Sabrina's third week

This week was a busy week for us. Sabrina attended her first bridal shower and we had a family party celebrating Julie's cousin's MBA graduation from U of W. Sabrina met many people who loved holding her. Saturday, Sabrina met Julie's extended family. Uncle John and Arthur held Sabrina for an extended time once Sabrina parted from Grandma Judy's arms. The afternoon was baby heaven with lots of attention. During the family BBQ, Randy was able to balloon sword fight with Arthur which was a great time for both. The weather cooperated and was blue sky! Perfect day!

Observations of Sabrina... she likes to sleep with her hands near her face. We have many pictures with her hands tucked underneath her chin or off to the side. She has long legs and they are strong. Usually, after a meal, she gets a little fussy and kicks her legs around until she gets rid of the gas. Also, noted this week is Sabrina's ability to track with her eyes. She appears more alert and focuses on faces. So far her eyes are a deep blue, but that may change. She loves to ride in the stroller or car. Also, noted this week, she likes the white noise of fans. If she is fed, she will sleep in her papasan chair in the bathroom with the fan on while her mom can take a shower. We have a system. The other place she likes to be is on a pillow in the bathroom sink. From here she can watch her mom get ready and will stay pretty happy.

More pictures

There are a few more pictures to post. First, Sabrina liked to be held and on her side, so while we were playing Bridge, Randy had her on the Boppy pillow. The other pictures are some more family pictures that were not previously posted.

Family visits

Friday, Uncle Mark stopped by for a visit and Saturday the Wycoff family stopped by for a visit. Sabrina was held by cousin Claire as Joey watched with excitement.

A week of change

To say things are different at household would be an understatement! Sabrina has done a great job gaining weight and has slightly passed her birth weight! We have been adjusting to the feeding/ hick-up schedule. And Randy has really been wonderful taking over many of the household chores that I am unable to do while recovering.

We also had some visitors: Grandparents, Aunt Alison, Uncle Mark and colleagues and neighbors. All found Sabrina usually sleeping. Thursday Randy, Sabrina and I ventured to the school to show her to the kids in my class. We parked her buggy stroller outside the cafeteria so students could look at her from a distance. I was touched by how many students were wanting to see her and who offered to babysit. We are truly blessed with people who surround Sabrina and want to be a part of her life.

Introducing...

Introducing our new addition to the family!: Sabrina Esther Carver. She was born at 6:55pm on May 25 (Memorial Day)! Stats: 8 pounds 5 oz. , length 19.5 inches.

Tulip Fest

Last week we had a date day that was absolutely perfect. First we drove up to Skagit County to the Tulip Festival. Talk about God's perfect painting! Wow! What variety! We walked around the fields and then continued our journey by driving around the beautiful country side! To end the day we had a great late lunch and a nap! Both of us needed the rest after a busy week!

Baby will be warm

We are so blessed with people who bless us with their gifts. This weekend not only did julie go to a shower and received beautiful handmade quilts, but Dad helped Randy with the bathroom project and painted the baby's room. By the end of the weekend, everyone was tired but there was a great sense of completion.

Oh, the days of yesteryear

We were looking at some old pictures from a couple of years ago. We both look fit and skinny. Maybe again one day.....

Future Grandparents visit

Over Presidents' Weekend, my parents came for a nice visit. With them they brought with them Baby's new "corvette" stroller. Randy's mom was also in on the gift, purchasing the infant car seat that snaps in to the stroller. The whole contraption is very cool and can be adjusted for many different stages of life. We had fun playing with all the things this system can do! Randy marveled at the engineering behind such a collapsable four wheeled baby transporter.
Along with the gift, we played Bridge a couple of nights! Randy and I are getting better but it does take lots of practice to play with experienced players.

Nesting projects

As mentioned in earlier posts, Randy and I have been nesting differently. While I have been making quilts, Randy has been redoing the bathroom. Both projects are getting closer, but have had their obstacles. My sewing machine stopped sewing straight and started dropping stitches as I was attaching the binding. So, the puppy dog quilt will have a hand stitched binding sewed onto the edges.
On the bathroom front, Randy has encountered some tedious tiling which requires lots of cutting and piecing and fussing. Last weekend, he did finish the shower. The next step is to place the tile floor in. Both projects will be done in due time. We are just hoping they are finished before May.

Randy's Nesting Project

With the anticipation of our baby, both of us have taken on "projects" to get ready for the newcoming life in our family. While my projects have been sewing quilts in anticipation of converting my quilting room to the baby's room, Randy's projects have involved using crowbars, drills, saws. The first project was to add shelving to our upper attic space. The second project was to add shelving the garage. The third project which is still in process is the biggest of them all! It involved taking our master bathroom down to the studs and rebuilding it. Randy took out the bathtub-which we gave away on Craig's List- the shower, the sink and finally the toilet! He installed a pocket door frame
The intent of the project was to get it done during vacation time in December, but due to the blizzard in December and then flooding, materials were not arriving in the time frame we had set for them. Last weekend, Randy finally was able to place the new bathtub and then the Wedi board could be installed. Now we are waiting for the rest of the tile to arrive. Randy will put that in himself and I will vacate the house due to the fumes in the grout.
Today's adventure involves picking up a bathroom cabinet. In the end, we will be happy with the final project when it gets done.

Found it!

After searching for days on my computer files, I finally gave up and looked on Randy's computer file for the picture of Grandma. Voila' ! I found it and sent it to my computer to post. In the picture, Grandma was 96 and looked great! Since her death, I have been searching for photos of her and rebuilding my strong good memories of her. One photo I found is of her and my dog, Sierra. They were good pals and Sierra always remembered Grandma for her kindness in letting her stay at Grandma's house when I was working on my Master's degree. (Since Sierra was a puppy, we were afraid that Blitz might hurt her accidentally when they played.) That summer in 1995, I would take Sierra to Grandma's were she would hang out for the day while I was in class. Then I would pick her up in the evening. Sierra always remembered Grandma and would greet her with a tail wag and kiss any time she saw her. I like to think of them reunited in Heaven. Grandma and Sierra.

The search for a picture...

This morning I continued my search for my favorite recent picture of my grandma. It was on our wedding day and it was a nice picture of her. No luck in finding it, but I did find one of my favorite candid shots of me and some of the bridesmaids hiking our dresses up and strolling through the rose garden of Avery Park for the photo shoot.

Pictures of Family and Grandma

Right now our thoughts and prayers are going to Julie's Grandma. At 99, she is a true marvel. Its amazing to think she grew up in a time and place with no electricity or running water. Her love of animals was passed on to her family. In fact, one could say she has been the matriarch of the family and has been a lady of grace and love.

Baby is a .....KIcker!

Randy and i went to have our fifth month ultrasound. Baby is a kicker. Literally, Baby kicked like a donkey my left side. No wonder my hip hurts! Baby tried to get hands in mouth but missed, usually hitting the front of the head. The heart has four fully developed chambers. My favorite feature were the tiny feet which were a task to catch still. Both feet finally were measured and are about one and half inches. So far, these ultrasounds have been a highlight. We could see backbone and vital organs were all healthy. Yeah!