A Walk on the Wild Side

Today I felt adventurous and thought it would be a great idea to take the children for a walk around our neighborhood. Knowing that rain has been predicted for the remainder of the day through the weekend, I wanted to give Isaac the chance to play outside for awhile before we were confined to the house. Yesterday we cleaned up the double stroller that I bought months ago at a consignment sale (it is in great condition--just dusty from sitting in the garage for nine months), only to discover that it is missing the snack tray for the back seat. This is a big deal because it is the back seat where the baby carrier goes and the snack tray is the main hooking component for the baby carrier. I jumped on the Graco website last night to see if I could order a replacement part. I discovered that I could, however I needed the model number and serial number of the stroller which is conveniently located on the rear left leg on a white sticker. Uh...our little white sticker is missing. I emailed Graco and they think they can replace the part but I now feel as if we purchased this stroller on the baby black market and it's serial number has been filed off.

Because our double stroller is not in working condition as of yet, I opted to put Evelyn in our single stroller and let Isaac walk beside me and the three of us take a mere stroll around the neighborhood rather than on a longer, more scenic route. Our neighbor is quite quaint, only having three small streets that make a circle. In thirty minutes we had only made it to the end of one street. Isaac wanted to push the stroller, smell every flower, and look for "cir-cells" (circles). Not quite the cardiovascular event I hoped for, but it was a fun time. The fun came to an end when a light mist of rain turned into a heavier rain, which meant I had to carry Isaac while pushing the stroller and make a dash for the house. This was also not the type of cardiovascular event I had planned on, but Isaac was laughing hysterically by the time we made it to the safety of our garage.

Here are some latest pictures because I know that is why the majority of you check this blog...

Evelyn after her second PKU test yesterday

(A little bit of a traumatic event because the lab tech could not get Evelyn to bleed enough for the test and had to stick both heels. Apparently she clots very quickly. This led the tech to think that Evelyn did not need a band-aid, which resulted in her heel prick bleeding all over my jeans. I would demand payment from the hospital for these jeans, except for it happens to be Tobe's employer....and the jeans were actually maternity jeans anyway that I am ready to burn.)

Isaac peeking into the co-sleeper to see what Evelyn is doing.

Yes, there is video of this but I am having a hard time loading it. Perhaps tonight I can get to that. Isaac has wet hair in this picture because he decided at breakfast that yogurt makes a lovely hair gel.One behavior that Isaac has been exhibiting the past few days is to do things that the baby is doing. She started fussing in the car and he let out a fake cry (but quickly stopped when reprimanded and now when she cries, Isaac and I sing a song called "Be happy...not sad"). He also wants to sit in the Boppy like she does (see below picture) and wants a blanket laid on the floor to lay on as well. However, he quickly gets bored of resting in the Boppy or lying on a blanket and sets off for more "mature" things such as puzzles and Little People.Here are some shots I took of Evelyn this morning. I attempted to re-create a picture we had taken of Isaac to see how similar (and how different) they look. Isaac's picture is at the bottom. I think in these shots their mouths are similar.

Sunday night a college friend of ours stopped by to see Evelyn and Isaac and eat dinner at casa de Phillips. We ordered pizza and had a lovely feast at the coffee table. After everyone was done eating and we were sitting around chatting, Isaac picked up the phone, pressed a few buttons and had the following conversation with someone on the other end:

Isaac: "Hello? Pee-pa (Pizza)! Bye-Bye!"

Smart boy---he knew to order us more pizza because the box was empty!

Taking "Ev-in" to the Park

Friday my mother and I loaded up both children and set out for our local park. Isaac was quite excited about having company in the backseat (despite the fact that his company cried the entire way to the park--it was time to eat again after the long task of preparing and loading up two children to leave the house). I can say that this first outing was a success....mainly because I had another adult with me to help Isaac negotiate the playground equipment while I fed and watched the baby.

Here are a few snapshots of this first brother/sister outing:

Obviously, this is my child because he shares a love of Sonic drinks

(No fears--it is simply apple juice and not one of the 42,000 drink combinations that Sonic offers)

Isaac loves to sit on the "big rock"

Evelyn was obviously impressed by our local park/botanical gardens

Here are a few snapshots I stole off my mother's camera before she returned home.

