It’s BASKETBALL time in Tennessee!

Sure – right this very second we are sitting in our living room watching College Gameday (the FOOTBALL version).  We’ve watched the highlight of Tennessee nearly beating Alabama.  They’ve given Tennessee the edge today (must be the home field advantage) over number 25 South Carolina.  Lee Corso has said, “Not so fast my friend” about 100 times already.  And we are hardly paying attention to it at all.  I guess it’s sort of a “basking in the afterglow”…

Because a significant event happened last night.  Bruce Pearl officially unveiled the 2009-2010 basketball team!  And what a team it is.  Fast on offense with lots of fast breaks packed with an unrelenting defense that guards the ball for the full 94 feet.  And they let it loose last night against North Alabama last night in a 117 to 79 exhibition victory.

And that’s not all.  Obviously, in an exhibition game, you don’t have all of the pieces plugged together yet.  Bruce has enough talent this year that is having trouble getting it down to a 8 or 9 man rotation (he played 14 people last night).  And even with scoring 117 points, Bruce admitted that he only has about 10% of the offensive plays in place. 

So sure – we’ll be watching some football today.  And we’ll watch Tennessee take on “the ol’ ball coach” and South Carolina tonight.  But watch out.  Roundball is coming to a television near you!

The Nursery Is Complete!

Yes indeed.  Little Mike’s room is ready for his arrival! 

Well – ok.  You caught me.  It’s not really 100% ready – but it’s finished enough to give you guys a few pictures!  We still have two small things left to do.  We still need to hang the valance – but we need a rod first.  And we need to put the rocker in the room – but we need to get a rocker first!

So here’s the story on the room.  About two years ago (yes, you read that correctly – two years ago) we had talked about what to do with this room.  We decided that it would be a multi-purpose room.  Music for Bryon.  Crafts and scrapbooking for Darlene.  Darlene decided that she wanted it painted a calming color – perhaps a blue color.  One weekend when Darlene was out of town, Bryon decided to whip the room into shape.  Rip up carpet.  Paint the room.  Put down some laminate flooring.  Hang some crown molding.

Darlene laughed when she came back home.  “It looks like a baby boy’s room”!!!

Fast forward two years and we decided to try and have a baby.  The home pregnancy test shows the double line.  The ultrasound confirms it.  A baby is on the way!  Call it parents intuition (or the fact that we already had a blue room), but we always felt that it would be a baby boy.

So since the room was already blue – only some slight remodeling was in order.  Bring in the baby crib.  Hang up some shelving.  Put up a few decorations.

We picked out some colors based on the crib bedding.  It is primarily blue (the same blue as the paint on the walls) with some green and brown in it.  We matched the green and the brown to paint some accents.  The brown paint had a great name for a baby’s room.  “Melted Chocolate” – yum.  The green on the other hand was not such a baby name.  “Cabbage Green”. 

So mix up some baby blue.  Add a little melted chocolate.  Top it off with some cabbage green.  And viola!  A room for Mike!

The ultrasound agrees that it’s a boy.  However, Bill Cosby (who has become a parental reference of sorts) has told us that God has a sense of humor.  Here’s His chance!  A girl would REALLY throw us for a loop!

 

Notice the Smiley bank at the bottom.  That’s from Bryon’s room when he was little!  And the dresser it is sitting on is from Darlene’s room!

“M” is for Mike!

It’s hard to see in this picture – but above the bed is a quote that says “Every good and perfect gift comes from above…”

 

And for those of you following along with the countdown – Forty bottles of beer on the wall.  Forty bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around.

To be continued…

Birth and Babies graduation

We’ve done it.  We are trained professionals.  Five weeks of grueling training.  10 hours of actual classroom experience.  We’ve graduated and are completely planned out and prepared for the birth of this baby.

Ha!  Not in our wildest dreams!  While it’s true that we have completed the class (and we have the “diploma” to prove it) – not even the two of us are naive enough to believe that!  At best, we’ve learned that we need to put together a plan (which we’ve done) and that we need to be prepared to throw the whole plan out the window!  We’ve heard that babies don’t always do what we plan for them to do…

So our course was called “Birth and Babies”.  The first four classes were all about “birth” (and the planning and then why you might need to throw it out the window).  The last class was “babies” and some fundamental care (did you know you have to feed these things?).

