Their Dad.

The kids are still a bit too small to understand the significance of Father's Day. Although Caeden shows Wayne in a million ways how much he loves and adores him...

When he wakes up in the morning, Caeden says, "I sure missed you, Dad."
When he grins from ear to ear when Wayne says, "Let's go outside and play, Buddy!"
When he gives Wayne a huge hug ... just because.
When he goes down to the basement to see Wayne ... "to check on [dad] him."
When he runs to him to fix anything -- a toy, a movie, his bubble machine.

I hope Wayne knows just how much his being a good father means to me, too. There are another million ways he shows the kids (and me) just how much he loves them...

Counting down the days until he can take Caeden to his first movie (Wall.E). Caeden doesn't even know this movie is coming, or what a movie theatre is, but Wayne knows it will probably be a HUGE highlight for Caeden, and has already mentioned we need to be on the look out for all the toys that go along with the movie.

He holds Claire every chance he has, and often tells me "no" when I go to get her from him. He talks to her with such a gentleness in his voice and the way he looks at her melts me every time.

And Wayne pays attention to everything. There is hardly a time when I mention something about the kids that he doesn't say, "Yes, I noticed that too," or "I was going to talk to you about that..." Wayne is present. I can't think of a greater expression of love than that.

So, here you are, Dad. A father of two and doing it quite well. We love you so much!

Happy Father's Day.

Where She Sleeps (well ... someday)

I painted the walls with SIX different colors of green before settling on the perfect one. I ordered custom bedding from a place that I have dreamed of ordering (but never will) for my own bed, I hand painted each polka dot, fretting that they weren't perfect ...

The irony? Claire sleeps in my room in a bassinet that has her clothes shoved underneath. I think she's physically been in her room twice. Yes, irony.

First Bath

I remember the first bath I gave Caeden. I was so nervous and unsure of how to handle such a slippery baby. Caeden picked up on my unease and voiced his displeasure at (what we both knew was) amateur hour, which just made me break out into a sweat.

This time around was much different. Claire just stared at me while I lathered her up and she even smiled when I washed her hair.

I have heard your first born takes the brunt of most everything - the fumbles, the first-firsts, the well-meaning but probably overly attentiveness (picture me hovering over Caeden's crib at all hours to make sure he was still breathing ... every 3 minutes - give or take). But, it's Caeden who will always come to mind when I think of how much easier it is with Claire. Because really it's not easier, just familiar. Thanks Caeden!

(Color photo: Caeden; B&W photo: Claire)

On Clean Living

I remember Oxiclean infomercials years ago ... late at night. It really turned me off from trying it once it hit the store shelves. I thought it was all hype. Then, a girlfriend told me that she keeps the sink in her laundry room full of water and Oxiclean. She soaks whatever needs it throughout the day, and then does a load of laundry at night.

My laundry intake has increased dramatically since Claire came home, and so have the stains. I thought I would try Oxiclean (skeptically, of course) since none of my other stain-stuff (technical term) worked that great.

Let me just say, I now have a sink full of the stuff daily. It has taken out grass stains, red popsicle stains, blood, etc. Love it! Now if only they came out with upholstery cleaner...

Next favorite cleaning product: Method bathroom wipes (found at Target). They smell like mint (reminds me of a spa) and are flushable. Very handy with a potty trained (still working on the aim) three year old.

My last favorite thing is a grouping of "Pure Grass" scented stuff from the Good Home Co... Sheet spray, carpet spray, laundry detergent, etc. It makes the house smell like summer all year!

Last, but not least - My very favorite cleaning catagory: Megan! My new cleaning lady. I love her!!! I can't remember the last time my floors actually squeaked - Love that!

Not THAT Great ...

Caeden has a thing for rockets. Loves the idea of flying to the moon one of these days. So, imagine my smugness when I came across these Popsicles at the grocery store. Caeden was going to love them!

Fast forward a couple of hours, and Caeden is sitting at the table eating a melted, dripping, VERY RED popsicle. He was happy ... I was less so. What a mess!

Then I remembered a secret tip from some old Martha magazine. Put a coffee filter on the stick to catch the drip. Brilliant! This was great!
So, I am talking to Caeden, telling him what a GREAT idea this was, and how it was going to save his shirts from stains. Super Mom I am!

Then, as I am walking away, he turns to his dad and says, "It's not THAT great, dad."

