Thursday, August 23, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Ironman here we come...
Sienna ran in her first triathlon on Saturday. It was a 100m swim / 4k bike / 1k run. When it was all over she said it was the hardest thing she'd ever done. We're proud of her for trying something new, doing something hard, and sticking with it.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Paul Bryan Shepherd
Welcome to our new son, Paul Bryan Shepherd! He was born Monday night at 10:34, weighing 7 lb. 9 oz. and 20 3/4 in. long. Mom had contractions most of the day and went to the hospital around 6:30 pm. There was a bit of a scare around 8:20 when the baby's heart rate dropped low and stayed low, so they rushed Mom to the OR and got everything ready for an emergency C-section. When the doctors hooked the heart rate monitor back up they paused as it started climbing up to a normal rate and stayed there for a few minutes. After everything looked OK we returned to the Labor and Delivery room and things proceeded smoothly. We're very grateful that everything turned out well, and especially for a healthy new baby. We feel very blessed.
I just LOVE the tummy-to-tummy, head under the chin snuggle.
Welcome to the family, Paul!
I just LOVE the tummy-to-tummy, head under the chin snuggle.
Welcome to the family, Paul!
Friday, July 6, 2012
What happened in June?
What happened in June?
Our girls participated in a dance/craft "camp" hosted by some teenagers from church. They learned some Irish dance steps and made some nifty crafts and snacks.
Mom and Dad celebrated their 10 year anniversary. Mom decided to try on her wedding dress for the occasion.
It looked better 10 years ago.
Dad brought roses and breakfast in bed in the morning, and in the evening we had a romantic candlelight dinner for six. Mom made a bouquet of chocolate dipped roses for the centerpiece, which made up for the leftovers served for dinner. Afterwards we danced to "our song" that we danced to at our wedding reception. Ashley and Sienna watched with big grins on their faces, while Colby ran into the other room. Dallin kept calling Mom a "princess." We also showed them the video we showed at our reception, as well as some wedding footage. It was almost more than Colby could handle.
So that was the family celebration of the big event. The next day we left our kids with a friend and headed two hours away to Chattanooga. We didn't want to go too far or too long, since Mom was within range of delivery. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo (a train converted into a hotel) and went to see Rock City, which was very cool.
Getting ready to go through "Fat Man Squeeze."
Another highlight from June was inviting three other families over for the "Great American Backyard Campout." We even built a firepit in our backyard to roast S'mores. We also went to a Nature Center on June 5 to watch the "Transit of Venus," borrowing special binoculars to look at the sun and observe Venus passing in front of it as a shadow. The kids continue taking swimming lessons. Ashley has learned to swim, although it's more of a doggy paddle with her head dipped in the water a few times. Bryan, Sienna and Colby are still big time into birding. One early morning outing allowed them to add the great blue heron, wood duck, northern rough-winged swallow, and barred owl to their individual bird books. They each have something around 40 species in their books. Bryan has biked the 13 miles to work and back nearly every day this month, combining his exercise and commute in one. And the kids have done several activities from their "Summer Fun Jar" to keep them entertained. Such as:
Peanut Butter Play Dough,
Sumo wrestling,
Popsicle stick crafts, TP tube train, Glowing fireflies, Milk jug ball toss, and a backyard water obstacle course. It keeps us busy during record setting temperatures.
Our girls participated in a dance/craft "camp" hosted by some teenagers from church. They learned some Irish dance steps and made some nifty crafts and snacks.
Mom and Dad celebrated their 10 year anniversary. Mom decided to try on her wedding dress for the occasion.
Dad brought roses and breakfast in bed in the morning, and in the evening we had a romantic candlelight dinner for six. Mom made a bouquet of chocolate dipped roses for the centerpiece, which made up for the leftovers served for dinner. Afterwards we danced to "our song" that we danced to at our wedding reception. Ashley and Sienna watched with big grins on their faces, while Colby ran into the other room. Dallin kept calling Mom a "princess." We also showed them the video we showed at our reception, as well as some wedding footage. It was almost more than Colby could handle.
So that was the family celebration of the big event. The next day we left our kids with a friend and headed two hours away to Chattanooga. We didn't want to go too far or too long, since Mom was within range of delivery. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo (a train converted into a hotel) and went to see Rock City, which was very cool.
Getting ready to go through "Fat Man Squeeze."
