Early yesterday morning, I had a baby doctor check-up. I've started my rounds through the other docs in the practice just in case one of the other ones is on call when I go into labor. Of course, I hope it's Dr. Mac, but all the other ones are great, too. This time, I met with Dr. Handsome. Because he's quite handsome. Even David says so. He's definitely the McDreamy of the practice.
He asked what type of delivery I was thinking of for this time around and I told him I was hoping for a VBAC. My C-section could have not gone more smoothly. The recovery was stupendous. I really have no complaints at all. My sweet friend, Beth, told me after her C-section, the best thing she did was start walking around as soon as they let her get out of bed. A lot of times, people will stay in bed because yeah, it hurts to move around. But, force yourself to get up and walk. And I did just that. It was 24 hours before they'd let me get up and I kept asking, "Can I get up now?" Finally, the nurse helped me walk to the hallway. Yooooooowwwwwwuch. But, doing that and walking some every day was the best advice. So, thank you, Bethers!
HOWEVER, as mild as the incision was, no biggie at all, I'm a little leery about having staples and two almost 3-year olds running around. The same hoodlums that pack a mean run and hug you right in the gut. I'm just a little afraid I'll turn a corner and BOOM, hug, blood, hospital. So, I told him VBAC. He said I could totally do it. Yes. IF I can get Sutts to turn head-down before the last few weeks. Apparently, he's breech right now. I mean, I've still got 10.5 weeks, so there's time. But, I want this baby turned. So, yesterday, I Googled "how to get baby to turn" techniques. Some folks had some interesting methods out there.
Some were unusual, but I had heard of them before. Some were legit and medical. Others were...well, I dunno. In case you were wondering, here are a few of the methods.
1. Go to a chiropractor. I mean, that makes perfect sense. That's actually a good one. They know how to manipulate your hips and whatever other parts to give space for the baby to turn on his/her own. I know several people who have gone to chiropractors during pregnancy and have loved it.
2. Swim some every day. I like this one.
3. Lay on your bed with your knees tucked to your chest and your face/chest flat on the mattress. Stay like this for 15 minutes every 2-hour period of the day. Uh, if I've got time to do that every 2 hours of the day, I gone be nappin' ya know what I'm sayin'.
3. Get an ironing board and situate it at the end of a couch. "Make sure the ironing board is steady and secure." Are any ironing boards really steady and secure? Put your rump on the ironing board and the rest of your body on the couch, hips elevated. Stay like this for 30-45 minutes several times a day. I wish I had time to lay around on an ironing board.
4. Lay on your back on a bed. Have your husband put a towel under your hips, lift up, and gently shake your entire body with a back and forth motion. "This should be a relaxing experience for all." No...no, it won't be. That sounds like a ridiculous experience for all.
5. Lay on your left side when you have an empty stomach and...let me just stop you right there. There is never any point during the day when I have an empty stomach. Next.
6. Lay down, elevate your hips, put a cold compress or frozen bag of peas at top of your belly, and shine a flashlight at the top of your belly, moving slowly down the right side to the bottom of your belly. Keep doing this until your baby has turned. Okay........my kid is not a moth. And how do I know if he's turned? (However, I have read on several sites that this method does work. They're like baby sea turtles and attracted to the light or something. Aww, baby sea turtles. Squeeze. This might be the method I end up using.)
7. Visualize and use your mental powers to turn the baby. If you picture it, he will turn. Now, this is what I said on Facebook. If I have the power like Charles Xavier to mentally turn my baby...well, what if I only have a limited amount of that power...I'm not going to use it on trying to have VBAC. I'm going to have a C-section and recover at the beach house that I visualized.
8. My favorite. And I quote..."Load an MP3 player with classical music and put the headphones down the mother-to-be's pants. The baby will be drawn to the music and will turn." I hope those headphones at least took her out to dinner.
If you have any methods on how to turn a baby, I would absolutely be most graciously appreciatively thankful. Baby sea turtles.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Baby Brother Noah
So, the day has come (tomorrow) for little Noah to head to the other side of the world (literally) to Laos. He graduated with his masters in May and, during grad school, pondered what he wanted to do after graduation. His degree is in History and he loves to teach, but wanted to do something, well, wild and crazy before settling down to teach. He came across this program that placed English-speaking individuals in countries all over the world to teach English to college students. A new program was starting up in Laos. He was the first teacher to be placed in the country.
He called David and me up one day a few years ago and told us his plan and to be praying for him. "Sure, of course!" we said, secretly hoping it would kind of just fizzle out in his mind. But, that's one thing you gotta know about Noah. If he tells you he's going to do something, he's going to do it. He raised the money required for the program all by himself. We willingly gave, again secretly hoping he wouldn't raise enough. But that little booger did and then I thought, "Shoot, maybe if we hadn't donated to it, he couldn't have gone." But, God has big plans for little 6'2" Noah in Laos and he would be going with or without our contribution.
Off he flies to Los Angeles tomorrow. Dad is going with him because he needs helping lugging all of his junk through the airport. I think they're gonna check out LA for a day or two while they're there and then he flies out super early Tuesday morning on a 13-hour (ha, I almost said "year"...a 13-year flight would suck) flight to Taiwan. And then Cambodia, where he will train for a few weeks. And then it's Laos for a year (possibly/probably longer).
Noah can barely speak English himself, so I don't know how all this is going to go.
