Wide awake in her carseat on a drive into the Basin for lunch. 

Awyn napping in a spiffy new outfit 

Grandma gives Sam a bath. 

Sam gets some good splashing in puddles after a thunderstorm rolled through. Sam sure loves his agua. 

After a fun splash through the puddles, Sam is all wet. Grandma and Grandpa are walking Sam up our driveway. 

Home alone

We are now home alone as a family. Eric's parents left today, and my mother left last week. We do not expect further guests until my parents come for a visit later this summer. We will see how we do by ourselves with two children. Eric is currently re-settling Sam down for the night. He's been fighting sleep for 45 minutes and I think Eric went in to try to rock him or soothe him. We'll miss our guests, but I think we're ready for some space for a while.

I just put a blackberry crisp in the oven. The directions say to bake it for a heck of a long time. Mom bought the crisp from the Schwan's man when he was here two weeks ago. Thank you for the yummy desert, Mom!

We're going through all the pictures we've taken in the last couple of weeks, a few hundred of them. I'll post a couple this evening if I can decide which ones I like best for blogging.

Such as it is...

Awyn's first foto website from the hospital is up and running. I'm really upset about the quality of the picture, and you'll understand why when you see it. We'd pre-ordered a few pictures because we bought some for Sam and wanted a matching 8x10 to hang on the wall next to Sam's first photo. Unfortunately they weren't using a digital camera (they did with Sam) and we had no idea what the picture would look like. But we will be printing out the website just before it goes offline, just like we did with Sam. Sam's had lots of good wishes and comments from people, as it was the first glimpse most everyone had of him. (No blog, lesser photography tools, picture sending, etc.) So I'm asking people to go to this site and leave lots of great messages for Awyn, and I'll put it in her baby book.

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=4V9R0H4Y1U

Awyn gets a sponge bath. She wasn't very fond of this procedure. This is a rare shot in which she isn't screaming. 

Sam hands his Dad screws. He carried the box of screws around for a long time, and didn't spill them until he tripped on his way back down from the stepladder, where he stood next to Daddy. 

Sam takes a break from construction to play a little basketball with Daddy. This is a new present from Uncle Chad, Aunt Debbie, and his cousin Cole. He really likes it. 

Sam really likes to help with construction projects. Here he's using his drill to tighten a screw his grandpa just set. 

Awyn is now a week old

Yesterday Awyn officially hit one week old. She is a very healthy baby, and everyone thinks she is perfect. Some think she is so big, others really small. It's all a matter of perspective. She is a very healthy pink color, and her eyes are currently a dark blue, but look like they'll go brown, unless I'm harboring a dark blue eye gene I didn't know about. Her eyes are darker than daddy's light blues, and baby blues don't lighten up as a general rule. Awyn's hair looks to be going blond, just like her brothers. It is dark when wet or oily, but when clean and dry and in the light it is blond. I'll post new pictures the next time we download the camera.

Sam is still in love with his baby sister, and kisses her head, says, "night!" and heads for his room. It doesn't have to be bed time. He picked up that routine fast and has carried it over into daytime play too.

Right now Daddy and Grandpa are adding lattice to our shade ramada in the backyard and Sam is helping. I plan on getting the camera and a couple of shots of this project. Eric just came back in for a toy hammer and other 'tools' for Sam to help with.

Daddy's nose, a great pacifier. 

Sam gives Awyn a kiss. He really wants to hold her as often as we'll let him. Daddy is trying to keep love from being painful. 

Sam gets to hold his baby sister, with a little help. 

Friday Morning

Sam loves his baby sister. In fact he wants to hold her all the time, and giggles about it. We're having a few issues over the swing and other baby items that he wants to either play with or sit in, but I think the biggest worry we have right now is that he'll hurt her while trying to love on her. So far (and it is still morning) he hasn't been jealous of any of us holding the baby instead of him, it is more that he's jealous that he isn't holding her and we are.

Awyn slept really well last night, in fact I had to wake her for her feedings, or she might have slept through the night, and I mean ALL the way through the night. I think not having people poking and prodding us constantly made for a great night of sleep all the way around. But if little miss keeps this pattern, I may have to set a sleep timer! And I swore I'd never wake a sleeping baby...

Awyn is a day old in this picture. We have more pictures, and I'll post more as I feel up to it. 

Here Awyn sleeps in her bassinette. 

