It's Still July, Right?

It just doesn't seem possible that it's already the middle of September and little Breckin is already 7 weeks old. Not at all.

I remember wondering if I'd have enough love to give to Jim AND a dog. I did. Then, when Reagan was on her way, I remember telling Jim that I wasn't sure I had enough love for all 3 of them. I did. And yet, I still worried, when I was pregnant with Breckin, that I wouldn't have enough love in my heart for all 4. I think it was my cousin who said, "I think your love grows with each one." I can tell you that she was right. Every time I look at Breckin, my heart jumps into my throat, and I'm overwhelmed by just how much I love the little guy. I must say, I have enjoyed these first weeks much more the second time around. It's nice to not feel that sense of panic EVERY time he cries. Perhaps it's a difference in the temperament of the children, but it's also very nice to have Breckin respond in a positive way to the things I do to try to accommodate his needs.

I go back to work in 3 short weeks. I can't bring myself to believe it! I am excited to see the kids, and I keep telling myself that working 1/2 days will probably be a completely different world from working full days, and therefore I'll probably enjoy it a lot more...it's still hard to accept. Especially since I spend my days with these sweet faces!

Growing Up SO Fast!

I can't believe that Breckin is already 1 month old! He's starting to beef up...a nice pay off for all the nursing I've been doing! He still sleeps for a good long stretch at night, which is much appreciated. It would be nice if I could eek another hour or 2 out of him, but for now I suppose I won't complain.




This weekend I discovered a little thing called the Just Between Friends consignment sale. What a wonderful thing! I spent about $60 and walked out with a BUNCH of stuff. The sling that Breckin is sleeping in in this picture, for example, goes for about $28.50 at Target, and I got it in great shape for $7.50. Among other things, I got Reagan an adorable Halloween costume, but you'll have to wait until October (at least...) to see that!

Speaking of growing up, and Reagan...here she is before her nap and after church on Sunday. Who on Earth is she possibly imitating?? I must say, she looks very stylish...if she'd just let me fix her hair! :)

Buena Vista & The Leadville 100

So Amanda says I need to contribute to the blog, so here goes. We went to Buena Vista last weekend to visit all of the Lamb family. Since we were up there, Reagan, Bill, Debbie, and I decided we should go see the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race. We met Mikey and Julie at the race course on the Twin Lakes dam.

There was some nice scenery, but we really came to see if Lance Armstrong could make up for his second place finish in this race last year.

He was at least 10 minutes ahead at this point; we didn't even see the second place rider before we left Twin Lakes for the next spectating point.

Julie heard that the best place to watch the riders in this race was on the power line hill, because they go slow enough that you can actually see them up close. Here's Lance on power line:

For once, it actually looks like it's hard for him... It was really cool to be able to get this close to a seven time Tour de France champion.

The race finishes in downtown Leadville. There were thousands of people in town to see Armstrong. He finished the race on a flat rear tire...

...and still broke the course record by over 16 minutes.

Then it was back to Buena Vista and the Stevens' estate. Reagan, Breckin, and Amanda thought it was great to get to go to the mountains for the weekend. Thanks to Allen and Ashley for inviting us up to the house.

Birthdays and Baths

Well, both the kiddos are sleeping at the same time...a feat that I only just mastered yesterday. Love that they now have a mandatory common nap time. So, I figured now might be the only chance I have to write the long awaited blog about Jim's birthday...



It's hard to believe that Jim is 30! I think this might have to be his last birthday for awhile. He was taking it kind of rough leading up to the big day, but he hasn't said much about it since. He says the new laptop he got for his birthday is helping him not feel so bad about it. Come to think of it, since he has a laptop now, maybe he should post some blogs...what do you think??

Jim's birthday was his last day of Breckin-cation...aka, time off of work in honor of his new son. So, we were able to spend it together, which was fun. Reagan and I baked him a cake, and she of course wanted her picture taken with it. She's just so stinkin cute.





We went out to dinner with Debbie, Mikey, and Julie. Bill was still off gallivanting on the Colorado Trail (way to go, Bill!). I can't believe he hiked the last 200 miles in 2 weeks! We went to Salsa Brava, Jim's choice.