Of course, none of us want him to go. But this is what he's meant to do and we are SO excited for him. And he better bring me back some silk (there's a huge silk industry in Laos). I don't know what I'd do with it and I can't sew, but still...it's silk and I've seen enough Project Runway to know it's pretty nifty.
But, it's actually not so bad. He gets to come home during the summers, so I mean, by the time he gets here next June, we'll already be tired of him again.
I've written him a letter...
Dear Boog, Booger, Booger Buns, Ellawheeza, Hoop, Scoop, Norah, Little Bro...
I remember the day you were born. I really do. I don't remember who we stayed with while Mom and Dad were at the hospital, but I remember them bringing Sara and me to the hospital and into the room where Mom was laying on the bed. She had both her hands behind her back. She told each of us to pick a hand and out she brings a little troll doll for each of us. You know those 80's troll dolls with the jewel belly buttons and crazy hair. We collected them. I still have mine. Probably not a great idea, since I'm sure they're haunted or possessed or something. I don't remember you much, but I remember my awesome troll doll. I do think Dad took us to the nursery to look at you through the big window. But, to be honest, you kind of looked like all the other babies in there. I did love my troll doll and you were partly to thank for that. So, thanks.
Sara and I were very glad you were born. We ate all of your banana and plum baby food. That stuff was delectable. Mom let us get away with a lot of stuff because she was so tired. We could blame things on you. Like, "Noah broke that dish," or "Noah knocked the plant over," or "Noah pushed the chair up to the counter and wrote on it with a Sharpie." Mom would always question us, "Noah isn't strong or tall enough to do all of those things." And our answer was, "Noah is deceptively strong and can jump pretty high, so..."
You used to sit quietly and let us smear red clay all over your face, neck, arms, and legs and when we'd tell you to run, you would. And Sara and I would shoot acorns out of our slingshots at you.
When Peter came along, you showed him the ropes of being a baby brother and warned him of the torture we would put him through. You had his back.
You pretty much did whatever we told you to do and said whatever we told you to say. You were, and still are, so easy-going. But, you're stubborn for the good causes and you stand up for what you believe in and, admirably, don't apologize for it.
You were one of the first people to walk through the door at the hospital after the girls were born. Some of the sweetest pictures we have are of you and Peter holding Piper Lee in the room and visiting Harper in the NICU. Your nieces love you so much. Their love their Uncle Hoop. I'm sad you won't get to see Sutton in person right away. I'll miss you being there, but I know God has something hugely special for you overseas and we have FaceTime, so we'll be good. It was just so special to me to have you there for the girls and I wanted you to know that. Thanks for being an awesome uncle to my kids.
I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of you. You are an incredible example and inspiration. You are so generous and uplifting. You mean the world to me and I love you. I can't wait to hear stories of your time in Southeast Asia. And I hope you have a chance to see the mysterious river fireballs. And maybe you can find someone in Laos that can cut your hair as good as I can. Probably not gonna happen, but we can all hope. Peter, Sara, and I have been so blessed to have you as a sibling and friend. We got a good one.
Lastly, I would like to say, if you do something stupid over there...like ride your moped to a dangerous location or jump off a waterfall or go to a "party" with some people you don't know...and die, I will be SO PISSED. Like, I can't even tell you. I've seen videos of them riding mopeds over there and they're maniacs and we drive slower here and you maybe just should walk everywhere, okay? And yeah, I know Mom always tells us to stay off the waterfalls, but there's a reason you should. Idiots die climbing waterfalls. Ever heard the story of the really smart and safe boy who listened to his mother and sister and died climbing the waterfall? No, you haven't. Because it never happened. Stupid people climb waterfalls. And those "parties" thrown by people you don't know really well always end up being a murder house where they cut out your organs and sell them to the highest bidder. While you're still alive. You just need to stay in your house and read.
Okay. Done.
Have a wonderful time, Boog! Love love love you!
Love,
Your Favorite Sibling
To keep up with Noah's adventures in Laos, check out his blog at Half A World Away.
He called David and me up one day a few years ago and told us his plan and to be praying for him. "Sure, of course!" we said, secretly hoping it would kind of just fizzle out in his mind. But, that's one thing you gotta know about Noah. If he tells you he's going to do something, he's going to do it. He raised the money required for the program all by himself. We willingly gave, again secretly hoping he wouldn't raise enough. But that little booger did and then I thought, "Shoot, maybe if we hadn't donated to it, he couldn't have gone." But, God has big plans for little 6'2" Noah in Laos and he would be going with or without our contribution.
Off he flies to Los Angeles tomorrow. Dad is going with him because he needs helping lugging all of his junk through the airport. I think they're gonna check out LA for a day or two while they're there and then he flies out super early Tuesday morning on a 13-hour (ha, I almost said "year"...a 13-year flight would suck) flight to Taiwan. And then Cambodia, where he will train for a few weeks. And then it's Laos for a year (possibly/probably longer).
Noah can barely speak English himself, so I don't know how all this is going to go.
Of course, none of us want him to go. But this is what he's meant to do and we are SO excited for him. And he better bring me back some silk (there's a huge silk industry in Laos). I don't know what I'd do with it and I can't sew, but still...it's silk and I've seen enough Project Runway to know it's pretty nifty.
But, it's actually not so bad. He gets to come home during the summers, so I mean, by the time he gets here next June, we'll already be tired of him again.
I've written him a letter...
Dear Boog, Booger, Booger Buns, Ellawheeza, Hoop, Scoop, Norah, Little Bro...
