A day at Bernheim Forest

Finally we had some cooler weather this weekend and decided to NOT work on the house in lieu of spending the day doing something fun. I think this was our first fun outing as a family of four and I'm so glad we went! Bernheim Forest always provides plenty to do...hiking through the woods, walking on paved paths (able to use the stroller) around lakes and beautiful gardens, and just being outside.

Andrew and Harper did well for their first time in the double stroller.  We walked around the lake and it was so beautiful out. Drew held Harper's  hand and made sure her sun shade was down whenever it became "real sunny," a phrase he kept repeating as he put the shade up and down numerous times!

This cool structure was actually a maze. You can imagine how much fun Andrew had running through this (and Nate following him as fast as he could). This was a big hit with all the kids who were visiting the park this particular day and it was hilarious to watch them all running through and popping out different entrances and exits while the parents tried to find them in the craze!

 He's a fast one! After running around for a good half hour we hoped he'd be worn out:)

I managed to get him to pause for about 2 seconds to take a quick picture.

Harper hung out in the baby carrier with me...you can't really tell but she is down to her diaper in this picture. Of all the things I packed in our overloaded car for a day out and about, I forgot a change of clothes for her and for the first time in her short life, we had a diaper incident (to put it mildly) that required me to strip her down entirely. She didn't seem to mind being naked too much and fell asleep on our hike!

One Month Old!

Harper is now one month old and I can't believe how fast this first month has gone. She had her 1 month checkup yesterday and is now 9 lbs 5 oz and 21.75 inches long (just for my own memory here). She's healthy and right on track which is always what you want to hear at the doctor:)

Checking herself out at the doctor's office!

My sweet girl:)

I can't believe we are already into the month of August...July went by fast! It's all been kind of a blur to be honest. Adjusting to life with 2 is getting easier but with the house construction (which includes but is not limited to on any given day a variety of men on our roof, in our basement, in our backyard, and peeing behind our garage...lovely!), it's been loud and dusty and crazy, but I think the end is in sight as drywall starts this week.
Also...I have to mention how hard my dad (and Nate) have worked on this as well. While we have a great contractor who's done the majority of the  major work, my dad has done ALL the electrical which has been weeks worth of time and energy. He's over here every morning and works in the heat all day just to get everything electrical in order. We are so thankful for his hard work!
Here is a picture of where we are as of today...the outside is mostly done (but will need to be painted to match the rest of the house...a fun job for Nate to do this fall) and the inside is still a work in progress. We are doing all the finishing work (painting, tiling, fixtures, trim, etc.) so we still have some time on it but at least it won't  be nearly as noisy around here after this week.

And here are some more pictures from this month:

Playing at "the Ark" with Gracie

My cousin Brian holding Harper

And Christy got a chance too...

And my cousin Emily...she and her sister Hannah were running a 5K in Louisville so we all met for pizza one night.

Meanwhile this little guy is still obsessed with construction equipment and insists on having a toy with him at all times...like during breakfast, lunch, dinner, naps, bedtime and bath time! I'm wondering how long this phase will last. Some kids carry around a doll or a blanket with them but Andrew carries around a bulldozer!

"Helping" me make  banana bread in the kitchen...a true lesson in patience for me! And a sure way to make a small mess even bigger but he has fun helping his mom:)

Aunt Laura stopped by for a quick visit!

Taking a bubble bath in my mom's backyard one hot summer morning. I am SO thankful that my parents have let us invade their house multiple times these last few weeks (during particularly loud construction days) and Andrew has so much fun there too (while I get to rest a bit and hang out with Harper!)

