Blakelyn's First Month

Time flies with a new baby, and yet the days feel sooo long.  It's hard to believe that Blakelyn will be 6 weeks old on Thursday, she still seems so new.  I only say this because she has already outgrown many of her clothing, sad times.  She obviously got my length since I was a long baby and Bryan was short (can't believe that can you!!).  Blakelyn did get Bryan's thinness which makes her clothing look funny, she swims in them width wise, but can't straighten her legs all the way.

Not much is interesting to tell about Blakelyn's little life so far... she is your typical newborn: eat, sleep, fuss, poop (and in that exact order).  Digestion is very uncomfortable for her so she usually fusses during that process, but as soon as it all comes out... she smiles wide!! 

We introduced pacifiers and bottles around 2 weeks.  She doesn't seem to care where the food comes from (just as long as she gets it) and can enjoy a nice pacifier for comfort (although she doesn't always need or want it).  

Blakelyn is very much our child: she enjoys sleep.  We can put her down around 8-9 pm and she will sleep in 4-5 hour increments.  Of course she has her nights of fussiness and being wide awake. I usually don't mind the wide awake nights, especially when it's welcomed with a big gummy smile and happy coos:

Now for pictures:

Blakelyn has the tendency to poke her eyes out with her fingers... Bryan loves the built in mittens.

Celebrating her first holiday, Thanksgiving.

One of Bryan's co-workers' mom crocheted this adorable bee hat and bottom.  Blakelyn wore it to cheer on the Yellow Jackets during the Georgia vs Georgia Tech game... it didn't help the Jackets, so it must be a good luck charm for the Bulldawgs!!

She must be a side sleeper (like Bryan). When we put her on the boppy on her back, she scoots and wiggles to one of her sides to snooze.

One Month Photo shoot:

The look that is usually on her face:

A big yawn:

My favorite!  

It took about 18 shots to finally get this one! I suppose you could say Blakelyn's big accomplish this first month is her tongue reflex!

Blakelyn Anne

To say the least our November has started off a little busy! Our daughter, Blakelyn Anne, was born Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 1:05pm! Without going into too much detail and making the blog super long, I'll recap our labor and delivery:

Blakelyn's original due date was November 7, which coincidentally, is also my father's birthday! However, she did not make an appearance that day. I had a regular doctor's appointment scheduled for November 9. When I showed up, the doctor said, "oh, you're still pregnant!" We went ahead and scheduled an induction for November 14, assuming (and hoping) she would come on her own.

That night I felt my usual contractions, but these contractions were more rhythmic, stronger, timely, and no matter what position I maneuvered into, they would not let up. At 12:30 am we decided to head to the hospital. Since I had been 3cm and 80% effaced for a few weeks, I knew that even if I was experiencing false labor, the hospital would keep me since I was overdue.

I labored at the hospital until 2:30 am when the nurses and doctor said that if there wasn't any change (and there wasn't any) by 6am they would either: let me go home and labor on my own, or keep me and go ahead and induce. I decided to get some sleep and let them induce me!

At 7am the nurse started the pitocin drip and dilation began! At 8am the doctor broke my water (ha and I was worried that I wouldn't know if my water broke!). By then I was 5cm and 90% effaced! I labored a few more hours without any pain medicine until I was 7cm and 100% effaced. I decided to get the epidural instead of the medicine they put in the IV, since the epidural doesn't cross the placenta. The other medicine would make me drowsy and cross the placenta to make the baby drowsy too.

The anesthesiologist said that I was "the patient of the day" for my animation while getting the epidural put in. Simply put, I watched too many videos that scared me. Luckily, the epidural worked perfectly and no complications occurred. I asked the anesthesiologist about the spinal headache that could result, and he said that as soon as he put the epidural in, he could tell if I would have complications or not. Good to know for the future!

The epidural slowed down my progression, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed just chillin'. Around 12:30pm the baby began to do into distress because I wasn't getting enough oxygen. The nurse put an oxygen mask on me and everything resumed as normal. Around 12:45pm the doctor arrived, all systems were ready, and I began pushing. Five contractions and 15 pushes later, out Blakelyn came...

Not crying.

Some merconium was present in the fluid and Blakelyn hadn't taken a big breath as most newborns do. The doctor said it was Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN). Her breathing was very labored, Bryan describes it as having an asthma attack. We got to see her for a few seconds before the nurses whisked her to the bassinet to take stats and figured out her breathing problem. To say the least, Blakelyn was taken to NICU for further observation for a few hours... We didn't get to officially meet her until 6pm that night.

