according to amy

self portrait...post strawberry picking

"outride back"

I have always loved our backyard--it's large for a lot in town and has lots of great trees and plants.  We often only used it until the beginning of July, and then headed back inside for the summer when it got hot & muggy.  I definitely see the yard getting more use this year, though, as Cat's favorite thing to do at the moment is "play outride back!"  Earlier this year she requested a "daddy slide," with "daddy" being a relative size term, as in "I want a daddy slide, not a baby slide!," not really having anything to do with her actual Daddy.  I did some research and consulted with my dad and found this swingset that fit the bill and wasn't too expensive.  Grammy & Papa had the swingset shipped to our house and Papa and Daddy installed it during Papa's May vacation.  Cat loves her daddy slide and plays on it all the time.  She is getting quite good at climbing up and down the ladder and swinging on the belt swing all by herself.  She loves it most when her cousins Jana and Dimitri come over to play with her.  I think she'll really dig it when Eric is old enough to play too!

Here's a picture just after the assembly finished--baby slide is still in the background.  Though she rarely uses the little slides now, she refuses to let us put them away, because she wants them to be ready for baby brother when he's big enough.  Such a sweet big sister (though with a slightly warped perception of how quickly her brother will grow...)

Action shot--it is hard to get a clear shot of the kiddos playing--they are generally a bit of a blur!

For my birthday, I requested a small pool.  I really want to teach Cat to swim in this summer.  Usually we'd just go to the beach at Lake Lauderdale, Moreau Lake or on the Battenkill, but I couldn't see how that would work well taking a newborn and toddler by myself and teaching one to swim.  For the first time in 30 years, my dad agreed that a pool would be a good idea and went out and bought one the day Eric was born.  Dad drove Dan & I to the hospital and stopped on the way home to buy my birthday pool.  Whilst I was laboring with baby Eric, Papa was laboring in the backyard, leveling a spot for the wonderful pool that is now there.   It is a bit bigger than I asked for, which is great!  He also added a saltwater system to the pool so that we don't have to use chemicals.  I haven't actually been able to go in the pool yet (tonight I'm headed in-yay!) but everyone else says it is lovely.  Cat and her cousins heartily approve.

Also in the backyard is Cat's sandbox.  Recently Abby has decided that she is enamored of the sandbox.  Luckily, Cat likes "Abby's game" and is willing to share.

On Friday, Dan got home just before I got back from picking Cat up at daycare and we all went outside together.  A few pictures from that adventure made it into an earlier post, but I saved this one.

Cat & her Daddy were looking at the sky and talking about the clouds (there were a LOT of clouds) and generally having a nice time, then Cat jumped up and ran for the house like something was chasing her!!!  When she got under the porch roof, she turned back and yelled "ME GO INRIDE!!!"  We asked her why, as she'd shown no inclination to go in yet and it was quite early (we usually have to convince her to go in).  She answered, still at top volume and now almost in tears "ME HAVE TO!!!  SKY MOVING!!!"

Dan tried to explain to her about the clouds and wind and weather and what-not, but to no avail, so in we went.  Funny girl. 
(This fear seems to have abated for the moment and we were able to go back out the next day.)

a few pictures...and more than a few words...

We had a request for more pictures.  I've been  having trouble getting pictures from the camera to my computer, but I think I've gotten it worked out now.  Here are a few recent pictures--be sure to check out Baby Eric's photo album on the left, too!

Baby Eric, still at the hospital, chilling on the Boppy.  Dan actually got in trouble with a mean nurse for propping him up in it while I was in the shower.  She told him "we don't do that here."  We refered to her as "that bitchy nurse" for the rest of our stay!

Daddy & Eric & Cat--we've discovered that Cat isn't really keen on sharing her Daddy with baby Eric.  She shares Mama and Grammy just fine, but Daddy is another story.  She's a bit of a Daddy's girl and Eric is a bit of a piglet, so he's attached (literally) to me most of the time.

Sleeping baby--I'm having trouble choosing pics to share, so there will be a lot coming, now that I've got the uploaded to the computer.  Eric was snuggled on the Boppy on my lap after eating himself into a stupor.  I often take Boppy pics in b&w because it has a pink slipcover (I'm so not shelling out $10-20 for a boyish cover...)

MAD BABY!!!  Baby Eric woke up and wasn't immediately fed--he wants to have his mouth full whenever he is awake!

Getting ready for first real bath...

Just like his big sister, baby Eric loves the tubby.  He kicked his feet happily and just chilled.  Also like Cat at that age, his absolute favorite thing to do the tubby was have a snack!

Okay, tubby is done--is it time to eat yet?

Hanging out in the back yard...

...with Daddy and Cat playing nearby.

I'll close with this picture, which I just love.

baby brother Eric has arrived!

A quick post to welcome the newest member of our family...Cat's "baby brother Agig (Eric)" arrived quickly today at 12:38pm.  He weighed in at 7 pounds, 15.6 ounces and is 20" long.  All are doing well, and Cat is already totally digging her brother, though she insists that we should let her carry him around (we're not quite ready for that yet!).  Official nursery pictures are here and here.