Long Beach

A quick trip to Long Beach was on the schedule for us yesterday. We stopped by the restaurant with Lauren to meet Grandpa Phil, Uncle Phil and Zia. Nikki and Max met us there too. Dad was nervous about holding such a tiny baby, but he had 4 kids of his own and we all survived, so I knew he'd handle it perfectly! It's true though, Lauren is much smaller than a tuna! Max loved patting and kissing his new cousin, he practiced his gentle touch on her and kissed her about 15 times in 30 minutes. He's already watching over his little cousin.

Rob, Lauren and I came home last night, but Jack stayed with Grandma and Pa for a slumber party. He got to visit the Long Beach Aquarium today with Nikki, Max and Grandma. He always has a great time down there. And we got to sleep in a little bit at home without our 6 AM Jack wake up call. Granted, we did have our midnight and 5AM Lauren wake up calls, but the few extra hours definately helped. We also had a little more room in bed last night as Lauren slept in her crib for the first time. It's nice to stretch out without a basket in the middle of our leg room. And Gracie liked getting her spot back in our bed, at least for part of the night. I think she got used to the couch over the last two weeks and probably the quiet too, without her snoring parents! Today was a lazy day, with movies on TV and grazing through our meals. We are looking forward to Jack coming home tomorrow and still one more day in our 4-day weekend.

2 Weeks

By two weeks old, babies should have gained enough weight to be back at their birth weight. When we took Lauren at 11 days old she was already at 6 lb., 11 oz. That girl can really eat! She is still mostly eating and sleeping, but has more and more alert time everyday. She checks us all out very intently. She has also started grabbing hold of us with both hands. She will grab my finger, shirt, anything while she eats as if to keep me close. Trust me, I'm not pulling away while she has me in a death grip with her jaws of steel! Yikes! She is feisty and already lets us know what she thinks. While Jack made sweet little squeaks and coos, Lauren grunts and grumbles instead. She is definately going to keep us on our toes! Jack has really taken to his new role as big brother. If she cries he rushes to her side to pat her and say, "It's OK Baby." He gives her gentle kisses on her forehead and brings her a pacifier for comfort. He is even enjoying some of his old baby toys with her. I can't say he's 100% on board with the new baby thing, but he is doing remarkably well.

As an aside, Iam so glad pink is my favorite color, otherwise I'd be in trouble! From adorable little pink outfits, to soft blankets, and even a gorgeous bouquet of flowers from Auntie Nikki and Uncle Troy. I can definately feel the feminine vibe invading our home...and I LIKE it!!

Happy Halloween

You'll never guess what Jack wanted to dress up as for Halloween...Spiderman! Can you believe it? HA! He matched the decal on the wall of his bedroom. He loved the built in muscles on his costume. I loved the fact that he was happy despite the fact that I didn't hand make his costume this year. With everything going on, his SuperJack costume sat in a heap of fabric near the sewing machine forever. Well, he was perfectly content and now I have everything I need for next year's costume all ready to go.

Rob took him trick-or-treating with Grandma Laura and Pa. Grandma dressed up as a witch while Daddy dressed up as the father of a newborn child. Everyone found his dark under eye circles and shuffling gate to by quite authentic...wonder why?

Lauren and I made it to two houses before we returned home to pass out candy. She was the cutest little fluffy pink teddy bear I've ever seen.

Jack had a great time. He saw several other superheroes and was thrilled to see so many good guys on our block. After getting candy from about 10 homes he came back to our house and got right into the swing of passing out candy to the other trick-or-treaters. He opened the door, gave them each one piece and wished them a happy Halloween. When one Mom urged her little one to say Thank you, Jack said it for him! Too cute. He had a great time and didn't understand that it is over until next year.

At the end of the evening Grandma and Pa left. After a full week of slumber parties with Grandma Laura, Jack didn't want her to leave with out him. He insisted on getting in the car with her. After we explained that he had to stay with us because Grandma had to go back to work, he finally agreed. Then he changed his tune, "OK, you take baby Lauren?" Hmmmm...I think this new baby thing might take a little while to get used to!

Lauren Harper Fredericks

We are proud to introduce the newest member of our family, Lauren Harper Fredericks. She was born at 10:16 AM on Monday October 25th. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 7 oz. and measured 19 1/4 inches long.








Rob and I headed over to CMH at 8AM on Monday morning for my scheduled c-section. What a difference from my experience with Jack! It's amazing how easy the surgery was without being in labor for 2 days first! After a relaxed pre-op, I walked into the OR, climbed on the table, got my anesthesia and then the fun began. By 10:16, Dr. Pattamakom pulled Lauren out, screaming like a maniac...great lungs! And that is such a delightful sound to Mommy's ears!




I got a quick peek at her before Rob and the nurses scooted her off to the nursery for all the basic checks.

She was weighed, had her blood sugar tested and enjoyed a little time under the sun lamp before she met me in the recovery room.

That afternoon Jack came to meet his baby sister for the first time. He loved the Spiderman book she gave him (she apparently stopped at Target on her way to the hospital!) He gave her kisses and brought a huge balloon for her. What a perfect day!

Week 37

As of today I am considered "full term" and the baby would be developed enough to survive in the world. However, I still have 4 days of teaching left this week and I really hope to have next week off to get organized and tie up all the loose ends before she makes her grand entrance. So even though I'm feeling tired and achy, I'd like to sign on for at least another 10-12 days of this torture! We'll see how that plan works-HA! Jack was 10 days early and I still had a week of teaching to go, so I realize that there are no guarantees. I'll be checking in with all three of my doctors today, so that might give me a better idea of my chances to make it to the 25th. In the meantime, I've been washing lots of pink clothes and working on her baby quilt. I'm hoping to get to Jack's Halloween costume, but Target sent us a costume catalog that he really likes, so worst case scenario he goes trick-or-treating in a store bought cotume this year. Stay tuned for more...

Football Brunch

We had a great weekend with family. Spent Saturday night at Grandma Laura's with Kelsey, Scott, Nikki and Max. My mom made a yummy dinner with homemade mac 'n cheese, BBQ ribs and even a Double Musky Pie for dessert! It was so worth an extra shot of insulin! Then, we went to my dad's Sunday morning for football brunch with Uncle Phil, Auntie Nikki and Cousin Max. The food was great and we had such a fun time. Jack was really excited to wear one of Grandpa Phil's football helmets off the wall of the bar. Fortunately he's got a few years to grow into it before the college scouts start checking him out! It was a busy weekend, and my last trip to Long Beach for a while. It is definately weird to think that next time we'll have a baby girl in tow, too! My how things are about to change!

Bath Time for Two

Jack and his cousin Max are getting to an age where they can really start having fun together. Yesterday was a great example of this, when Nikki brought Max up for the baby shower. After the party, and brief naps for both tired boys, we enjoyed BBQ ribs & mac 'n cheese followed promptly by a bath! They had a great time splashing and sticking letters to the wall while they sang the ABC song. They laughed and goofed around for quite a while before we finally fished them out. Nikki and I had always discussed having children one day and raising them like siblings, long before either of us had babies! Now to see our adorable boys playing together it is like a dream come true. It is nice to know that our boys will each have a "brother" to grow up with and it'll be interesting to see how a little girl will add to the mix.