I remember the day you were born. I really do. I don't remember who we stayed with while Mom and Dad were at the hospital, but I remember them bringing Sara and me to the hospital and into the room where Mom was laying on the bed. She had both her hands behind her back. She told each of us to pick a hand and out she brings a little troll doll for each of us. You know those 80's troll dolls with the jewel belly buttons and crazy hair. We collected them. I still have mine. Probably not a great idea, since I'm sure they're haunted or possessed or something. I don't remember you much, but I remember my awesome troll doll. I do think Dad took us to the nursery to look at you through the big window. But, to be honest, you kind of looked like all the other babies in there. I did love my troll doll and you were partly to thank for that. So, thanks.
Sara and I were very glad you were born. We ate all of your banana and plum baby food. That stuff was delectable. Mom let us get away with a lot of stuff because she was so tired. We could blame things on you. Like, "Noah broke that dish," or "Noah knocked the plant over," or "Noah pushed the chair up to the counter and wrote on it with a Sharpie." Mom would always question us, "Noah isn't strong or tall enough to do all of those things." And our answer was, "Noah is deceptively strong and can jump pretty high, so..."
You used to sit quietly and let us smear red clay all over your face, neck, arms, and legs and when we'd tell you to run, you would. And Sara and I would shoot acorns out of our slingshots at you.
When Peter came along, you showed him the ropes of being a baby brother and warned him of the torture we would put him through. You had his back.
You pretty much did whatever we told you to do and said whatever we told you to say. You were, and still are, so easy-going. But, you're stubborn for the good causes and you stand up for what you believe in and, admirably, don't apologize for it.
You were one of the first people to walk through the door at the hospital after the girls were born. Some of the sweetest pictures we have are of you and Peter holding Piper Lee in the room and visiting Harper in the NICU. Your nieces love you so much. Their love their Uncle Hoop. I'm sad you won't get to see Sutton in person right away. I'll miss you being there, but I know God has something hugely special for you overseas and we have FaceTime, so we'll be good. It was just so special to me to have you there for the girls and I wanted you to know that. Thanks for being an awesome uncle to my kids.
I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of you. You are an incredible example and inspiration. You are so generous and uplifting. You mean the world to me and I love you. I can't wait to hear stories of your time in Southeast Asia. And I hope you have a chance to see the mysterious river fireballs. And maybe you can find someone in Laos that can cut your hair as good as I can. Probably not gonna happen, but we can all hope. Peter, Sara, and I have been so blessed to have you as a sibling and friend. We got a good one.
Lastly, I would like to say, if you do something stupid over there...like ride your moped to a dangerous location or jump off a waterfall or go to a "party" with some people you don't know...and die, I will be SO PISSED. Like, I can't even tell you. I've seen videos of them riding mopeds over there and they're maniacs and we drive slower here and you maybe just should walk everywhere, okay? And yeah, I know Mom always tells us to stay off the waterfalls, but there's a reason you should. Idiots die climbing waterfalls. Ever heard the story of the really smart and safe boy who listened to his mother and sister and died climbing the waterfall? No, you haven't. Because it never happened. Stupid people climb waterfalls. And those "parties" thrown by people you don't know really well always end up being a murder house where they cut out your organs and sell them to the highest bidder. While you're still alive. You just need to stay in your house and read.
Okay. Done.
Have a wonderful time, Boog! Love love love you!
Love,
Your Favorite Sibling
To keep up with Noah's adventures in Laos, check out his blog at Half A World Away.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Christmas in July
You guys...it's only Wednesday. BOYCOTT! I don't know what we're boycotting, but it makes me feel better to say it.
This past weekend, we celebrated Christmas in July with my family. Baby brother Noah is leaving for Laos on Saturday and he won't be home for Christmas (more about that later this week). It's his favorite time of year, so Mom decided we'd go ahead and have our family Christmas so we could have it with him. Mom decorated the house, we had our full-out Christmas breakfast, Christmas music was playing in the background, and we exchanged gifts. And also swam in the pool because it was like 100 outside. It was weird, sure, but soooo much fun and felt like the real thing. Doesn't matter when you celebrate it. It was special because the family was together. And it actually worked out nicely, because we decided last year would be the last year we traveled far over Christmas since the girls are at the age where they know what's going on and we wanted the kids to have Christmas at their own house. And David's family has graciously offered to come up/down and spend part of Christmas with us in Birmingham. I just said "Christmas" like 29 times.
These are a mix of Dad's and Noah's pictures and they're out of order, but here you go!
Her hair looks like it was cut, but it's not. Just a mess of curls in the back. This is Harps.
Pipes.
Harps.
Pipes. She insisted on wearing them.
You never know what lurks below...
Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh dododooooooooooooooo...(that's the Jaws theme...could you not tell?)
But sometimes, the air-breathers above are onto you.
Au Moo and Uncle Bly.
Ignore the puffy mess that is my face. It's starting, y'all. I was hoping to avoid it this time around.
Uncle Pete.
Opening presents.
The fam sans Virginia Kate. She couldn't make it this weekend, but Sara is getting me a picture (get me a picture, Sara!) of her to Photoshop her in.
Saturday night, we had a surprise going-away party for Noah and joint 75th birthday party for Mamaw G.
Several years ago, we were taking a family Christmas picture for cards and I set up the tripod and had the family walk on the driveway toward the camera. I said, "Okay, everybody walk casually and nonchalantly." We start going and everybody is doing great and then we notice Dad...who is walking like a robot. Apparently, that's his "casual walk." So, now we always have to do a robot walk picture for Dad. Oh, and Sara is wearing a boot because she was involved in a "freak wake surfing accident." You know, the kind that "never" happens. We think Bryan talked back to her and her foot had its way with his face.
