Daddy Indoor Soccer!

Hi again, all!

Dad is playing indoor Soccer with people from work on `Tekelec TeIam` (as we put an `I` in team).

Not a lot to show, but Dad has 3 goals, and is getting some exercise. These are all good things.

If you want to see Dad, or follow his team, feel free at:

http://xl-soccer-world.ezleagues.ezfacility.com/leagues/86231/Summer-2-2010---Coed-B-Thursday-League-(2).aspx

- Dad

Herring Limo!

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the `joke post`! Dad had gotten a rental truck during the trade-in process, and Mom could not bare to not snap some photos of Dad in a truck. It was a really NICE truck, but not what I want right now.

So, without further wait.....

This is the new family car -- A 2010 Ford Flex. We were going to go used, but we got a fairly good deal, and traded in the Mommy car for this car. It has lots of room for everyone, and plenty of room to grow into. Also, this is a car that is all Mommy's, and she really appears to like it! I think the whole family will love it, and we are really going to put it to the test in September with a family trip to the Outer Banks. It should be a great time! The car rides VERY quiet, and has lots of comfort and intelligence features that we thought just were not possible with American cars. Ford has really come a long way, and we shopped EVERYTHING.

Below are a few parting shots, and if you want to see more, just visit us or the Family Photos on the right bar!

- Dad

Herring-a-sarus!!

Hi all!

As the family as grown, so has our need for a little more space. At this point in time, we were running out of space in the family car. Everyone loves the family car, and it is really quirky and us. At no point has it ever let us down, and I think everyone loves it. However, with Stacy barely having room to ride passenger, Dad getting kicked by Megan, and the car 100% full with just our daily amount of stuff, the family car isn't fulfilling the role we needed.

This means that we have to unfortunately replace the car. This is something no one is really happy about. :(

So, last week, the Herring family, after a lot of quick, deep and long searching, found a replacement!

Welcome to Herring Truck-a-sarus!!!

See you soon in the Herring-a-sarus!!

- Dad

Surviving Month One

Now I know why my parents were always calling me "Beth" and my sister "Stacy." That second child's name just hasn't become second nature yet...every time I try to type "Sarah," my fingers automatically start typing "Megan." Anyway...

Sarah is one month old today! So we have officially survived the first month and are still here and sane enough to blog about it. I'm not saying that every moment has been pure bliss, but it hasn't been as completely insane as I had imagined it to be.

In fact, there have been some downright sweet moments. Yesterday, for instance, a big thunderstorm rolled in after nap time. Megan has developed a crazy fear of the thunder, but when Sarah started crying during the storm, Meg ran over to her, held Sarah's hand and told her, "Don't cry, Sarah. It's thunder. It's just a noise. It's outside. It won't hurt you." I happened to catch this magical moment while I was doing laundry, and I was so proud of Megan for being so caring of Sarah that it brought a little tear to my eye.

And twice this week people have asked Megan if she likes being a big sister. And twice she has replied "Yes." This is a definite shift in Megan's attitude towards sisterhood; two weeks ago she would have told you - hands down - "No." Occasionally she does still tell me, "Megan no want Sarah to go," and she did try to get me to leave Sarah at Granddaddy and Grandmommy's last week, but I can tell she's softening.

So, yes, we are all adjusting. We're trying to keep to our routine and stay busy (not that staying busy is that hard!) It's challenging and we don't make it to too many places on time, but we're getting better. This morning we actually did make it to art class on time, fully dressed, diapered and fed, with almost no resistance to getting out of the house and into the car. Days like today fill me with hope!

Here are a few things that have kept us busy recently...

...hunting for tadpoles and crayfish with Grandmommy

...playing in the sprinkler at playschool

...hiding out in the fort

...just hanging out

Sisterly Love

After two and a half weeks, Megan finally decided she wanted to hold Sarah all by herself.

Megan also told Sarah that she loves her!

http://www.vimeo.com/12298051

Pictures are up!

Dad is typing left-handed (one handed), so this is short.

Pictures are up!

http://cmd.shutterfly.com/commands/pictures/slideshow?site=herringfamilypictures&page=herringfamilypictures&album=3908

- dad

Sarah Ellen Herring is Here! 2:37am!

Well, we were here for about 1 hr 18 mins, and then Sarah was born at 2:37am on May 17th 2010. Delivery took... oh, about 10 mins or so. It was ridiculously fast, and up until this point, Mom has been getting repaired. Mom did this delivery NATURALLY as she could not wait the 1hr to get the lab results back!

Mom and Sarah are getting their first feeding together. We will be moving to the post-delivery room shortly, and then I will be doing whatever Mom needs.

If you need to contact us, please do.

- dad

Baby on the way!!

We are leaving for the hospital. Of course it would be right after midnight.

Check-in afterwards.

Later!

- dad

Catching Up

Thanks, Dad, for putting up the last few posts. With trying to keep up with Megan and get everything ready for the new baby, I just haven't really felt like adding "update blog" to my already too long to-do list. But I will add a few things here to bring all you readers up to speed on life around here.

