please, tell me how you really feel about being awakened early from your afternoon nap only to be hauled to church where your parents leave you for an hour and a half with perfectly nice people and kids whom you nonetheless did not choose to associate with?" Yes, this is classic Afton: I'm not smiling for you and there's no way you're going to make me.... We laugh every time we look at it.

Tony did much better. For his Mother's Day gift to me, he (drumroll please) took me to a NATIONAL PARK!!! (and a nearby state park).

Afton was beside herself with all the dirt and rocks.

Note the ancient rock drawings...

And for those who are wondering, no camping. We stayed one night in a hotel,

which meant we left for our day's excursion squeaky clean and (mostly -- remember, we were sharing a room with Afton and I was just coming down with Afton's cold) well rested. It was a great trip.