Le Tree.
Breakfast.
This tiny wood house is QUITE something to behold, my dears. I put a doll in and I cahn't seem to get it out.
Au Moo scaring the twinsers.
HO HO HO...hey, who you callin' a ho?
The most dramatic swimmer ever.
At the lake, both girls jumped from a 5-6' rock ledge into the lake. But, would they jump from a 3' ledge into the pool? Nope.
But they would let David hold them while jumping in. Crazy kids.
David will tell you "They wouldn't let me in the picture," but that's not true at all. He was in the back aggravating everybody.
So, Merry Christmas, Boog!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Around the Neighborhood
So, you know how I like to spy on the neighbors. I did it at the house and I do it in the apartment complex now. David caught me watching people the other day and said, "You know you're actually the person you fear, right?" But I told him, "If I watch them first, then I have the upper hand."
Mainly, I look out the front window to see if anybody is at the mailboxes because I'm usually dressed like a hobo and don't want to run into anybody checking my mail and have to talk to them. I'm so neighborly. And then, I look out the back windows to see who all is in the pool and whether or not I want to go out there.
Sunbathers don't bother me at all. They're quiet and keep to themselves and the sun. Most kids don't bother me. They stick with their little group and usually have an adult supervising that tells them not to run and splash. There are two guys that chain smoke which drives me nuts. I mean...drives me wild. There's nothing sexier than a greasy man sitting in the sun chain smoking and hitting on everything that moves. Then, there's this older guy that always brings three kids to the pool with him. Sounds weird, I know, but we think it's his grandkids. I am not exaggerating when I say that they are the most annoying children in the world. Seriously. It's an older girl and two younger brothers. And the man watching them just has in headphones (the old-school ones from the 90's) and barely looks up. Except one time, one of the boys dove through an inner-tube into the water, that man shot up out of nowhere and let the entire pool in on a scream-lecture about a friend of his who did that and was paralyzed. I mean, a good lesson, sure. But, dude...simmer down. You're scaring people. And of course, the kid was being super disrespectful and obnoxious. Thankfully, they usually only swim in the early afternoon and we don't go out until around suppertime. But, if they're out there, we don't go out.
The pool closes at "dusk" but people seem to have mixed ideas about when dusk is. I don't even know when dusk is. But, they eventually turn the pool lights on and couples will go out there and get all makey outey and yes, I admit, it's extra creepy when I watch that as opposed to seeing which kids are out at the pool. I kind of do see how that makes me the peeping tom. Eew.
There's a couple that has two Afghan hounds. Afghan hounds are GINORMOUS, so you'd wonder, "apartment, really?" But, apparently, they're really lazy dogs and good in small spaces. The man walks the hounds every day. I've petted the boy one a few times. His name is Pasha and he looks like a marble statue. His head comes up to my chest. The white girl one has put her paws up on David's shoulders before and David's head came up to her chest. They're very soft. They would make a good cushion.
Since the girls are visiting the g'rents this week, David and I decided to go out on a fancy pants date night...so we hit up Olive Garden. YES, I LOVE CHAIN RESTAURANTS!! We met up with Malinda and Zack and had a fabulous dinner. Afterwards, we went to Krispy Kreme for dessert. I get out of the car, and see this old guy shuffling towards his car, holding a coffee cup and bag of donuts. The most brilliant and disarming golden toupee shines from atop his head, the bangs sweeping across his eyes. He lowers his head, but cuts his eyes up at me, glaring as I walk toward the entrance. He turns his head, following me, finally rotating his body to face me. I pull David closer. The man opens his mouth, and out comes the most gritty, raspy, and crackly molester voice, "You want some dill pickles with your donuts?" Mouth agape in complete shock, I forced my lips into an anxious smile, laughed nervously, and said, "Uh...ha, uh, no thanks," and pulled David inside as fast as I could. I turned to him with a look on my face like, "Can you believe what he just said?" David asked, "What? What's the matter?" I said, "Did you hear what that old sick pervert just said to me?" David smiled, patted my shoulder and said, "Ruth, he noticed you were pregnant. You know how pregnant women have weird cravings. Like, pickles on donuts. He was just joking with you." I did that long I-finally-understand-the-joke "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh" and then I felt really bad because I could have been nicer to the guy who was obviously just being friendly (I think) to a young person. I wanted to go back out and say, "Oh, I get it! That's funny!" but he was already gone and also that would have been awkward. We told Zack and Malinda what happened and we tried to make simple statements into inappropriate comments with everything.
"You want some pickles with those donuts?"
"You want some ice with your water?"
"You want some napkins for those crumbs?"
It's amazing what comes out pervy if you say it in that tone. But, ya'll...that guy's toupee. I have never seen anything like it. It gleamed with the light of a thousand angels.
Mainly, I look out the front window to see if anybody is at the mailboxes because I'm usually dressed like a hobo and don't want to run into anybody checking my mail and have to talk to them. I'm so neighborly. And then, I look out the back windows to see who all is in the pool and whether or not I want to go out there.