The whole delivery was surreal. Everything happened so quickly at the end and then all of a sudden it's just the two of us again... but with an empty infant cap and a flat stomach. The experience definitely makes me respect those who put children up for adoption or for those who are surrogates. I can only imagine their deliveries to be similar or worse.

On to stats:

Name:

Blakelyn Anne

Weight:

7lbs 14oz

Length:

20.5in

Eyes:

blue/grey

Hair:

RED!?

Yep, we produced a red head! It's more of a strawberry, but still it's red.

And of course a picture:

Happy Halloween

We weren't sure if we would make it to Halloween or not... we did.  So we quickly set up our Halloween decor and waited for all the Trick-or-Treaters!  A lot of ladybugs, angry birds, and super mario brothers this year... and most of them actually said "Trick-or-Treat" this year! 

Cauldron with a mist maker near the door.  Everyone wants to touch the "dry ice" as they stick their hands into the cauldron... perhaps we should put a sign next year. 

I decided to dress the baby up whether she was physically here or not.  I made the shirt two days before hand hoping it would jinx me and I wouldn't be able to wear it... didn't work, but at least Lady Novack got to participate in her "quasi first" Halloween!!

Nursery

Finally a post that begins with an N!  I wanted to write a post involving all the sewing I have done for the Lady, but I have already packed some of it up for the hospital.  So I'll just point them out when I come across something in a picture.

We started with the nursery around the time my pelvis gave out.  The Physical Therapist said that the second trimester would be the best time physically to get things done, so we seized the opportunity!

View as you walk into the nursery: 

Curtains sewn by JJ (Bryan's mom) and me.

 

Up close:

changing table area:

Nap zone: the glider is quite soothing.

I "sewed" the quilting hoops with fabric, since this used to be my craft room.

crib:

You can't really see it in the picture, but the bed skirt was sewed by JJ and me.

Yes, that is a bumper, but it is the breathable bumper, we'll see what the pediatrician says.

Full view of this side.

Paintings done by Grandma Homlar.

 I took all the ribbons from presents and tied them around a quilting hoop.  My intention was to do a mobile, but I can't figure out how to hang it without hanging it from the ceiling.

Closet: 

Cravings, Aversions, and Quirks

Everyone always asks if I'm having cravings, when in reality it's not a craving I got, but aversions during pregnancy.  During the first trimester I noticed aversions towards anything that would give me heartburn, especially mustard! I have dealt with a lot of heartburn throughout the entire pregnancy and have been able to deal with most foods that are prone to give you heartburn, but mustard and hot drinks, forget it!  Of course the first trimester is usually the hardest in regards to "morning sickness." I can't say I really had morning sickness, so the aversions didn't really affect me in that regard.

I have noticed some quirks in my eating and drinking habits.  I now have a necessity for ICE COLD drinks!  Water must be served with a full glass of ice, water, and preferably with a straw too!  I also prefer all fruit, fruit cups, and drinks to be refrigerated and cold before consuming. Usually I could eat and drink those at room temperature.  Perhaps it's the heartburn.  Another quirk I have noticed is that when I am hungry, I become starving very soon after.  So I have to keep a snack with me at all times.  Speaking of snacks, I have had a few episodes when I'm driving and I get a hunger strike for something specific, such as artichoke dip, that I must go to the grocery store, buy the ingredients, and cook it asap. Does that count as a craving?  The cravings I did have occurred from week to week.  A better question to ask me is, "what are you craving this week?" Usually it was something sweet and candy related: air heads, blow pops, jolly ranchers, and now and laters.  Good thing cravings didn't occur often!

I'm Not A Baker

On July 11, 2011 we decided to tell small group the gender of our baby.  I decided to bake a strawberry cake and frost it in green.  Let me reiterate I am not a baker.  I have a history of failing in the bakery department.  The first cake I baked was for Bryan's 23rd or 24th Birthday. Failed. I didn't spray the pans and the cake was literally stuck to the bottom and sides, tasted great, looked horrible.