One more time. I'm having issues posting this morning. This is before she's gone to the nursery to be bathed. 

Awyn is still protesting her birth as the nurse wipes her off and checks her out. She is only a few minutes old here. 

Sam hugs my tummy Monday morning before we leave for the hospital. 

Eric gave me two dozen roses for our second baby. 

Awyn Kathleen Leonard

Awyn Kathleen Leonard was born Tuesday, May 17 at 5:12 pm after a short and easy labor. She weighed in at 7 lbs 15 oz and is 20 inches long. She doesn't have much hair yet, and the color changes depending on the light. Her eyes are dark baby blue, and probably will be for a few months. Eric says she looks like me, and she looks like Sam. I will post pictures and a better story later. Right now I'm going to sleep as Awyn has been asleep for 20 minutes, and I hate to miss my chance.

Almost Time

Tomorrow we'll leave for Midland, probably around lunch time. I have to be at the hospital by 6 am and they'll start checking me in for an induction. Hopefully after a very short labor, we'll be holding our new baby. Sam will be staying home with his Grandma and his dog. He is very clingy right now, and seems to know something is going on. We're leaving the jeep behind, and as it isn't really a highway vehicle, Sam and Grandma will have to wait until we get back from the hospital. If we can find a way to post pictures from Midland, we will, but no guarantees. The hospital does use a web nursery just like we had with Sam, but they don't put the pictures up until a week after a baby is born. I honestly don't remember the name of the hospital, but I think they call the birthing center "The Birthplace" of all the original names, and it is the west campus, not the main hospital in Midland, TX. We won't be able to receive phone calls right away, hospital policy. I promise we'll start calling as soon as we are able/ready to do so. For the ease of knowing what's going on, we'll be keeping in touch with Mom and Sam, but since I'm being induced Tuesday, May 17th at 6:00 am, that is more information than you'd have if we were waiting for me to go into labor naturally. Please feel free to call Mom if you think we've given her an update. I promise we will not be deliberately excluding anyone, but we will be a little busy for a while.

Sam and corn on the cob. Need I say more? 

We currently have a deep trench in front of our house. This was our view all day. They are supposed to be done by the time the baby gets here. Of course it looks like they'll be tearing up our back yard too, straight through our shade ramada. 

For lunch we stopped at Olive Garden yesterday, and Sam demonstrated his good table manners and attacked his fettuccine. 

Sam loved swimming so much that he insisted we go back after lunch. He took off his clothes and grabbed the crab, and we went back. He did love his crab to death, as it now has a hole in the eyestalk. We're going to try to patch it, but I be he just bites a new hole. 

Daddy and Sammy in the pool at Balmorhea. Sam loved his crab float, almost as much as he loves his agua. 

Latest OB appointment

It's official, we have an induction date. More about that later.

For Mother's Day we decided to take off for our doctor's appointment a day early. Our AC broke Friday evening and I've been miserable at night without it, so Eric decided that we'd just go up to Balmorhea State Park and spend two nights. It was a great trip. Sam loves all that agua, and couldn't get enough swimming in. He and daddy threw lots of ice in the canals, and he watched lots of fish. The room was so cool that we didn't need to turn on the AC, but what matters was that it wasn't as hot and stuffy or as bug filled when we opened the windows for air. It was a great Mother's day.

As for the doctor's appointment, after I was examined Dr. Locke recommended induction next week and it looks like May 17th is the big day. I don't think I'll be any earlier, but you never know. I am dilated and effaced, and not going into tons of details about it here. For those of you who have had babies, you should know from experience that many women can walk around for WEEKS or even a month dilated and effaced, especially when it isn't the first baby. The doctor said I was exactly where he expected me to be with everything and seemed satisfied.

We'll be counting down the week, and I'm sure it will pass very quickly. On Friday I'll be headed up to Midland to pick up my mother. My friend Sally has agreed to drive up with me so I will have a chaperone. Sam will most likely stay with Lily for the day so I can spare him a long car ride. I need to get some more sewing done, and some house cleaning, and if I don't clean out the van there won't be anywhere for us to ride. Too much junk has grown and bred and had it's own babies in there from all the trips we've been making lately.

Sam loves to wash his hands. This is right before a bath. I was running water in the tub while he played at the sink tonight. He got a haircut Tuesday while we were in town. 

The new dresser/changing table. Upside down it is a changing table, turn it over and it becomes a regular dresser. I just finished making pillow cases to go over the pad.