The Boys

The boys are having so much fun playing together. They have played and played. Sullivan is a little possessive of toys, everything is "mine"!!! Drives me crazy but I know it is typical of a 2 year old. If we keep them out of the house, they are perfect! They have had a few fights but by night time they are so sweet eating ice cream with Pop and letting G.G. read books to them. The other night Elliott spent the night for their very first spend the night party. They both fell asleep with G.G. in G.G. and Pops bed after reading books and they were so sweetly sleeping next to each other, kind of snuggled. I wish we could have taken a picture. They are bonding so well. It will be so neat to see how close they are as they grow up living miles apart!

More Baby Pictures

Here are a few more pictures of Laurel. She is doing very well and is so pretty! Brett is getting around better but I know will be glad to be all healed. Zeke is back at work part time. Elliott is adjusting very well. He sure loves his baby sister. They are all just trucking along. I will post a link to the rest of the pictures soon. Will also update on the goings on at GG and Pops house. The boys are full of themselves and playing together so much! Having a good time!!!

We got home just in time!!!

We headed to Sumter, SC (my home) on Friday after Mike got off of work. Our plans were to let Mike hunt Friday if it was not raining, take Sullivan to Clemson Saturday for his first CLEMSON football game, meet Mike's mom and Anna after the game for dinner, relax on Sunday with family and then I would be here when baby Laurel was born by cesarean on Tuesday. We were so excited!!! Laurel had other plans. We got here Friday, Mike went hunting with Zeke while the girls went to the mall. While we were there we thought Brett was acting funny, but never really thought much of it. ,When we got back to mom and dad's, mom had a nice dinner cooked, the boys were on their way home from hunting (no deer) and we were just sitting down for dinner when Brett said she was having contractions, 3 minutes apart. ,WHAT??? ,Yes that was our reaction exactly! AND it was 7pm and she had been having them since 5pm. It was obvious she was quite uncomfortable. She called L & D and they told her - without asking any important questions - to take 2 Tylenol and lay down. This didn't sound right so we convinced her to call her Dr. He called back and said to come on in. They went home, got her bags just in case, and headed to Manning to the hospital. Zeke did not think she was in labor because she wanted her hair dryer. He said, "If she is worried about her hair dryer, she is not in labor!" I wish I had bet him!!! Once they got there and saw she was in labor, they decided to do the C-section right then. We got the call to hurry, Laurel would be here within the hour. Whoooo Hooo!!! We were all in PJ's just crawling into bed! We rushed out the door as fast as we could. The weather was horrible, we were actually having tornado watches. We drove as fast as we could and got there just in time. Brett was in a good bit of pain when we got there.

Brett in labor!!!

Waiting for baby Laurel's arrival!!!

We were so excited and so tired!!! It was about 12:45 am.

Her whole family was already there, as they all live in Manning and it was a 35 minute drive for us. They took Brett back and gave her the spinal, as Zeke paced outside of the room. They finally let him in and within about 25 minutes, Zeke came walking out with a beautiful healthy baby girl! Seeing my baby brother holding this precious little girl had me welled up with emotions. What an amazing thing, bringing a precious little angle into the world. God is good!I however grabbed the video camera and let the grandmama's and Pop oogle as I tried to capture the moment and get a peek at the same time. I can not promise how great that video will be. Sorry guys I was a little excited and emotional.

Sullivan was a trooper. He slept through all the excitement in Mike's arms or in the chairs. They took Laurel to the nursery to do all the usual stuff. She was 6 pounds 9.3 ounces and 18 3/4 inches long. They named her Laurel Elaine, Elaine after my Nana (dad's mom). Zeke gave Brett my grandmothers engagement and wedding rings and my grandparents always loved Brett so the name is very special and meaningful! Mom and Dad (GG and Pop) gave Laurel Nana's baby doll from the 1920's. She is beautiful and I know will be special to Laurel one day.After almost 3 hours, Mommy finally got to meet her little girl! What a sweet moment!

GG and Pop awing over their new grand baby girl!

