Making a Fashion Statement

Mom's shoes? Check.

Mom's socks? Check.

Mom's headband? Check.

Ready to go!

More Sibling Pictures

sister and brother

so big, so small

"Here, Walker, let me help you with your binky."

sweet

Lainey likes to wrap Walker in his blanket. She has not mastered this task and definitely needs some guidance! :)

Lainey, 22 Months Old

Our little Lainey is 22 months old!

As a 22-month-old child, Lainey...

• seems pretty excited about having a little brother. She calls him "Walk" and loves to pat his belly and his back, rub his head, cover him with his blanket, give him his binkies, help give him bottles and change his diapers, point out his facial features, play with his tiny feet, and give him lots of kisses and hugs. We're still working on controlling the enthusiasm with which she does these things (which can be a little much at times). If we talk about feeding him, she will put on her oven mitt and bring him a piece of pretend food from her kitchen (usually toast or grapes). If she hasn't seen him in a while or has been out of the house, then she'll run up to him and say, "Hi, Baby!" or "Hi, Walk!" and fortunately for everyone, he doesn't seem to get too startled by this! She likes lying down next to him and when I wrap him in his blanket, she wants to be wrapped in a blanket, too. On Monday night, while we were watching Daddy's City Council meeting on TV, the audience started clapping. Lainey said, "Yay!" and started clapping right along with them and then she ran over to Walker and took his little hands and clapped them together and said, "Yay!" It was so funny, and Walker probably would have thought it was pretty cool had he not been completely asleep in his swing. Sometimes Lainey doesn't enjoy having her little brother around (like when I'm holding him or feeding him) but if she's distracted enough, then most things don't seem to bother her too much. I think it's going to be quite a challenge for me to keep her happily distracted, however, once Daddy goes back to work...
• happily shows off her artwork by holding it up proudly and smiling.
• loves reading her books about buses, horses, and being a big sister.
• enjoyed watching the Olympic figure skating Tuesday night on TV. She put on her pink tutu and danced in front of the TV while the women were skating!
• puts on her socks in the cutest way. She pulls them on and then tries to fold over the cuffs. Sometimes she succeeds, other times she just ends up shoving the sock down. It's cute that she's trying, though! At times, she can be quite determined to put on her clothes and socks and shoes all by herself but thankfully, she still lets me help her a little bit - especially with her shirt because that one is tough!
• is starting to chime in with words that she knows to songs. For example, when we sing Barney's "I Love You" song, she'll chime in with the words "me" and "hug" and "too." She'll also say the word "me" when we sing "Jesus Loves Me."
• is also starting to chime in with words that she knows in her favorite books, like "baby" and "rest" and "work" and "yuck."
• loves to watch videos about horses on the computer with her dad.
• has several nicknames: Laine (most common), Varm, Varmie, Lango, Langolicious, Langolish, Punky, Punkalicious, and Punkalish...and then all of my silly ones for her like honey pie and sweet pea and angel.
• loves to say "hello" to everyone. It comes out like "hewwoo." She will say this to people when they enter a room or on the phone or in any public place where she feels the need to reach out to another person or get their attention. (She'll also say "hello" or "hi" to her mom and dad when she wants our attention!) She'll do the same thing with "bye." She'll say "bye" to anyone, and if she knows his or her name, she'll say that as well!
• is so funny when she tries to discipline Reagan. She says "no" to Reagan when she barks -just like her mom and dad do! It cracks us up because of the tone she uses.
• still says some funny words. "Pup" is "chip" and "ahh sis" means "wash hands." "Chay-uh" is "chair," "bay-uh" is "bear," and "shay-uh" is "share."
• knows most of the letters of the alphabet and almost all of her colors. I think her favorite colors are pink and blue - I think she'd like for all things to be pink and blue! It's a good thing that she has a little brother because in addition to all of her pink things, we now have a lot of blue things in our house!
• is becoming opinionated about which songs I sing to her and will tell me "no" if she doesn't like my song choice. She likes to do the hand motions to the songs she knows, like "Jesus Loves Me," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and Barney's "I Love You" song. I get such a kick out of watching her perform these songs - it's too cute. Thanks to her teachers for teaching her these songs and their hand motions!
• is getting pretty good at putting two-word phrases together without our guidance. She's becoming an independent little talker!
• frequently requests to play the "Bus" and "Bubbles" applications on my iPhone.
• likes to say the number "two." She isn't counting things (without guidance) or saying "one, two, three" but she'll occasionally point out things that are in twos - two apples, two pretzels, two binkies, etc. :)

We love you so very much, sweet Lainey!