This time I remembered to spray the pan, but I only used one pan... apparently you're supposed to use two pans. As the cake was baking, a pink substance began oozing out the bottom of the oven.  It looked kind of cool, but it was messy.  I decided to wait until the cake was done baking/oozing before cleaning it. The cake still tasted good!  The frosting, as I mentioned, was supposed to be green, but I accidently grabbed the blue bottle and squirted a few drops before noticing, so the frosting ended up a sea teal color.  Oh well, it matches the walls of the nursery!

Again, I should have taken pictures, but I forgot...

It's a GIRL!!

On July 1, 2011 we found had our anatomy ultrasound.  This ultrasound is the lengthiest of all of them because they are checking not just the gender, but all the internal anatomy as well.  Bryan came with me and he was just as mesmerized as I was seeing all the body parts.  A few times he jumped out of his seat to take a better look.  I was hoping they would give us the ultrasounds of the heart chambers, kidneys, and  bone structure, but they gave us the standard ones.     

Sucking her thumb:

Her middle toe is longer than the rest... just like Bryan! He was pretty stoked!

We asked the technician if we could guess what the gender was before she told us: I instantly said, GIRL!

After all the standard anatomy shots, the technician clicked the machine over to 4D, since I drank a coke before the appointment (it is said to help the baby "show" itself).  The technician kept having to chase the baby to get the shots she needed.

Probably more than necessary, but it's so cool!

Lady Novack!

That weekend we were going to see both sides of our family in Atlanta for the 4th of July.  Bryan and I decided to surprise them with the gender of the baby.  We had told them that our appointment to find out the gender wasn't until July 8th.  We purchased pink (and blue, which we returned) maracas from Party City and gave them to the grandfathers.    

13 week ultrasound

Due to the tornado, I was unable to go to my 12 week appointment and the usual appointment schedule would be thrown off by a week for the remainder of the pregnancy.  At my 13 week appointment I was able to get an ultrasound of the baby!  Not because it was cool or that I could, but because the doppler wasn't picking up the baby's heart beat!  I was excited at first when the nurse said "if I can't find the heartbeat we'll have to do an ultrasound," but when she couldn't find the heartbeat, I was a little concerned. 

I had begun to feel something in my lower abdomen that week, but didn't know what it was.  The books say that when the baby kicks at first it can be confused with gas bubbles, please tell me what gas bubbles feel like?  I would feel some kind of twinge, like something tumbling, every now and then, maybe once a day, but didn't know what it was.  When the nurse put the probe (where she needed it to get a reading), I could see the baby move around!!  I saw the baby curl up into a ball and then splayed out it's entire body and appendages, not to mention I FELT the baby do that right at the exact moment.  From then on whenever I felt that tumbling twinge, I knew it was the baby making a big movement. 

This image captured the heart rate, 160! 

Apparently the baby was still in my pelvis and hadn't risen to my abdomen yet.

Beginning to look more like a little human!

Tornado and Registering

I apologize that the posts aren't rhyming with N words, just trying to get all caught up with the pregnancy before our baby arrives... any day now. 

Back in April, April 27 to be exact, Huntsville experienced mother nature's wrath, an E4 and E5 tornado, although most of the media was focused on Tuscaloosa.  The E4 tornado came through 0.1 mile south of our house, while the E5 tornado came through 3-5 miles North of us.  It was pretty scary that day, but everyone we knew were fine.  There was a lot of damage further east of us some minor, some major, some total devastation.  This map shows the slew of tornados that touched down across the south that day.  

Huntsville was without power and cell phone reception for about 5 days.  The radio announcers originally said 3 days, then changed to 7 days. So we decided to bail and head down to Birmingham especially since I was pregnant and didn't want to chance it on nutrition and slowly spoiling food.  Not to mention that we couldn't call anyone to let them know we were okay.  As we drove, as quickly as we could legally since we were running out of gas and no local stations had any, we could see some of the damage.  As we approached Cullman, about an hour south of us, we were able to use our phones to call family.  Bryan's family, to which we were driving to, were happy to hear that we were okay since they had "heard wind" of some tornados going through Huntsville and we got the approval for us to crash for a few days.  When I called my parents, they just wanted to chat about what we had done that day and what our plans were for the weekend... just a normal conversation!  The only news that they were getting about the tornados were the one's in Tuscaloosa.  Once my mom got more information about what happened near us, literally, then she began to freak out. 