The next day, Janella came to visit. I was super grateful because it meant I didn't have to have an entire day by myself with both kids...yet... and J is always a HUGE help to have around. She was also there for Breckin's first real bath, which was exciting because it meant we got to have pictures of all four of us! You may have noticed that it's pretty rare that I'm in pictures. I don't mind too much, but I do so wish I had more pictures of Jim and me together with our kids. The down side of being a photographer, I suppose. Anyway, we got pictures of the kids' first bath together. Reagan thought it was pretty cool. The bath is something Rea loves, and we talked a lot before he was born about him sharing her bath with her. She always said the same thing: "It's ok, he can share my bath with me."



(Sorry that picture's not rotated properly...)

All in all, I'd say I'm adjusting pretty well to the 2 kid business. It has been an adjustment, but not as hard as I thought it'd be. Breckin is a very good baby...unless he's hungry or cold we don't hear much from him. That fact just makes me worry that someday he'll get left at home accidentally...or worse, in the grocery store cart! I'm still used to him being with me everywhere I go, I guess. Reagan seems to be adjusting well too. She loves to rub Breckin's head, and really loves it when he squeezes her finger. When he cries she'll repeat my comforting statement ("Hang on Breckin", or "It's ok, Breckin"), or she'll say, "Mommy, Breckin needs __________". (insert into blank: fed, held, rocked, swaddled, etc.) And, I'm not sure if it's because she LOVES birthdays or because of how much she loves her brother, but today when I told her that he was 4 weeks old today she insisted that we sing happy birthday to him. It's very cute, even though it happens EVERY week. :)

His toes?

I just asked Reagan if she could see Breckin's toes from where she was laying on the floor. (She likes to lay on the floor...not sure why.)

Reagan: Yes.
Me: Are his toes your favorite part of him? (Long time readers know I have a thing for baby toes)
Reagan: No, his whole body!
Me: Is your favorite?
Reagan: Yeah!

So sweet.

Pictures from Jim's birthday (yesterday) coming soon... He's 30!

Breckin George Lamb

I can't even believe it's already been 8 days since little Breckin has arrived! It's amazing how slow time passes when you're waiting on a baby, and how fast it passes once the baby arrives.

His arrival story in a nutshell:
7:00am: My mom arrived to watch Reagan
7:30am: Arrived at hospital
8:00am: In my hospital room with monitors
8:30am: Started Pitocin
10:30am: Doctor arrives; breaks water, orders epidural
12:25pm: Jim goes for lunch...I said, "It's now or never, and you better hurry!"
12:45pm: I'm ready to push; Jim calls from the parking lot. I said, "We're waiting on you...so hurry please!"
1:05pm: Breckin is born!!

It was really that fast! I couldn't believe it.

And of course, the million dollar question is, "What does Reagan think of him?" While the jury is still out, she certainly seems to be warming up to the idea of a baby brother. 2 days ago, I had to bribe her with M&M's to get her to hold him...5 M&M's to be exact. We said we'd never tell anyone that, but when I got home from running some errands with Breckin today and asked, "Who wants to hold the baby?" and Reagan said, "Me", I decided it was safe. She held him twice, and I'm not sure if it was because she wanted to, or because she realized it would stave off nap time for a bit. Either way, it was cute!

Here is the m&m picture:



Here are some of today's pictures:





Reagan's favorite things are to give Breckin a pacifier and kissing him goodnight (out of her own mouth).

As an end note, I've decided that I will, at some point, make a book (or several) out of this blog for Reagan and Breckin. So, if you would be so kind as to leave a comment for Breckin welcoming him to the world, and/or a comment for Reagan encouraging her "sister qualities", I know it would mean a lot to them when they are older!

Just thinking about, Tomorrow...

As Jim was leaving for work today, I realized something. Since our son will, by nature or by force, arrive sometime tomorrow, today would be my last day as a mother of just one child.

