Socks Galore!!

Gram found something wonderful on ebay!

Toy Story SOCKS!!! (To go with his two pairs of shoes, his shirt, his swimsuit... lol)

When he first got them, Tyler put on every sock- multiple socks on hands and feet.

Needless to say, Tyler loves them. There are 5 pairs, 6 including his old pair.

He picks two different socks to wear each day. Today is Buzz and Woody. Yesterday was Rex and an alien. lol

Gram also found something pretty special at the store. She put it on his bed while we gone for him to find when we got home.

A new WOODY doll!! 

(Look closely, his face is so excited. ♥)

Getting to know his new friend...

...who got the special place right next to Ty while he slept last night. ♥

Thank you Gram, for making the kiddo so happy!

Hanging out with Cup and Gram

Tyler adores his grandparents. They seem to like him too. ;)

{As you'll see in the following pictures...}

I think Tyler's "guys" were driving to Texas... the kid has got SUCH a great imagination!

{And Cup goes to Texas for work sometimes, so Tyler likes to "visit" him. ;)}

Cup and Ty playing with Thomas

We do not know where the name "Cup" came from. Cup was away on a trip once and Tyler kept pointing upstairs (where Cup's office is, and where Ty loves to go) and repeating "cup" over and over again. Gram and I were totally lost. A little later I showed Tyler a photo album and he was telling me who everybody was. We got to "grandpa", and Ty exclaimed "CUP!". Sooo Cup he is. :)

They are two peas in a pod. 

Tyler likes to help Gram with her flowers. 

Usually he prefers watering them (as I'm sure you've seen in dozens of previous posts! lol) but today he was just as happy to help plant. ♥

Pictures of Lia with her (obsessed) Family

Day One and Day Two

Pictures of Lia with her family... who all love her very very much. ;)

Mama and Lia

Dada and Lia

G and Lia

Gram and Lia

Meagan and Lia Meagan. ♥

Kels and Lia

Abs and Lia

Nick and Lia

Yep, she sure is loved!

The Birth Story

That's right, Dandelion is here! 

(And has been for almost a week... what can I say? I'm recovering!)

Here's how it all went down...

On Wednesday, July 21st, I had an OB appointment.

I got there and Dr. A said that she would check my cervix and either A) I would be dilated 4+ cm and she would send me straight to the hospital OR B) I would still "only" be 3cm and we would have to wait til tomorrow for my scheduled induction. 

Tory and I were very very very hopeful that the strong contractions I'd been having since Monday had been doing their job and gotten me one tiny centimeter closer to Dandelion!

Dr. A went on with the exam...

We waited impatiently for what seemed like forever, though I'm sure it was only a few seconds. ;)

And announced that I was, in fact, FIVE CENTIMETERS DILATED!! 

Off to the hospital we went. 

We were checked in and in a room around 1:00pm. I wasn't technically in labor yet, and Dr. A was going to come in a little later to break my water if we hadn't made any progress. 

{Me and my favorite guy... soon to be parents of TWO!}

She showed up at 2:30pm and sure enough, still 5cm. She busted that water and said she'd be back soon to check on me. 

(Side note: Having your water broken for you doesn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. Or maybe it helps that I'd been told it was extremely painful, so I was expecting the worst. Anyway, it wasn't bad at all.)

{Me and the sisters.}

 

{The soon to be big brother hanging out in the waiting room with Dada for a while (And G, Gram, Kels, Abba, Mee, and Jeff!)}

That did the trick. I don't remember when I ended up getting the epidural, but it wasn't much later. Some time around 5pm I was told I'd made it to 7cm and Dr. A was heading home for an hour or so. 

{This picture was taken when I was in extreme pain. My mother has no mercy. She told me I'd regret it if I didn't let her take pictures. lol}

I was told at that point to call a nurse if I felt the need to push, and otherwise just try to rest up for the big show.

{I told Tory to take this picture... we have one just like it from when I was in labor with Tyler. The only difference is that I had lime green nails with him. lol}

 It was 5:45ish when I felt the "urge". I waited a few contractions to make sure, then called the nurse. She checked me out and... voila! 10cm! We were ready to go! 

Now all we needed was a doctor!

The nurse said that as long as Dandelion's heartbeat stayed strong through the contractions we could wait for Dr. A. She stayed strong, and at 6:15 or so Dr. A came in, all set to go. 

We called my mom, Tory's mom, and Meagan to come on in for the show.