So Megan turned 2 back in March. It's amazing to have a 2 year old and she's just hilarious with all the things that she says and does. She had a purple cake for her birthday (at her very specific request) and I'm sure she'd love to show you all what it looked like. Her favorite park of the cake - any cake for that matter - is definitely the icing. She's a sugar fiend like me.

Here are Megan's 2-year stats, as well as some other pertinent info:

Height: 36 inches (though I think the nurse was a little ambitious there, and I measured her a little closer to 35 inches)

Weight: 26 lbs, 4 oz (and I'm certain she's gained another few pounds in the last month)

Favorite color: purple

Favorite foods: grapes, blueberries, shrimp, elmo snacks, corn

Favorite letters: M and W (because a W is an upside-down M)

Favorite songs: Old MacDonald and the ABCs

Favorite activities: painting, washing her hands, taking pictures with mom's camera

Here's a Megan photograph...she's not too bad!

So, now you know!! She's also becoming insanely independent and I hear "Megan do by self" all day, with some "Mommy pick up" thrown in for good measure. She seems to have some grasp of the new baby's impending arrival. Last night I told her that my tummy was moving around a lot, and she said, "Baby Sarah come out soon." Bless her heart, I hope she's right!! She'll also tell me that some things are Baby Sarah's, like a pair of shorts that are too small for Megan or the new crib. Hopefully she'll adjust ok once the baby is actually here.

Here are some of the things we've done in the last month...

...Went to The Fork Stables in Norwood to see the horses

...Dyed Easter Eggs

...Hunted Easter Eggs and saw the Easter Bunny

...Went to the Museum of Life and Science and rode the train

...Went to a Durham Bulls Baseball Game and played in the Wool E. Bull playground

So that's it in a nutshell. Otherwise, I'm cleaning, organizing, doing lots of laundry, and just trying to make sure we've got things covered for the baby's arrival. I think we've got the big things covered: crib (check), diapers (check), clean clothes (check), hospital bag packed (check), and car seat installed (check). That puts us in pretty good shape. I'm hoping that all the newborn knowledge will come back to me. It's amazing how foreign it feels even after 2 short years...but Meg's been mobile and talkative for what seems like so long, that I often forget she's only 2. I'm just ready to have this little one out. I'm ready to get this show on the road, to stop being a punching bag for what is surely a world-class kickboxer or a kangaroo that is living in my tummy, to meet this little girl, and to be able to walk normally again (this pregnancy waddle has got to go!). It's sad to think that this will probably be the last time I'll be pregnant, because overall I do enjoy being pregnant - though this pregnancy has been tougher than my first, probably because chasing around a toddler doesn't leave a lot of time to just sit and bask in the pregnancy glow. BUT - I am excited about our growing family and can't wait to introduce little Sarah to you all.

Stay tuned, the next post will probably be "the one." Until then, take care! (oh yeah, and here's one more rare photograph of pregnant mama with the little one.)

Pop goes the Mommy!

Hi again!

Well, it is almost time, but not quite. Since this is our last planned child, and actually carrying around a child inside of you for 9 months is an important time, I thought it was only fitting that we have some pictures to remember this time by!

I guess that it is fitting that our last child is going to be born near Mother's Day weekend. It is a special time for Mommy and the family.

On a related note, Megan and Mom are both born in March while Sarah and Dad are both born in May! This will lead to some interesting birthday situations and delegation in the future, I am sure.

We may not be updating this for a while (or we might have to rely on help from others!), but we should have some exciting news on May 11th 2010! Mom hit her first date 100%! Let's see what happens this time!

Here's to hoping we see you all happy and healthy on the other side!

- Dad

The Great Wolf Lodge!

Hi all!

In trying to catch up with events over the past month, the retelling is not complete without talking about the Great Wolf Lodge!

Megan with the wolves!

Since our family is growing, Mom and Dad thought it was important that the family we have now had some good time together to bond. So, Dad took some vacation, and the family packed up and went to The Great Wolf Lodge in Concord NC.

The family spent 24 full hours at the park, and had a great time!

We got to visit the bear...

played in the water, and just had a lot of good fun! Megan really liked her time there, but I think the whole family agrees that "84 degree" water sounds fun, but when you are soaked, it is REALLY cold. We haven't seen so many kids running around with purple lips ever!

The family had a great time, and if you would like to see more pictures, just head over to the link below. The NEW family will head back in about 2 years, and we expect to have more fun then!

Ps. Scary talking tree -- we will hear your bed time story next time!

The Great Wolf Lodge Pictures

- Dad

The Schumi Dance

Apparently Megan thinks only one person calls Dad on his cell phone - our friend Stephen Schumi. Everytime his phone rings, Megans gets excited, starts dancing, and says "Schumi!" Yesterday she really wanted to dance to Schumi, and kept asking for "more Schumi dance!"