We think her hair is a bit lighter than Elliott's was and that she may have blue eyes. She is healthy, nursing like a champ and just beautiful. Brett is recovering well. She and Zeke are both exhausted but...I think we all know how normal that is. Oh I even got to change a diaper!!!The Lynam Family of 4, came home from the hospital today. We met them at their house to take pictures of the homecoming. They are such a beautiful family. Today Elliott was tired and of course will have some adjusting. He is going to be a good big brother though. Sullivan was so sweet to Laurel today. He would stare at her and smile so big. He even kissed her on the head a few times. I think he will be a good big brother one day. We are actually keeping Elliott tonight while they eat a peaceful, relaxing dinner! I look forward to this special time with Elliott and am so happy that Mike, Sullivan and I got here JUST IN TIME for Laurel's birth. I t was truly a special time. A memory we will never forget! I am so proud to be Aunt Allie to these 2 amazing little kids! (I will post some more pictures as we get them up! There are lots!)

Potts and Paints with Allison and Sullivan

Today, Sullivan and I hosted our first meetup for the Mom's group that we are a part of! We decided to do it at Potts and Paints since we were wanting to go paint anyway. There were 4 of us mommies that came plus an additional auntie, and all the kids! There were 8 kids in all and most were boys! I just found out yesterday that we could bring food or whatever we wanted and so I just picked up some kiddie snacks. I wanted to do cupcakes but didn't have the time. We had a really nice time. All of the kids painted and when they were over it, they were able to run and play! Sullivan made a really nice Christmas ornament and really had a good time. I met 2 new mommies who were really nice and got to hang out with a mommy that has become a friend of mine and her sister. I am really thankful I found thsi group of wonderful ladies! After the holidays I am going to host something else, maybe a mommy night to paint, with some Sicilian vino! Hum....possibilities are endless...

Growing up so fast

Wow how Sullivan is changing. It has been so much fun lately. He is in a whole new stage. It is weird because we think he just went through a growth spurt and now all of a sudden he is napping again and not eating as much, but learning a little more. He is finally interested in his ABC's and I think he knows more than he lets on. Normally he will not even entertain the idea of saying them but tonight he repeated them all after me and said ABC on his own as well as knew what letter came next a couple of times. I was so surprised! He has also decided it is OK for me to sing. He has always hated when I sing. He would cry as a baby, then tell me "No, no, no!" when he learned to say "no" and more recently he says. " No Sing Mama!" I guess it is just THAT bad! The past few days I have sang Jesus Loves Me when I put him to bed and he has been singing with me, in his own little way. And he has been trying to repeat prayers with me, FINALLY. I know he can do it, he just has not wanted to. His sentences are so big now and his words are becoming more understandable. More so to us but once you are around him you can usually understand him. He tells us what he does at the gym. He will say, "I play in ball room." "Had fun at gym." Today we got a Walmart catalog in the mail and I showed it to him and told him to circle all the things he wanted Santa to bring him. We are trying to get him really excited about Santa so he will not cry in his lap this year. He got so excited looking at the pictures of toys and said, "Tell Santa Clause I Have." It was so cute! He was so funny pointing at pictures and telling us what he wanted Santa to bring. He would say, "I want this!" Then he got upset because he was ready to go see Santa now. Christmas is going to be sooo much fun this year. I just hope Mike's leave gets approved so we can go home.
As most of you know, the TIGERS lost again tonight! We are still so upset about it. They started out so good but it did not last long. Sullivan was yelling "touchdown" every time anyone got a touchdown! We did not have the heart to tell him he wasn't supposed to cheer for the other team. He was also yelling, "GO TIGERS!" It finally sounds like TIGERS!! He saw the CLEMSON TIGER on TV for the first time and got all excited! I can not wait to take him to a game! He is growing like a weed. He can be so bad, but so sweet! When he gets mad now he clenches his fists, his jaw and makes the cutest little face, sometimes turns red and gets watery eyes and growls. Yep, like the dogs! It is so funny! I have the hardest time not laughing. He also loves to cuddle and give kisses and hugs and I love and cherish all these sweet moments because I know before I know it he will be too "big" to be so sweet to his mama. It is so much fun to watch him grow up! We are truly having a blast!