This baby was a bit happier to come out, and I only had to push through 4 contractions. (About 8-10minutes, rather than the 40-something it took with Tyler) Not too shabby! 

I do know that about halfway through the pushing Dr. A said something about the cord being around Baby's neck. Tory later told me that I turned white and he'd never seen me so scared. But it turned out to be "nothing"- yes, the cord was around her neck, but Dr. A was very quick and got it off with no issues, and out she came!

Tory cut the cord, and Dr. A put my baby girl in my arms, and I got to hold her for a good 20 minutes after she was born. ♥

{There is no better feeling than holding your baby for the first time.}

{Getting to know her Dada... who is already smitten. ;)}

Lia Meagan Hermens

July 21, 2010

6:36pm

8lbs 2oz, 20.5in

Lia and her Mama and Dada.

Bug Spray and Stuff

My photos have been piling up over the last week, so the following few posts will likely be picture heavy. And since Tory and Tyler have gone to the creek every single day, there may be a recurring theme in said posts...

First things first.
He always gets a good coating of bug spray- thanks to his super sensitive skin which reacts to bug bites... not so nicely.

It may help protect from the mosquitos, but it sure doesn't taste very good!

"YUCK!"

Throwing rocks is still a highlight. (Frogs are better, but no frog pics this trip)

Oops!

He's also recently discovered running. He'll run up and down the path over and over again. :)

Just doin' some repairs before heading home.

All that rock throwin', frog huntin', runnin', and wagon repairin' (not to mention the stink and stickiness of the bug spray) required a bath. Immediately after arriving home. 

Complete with bubbles of course!

The following picture has nothing to do with the creek, but it was the same day. ;)  Gram made some sort of corned beef and cabbage thing for dinner... and Tyler was chowing down on the cabbage! Who knew??

{He may not be my kid... if we're looking strictly at his food choices. ;)}

Bubbles, bubbles, everywhere!

What can I say? The kiddo is obsessed with bubbles! (And I think they make for some great pictures!)

First we had to re-battery his bubble gun- the only bubble gun that works... and we've tried more than our fair share of them!

We got the thing up and running.

He's very interested in how things work

And he loves to make piles of bubbles on the grass :)

That would be his "WOW" face ♥

He took a break from the gun to pop the bubbles

Mama joined Tyler with the boring old-fashioned bubble blower ;)

Gram came out to play for a while too. 

And Tyler thought it would be funny to shoot Gram's foot with bubbles...

And then pop them with his finger.

{Hey, don't ask me! I'm sure not the one who gives him these ideas. lol}

And then he thought it was cooler to shoot his own foot with bubbles.

{And again I say, don't ask me!}

Father's Day

This is my "official" Father's Day blog post. But because I am probably the least sappy person on the planet, and because I dislike days where you celebrate a person just because the calendar says to, (i.e. Mother's, Valentine's, Father's Days) it will really be just a regular old post describing our day. Complete with a gazillion photos. Hope that's ok. :)

So we started our day by going to lunch with Gram, Cup, and Sam. 

(Have I mentioned that "Cup" is what Tyler has named his grandpa? Nope, we don't know why.)

I think we all ordered breakfast for lunch, and Tyler stole eggs off of everybody's plates. I swear, the kid must half eaten a half dozen eggs! Not to mention the pancakes, potatoes, bacon, and whatever else he managed to get his hands on!

And after lunch? We all went to Coldstone Creamery of course!

 Tyler made his rounds:

First with Gram

Then with Sam and Gram!

Cup is one of his favorite people ever... even though his ice cream was gone before Tyler got to him. ;)

 Everybody was happy to share with him. But then he got tired of walking from person to person, so he settled for stealing Mama's ice cream.

I tried for a father/son photo... it is that day after all... but Tyler was way more interested in my his ice cream!

After Coldstone, we headed home to play for a while before nap time.
Tyler and Dada played with a puzzle or two

We read a book

Tyler and Dada did some more chillin', which is when Tyler began looking like it may be a good time for a nap...

...so all three of us conked out for about 2 hours! I guess that's what a busy day will do to a toddler and a very pregnant person. Not sure what Tory's excuse was. ;)

And just because it is Father's Day, I'll go ahead say that Tyler is a very lucky little boy to have Tory for his Dada. I don't think anyone could love a kid more than this Dada loves his, and vice versa. ♥
Sap over. ;)

Next up: BUBBLES (For like the 27th time.) in a new post because I have another gazillion photos to share, and enough is enough for one post. :)