Counting our Blessings

I wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know about the new button that I added to our blog called "Praying for Stellan." I found out about this sweet baby from my cousin Ansley. It is unbelievable what he and his family have gone through with his sickness. Although I don't know the family personally, I feel like I do just from reading about their experiences. If you check it out, you will see the number of people that follow their lives keeping tabs on Stellan. Just have a box of Kleenex ready and consider adding the button to join the hundreds of people praying for him. It really makes me appreciate having two very healthy children and admire the parents of the children I know who have to deal with other sickeness and life-altering conditions.

Back to School Already?

I cannot believe that Matt and I are about to have to head back to school. Summer has been so busy and gone so fast. Natalie turned 5 months old this past Saturday. We are very excited about our new babysitter that both Drew and Natalie will go to this year. Not a lot to update about the family...just enjoy some of our favorite pictures from the past few weeks!

So pretty!

Natalie loves her thumb!

What a good lookin' family!

Drew is showing off his "muscles."

Home Sweet Home

An exhausting vacation season is officially over! We returned yesterday from our trip to Gulf Shores. As much as we love the beach and being with our family, traveling with two little ones is so stressful- especially when one is a 4-month old that is grouchy most of the time! We had a lot of fun and made great new memories with everyone. Drew got much braver in the pool and was jumping in, going underwater, and kicking his way across the pool (wearing water wings, of course). This is the same kid that usually doesn't leave the steps of the pool. We are so proud of him!

Our Bathing Beauty!

Drew contemplating the next step in proper sand castle construction.

Early in the week before we all got fried (except Natalie)!

The view of the Intracoastal Waterway from our back deck.

Summertime, and the livin' is....crazy!

Whoever claims that summer is a time to rest and relax is out of their mind! We have been on the go so much over the past few weeks that we can't keep track of what day it is! Some of our activities have included: visiting the Yellow River Game Ranch with the Beckmans, swimming in our backyard kiddie pool and at the Woods of Parkview pool, staying at Nana's house while she was on her cruise, visiting the Royal Family, celebrating Mommy's birthday, and heading north to visit family in Newburgh and Chicago.

We have another trip planned for July 4-11; we will be going to Gulf Shores with the Stewart family. Hopefully the drive will not send Natalie into a frenzie again. After two of the longest 7-hour car rides ever, we have determined that there is nothing we can do to keep our little princess happy in the car. She just screams and makes herself sick doing so. Mommy and Natalie booked a flight home from Chicago and sent the boys back home via Newburgh in the car. Fortunately, Natalie was wonderful on the plane! Whew! Enjoy some pics from our busy summer!

A deer's favorite meal...graham crackers.

This deer wanted to check out Natalie's ride.

He has no idea what he is in for if she wakes up!

Drew having a blast at the splash park in Indiana.

The girls chillin' at the splash park.

Ready for Summer!

Okay, so things have been a little busy- hence the 6-week blog neglect! We are busier than ever. Unfortunately, we're the only people in the universe still in school this week. Friday is our last day with students- HOORAY! Not that I can complain too much since I have only been back to work for 2 weeks. We are looking forward to our Evansville/Chicago trip with the Hauert family in June and the Gulf Shores trip with the Stewart family in July!

As always, Drew continues to entertain us with his extended vocabulary. This morning, Daddy explained why spiders spin webs and Drew exclaimed, "That's amazing!" Natalie is (knock on wood) finally settling into a schedule. She has slept 9 hours the past two nights. We hope it sticks! She is 3-months old today!

Here are some pictures from everything we have been up to lately.

Mommy and Drew on the Stone Mountain train celebrating Zachary's 2nd birthday.

Natalie with "soon-to-be" Aunt Emily at the Gwinnett Braves game.

Drew being an awesome big brother!

Is there a sweeter face?

Bulldogs and Bunnies

This past weekend we took the opportunity to go spend time with our friends Jason, Andrea, David and Wesley. Drew and David had a great time playing cars and trains. We want to thank our friends for the hospitality. On Saturday we went the Royal Family and Goodrow Gang and the Beckman Bulletins to the G-Day game at the University of Georgia. It was cool to see the Bulldogs playing the Bulldogs!

Going to the G-Day game was also a learning experience. We learned that Drew is not ready for his first full Georgia game. Sadly, he could care less about the play on the field. He did, however, make it his mission for the day to distract Daddy from watching the game.

On Sunday, before mass, we had breakfast and Easter baskets with Matt's side of the family. The boy cousins and the girl cousins dressed alike and had a blast searching for Easter eggs.

After mass we headed further North to Cumming, GA to spend the rest of Easter Sunday with Christy's extended family. The food was great and the Easter egg hunt was gold mine of candy and coins for Drew.

Overall the family that Bleeds Red and Black had a great weekend with family and friends.

Busy Baby Girl

It is 2:30 in the morning.....do you know where your kids are? I do...my newborn is usually in my arms!!! That's right- sleep deprivation is at an all-time high at our house. :)

We had a busy week because Mommy does not like to be cooped-up in the house all day. The Beckmans came to visit last weekend and made us dinner (thanks a ton!). We had a visit from Aunt Liz on Tuesday and took Natalie's first shopping trip! Natalie also had her first bath early this week; I'll let the pictures speak for themselves! Then, Natalie and I went to Dallas to visit the Sims on Thursday. What a busy week for a 3-week old baby!