So we get to class and check out our assigned “baby” – ours was a girl named Diana.  We covered all of the basic creams, lubes, ointments, sterilizers, umbilical cords, circumcision (poor little fella), pacifiers, bottles, formula, milk storage, etc, etc, etc. 

Then we moved on to the actual baby.  We learned how to swaddle.  It certainly was easy with the plastic doll.  I’m certain that Mike will be just as still and cooperative.  We got to undress and dress the baby.  Again – we excelled at this and we are both positive that Mike will lay still and allow us to change his clothes at will.  We got to change diapers.  This was yet another easy task and again, we are certain that Mike will lay still while we wipe his butt, lube him up, and put on a fresh diaper.  And our practice baby didn’t pee on us or puke on us.  Again, we have talked with Mike and he seems agreeable to this.

Look at that expert swaddling! 

Then comes the more humorous part of the class.  We got to give Diana a bath.  “Sure”, you say.  “What’s the humor in that?”

Well – Diana had something sticky on her belly.  We had our little tube of water with a little bit of soap in it.  We washed her up, but the unknown sticky substance remained.  In an effort to be nice to the next couple to “adopt” Diana, we decided to try a little more diligently to remove the substance.  More soapy water.  Scrub a little harder.  Little did we know that we had began to draw the attention of Nurse Nancy who was running the class.

The unknown substance was being rather stubborn.  We decided more soap was in order.  We opened up the bottle and poured a little directly on Diana.  That was when Nurse Nancy (with a look of disbelief on her face – after all, we had been star pupils) decided she had better intervene.  “Ummmm – you really don’t need to scrub quiet so hard.  Babies skin is pretty sensitive.  And you should put the soap in the water and not directly on the baby.”

We started laughing which made Nurse Nancy a little more nervous.  I could see that she was beginning to doubt our abilities!  So we quickly showed her the unknown sticky substance and she gave a huge sigh of relief!

And all was good in the world again.  Class ended a short while later, and Nurse Nancy handed us our diploma.  Ahhhhhhh – already a successful parent and Mike isn’t even born yet.  Good thing that he has already agreed to be as cooperative as our plastic training baby!

Are you following the countdown?  If you are – here it goes!  “Forty-four bottles of beer on the wall.  Forty-four bottles of beer.  Take on down.  Pass it around.”

Yikes – it’s getting close now.  Less than two cases to go…

We’ve been busy!

Yes.  It certainly has been a while since we posted.  But there has certainly been a lot going on!  Rather than run it all together in one long post, we thought we give you a little teaser.  A preview of coming attractions if you will…

First – we have officially graduated from our birth and babies class!  Now we are trained professionals (ha!).  Once again, Bill Cosby comes to mind.  We will fill you in with all of the details very soon!

And we have been working on the baby’s room.  It is now 99% done.  We have just a little to do above the crib.  It would have been finished this weekend, but Bryon made a small mistake that requires a trip to the store.  Oops!  As soon as we get it done, we will snap some pictures for you all to see.

But we don’t want to leave you completely empty handed (so to speak).  Darlene’s sister had a beautiful baby girl!  We put a quick blurb about it in a previous post but there is so much more to tell.  It was a scheduled cesarean and mom and baby are both doing well.  Here’s the story.  Darlene’s sister, Diane, had placenta previa.  It’s a condition where the placenta blocks the cervix making a normal delivery impossible. 

Having a scheduled c-section is a little scary when you had a “normal” delivery with your other two kids.  Darlene made the trip to Stanton to be with her sister while the birth was taking place.  She was prepped.  The spinal tap was inserted.  The tent was raised.  The doctor walked in and gave her a little pinch on her belly and asked “can you feel this?”  Much to his surprise, she said “Ouch!  Yes I can feel that!”. 

The doctor was a little surprised by that.  They made some adjustments.  Turned some knobs.  Pinched again.  “Ouch!”

