Visitors

My grandparents were at their lake house so they decided to come visit. They were nice enough to bring lunch and a few presents for the kids. Bryce is a big help in the yard and Papa got him his very own shovel.

Also-Russell has been wanting to post this so here it is. Bryce likes to sit on the potty and as a reward he gets a pretzel. He used to get them when he got off the potty but lately he just snacks while he sits there. Must be a guy thing to need an activity while in the bathroom.

Like Brother, Like Sister

Apparently this is how my kids sleep when they are 2 weeks old. Just thought it was kind of funny...

Bath time

Ivy's umbilical cord fell off the other day so Bryce and I gave her a bath today. Ivy seemed to enjoy the experience and Bryce was a big help.

Happy Father's Day

Before we knew Ivy was going to show up a little early, we had planned to go to my parent's house for Father's Day so that Russell and my dad could play golf. I'm feeling great so we kept the plans and took Ivy on her 1st road trip. Bryce had a great day playing and Ivy slept through it all.

Is Bryce's world upside down?

Even though this picture reflects otherwise, the answer is no. Bryce is doing great. Everyone was sure that my little mama's boy was going to fall to pieces when Ivy arrived but I wasn't worried. He tells me what she's doing, baby sleep, baby eat, etc but otherwise life has not changed for him. Let's be honest newborns eat and sleep a lot. When Ivy is awake, Bryce picks the activity. Russell went to work for most of the day on Friday and I had no problems taking care of 2 kids. Let's hope the kids continue to cooperate!

Ivy and the magic poop

Everyone poops. It's a fact. It's a book. Everyone poops...except Ivy. Well, at least for the first 24 hours. There hasn't been such controversy about pooping since that famed day at Bushwood:






Andy Dufrane went through less agony and frustration over poop than we did:

But..."in the end"...everyone poops. Since this is a medical lesson for everyone, apparently there's a mucus plug involved with the first poop.

Once you pass that plug, you're free to leave the hospital...sort of. Since it took Ivy a little longer than most for her first BM, they kept us an extra day for jaundice observation. So...Paige got some sleep and Ivy got a tan. And, in case you're curious why I'm writing so much about my daughter pooping, I figured there was no time like the present to start on the first (of many) embarassing tales to tell the host of young suitors that I'll kick out of my house when the come to pick her up for a date.

So...we're all home now and away we go...

LET ME OUTTA THIS PLACE ALREADY!!!!!

I get to go home?!? WHOOOHOOO!!!!!!

I think I'll rest on the way...

Editor's note: how ridiculously cute are those giant socks on her bitty feet? Had to do a closeup.

Home at last :)

Live and in color...

A Few Stills for download purposes...

I'm the worst dad ever...or am I?

I have to confess. I missed the birth of our second child. Not like, I had to sneeze, I turned around and there she was....like she was 5 weeks early and I was on a trip and didn't make it back in time....AAAGGGHHHHH!!!!

In the grand scheme of things...now that I'm here and have held my baby girl and seen for myself that everything is OK I think I'm over it. I mean...what does she care...she's just wants to know why she now has to work to eat and where the Yanni like ocean noises went. But for a while, I was carving myself atop the Mount Rushmore of worst parents. From left to right...Travis Henry, Lynn Spears, Michael Jackson, & Me.

But then I got to thinking, as I'm sitting there thanking the good people of American Airlines for doing everything within their power to stop me from returning to Austin, including not letting my row of the plane board until it was 2 minutes before takeoff because it was dirty (I'm not making this up)...there had to be at least 5 things worse than missing the birth of your daughter...right?

1. Showing up to the father daughter dance as drunk as Shooter in the movie Hoosiers yelling random Harry Carry quotes...twice.
2. Attending parent teacher conferences in nothing but a yellow polka-dot thong
3. Tatooing "daddy's girl" backwards on her forehead so every time she looks in the mirror she'll know how much I love her.
4. Pretending to have a British accent for the first 13 years of her life and then during her Bat-Mitzvah speach, switch cold turkey and tell her we're actually from France, not England.
5. Call Jose Canseco and have him swear that I was at the birth and then accuse Ivy of "mis-remembering" when she questions me about it later.

So...now I feel better. The whole world...or at least the 3 people (including my mom) who read this blog...know what a terrible father I am. But just think about how much worse it could be...and if anyone thinks it can't be...watch out for me wandering in from right field at your daughter's softball game...with no pants on.

Ivy Grace Newman

Ivy Grace Newman joined the rest of the family today at 10:45 AM. While still a few weeks from her actual due date, she decided she was ready for action. And, not unlike her mother, when her mind is made up...watch out!

Ivy weighed in at a petite 5lbs 10oz and was 18" long.

And, also like her mother...she's a bit cranky before dinner...so she's eating like a champ.

Mom, Dad, Bryce, & young Ivy are all doing great.
Stay tuned to the blog for pictures once we get home.

Neighborhood Party

Our neighborhood had a summer kick off party on Saturday. Russell is in New York so my mom came in to play. Bryce hated the clown, to be honest, he was pretty bad but loved the snow cones.

Watching the clown show

Grape snow cones are the best!

Throwing the ball to Gabby