I meet this realization with mixed emotions. On one hand, I know a sibling will be good for Reagan. She's great at sharing, but rarely has the need to do so. A sibling will help her perfect the skill. While she's not selfish, because she is the only child, she is the center of our world. I always knew I wanted more than one child because, don't tell anyone, and if you do I'll deny it, I loved growing up with my brothers. They were much older, and it was lonely when they left, but I have some cherished memories with each of them. Things like Ghost runners in pasture baseball with Austin, lightning bugs in Kansas with Quentin (that he collected for his now-wife, Jody), dancing to the radio (even the commercials) with Jon while he packed for the Army, and helping Glenn paint doors in the new house when I was in 7th grade are all some of my favorites, but I'm sure I could make an entire blog with more. I always knew I wanted my kids to have a chance at memories like that.

On the other hand, Reagan is really a special kid. I know every mother thinks this about her child, but I know I'm not the only one who thinks so about mine. Everywhere we go people stare at her. She stops traffic at the grocery store, and I've literally seen people pause mid-bite in restaurants when she walks by. She rarely gets in trouble, and when she does it's usually because her bone-head parents have kept her up too late a few nights too many, or tried to pack too many activities into a weekend. Lately when we've been walking she'll run to catch up to me, grab my hand, rub it on her cheek and say, "Ooh, I love you, Mommy!" Jim and I have said to one another several times in the last few weeks, "I hope our next kid is as good as our first one". It's hard not to wonder how Reagan will change once her little brother is around.

So, with all these thoughts running through my head, I knew that despite the bittersweet feeling in my gut, I wanted this to be a special day for Reagan. The problem: I'm 40 weeks and 2 days pregnant, with no desire to have labor, or labor like activities start too far from home. So, I did the simplest things I could think of. I took her to Starbucks and got her a cookie before we went to the playground. After that we stopped at the grocery store for pie crust and headed home to make Reagan's first pie. Blueberries and helping are two of Reagan's favorite things, so I was excited about my idea. She was thrilled. She got to dump in ingredients, stir the mixture, and make pie-crust hearts for the top of the pie. When I told her I wanted to take pictures, she was even more excited. (I think there may be some modeling in her future.)









I can't wait to meet Reagan's little brother tomorrow (or for the poor kid to finally have a name!), and I know that Reagan's sweet, loving side will help her rise to the occasion of being a big sister.

In Case I Missed You...

Here is the email I sent out last night...I want to be sure everyone who wants to has the chance to vote! I wasn't sure how it would impact our choice, but it is actually helping a lot!!

Subject: It's come to this!

Hello everyone,
Well, as you probably know, it's July 19 and, despite this being my "due date", our son has still not arrived. I'm wondering if it's because he knows that if he came out now he wouldn't have a name. So, we've resorted to asking for your help. Mind you, we really wanted to keep the baby's name a surprise...but, that requires actually having a name to keep secret, and we do not. Please keep in mind, especially when giving suggestions, that this is a serious matter! :)
Also, we absolutely reserve the right to not pick the most popular suggestion.
So, please visit this link, and offer your input: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=sT9f_2fTs0DpTMIGs2O_2bxdgw_3d_3d

We love you and appreciate your help in this time sensitive matter!

Love,
Jim, Amanda, Reagan, and Nameless.

Still....

I really love my girlfriends. I feel so blessed, especially at a time like this, to have such good ones!

Despite my foul mood, despite hormones raging out of control, they still call or text (some every day!) and risk whatever mood I may be in just to see how I'm doing. And, I really love that! It means a lot to me!

Of course, my mom and my mother in law are amazing women, and they do the same thing...but I kind of expect them to! I mean, after all, if they don't, who will!? Plus, my mom survived me being a hormonal pre-teen and teen, so I would hope that this is pie in comparison. And, not to mention, they get a grandson out of the deal.

Anyway, low and behold, it's Friday, July 17th, (Happy Birthday, Julie!) and I'm still pregnant. I'm really trying very hard not to think about the fact that had I gone ahead and been induced, I could be holding the little guy right now... after all, grumpy is one thing, but no one wants to be bitter!