Bubble Enthusiast

Who would have guessed that a jar of bubbles would entertain Caeden the way it does? He can run for hours, chasing bubbles and popping them. I'd give anything for his energy level!
And, for you fellow parents of bubble enthusiasts, have you tried Gazillion Bubbles at Target? Get the BLUE bottle, it has a wand that creates HUGE bubbles. As you can see from this photo, I thought I would be wild and crazy and buy green, just to shake things up, and lost all credibility when the wand was sub-par. So, learn from me. Get the blue bottle - they really rock.

{ Claire Estelle }

Claire arrived Tuesday, May 27th at 8:39 pm. 5 tiny pounds 4 ounces. 18 inches long. Absolutely Perfect.

She came a bit early at 37 weeks 0 days. Her pediatrician calls her "tiny by mighty." I'd have to agree. She's such an angel and has already added so much to our family. Caeden adores her and
"pets" her all the time. ;)

For the interested, here's a run down of how Claire came into this world at 37 weeks 0 days...
It's for her baby book, so please settle in for the nitty gritty.

My pregnancy was classified as high risk at 32 weeks because an ultrasound showed her growth as behind (2 to 3 weeks) and my fluid as low. I was monitored twice a week, and then at the end every day, for Claire's stress level and fluid measurements.

At 36 weeks an amino was done to see if her lungs were mature, because my Doc and his team of specialists wanted to take her early because of her lack of response and my ever-lowering fluid numbers. It was such a horrific day - I never thought the routine testing would show her in distress, nor was I 'ready' to deliver her that day...Who would care for Caeden if Wayne was with me? Plus, I still hadn't washed her clothes or bedding, and there were still many items to purchase in preparation for her arrival...

However, the amino results showed her lungs were not ready. I was put on bedrest and told the plan was to get her to 'bake' -- hopefully to 38 weeks.

That weekend was Memorial Day Weekend. Wayne decided to take Caeden to South Dakota to visit friends and family so that I could rest. I LOVED the idea and immediately started thinking of all the chic flick movies I could watch, ice cream I could eat ... So loved the idea of "resting."

And then, when I was alone, I got horribly sick. You know, REALLY couldn't leave the bathroom. I called my Doctor when I could make it to the phone, and she wanted me to go straight to the hospital. So, I dragged myself there, where I spent the night getting rehydrated (remember the baby's fluid was really low).

The next morning Wayne was on his way home, probably driving way too fast, and my Mom was on her way to SD because my grandmother had passed away in the night. It was such a hard, horrible day.

Tuesday, I went back to the Doctor's office. Claire's heartbeat was dipping again and they were ready to deliver her immediately. Wayne rushed home to organize care for Caeden while I was being admitted into the hospital. I will admit, in this crazy rush, I thought, "thank God I shaved my legs this morning!" I know, I know. Too much information.

I was walked over to Labor and Delivery where I discovered my OBGYN was the on call Doc that night. I love Doctor Lingle and was relieved he would be there to take care of things. When he came into my delivery room, he said he wanted to give me a "Cherry Hills" delivery.
Side note: Cherry Hills is the poshest, most lovely place to live in the Denver area. This all sounded great to me!

Lingle knew I had delivered Caeden in 4 hours start to finish, so he thought this one would go even faster. He told me to get an epideral as soon as I wanted. No huffing and puffing necessary (Which is what he makes his other patients do, according to the nurse. It's pretty great when your Doc likes you! :)

So, he broke my water. I was dilated to a 3 ... and we waited. As my contractions picked up, I thought it was time to call in the troops. Where is my epideral?! This was not good. Certainly women in Cherry Hills would not feel like this...

Got the epi, had a delicious orange popsicle. Thirty minutes later, I was ready to push. Start to finish 6:30 to 8:39. Not to shabby. Seriously, so different than Caeden's delivery (Natural child birth is no fun. I do not recommend it. AT ALL.).

Claire's heartbeat held strong the entire time. She scored 9/9 on the Apgar and was in my arms right after delivery. I was delirious with excitement and overcome with how much love I felt for this little, itty bitty girl.

We stayed in the hospital for two days where I learned that hospital food is still horrible and nothing beats your own pillows. I am so happy to be home and so thankful my prayers were answered - Claire is healthy. Nothing in the world trumps a healthy baby. We are feeling so blessed ... She is eating and sleeping like a champ and only cries when I change her diaper or she's hungry.

Right now I am still living in P.J.'s and am enjoying having Grandpa and Grandma Koop here to help with Caeden. The weather is gorgeous outside and all is right in my world...

Welcome sweet baby Claire.

Baked Oatmeal from Savory Inn (Vail)

This is so good - and perfect for the rainy, cold days we've been having. The best part is that you can throw any fruit/nut combination together and it always turns out yummy.

