Leprechaun's scavenger hunt

On St. Patrick's Day morning, the kids awoke to find a mess of ceral poured out all over the counter!  Among the flakes were 2 clues that started them each on a scavenger hunt around the house to a prize waiting at the end...

Guess who's 6?!?

Lucas!!!  Last week, we celebrated Lucas' 6th birthday.  It was his first day back to school after being sick for 6 days... He awoke to a bunch of balloons in his bed :)  And that morning we discovered his first loose tooth!  He took mini-donuts to school to celebrate with his class and Mrs. Beard made him a birthday crown.  He went to his first BMX practice of this season.  Afterwards, we had a special treat (since we didn't have 6 individual candles, we used two "3"s... Get it? 3 + 3 = 6!) and opened some presents! (Since we didn't have 6 individual candles, we used two "3"s...  Get it?  3 + 3 = 6!)  He got cards, money, REAL Uno cards, a lacrosse bag, and hex bugs.

100 days

So, in case you didn't know, the 100th day of school is MEGA important to elementary schoolers all across the nation... celebrated with parties and collections of 100 items. Lucas came home beginning on day 90 with a sticker that read "____ days left" (until day 100).  All the kids had to send in a collection of 100 things that fit in a gallon sized plastic bag - he did mini-marshmallows.  On the big day they had a party and did many special activities/games...  And it fell on a Friday :)  Monday was day 101, and the class dressed up like Dalmatians.  At school, they made "ears" and collars, ate "doggie treats" and played doggie games.  Lucas loved it all!!!  He named his dog-self "Lucatony".  His teacher made a class book that day with pics of each kid and the story they wrote about what they'd do if they were a dog.  It was sent home each night with a different kid, so everyone got a chance to see...

Girls Weekend

The weekend after we came home with Lydia, Tony & Lucas headed to the WV property for one day and one night, while I stayed home with the girls :)  We thought Lottie could use a little extra attention.  She wasn't acting jealous or anything, but did want to suck on baby's pacifier and peed her pants twice in one day.  So, we had an evening, night, and then day of special girl fun!

Crafts...

Making our own pink chex mix for her Valentine's party at school...

Giving Lydia her first sponge bath...

Watching a movie...

Sleepover in Mommy's bed...

The next day we went to Mommom's to celebrate her birthday!  We got to see Uncle Matt too...

What fun!!!

Superbowl 37 in New Orleans

One of my most important goals after having baby was to get home before the Superbowl...  mission complete!  I was NOT going to watch the Superbowl of all Superbowls alone and in the hospital.  Nor was I up for attending a big party 3 days post surgery and with such a new baby.  So, Mommom & Pop agreed to whip up some grub and we headed to their house.

Why such an important Superbowl?  Well, it was Ray Lewis' last game before retirement.  The Ravens finished the season with some HUGE wins and were looking good...  This was Flacco's first shot at the trophy after reaching the playoffs every year he's played.  AND, it could've been called the Harbowl, since John Harbaugh (Ravens coach) and bro Jim Harbaugh (49ers coach) were playing each other.  How crazy! 

The first half of the game, the Ravens were destroying the 49ers.  Right after halftime, there was a stadium blackout that delayed the game more than 30 minutes.  When it started up again, the Ravens had lost momentum and the 49ers gained ground...  But, in the end, Ravens won 34-31!!!!!!  First Superbowl win since the 2000-2001 season.  The last time was the night before I started my student teaching.

Mommom & Pop's food was delish...  snacks galore and gumbo.  Baby Lydia ate and slept the whole time.  Lucas and Charlotte ate and played.  Here are a few pics from that night:

 The Tuesday after the big win, there was a MASSIVE parade and rally at the Ravens' stadium in Baltimore.  Tony braved the crowd of well over 100,000 people and took Lucas and Charlotte.  They had a ball!  Here are some pics from the internet of the game/rally and one of the kiddos:

 

 

 

Our Newest Addition

On January 31, 2013 (my actual due date), we headed to Anne Arundel Medical Center for our 11:45 a.m. scheduled c-section of baby #3... While I usually very much enjoyed being pregnant, I had been ready for about a month to get this one out. After my horrendous holiday cough, I was just uncomfortable. Baby parts head-butting my lady parts, hurt ribs from coughing, and really no more room for baby to grow/move/stretch out. However, babies are much easier to take care of on the inside, so I didn't want to rush time too much :)

Some pics of the exactly 40 week belly:

I took Lucas and Charlotte to school in the morning, and met Tony back at home before heading to the hospital. Here's my traditional "entering the maternity wing" pose...

Once we got there and checked in, I got to put on a very fashionable hospital gown so they could monitor baby's heart rate, get my IV in, etc. Mommom and Pop came to wait with us too...

They were running a tad behind, so we didn't head to the operating room until almost noon. Be forewarned - with my new camera and now knowing what to expect in the OR, we got some cool (but maybe graphic) pics... If that bothers anyone, feel free to skip further down the page to avoid them!

They got the spinal put in easily and almost painlessly! Yay!

Next, it was time to get that baby out!  After a little work by the doctors, this is what we saw...

Like with Charlotte, we didn't find out the gender ahead of time. We had a name for a boy ready to go since the summer (Bodie), but struggled with girls names (the exact opposite of how it went with Charlotte). We had a list of a handful we liked (Delilah - Lila, Chelsea, Delaney - Laney, Caroline), but couldn't narrow it down any further. But, that's ok we figured... Because just like with Charlotte, I was sure baby 3 was a boy... Should've learned my lesson from last time, because...

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! A girl with no name... But very healthy! Born at 12:20 p.m., 7 pounds, 1/2 ounce, 18.5 inches long. I watched it all in the mirror, and Tony stood up and took pics over the curtain. We could hear her cooing and making little noises even before they pulled her head all the way out. And once out, the crying began! Tony went with her to cut the cord while I got put back together.

Before they went to wait for me in recovery, I got to see her and we had quick family pic taken.

Once Mommom and Pop got word that all was well, they went to pick up Lucas and Charlotte from school. I arrived in recovery just before 1:00 and we stayed there... feeding/holding baby while the nurses monitored us both... until 2:45ish.

Then, they wheeled us upstairs to our room. We lucked into a suite that was extra big with a huge bathroom. Not sure why that excited me so much, as I was bedridden most of the time there?

Mommom and Pop came back to the hospital with the kids. For the record, Lucas just wanted to go play at their house. He said he could go Friday to see the baby. Luckily, his vote was outweighed by Charlotte's, Mommom's and Pop's. The visit went MUCH better than when Lucas came to see baby Charlotte. Then, he refused to look at me OR her at all. This time, everybody was excited and took turns holding Baby Girl Williams.

Friday February 1...  All was calm in the morning...  Windy and a dusting of snow on the ground...  I don't think I slept at all last night...  Mommom & Pop brought the kids over in the late morning.  Lydia was a gassy beast and cried most of the time :(  Daddy fixed it by going to Babies R Us for gas medicine.  On the up side, she slept for 8 straight hours Friday night...  Tired from all the fussing, I guess???

Saturday morning...  Woke up fairly refreshed, hoping to go home sometime today... 

Here's Dr. Penn, the doc that did the c-section.  He was the doc that I had hoped would be on call when I had Lucas - no such luck.  Right before he started cutting, Tony asked him if he worked out!

We were out the door of the hospital by 11... got lunch on the way home and were there by noon.

After a few hours of chilling, Matt & Jameson came by to meet our little Lydia lady...  Then Mommom brought Lucas & Charlotte home - let the chaos begin!!!

Whew... a busy 3 days...  But totally in love with our new baby girl!