So it goes

Hi there.  We're still alive. 

Leigh is healthy, very alert, and still kind of ugly. 

Fletcher is riding a constant roller-coaster of emotions, sending Sara and I into alternating bouts of frustration and affection.

Here's the photographic evidence. 

 Leigh's first bath...

When he's finished holding her, he just kind of pushes her off his lap...

Sara and I must remain on our toes.

I took Fletch to the Austin Zoo one day to give Sara and Leigh a break.  Aside from feeding various goats and llamas, the highlight for Fletcher was the property's resident tabby-cat...

we must have followed that thing around for hours...

as I asked "You know there are tigers and lions here, too, right?"

 

One of the sweet times.

She's lost much of her hair, and it looks like her eyes are going to be brown like mine and Fletch's.  No Sorrels-blue, sadly.

One of her first little smiles -

though at this point they say all facial expressions are just reflexes in response to gas.

Our chubby little bunny.

The Meet

Fletcher and Leigh's first meeting..."She's so soft..."

He sniffed her a lot.

Daddy and his kiddos.

Wow, she's actually kind of cute in this one.

Fletcher enjoyed his visit with his sister...he's going to be a good big brother (positive thinking).

She's here...

Leigh Abigail joined the family at 12:31am this morning. She and Sara are both doing well. Like her brother, she has a good amount of dark black hair (which according to our doctor is "linked" to Sara's frequent heartburn).


Speaking of heartburn, there was a while there where Sara was complaining more about the reflux then the labor. But that didn't last long...


I'm getting ready to go pick up Fletcher from John and Patty's (thanks guys), and will likely post some photos of their first meeting. Until then...

Random Acts of Art

Here are a few pictures of
Fletcher's handiworks:

Balancing robots (a gift from Amy for his birthday).
See! We told you he would play with them eventually!

This is a caterpillar. Just so ya know.
Except, Fletcher pronounces it "calepitter."

Long-lost truck.
We lose toys in the house,
then find them again much later
under the bed, stove, wherever.
Actually, sometimes I put toys away in a closet
and bring them out on "difficult" days.
It's like they're brand new all over again.

"Coin" Crop Circles:
The best description I can give for these works of art.
I don't know what inspired him to create these.
Unfortunately, our change jar was stolen
(see next blog post) so he can't
create these anymore.

End of Summer...

Hi, all!
As summer comes to a close, we're looking forward to cooler weather,
lower electric bills, and OF COURSE the birth of our baby girl!
We're due around October 17th.

Here in Austin, we haven't had a summer this hot
since the 1950's. And we're in a drought.
And of course, this is the summer that Sara was pregnant.
Yay.

Some events this summer:

- Fletcher has been partially potty-trained.
We had a potty party for him in July and he now
only wears diapers at night.
Still no poop in the potty, despite our tempting
promises of new toys once he does.

- Sara's job came to an end the middle of July.
The furniture store closed, with a plan of relocating
eventually. In the meantime, it's good practice for
the stay-at-home-mom thing. Bleh.

- Our apartment was broken into the end of July.
Two laptops, an external hard-drive, some jewelry,
and our change jar will never be seen again.
Two words: RENTERS' INSURANCE!!
It came in very handy.
Once again, our pictures are gone-
because they were on the external hard-drive.

Here are a few pictures from other events of the summer:

At "Willie's Place," a truck stop in Carl's Corner, TX.
First truck stop to offer the biodiesel fuel marketed by Willie Nelson.
These bull-frogs are supposed to be dancing...
Fletcher was not a fan.
He's crying in this picture.

Cousin Amber (Mary's baby) & Fletcher.
She's the best baby ever.
Sara & Fletcher went to Dallas
for Mary's birthday in July.

One of the only pictures where they're both looking at
the camera, and Amber's not pulling Fletcher's
ears/hair/cheeks.
She likes to interact.

We recently had a visit from Wes' brother, Adam,
and family (Yoko & Fisher).
They came for a week in August.
Fletcher & Fisher pictured in their matching UT shirts.

Trying to get Fletcher to look at the camera.
We were visiting the State Capitol building.
It's air-conditioned!

The "Splash Museum" at Zilker Park.
Again- air conditioned!
They have simulated limestone caves & interactive exhibits of
how our natural aquifers are formed & maintained.

Ride on the "Zilker Zephyr" train.

The "Fountain Park" a few miles from our house-
it's the best one in Austin.
Nice shade, chlorinated water, very interactive.
Here in central Texas, we are participating in strict water rationing.
However, the rules don't apply to recreational water parks. Yay!

I realized...

...that we had better start being more organized with this blog thing.

Some of you may not know that we are producing a new baby, due in October;
a sister for Fletcher.
Dilemma: do we let her share Fletcher's blog?

As for not posting more regularly, our computer crashed right after New Year's and we lost all pictures, music, files, etc. It was a blow, to say the least.

So, even though we still need to catch up, I do have pictures from
Fletcher's birthday party in March.
My friend Dawn took some of these and has them on her blog
(she's much more prompt with her blog).

Train cake! (again) This time we opted not to make it ourselves...

You think licking the candles is yummy-
try licking a Thomas toy that has icing all over the bottom of it!

Cake & ice cream on the balcony with friends., including cousin Aris.
We had four other children at his party this year, the most we've ever had.
Usually it's just our friends...

Yummma!