This morning was my first attempt as a mommy of two on my own. 7:15am found me making one bottle and one apple juice, holding one ten day old baby, and keeping a pacifier in with my pinkie....all at the same time. We survived this first day with minimal tears, naps were taken by everyone, and Isaac only hit his head twice on our wrought iron sofa table/coffee table legs (this actually happened once Tobe was home).

Isaac's new word for the day was "Fantastic!" which is quite hilarious. I am trying to teach him how to use it appropriately in the course of a conversation. Isaac continues to enjoy the baby, often wanting to pat his sister "Ev-in." I took a great video of him today attempting to climb into the baby's co-sleeper so he could "pay" with her and found him yesterday starting to put a piece of paper into her bed (which she was in at the time). Obviously brother/sister play time is highly monitored.

As I proofread this post, I can tell it is time for this mommy to go to bed. Many sentences that I typed above had words or complete thoughts left out of them (I think I remedied the problem, but no need to mention if my ramblings are more scattered than usual) and are indicative of my lack of a solid eight hours of sleep at night. Thanks for making it to the end of this post---good night, dear reader!

I have to admitt that I am overjoyed with the fact that I am raising children in the era of digital cameras. I think we would have spent $300 on film alone in the past week if it weren't for our lovely digital camera. I shudder to think of what new parents did during those few years when the polaroid camera was the big deal, along with its ten dollar box of cartridges....

Here are some latest snapshots of life at casa de phillips:

Surrounded by pink...

Who would have thought I would go so overboard with the pink? However, it compliments the hair nicely I think.

First Bath

(Much better experience than Isaac's first tub time. For some reason, we felt like it was a good idea to bath him in his baby bath tub in the middle of our large, air conditioned living room. This decision was made by four intelligent adults--two of whom had raised three children together. However, we wised up with Miss Evelyn and performed her first home bath in the warmth of the bathroom. She had quite the spa experience!)

Picnic in the Backyard

(In case you haven't figured out, Isaac's "big brother" job is to push the music button on the swing. He takes this responsibility quite seriously.)

Post-doctor's appointment pictures

(Evelyn weighed in at 8 pounds 1 ounce and is now 22 inches long!)

Our Little Secret...

We have a little secret over here at casa de Phillips....

Miss Evelyn Kathleen has BROWN hair! I don't think we mentioned it in any of our posts on Friday, but we were shocked to see such lovely amounts of brown hair on her head. She also seems to have the same skin tone as Tobe....which means Isaac and I will be slathering on the SPF 80 while Tobe and Evelyn will be applying a mere SPF 15 while the family lounges at the pool.

Many have asked how Isaac has reacted to the baby. Tobe brought Isaac to the hospital around 10am on Saturday morning. Isaac simply laid all curled up on my shoulder for a good ten minutes before even looking at his surroundings. He peeked at the baby, but was more interested in the crushed ice provided by the hospital rather than Evelyn. He returned that afternoon after his nap and again was more interested in the ice than the baby. Both times he left the hospital with a simple "Bye Mommy!" rather than tears---which was nice, but I think a little sadness over the fact that he was leaving without me would have been a boost to this Mommy's ego. He has been running a low-grade fever since Friday evening, which is my personal excuse as to why he was not more heart-broken over leaving me behind.

Yesterday baby and I returned home after waiting forever to be discharged from the hospital (I was discharged at 9am.....Evelyn at 1am when the pediatrician who was on-call for our normal doctor decided to make her way to the hospital and round). Isaac was napping when we got home so he didn't see the baby until later in the afternoon. That was not exactly a joyful brother/sister reunion and there were many tears shed at first over the appearance of Evelyn in the room or anywhere near me. However, he did warm up as the night went on and today he is quite interested in her. He can say her name, which is sweet (and sounds much like his words for Elmo, Elbow, and Elephant but it is still sweet). Right now both of my babies are napping and I am about to join them. Although Miss Evelyn is a champion eater, it appears that her awake time is in the middle of the night. This does not sync up with my idea of "awake time" so I am struggling today!

Here are some more pictures! Enjoy!