Kickin it with Kerry

Today we had a Mom's Group play date at Kerry's house - hence Kickin' It With Kerry!!! Kerry is a new friend of mine in my moms group who has 2 cute little boys who are 2 and 4. A lot of mom's that I am getting to know and really like and their cute kids were there. We had a nice time and as usual, I stayed much later than expected! We can thank Jennifer for bringing the games and twisting all of our arms to stay and play! :) Sullivan had a really good time. He was really quiet at first but by the time we were about to leave he was playing crash the race car with one of Kerry's boys! He did not want to leave. Then in the car he kept saying he did not want to go see daddy, he wanted to go play with Ryan. Sorry daddy! I am really not sure if this is a play date for him or me! Either way, I am so glad I found this meet up group!

A relaxing Sunday in Sumter

Say Cheese! Yes this is his new photo face! On Sunday we relaxed and got packed up to head back to Virginia bright and early Monday morning. That afternoon we took Sullivan to feed the swans at Swan Lake. He loved it. Fed the black one right from his hand. He is such a brave little toaster! He makes me nervous! Sullivan thought he was hot stuff carrying a bag of bread around like the bigger kids there.

After feeding the swans we went to the park. There is an old fire engine there that has been there since I was a little girl. It is still there and the kids love it today like we did back in the day! Sullivan had a blast and had to, as usual, get on everything. We left the park to meet Brett and Elliott at mom and dad's house. Zeke and Mike were out hunting. Still no deer. Good thing we have grocery stores. Mike has never killed a deer and he has the fever. He is very anxious to get one. The boys had so much fun playing together at GG and Pop's house. They play better and better together each time we see them. I am so happy to have boys the same age. Trying to explain to the boys that Brett has baby Laurel in her tummy. She is so tiny to be having a baby in 12 days. They truly were not that interested. I guess maybe they will get it soon!

Blue loved the bean bag! He would prop up and just lay there. He can be a pain in the butt, but he is a really good dog!

Sharing M & M's like good boys!
Isn't this sweet!?! I love seeing them interact! We are going to try to get Elliott after Laurel is born to give Zeke and Brett some time with the baby and let the boys play! I wish we were closer so they could play more often. We will take what we can get!

Super Saturday in Sumter

What a full and FUN day!!! We woke up and headed out the door to go yard sale-ing! Mike had already left before the sun came up to go hunting with Zeke. Sullivan, Mom and I went from yard sale to yard sale, not really finding much of anything. Seems someone gave Sullivan a little bit of their junk along the way! It made his morning. When we got home, Mike was back from hunting(with out a deer) and we had some time before we had to get ready for Brett's Baby Shower so we hung out and played outside. We let Bella off the leash, even though we were nervous and she did great, other than swimming in the stinky swampy water! She has so much FUN! Blue was jealous but he just can not go off the leash. He puts his nose to the ground and will follow a scent with out a clue of where he is going. We were too worried about him ending up out on the road so, he was jealously on a leash.
Pop ended up taking Sullivan on a canoe ride. Sullivan did so good. We didn't have a life jacket for him so Daddy stayed in the shallow water and just canoed in a circle. Sullivan sat up front like a big boy and just grinned! It was so so cute! Mom and I got ready for the baby shower and headed out while the boys got ready to watch the TIGERS play! It was a nice shower given by family. Brett looks fantastic and got lots of cure pink stuff!!! I can not wait to meet baby Laurel Elaine Lynam! She should be here on November 18th, via C-section! I talked to her and told her to stay cozy until then so that I will be home to help welcome her into the world!

When we got back the Clemson game was still on and it was intense! We were not playing so great, as usual. We watched the game while the boys played. The TIGERS pulled out a Win! GO TIGERS!!! The boys really enjoy playing with each other now. It is so cute to watch them together. Five months can be so much and so little all at the same time. One day it will be nothing. They will both just be 3, or 4. We gave the boys a bath, which was just another play time! They got really excited about the bubble bath. After bath time they had ice cream with Pop and played some more! It was a wonderful Saturday! I look forward to more Saturdays like this one!