The Hospital Stay

Checking out baby sister 

Katherine's coming home dress was way too big despite being a preemie

Glad I picked up a headrest last week

Nonna getting Luke all strapped in to come home!

I hate to admit this is our "coming home" photo...

Our stay at the hospital was good.  After my unusual delivery experience we were informed their were no rooms available for us so we spent the night in the delivery room.  Paul and I were both so wired from the evening's events that neither of us slept.

Once Katherine was born the NICU team came to assess her since she was an early arrival.  They deemed her perfect!  Her lungs were great and all her scores were normal!  We were so relieved.  I must admit hearing her screaming at the top of her lungs was music to my ears!  Katherine went to the regular nursery which was a blessing.

Friday morning it seemed like it was taking them forever to bring her to us.  Paul and I were getting antsy so he went to the nursery to find out what was going on.  Dr. Patterson was there assessing her. We both felt so fortunate that both my OB and our pediatrician were on call during our stay.  Dr. P said she was perfect!  Some concerns we had were quickly dismissed so we were ecstatic.  After Katherine was all cleaned up with a bow in her hair we decided she looked like a completely different baby!  Absolutely beautiful.

Friday was spent getting to know our little girl and having some visitors come to see us.  We finally got moved to a regular room after lunch.  Luke was so sweet the first time he saw his baby sister.  He had been with Nene and Pop but they had not told him that Baby K had arrived.  When he came in the room he was excited to see us.  When we asked him who we were holding he said Baby Katherine!  It melted my heart.  He was so sweet with her and wanted to hold her and kiss her.

We also found out Friday we would be staying 3 nights since Katherine was born so late in the evening and was so little.  They wanted to keep an extra eye on her.  Baby K spent the whole day sleeping Friday.  She was a good eater but did not want to stay awake long enough to get a full feeding in.  She did better starting Saturday afternoon.  She was becoming more alert.

Paul stayed with us Thursday and Friday night.  My mom stayed with me Saturday night so Paul and Luke could come home and enjoy a good night's rest.  The boys also wanted to get some things ready for Baby Katherine to come home.

Sunday morning they checked her bilirubin level since she was getting a little jaundice.  We had the same issues with Luke when he was born as well.  I was nervous that they would not let her come home.  I was so relieved when Dr. Patterson came in early that morning to say we could go home.  Her bili was high but Dr. P said we just had to be very aggressive with feeding her every 2-3 hours to get her pooping like she needed.  She is such a good eater that I knew everything would be ok. We just needed a little time.

Paul and Luke arrived early that morning to bring us home.  Nonna stayed to help us get everything loaded up to get us on our way!  We were so excited to be coming home together as a family!

Here is Our Story

All smiles after Katherine Suzanne's arrival

Luke really is happier than he appears in this picture!

Luke loved his trains Katherine gave him!

"So, you are the one who delivered on the stretcher?"  Gotta love the fact that this is what I was known as while I enjoyed my three night stay at Baptist Hospital after delivering Baby Katherine.  I am proud to say "yes, I am!"

Our experience having Katherine was interesting to say the least.  We would have been 36 weeks pregnant on Friday.  Thursday during supper I did not feel good.  Nothing specifically was wrong.  Paul got home early since his job was called off due to lightening.  Little did we know that God was already working.  After supper he insisted Luke and I go upstairs so I could rest.  Luke and I enjoyed a movie together.  Meanwhile Paul was busy cleaning the kitchen and for some reason decided to install the car seat!

About 8:45 I thought my water had broken but was not sure.  It did not take long for me to realize that I was in labor as the contractions started coming quick.  By the time I called my doctor, got the go ahead to go to the hospital and finished packing my bag ( I know, should have already been packed) we needed to be leaving!  Paul called Bill to come and stay with Luke since he was sleeping already.  Nonna and Nene were going to come to the hospital later.

Paul was driving fast down the interstate with his flashers on and I told him I did not think we were in that big of a hurry. We got checked in by who had to be the slowest registration clerk at the hospital.  It took longer to get me checked in that it did to have the baby!  They quickly got me settled in a triage room and confirmed my water had broken and the baby would be here soon.  The nurse called for a stat epidural.  As I was being wheeled in to the delivery room I knew Katherine had no intention of waiting!  She was born on a stretcher in the middle of the room. My doctor was not there, I did not have an IV and the nurses were running around like an episode of ER.  I was extremely scared and somewhat frantic.  Paul was such a trooper and tried to get me to calm down.  Once she was born I felt much better. And the rest they say is history... Mom and Paula got their fairly quickly after she was born.  My doctor walked in and was astounded at how fast Katherine came.