So what to do in Birmingham when we didn't have any plans to be there... might as well start registering! We decided to register at Buy Buy Baby as our main registry.  We did end up registering at other locations since we don't have a Buy Buy Baby in Huntsville, which I am still shocked about.  The store, Buy Buy Baby is awesome!! It's a sister company to Bed Bath and Beyond.  I'm not sure if sister company is the right word to use, but Bed Bath and Beyond owns Buy Buy Baby and you can use the coupons at both locations, the stores are designed with the same layout, and the prices are great!  

Awe registering... if only we could get a copy of the security camera that day!  I do believe that whom ever looked/looks at the day will pin point "the future new parents" instantly!  We spent about 6 hours registering or it felt like it.  We did some in the morning, took a break to eat lunch, and went back for more.  The best thing I like about Buy Buy Baby is the associates that work there.  They know the specifications, quality, safety, practicality, and can answer any and all of your questions without having to get a manager or telling you to call the 1-800 number!  

What took us the longest registering was the strollers, car seats, and baby bjorn.  We probably asked a bazillion questions about car seats and strollers.  Comparing specifications, quality, safety, etc.  With my pelvis being dislocated, and will continue after delivery, weight was our biggest concern. We were lifting and folding just about every single car seat and stroller in the store!  Not to mention, we didn't know how to fold or unsnap any of them, hence funny security videos!

But our most hilarious moments were trying on the baby bjorn carriers! The store has all the carriers available for you to try on... let's just say it took us a while to figure out how to wear the bjorn!

It probably took us 45 minutes to get to this point! 

Telling Small Group

Every Monday night we go to church for a small group gathering with our friends.  We decided to tell our small group at 11 weeks that we were pregnant only because of my pelvis.  You know, in case I needed to call someone to help me off the ground...  

That night we were bringing dinner for the group. For dessert I made chocolates melted into baby shapes: rattles, booties, baby animals, etc. As we were chatting during dinner, the group was asking me about my back: what I had done, what had happened, what caused it, etc.  When I replied, "it's directly related to my pregnancy" a few people looked at me excited, while others were still processing... We said that we were pregnant and "the baby is already a pain in my butt."

I meant to take a picture of the chocolates, but I guess "pregnancy brain" began earlier than I realized!

Miserable Nuisance

During the 9th week of pregnancy Bryan and I traveled to Los Angeles.  That Saturday I began to notice some discomfort on the left side of my inner pelvic area near my spine.  It wasn't painful, just uncomfortable to walk, stand, or sit.  I associated it with all the walking and standing we were doing sight seeing through the city.  I had begun to waddle to ease the nausea I was experiencing, I thought maybe the different stride was bothering my body. On Sunday I still had the discomfort, but noticed that I wasn't sitting with my legs crossed as I usually do when I sit in seats and thought that sitting with perfect posture was causing discomfort.  Come Monday, I noticed that when I got up from a sitting position and began to walk that my pelvic/spine area felt stuck and needed some assistance to get moving.  I called my mom to ask what the discomfort could be and she said to watch it for a few days to see what happens...

Tuesday April 12: 10 weeks pregnant and the day that changed my pregnancy.

I had gone to work at a company that I had worked at many times before and gotten to know the people and the job at hand.  All morning long I had noticed that I was hurting and grimacing with every step I took.  Not just the stuck feeling, but stuck with pain feeling.  I would grip handles with white knuckles, and take each step much slower.  Other employees starting commenting that something wasn't right with me, I agreed and said I must have slept wrong and had a kink. 

By the afternoon the pain was worse no matter if I were standing, sitting, walking, or still. At 1:30ish I bent down (maybe to my knees) and my legs gave out.  I fell to my knees and couldn't move, I was literally stuck! I managed to lay on my side as I deciphered a way to get back to standing, about 10 minutes later.  I was done for the day.  I told the contact person that I was in pain and needed to go home, she agreed since she had seen me suffer all day long.  I somehow managed to make it to my car and headed home.  However, by the time I got home the pain was worse and it took me about 20 minutes to get from the door to the bedroom.  

I called Bryan and the OB to see what to do.  The doctor on call said to come to Labor and Delivery to get things checked out. When we arrived I could barely walk and had to use Bryan for full support. The hospital ran a doppler test to check for a blood clot since we had just traveled.  The results were negative as I assumed since the pain wasn't in my legs.  Since I was pregnant they couldn't run any x-rays nor prescribe an anti-inflammatory as they usually would. Instead they told me I had to go to Physical Therapy where they would figure out what was wrong, fix it, and how to prevent it.  Why that isn't the usual protocol is beyond me. 