The doctor then explained that since everything was already prepped, the only thing to do was to use a general anesthesia.  Poor Diana.  She was already nervous enough just having the c-section.  She had never had any sort of surgery in her life and this had now turned in to a full blown major procedure with a general anesthesia. 

Fortunately, there were no additional complications!  Amber Penelope was born mere minutes later and Diane was awake and holding her a short time after that.  They are both home and doing great! 

And here’s an opportunity to make a good ending even better.  As you can imagine, Darlene’s mom was very excited that both of her daughters were pregnant.  It’s a special bond between mother and daughter.  And it’s just as special between sisters.  But when both sisters are expecting, those bonds grow in a way that is truly spectacular.  Unfortunately, Darlene’s mom didn’t get to see those births.  But this is not a sad story!  You see, her middle name was Penelope.  And we we know that she is looking down and smiling and that the bond between Amber Penelope had her mom will be every bit as strong.  Isn’t life truly beautiful…

 

And if you are following the countdown, we are officially past the halfway point!  Here it goes…  Forty-eight bottles of beer on the wall.  Forty-eight bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around.

To be continued…………………………

Dogs, acorns, and the National Anthem…

If you live anywhere near Knoxville, you have undoubtedly realized that we have had more rainfall than a typical this year.  In some ways, the rain has been nice.  Especially after two years of officially classified “drought conditions”.  Here it is, the second week of October, and most trees still have green leaves while the fruit trees and flowering trees are just starting to turn red and orange.  The fall colors should be spectacular this year.

The fantastic part is that we can enjoy those fall colors just by sitting out on our deck.  Not only do we have the woods behind the house, but our own backyard has several Sugar Maples that provide beautiful pinks and reds.  And the gigantic Pin Oaks and White Oaks in the yard put on a fantastic show of yellows and oranges.  When they are all in full color, you can walk upstairs on a sunny day and it looks like pink lights are on in the rooms.

Yesterday, we noticed something else that the rain has provided for (other than the occasional frog getting trapped in our garage).  You see – yesterday was a fairly windy day as a cold front was sweeping through.  Our smallest dog absolutely loves being outside chasing squirrels and birds and yesterday was no exception.  Even our bigger dog, who prefers more to be inside, couldn’t turn down the great weather.  The weather was so nice that we just left the door open and let them come and go as they pleased.

Then suddenly a gust of wind started blowing and looking out the window it appeared that large brown hailstones were falling from the sky!  The dogs were ducking and running for cover – scattering everywhere with cartoon like motions.

I realized how odd it is that hail would be falling on a relatively sunny day.  Not to mention that they were brown.  Some investigation is in order here!  Carefully stepping out onto the deck (and staying under the protection of the eve of the house) I reached down and picked up one of the “hailstones”  Turns out it was an acorn!

Now these aren’t the normal “pea sized” acorns that normally fall from these trees.  These acorns are larger than quarters and there are hundreds – even thousands – falling from the trees.

The dogs enjoyed the rest of the day from the safety of the house while looking out the window on to the deck.  After being caught in the “storm” they had little interest in being outside.  The hickory nuts aren’t quiet ripe yet – there may be another storm brewing…

 Under attack by monster acorns!

On a completely separate note – a family member sent us a video of some very talented little girls singing the National Anthem and a Texas Tech basketball game.  Some of you may have seen this already – but if you haven’t, take two short minutes out of your day to watch (and listen to!) this short clip.  Sometimes we get too caught up in red states or blue states, being liberal or being conservative, or advancing the party (or worse – ourselves) rather than advancing our country.  24 hour news programs and talking head pundits with radio shows who are more interested in “sensationalizing” a story to boost ratings or promote an agenda.  Underneath it all, we are ALL Americans.  And we live in these UNITED Stated of America.

So for two minutes, listen to these 5 young girls sing and don’t think of yourself as a republican or democrat.  Think of yourself as proud to be an American.

 

And for those of you who are joining in on the countdown – here it goes!  “Fifty-seven bottles of beer on the wall.  Fifty-seven bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around………”  To be continued!