Today's Appointment

So, I thought about it all week.

Do I want to be induced again? Do I want the night-before anxiety? Do I want to stay up nearly all night doing all the last minute things I want to do because I'm too excited to sleep? Do I want the endless anticipation of when something will happen? Do I want the fast and hard Pitocin contractions? Do I want this to maybe be our last baby (relax, I said maybe) and never know what it's like to experience spontaneous labor?

No.

No, I don't.

So, when I saw my doctor today, I said, you know, I think I'd like to at least give the little guy a fair shot at making his own way out. And I think to do that, we need to wait until his due date. So, my wonderful, understanding, mother-of-5 doctor, nodded, chuckled when I told her she could, and said, "Of course. I'll have it changed to my next on-call date of July 21." I said something about that being great and whistling Dixie by the time my due date came and went.

I remember my mom telling me that all 3 of her kids were 2 days late. Maybe the boy's destiny is to be born on the 21st. But, I really hope his destiny is more like the 15th. Fingers crossed, right?

(Are your fingers crossed? Go ahead... it can't hurt!)

Baby news...but no, he's not here yet!

We don't have much to report... Reagan and I are just spending our days waiting for her baby brother to arrive. Between the weather and the hot flashes, it's about all I can do to stay comfortable. I really wish I had more energy to soak up these last few days of it just being me and little Reagan, but I know we'll have lots of fun once the baby comes.

The news is that I'm more dilated than I've ever been without labor inducing drugs, which I'm quite excited about. Still, if he doesn't come by the 17th, I'll be induced. After being induced with Reagan, I'm excited about the idea of going into labor on my own. So, fingers crossed and Lord willing, he'll make his own grand entrance! Julie is being very gracious about the prospect of having to share her birthday, but as I told her...it'd be really nice to be able to go have a beer and celebrate her birthday with her instead of making her come to the hospital to visit the newest addition.

Last night I had about 2.5 hours worth of contractions that never got any closer together than 7 minutes, and then they stopped...of course!

Come on out, baby boy!

Of course, I'll keep everyone posted! Hope all is well.

Busy Month!

I really thought I'd do more blogging since I'd be off work... but, we've been extremely busy getting ready for the baby and trying to soak up the last of our "Reagan-is-our-only-kid" time.

Lots of pictures this time, so I'll just get on with it!

First up are the pictures of the baby's room. This room had white walls, and used to be our office. Thanks to a lot of hard work by Jim (he moved all the furniture I couldn't help with to the basement), my mom and dad and my friend Janella (painting) the room has been completely transformed. Every time Reagan walks by it she stands in the doorway and exclaims, "Look at all this paint!"





Next up are some family maternity pictures we had taken. Janella came down on Thursday to help paint, and got up early Friday morning to do pictures. She's an amazing helper!! She took the pictures and I edited them.









And finally, as you can see, Reagan is growing like a weed. She seems extremely tall to me, and she is talking like crazy. I think she's almost as pre-occupied with the baby being born as I am. A few examples...
#1: Last week I told her we had to get ready to go to my doctor's appointment. Her response? "So the doctor can make baby brother come out?"
#2: Yesterday, on the way home from swimming lessons...her first trip with the baby's car seat next to her in the car. "Mommy, where are we going to get baby brother?" (Me:) We already have him; he's in Mommy's tummy. (Her:) So we go to the Doctor's office so doctor can take baby brother out? (Me:) No, that happens at the hospital. (Her:) But where did we get baby brother? (Me, in my head...) Really?? She's already asking me where babies come from? (Out Loud:) Mommy and daddy made him with our love, just like we made you with our love. (Her:) Silence. Jim says maybe that's not really what we were asking.
#3: Standing in front of her while she went potty she was staring at my belly. She said, "Mommy, you make baby come out now."
She's really kind of scary smart... I hope her brother will be able to keep up!






I just had to include the above one of Scout because I was so excited that I was sneaky enough to get her through the trees! I swear, she hates having her picture taken so much...it's as if she can hear me bring the camera to my eye!



I love this one...it's from Father's Day. Reagan adores Jim!