Two days later I was at the Physical Therapist office barely managing to walk or move without grimacing in pain.  The therapist did a few exercises with me and bam pain gone, walking normal! (for a little while)  She diagnosed that my SI joint (the location where the pelvis and spine meet) was out of alignment/dislocated.  It's normal for pregnancy due to the extra hormones that loosen the joints to prepare for baby's arrival, mine just happened to loosen early.  She sent me home with 2 months worth of physical therapy and exercises to help strengthen the muscles around the area, but warned that it would get better in the second trimester, but come back to haunt me in the third...  boy was she right!!!

So that's the reason why this pregnancy hasn't been the easiest and we have been uber busy in preparing for the baby.  The second trimester was fairly easy (in the joint pain department) so we were able to get just about everything done and ready for the baby.  Now on to the third trimester... let the haunting begin!

April Fool's Day

We had our first OB appointment on Friday April 1.  I was 8 weeks along and would be hearing and seeing our baby for the first time!  When we got into the ultrasound room, the technician talked us through what all we would be doing and seeing.  I had never understood growing up why my mom had condom's next to her ultrasound machine in her office nor what the stick looking probe did... now I know!!  

8 week ultrasound: the ball to the left of the baby is the yolk sac it helps provide nourishment until the placenta is formed.  The heart rate was strong and fast.  My first response was "holy $h!t" Yep this is real, we are pregnant, no turing back now. Bryan thought it was cool. 

That night was emailed our families to tell them about the first appointment.  We titled the email "TWINS!!"  But quickly mentioned Happy April Fool's Day!

No No's and Ho Ho's

The first people we wanted to tell were our immediately families, but I didn't just want to call them.  Bryan's birthday was coming up and we would be seeing both sides of the family the same weekend so we were able to tell them in person.  I had decided to embroider 4 bib's for the 4 grandparents.  On the bib's I put "I ♥ ___"  fill in with a name that the baby could potentially call that grandparent.  For the Novack's I chose "Tom Tom" for Tom, and "No No" for Judy.  For the Homlar's I chose "Bo Bo" for Bob, and "Ho Ho" for Marjorie.

We saw the Novack's first on Saturday March 12.  They came up for the day to celebrate Bryan's Birthday early.  We planned on going for a hike on Rainbow Mountain.  Before heading out we decided to tell them our news (since we assumed the rest of the day would consist of baby talk).  I had a box that I could fold the bib's up in and gave it to Judy.  She opened the box and inside she saw the word "No No." When she pulled out the fabric she looked at for a split second before asking, "are you telling us something?" We said, "yes, we're pregnant."  With a calm, yet excited demeanor they congratulated us (and yes the rest of the day consisted of baby talk). 

The next day Sunday March 13 we went to Nashville.  My niece had her first birthday party on Saturday and my mom would be in town.  We arrived around lunch time and decided to give my mother the box as we all ate.  She opened the box and saw the words "Ho Ho."  When she pulled out the bib she stared at it... with a "half smile, disgusted, upset, fake happy" look on her face.  She looked around the room (everyone else had figured it out) at everyone's happy smiling faces and asked, "is this a joke?"  I wanted to respond, "nope I think you're a Ho," but instead responded, "we're pregnant." She figured it out at that point as she screamed, hooted, and hollered!!  We then asked her "what were you thinking when you saw the bib?"  She said, "I thought the bib was for me to wear since I always spill on myself!" After we all stopped laughing, my sister-in-law's mother mentioned that they make adult designer bib's for elderly people... guess who's getting that for Christmas!

Knocked Up Novack

Yea so I'm actually 32 weeks along and just now posting about being pregnant.  For those that know, this pregnancy hasn't been the easiest and we have been busy with a massive "to-do" list. 

We found out we were pregnant on March 1!  

Now you know how I look at 6:00 am.  Apparently it's best to pee on the stick first thing in the morning.  

