Happy Belated Birthday Pappy!!!

Last Saturday was Pappy's birthday (I'm sure most of you already know that). Katie & Brian were at Duke for his heart procedure, and Mom decided to drive Anthony up there as his stay was "extended". So Edwin and I took our opportunity to make Pappy smile. We hung out at Pappy's house for awhile....and had lots of fun playing in the dining room. Edwin is fearless and loves to explore anywhere we let him. Then we went to dinner at Indochine....YUMMY!! It's a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant that is sooooooooo good! Happy Belated Birthday Pappy :)

Life is Good

I just had to post this adorable picture of Ms. Loralai. Isn't she so sweet? Ashley was discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon....and they're all settling into life at home together.

Babies Babies Everywhere!

So I have yet another friend at work that just had a baby!!! Katrina was due in two weeks, but she has a fantastic track record and always goes into labor early. Her first and second were two and three weeks early......and this third one followed family tradition. Funny thing is, I ran into Katrina when I was at the hospital visiting Ashley. She (Katrina) was on her way to the cafeteria to get some food before being admitted. How fun!! Mr. Asher Hayes Clendenning was born on Feb 21st at 6:36 pm. He was 9 lb. and 19.5 inches long. Good thing he was early!!

The funny thing is, there are still two more (at least) girls at work that are pregnant. Patricia is due in June, and Amber is due at the end of August. And before anyone gets any crazy ideas, I'm just enjoying visiting the newborns. I'm perfectly content with my little man right now :) (Who by the way is progressing quite well in the new walking endeavor). Hopefully Katie will be doing some newborn shoots in the next few weeks. I'll keep ya posted!

Baby Face

As promised, here are a few pictures of Ms. Loralai Whitney Dengler. Isn't she sweet? I especially like the ones with her daddy, Todd. Ashley was feeling less than gorgeous, so I wasn't allowed to take any pictures with her! (Totally understandable). Hopefully Katie will be able to get some professional newborn shots soon. Enjoy!

These Jammies Are Made For Walkin'

EDWIN TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS TONIGHT!!!

After dinner and bathtime at Grandma & Pappy's house, we were all hanging out in the dining room. Katie was taking pictures of Anthony (top secret for now) and Edwin was busy exploring. I don't even remember exactly how it happened, but we thought we'd let Edwin attempt walking. Ed has been working with him diligently almost every day...he can stand up on his own,but so far wasn't able to take a step. Well that all changed tonight.

Grandma stood him up, made sure he was steady....He stood there for just a second....and then he did it!!! He took about 3 or 4 real steps...then kind of stopped as if he wasn't sure what he was doing....before plopping his butt down on the floor. We stood him back up...tried again (to make sure it wasn't a fluke)...and sure enough...more steps!!

I'm sure he could have kept going, but I scooped him up and smothered his adorable face with kisses!! I'm so grateful that I was able to see my baby's very first steps. And best of all, Auntie Katie captured them on film!!!!! See...for all of you people that have ever made fun of us in the past for taking too many pictures, I say "told ya so". Check it out!

Oh Happy Day!

I am so thrilled to finally post that we have a baby!!!! Okay, maybe not “we”, but Ashley had her baby last night at 10:34 pm via c-section.

LORALAI WHITNEY DENGLER
9 lb. 9 oz.
21 inches

I talked to Ashley this morning around 9:30am. She sounded exhausted, but thrilled to finally be a mommy. Her description of Loralai included: black hair, long eyelashes, a little pug nose, and dimples. I can’t wait to see her!! I’ll be heading over to the hospital (by special invitation) after work and will bring Katie’s camera. Obviously I will post pictures as soon as possible. I’m so happy for their family—now the fun can begin!

Update On My (Still) Pregnant Friend

I'm not sure if anyone (besides my lovely sis-in-law) is actually paying attention to these updates, but I'm writing it anyway. Here is what I sent out to the people on Ashley's contact list:

I received a brief update this evening along with instructions to "pass it on." Here's what I know so far:
1. Ashley was admitted to the hospital last night around 10pm
2. She went into active labor around 2am (on her own!!)
3. By 10:30 am she had dilated to 4cm, but hadn't slept all night
4. According to a 6pm text message from Todd, Ashley got an epidural because she stalled at 4cm and was finally able to get some rest. (Hopefully that will re-energize her for the big finish.)