Sunbathers don't bother me at all. They're quiet and keep to themselves and the sun. Most kids don't bother me. They stick with their little group and usually have an adult supervising that tells them not to run and splash. There are two guys that chain smoke which drives me nuts. I mean...drives me wild. There's nothing sexier than a greasy man sitting in the sun chain smoking and hitting on everything that moves. Then, there's this older guy that always brings three kids to the pool with him. Sounds weird, I know, but we think it's his grandkids. I am not exaggerating when I say that they are the most annoying children in the world. Seriously. It's an older girl and two younger brothers. And the man watching them just has in headphones (the old-school ones from the 90's) and barely looks up. Except one time, one of the boys dove through an inner-tube into the water, that man shot up out of nowhere and let the entire pool in on a scream-lecture about a friend of his who did that and was paralyzed. I mean, a good lesson, sure. But, dude...simmer down. You're scaring people. And of course, the kid was being super disrespectful and obnoxious. Thankfully, they usually only swim in the early afternoon and we don't go out until around suppertime. But, if they're out there, we don't go out.
The pool closes at "dusk" but people seem to have mixed ideas about when dusk is. I don't even know when dusk is. But, they eventually turn the pool lights on and couples will go out there and get all makey outey and yes, I admit, it's extra creepy when I watch that as opposed to seeing which kids are out at the pool. I kind of do see how that makes me the peeping tom. Eew.
There's a couple that has two Afghan hounds. Afghan hounds are GINORMOUS, so you'd wonder, "apartment, really?" But, apparently, they're really lazy dogs and good in small spaces. The man walks the hounds every day. I've petted the boy one a few times. His name is Pasha and he looks like a marble statue. His head comes up to my chest. The white girl one has put her paws up on David's shoulders before and David's head came up to her chest. They're very soft. They would make a good cushion.
Since the girls are visiting the g'rents this week, David and I decided to go out on a fancy pants date night...so we hit up Olive Garden. YES, I LOVE CHAIN RESTAURANTS!! We met up with Malinda and Zack and had a fabulous dinner. Afterwards, we went to Krispy Kreme for dessert. I get out of the car, and see this old guy shuffling towards his car, holding a coffee cup and bag of donuts. The most brilliant and disarming golden toupee shines from atop his head, the bangs sweeping across his eyes. He lowers his head, but cuts his eyes up at me, glaring as I walk toward the entrance. He turns his head, following me, finally rotating his body to face me. I pull David closer. The man opens his mouth, and out comes the most gritty, raspy, and crackly molester voice, "You want some dill pickles with your donuts?" Mouth agape in complete shock, I forced my lips into an anxious smile, laughed nervously, and said, "Uh...ha, uh, no thanks," and pulled David inside as fast as I could. I turned to him with a look on my face like, "Can you believe what he just said?" David asked, "What? What's the matter?" I said, "Did you hear what that old sick pervert just said to me?" David smiled, patted my shoulder and said, "Ruth, he noticed you were pregnant. You know how pregnant women have weird cravings. Like, pickles on donuts. He was just joking with you." I did that long I-finally-understand-the-joke "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh" and then I felt really bad because I could have been nicer to the guy who was obviously just being friendly (I think) to a young person. I wanted to go back out and say, "Oh, I get it! That's funny!" but he was already gone and also that would have been awkward. We told Zack and Malinda what happened and we tried to make simple statements into inappropriate comments with everything.
"You want some pickles with those donuts?"
"You want some ice with your water?"
"You want some napkins for those crumbs?"
It's amazing what comes out pervy if you say it in that tone. But, ya'll...that guy's toupee. I have never seen anything like it. It gleamed with the light of a thousand angels.
Monday, July 16, 2012
So Quiet
Uncle Raymond sent me some more info about Sutton's name (and thanks, you guys! Glad you like it!) and I added it to the bottom of the previous post. Thanks, U. Ray! Hey, that'd be a good rapper name.
It's crazy quiet here this morning. David's fabulous parents are keeping the twinsers this week for us. I have a lot of work and I think it's as important for the girls to get a break from me as much as I need one from them. They're perfect babies and I love them more than life, but good gracious, they're exhausting. And they needed to get out of the apartment and I was okay with that. But now it's so quiet and I miss them! But, I mean, they're having a great time and GranJan and Papa's, so who am I to disrupt that. So, it's just me and the Suttsman this week. Well, and Davey, too, but he's at work right now.
We drove down yesterday after lunch to take the girls. We were serenaded by all sorts of songs. They named all the letters on all the billboards and told us the shapes and colors of all the signs. After two hours of that, David and I had the crazy eyes. You know the cartoon eyes that have red spirals in them? That was us. But, we were laughing because those kids are nuts. They took a nap at the end of the trip, which was nice. And they were sooo excited to see "GreeJee" and "Papa."
Mom called when we were almost to GJ and Papa's house and said, "Aw, y'all please stop by here and let us see the girls before you get there!" And I said, "We're almost there. But, after we drop them off, David and I will come by and visit." And she goes, "Aw, no...that's okay." Nice, Mom.
On Saturday, Bryan, Sara, and Bryan's parents invited us up to the lake, so we headed up there for the day. The past two summers at the lake have been wonderful, but a little more intense with the girls just because they were too young to really enjoy it. But, they had the best day. Oh my gosh, we had such a good time. We went riding on the pontoon boat first thing and Virginia Kate surfed out back on the big trampoline inner-tube thing. Well, the girls wanted a part of that, so they switched out the inner-tube for a 3-seater and David, Sara, VK, and the twins rode in it. Like, two and a half year olds riding an inner-tube behind a boat and LOVING. IT. Yes, they were wearing life jackets, duh. Noah and I could seen their toothy grins from the boat, but Sara and David said they were laughing hysterically the whole time.