A Cute Big Sister and Her Cute Little Brother

Here are a few shots of the kiddos...as you can tell, it's quite a challenge to get both children to cooperate for the camera! Walker is a week old today. He's a good baby and is eating and sleeping well (as well as newborns do) and he seems to like us! He has discovered that being swaddled and sucking on binkies are wonderful things but diaper and outfit changes are not. We're doing well; things are just a little busy and Ben and I are definitely still adjusting to life with two children. I'm sure it'll take us awhile to get into a routine, but I have to have faith that we will at some point!

Walker, 4 Days Old

My sister-in-law, Allyson, took this picture of Walker on Sunday when she and her husband and their kids came over to meet Walker. I think it's so sweet. We love this little baby to pieces and Ben and I feel so blessed to be his parents.

Some Visitors

Welcome to the family, little Walker. Meet Uncle Chris and your cousins Cally, Collin, and Ella!

"Okay, baby. Okay, baby."

the big sister

snuggling with Aunt Allyson

Sister and Brother

One thing is for sure...Walker seems to love the bouncy seat as much as Lainey did!

Lainey

Walker

Our Family of Four

Welcome to the World, Walker Gordon Harris!

Walker Gordon Harris

Born on February 17, 2010 at 3:45 p.m.
7 pounds, 7 ounces
19 and a half inches long

On February 17, 2010 Ben and I arrived at the hospital around 6:00 a.m. for my induction. I was 5 days past my due date and it was time for us to meet our sweet baby boy! After about 8 hours and very little progress, things suddenly started happening very rapidly and at 3:45 p.m., our little Walker was born! He was born with something called a "true knot" in his umbilical cord but thankfully, this didn't cause any problems. From my perspective, this labor was much easier than my first and I think the recovery is going more smoothly, also. I am so thankful for that! Walker is a good baby and eating and sleeping well (so far). The only things he really doesn't like are diaper changes and being cold! Poor baby. I understand that! I am a bit anxious about our first night at home...we'll see how it goes. We're expecting Lainey home any minute now, and I'm praying that she is happy to see her little brother. Their first introduction was a bit rocky. She kept repeating, "Mama, no" over and over again and did not enjoy seeing me in a hospital bed holding a baby. It was hard for me to see her so upset, and I couldn't move because I was still numb from the epidural so I couldn't hold her or comfort her. We asked her if she was a big sister now and if Mama was holding her new baby brother...she adamantly shook her head and answered both questions with a firm "no" and the tears started falling a few minutes later. Lainey did much better during her second visit with Walker. She didn't take much of an interest in him, but she did show considerable interest in his binkies and the portable crib where he went "night-night." I know that eventually she'll warm to the idea of being a big sister and grow to love her baby brother. I am excited to see what the future holds for the two of them! We are thrilled to be welcoming this newest family member into our home. Thank you to everyone for their kind words and support! :)

It's about to happen!

Hello, Walker!

kisses from his big sister

dressed to go home

about to leave the hospital

Here is Walker, snug and warm in his car seat. It was chilly outside!

arriving home for the first time

The Induction is Scheduled

It seems as though our sweet baby boy Walker needs a slight nudge in the right direction! Tomorrow morning, at 6:00 a.m., I will be induced. I saw my doctor today and learned that I actually have made some progress; I was only 1 cm dilated last Thursday and today I'm 3 cm dilated! I'm glad that my body has started to figure out that it does need to have this baby at some point. :) It looks like we will meet little Walker Gordon Harris on February 17th, 2010!

Record Snowfall

A record 12.5 inches of snow fell in the DFW area all day yesterday and into the early hours of this morning. If Walker chooses to arrive today, on my actual due date, he'll be born in a winter wonderland of snow!

After-School Snack

Lainey didn't much care for playing in the snow, but she sure enjoyed eating it! She called it "ice" and probably had about 20 handfuls. :)

Lots of Snow, No Baby (Yet)

We woke up to snow this morning! It's Plano's third snowfall (where snow has actually accumulated) since the beginning of December. Crazy! We never get snow like this in North Texas. It's going to continue to snow throughout the day and thankfully, the roads haven't been affected that much. Tomorrow morning might be a different story, however, if all the slushy snow turns to ice.

After I dropped off Lainey at school, I went to my weekly appointment with my doctor. There isn't much to report. I'm holding steady! My doctor scheduled an induction for Wednesday, February 17th (if needed). We shall see what this next week holds for us. We'll definitely be meeting Walker very, very soon!