Royal Treatment

Sarah has been preparing for this moment for her entire life...all 2 and 1/2 weeks of it. Episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" and Royal Wedding coverage have consumed her days and were an ever present feature at mealtimes. Wedding discussions and speculation have surrounded her. Finally the big day arrived - the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Sarah awoke at 5 am without hesitation and her timing was impeccable. We began watching right as Prince William left for the church. Hats were placed on heads (with pajamas) and the scene was set for the royal celebration.

However, someone could not quite keep her eyes open.

The entire world was awake on her schedule and yet she was asleep.

At a more reasonable hour, Max and Daddy reluctantly agreed to watch a portion of the Royal Wedding, too. Max was totally uninterested in the church, bride or groom, but was fascinated by the horse drawn carriage ("wagon") and the castle.

Mommy: "Do you think you could build a castle like that one?"

Max: "I don't know if I have that many blocks! I'll have to use my wooden blocks because they have more shapes than the letter blocks. Let's try to do that later. I'll build a castle for me and Mommy and Daddy and Frank and Bean and my baby sister."

Later that morning there was tea for Mommy, milk for Sarah, and scone for Max.

Mommy: Scones are from England where the wedding is taking place. They eat scones there.

Max: Mommy, scones aren't from there. Scones are from Starbucks.

Easter Rejoicing

Rejoice with bunny kisses!

Rejoice with big and little babies!

Rejoice with family!

"This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

Happy Easter!

April Showers

The Easter holidays were slightly overshadowed this year by a new little sister and frequent rainstorms. Max, the master Egg Hunter, almost missed out on his favorite sport!

Easter Egg Hunt #1 - Rained Out

Easter Egg Hunt #2 - Rained Out

Easter Egg Hunt #3 - Sunny Skies

but Snaked Out?

The start was temporarily postponed by the appearance of an uninvited guest. Mr. Jay quickly disposed of the visitor before the children noticed. Luckily, they were too busy gobbling Easter treats to pay attention.

The neighborhood egg hunt commenced without further delay!

Max had another opportunity on Easter morning to demonstrate his skills. He informed us, "That Easter Bunny sure is good at hiding eggs! The Easter Bunny also left Max some special treats for the water this summer...items for the pool and a much-needed umbrella!

Max believed the umbrella helped him find the eggs more quickly. Especially if someone else was shading him while he worked!

An egg-cellent time!

Homecoming

Ready to go home!

Leaving the hospital

Beautiful flowers

At Christmas, Max had chosen a sippy cup to give to Sarah. It had been stored in a kitchen cabinet for months before I moved it while making room for bottles. Max had not mentioned it for a long time. But as soon as we walked in the house, he gave us a big smile and went running to the cabinet where the cup had been. His face crumpled in disappointment when he saw that the cup was gone and he said, "Mommy, where's my baby's cup?" After locating the lost cup, he presented it to Sarah with proper ceremony!

Our first family pictures!

Welcome home, Sarah!

Meet and Greet

There was lots of people eager to meet little Sarah, but none more so than her big brother Max!

The Max proclaimed, "I like my baby sister. You can bring her home now."

He also liked the Buzz Lightyear doll that Sarah brought for him.

"How did she know I liked Buzz?"

Mimi and Babba and Sarah

Nana, Max and Sarah

Mimi helped Max choose a snack to take to school the next day in honor of his sister. The teachers reported that Max kept calling it "my baby snack".

His baby appreciates her big brother!

On The Night You Were Born...

On Thursday, four days before you were born, we went for our weekly doctor's appointment. The doctor, the resident, the nurse, and even the receptionist all assured us that your arrival was imminent. We left full of nervous anticipation. Max spent the next few nights with his grandparents due to a church commitment and our belief that you would be here any minute! Mommy and Daddy spent the next few days in a holding pattern. We timed contractions. We waited. We timed contractions. We waited. We called Mimi with constant updates. We waited.

By Sunday, we were done with the waiting. Life resumed our normal schedule with family walks and a play date for Max. We made not-so-nice comments about the doctor who had gotten our hopes up. After wishing Auntie Sally a happy birthday and assuring Mimi that nothing was happening, something did begin to happen. The contractions began to last longer and grow more intense. However, we were still unsure if it was real this time. Close to 11:00 pm, we had Mimi come over and left for the hospital.

At the hospital we were greeted by Dr.Walvoord, the same doctor we had seen at our last appointment and my favorite in the practice. Her response to our appearance was, "I've been waiting all day to see you here." After assuring us that we would be having a baby, we were quickly moved to a room. Babba went to stay with Max and Mimi came to the hospital to be with us. More waiting. Right before delivery, we were on the phone issuing instructions to Babba and Aunt Deanna about operating the tv for Max and not allowing him to have ice cream for breakfast. A few "trial" pushes indicated that you were ready to make your debut. The nurse deadpanned to Daddy, "Should we call the doctor now?" as you started to make your appearance. A few "real" pushes later (after the doctor came back) and you were here at 8:59 am on April 11th!

The entire hospital experience was completely opposite from your brother's birth. I was able to nurse you immediately and spend the "Magic Hour" holding you and marveling at your perfection. You stayed in our room the entire time. We could snuggle you, change you, show you off, not sleep at night, and walk out of the hospital with you - all the things we missed out on with Max. No emotional upheaval and only tears of joy this time. You were in perfect health and already quite chunky with rolls of fat on your legs and plump, pink cheeks. We could not stop gazing at you in awe - our precious, beautiful gift. You were blessed with a wonderful beginning to what we hope will be a wonderful life!

Special Delivery

We are proud to announce our special delivery!

Sarah Catherine Richards

April 11, 2011

8:59 am

7 pounds, 8 ounces

19 1/2 inches

"Every good and perfect gift is from above."

James 1:17

My Buddy

Meet Kyle. Otherwise known as "Kyyyyyyle" or "My best friend Kyle".

Max wants to do everything with Kyle. In fact, "Kyle" is the magic word in our house.

Don't like your food? Kyle likes to eat that.

Those blocks no longer interesting? Kyle loves playing with blocks.

Don't want to take a nap>? Kyle is taking a nap.

Kyle and Max at the Children's Museum

Max couldn't wait to show Kyle the construction area

Downtown with their Daddies

On the trolley

My Buddy and Me!

Fortunately for us, Kyle has a Kid Sister.

Thus we know that Max will be excited about his kid sister, too!

Checklist

Item 1: New Car - Check

We needed a bigger car that would accommodate two child seats more easily than my sedan. After much deliberation we decided upon the Acura MDX, partly for the third row option, although if we have another child I will probably get a Swagger Wagon! Max's favorite feature - the backup camera. We spend a lot of time in reverse.

Item 2: Playset for Max - Check

Again after much deliberation and advice from friends, Max finally got a playset. One day while we were driving in to the parking lot of Lowes, Max spotted one of their models. He was quick to inform me, "That one would be perfect for a little boy, Mommy!" He seems happy with the one he got!

Item 3: Dusting off and reassembling baby gear - Check

Exactly which baby is this stuff for?

Item 4 - Purchasing my SECOND breast pump - Check

Ours was lost during the move. I swear I remember bringing it to the new house during the renovations so it wouldn't be staring people in the face when we were selling our old house. Some constuction worker's wife got a really nice pump...

Items still to complete:

Never ending thank you note list

Rug for Sarah's nursery (since the one I chose is backordered until JUNE and my back-up option has been discontinued)

Buying a few more items now that we have 3 floors to spread out baby paraphernalia

Finishing up my last week of work

Waiting on this little one to arrive!