Then, we all went swimming off the boat house. I've never been a huge fan of swimming in a lake. I mean, it felt AMAZING and the water is very clean. But, the fact that I don't know 100% what's below me weirds me out a little bit. But the girls were oblivious and had a great time. We swam to some rocks that the family plays on a lot and the girls watched VK jumping off a pretty high rock ledge into the water and decided they wanted to do it. I said, "They'll never do it." Uh, they totally did it. Jumped right to Bryan. I was shocked. And back up they went for another round.
They took a nap on the boat and went swimming some more with VK. I think they're born adventurers/dare-devils. Obviously, they slept great that night. And we have lots of pictures, but Noah has them all and will share them with me next weekend, so I'll have them next week.
I'm going to try to finish Alaska (wow, that was forever ago) and be done with it. Maybe one day I can get back to blogging the way I used to. Right now, it's hard for me to think in complete.
It's crazy quiet here this morning. David's fabulous parents are keeping the twinsers this week for us. I have a lot of work and I think it's as important for the girls to get a break from me as much as I need one from them. They're perfect babies and I love them more than life, but good gracious, they're exhausting. And they needed to get out of the apartment and I was okay with that. But now it's so quiet and I miss them! But, I mean, they're having a great time and GranJan and Papa's, so who am I to disrupt that. So, it's just me and the Suttsman this week. Well, and Davey, too, but he's at work right now.
We drove down yesterday after lunch to take the girls. We were serenaded by all sorts of songs. They named all the letters on all the billboards and told us the shapes and colors of all the signs. After two hours of that, David and I had the crazy eyes. You know the cartoon eyes that have red spirals in them? That was us. But, we were laughing because those kids are nuts. They took a nap at the end of the trip, which was nice. And they were sooo excited to see "GreeJee" and "Papa."
Mom called when we were almost to GJ and Papa's house and said, "Aw, y'all please stop by here and let us see the girls before you get there!" And I said, "We're almost there. But, after we drop them off, David and I will come by and visit." And she goes, "Aw, no...that's okay." Nice, Mom.
On Saturday, Bryan, Sara, and Bryan's parents invited us up to the lake, so we headed up there for the day. The past two summers at the lake have been wonderful, but a little more intense with the girls just because they were too young to really enjoy it. But, they had the best day. Oh my gosh, we had such a good time. We went riding on the pontoon boat first thing and Virginia Kate surfed out back on the big trampoline inner-tube thing. Well, the girls wanted a part of that, so they switched out the inner-tube for a 3-seater and David, Sara, VK, and the twins rode in it. Like, two and a half year olds riding an inner-tube behind a boat and LOVING. IT. Yes, they were wearing life jackets, duh. Noah and I could seen their toothy grins from the boat, but Sara and David said they were laughing hysterically the whole time.
Then, we all went swimming off the boat house. I've never been a huge fan of swimming in a lake. I mean, it felt AMAZING and the water is very clean. But, the fact that I don't know 100% what's below me weirds me out a little bit. But the girls were oblivious and had a great time. We swam to some rocks that the family plays on a lot and the girls watched VK jumping off a pretty high rock ledge into the water and decided they wanted to do it. I said, "They'll never do it." Uh, they totally did it. Jumped right to Bryan. I was shocked. And back up they went for another round.
They took a nap on the boat and went swimming some more with VK. I think they're born adventurers/dare-devils. Obviously, they slept great that night. And we have lots of pictures, but Noah has them all and will share them with me next weekend, so I'll have them next week.
I'm going to try to finish Alaska (wow, that was forever ago) and be done with it. Maybe one day I can get back to blogging the way I used to. Right now, it's hard for me to think in complete.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Le Bebe's Name
Remember that time I said I was gonna tell y'all yesterday what the name was and then didn't? That was funny, huh. I had every intention to, I promise. Yesterday just got away from me.
I had my glucose test early in the morning and PASSED. What what! The orange drink was not nearly as delicious as I remember it being when I took the test with the girls. It had a kick to it. A spicy kick. Blegh. I'm starting to make my rounds through all the doctors in the practice just in case somebody else delivers bean boy, so I met with Dr. North yesterday. He sounds like he's from waaaaay up north. He's actually the one who delivered the girls. And he looks like a Dr. Seuss character, which is adorable. He's very energetic in an almost scary way, but pretty cool. I met with him for about 1 minute and 20 seconds. The majority of the visit was just sitting around waiting for my test to be over. These few visits are the annoying ones. You drive to the office, sit around, wait, have your BP taken, wait some more, get weighed, wait, meet with the doctor for one second, check out, and head home. I know I'm complaining, but truth is, I'm very blessed and thankful to have had a relatively easy pregnancy with no complications, so I really shouldn't whine. Anyways. I was just happy I passed the glucose test. One more 4-week visit and then every 2 weeks. It's sneaking up on me!
So, the name. David and I have actually had a name picked out even before we got pregnant, but we didn't want to tell it until we knew for SURE that was the name. And the middle name was always up in the air, so we wanted to have everything nailed down first. And even then, we thought, "Oh, it'll be fun to wait until after he's born," but it's not much of a surprise to us because we would have already known the name and I hate waiting, so...the name. Baby Boy is...
Sutton David
Yay! We like it. Now, for where it comes from.