½ C Vegetable Oil
¾ C Sugar
2 Large Eggs
3 C quick cooking oats (not instant)
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 C Milk
1 Apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 C Walnuts or Pecans (optional)
1 C Shredded Coconut
1 C dried fruit (I like blueberries, cherries, etc.)

Mix oil, sugar, and eggs and beat until yellow and glossy. Add remaining ingredients except for fruit. Beat until well mixed. Stir in fruit. Pour into greased 8x8 pan” baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve warm in a bowl.

Suggest eating with vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit.

Grams

This beautiful lady is my Grams. Donna Dee Lyons.

A lover of jeans, cold beer, and a good lipstick. An incredible cook, awesome listener, and spit fire personality. Proud, loyal, funny, and extremely thoughtful. Bass player, bowler, dancer (who could really shake her tail feathers), gardener, and baseball fan. A woman who always had time to for her children and grandchildren.

She passed away two nights ago, May 25th, 2008.

Lung cancer - but on her own terms. She died in her sleep, in her bed, in her home, after seeing most of her family in the prior weeks.

She was such an important person in my life.

I have a lifetime of wonderful memories that are tied up around her, especially my childhood and adolescent summers spent visiting her and Gramps in Newell. Reading magazines all day (As an adolescent, "Ten Ways to Keep Your Man" was very important reading) eating awesome dinners every night, going for coffee every afternoon (they drank coffee and I drank cherry shakes), painting my nails with her famous beige nail polish, crawling in bed at night in the West Bedroom, into clean sheets that always felt cool and smelled so good ...

Watching her battle crawdads in the hoses outside, helping her water her flowers ... listening to her advice about how "real" tans meant your neck was a bit lighter than your face. Nothing was more fake than a sunbed tan to her...

In later years she would call me just to say hi. She'd touch base because she loved me and cared what I was doing. Those phone calls always made my day. I'd return the favor and call her, too, but wouldn't you know she was always out. I LOVED that about her. She was always busy and on the go. More than once I have thought about how I want to always be like that. Be the woman who had something going on. Be the woman who looked awesome in jeans and who always had lipstick close by.

But mostly, what I really love about Grams is how is was always there. Especially in the tough times. She was there to listen, to help, to encourage ... to offer a beer.

Recently I was at her house for a visit. It was before her tumor was diagnosed as lung cancer. I remember walking in and seeing her sit at the kitchen table. Her apartment was spotless, as was she, but she just looked tired. It was the first time I had ever allowed myself to think that one day I would lose her. But, we had a wonderful visit. She never complained and never let on that she wasn't doing too well. However, she had a grocery list sitting on the table and asked me if I would mind running out for a few things for her. That's when I got it. She wasn't able to leave her apartment. The lump in my throat was so thick ... I was relieved to go to the store so that she wouldn't see me cry. To this day, I have her hand written grocery list pinned to my fridge. Radishes, oranges, lettuce, an avocado ... and the one thing not listed but *really* wanted was "Honey, see if you can find something sweet to dip into coffee." I brought her donuts and the way her eyes lit up ... she must have wanted them for awhile.

I didn't think that visit would be my last, but it was. And here I sit on bed rest, unable to attend her funeral, unable to say goodbye. It is one of the hardest, most disappointing moments I have ever had. But, maybe this way, when I am finally able to visit her resting ground, I can tell her these things in private, and in a way that she can hear me. Maybe I'll bring donuts - there's only so many flowers a girl needs, right?

I love you Grams. I miss you so much.

The First Time

Am I the only one who feels incredible pressure to come up with clever titles to blog posts? Yes, I am aware mine is NOT clever, but still, I DO feel the pressure to be.

I thought this might be a great way to record the family stuff -- it seems Caeden and Wayne are always saying something funny (Caeden I can post ... most of Wayne's I probably shouldn't ...) and with another baby making her debut any day, the hand written journals that I have for Caeden probably will dwindle. This is much more efficient, although not as charming, as I really do have great handwriting. Sorry Caeden. Sorry Baby. BUT, on the bright side, look at how tech savvy your mother is becoming. Awe inspiring, I know.

I think one of the rules in the blogging world is each entry has to be accompanied by a photo. That's good because my camera is going to see a lot more use!

While I am well aware it is summer time, this is such a great picture to start things off with. We had so much snow this year in Colorado, and I just love how much Caeden loved it. I must admit, I have learned that I am much more of a warm weather gal than cold, but I do appreciate the beauty of fresh snow.