Isaac's favorite part of the hospital--the large cup of crushed "Sonic" ice

I love this picture because Tobe is sitting in my hospital bed with a boppy and newborn daughter....They are watching basketball together for the first time!

Waiting (and waiting some more) to go home

Evelyn in her going home outfit

(Isaac wore the same outfit, but the boy version, when we took him home)

Isaac showing Evelyn his barn and all of his "people"
Isaac and Evelyn hanging out with Daddy this morning while Mommy slept

9:40pm

Lynley here...

Okay so six hours ago little Miss Evelyn arrived into this world! I have to say that this day was just absolutely wonderful--a bit painful at times, but wonderful! We feel so blessed by the comments left by all of you. It is nice to know that we have many friends and family who love us enough to even be interested and genuinely excited about the birth of our precious daughter. Thank you, thank you, Thank you!

We are getting settled in for the evening and I am about to take a lovely little sleeping pill. Miss Evelyn is going to attend the slumber party in the nursery for the evening.

The birth went beautifully, with only an hour of actual pushing. Tobe is an excellent labor coach and knows exactly how to encourage me without being too harsh or too "sissy." If his whole PhD thing doesn't work out, he might have a future career as a doula. Unfortunately our doctor did not make it for the actual delivery--Evelyn just decided to come out quickly at the end and another doctor who happened to be standing in the hall jumped in to assist our nurse. The baby looked great and has already proven to be a champion eater. At this time, I feel great (could be the pain medicine speaking or perhaps the vast amount of food I have consumed in the past six hours--yes I did get my Jason's deli!) and feel a bit more prepared for the rollarcoaster of hormone-induced emotions that will surely come in these first few days of Mommyhood.

Isaac has yet to meet his beautiful little sister. We decided that it would be best for him to come visit her in the morning when he is rested and happy. However, we have already been telling Evelyn all the things that Isaac will soon teach her--such as how to order at restaurants, how to "keen" (clean--one of his favorite pastimes), and how to get Mommy and Daddy to do anything you want with just a simple "peas" (please). Although Isaac has been in excellent hands all day and likely hasn't noticed that Tobe and I were not around, the mommy in me missed him dearly today. I think my heart might just explode now that I have another sweet baby to love to pieces.

Thanks again, dear readers, for taking the time to think of us today. We know the Lord has greatly blessed us with the best friends, family, and co-workers. We love you all!

Lynley

PS. I am sure Tobe will add new pictures tomorrow--so check back in!

PPS. Rest assured that never again will I dictate a blog post after the initial injection of epidural medicine. I just read over that post and all I can say is YIKES!

Evelyn Kathleen Phillips

She has arrived!!!
She was born at 3:40 PM on Friday, May 11th, 2007. She weighs 7 lbs. 9 oz., is perfect in every way, and is currently lying in Lynley's arms eating.

2:30 PM.

Alright, here we go. The pushing is to commence in about 5 minutes. Hopefully, the next post will contain pictures of our new baby daughter!

1:30 PM.

Lynley here (I am dictating to Tobe, who is doing the typing).....

So, just watching a little Days of Our Lives and the nurse says that we will probably be ready to start pushing in the next 30 minutes to one hour. I am quite thankful for the person who invented the epidural. And really craving Jason't Deli, as I haven't eaten since dinner last night. It's hard to think of what to say when I'm not typing it myself. Don't I look glamorous with my oxygen mask?

11:45 AM.

Not much new to report here. The epidural made Lynley pretty drowsy, so she has been able to nap a little bit. She is still progressing, albeit slowly. Her mom and dad are both here in the hosptial room with us, and my parents are watching Isaac at our house. We are able to watch Evelyn's heart rate on the monitor, and she appears to be doing fine. I'll see if Lynley feels up to doing the next post (unless the baby decides to come!).....

10:30 AM.

Tobe again....
Here is a picture of Lynley with her mom (the short red hair) and my mom. Also, Lynley just had her epidural inserted, and so is feeling a little better. The contractions are getting rolling much more quickly and intensely than they did with Isaac. The staff here are hoping that means Evelyn will come on along sooner rather than later.
They are taking some last preparatory steps, and then hoping that Lynley will be able to nap for a little while. We will continue to post updates as they occur. Thanks for checking in. We'll try to post some video of Evelyn once she arrives, if/when Lynley feels up to showing me how.

