Snow Sisters

Snow Sisters

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Week 2



Week 2 proved to be similar to week 1. Caroline has unofficially started her residency with her attendance to all my commitments this past week and even an afternoon of seeing patients (Major props to her Daddy for also accompanying us for that afternoon). But enough of that! I am officially on maternity leave....and I'm very happy about that!



She continues to be a very good baby. She's now on an every 3 hour eating schedule, so I'm not getting quite as much sleep as I was the first week, but I really can't complain...though I probably will in my sleep deprived state.

The first week pic was taken at a park where we had a picnic with a church group we meet with from time to time. I realize this is not obvious by the picture, sorry for the lack of creativity. It seems a bit more challenging to stage a cute picture these days, especially with a cute three year old to manage as well. The second pic is just so there was at least one picture with her eyes open...this is still the minority of the time these days.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Books and Tomfoolery

Picture from reading time one night.


Tomfoolery is a regular activity at our house. Here we are with Lily jumping on the guest bed (or as she puts it, smoothing is out for when Gran and Nana and Papa visit her). Caroline is pretty much resigned to look on with interest and perhaps a bit of apprehension...






Lily has been enrolled in a summer reading program at the Johnson City Public Library. About once a week she has gone with either me, Emily or Gran to the library for story time. She also checks out several books to have us read during the week. Its been a great way to read some different books without increasing the need for additional storage space. And lets be honest, some kids books are a bit weird and we end up glad that we can return them after trying them out.

Lily had a reading goal for the summer of 50 books, meaning that we had to read her 50 different books during June and July. Well, we did it!....meaning that we got to attend the pizza party today for all the kids who met their reading goals. Lily even got a certificate! While the kids ate, a fun little kids band played all the goodies....You are my sunshine.....Mickey Mouse Club....Bingo....etc.




Of course Caroline was there as well, but she was far less interested in the pizza than some seemingly pleasant bubble shifts in her belly that led her to crack this smile!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

The Birds and the Bees

Caroline is not the only recent birth at our house. Apparently the robin that lives in Lily's maple tree had two babies of her own. Here are some pictures of them from today, and then one of the Mama Robin as she anxiously watched me taking pictures of her babies.





These last couple are some pictures of bumble bees pollinating one of our basil plants in the garden out back. Bees are a blessing and a curse at our house. They are great for our flowers, herbs and vegetables as they pollinate everything and also tend to prey on some insects that are harmful to the plants. But we also don't want Lily (or anybody else) to get stung!

Caroline's Picture Partners

Uncle Jonathan came up for the day to spend some time getting to know little Caroline.


And play with Lily, of course!




Last night we went out to visit some of our local relations. We started out visitng Aunt Peedie and her son Tim. Aunt Peedie is one of Emily's grandmother's sisters.


We also stopped by to visit Aunt Evie and Uncle Carl. Aunt Evie is another one of Emily's grandmother's sisters.


It has been observed that Thatcher has not been in as many pictures lately as the other three children. The reason for this is that the camera "freaks" Thatcher out. No, like so much of Thatcher's behavior, we have no idea why he acts that way. My best guess is that he believes he is more dignified than to be subject to the paparazzi. Whatever the reason, he wasn't quick enough to escape from this picture.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Delicious

Yes, this cantaloupe and watermelon were grown in our very own squash/melon patch. And let me tell you, there is no comparison between a homegrown, vine ripened cantaloupe and the ones that you can buy at the store.

Dancin' in the Rain

While an umbrella is necessary when dancing in the rain, how you choose to use it is quite open for debate.



So this is what I've been doing wrong all these years.



Twirl!

Week 1

And so it begins!




(As an addendum to Caroline's father's post, I'd like to give a quick description of her first week. I pointed out to him that it seemed like Lily had more posts since Caroline's birth than Caroline. He pointed out that she 'does' more and that Caroline has a propensity to 'not do anything'. [typical male response :)] But I beg to differ on his assessment, Caroline was in church the Sunday after she was born at 2 days old then starting on Tuesday, at 4 days old, Caroline went to a seminar I had for work....that day and the next she had the opportunity to listen to a whole bunch of nothingness including the virtues of a 'patient centered medical home' and how we can improve the clinic I work in and to top it off she was introduced to her first 'Quality Improvement' project. This was followed the next day with a session on child/elderly abuse at the clinic...I mean what's a girl got to do to get some credit? I think she (and her mother) did plenty in her first week. Who knows what week 2 will hold?!)

And for a couple other "week" pictures....


Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Trickeration

Last night we got the sense that Lily could use a little "wild time," as Ms. Mattie would call it, so we went outside to run around a bit. Part of the fun included Lily riding her new scooter in the driveway. Fortunately, Uncle Jonathan bought Lily a helmet to go with Gran's scooter. In Chipper-esque fashion, Lily lost her balance at one point and did a face-plant into the concrete driveway. However, since she was wearing her helmet, the front of the helmet made contact with the driveway and protected her face. Thank you helmets! With new found courage, Lily proceeded to put on a bit of a show for us with a little.....trickeration!





Sisters



What can we say, so far Lily is everything you'd love to see in a big sister. She certainly loves her little sister and is very interested in her. She gets upset when Emily has to take Caroline with her to work. And she is so sweet when she "pets" her....we think this is a learned habit from being around her brothers so much!

Pumpkin Pops

So, what do you do when your garden gets a little out of control, and you have a heap of pumpkins in July!?!? Well, one idea is to make pumpkin pops! Using a recipe out of a fancy popsicle book, Lily and I made a valiant attempt at the rarely seen (or heard of) pumpkin pop. They turned out reasonably well, with most reactions to them being summed up as "that's different."





Saturday, July 17, 2010

Caroline's First Trip Home

We were able to leave for home from the hospital today, and were very grateful for a somewhat shorter stay than we had with Lily. When we pulled in we were certainly welcomed in proper style!


This is just sweet, what else can you say?


We've always believed that Gator was living in a different reality, this picture visualizes that sentiment very well. As best we can tell, Gator only registered our new arrival for just long enough to confirm that she is not a tennis ball, and then returned to planet Gator (a world populated by tennis balls).


Thatcher had the most interesting reaction to Caroline's arrival today. He was a little on edge already because our new camera freaks him out, but he also seemed to be a bit needier than usual.

I thought I would be fancy and get a shot of Caroline with the focus on Thatcher who was freaked out in the background, unfortunately for me Caroline put on her cutest face of the day while I had the camera focused on Thatcher. I was appropriately chastised for this.


Just some more sweetness.


Nana and Papa with their 4 grandkids from east TN!


In this photo, Lily is under the impression that Caroline has a dirty diaper....I'm not sure if that is the official sign language for "stinky" but it sure gets the point across!


Carla and Aunt Evie were kind enough to bring by an absolutely delicious dinner this evening, and of course said hello to the newest family member!