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

Life With Two

Thanks, Dad, for posting about little Sarah's arrival. It's been almost 2 weeks since she was born and a little over a week since we came home from the hospital. We're all doing really well, though a tad sleep-deprived. Sarah's pediatrician is very pleased with how well she's doing, and on Tuesday she weighed in at 8 pounds 2 ounces (up from 7 pounds 12 ounces at birth and 7 pounds 6 ounces when she left the hospital). I'm recovering much better and faster it seems after this delivery than after Megan's. Though they were two completely different kinds of labor and delivery...I really don't feel like I just gave birth less than 2 weeks ago.

Megan seems to be adjusting okay to being a big sister. Other than the occasional sympathetic crying, she responds well to Sarah and is quick to tell us that "it's awake!" or "baby sister crying."

We've tried to maintain a pretty normal routine, for Megan's sake as well as my own. Megan, Sarah and I went to playgroup on Monday so that Megan could play with her friends. On Wednesday, I ventured out with the girls by myself to Chapel Hill to run an errand (my first trip with them alone!). We rode through UNC's campus, but didn't stop to reminisce since it was a quick trip. And on Friday, we had a very chic girls' outing to Rockwood Park, complete with a picnic lunch and gummy bears from Foster's Market.

And somewhere in there, Sarah got 2 sponge baths this week -- she was smelling pretty milky. Like big sister Megan, she appeared to like the water, but didn't like being cold. Thank goodness for the adorable, cozy bath bag!

I think that just about covers our first two weeks as a family of four. There are lots more pictures on the photo page so check them out. I'll add a few more in separate posts. Stay tuned for more "Life with the Herrings!"

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

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 Yuckies

Last week we went through a very unpleasant first: Megan's first stomach virus. And it was NOT pretty. I don't do well with throwing up, and now I can say with certainty that I don't do well being thrown up on. Poor little Megan didn't keep anything down - solids or liquids - for about 2 days. And during that time, pretty much all we heard from Megan was "Meggie tummy hurt."

After a reassuring trip to the doctor, she finally did feel better. By the middle of the week her appetite had returned in full force. She asked for an egg for breakfast, so I told her I'd fix a little egg, and she said, "No, Mommy, a BIG egg." She ate the egg (I fixed her a little one just to be safe) and a piece of toast. When she'd eaten that, she turned to me and simply said, "Yogurt." Then she ate the whole cup of yogurt. And she's pretty much been eating everything in sight since then.

I think we're back on track with everything now. It was so sad to see her feeling so bad, but at least it didn't last too long.

Last week I also had a doctor's appointment. Everything checked out just fine and mom and baby are both growing. The baby kicks all the time, especially at night. I've surrendered to comfort and am now wearing maternity clothes. At my next appointment in February, I'll have my glucose test. After that, we enter the 3rd trimester and I'll have appointments every 2 weeks.

It's My Potty and I'll Pee If I Want To!

This is one of those posts that may not be one of the "cuter" aspects of our lives, but it sure is a proud one! Megan has started to use her "big girl" potty!

She started showing signs of potty awareness a few months ago, so I picked up a little training potty. We haven't really used it for much other than a step stool to reach the sink to wash her hands. She'd sit on it occasionally, but nothing happened.

This past Wednesday, Megan was reluctant to have a new diaper put on after her morning diaper change, so I let her run around diaper-less. I put out the potty for her just in case and told her to use it if she needed it. I went into the kitchen to clean up breakfast and when I went back into the living room, she had peed in the potty!! We took the little removable bucket into the bathroom, and Megan got to pour it out into the big toilet and flush it all by herself.

I know, it all sounds kind of gross, but we were both very proud of her accomplishment: Her first big girl potty!

She used it again twice on Friday, with me initiating and encouraging her to go.

But tonight, Megan came to me and asked me to take off her clothes and diaper, and then she got on the potty and peed again!

We're going to take this at Megan's pace and not push anything, but I'll continue to give her the opportunities to use her potty and hopefully she'll continue to tell me when she wants to go, too. I know this won't be without accidents (we had one of those tonight, too), but so far, things seem to be off to a good start. We're so proud of Megan!

(And I know I'm behind on posting some Christmas photos -- I'll get that done, I promise!!)

Snow Time

Can you believe it? We got snow! And it's not even officially winter yet. On Saturday morning, we had maybe 1 1/2 inches or so on the ground, but by Sunday morning, it was melting fast. Nevertheless Megan had the best time playing in the snow over the last two days.

