Reasons to be Thankful

This Thanksgiving we passed the fried turkey and passed little Lucy all around. We had four generations come together with Great Papa Horace, Papa Tom, Dad and Lucy all together. Uncle Peter and cousins William and Hannah got their turn with Lucy too. Papa fried our bird to juicy perfection. Papa gave Lucy a great little seat to keep her entertained. She loves to whap the red bird hanging down.

After Thanksgiving, Heather, Lucy, Daisy and I went to Beech Mountain for the weekend. Saturday our hike gave Lucy a little sun burn (just a little), so Sunday we had to protect her head a better. She approved. By the way, sometimes you get good shots with the timer feature and sometimes you don't. I catogorize our group hiking photo as the latter.

I'm driving myself to distraction trying to get the layout to look good. Sorry folks if it's weird looking. You can figure it out I suppose. Clearly, Blogmaster I am not.

Quick update

Monday November 13th was a big day in our house. Actually we didn't know it until Tuesday the 14th. We woke up stunned at having slept through the night! That something like good sleep can change your outlook on life is remarkable. Lucy was refreshed and a little proud of herself.

In other news the oh-so-inconsistent Carolina Panthers are 1-0 when Lucy tailgates prior to their home games. Even more impressive, they average over 200 yards rushing and allow zero points on "D." I'm referring to the November 19th game against the St. Louis Rams, of course. Since then the Panthers lost in an embarrising effort against the Redskins. I digress.

Jamie, Maija, Kjell, Heather, Lucy and I feasted on (Bojangles) chicken and biscuits prior to the game. It's worth noting that Lucy did not actually attend the game. Dad went with Jamie. It's also worth noting that we tailgated alone in Daddy's parking deck where it was easy for the mommies and children to escape traffic prior to kickoff--and it was free.

You can't really tell, but Lucy has on a great little Panther's outfit under her sweatshirt. Obviously, Kjell in his shades was the coolest kid in the parking deck. You can click to enlarge any of these photos. I've got some good Thanksgiving photos coming soon!

Some of Lucy's firsts

Bill and Cheryl got married on October 29, 2006. This was Lucy's first wedding. She liked it. Actually this was her first dance too, come to think of it.

Lucy's first Halloween was low key. We had only a half dozen or so trick or treaters. Thanks to this outfit from Nana and Papa, Lucy was our cute little pumpkin. She didn't know exactly what to think. Here's a cute shot minus the pumpkin head.









Last weekend was Lucy's first visit with her Grampa Peter and Gram Rhoda. We all went out to eat at Mama Ricotta's, which was Lucy's first visit to a restaurant! She was a perfect angel and sat quietly the whole time. On Sunday she had her first visit with her great great aunt Lois! As luck would have it, Pam, Charles and Lee had come to visit Lois for the day, so she got to meet them as well!

Recent Happenings

Lucy went to Rural Hall to meet the Gribble clan, including her new pal Sawyer on Oct 14. Sawyer is walking and talking, but still perfecting his patter with ladies. All the same Lucy was quite taken with the older man.




The very next Saturday Lucy arrived in Mattapoisett, MA for a visit with Grandma, aunt Amy, uncle Lou Lou, cousin Eloise, uncle Dave, and Marcy.



Eloise, who celebrated her 1st birthday while we were there, enjoyed meeting her new cousin.




Lucy had lots of fun with Grandma and enjoyed sharing stories and catching up. Below Lucy describes the nursery.










How's this for alliteration? Uncle Lou Lou lulls little Lucy (left). Dave had the touch too.

Been a little while

I've gotten some heat from Lucy's admirers for not keeping them better informed. Lucy (and her parents) have had quite an eventful first 8 weeks. She's already been on quite a road trip. We hauled her to Massachusetts to see grandma last week. She even attended her first wedding last weekend in Maryland on the way back home. We have lots of photos from these events to share, but time is short at the moment to upload it all. For now know that Lucy is doing great and happy as can be. I promise to be back soon with more photos and news!

Feeling right at home

Things at home have gone well. Mom and Dad are adjusting to a schedule with less sleep. Lucy is adjusting to life on the "outside" pretty well too. Thanks to everyone who has shown their love and support recently. We appreciate it very much.