That's all I know folks. I would imagine they are both exhausted at this point and ready for a conclusion. Again, please continue to pray for a safe and healthy delivery for both mom and baby. If I hear anything else, I'll send another update.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

For Valentine’s Dinner last night, Edwin & I went over to Grandma and Pappy’s house since Ed had to work (imagine that on a holiday!). Katie, Brian, and Anthony joined us as usual because our boys just adore each other. My favorite sister in the whole wide world surprised me with chips and salsa from Chipotle!!!

For anyone that knows me even a little, you know how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE a meal at Chipotle. Well Katie & Brian ate at one yesterday in Raleigh. Since a chicken burrito doesn’t travel well for three hours, she compromised and brought me the yummy chips. Ooohhh…they were sooo good! Haha.

Back to dinner. So we’re having a lovely meal of burgers, cheese dogs, baked beans, veggies, pickles (Gedney!)….and stimulating conversation. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. But Edwin decided he needed to join in and make his voice heard.

Edwin: “Bah bah bah bah pfftttt ma ma bah bah bah”. (at the top of his itty bitty lungs, smiling the whole time)

This continued for awhile, when suddenly Anthony turns to Edwin with the most serious look on his face and says:

Anthony: “Edwin, do you speak English?”

I wish you could have heard it!! I was laughing so hard I actually had to get up and leave the room. I had the ugly laugh going on. You know, the laugh where you have to cover your face because it’s so contorted? It was hilarious!!!!!

It still makes me laugh to think about it. Do you speak English? Hee hee. Nothing like a good ole’ belly laugh at dinner. Katie took a ton of pictures last night (with my prompting) of Edwin. Check out this one in the tub!

I admit, we set up the letters to spell Ed...but he still had to hold onto them! There are a whole lot more pics, but I'll let Katie post them on her blog. What a fun night!!

Be Mine

Happy Valentine's Day!!! If you read Katie's blog, you may have seen a couple "sneak peek" pics from our photo shoot last Saturday. Well here is the card we sent out to Ed's family in Ohio and to Edwin's teachers at "school". Isn't my boy the cutest??

And I hope Katie doesn't get mad at me for this, but since she and Brian are up at Duke all day for Brian's pre-op testing, I don't think she'll have time to update her blog. Here's the valentine she made for Anthony to hand out at school today. We have such handsome children!!

Is No News Good News??

The last time I talked to Ashley was at 12:30pm today. They (nurses..docs...whoever) had just increased the dose of Pitocin because the contractions still weren't strong enough. And that's it. That's all I know. I haven't heard from her or Todd since then, and I'm really hoping that no news is good news. Hopefully they're so busy having a baby that it hasn't even crossed their minds to give anyone an update. Man, the suspense is killing me!!!

Baby Update

Still no baby...but at least some progress is being made! Ashley went into the hospital last night (by order of her midwife) for induction. I spoke to her this morning and they were going to start the pitocin right about now. I know she must be exhausted and soooo ready for her baby to arrive. Pray that she will have an easy delivery and a healthy baby. I can't wait!!!

Waiting...

So my friend Ashley is pregnant...her due date was last Tuesday. Yes, she's a full week overdue. (makes her sound like a library book or something!). I talked to her this morning and she's supposed to have a doctor's appointment this afternoon. So now I'm waiting. Waiting to hear from her, waiting for her to go into labor, or be induced or whatever. Other than my own child, I don't think I've ever been so anxious for a new baby to be born!! I'm so excited for Ashley and Todd to become parents for the first time. As anyone with children knows, it just keeps getting better and better. I'm hoping that by tomorrow night (or earlier) maybe I'll have pics of this new baby girl?!? I'll keep everyone posted :)

As Promised...

Here are some more pictures from the awards ceremony last night. I'm still waiting for Katie to send me the rest...but this will have to do for now.