Our first order of business was to build a snowman, complete with a carrot nose. Megan stacked ice chunks on top of his head to make his hat.

We had to bundle up to go out since it was so cold. Megan donned a few extra layers and even asked to borrowed Mom's gloves.

Apparently snow makes a good snack - at least according to Megan.

We had to go back inside to warm up. But to stay in the "snow spirit" we made a snowflake hat.

You can watch more of our fun in the snow in this video:

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! Megan was a pumpkin for Halloween this year. She loved her costume and didn't want to take it off! We went to a Halloween party at Aunt Beth's work in Raleigh on Thursday night (where we also got to see Unc-Kenny). Megan had a blast. She made "friends" with a girl in a green monster suit, and wanted to follow her around. Megan didn't really want to get too close to the "monter" as Megan called her, so we kind of stalked her from a distance. She really liked all the games, especially the ball toss. She liked this game so much that she tried to run off with the green buckets! The mummy-wrap contest at the end of the night really caught Megan's attention, too, and she kept saying "mummy" on the way home. She also became a big fan of orange and green Jell-O.

On Saturday, she dressed up again, and we went out after dinner to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood. We put Megan in the wagon with the top off so she wouldn't have to walk (or rather, so we wouldn't have to carry her), and she had a great view of all the people out - and there were a bunch! Megan particularly liked a girl dressed as Minnie Mouse. Megan even went up a few driveways and said some version of "trick-or-treat" or "happy halloween" and scored some candy in her pumpkin bucket. On the ride home, she tried to eat her candy, wrapper and all, and she repeatedly said, "candy! yummy!" Until this Halloween, I didn't even know she knew what candy was!

I've got say, she is one cute little pumpkin (and not just because she's my little pumpkin)!!

Weekend at Busch Gardens

We took a family trip to Busch Gardens Williamsburg this weekend. For early August we had suprisingly nice weather. The park didn't really feel all that crowded, either, despite the fact that we had to park out in Bavaria - literally! (Bavaria was the last overflow lot.)

When we arrived at the park, our first stop was the Sesame Street Forest of Fun where we caught the end of a dancing show featuring Elmo and friends. It was really crowded, so we didn't get to go too far into this enchanted forest!

Then we dined on sandwiches and cannelloni and watched the Festival Italia show in Italy. Megan loved the music and danced and clapped along. She also rode the Little Balloons all by herself, and rode the Little Gliders with Daddy. She liked the balloon ride, but was not so sure about the gliders...you can see her holding on tight to Daddy in the picture.

In Scotland, Megan played with the dragons, rode the carousel and water boats, and watched the Loch Ness Monster rollercoaster zoom by. We also saw the huge Clydesdale horses, and Megan rode the Little Clydes horse ride.

We saw wild animals, a macaw, kangaroo, wolves, and bald eagles on our way to Ireland. Before we left the park, we took a ride around the park on the train.

Check out this video of Megan riding the rides!

It was a big trip, and we're all very tired...but we're looking forward to going back.

Riding Big Al

During one of our last trips to Albemarle, Graddaddy let Megan "ride" on Al. Megan adores the horses and thought being on Al was awesome!

Time to Catch Up

It's been a few weeks since I've posted an update. Things have been moving pretty fast around here, or should I say Megan has been moving very fast. That girl is like the energizer bunny. By the time she goes to bed, I'm so exhausted I don't have the brain function left to blog.

I guess I should start with Easter. We spent Easter weekend in Albemarle where we got to see grandparents and family. We went to church and then played with the horses. Megan got a very special easter egg, or rather goose egg when she slipped and fell face first into a small stool, and came home with a black eye...her first, but I'm wagering not her last.

A food first: Megan ate a whole banana right out of the peel! You can also see her black eye pretty well in this picture. Oh yeah, she had some kind of tomato-based pasta that night, hence the orange hue.

Family time: Megan got a special surprise visit from her great aunts from Conover. And Grammy Herring came into town while she was on Spring Break, so we went to Kevin and Vicky's to visit and Megan got to play with the kitty Patita.

Carousel Ride

Last week, while visiting with Granddaddy and Grandmommy, we went to the mall. Megan and Grandmommy rode the carousel. This was Megan's first time on the carousel and she was a little startled when the ride started and the horse started moving, but by the end of the ride, we think she was having a good time.