Another “Birth and Babies” class under the belt…

Today was the fourth installment of our birth and babies class.  Four down and one to go.

We completed our “birth” portion of the class tonight.  We now have no disillusions about natural birth, induced birth, birth with “pain relief”, and even cesarean birth.  We’ve even had the opportunity to “watch” each type of birth (obviously on video) and I have to say – the cesarean procedure, while relatively safe, certainly looks scarier than the others!  Who knew that skin (and the abdominal muscle!) could stretch like that…

And tonight we moved on to the “babies” part of the class.  We learned about some of the more “gross” aspects of the few days after birth (as if moms haven’t gone through enough up to this point – I guess a little more “humble humility” gets poured on).  We also learned about the color of poop (who knew?).  And we learned about car seats!  So I guess with one more class to go – we are nearly experts!!!

And if anyone believes that – please watch the following clips regarding experts in childbirth (here’s part one and here’s part two).  Boy, I wish I had that $17,000 Ferrari…

 

Here’s our little “practice” baby – safe and secure in it’s car seat!

 

We hope you enjoyed the comic relief!  And if you happen to be following the countdown – Sixty bottles of beer on the wall.  Sixty bottles of beer.  Take on down.  Pass it around……

To be continued!!!!!

Family and friends are the most beautiful thing…

What a big weekend we have had!  I don’t even know where to begin.  It’s easy to say “start at the beginning” – so let’s give that a whirl.

The first big event of the weekend was - Darlene’s sister had her baby this past Friday.  Darlene was actually there in the delivery room and got to be the first person (after the doctor of course!) to get to welcome little Amber Penelope into the world.  It was a wonderful experience that put many of the concerns and fears and anxieties and questions about delivering babies all at ease.  And the reward was a beautiful new niece that will only be a few weeks older than Mike!

Then it was off to Evansville for the weekend.  And an action packed weekend it was!  Saturday, Bryon’s mom (with some help from the special hostess Kiersten) had a baby shower for Darlene.  It really was a wonderful time.  It was enjoyable enough just to see all of the friends and family all gathered under one roof!  We could have sat and visited with everyone all night long.  And the wonderful gifts?  Well that was just the icing on the cake.  We truly love you all!

Of course, we couldn’t see everyone on Saturday.  And those of you who couldn’t make it – we tried to get around to see you all on Sunday.  We made it to a few stops.  But not nearly everyone!  When it was 7:30 (that’s pm - our time!) and just leaving Haubstadt – we decided that we should probably head for the house. 

We really wish the weekend could have been longer and we could have spent long hours with everyone.  But we didn’t get home until 1:30 (that’s a.m.!!!!).  Wow – that made for a really long Monday!  But rest assured that even if we didn’t get around to see everyone in person we were thinking about each and every one of you.  And we consider ourselves the luckiest people in the universe to have the friends and family that we do!!!

And if you are following the countdown…

61 bottles of beer on the wall (Only sixty-one?  Are you kidding me?)  61 bottles of beer (I’m sorry – you must be mistaken. Only sixty-one? ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh…).  Take one down.  Pass it around.

To be continued!

Two women, two guitars, two mics, one great evening.

This past Friday, we had a wonderful opportunity to get out of the house for an evening.  There was a band – the Indigo Girls – playing in Knoxville.

It was a reunion of sorts for Bryon.  He first saw them at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver way back in 1989 and has been a fan ever since.  Twenty years later, it was at the historic Bijou Theater - built in 1817 which makes it the fourth oldest building in Knoxville.

The great part about their Knoxville show was how much it was stripped down.  The stage was completely empty with the exception of two microphone stands and a small set of speakers.  No drums.  No bass.  No keyboard.  They (the two “girls” that make up the Indigo Girls – Amy and Emily) came out on the stage carrying two guitars.  The music began.  Beautiful music that made you want to sing along with wonderful words filled with emotion.  All from two little guitars and two lovely voices.

And the played and played and sang and sang in the old historic theater.  It was music that makes you feel good with words that touch your heart.  We clapped and cheered and cheered and clapped – not just from the enjoyment of the music, but also because of the fascination that it all came from two little guitars and two women with extraordinary talent.