At least Katherine will always have an interesting story to tell.  She could not wait to be out in the world!

**This is one of those posts I due mainly for us to remember how a certain even transpired.  Not really one for entertainment purposes.**

Coming Soon....

It is hard to believe in a few short weeks we will have a little baby to wear these sweet clothes.... I have never been one for frills, smocking or ruffles, but something about having a baby girl has made me have second thoughts.  I went this week to find Baby K a coming home outfit.  I do not really remember worrying too much about this with Luke.  As it turned out it was freezing when we brought him home so he wore a snow suit!  I found the sweet gown at a consignment shop and then I could not resist the other dress at a boutique shop that was having an unbelievable clearance sale.  It is a size 6 months but I think it will be perfect for her panel picture!  I know the times she will wear frilly things will be few and far between but every little girl needs a fancy dress. 

Jon-Jon's Shirt

Paul is on a job with ServPro as a safety inspector for the next few weeks.  He worked 14-hour days every day this week.  Luke and I miss him around here.  Paula has been helping me out by picking Luke up from school once a week so I can do errands, work around the house, or take a nap!  The heat has been brutal lately so I have not been very productive.  Bill and Paula brought Luke home Wednesday night in one of Uncle Jon's shirts from Sumner Academy.  Luke loved wearing his Jon-Jon shirt and slept in it that night! 

Playing Around

 Luke with his "guitar"

Since we transitioned Luke to a double bed a week ago he has done great!  It has drastically reduced the number of times he gets up at night.  In fact, he has only gotten up once the last 4 nights.  I am sure tonight we will be a different story since I just bragged on him.  Yesterday I wanted to take some pictures of the kids' rooms to show Memaw.  She is not able to walk upstairs so she has never been to our house.  She is anxious to see what we have been doing in the baby's room so Luke helped me take some pictures that we can show her on her TV this weekend.  Luke insisted on having his picture made with each of his stuffed animals.  

I bought some oversized letters for a project in Katherine's room.  Luke decided the "T" was the perfect guitar and danced around singing with it.  So funny!  We are trying to do better about taking videos.  Luke now asks to watch Luke Movies.  When we watched several home movies lately we realized we were not making them nearly enough! 

Oh the Shenanigans!

Baby powder, anyone?

The evidence...

I kept Luke home from school today since I was off and did not have any appointments.  I know my Tuesdays without anything to do are quickly coming to an end as I try to cram doctors, dentist and optometry appointments in on my days off before Baby Katherine gets here.  We had a pretty low-key morning.  Luke was enthralled by the "Bug Man" (Terminix) who came to spray for spiders.  They have been horrible lately.  When you walk through cob webs in your family room  you know there is an issue!  That should not reflect on my housekeeping skills lately either!

At one point I went upstairs to do something for a few minutes and left Luke playing quietly in our bedroom.  He peeped around the corner and said "Mommy Luke made mess".  He was very timid and I could tell he must have really done something.  When I asked what he did he said "white stuff".  I went to the bathroom and this is what I found.  I often put baby powder in my shoes, for obvious reasons I do not need to explain.  Luke climbed up on his stool and retrieved the powder from the bathroom counter and proceeded to "powder" my shoes.  I tried so hard not to laugh and tell him that was not nice and that he should not do it again.  He helped me clean up and told me he was sorry repeatedly.  

We did a couple of errands before we met Paul for lunch.  With the exception of Luke not having an afternoon nap, we had the perfect day together.  Paul and I say this all the time but each phase of Luke's life is more fun than the last!

Winter in July?

While we were home this weekend Paul decided to clean out and organize some things.  We are still trying to make room for Baby K's stuff.  The winter garb never quite got packed up this past Spring.  Luke insisted on putting on his gloves and hat.  He then preceded to dance around our bedroom and play basketball with the laundry hamper!  Even though he was "sick", he did not feel bad. 