Our first week home

Our first week home was a little rough, to be honest. Mostly for me I guess, because recovering from a c-section is a whole different ball game than it was recovering from Drew's birth. With Andrew, I was up and at 'em a couple days later and felt great. This time around...not so much. I was pretty much warned by my doctor to take it easy (despite my millions of questions of just what I was allowed to do!). This includes sitting a lot the first week, walking s-l-o-w-l-y up the stairs, not lifting a thing or even really twisting, bending down, or reaching up for that first week. In my fear of ripping a stitch, I followed the doctor's orders:)   

Luckily, Nate's parents were here and Nate had the whole week off. Dee Dee and Darryl should be given a medal or at least a vacation for what all they did for us. They cleaned our house, made dinner, chased a rowdy Andrew around, took him to the park, the grocery, and just "out" of the house so we could  have some time with Harper. They ran errands whenever we needed something, took care of meals, and basically didn't let me lift a finger the whole time! I don't know how we would have managed without them.

Secondly, Nate has had to do so much as well...it's a little tough having to rely on your husband for all sorts of things that you used to be able to do yourself. But Nate has been so helpful to me this whole time. Since I basically couldn't even sit up in bed on my own to feed Harper, each night he'd pull me up to the sitting position (that's humbling!), bring Harper to me, change her and put her back down after I fed her. He also has been doing lots for Andrew....giving him a bath, doing the whole bedtime routine, etc. each night. He even took him to the grocery this morning (which is no small feat!). 

Lastly, (is anyone still reading?) my parents have been wonderful as well. They took Sadie off our hands the last 2 weeks, and have likewise watched Andrew, let him nap at their house during loud construction afternoons, brought us dinner, done our laundry and allowed me, Harper and Andrew to invade their house numerous times during times when construction didn't allow us to stay at our own house (electricity was off once, breaking through the roof to install ductwork, etc.) I honestly don't know how we would have survived without the help of family! 

All in all, it's been a long couple weeks but we're on the upswing. I feel a thousand times better physically (my friend Amanda assured me that I needed to give it a week and I would feel like myself again and she was right!) and Nate no longer has to pull me up to a sitting position just so I can feed Harper:) It amazes me how fast your body can heal itself and recover from pregnancy and surgery!

Meanwhile, here's more pictures of our first week home:

4 days old

More visitors...my Aunt Debbie and Aunt Betsy. They came bearing gifts for both me and Harper and were so sweet to treat us both!

Erin brought Leena up from Nashville...cousins meeting for the first time!

Andrew checking out his little burrito of a sister:)

Sleeping sweetly

And waking up!

Holding his sister for the first time. Drew has been so gentle and sweet with her!

Nate instructing him on how to hold a baby:)

The addition so far...it's coming along!

Living in a construction zone, Harper has learned to sleep through the sounds of hammers, workmen, trucks, and everything else. Our house is a complete wreck as our bedroom is a combined nursery, bedroom and closet storage area and we don't currently have access to the basement (Andrew's playroom) but we are making due! I keep telling myself if I can get through these next few weeks then we'll survive!

With both of their grandkids!

Another visitor! Tom came to visit and brought Andrew a gift (a construction puzzle...a  big hit!)

Lindsey and Steven came too and we enjoyed a rowdy pizza dinner while Andrew serenaded us all with a variety of songs. Thank goodness for 7:30 bedtimes as I was in need of some adult conversation!

This is the beautiful quilt DeeDee made for Harper...there are even pieces of material from the quilt she  made Andrew 2 years ago! I can't wait till Harper has her own room and I can put this in it!

Harper is here!

 Our sweet little girl was born on July 4th at 5:01 PM...she weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 20.5 inches long.  She certainly made a slightly dramatic entrance into the world as well! At my 39 week checkup on July 3rd, she had turned completely around (the exact same thing Andrew did at 38 weeks) and my doctor wanted me to be induced the next day, since I was already 4cm dilated and pretty much having strong contractions all that day and the day before. So we had the rest of the day to prepare for our hospital trip Wednesday, which included lots of phone calls, running around, packing bags, etc.
I had wanted very much to do a natural childbirth (without the epidural, as that had had some negative effects on me when I had Andrew). My doctor met us at the hospital the next morning and did a version (just like with Andrew...she turned her around by pushing on my stomach...not fun! But it worked!). I was then in full on labor for the  next 6 hours and let me just say that I don't know how women in the past have gone through that multiple times! It was rough... but luckily I was progressing through labor pretty quickly and knew the end of it was in sight.
Unfortunately, right when I was ready to deliver Harper, my doctor realized that her arm was up by her head (dangerous to deliver that way). She made a quick decision to deliver via emergency c-section. I was pretty disappointed as this was about the complete opposite of the type of birth I wanted to have but I certainly wanted to do whatever was best for Harper.
Nate suited up and met us in the OR...It all happened pretty fast but before we knew it we heard our little girl crying and I got to see her briefly before they gave her a bath, checked her stats, etc. She scored 9 on the APGAR scale and was healthy so we were relieved!