Morning at the Park

This morning Megan and I went to the park with the Durham Mother's Club. The park was super-nice and had tons of play areas and lots of jungle-gym equipment. Megan even went down the slides by herself -- and liked it!!

As a side note, the baby question on my mind today: Why do Megan's teeth only cut through the gums between the hours of midnight and 3am? Tooth number 4, the bottom right, made its first appearance last night.

Happy 1st Birthday

Today is a VERY special day -- Megan's first birthday!! I still can't believe that a whole year has passed. It's gone by so quickly! It really does seem like just yesterday that she was born. 

We got Megan a little cake to celebrate tonight. She had no problem digging right into the icing! We cut her a slice so she could get to the cake. She nibbled on the cake and smeared it all over her face -- but we didn't let her go too overboard since it was just before bedtime.

Thanks to everyone who called, emailed, left messages, and sent cards for Megan's birthday. She's a lucky girl to have so many people who care about her! And thanks to everyone who has kept up with our family through our blog and photos this past year. We're looking forward to keeping it up in this next year, too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!!!

Daddy's Weekend!

This weekend, Daddy went to an HPDE! For those not familiar with that term, it is a High Performance Driving Event. Essentially, this was something dad has been trying to do since 2005, but the timing never really worked out. The location for this event was in Alton, Virgina at Virgina International Raceway, or ViR for short. The event was hosted by THSCC/TZC, and it was a great event with great weather (and yes, friendly nice people).

So, this was Daddy's first time on a real track, and a thing that he "needed" to do to see if this is something daddy wanted to continue doing. Well, it started out rocky, but by the end of the event, I think Dad enjoyed it. There was lots of good things, and an exceptional instructor, Devin Cazin.

As for the event, a lot of words could be typed here, but it is mostly something that I think you just have to experience. You can watch videos, talk about turns in excrutiating detail, and analyze the 2-2.5 minutes on the 3.27 mile Full Course. Experiencing these events with friends is what really makes them special, and I am glad that Wei Yan (Mitsubishi Evolution IX MR) went along with me.

The actual driving... well, this is something that Mommy would not have approved of, nor enjoyed. Dad was mostly in 3rd and 4th gear (about off the limiter in 4th), so I think that is somewhere between 40 - 134mph (update: this is what the math worked out to with 3.9 with 225/45/17s ^ 6500rpm) -- not Mom's cup of tea. However, Hopefully she will come next time to take some pictures of the event, and we can all enjoy a day in the country. Dad did pass a lot of people, but more importantly, he learned a lot about how to be "more smoof" and rediscovering why he races (Dad just likes to do it, and Dad doesn't have to think about it or anything else).

If you ever have a chance to just stop by ViR and check out a race on a race weekend, I would highly suggest it. This is something our whole family has done in the past with GT Live, and it is something that everyone seemed to enjoy (including Mom!). It is truly awe inspiring as you drive over the bridge and are able to see 5,5a,6, and 6a on the right, and the Uphill-esses on the left (people over 100 through tight turns). The visual speed the cars carry and the weight you can hear is something you just have to experience.

Dad might get a chance to do another one of these later this year, but it is something that Dad is glad he got to do.

Thanks Mommy and Megan for giving me the time to do this and being so understanding (setting up the car, being gone, tearing the car back down -- 40+ hrs of work I am not with the family :( ).

I love you!

- Daddy

The One About Christmas

Christmas this year was busy, but wonderful, and very special since it was Megan's first Christmas. Megan certainly had a very fun time opening her presents and we all enjoyed spending time with family. Here are some photos of the holiday season:

Megan playing with her new John Deere tractor from Granddaddy and Grandmommy. She loves to ride on it (while we push her), play with the farm animals that came with it, and hit the horn to make it play Old MacDonald Had a Farm.

Granddaddy took us all for a ride in the trailor behind his new John Deere tractor. Megan really enjoyed the ride and waved at Granddaddy the whole time. We rode around the field and up to the barn to see the horses - even Bailey-dog rode with us.

On the following Saturday, we had Christmas with Brian's family at his brother's house. We had a fun time with everyone. Megan especially loved playing with La Petita, the cat.

On New Year's Day, Granddaddy, Grandmommy, Aunt Beth and soon-to-be Uncle Kenny came over to finish up some Christmas. 

It was a very special Christmas and great start to a new year!