I had to work Monday, the 5th but Paul was off.  It was considered a holiday at the hospital so I only worked a 1/2 day.  Nonna brought Luke home about the time I got home.  He had a great time at Nonna's despite the fact he was up at 4 am!  Nonna would not let him get up but he never did go back to sleep.  He had a quick nap mid-morning and that was it. 

That night Nene and Pop came over for supper.  They were missing their Luke!  Paul and I decided that maybe the reason Luke has not been sleeping well is that he needed a bigger bed.  Even though we just transitioned him to his toddler bed a few months ago we thought that he might enjoy a double bed.  His crib converted to a double bed and we were able to borrow some mattresses from Nene and Pop.  Luke was so excited to be getting a "big" bed!  He did really well the first night in it and only got up once or twice.  He had been getting up numerous times every night and coming to our room.  This is not something we wanted to start right before we added a newborn to the mix. 

So far, so good with the transition.  We know it will take a little while for him to get used to the bigger bed but he seems to really like it so far. 

Holiday Weekend

This weekend ended up being not as eventful as we had planned.  Luke woke up during the night Friday with a fever.  Normally we probably would not have worried about it but with the long holiday weekend looming ahead and the fact that strep has been going around his school I decided to get him checked out.  Luke and I were at the doctor by 8:30 Saturday morning.  We have not been to the pediatrician since his 2-year well visit in January.  This was by far a record for us!  Luke kept asking where Corduroy was when we were waiting for the doctor.  One of his favorite books is still Corduroy Goes to the Doctor.  He did not understand why he was not there seeing the doctor, too.

The doctor ended up being more concerned about Luke's respiratory status than his fever.  He decided that he had two separate issues going on.  We are back on breathing treatments twice daily for a couple of weeks then once daily for another month.  He has still never been officially diagnosed with asthma, but he definitely has some respiratory problems.  His strep test was negative but the doctor did find some sores in the back of his mouth consistent with a virus.  Since you can not really treat the virus with antibiotics we just treated the symptoms.  He was contagious for the first 24 hours after developing the fever so we had to miss a fun breakfast with old friends and the Independence Day get together with the Troutts that evening. 

Paul went and hung out with everyone and Luke and I stayed at home.  He really never acted like he felt bad, just did not have much of an appetite.  We played with puzzles, watched movies and built lots of "houses" with the blocks.  By the time Paul got home Saturday night we needed to get out of the house.  We had promised Luke he would see some fireworks and he kept asking about them.  We drove up to Hendersonville to see their fireworks show.  We found a decent place to watch them.  Luke loved it!!!  He repeatedly said "Ohhh...Daddy, look at that one!"  It was so cute!

We stayed home from church Sunday morning since it would have not been a good idea to have Luke around a room full of little people.  That evening we decided to go to Nonna's for supper.  She offered for Luke to spend the night and we quickly took her up on it.  He had not been sleeping very well for several nights and Paul and I were worn out!

Life Is Good.

More bubbles please

I'm going to get you Mommy!

We are 8 months pregnant and anxiously awaiting Baby Katherine's arrival. And it is Hot, very Hot!  I try to stay inside as much as possible these days.  After supper tonight Paul and Luke decided to go outside and wash the cars and play in the water.  I used the opportunity to get some things caught up inside the house.  I went out to see what they were up to and this is what I found.  Both of them were soaked through!  Luke was having a ball running around in the sprinkler and spraying Paul with the hose.  For a while the notion never struck him to try to get me wet.  But, when it did he was not letting up!  I had to run from him; but, that boy is fast!  I ended up bounding up the stairs in the garage and he still soaked me!  Life is hectic, but very good...

Nanny's Birthday

Luke had to help Nanny with her cake

  Nanny and the kids (minus Andrew)

 This is how Luke slept the whole way there

Saturday we went to Tullahoma to celebrate Nanny's birthday.  Her birthday is actually on the 21st of June, but this was the first time everyone could get together.  We went to Cynthia's and enjoyed grilling out.  Well actually, Thomas did the grilling.  We felt bad for him because it was so hot and only one burner was working on the grill.  Everything was delicious though.  We watched the USA in the World Cup and let Luke entertain us by working puzzles and playing with toys. 

I was pretty tired.  It seems as though I am getting to that point in the pregnancy when I would rather  be napping than most anything else.  When we are away I am always thinking about all the things that need to be done at home, too.  

