Week 3

Lily celebrated the close of week three by making the pilgrimage to the home of Volunteer country, to visit grandma Olmstead, uncle Jonathan and lucky for us, (great) aunt Lynn. She appropriately marked this festive occasion by sporting the mighty power T on her chest. Luckily we caught this great shot (thanks to uncle Jonathan) while she was practicing her "V" for the "V-O-L-S" cheer, I guess you just can't stop that blood from running orange!

On a much different note, I want to recognize that July 29th marked what would have been my parents' 35th wedding anniversary. It is still hard to believe that my father is gone, that he never got know what it is like to hold his grandchild. But Lily will know how special he was through our stories and memories, which fortunately we will always have.

Meeting the Family...some of them anyway

Lily got a good dose of the Goen side of the family on Saturday. Not only did she meet some of her great-aunts and uncles (Thank you Lynn, Wally, Chris and Dena for making the trek to East TN!), but also her great-great aunts and uncles and all types of cousins, which frankly just gets confusing! Luckily Lily was just a doll through it all! We had a lovely get together at Carla's house (yes, the same Carla who hosted the beautiful baby shower) but really how can you not have a good time when there's a table full of delicious food, including a tray full of Chick-fil-A nuggets! Thanks Carla, for yet again being such a wonderful hostess!

















PS..note below, we captured the coolest lil chick on the block posing in her sunglasses...

.and the Chick-fil-A tray on the table....yummm.

Week "Number 2"

As week 2 comes to an end, we thought we would capture Lily in the places she spends the most time, or at least visits the most. This led us to this posting's pictures.

The VA is by far our favorite place to take the boys and walk/run and play ball, so logically we are already sharing it with Lily. Luckily she loves her car seat and stroller and just snoozes away while we stretch our respective legs and paws.

As far as 'places you're most likely to find the baby'....... think changing pad. And of course, the majority of the time she is lying there, she is wide eyed and smiley (or at least what we interpret as smiley). So we tried to capture these moments, hence the second round of pictures (oh, and we also couldn't decide between the two).

The Youngest Buffalo

Though it was a little toasty outside, Lily got her first glimpse of Milligan today. As Dave finished up some work in his office, we had the pleasure of showing Lily off to some new friends.

We took a stroll in the flower garden behind Hardin Hall and had a sit on the bench dedicated in memory of Lily's great-grandmother and great-grandfather Harkey. Lucky for us it was in the shade! We look forward to the many more Milligan ventures sure to come.

Paybacks

Ok, I have to admit, I thought it was really funny keeping my Mom and Dad up until 3:30 this morning. Apparently they weren't laughing though, so they decided to put me to work today while they caught up on their Z's. So, instead of the luxury of having them write all my thank you notes for me, they made me do it. And to tell you the truth, I think they had a hidden agenda. Since I spent all day writing, I'm kind of tired now and am thinking about actually sleeping through the night. Touche Mom and Dad, touche.

My One Week Birthday!

Alright, alright, you paparazzi, can't you give a girl just a minute without flashes going off in her face? Well, needless to say, I have survived my first week with my Mom and Dad, and surprisingly, am still in one piece (with a clean diaper to boot!). This time last week I was undergoing what I can only refer to as an "exceedingly unpleasant experience." However, having given my Mom and Dad a chance I've found that they're not so bad afterall. As it turns out, my Mom is fantastic. She does a great job feeding and burping me so that there is less pressure on my pipes. And as a matter of fact, Dad isn't too bad at changing my dirty britches and bouncing me to sleep either. All things considered, things are pretty good. They both wait on me day and night. But don't get the wrong impression, I'm not a slave driving diva. I have let them sleep approximately 38.6 hours collectively during the last week. But seeing as how its daylight right now, I'm getting kind of tired. A girl needs her rest for the night!

LEC

Uncle Jonathan comes to visit

Yesterday we had the pleasure of having the Olmstead clan together as Lily got to meet her uncle Jonathan for the first time. I believe she highly approves as she slept soundly in his arms the majority of the time. Now that she has met one of her uncles, she's looking forward meeting the other one (though she's afraid he might resemble the two brothers she has at home).

It was also Mom's last day here with us, and we just have to say Thank you again and again. All the help and support and cooking really helped Dave and I get back on our feet and only focus on the new little one we brought home. The help of all the grandparents from day one was such a blessing, we were so lucky that Mary and David got to stay as long as they did. Lily is already looking forward to the next time that she gets to see them.

The Family Walking Tradition

Our family pack has had a long tradition of walking, especially over the last nine months. It has been a great way to keep the dogs exercised and happy, as well as maintaining our sanity with all the excitement that has occurred of late. Though Lily has been on many of our walks in utero, this was her first walk....um....out utero. Many thanks to Tom, Cristy and Listen (hopefully her new best friend) for the Baby Bjorn that allows me to strap her on securely for a brief stroll.

