New Neighbors

The day of our return to St. Louis our new next door neighbors also moved in.  We dearly miss our old neighbors, the Steadmans.  There will be no replacing them, especially all the good advice I got from Jessie.  But we are thankful for our new neighbors too.  The Brocks have two boys, one of whom is 20 days older than Laine.  Nathan and Laine have hit it off pretty well, enjoying their playtimes together in front of our apartments.  We're glad you're here, Brocks!

Back to School

Well, classes are underway for our third and final year of seminary.  There's not much to update on except that it's good to be back in St. Louis and settled into the normal routine.  I took Laine to the zoo to ride the carousel this morning, which she hasn't gotten to do all summer.  We squeezed in three rides while it was still free!

We think we've been successful in the car hunt, but I'll post more about that once it's official.  It's been good to meet new neighbors and for Laine to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.  The major objectives for the fall are attending many doctors appointments, hopefully taking Laine to swim lessons, and job hunting for Penny.  We'll see how it goes!

It's a Girl!

We had our doctor's appointment this morning, and we found out we're having another girl!  We are both really excited, and as Penny says he is now completely outnumbered 3-1.  The baby looks healthy, as far as the ultrasound tech could see.  She was actually in a funny position so we couldn't get a great look at her brain.  So thankfully I get to have another ultrasound next month.  The more glimpses of this little one the better!  

We have decided to name her Mead, a name that we both have liked for a long time.  We are just starting to think about middle names though, so if you have any suggestions we're open to new ideas.  

In case you can't tell this is a 3D profile of our sweet little girl.  She's also got her hand out.

Back in St. Louis

We finally made it back to St. Louis.  After a few days of running errands and reorganizing our stuff I think we're back in a pattern of normalcy... except for the fact that Penny has the stomach bug.  Hopefully that will pass quickly and the rest of us won't get it.

Laine had her two-year doctor appointment on Tuesday.  She looks healthy and is growing well, which we knew but is always nice to have confirmed. 

The doctor appointment that everyone is most excited about is tomorrow... to find out if we're having a boy or a girl.  I'll keep you posted.

Trip to Florida

Once we left South Carolina we went to Florida to see my family for a few days.  We initially stayed with my Nana, who still lives in the neighborhood that I grew up in.  It was fun to see Laine interact with and love on her great grandmother.  And it was fun to drive around and remember my pre-college days.

After we left Nana's house Laine and I went to Nan and Pop's for a few days while Penny drove our stuff from South Carolina back to St. Louis.  We had a great time visiting my mom and Alex, and Laine especially enjoyed playing with (or harassing, depending on whose point of view) their dog, Buster. 

We were able to take Laine to the beach a few times, and she loved the waves.  She would have kept going deeper into the Gulf if we had let her.

Thankfully we were able to leave Florida a day before hurricane Fay hit.  Always an adventure during hurricane season!

Dance Party!

What started as a birthday party for George, one of our host parents, ended up as a dance party for Laine and Parker.  

Parker is the granddaughter of George and Sally Burdette, and she spends every Friday at their house.  Laine and Parker have become great friends over the summer thanks to "grandma day" at the Burdette's.  

They gave each other a sweet good bye hug.  We'll miss you, Parker!

Tales from the Crib (part 2)

Having squelched the diaper removal fun, Laine picked up some new tricks. Two nights ago we found Laine in her crib, completely undressed except for her diaper, and along with her was her laundry basket and the towel we had used that day at bath time. How she managed to get the other clothes out of the basket and pull the basket up over the bars and into the crib we still don’t quite know. Apparently she is fairly dexterous.

So tonight I emptied the laundry basket and pushed it further away from Laine’s crib so as to make it out of reach. But, alas, Laine came back with another creative and humorous activity. She was undressed again, not to my surprise. But the clothes weren’t in the crib like they normally are. This time she had thrown the clothes out of the crib and into the basket! She got both top and bottom in successfully without a miss. What an athlete!

Perhaps there will be more tales to come…