 

 

The Indigo Girls – live at the Bijou Theater!

Vols win!

Last night, Lane Kiffin and the Tennessee Volunteers took the field once again.  The weather had been less than cooperative all day dumping several inches of rain on the field before the rain stopped (just before kickoff!).  But considering that we have people that get PhD’s taking care of that field – it was in remarkable condition!  Even more remarkable – it looked as good at the end of the game as it did at the beginning…

The Vols were taking on Ohio University.  No – NOT Ohio State.  Ohio University.  There was some expectations of another 60+ whipping a la Western Kentucky.  But alas, the game was much closer than comfortable.  If it weren’t for a few key plays (like our defense getting an interception and running it back for a touchdown) – the mighty Wildcats of Ohio might have pulled off the upset.  But in the end we were victorious, 34 to 23.  Not an impressive win – but we will take it.

And speaking of impressive – what about those Hoosiers!  If you didn’t see the game, you need to flip over to SportsCenter right now and watch the highlights.  They played Michigan down to the wire.  Indiana had the lead all the way up to the fourth quarter.  Michigan scored a touchdown with 2 1/2 minutes to go to take a 3 point lead and ended up winning 36 to 33.  Man!  That was CLOSE!  The Hoosiers certainly looked better on the field than the Vols did.  We need to try and get a non-conference game scheduled!!!!!

And on a completely different note – today starts week 30 of the pregnancy!  Ten short weeks to go.  That means it’s time for the countdown!  70 bottles of beer on the wall.  70 bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around. 

To be continued…………………

Baby Update!

Finally!  It’s a baby update!

So – the third trimester is well underway.  The biggest change so far (besides getting bigger!) is that we visit the OB every other week now.  That means that we’ve been to the doctor a couple of times since the last baby update.

They have performed another 1 hour glucose test.  The blood sugar came back as 104!  That would be a great number for non-pregnant people.  It’s a FANTASTIC number for someone who is 29 weeks pregnant.  So good, in fact, that the doctor has said there will be no more glucose testing!  WOOT!  No more horrible orange drink!!!

And of course they check blood pressure every visit.  Last visit is was 102 over 69.  Again – great numbers for non-pregnant people but FANTASTIC numbers for someone who is 29 weeks pregnant.

But what about Mike?  He is doing just fine in his little baby cocoon.  He is weighing in at just under 3 pounds!  And he is CERTAINLY enjoying kicking his momma. 

We tried twice to get a 3D/4D ultrasound.  For those of you who might not be familiar – click here to see what the pictures look like.  They are really cool and we were really excited to be able to “see” baby Mike.

Unfortunately – we couldn’t get the 3D/4D images.  It seems like the biggest reason was the placenta getting in the way.  It was causing the 3D/4D images to appear “watery” and not nearly as clear as those pictures in the link above.

But we were not disappointed at all!  The first attempt we saw Mike with both of his feet folded up over his head.  It was a very interesting view!  And we were able to confirm once again that he his indeed a boy.  In the second ultrasound, he still had one foot over his head and the other one was folded underneath him like he was sitting on it.  And this ultrasound was particularly interesting – the tech had zoomed in on his chest and you could see it rising and falling while he was practicing his breathing!  And overall, he was particularly active.  It was very interesting to see him move on the monitor while feeling him move!  That was great…

And for those of you counting down – 73 bottles of beer on the wall.  73 bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around.  To be continued!

Another football update

Week three of the NCAA football season has come and gone.  This week was tough for Tennessee football.  A new coach.  A new offense.  A new defense.  It’s like having a brand new team with all of the same players.

So nobody expected to run the table this season.  And if you asked most folks – they would say that they would be happy if the Vols won more than they lost and were at least competitive in the “big” games.

And Saturday was certainly a BIG game.  Number one ranked Florida.  That’s tough.  And adding fuel to the fire was some “motivational” quotes from Coach Kiffen.  The one that was played the most was during the press conference when it was announced that he was the new head coach back in December.  He was looking forward to the Vol Walk.  He was looking forward to running through the “T”.  And he was looking forward to singing Rocky Top all night long when we beat Florida.