I had decided to try and surprise Bryan before he left for work.  I didn't want to go all day with this kind of information (either positive or negative) by myself.  Bryan usually gets up for work around 5:30-5:45.  When he got up to get into the shower, I went to the guest bathroom to pee on the stick.  When I saw it was positive, I decided to place the stick (with the cover tightly snapped together) on Bryan's dresser, assuming he was going to roll through his usual schedule of coming out of the bathroom and checking his phone... not that day!  Instead he grabbed his clothes, put on his shoes, made his breakfast and lunch, brushed his teeth, shaved his face, grab his wallet, put on his class ring, and then check his phone!  Bryan didn't know what exactly he was looking at as to whether it was positive or negative, but he commented "I assume this is positive, since you would probably be crying already if it were negative." 

Nurture Driveway

What does the word solicit mean??? In the front of our neighborhood there is a sign that reads "NO SOLICITATION." But for some reason we always get people coming by door to door selling, promoting, fundraising, etc. One Saturday we had a guy come to the door selling his pressure washing services, "looks like your driveway needs a good power washing to get rid of all that mold and mildew." We of course said no, but we started thinking, "do we need to pressure wash the driveway?"

Luckily Bryan's grandfather gave him a pressure washer when they moved from Ohio to Colorado. So since the solicitor put it in Bryan's head, he decided to pressure wash all the cement areas of our house. He did the back "porch" first to test it out. If he screwed something up, no one would know. Amazing the difference it made! He then decided to tackle the drive way section by section since it takes about 2 hours to clean it.

Before:

It doesn't look that bad, right!:

A better picture of how dirty it actually was. You can see where our car tires drive into the garage:

After:

I forgot to get a before of the side walk...

For a more dramatic affect of before and after:

Natural Strawberry Flavor

In case you didn't know, Bryan LOVES strawberries! By LOVE, I mean his cheeks are always rosy red probably because he ate so many strawberries as a kid. :) As soon as I bring strawberries home from the store, they are devoured with in hours.

Seeing how we live in Alabama and in a semi-rural/country area... Many farms exist where you can "pick your own___." We have been pumpkin picking, I have seen a Christmas tree lot, and I have heard of picking blueberries/blackberries. Last year I went with a few friends to pick strawberries. We all got one large bucket. Most ladies thought "gee what am I going to do with all these strawberries... make a pie, freeze some, make jam/jelly, etc." I knew what would happen to ours... and yes just as I commented "these will be gone by tomorrow" and they were!!

So this year Bryan wanted to come with us, yes he was the only man, but he wasn't the only male. We decided to get two buckets, assuming one would be devoured and the other we would freeze for later.

Our loot:

Navigation Weiss Lake

In May our small group went to Weiss Lake together. We had tried to get the whole Sunday School class to take a trip like this, but with 27 couples, more than a dozen kids (and differing personalities), plans never worked out. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other better and get to know our personalities from day to the wee hours of the night.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of everyone who went, nor the cabin we stayed in, nor the grounds, nor lake. I'm not used to thinking in picture documentation, which is surprising since I love to take pictures.

The weekend consisted of relaxation, taking turns cooking meals, hanging out, and listening to 2 year olds be, well, 2 year olds. The weather was kind of chilly so we didn't venture into the water as much as one would in the summer, but it was still zen-like to watch the rippling waves crash against the shore and the sun sparkle across the water in the early morning.

We did venture to a local rock climbing spot, Cherokee Rock Village. No it's not indoor climbing, it's a real rock garden that you climb. It's called Sand Rock because the soil naturally found there is sand, odd being that it's Alabama and the soil is usually red clay. One family, the Willhite's are outdoor enthusiasts and own many outdoor equipment for just about any outdoor adventure. They purchased a harness for their 2 year old twins to take a shot at climbing.

Sand Rock: Literally a bunch of giant rocks for anyone to climb, with appropriate gear.

Bryan wanted to hike to the top of the rock, since you have to have a way to get the gear set up. He didn't want the kids to follow since we didn't want to risk them running and falling off the side... however, they saw and wanted to hike up too.

Bryan helping (lifting) the kids to the top:

View from the top:

One of the twins climbing like a big boy! (with assistance from Bryan) Every time Bryan would take his hand off of the kid, the kid would yell out "help." So really Bryan lifted the boys farther and farther up the rock, but the kids did do most of the work themselves, they just needed a little extra nudge.

At another spot of the rock the adults decided to take a climb. Here's Bryan taking about three steps up the side... I wonder what his father would think of him climbing without a helmet?!?!?

And what we did most of the weekend: deal with babies. Here's Bryan getting in some practice... all three are smiling!