9:00 AM.

Tobe here.....
Dr. Allen just stopped by to check on Lynley and break her water. Both Dr. Allen and our day nurse (Lisa) feel Lynley is having good contractions and making solid progress. Isaac is at home with the grandparents right now - both sets. So, Lynley and I plan on having to reintroduce the word "no" into Isaac's vocabulary after this weekend. He apparently asked for Lynley once (and me not at all), and then just went on about his day. We are very blessed, though, to have all of Isaac's grandparents active in his life to the extent that he is so happy and comfortable with any of them in our absence.
To all who are reading these blogs, please do leave comments. Lynley has set up the security on her blog such that anyone can leave a note, without having to have a blog account. She really likes hearing from folks (as do I).
On a random note, Lynley and I heard an interesting news story this morning on the radio while traveling to the hospital. Apparently someone by the name of Don K. of Plano, Texas is receiving some local publicity due to his striking resemblance to Ian Zeiring, currently a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. We only caught the tail end of the interview with this Don K individual, just long enough to here him yell something about how he is "on like Donkey Kong." Not real sure what that's about. Just a local interest story we took note of today.

8 AM

Lynley here....Aren't you impressed with this live blogging? I am currently feasting on a gourmet breakfast of ice chips and watching the Today show (it is a little odd to actually be watching an adult news program in the morning rather than Playhouse Disney). Contractions are coming about every two minutes but are simply slightly irritating rather than painful. I have my handy-dandy pain scale of smiley/sad faces to let the nurse know what my degree of pain is. My goal is to stay drug-free until I reach the sad face of 6 or 7 before getting the epidural. We'll see how that goes....

Our first nurse said the baby might be here by noon, but I am estimating 5pm as to not get my hopes up. Just in case you were wondering, I plan on sending someone for a club sandwich from Jason's Deli as soon as this little one appears as I am already STARVING! (that is the exact meal sweet Alison brought me to eat after Isaac was born--which I ate at 9am!)

In closing, I must share two Isaac stories. Last night the whole family went out for my final pregnancy meal (which included a very large brownie sundae). Not only did Isaac order apple juice again, but he also asked the waiter for "corn, please." Too sweet. This morning around 4:30am I heard Isaac laughing in his sleep--such a sweet sound. Then I heard him start to whimper as if having a bad dream and he called out in the saddest voice, "apple juice, apple juice..." I think he must have been dreaming of a world with no apple juice and it just broke his little heart!

We are live from the hospital.

Hello everyone. Lynley and I are here at the hospital. It is currently a little before 6:30 AM, and she is already in the gown, lying in bed, signing a bunch of consents. Our admitting nurse is actually the same one we had overnight during Isaac's birth, which is pretty cool as we had asked if she was still around. Though everyone who interacted with us the first time through here was very kind, this particular nurse stood out and was one we remembered by name.

So, just a quick 'good morning' to you all and more to come soon!

Tobe.

Ready....Set.....GO!

Isaac loves to say, "Ready, set, GO!" before tackling some great feat, such as running down the hall at full speed. Looks like we are at the point of saying, "Ready, Set, GO!" for this little baby to be born tomorrow. Yesterday we had our final doctor's visit and discovered that I had finally made more progression in the whole labor department. Also, I had lost three pounds this past week which is a good sign the ol' body is ready to have this baby (I lost five pounds the week before Isaac was born). Sooooooooo....tomorrow morning we are going in bright and early to encourage this little one into the world. Tobe will be updating the blog to let you know what exciting things are happening as the day goes along. I am hoping that the baby will be born by 5pm---my doctor has reassured me that this labor will not take 26 hours like Isaac's did. If you are bored tomorrow and need something to entertain yourself at work, stop by the blog and see if this baby girl has been born! (By the way, you can now leave a comment even if you don't have a blog of your own--I decided to be brave and allow anonymous comments, so play nice!)

Today we put the final touches on the nursery. The only thing we are missing is some last minute decorations for the shelf over the changing table and a sweet baby girl!

Pardon Me, Sir...