For those of you who have had the privilege of meeting "The Boys" and know their energy level, you may be wondering what is on their jawls. These are gentle leaders, which may have been a little late in coming, however if you ask us they have been implemented just in time. These leaders, believe it or not, allow you to walk the boys without hardly any effort. You could do it with a single finger if you wanted. As you may imagine, with me and Emily preoccupied during the last week or so, they have come in handy by allowing our parents and others to get the boys daily walks in without the worry of torn ligaments and sprained muscles.

Parakeet

Fins UP!!! Yes, we are the proud parents of one of the youngest Parrotheads on earth right now. So far Lily has listened to the License to Chill (her father was hoping she would take that one to heart about 2 in the morning) and the White Sports Coat and a Pink Crustacean albums. Her favorite songs so far are "The Coast of Carolina" and "The Great Filling Station Holdup." Here's hoping that it is a while before she hears Jimmy's song, "We are the People Our Parents Warned Us About."

Blue Eyes, Friends, and the Battle for Daddy's Lap

Well, the past couple of days have been the most wonderful, tiring, experience of our lives. Emily and I are so completely happy to have such a beautiful, healthy baby girl. And we are very lucky to have such wonderful parents that have been here helping us get adjusted to baby life.

Valarie and Damon stopped by today for a visit. They are doing very well, looking forward to their wedding in October (we are very happy for both of them!) We were excited to see our friends today, however Lily showed her own excitement by opening her beautiful blue eyes for the majority their visit.
Apparently, the battle lines have been drawn for my lap. Traditionally reserved for Gator and his antics, I have recently been preoccupied with my new baby girl. As you can see here, I'm not sure if Gator is quite ready to relinquish his territory yet.

After checking out the competition he decided that maybe sharing isn't such a bad thing after all.

Lily, Dogs and the Dawg

Well, after being home for the first day, we have had time to see how Thatcher and Gator are accepting their new baby sister. As you can see below, Thatcher is very interested in her. Gator on the other hand has made two determinations regarding the new family member:

1) Lily is not a tennis ball

2) Lily cannot throw tennis balls

Ergo, he has thus far shown little interest in her. Both pups seem to be very accepting of her presence, regardless of their particular interest in her numerous and varied scents.

And well, what can you even say about this last Dawg?

Our Lucky Day

Well, the big day finally came, and as we suspected, it was on Lily's time. We woke up Saturday morning with Emily in labor, the first look at the clock telling us that she cared little about our lifestyle of recent weeks (it was 5:17).
Apparently it was her decision to give the army of Elvis's in Gatlinburg a run for their money on who would capture the luck of the day, 07/07/07. And that she did, Lily was born at 3:25 in the afternoon, weighing in at 7 lbs, 14 ozs, and measuring 21 inches long. She came out with a full head of dark hair, and two big, beautiful blue eyes, which if you are lucky she will glance in your direction.

The day itself went very smoothly. We arrived at the hospital around 7 am. Upon arrival, our labor and delivery nurse for the day (Lisa, who was incredible!), informed us that "by hook or by crook" we'd be having a baby today! Shortly thereafter, Emily had her epidural. From then until about 3:00, she seemed to be resting comfortably with the aid of modern medicine. As she was waking up after a little nap, she said, "I think Lily has moved a little lower." Lisa stopped by and took a look, then proceeded to instruct Emily that the time had come! 12 pushes and 25 minutes later, Lily was here!

Incidentally, for all the doubters, Daddy stayed in the room for the IV, epidural, labor, delivery (watched Lily come into the world) and even cut the cord, all the while staying vertical. As impressive as that may seem, the true glory of the day belonged to Mom and Lily, who as Lisa accurately stated later in the weekend, "made it look easy."
Fortunately, friends and family were close by (and if they weren't, they got here quick!) Grandma Olmstead, Grandma and Grandpa Campbell, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Carrie, Cousin Beth, Aunts Anna and Donnie, Bill and Edwina, and big brothers Thatcher and Gator were all on hand to extend some very welcome love and support.


As you can see from these last pictures, we got to come home today....and thank goodness, I don't know if we could've handled the hospital food much longer!

Celebrating the 4th

Though we had hoped we would be celebrating the independence of another sort on Wednesday, we were pleased to have some great company instead. Mom and Jonathan came up, as well as Anna and Sam [sans the dogs :( ] and we had a very festive afternoon. Dave proved that a PhD doesn't always mean you're the smartest cookie in the bunch and I got practice in scolding juvenile behavior (video soon to come).


A quick update on my 'post-date', if Lily doesn't come over the weekend, she'll get some encouragement on Monday. So, the clock is definitively ticking at this point. Thank you to all of you who have sent your love and well wishes and as usual we'll keep you posted!

Still Pregnant!

Just a quick update for anyone keeping track out there - I'm still pregnant! Just didn't want you to think we had forgotten to update you!

Dave and I are getting our first parenting lesson in patience, which no doubt will come in very handy in times to come. I've received all types of suggestions to speed the process along (long walks, massage, castor oil, spicy food), so if anyone has any fail proof methods just let me know!

This is me on my 'due date'..... still look the same.....