Another highlight from June was inviting three other families over for the "Great American Backyard Campout." We even built a firepit in our backyard to roast S'mores. We also went to a Nature Center on June 5 to watch the "Transit of Venus," borrowing special binoculars to look at the sun and observe Venus passing in front of it as a shadow. The kids continue taking swimming lessons. Ashley has learned to swim, although it's more of a doggy paddle with her head dipped in the water a few times. Bryan, Sienna and Colby are still big time into birding. One early morning outing allowed them to add the great blue heron, wood duck, northern rough-winged swallow, and barred owl to their individual bird books. They each have something around 40 species in their books. Bryan has biked the 13 miles to work and back nearly every day this month, combining his exercise and commute in one. And the kids have done several activities from their "Summer Fun Jar" to keep them entertained. Such as:
Peanut Butter Play Dough,
Sumo wrestling,
Popsicle stick crafts, TP tube train, Glowing fireflies, Milk jug ball toss, and a backyard water obstacle course. It keeps us busy during record setting temperatures.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
More Video Family Favorites
From 2008, the Grand Winner...
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
Other favorites...
"The Family Song"
"Baby, Ew"
"Driveway Races"
You have to watch this one first, in order to understand the hilarity of the second one. (And no, there was no baby involved in the second one)
"What's Your Name?"
"Prince and Princess"
"Loving Brother"
"Cheese"
Watching this movie is always followed by a family chorus of the quote "Get me a bite, Mommy!"
"Car Wash"
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
Other favorites...
"The Family Song"
"Baby, Ew"
"Driveway Races"
You have to watch this one first, in order to understand the hilarity of the second one. (And no, there was no baby involved in the second one)
"What's Your Name?"
"Prince and Princess"
"Loving Brother"
"Cheese"
Watching this movie is always followed by a family chorus of the quote "Get me a bite, Mommy!"
"Car Wash"
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Favorite Family Video
I've been working on the project of organizing and backing up family videos. We've had fun watching them on Sunday afternoons. I thought I'd post a few favorites.
From 2005...
SMILE Angel
From 2006
Hilarious Salad Dressing
From 2007
Cheers
Spit Bubbles
and
Pumpkin Carving
From 2005...
SMILE Angel
From 2006
Hilarious Salad Dressing
From 2007
Cheers
Spit Bubbles
and
Pumpkin Carving
Friday, June 1, 2012
Picture-worthy events from May
Colby removed his belt after church one day and couldn't keep his pants up, so Bryan told him to go put on his pajamas. He only made it half way.
Result: Clark Kent stuck in transition
We got a cooler full of strawberries from an event at Vanderbilt. For my Mother's Day gift I requested a fresh strawberry pie. Mmmmm... tasty.
Dallin made the transition from his crib in a room of his own to the bottom bunk in a room shared with Colby. It was rough going for about a week. The freedom was just too irresistible and he had to be returned to bed (or the travel crib) several times every nap time and evening. But now he stays put for the most part.
Summer has begun! As part of Mom's plan to keep sane, each of the kids have a list of chores to accomplish every morning. Some are more fun than others, like helping plant flowers.
When they've finished their chores they get to do random fun stuff (picked off from Pinterest, usually). Like make instruments, play with water balloons, or have a Silly Picture Day.
Thanks to Uncle Nathan, our family is now into birding. Bryan, Sienna and Colby each have a bird journal and like to look for and identify birds. It's kind of weird to hear your 6-year old casually remark, "I think I just saw another Common Grackle."
For our Memorial Day outing we went Newt hunting with some friends. Since the pond where we went was all dried up, it really was a hunt to find them, as opposed to earlier years when they were easy to come by.
This little butterfly was almost as entertaining. He visited just about everyone, then adopted Colby as a pet and stayed on him for a good half hour or so.
Result: Clark Kent stuck in transition
We got a cooler full of strawberries from an event at Vanderbilt. For my Mother's Day gift I requested a fresh strawberry pie. Mmmmm... tasty.
Dallin made the transition from his crib in a room of his own to the bottom bunk in a room shared with Colby. It was rough going for about a week. The freedom was just too irresistible and he had to be returned to bed (or the travel crib) several times every nap time and evening. But now he stays put for the most part.
Summer has begun! As part of Mom's plan to keep sane, each of the kids have a list of chores to accomplish every morning. Some are more fun than others, like helping plant flowers.
When they've finished their chores they get to do random fun stuff (picked off from Pinterest, usually). Like make instruments, play with water balloons, or have a Silly Picture Day.
Thanks to Uncle Nathan, our family is now into birding. Bryan, Sienna and Colby each have a bird journal and like to look for and identify birds. It's kind of weird to hear your 6-year old casually remark, "I think I just saw another Common Grackle."
For our Memorial Day outing we went Newt hunting with some friends. Since the pond where we went was all dried up, it really was a hunt to find them, as opposed to earlier years when they were easy to come by.
This little butterfly was almost as entertaining. He visited just about everyone, then adopted Colby as a pet and stayed on him for a good half hour or so.
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