Saturday evening we went out to dinner with Tobe's parents. The waiter approached our table and graciously took our drink orders. As he began to walk away from the table, a sweet voice (belonging to a little boy who had been consumed with coloring during the entire ordering process) called out after the waiter, "Apple Juice."

This weekend placing his own drink order.....tomorrow he will be walking across that graduation stage!

***

I have secretly been hoping that the baby would have been born yesterday for the past nine months because it would have made her birthday 05/06/07.....how cool is that! However, at about 11:55pm last night when I was up watching the replay of Extra! while the rest of the house slept, I gave up the dream of her having such a super cool birth date. The 11th is cool, too.

***

Umm, did Apollo just do the tango to "Jesse's Girl" on Dancing with the Stars? Great dance, but his partner was not even alive when that song came out...

***

Here is a snapshot of Isaac's latest obsession---climbing. He can now climb up on the ottoman and couches by himself. I tell you....he is growing up too fast!

Save the Date!

Mark your calenders, charge the video camera, and put film in your camera (I guess that is actually an outdated reference....perhaps I should say, clear your memory card?)......we have a date for this little one to be born!

Unless she decides otherwise, our baby girl will make her big appearance one week from today on Friday May 11th! (Please don't let her take her time like her big brother and actually arrive on Saturday May 12th!)

After seeing the doctor on Wednesday and discovering that I had not progressed any further than I had two weeks ago (at which time we panicked thinking this baby might arrive early), she decided to schedule us for an induction next week unless this baby girl gets the show on the road. Being the Type A personality that I am, I like the idea of having a scheduled date for this baby to arrive and I can quit hoping that my water will break at any moment (okay, I am still hoping it will break at any minute because I am quite uncomfortable, but I can pretend that I have quit hoping my water will break at any moment.....).

So, Dear reader, clear your schedule for next Friday because remember Tobe will be updating the blog with witty accounts of this whole labor process!

***

It wouldn't be Friday without a sweet Isaac story. Lately he has been wanting to sit at the table to eat rather than in his highchair. He has a little booster seat that we can put in the "big people's chair" and his sweet head barely peeks over the table. This is all good, but the other day he lost this table privilege because he purposely smeared applesauce all over the table. Yesterday at lunch he was allowed to sit at the table again, which caused him great joy. He is in a cereal phase right now and wanted cereal as his end-of-meal treat (usually his request is for "Ah-sauce" or yogurt). He loves shredded wheat but sometimes gets frustrated when all the shreds of wheat get stuck in his mouth. I have been teaching him he has to drink something between bites to wash down this type of cereal. Yesterday I was cleaning up my lunch dishes with my back to him while he finished up his cereal ("sear-sul"). I turned around to find bits of shredded wheat all over the table and the floor. All I said was, "Isaac...." and before I could finish my motherly statement he looked at me quite seriously and said, "Obey, obey, obey..." He helped clean ("Keen") up his mess before bedtime, but I safely tucked the booster seat away in the garage for another day!

***

As mentioned in a previous post, Isaac really digs coloring right now. Wednesday he was coloring in his coloring book at our coffee table while I cooked dinner. We feel quite comfortable leaving him along with crayons because he understands what he can color on and what is off-limits. I popped into the living room to check on him and to color with the "ye-doe" (yellow) as he had instructed me to do. It was then that I noticed the book I have been reading laying open on the couch. Not only was it laying open to where my bookmark had been, but it had been artfully decorated in red crayon streaks on two pages. As I looked at the book and then looked at Isaac, his blue eyes immediately got big and filled with tears. All I had to do was ask him if he colored in my book and he laid his head on the coffee table and sobbed. His little heart was broken that he had gotten in trouble. I hope he always feels this guilty when committing a "crime." He apologized and we hugged it out. Yesterday he saw my book and pointed at it, saying "No No." Smart boy.

***

In closing, I have a book recommendation for all you parents who love children's books. We heart reading here at casa de Phillips and hope to inspire that love in our children (if you have visited our home you have seen the large bookcase of children's books that resides in the living room). Isaac and I visit the library every week and a few weeks ago one of the stories at story time was a book called "Moon Plane." We checked it out this week and Isaac has carried it everywhere. I have ordered him his own copy. If you are wanting to get your child a new book, we suggest Moon Plane by Peter McCarty. It is a great read!