Ouch!  The press had a field day with that last week!  Especially with Florida being number one and the Vols being unranked.  “Florida is going to kill them.”  “Coach Meyer won’t let off the accelerator all day.” 

And indeed – the bookies thought the same thing.  The last I saw – Florida was favored to win by 29 1/2 points.  Everyone expected us to leave Gainesville with our head hung low.

So how did it turn out? 

We did indeed chalk another one up in the “L” column.  But they only won by 10 points – 23 to 13.  Our defense looked good – holding back an extremely high powered offense.  And the Florida defense hadn’t allowed a touchdown since sometime last year – until they played us that is!

So we may have started the season out 1 and 2.  But we all are excited about the prospects of the rest of the season!

And for those of you patiently waiting for a baby update – your wait is nearly over!  I know – I know.  It’s been two weeks since a baby update.  but we have a Dr. appointment this afternoon and we’ll fill you in on all the latest news…

And the countdown continues!  75 bottles of beer on the wall.  75 bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around.  To be continued!

UT Football and the Lane Kiffen sequel

This past Saturday, UT and the “Lane Train” took on their first BCS team of the year.  UCLA.  The Bruins.   Not exactly a BCS powerhouse – but they did beat us last year so there was an element of revenge.

However, that would not prove to be enough.  Unfortunately, our quarterback fumbled a snap and then threw three interceptions in a row.  And against any BCS team, if you turn the ball of FOUR times, you’ve got a pretty good chance at chalking one up in the “L” column.

So my take on it is – week one was the week for all of the Coach Lane Kiffen fans (or CLK or the “Lane Train”).  An excellent outing.  A “see – I told you so” performance.  Week two is for all of the Phillip Fulmer fans.  Proof that not all of the pieces are in place.  A “see – I told you the grass isn’t always greener” performance.

The true test is coming up. Since the “downfall” of Alabama football – the biggest rivalry in the SEC East has been UT and Florida.  And this year they are playing in the swamp against a VERY good Florida team.  We’ll see how things look when the Lane Train pulls out of Gainsville…

And which side of the fence am I sitting on?  Am I a “sorry to see Fulmer go” person?  Have I been drinking the “Kiffen Kool-Aid”?  Actually – I’m neither.  I enjoy seeing the football team win and I’m disappointed when they lose.

But I’m REALLY excited when I look and see the the MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM has only SEVEN WEEKS until they start exhibition play!  WOOOOT WOOOOT!!!!!

And speaking of countdowns – 82 bottles of beer on the wall.  82 bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around……

To be continued!!!!!

Celebrating another milestone

This weekend marks the end of an era.  Ok – maybe it’s not quite that monumental.  But it does mark the end of the second trimester!

Twelve short weeks until baby Mike comes out to play.  It’s unbelievable how quickly the pregnancy is progressing!  It seems like just yesterday that the HPT came back positive!  And it’s absolutely amazing (a miracle really) at how easy the pregnancy has been.  Mikey has been taking it easy on his mamma.

So it seems that you are supposed to celebrate every time a monumental occasion occurs.  So what do you do to celebrate the beginning of the third trimester? 

Well – why not turn back the clock 25 years!

So we loaded up in the car and headed out to the Rick Springfield concert!  And we certainly had a lot of fun.  Even Mike was dancing around!  Rick certainly gets around good for an old guy.  He even sang songs out in the audience.  Not on a small stage out in the crowd – but actually standing on the seats and jumping from row to row while everybody was grabbing on to him. 

Rick Springfield live in Knoxville!

 

Not too bad for a guy that’s 60!  That’s right sixty years old.  We both hope that we are that energetic when we are 60!  Here’s our new goal – to be 60 and riding our bikes mo 60 mile rides.  I’m pretty sure we can do it!!!

And now the countdown continues.  Tomorrow officially starts the 28th week with a mere 12 weeks to go (ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh).  So strike up the band and sing along.  85 bottles of beer on the wall.  85 bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around. 