This is the first picture Nate took of me holding her right after she was born. She snuggled up right away!

I love this picture...so sweet!

And now...for the family shots:

Granna and Harper

Omi and Harper

Opaw holding his first granddaughter

We were so glad Kelsey could drive up and meet her too!

First picture of the 3 of us...Drew didn't come to the hospital because he was sick:( 

Proud grandparents!

It's been a busy month!

I don't know where the month of June went! We've been busy with quite a few changes heading our way, the most obvious one being our baby girl who could be born anytime in the next week (I'm hoping!). And while I play the waiting game, I'm trying to soak up all the time I can with Andrew just doing fun summer things:

At the zoo...you couldn't tell because there are no animals in this picture but this "safari" bus is his absolute favorite thing! He insists on getting behind the wheel whenever we go!

Looking at the elephants with Nate

We met Nate's family at General Butler State park for breakfast...he loved eating breakfast with Omi. I didn't get a picture of Diddy or even me or Nate here unfortunately!

And Opaw pushing him on the swing

37 week picture of my ever-expanding belly...anytime now! The girl at Home Depot today told me I looked like I was about to "pop open" which, if  you think about it is not only a little insulting  but gross too! Don't people know what not to say to a pregnant girl? Sheesh! 

At the splash park

And sharing a snack with Charlotte after getting all wet at the splash park...these 2 are buddies!

So I've been trying to prepare for this baby's arrival but the fact is, we have no nursery for her....yet. That's will change in the next few months...we are finally, after 4 years of planning and saving up, doing an addition on our house! So the timing could've been a tiny bit earlier but that's the way things work with construction I guess. We like to keep it crazy around here!

So since she has no room of her own, she'll sleep in Nate's and my room until construction is complete (probably in August it will be done). Our house is currently just 2 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, so the addition will add a master  suite for Nate and me upstairs with a family room and a porch underneath on the first floor.  Construction started a week and a half ago and already is moving along well. It's a little crazy to have 5 trucks and 10 construction crew men in your backyard (and sometimes your house) but I think we'll survive;)  Andrew is enamored with all the activity and construction equipment and has miraculously slept during his naps through the sound of jackhammers, nail guns, and hammering. It is LOUD around here about 7  hours of the day....we've had to move furniture around, clean out our closets because our former closet will be the new "hallway" into the master bedroom. This means we have our clothes in storage bins in our room, along with about 50 other boxes. Add a pack n play to the mix and my super-organized self is having to just go with the flow! All those nesting instincts to organize and clean have had to go out the window for a few more months. Here are some pictures of the progress:

Let's start with the "before" picture...We had grass, a garden and a nice porch:)

Then Tom and Nate demolished the porch (as always, Tom was so helpful! We are thankful for friends willing to lend a hand...our friend Steven came up to help as well but I didn't get a picture)

Porch is gone!

And an excavator/digger showed up in our yard to dig the footers for the foundation. I'm learning a lot about construction through this process!

Foundation is done

And here is where we are today...they've framed in both floors. On the top floor will be our master bedroom, bathroom and a real closet! Underneath is the family room and the empty "space" will be a screened in porch to be completed by my dad and Nate. We've lost our backyard completely but I'm so excited to see how this all turns out!