We stayed there all afternoon and got stuck in horrible construction traffic and did not get home until 8 tonight.  We were all pretty tired and ready to get out of the car by the time we got here!

Father's Day and Anniversary

We celebrated our 5-year anniversary by going on an impromptu overnight trip to Atlanta.  We had talked about doing something "big" this year since baby Katherine's arrival is quickly approaching.  But, when it came down to it we really could not decide where to go so we decided not to go anywhere.  Last Wednesday night there was a Braves game on and Paul and I both commented that we would like to go back to Atlanta soon.  So, just like that Paul was on PriceLine getting us a room!  I had to work Saturday morning.  We dropped Luke off at Nonna's around 1 and got on the road. 

Even though we were there less than 24 hours we had a blast.  We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead.  We ended up enjoying a cool pizza place for supper that night, mainly because we did not want to wait over an hour to eat at a "nice" restaurant.  It was an unseasonably cool night in Atlanta which we both enjoyed immensely.  It has been in the mid to upper 90's in Nashville for 2 weeks so we welcomed a break from the heat.  After supper we drove around for a while and did a little window shopping.  We ended the night with ice cream from Bruster's before returning to the hotel.

One of the best parts about the weekend was sleeping in!  It was nice to not have a 2 1/2 year old alarm clock jumping in bed with us at 5:30!  We ate breakfast at The Flying Biscuit which was a really neat experience.  I love fun breakfast places.  Next we went to IKEA!  We have been there a couple of times before and always have a good time looking around.  They have just about anything you could possibly want for a home at an affordable price.  We picked up a couple of things for Katherine's room and some more train tracks for Luke.  After we spent a few hours in there it was time to get back on the road!  It was a great, quick get-a-way!

Meanwhile, back in Nashville Nonna and Luke had a great time!  They ate supper at Chef's Saturday night were Luke entertained Cheryl and Mary.  They thought he was adorable; I agree!  That night when Nonna put Luke to bed he said "Luke sleep in Nonna's bed?"  How can someone say no to that?  Nonna said he slept good with her and did not take long to fall asleep.  Sunday morning they went on a surprise visit to Tullahoma to visit my Nanny.  She loved having the unexpected company!

When we were all back home we celebrated Father's Day.  I did not get a good picture of Paul and Luke that day.  Paul was excited to open his blender Luke gave him.  We have already enjoyed fruit smoothies with it this week!  It was great, unexpected weekend!

Little Monkey

Over the edge

Laid back...

Tonight Paul and I were in Baby Katherine's room doing some things.  We looked around and Luke had climbed up in her bed!  He did not want to get out.  He said he was going to "take a nap in Baby Katherine's bed".  He also liked her "baby pillow".  It took quite a bit of coaxing to get him out.  I left the room and he was right back up in the bed!  Guess we need to work on the importance of not climbing in the baby's bed before she gets here!

A Day With Friends

The gang

Julie and sweet Maggie

Amanda and Shelby

Today I enjoyed a special treat! I went to Murfreesboro to see my college friends. Amanda and Julie both had baby girls last summer. I saw Shelby shortly after she was born, but had not met Miss Maggie yet. Both girls were so sweet! They were so well-behaved and happy. It was fun seeing them playing together. We have been trying to get together for a couple of months now. I had been planning on taking Luke with me since Julie has never met him. Since we just got back from lake and Luke missed school yesterday, I hated for him to miss 2 days in a row. So, I went by myself. It was neat to see two of my good friends with baby girls! It gave me even more to look forward to when baby Katherine gets here! We vowed it would not be another year before we see each other again.

Weekend Trip

Lauren and Luke. Luke was sportin'
his new hat Uncle Jon brought him.

Jon Jon and Luke playing with the blocks.

Luke on the prowl for his next victim!

Loving the lake with Daddy!

Tired little fella after a day
on the water.

We did a lot of relaxing...

Nene and Luke reading on the deck.

This past weekend we went to Center Hill Lake with the Troutts. We had a great time! Luke did not sleep well at all the first night and was cranky, but after that he was great! Everyone else went on a canoe trip Saturday but the three of us opted to stay at the house. We were glad we did. Everyone was gone over 6 hours! That was too long for a 2 1/2 year old. We decided to drive in to Cookeville for lunch. We had not been gone from the house for more than 5 minutes before Luke was asleep. So, we turned around and went back. Luke slept over 3 hours! I took a nice, long nap, too.

