Matt and Lacy took pictures of the girls in their Christmas dresses. Merry Christmas everyone!

Goodbye Taz

I haven't had a chance to let you all know that Taz, our Dalmation, passed away recently. We knew he was going down hill and were trying to decide if we should have him put down or not. It was a decision that we didn't want to make...then we didn't have to. Mother Nature helped us out. Taz was a good old dog that loved to go bike riding with Phil. If Taz saw Phil take off on the bike without him, he would cry...I mean cry as a human! One day I thought I heard a kid crying outside. I went to check it out and found Taz crying. I called Phil and asked him if he rode his bike to work which he had. Taz cried for 1/2 hour. I finally told him, "No". For another 1/2 hour, he sat and stared in the direction that Phil left. I called Phil again and told him he needed to come and soothe Taz. Phil came in the fire pickup and petted Taz a while. Taz was satisfied as Phil left in the pickup! Phil would hook Taz's leash to the bike. Taz would run beside Phil. He knew what Phil meant when he was told to turn! The one thing I miss so much is pulling up into our drive and Taz coming out of the doghouse to greet me. The last outing with Taz was at Mozingo. He struggled then to walk the distance with us. We miss you Taz and we love you.

Dr. Matt?

Lainey's first bath.

Lainey's debut! I couldn't believe how alert she was. She was looking around, scoping the new digs!

Big sister's first view of the new family member.

Big sister enjoys holding the new bundle!

The VERY proud grandma! You can tell I am worn out!

Grandpa Bill, Matt's dad. He is so thrilled with Lainey.

Grandma Dodie, Matt's step-mom.

Great Grandma Donna!

Great Grandpa Rolland.

The proud grandpa!

The dorky father! I am not sure this is a good role model for Lainey and Leena!

The happy but tired momma!
Leena is so excited about her new "sissy"!

Lainey's binkie...it is bigger than her face! She hasn't used it much, I suggested that they use the binkie to help her learn to latch on.

Christmas dress for Lainey

These pictures are of Lainey in the dress that we bought her. Grammie had to get her a dress, of course!

Welcome, Lainey Elizabeth!

We welcomed Lainey Elizabeth on Thursday, November 20, 2008. It was rocky for a while but we made it! Lacy called to let me know her water broke that morning. I was headed to Savannah for a home visit. Luckily, I rode with my co-worker, Valerie which left the van for Phil to drive. I called him to see if he could get off right then and meet me in Savannah. We hooked up about 10 am and headed east. Lacy and Mat had got to the hospital in Cameron. She was dilated to a 3. I am thinking that this could be a while. When we arrived, Lacy was walking and was already hooked up to an IV. By 1:00 or so, they added pertosin. Everything was progressing well until about 1:30 or 1:45pm. I heard the baby's heart beat drop on the monitor but it picked up so I didn't think too much about it. Then it dropped again. This time the nurse was in there and called the doctor in. The doctor examined her and raised the baby off the cord. The heart rate went up. The curtain was pulled before this. All I could see was Matt who was pacing. The doctor then shouted to the staff that the baby needed to be taken out now. I panicked. I cried silently with Phil then saw Matt crying. I then pulled myself together because I knew I needed to be strong for Matt and my daughter. The doctor yelled again. I heard nothing from Lacy...I thought, she is still alive isn't she? Then I decided to go past the curtain...after all, this was MY kid! I hugged Matt then went to Lacy. She was shaking so hard from fear. She told me she was scared. I smiled at her, hugged her and told her all would be OK. I told her we needed to pray that God would be with us no matter what. She shook her head. I held her hand while the nurse told me she would be OK. I told Lacy what the nurse said. They then took her to surgery. Matt said that they didn't knock her out as she had her epidural. I guess she could feel the procedure while the anesthesiologist kept asking her to decide if it was uncomfortable or painful. Lacy kept telling them it was painful. Evidently, she wasn't numbed enough. Matt had to get tough with them and tell them to put her out which they finally did. Phil and I paced and stewed in the waiting room not knowing if either one of them were OK. Finally, a nurse come and told us that both were OK and that Lacy would be out for about 2 hours. Then Matt came out to update us. He was very emotional as well as Phil and I. Then...they wheeled the baby into the nursery which we could see her from the waiting room. What a beautiful sight! She was calm and very alert. Her eyes were open; she was looking around. She didn't care that she was naked. She did cry when they put a diaper on her! Lacy finally was back in her room and we finally got to see the baby up close. Lacy was coming around but still groggy. Matt's dad and step-mom arrived shortly before this. They said this was the fastest trip they have ever made from St. Louis. It was nice to have them there to share the worry with! The next morning, Matt called to inform us that the doctor said Lacy had pneumonia. They put antibiotics in her IV and started breathing treatments. Now, I had that to worry about! I told Lacy that she was supposed to just go in, have the baby, and go home! They wanted her to cough to begin getting the infection out but of course, it hurt due to her incision. Today is Monday, 11/24. Lacy and Lainey should get to go home tomorrow. The pneumonia is improving but still prevalent. They wanted to get as much antibiotics in her through the IV as possible. I have been helping with Leena as well as Lacy. I assisted Lacy with the beginnings of breast feeding which can be trying. They are doing well with this. Leena and I went to a movie yesterday afternoon then got ice cream. I am also babysitting the granddogs! You never know what you will do for your kids. That is what is the best about having children...unconditional love. Many parents don't get this. It doesn't mean you condone everything they do but you love them in spite of it. Acknowledging their faults and mistakes are part of this. Believer me, I know it isn't easy. Parenting also means being adult enough to realize that you are not perfect at it but you keep on trying. I love all my kids. Yes, I guess I even love...well, maybe like, the granddogs! Phil and I are blessed with a great family that is still working out the kinks. He has loved every minute of being a grandpa. You should have seen him when we saw Lainey for the first time! He was so moved. Well, Ma Ingells used to say..."All's well that ends well!" We love you Lainey Elizabeth! Welcome to our crazy, wonderful family!

Off with the hair!

Leena has been bugging Lacy to get her hair cut short. Lacy made her wait a month to make sure she really wanted it. Of course, Leena did. So they went to the salon...8.5 inches cut off! Wow, what a change! The neat thing is Leena gave the hair to an organization for wigs...not Locks of Love as they only take 10 inch hair but another one. Looks cute, Leena!

Leena Fall pics

Leena posed for some fall pictures. You did a great job taking the pictures Lacy and Matt!