Albemarle Visit

Last week, Megan and I took off down to Albemarle for a few days. As usual, we brought the rain with us, so much of our trip was spent indoors. But despite the cool and rainy weather, we had a fantastic trip and got to spend some good, quality time with Granddaddy and Grandmommy (and Bailey and Tigger, too!)

In front of the fish tank at Outdoor World at Concord Mills:

Megan and Grandmommy riding the carousel at Concord Mills:

Sliding down the broccoli slide:

Loving on Bailey:

Beth's Wedding Weekend

The weekend of August 29 was very special for our family -- my sister Beth got married! We spent the weekend at Lake Norman for all the festivities.

It was a great weekend: I got spend time with "the girls" on Friday while Megan hung out with Dad - pretty much all day! I got my first ever pedicure and I confess, I may now be addicted to them (or at least the part where they massage your legs!). The only rough part of the weekend was that I got sick before the wedding and ended up losing my voice the day of the wedding. =(

Friday night, before the wedding, we had a dinner cruise on the Lady of the Lake. The weather didn't fully cooperate and an evening thunderstorm rained on the party - but we had a fun time anyway.

Beth and Kenny were married on Saturday under a huge covered porch with Lake Norman as the backdrop. It was beautiful, and since I had an up-close view of the bride and groom, I can tell you that they were glowing throughout the ceremony. Afterwards, we ate, partied and danced until Little Megan had to go to bed. (She held out until after 10pm!!)

Congratulations to Beth and Kenny!

Beth and Kenny with Mom:

Megan in her beautiful party dress:

And what wedding weekend isn't complete without a visit from the local fire department? The hotel laundry room had a small fire during breakfast and we all had to evacuate:

There are more pictures of the wedding weekend on our photo page. If you do look through the pictures, you'll see that I didn't get any good pictures of the Beth and Kenny at the actual wedding. If anyone who reads this blog was there and did get a good shot or two, send them my way and I'll post them! Thanks!

Grammy Time

Grammy Herring came up to visit this week. We had a really great time! We played in the yard, played games, and played with the neighbors and the animals. Grammy got to go to playgroup with us and see the new dinosaurs at the Museum of Life and Science, and went to the library with us for storytime. She also braved some card games with me and Brian at night after Megan went to bed.

Megan really enjoyed the visit, even if she was a little fussy - she cut another molar - and wasn't all that happy about it.

Grammy brought some fun toys for Megan, including these stacking and nesting blocks. Megan loved knocking them down!

The Dinosaur Trail at MLS has a fossil dig area where the kids can dig and sift through dirt for little fossils (shells and such). Megan was a real expert with the shovel!

Despite not feeling well becasue of the teething, Megan really perked up in the play area and had a ball in the playhouse...especially on the slide! I think she was showing off for Grammy!

Thanks, Grammy, for a great visit, and we can't wait to see you again soon!

Playing at the Park

Yesterday after swim class, we went to a nearby park for our playgroup. Megan must not have had enough of the water, because she got soaked playing in the sprayer.

Megan really liked bouncing on the bouncy-dolphin.

She and her friend Max also played in the little car, but they didn't get very far in it...it had a flat tire! They still had fun beeping the horn and turning the steering wheel.

Random Photos

I copied photos from Grandmommy's camera this weekend, and have some new photos that were too cute not to share.

Megan practicing water safety on the boat:

Megan playing in Granddaddy and Grandmommy's new horse trailer:

Megan and Mommy:

Megan and the barn:

Visit from Grandmommy

This weekend, Grandmommy Sinclair came up to Raleigh for Beth's wedding shower. The shower was really nice and I had fun hanging out with the girls. The wedding is only a few weeks away now!!

Grandmommy stayed with us and got to spend time with Megan. We played with our neighbor's new kitten, and finally took a wagon ride down to the neighborhood park to swing and play on the slide. Grandmommy even got to go to swimming lessons with us this morning before she had to go back home.

We all enjoyed her visit very much. We'll see her and Aunt Beth again this weekend - and Granddaddy too!! Thank you Grandmommy for a wonderful visit!!

Playing with Brayden

This afternoon Megan and I went to Raleigh to visit with our friend Jennifer and her son, Brayden. Brayden is 9 months old and just so cute! He's always so happy and smiling! Jennifer and Brayden had the pool set up on the patio so the babies splashed around while Jennifer and I got wet from all the splashing (Jennifer more so than me!) I was trying to keep Megan in the pool and chasing her around the backyard. I think at one point Megan belly-flopped into the water and Brayden, having just learned up and down, was having a blast plopping down into the water. We had a GREAT visit and can't wait to do it again!

Megan's Pet Kitty

Megan has a best friend, her pet kitty. Kitty is her little stuffed cat (I think it's really a jaguar, but that's still part of the cat family!). She loves to take Kitty with her pretty much everywhere. He naps and eats with her. She feeds him whatever she is having for lunch and gives him milk, too. Here, she's sharing her grilled cheese sandwich with him. We love Kitty-kitty-kitty!!!