I promised more details last week so here we go.

First of all, many more folks have asked about the car seat inspection than I would have ever guessed. You'll be glad to hear daddy installed everything just right! The guy at the fire department was impressed actually. Shoot me an email if you need help installing a car seat. I'll be glad to walk you through it.

Ok, here's what happened on September 11, 2006. Heather woke me up about 3 a.m. and declared that she had been having contractions for the last hour(!). We flipped on the light and timed them over the next hour to see how regular they were. Sure enough they were coming at regular intervals, but weren't too intense or too close together. Somehow we both managed to fall back to sleep for a couple of hours.

When daylight broke the contractions had diminished. I went to the office to see if I could tie up any loose ends--thinking it might be a while before I could check in again. When I got back Heather's contractions had started up again. By lunch they were pretty strong and regular.

Heather wanted a natural birth and wanted to stay at home as long as possible. Paris, our doula, was on her way over to the house to help. By 2:45 p.m. Heather felt we should head to the hospital. I intercepted Paris en route to our house and suggested she meet us at the hospital instead.

The nurses explained later that they were prepared to send us home the minute they saw us come in. A woman that relaxed was not in hard labor. In triage however, they determined that not only was Heather in labor, but that things were moving at quite a clip. Paris joined us in triage.

The great thing about CMC (Carolinas Medical Center) Pineville is that you labor, deliver and recover in the same room. It's like a hotel suite. Heather was drawn to their jacuzzi hot tubs. She never got a chance to get in.

Forty-five minutes later, Lucy joined us to a crowd of cheering nurses. Amazing. I was the lone man in a room full of amazing women who made this happen. The OB, Dr. Bajaj was fantastic in supporting Heather's desires to go "natural." Paris was a fantastic coach and calming influence. This is the portion of the story where words fail. Amazing. Hooray for Heather and Lucy. They were my heroines that day.

She's here!

Lucy Pearson Dyer was born on September 11, 2006! She weighed in at 6 lbs 12 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. We're all doing great. I'll post the whole story soon, but first wanted to get some photos out there.

Child seat? Check.

Not too much to report. We're getting things all set up. We have two bases for the car seats already installed. The next step is to run by the fire department and have them double check my work. Apparently the overwhelming majority of these things get installed improperly. Clearly I know what I'm doing, but it's always best to double check.

Heather's last day of work was Thursday. Today we went over and cleaned out her office.

Tomorrow we head back to visit the midwife with less than 10 days to go until our due date!

36 weeks and counting

This weekend was devoted to the last few things on our "punch list" to prepare for Lil' Bit's arrival. Thanks to all of you who have been keeping up with our progress.

We got the nursery mostly organized, decorated and supplied. We installed a car seat base in each of our cars. After learning that over 80% of these things are installed improperly, Heather is headed to the fire department tomorrow where they'll check our work.

After much debate and some advice from real parents of real children we have decided to go with an old-fashioned rocking chair and not get one of those new-fangled glider rocking chairs--for now. If we get the sense that the rocker ain't doing the job? It's off to Babies R Us.

Amid all the soothing colors and despite the shade tree, you may notice the Diaper Champ in the lower left-hand corner. It's a subtle, constant reminder that there's gritty work ahead. Are we ready? I can only hope that enthusiasm and good intentions will compensate for anything we've forgotten up until now.

As you can see, Heather is handling pregnancy all in stride. So far, she's been feeling very good. I have every confidence she's going to come through all of this with flying colors. Wish us well and stay tuned!

Nesting

Today Heather's at 30 weeks-- 3/4 of the way there! We've been getting the nursery ready. Lil' Bit's been kicking up a storm. You can see her celebrating after a good meal or trying to settle down for bed time. Won't be long now. Our neighbors Sam and Janice let us borrow their crib, which I built without any instructions. Say a little prayer that I did it correctly. Daisy must sense she's about to slip in the pecking order.

Hi Kjell!

When Lil' Bit got the news about Kjell Peters, she was eager to meet him. In this photo you can see her giving him a wave.

Actually, this photo was taken on Monday. We went back to get another ultrasound on Memorial Day to get a better look at the heart. When we got our first one done, Lil' Bit wasn't giving the technician a very clear shot at her heart and there was a concern that she might have had a tiny hole. The good news is that on Monday we got good looks and the doctor and technician both agreed that Lil' Bit has a good heart. We already knew that.