To be continued…

The most common question…

When we first announced that we were going to have a baby, we got a lot of interesting questions.  Most of them involved strange cravings (nope – haven’t had any) or morning sickness (is it still called “morning” sickness in the afternoon?).  Recently, the questions have began to focus on one central theme.  “Have you registered yet?”

We have recently been “practicing”.  We’ve both been to “Babies-R-Us” several times over the last few months and it seems that all we could do is walk around the super-sized store and say “Hey – look at this thing-a-ma-bob.  I wonder if we’ll need one of these?”

We began to realize that this was a daunting task.

So we gathered up input from lots of moms (and thanks for all of it – feel free to keep it coming!).  And then we contacted our “secret weapon”.  Allison, the nearly super-human quad mom with mom powers beyond our comprehension or understanding, agreed to accompany us on our registry adventure. 

Without her help, I’m sure that we would have never known about “baby safe feeder” (which is a great way for baby Mike to get some fresh fruits without the choking hazard!) or that we should add some “lap pads” to the list so that when changing a particularly messy diaper we can lay the lap pad down over the changing pad (or whatever surface we might be using) and if the diaper spills a little it gets on the pad (much easier to throw in the washer) instead of the changing pad!

And a special thanks to Jim as well.  He spent the evening wrangling four three-year-olds so that Allison could help us out.  That is certainly not a small feat!

So the list is there.  There’s about a gazillion things on it.  I wonder where it will all fit!  Feel free to check it out.  Just go to Babies-R-Us (either the store or online).  It is under both of our names.

And for those of you on the countdown – 87 bottles of beer on the wall.  87 bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around.  To be continued…

Labor Day Visitors!

Labor Day Weekend.  The unofficial end of summer.  Some think it’s a sad time – especially the kids that have to go back to school.  But for us – anytime you get a paid day off, it’s reason to celebrate.

And what a better way to celebrate than to do it with family!  Bryon’s dad, sister (Tracey), niece (5 month old Kylie) and nephew (Treylan) made the trek from Evansville down to K-town for a little visit.  They even brought the dog (Macy) so that Izzy and Foxy could join in the visitation fun!

We hade a great time.  Saturday, we watched the football game (how can you have a bad time when the Vols win?).  After the game, we let Treylan loose on the Wii.  Bowling, boxing, baseball, driving, carnival games, even some Guitar Hero Metallica.  How cool is it to see Trey jamming to “To whom the bell tolls”?  It was an awesome evening.

Sunday, we made the trip to Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies.  There was a slight drizzle in the air.  We figured that most of the out-of-towners would have drove in Friday night or Saturday and that the light rain would keep any locals from driving down.  So we didn’t take the “super secret back way” – which is shorter when traffic is heavy, but longer if it’s not.

Oops – traffic was heavy!  But all was good.  After all – what’s the difference between sitting around the living room and sitting together in traffic?  We still had lots of time to visit!

We finally made it to the aquarium.  Trey and Kylie had a marvelous time.  Trey was so amazed with all of the fish, he could hardly decide what to see first!  I don’t think we could pin him down to one favorite thing – but he certainly liked the shark tunnel, picking up the horseshoe crabs, petting the stingrays (oh – and don’t forget the piranha's and the king crabs and the giant catfish and the jellyfish and the blow fish and the………)

Treylan and Aunt Darlene visit the giant Catfish

Kylie Jo was simply on sensory overload!  There was so many moving colors and lights and sounds and people that her big baby eye peepers were looking all over the place.  The absolute best part for her was at the very end.  Passing through the gift shop, Tracey decided to buy Kylie a souvenir “pink stuffed stingray”.  She gave it to Kylie and her eyes popped open and she broke out into that big toothless baby grin.  It was as good as gold.

Kylie meets her stingray!

 

After all of the excitement of the aquarium, we ate some dinner at the Apple Barn.  If you’ve never been then you need to go.  And if you have been – then you know that even with an appetite as big as what we had, we still brought food home!  It was delicious as usual!

So it was a wonderful visit.  We only hope that they come back to see us soon!!!!!!

…and for those of you counting – 88 bottles of beer on the wall.  88 bottles of beer.  Take one down.  Pass it around.  To be continued…