As I write this, my thoughts are with my two family members who are currently serving our country. My brother serves in the Navy on the USS San Juan submarine and left this morning but only for a week-long excursion. He will have gradually longer trips over the next few months. My Aunt Marcia serves in the Army and left this morning for Iraq. She is scheduled to be there for a year. Please keep my family members and all that selflessly serve our country in your prayers.

GeGe and Papa must be so proud!

"A Princess should not be treated this way!"- Natalie

"This is more like it...safe in Daddy's arms!"- Natalie

Pet Names

First, a round of applause to Matt for keeping things updated on the blog while I was under the influence of pain killers! :) The healing process went a lot more quickly after Drew was born, so it has been hard trying to force myself not to fall back to my regular routines yet. I think I'm almost there....

So, in her first 10 days, Natalie has already acquired quite a list of pet names. I wonder which ones will stick. I think that each of Drew's relatives has a different name for him; for instance:

Mommy- Angel
Daddy- Bubba
Nana- Angel Face
Papa- Drewski

Natalie's current pet names include Natty Jean, Nat-Dawg, Little Burrito (see photo below), Tiny Diapers, Pretty Girl, and Beautiful. It will be interesting to look back at this post a year from now and see what sticks! Enjoy pictures of Natalie's second week!

Our "Little Burrito" loves to be swaddled!

Daddy's superior photography skills at work.




All of Nana's angels...it took patience to get this one!

If only this were a weekday!!

The snow started falling down here at about 10:00am. By about 12:00 Drew could no longer stand it and we just had to suit up and head out to play. So we did! Drew and Daddy played for about an hour and half. Mommy and Natalie came out to "play" for about three minutes. I hope ya'll have enjoyed the snow as much as we have. And if it were a weekday I could have had a day off!!

Baby Natalie has arrived...Home!

Mommy, Daddy, Natalie, and Drew are all home now. Natalie has had some digestion problems over the last few days that were fixed with a switch to soy formula. She is doing well and sleeping alot. Mommy is feeling better but is still very tired. The boys are doing very well after having "boys night" at home last night! Really we just came home and crashed. We think Drew is taking being a big brother well. This morning he said, "Daddy, Natalie is my best baby." We have posted some new pictures below!!

Natalie Jean has arrived!!

Natalie Jean arrived February 25th at 11:19am. She weighed in at 6 lbs even and is 19.5 inches long. Our first day together was eventful. Thank you to all of our family and friends that showed up to wish us well! And thank you in advance to those planning to visit. Thank you especially to Cindy and Carson for spending the night with Drew and Rich, Shele, Shannon, and Cate for taking care of Drew as we flew out the door Tuesday night. Sorry for the short update...but Daddy needs to get back to the hospital.

Bring on Baby!

As our week of major prep work comes to an end, we are pretty happy with the progress we made. It sure didn't feel like we had a week "off" since we kept really busy, but I am grateful we had the time to get it done. I think everything is ready here at home for Natalie's arrival...now if I could just get everything at work in a ready state........!!!

This week's doctor visit brought more good news- my platelet count was higher than it has been in months, so thanks for everyone's prayers...keep them up!

And now for the unveiling of Natalie's nursery..........

Kicking Off Baby Preparation Week

Things are in full-swing for the arrival of Natalie Jean! We have a week off of school this week, so we expect to finally get most things done. The attached pictures are of Natalie's room today; kind of boring, huh? Hopefully these will be completely different by week's end! Natalie's room will be a mix of pink and brown argyle designs with some of my Sleeping Beauty collectibles mixed in (hence the new blog background).

Doctor visits are going well- another one this Thursday. Fortunately, Natalie has turned from transverse presentation to head-down- hooray! The doctor is happy with my progress but drawing blood at every visit to keep an eye on my platelet count. Apparently, low platelet count equals possible denial of an epidural...definitely not an option this wimpy mom wants to think about, so please pray that it stays in the "normal" range. It has been on the low side the past few times. Ever since my last post, the baby in the "pregnancy tracker" has disappeared...I can't figure out why, but the real baby definitely makes her presence known by punching and kicking every chance she gets!

A few shout-outs:

First to Andrea who has had quite a fight on her hands the past several weeks- we love you and are thrilled that things have made a turn for the better. Second to "Carson-Man"- congratulations on your baptism this past weekend! I am so honored to be your Godmother! Lastly, congrats to Elizabeth and Spencer on their Valentine's Day engagement! We are so happy for you!

Oh, the Places We Did Go...!

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! We have returned from our Eastern U.S. tour...finally! After a hectic Christmas Day, we traveled to Newburgh, Indiana for the annual family Christmas celebration. Drew got to spend lots of time playing with his 3rd cousin, Jake. From there we traveled to St. Louis to visit with my Aunt Julie's family. They actually got me up into the Gateway Arch. The arch itself wasn't bad...but the trip up in the tiny "pod" was a little too cozy for my liking! We spent a night in Nashville on our way back home. A word of advice...never combine long car rides, hotel rooms, and toddlers with WAY too much stored energy! All in all, it was an exhausting Christmas season, but getting to see so many members of our extended family was well worth our travels!

Drew enjoying his gifts from Santa.

Drew and Jake watching, what else, Cars!


Checking out the view of the Mississippi River from the Arch.

Chilling atop the Arch.