Feel free to shake hands with Lil' Bit. Her favorite handshake is the one where you move the cursor of your mouse over her hand in the photo above. Try it. It's fun!

IT'S A GIRL!

Our girl, Lil' Bit, scratches her head in this shot on the ultrasound. When we went in on Monday we also saw her stick her hand in her mouth and kick around some. There were a handful of shots not suited for a family blog that assured us that our baby is a girl!

Churros con Chocolate por Bit Pequeno

The three of us just got back from Spain last night. We went for a week to enjoy one last hurrah before Lil Bit's arrival. Everyone had a blast. Heather and I have both been to Spain before and Lil' Bit certainly will go back when better able to appreciate everything. So the focus wasn't on seeing as many churches and museums so much as it was on enjoying the cafe lifestyle and trying to get a bit of the Spanish Weltanshchaung (as they say in Spain) to rub off on us.

It was a completely relaxing trip with lots of treats and coffees and walks and people-watching. Lil Bit was a trooper and seemed to really have a good time too. S/he has gotten to where s/he jiggles and dances around a lot after a good meal or some good exercise--or sometimes in the middle of the night for no reason. Heather's been feeling Lil Bit move for a few weeks now and I felt my first movement about 10 days ago, so it's all getting very exciting!

Monday we go for our Ultrasound. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll find out whether Lil Bit is a him or a her. Sorry I've been lax about posting, but there should be more to look at here before long. Thanks for checking in on us!

Pesto Chango!

The breadmaker that Rebecca and Michael gave us for our wedding makes great pizza dough. You just dump in the ingredients and gather some toppings and cheese. Dave was impressed with our pesto, tomato and mozarrella creation. As best we could tell Lil' Bit liked it too.

We're getting lots of questions about Lil' Bit's progress. We appreciate everyone's interest and enthusiasm. Lil' Bit is hard at work growing like mad. Heather's feeling good and looking even better. We get our first ultrasound in a month or so. At that time, we'd like to find out whether Lil' Bit will be a boy or a girl.

Heather has an appointment on April 3rd, but we don't expect to learn too much. It's just a checkup. Thanks for checking in! Click on the pregancy calendar if you want to know what's going on here in week 16 for Lil' Bit.

Here I am!

This morning I didn't know we were at the doctor and that I had another chance to make myself heard. The midwife had to really look around for me using the fetoscope. I realized what was going on after a short while and moved a little closer and tried to make some noise. Finally, mom and dad got to hear my heartbeat again for the first time in a few weeks. Just for good measure I gave a good kick, which made a "pop" sound on the fetoscope. Things are moving right along. Mom and dad said they were going to spread the news about my blog.

One Trimester down. . . Two to go!

Heather and Lil' Bit made it through the first trimester! Monday we go to the doctor for the next checkup. We're excited finally to be able to tell folks our good news.

Meanwhile, I'm happy to say that in the last week it seems that Lil' Bit and Heather have come to some level of peaceful co-existence. Heather is excited to report that the nausea finally seems to have abated.

12th week!

Click on the "Pregnancy Calendar" link to see what I'm up to, how big I am, etc. I get another week older every Friday. On March 3rd, I'll have finished my first trimester, and begin Week 13.

Getting Started

My mom and dad have been keeping me a secret for now. When I'm done with my 12th week, they'll start telling anyone who will listen, I suppose. Up until now my parents have been really excited about my development.
Sometimes I feel a little bad, because I have lots of "hormones" or something and I make mommy feel sick. This is supposed to stop in a matter of days, so we'll see. Lately my biggest accomplishment is that I offically became a fetus on February 10th. By the end of this week, I'll be done with my 1st trimester too. So I've got that going for me.
When we all went to the doctor on February 9th Tina, the midwife checked my heartbeat. I was excited to check in with my folks, so I got right up against the microphone thingy and showed my stuff. I could hear Tina say, "Thanks for letting us hear your precious little heartbeat, Lil' Bit." That's how I got my wombanym. I'm told people call you something different on the "outside." Pretty exciting. Thanks for stopping by. We'll have more soon.