Sunday we spent the day on the lake in Jon's pontoon boat. I was not sure how Luke would like the boat and water, but he loved it! He loved splashing in the water. We got him a little boat that he could sit in and he thought it was great. It was miserably hot outside but being in the lake was so nice and refreshing.

We played a lot of games, relaxed and ate....it was a great weekend! Having the extra night was so nice. No one felt rushed. When we got home Monday the three of us were pretty worthless. We spent most of the afternoon resting and unpacking. We ended up going to the neighborhood pool that evening. Luke has already asked when we are going back to the pool and the lake!

Cheese for the Camera!

One afternoon last week I was fooling around with the camera and Luke decided he wanted to do some posing for me. This is fairly unusual. Usually he closes his eyes or gets some silly face on when the camera comes out. I though these were pretty cute!

Playdate With the Louw Girls

On the swinging bridge

Emma on a cool riding toy

The kids in the kitchen

Emma dressed up as a princess

Today Luke and I met Katherine, Emma and Hanne at the Streets of Indian Lake to go to Peek-a-Boo Playtown. It opened recently and we had been wanting to check it out. The kids had a great time. The concept is really cool. There are different "centers" the kids can play in such as a grocery store, tool workshop, dress-up theatre and kitchen. They also have an indoor playground with a slide and several other stations including two train tables well-equipped with all things Thomas. Luke was very happy with that!

Luke loves Emma and Hanne. I bet he asked where Emma was 100 times while we were with them today! I don't know why I did not take any pictures of little Hanne, but she got in on the action, too. There is a separate toddler area that she enjoyed. After the kids got tired of playing we all walked over and had lunch at Sam's Sports Grille. The kids liked their grilled cheeses and Katherine and I enjoyed yummy salads. I brought the rest of mine home for supper tonight!

Memorial Day Weekend

Helping Dad with a little yard work

Jake is so cute!

Luke loved playing with all
of Jake's toys.

Mr. Reynolds giving his annual
pre-dinner speech

Luke decided to take up croquet
this weekend...

GiGi giving Luke a helicopter ride!

We had a wonderful Memorial Weekend. It was so nice and relaxing. We did not feel overwhelmed with lots of cook-outs and parties this year. Saturday night we went to Jamie and Angela's to cook out. Audrey and Jason joined us. It was great getting to see everyone. Luke had fun playing with Jake and especially enjoyed all of his toys!!! Both boys were so fun to watch. They are growing so fast. They are almost exactly 12 months apart.

Sunday evening we went to the Reynolds for their annual Memorial Weekend party. There were a few pop-up showers, but that did not dampen anyone's mood. Luke continues to love his GiGi and was so excited all day knowing we were going back to her house. He did so good. Luke really enjoys being around other people and is very friendly. He always makes sure Mom or Dad are close by though.

I had to work Monday, Memorial Day. As is typical the hospital empties out on a holiday weekend so I only worked a half day which was nice. Paul and Luke hung out during the morning and then Luke went to Nonna's for the afternoon. Paul and I went back this afternoon to pick him up and stay for supper. Nonna said Luke had a fun time playing outside and reading books. He and Nonna took a long nap which was nice for both of them.

Luke continues to progress with his potty training. We officially started a few weeks ago and have had our ups and downs as is to be expected. We still haven't mastered poo-pooing in the potty but are doing really well with the other. Our goal is to have him fully trained by the time baby Katherine gets here in August!

Good-Bye Dinner

Railroad engineers hard at work.

Our bellies almost completely
obstructed Virginia!

Hunter and Luke ran to look at a real train

Hunter and Laura

Last night we got together with the Boyds at the Reynolds house to say good-bye. Laura and Adam are moving back to Naples this week. Since they have been living in East Tennessee it has been nice to see her more often. We all know this is a good move for the Boyds! Virginia made a great supper-- hamburgers, grilled veggies and sweet potato fries. She even had applesauce for the boys.

It was so fun to see Hunter and Luke playing together. They really interacted well. Luke followed Hunter around most of the night being his "shadow". Very cute! Luke talked about GiGi's house the whole way home and the first thing he said this morning when he woke up was "go to GiGi's house again?". He is in luck because we will be at the Reynolds annual Memorial party this weekend!