We decided to give Kenton another chance with the gardening, but he didn't get to use the water hose this time. He had a great time digging in the dirt while Edward planted some caladiums. He stayed outside until he was so tired he was about to fall over, and we had to make him come in and take a bath and get ready for bed.

Kenton loves to help! He gave daddy a hand watering the flowers outside today. All went well until Kenton figured out to turn up the water pressure and then soaked himself. He might not be doing any more gardening for a while.

Big brother Kenton having a heart-to-heart talk with baby sister Emery

It wasn't too terribly hot this evening so we decided to take a little walk around the neighborhood. Emery was in the stroller, Kenton was on foot, and Lucy was on her leash. It was interesting. Kenton had to stop and look at every leaf, rock, and stick we passed on the way so we were moving pretty slowly. Lucy got annoyed by all the stops and starts--she just wanted to walk! And Emery, of course, slept the whole time. In the picture, Kenton is offering to carry Emery in her stroller down the front porch stairs. Edward decided it would be best if he did it instead.

We took our first road trip as a family of four today. We went to Georgia Veterans State Park, which is about an hour and a half drive from our house. We thought this would give us a good idea how our travels to Kentucky might go next week. Overall, I'd say it was a good day. We left the house around 10:00am and got home around 5:30, and Emery slept 95% of the time we were gone. Kenton didn't sleep hardly any, but was still good traveler and didn't throw any fits. We don't ask for much more than that.

In the picture, Kenton was checking out the display of airplanes and tanks at the park. He loves any sort of heavy equipment, so he enjoyed getting to see those. Unfortunately, it was about 120 degrees outside today and the bugs were swarming, so it wasn't the best day for being outside. You'll notice he's wearing a Thomas t-shirt and carrying his Thomas blanket, because everyone needs a blanket on a steaming hot August day in south Georgia! He also watched one of his Thomas DVDs over and over in the car on the way there. (Thanks to Granny Cardin for the portable DVD player!) If we'd let him I'm sure he would have taken all of his trains with him, too. He's just a little Thomas-obsessed these days!

Kenton finally agreed to try holding his baby sister today. I think it went pretty well. We propped her up in his lap and he petted on her hair and even leaned down and gave her a couple of kisses. He's acting out a little more these days, but overall we think he's dealing really well with having a new baby sister and hitting the terrible twos all at the same time.

Both the kiddos woke up early this morning. We tried putting them in our bed to see if they might fall back asleep, but of course that didn't work. We did get a couple of pictures of the two of them together, though. Aren't they cute with their matching pacifiers?

Sleeping Beauty

Emery, wide-eyed and ready to party, just as mom and dad were ready to go to sleep tonight

Kenton started preschool today. He will only be going two mornings a week, but it seems like such a big step! The church where he's going was all decorated for the first day, and he was checking out the balloons in this picture. He's the youngest in his class--they had to turn two by the end of this month to sign up. Some of them will turn three next month, but we're hoping being around kids who are just a little older will inspire him to take a greater interest in potty training. Edward went to pick him up today while I stayed home with Emery, who was sleeping, and the first thing he asked when he came in the house was "Where's baby sister?" I thought that was sweet! I think he's going to be a great big brother.

Emery continues to be a very calm baby who eats and sleeps well. She is starting to stay awake a little longer each day, and I managed to snap a couple of good pictures this evening while she was bright-eyed. She definitely has her daddy's hair, but I think she looks a little more like me.

Kenton had another birthday party tonight, this time with Granny Cardin. When we celebrate his actual birthday next Sunday, he's going to think this is supposed to be a weekly occurence! We had a tiny little cake and then opened a couple of presents. I think he was more excited about putting the plastic Thomas tablecloth back on the table than he was about anything else.

Kenton got a new track set for his Thomas & Friends trains today. I think Edward wanted it more than Kenton, but they really do enjoy playing trains together. We now have enough track to cover our entire living room floor. You can't walk through our house without tripping on a piece of Thomas stuff these days. If this train obsession continues, we may have to build onto the house.

Sleeping like a baby!

Georgia's shortest state trooper

There are some helicopter pilots with the Georgia State Patrol staying at the same hotel as Granny Cardin. She talked with them this morning and mentioned that she had a grandson who would love to see their helicopters, and they told her to bring him back in the afternoon and they'd let him have a look. He was a little timid at first, but warmed up and really enjoyed the experience. He also got to sit in one of the police cars, and they even turned on the lights and siren for him!

Kenton gets more interested in Emery each day. In this picture he's trying to figure out how to operate the music box that goes in her bouncy seat. He had already insisted that we put the bar on with the toys, because Emery needed toys! He was also using the bouncy seat as a big tunnel for his trains. Emery continues to be a very laid-back baby, and things are going smoothly!

Our first night and day home from the hospital with Emery have been wonderful. We could not ask for a sweeter, more laid-back baby. Kenton has warmed up to her some and was so good today, too. He loved helping get bottles and diapers for her and wanted to "pet baby sister's hair" several different times today. We had to remind him to be gentle a few times, but overall he was great. We gave Emery a bath tonight, and she hated it. She's all red and blotchy in the picture from fussing while we bathed her, but I still thought she looked pretty cute bundled up in her towel.

Papaw headed back to Kentucky this morning. After having him around for two weeks, we weren't sure how Kenton would deal with this, but he took it pretty well. We tried to explain that Papaw had to go back to his house but I guess that's pretty hard to understand when you're not quite two. We sure appreciated having Papaw around to help out with things! Hopefully we'll be able to take a trip to Kentucky to visit everyone before my maternity leave is up.

Emery, all dressed up to come home from the hospital. We got home around 7:00 this evening and everyone is doing well. We hope to get some sleep tonight!

Kenton would like to announce that he is now a big brother! Emery Elizabeth was born on Thursday, August 2 at 6:06pm. She weighs 7 pounds 9 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing very well. Kenton is not real sure what to think of "baby sister". He went over to visit at the hospital this morning and kept saying, "baby sister little, Kenton BIG". He did gently touch her hand this morning and then just looked at us with big eyes. Oh how I would love to know what is going through his head!

WE'RE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL! Labor & Delivery called and they finally have a bed for me. Hopefully we'll have a baby girl by the end of the day!

Kenton's eager to be Papaw's little helper, whatever Papaw might be working on. Here they're doing a little work on a squeaky floorboard between the kitchen and dining room.

Still no baby girl. The person I spoke with in Labor & Delivery this morning seemed hopeful that they would be able to work me in later in the day as some beds emptied out. So, I'm sitting around impatiently waiting for the phone to ring.

Edward and I went to Sonic this afternoon, where I indulged my cravings for a jumbo-sized diet cherry limeade. Kenton had just gotten up from his nap about the time we came in the house and asked for a drink from my cup. I handed it to him, thinking he'd take a sip and I'd get it back. That's not how it worked. He latched onto the straw and would not let go! The cup was nearly as big as him and I think he drank close to 1/3 of it. As it got empty, he sucked so hard his cheeks were pulling in and then very sadly told us it was all gone.

Kenton's birthday isn't until the 19th, but we wanted to have a celebration while Papaw is here, so we had a little party this afternoon. I figure if I'm going into the hospital tomorrow, this was as good a time as any. Papaw got Kenton a Thomas train set last night and we got another engine and some more track for it today. We set up the track around the cake and Kenton thought this was very cool. He was so excited about the trains he barely paid attention to the cake. Kenton does love his sweets, so that's really saying something.