Sutton
We went through a TON of different family names. Some of which are on both sides of our families. William, Bowen, Houston, etc. I made a list of all of David's family names and all of my family names (girls and boys) and David actually picked this one out of the list. Sutton is the last name of my relatives on my maternal grandfather's side. It is a common Old English and Scottish surname. It means "from the South Town" or "from a southern settlement." I'm assuming that means from the south of England, but it's also fitting here, too, because he will be from the South, so that works. My great Uncle Raymond has a ton of info about the Suttons that he's sending my way. Places and dates of births and deaths. All the way back to the 1700's. I'm sooooooo excited! But this is the info that I have right now and it's pretty awesome. I wrote a post a couple of years ago about Missouri Jane Sutton (where we got Harper's middle name from) and her dad, Indian Jim Sutton. He was a full-blooded Cherokee. That's probably where the nickname came from. Here's the story (copied from my previous post).
(Font size is being weird and I can't fix it. Sorry for the hugeness.)
Crazy, right?? But the Sutton family members didn't all get into fights. They were really nice moonshiners and loved family. But, Uncle Raymond has that info and I'll share it with you soon!
David
This is a name from the Bible. And we liked it. The end. Ha, no, obviously "David" is a very special name. It's always been one of my favorite names ever, so lucky me that I got to marry a David! Who also happens to be a David, Jr. So, his Daddy's name is David and my Daddy's name is David. I called my grandmother and asked why she decided on the name for Dad and she said, "I always liked the name and I could name him whatever I wanted, so I did." Sounds good to me, Mamaw. I am all for that. David's family name has a little history to it. His grandmother has traced the name being used in their family back to the 1700's...before the Revolution. There have been multiple David Tinsleys throughout their family's ancestry, but the first one seems to be from the 1700's. They're still working on some of the info, but this is what we have so far. There was a man, who was a preacher to the colonies. Back then, you had to be a member of the Church of England and he refused to abide by their rules. So, he was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. How cool is that?! Not cool that he was in prison, but cool that there is such a strong family legacy with the name. I know Sutton will be proud to carry it on. And we are very honored to get to pass the name to our son.
There you have it. Pipes, Harps, and Sutts. Sounds like a law firm.
Btw, had Sutton been a girl, her name would have been either Sutton Luna, Sutton Daphne, or Sutton Ruby. All after grandmothers and very special ladies.
*UPDATE:
Uncle Raymond sent me the updated info on the Suttons. And here it is! It's going from most recent to the beginning.
I had my glucose test early in the morning and PASSED. What what! The orange drink was not nearly as delicious as I remember it being when I took the test with the girls. It had a kick to it. A spicy kick. Blegh. I'm starting to make my rounds through all the doctors in the practice just in case somebody else delivers bean boy, so I met with Dr. North yesterday. He sounds like he's from waaaaay up north. He's actually the one who delivered the girls. And he looks like a Dr. Seuss character, which is adorable. He's very energetic in an almost scary way, but pretty cool. I met with him for about 1 minute and 20 seconds. The majority of the visit was just sitting around waiting for my test to be over. These few visits are the annoying ones. You drive to the office, sit around, wait, have your BP taken, wait some more, get weighed, wait, meet with the doctor for one second, check out, and head home. I know I'm complaining, but truth is, I'm very blessed and thankful to have had a relatively easy pregnancy with no complications, so I really shouldn't whine. Anyways. I was just happy I passed the glucose test. One more 4-week visit and then every 2 weeks. It's sneaking up on me!
So, the name. David and I have actually had a name picked out even before we got pregnant, but we didn't want to tell it until we knew for SURE that was the name. And the middle name was always up in the air, so we wanted to have everything nailed down first. And even then, we thought, "Oh, it'll be fun to wait until after he's born," but it's not much of a surprise to us because we would have already known the name and I hate waiting, so...the name. Baby Boy is...
Sutton David
Yay! We like it. Now, for where it comes from.
Sutton
We went through a TON of different family names. Some of which are on both sides of our families. William, Bowen, Houston, etc. I made a list of all of David's family names and all of my family names (girls and boys) and David actually picked this one out of the list. Sutton is the last name of my relatives on my maternal grandfather's side. It is a common Old English and Scottish surname. It means "from the South Town" or "from a southern settlement." I'm assuming that means from the south of England, but it's also fitting here, too, because he will be from the South, so that works. My great Uncle Raymond has a ton of info about the Suttons that he's sending my way. Places and dates of births and deaths. All the way back to the 1700's. I'm sooooooo excited! But this is the info that I have right now and it's pretty awesome. I wrote a post a couple of years ago about Missouri Jane Sutton (where we got Harper's middle name from) and her dad, Indian Jim Sutton. He was a full-blooded Cherokee. That's probably where the nickname came from. Here's the story (copied from my previous post).
Uncle Raymond said they found a news article from October 13, 1898. It's about James "Indian Jim" Russell Sutton, Missouri Jane's father, which would make him my great-great-great grandfather. Indian Jim married Mary and they had Missouri Jane and Missouri had Esther and Esther had my Papaw G. So, I told you that Missouri Jane was kind of rambunctious and didn't put up with anything and they came from a long line of moonshiners. (Which is where the real Bogue and Weejer got it from.)
October 13, 1898
On Gunters Mountain, a few miles from Grant, at 8 0'clock Monday morning, Jeptha Reynolds, a sawmill man, aged about 50, had a misunderstanding with Indian Jim Sutton, a farmer of about the same age. Knives and rocks were used. Reynolds was cut on the head with a rock and knocked down. The fight continued, with Sutton on top. Reynolds cut across Sutton's body twice, once severing a lung, then laying open the bowels and severing the two intestines. Sutton then arose, gathering his hanging intestines in his hands and started for assistance. His wounds were necessarily Fatal. This happened down in Kennamer's cove. Indian Jim walked back up to the top of the mountain to a relative's house (he may have gotten a ride in a wagon). He died at that relative's house after a day or two of terrible suffering.