My Blog... A Long, Lost Friend

Oh, Blog, how I have neglected you in the past week. I am deeply sorry for the neglect, my friend. It is not that I haven't a thing to write about--in fact here is a sampling of topics I have meant to sit down and blog about but chose to lounge on the couch instead...

• ...how the other day I heard Isaac running down the hall, then a loud thump occurred, followed by a sweet "Oh-Uh." and then immediate wailing. I rushed into the hall to find Isaac laying in a heap on the floor, sobbing. In all of his excitement, he ran smack into the wall. I tried not to giggle as I scooped him up and kissed away the pain.

• ...how I have had no baby yet. In fact, the daily contractions have seemed to slow down rather than pick up. Aargh! I quite over the whole pregnancy thing and willing to enter the "no sleep/exhaustion" phase.

• ...how Isaac loves to sing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" but really only has the "E-I-E-I-O" part down. This "singing" involves saying "E" and "I" repeatedly at a loud level and then finishing the song with a strong "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."

• ...how Isaac is fascinated with clips of all kinds right now. He can entertain himself for quite the while by buckling and unbuckling his highchair, booster seat, the baby carrier, etc. We hope this is in indication that he has a mechanical mind, something that neither Tobe nor I possess.

• ...how over the weekend I installed and reinstalled Isaac's and the baby's car seats no more than four times until I finally figured out how to make them both work in our car. This installation process involved Isaac feeling the need to crawl in, around, over, and on both car seats as I attempted to get them situated. The baby car seat still needs some work, but I am waiting until my frustration level over the ordeal subsides.

• ...how anyone who is voting for Billy Ray Cyrus to stay on Dancing with the Stars should lose all phone and Internet privileges until the end of the season and who should also be denied the right to vote in the upcoming Presidential elections.

• ...how President Bush vetoed the war-spending bill today that would start to actually bring troops home, declaring it as a way of "setting a date for failure." Two questions: 1. Didn't he say "Mission Accomplished." four years ago today? 2. Have you noticed there are less and less "W" stickers on cars these days? Hmmmmmmmmm.....

• ...how yesterday I spent a total of three hours on the phone with Time Warner Cable and was actually only speaking to someone for about twenty minutes of that time.

• ...how on Sunday I attended the memorial service for a dear co-worker who lost her battle with Ovarian cancer. It was an "ideal" memorial service, in that people were appropriately sad and respectful but there was lots of laughter and great memories shared. I was fortunate enough to teach at a very close-knit school, were past and present faculty remain in contact with each other. Kathy will dearly be missed by the staff at Timber Creek but we all had a great time celebrating her life on Sunday.

• ...how last week I turned and knocked Isaac's sippy cup off the highchair with my tummy (or "tunny" as Isaac calls it)

• ...how the Gerber baby food company has a commerical that simply shows different women in labor. It is a bit too realistic and makes me want to (slightly) reconsider this whole birthing a baby thing.

• ...how a former co-worker of mine told me that childbirth is her absolute favorite thing to do EVER. She has had two children, but says she would do it a dozen more times (except she does not want a dozen children) if given the chance. Seriously....can you list "childbirth" in the box titled, "Favorite Activities?"

• ...how whenever this baby arrives (if she EVER arrives) we plan on blogging live during the labor (make sure you read that to say "labor" and not actual "birth" There will be no play-by-play of anything involving the terms "pushing" or "crowning."). By "we" I mean Tobe. I plan to be busy. Tobe happens to work for the hospital system at which we are having this bundle of joy and membership has its privileges (intranet access).

So, dear Blog, I am sorry I have left you lost and alone over these past few days. Perhaps you will accept these few pictures as an apology...

Isaac loves to color and has become quite fond of sitting with his "desk" and coloring for long spells. This warms my heart because I am all about the arts and crafts time. I especially love how he will draw something particular and tell us what he just created. You can tell how serious he is about the whole process in these pictures....

The required belly shot.

I love how some people will tell me how low the baby is and then some will tell me how she is still up under my lungs....makes me think no one really knows.

Notice the beautiful flowers on the piano my husband gave me for my birthday---I kept them looking good for two weeks!