April 20, 1899
Jeptha Reynolds stands acquitted of the killing of James Sutton.
(Font size is being weird and I can't fix it. Sorry for the hugeness.)
Crazy, right?? But the Sutton family members didn't all get into fights. They were really nice moonshiners and loved family. But, Uncle Raymond has that info and I'll share it with you soon!
David
This is a name from the Bible. And we liked it. The end. Ha, no, obviously "David" is a very special name. It's always been one of my favorite names ever, so lucky me that I got to marry a David! Who also happens to be a David, Jr. So, his Daddy's name is David and my Daddy's name is David. I called my grandmother and asked why she decided on the name for Dad and she said, "I always liked the name and I could name him whatever I wanted, so I did." Sounds good to me, Mamaw. I am all for that. David's family name has a little history to it. His grandmother has traced the name being used in their family back to the 1700's...before the Revolution. There have been multiple David Tinsleys throughout their family's ancestry, but the first one seems to be from the 1700's. They're still working on some of the info, but this is what we have so far. There was a man, who was a preacher to the colonies. Back then, you had to be a member of the Church of England and he refused to abide by their rules. So, he was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. How cool is that?! Not cool that he was in prison, but cool that there is such a strong family legacy with the name. I know Sutton will be proud to carry it on. And we are very honored to get to pass the name to our son.
There you have it. Pipes, Harps, and Sutts. Sounds like a law firm.
Btw, had Sutton been a girl, her name would have been either Sutton Luna, Sutton Daphne, or Sutton Ruby. All after grandmothers and very special ladies.
*UPDATE:
Uncle Raymond sent me the updated info on the Suttons. And here it is! It's going from most recent to the beginning.
The Suttons had a lot of kids. They also lived in a lot of different places. Rumor has it that they had to move a lot to stay ahead of the law. (nice)
My Mom's Mom (my grandma) was Missouri Sutton Dennis. Born 1884. Occupation, moon shiner and merchant.
Her dad was James Munroe Sutton Born in 1861. He was a farmer.
James Russell Sutton was "Indian Jim". (So, Indian Jim was actually Missouri Jane's grandfather, not father.) He was born in 1833 in Missouri. Moved to Alabama when he was a young adult. Died after a knife fight on 11 Oct 1898. He served in Company E of Mead's Confederate Cavalry. His tombstone still stands at Old Union Cemetery in Grant Alabama (I actually have a picture of this.)
John C. Sutton: Born 1806 in South Carolina.
James Dozier Sutton: Born 1784 in North Carolina. He was a blacksmith.
James D. Sutton: Born 1750 in Green Briar Creek, Virginia. He was the owner of Sutton's Mill.
Benjamin Sutton (yes, I thought of Benjamin Button, too): Born 1700. No other info on birth or death.
Monday, July 9, 2012
The Fourth!
I know I'm late on a post about the Fourth of July, but it's been non-stop (as always) for awhile. But in a good way. And we were gone all weekend to Mississippi for David's All-State Choir reunion. It was SO much fun. A lot of the people in the choir went to college with us, so for me, it was like a college reunion. And some of our most precious friends were there and it was awesome to get to see them and hang out. We don't get to see them often enough. :(
So, last week, on Wednesday, we celebrated the Fourth of July by swimming all morning, relaxing all afternoon, and heading to Liza and Chris' for a cookout. We had the best time! As did the girlies.
They had put a little pool under the slide for the kids. Uh...heck yes...great idea!
I think I told y'all, but for New Year's, David went to a fireworks store and asked the guy for the quietest pyrotechnics they had. The guy assured him these wouldn't make any noise at all. And he didn't lie. They didn't make a sound. David tested them. So, the girls and I parked it out on the cul-de-sac and David went to the middle of the street and set off a few little fire blossoms. You would have thought it was WWIII. Harper rocketed into my lap and clung to my face like a leech. Piper Lee stood up, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." all the way back to the front door, where she demanded, "Open door! No! OH NO. Open door!"
We just figured no fireworks for a few years. But Taylor brought a few sparklers and some Roman candles and I kind of prepared myself for the onslaught of panicked 2-year olds that was sure to come my way. A few of the other kids gathered around to get a sparkler lit and the girls were fascinated. I mean, in complete awe. Then, they both asked to hold one.
Sparkler success!!
Then, we went to the field to light the bigger fireworks. Still a little nervous, but we were gonna see how they did.
Piper Lee LOVED them.
Harper was a little apprehensive at first, but warmed up to the idea.
Daddy held a Roman candle.
And we applauded him.
Then, Piper Lee wanted to "hold" a Roman candle, so Taylor assisted.
Then, the grand finale.
They squealed and laughed and jumped up and ran out of their chairs. They had the greatest time and David and I were so proud of our little pyromaniacs. It was a very, very good day. And we are so thankful for all the sacrifices made that allowed us to celebrate in freedom. God bless America!
I hope you and your families had a wonderful Fourth of July.
And guess what?? We have a name for baby boy! We were gonna wait until he was born, but I hate waiting and I'm tired of calling him "baby boy." But, I'll share that with you tomorrow!