Introducing...Griffin!

I am heading to bed, but not without FINALLY introducing the sweet new addition to our family! Griffin Michael Lester was born Tuesday morning at 3:44. He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces (but not for long with the way he eats...) and is 20 inches long. He is so very cute--the best birthday gift I could have asked for! I want to write more, but typing one-handed while he nurses is taking awhile. Anyway here are two pictures with many more to come!

Getting Very Close

Well, with some early labor symptoms occurring last night and today, I guess I had better post some last pictures of my ginormous belly before we have some baby pictures to post! We are all VERY excited to meet this little guy.

Ok, last post was lame!

I don't know quite what was going on with that last post, but after I posted the pictures, I wasn't able to type anything. Anyway, I never even got to any real updates! Yes, our trip was fun. Gabe had a blast with his cousins and he got to ride the light rail downtown with Ryan and my dad AND go to a train store, my mom got her best birthday gift EVER (a trip to the mountains with her family), Tiffany and Erin had a wonderful baby shower for me, and besides Mike not being there, the only bummer was that Ryan's ice-fishing trip got canceled. All in all, a very nice trip.

Ok, onto other news: I had a doctor's appointment last week and I am 1 cm dilated and 30% effaced. Woohoo! I can definitely tell things are happening--lots of Braxton Hicks contractions and I am very tired lately. I still feel pretty good though, which I am extremely thankful for. Warmer weather makes all the difference, too. I have needed to see some green outside!

Gabe has been very patient with my lack of motivation to play all the time although I did give in when he begged for a pillow fight yesterday. He's learned the game Sorry really well and has just written his first couple of G's this week! They are VERY cute. A big C with a little slash at the bottom. Thanks to a little girl at church named Evie, he has also attempted some E's. It makes me excited to start some preschool lessons in the fall. The timing has to be just right, but he really does seem to want to learn.

That brings me to my next topic...I'd really love to find a great book to read to Gabe while I nurse the baby. I am looking for some suggestions that would be entertaining for me as well as capture an almost 4-year-old's interest. A classic is what I had in mind--something like The Swiss Family Robinison? but it has been so long since I read that that I have no idea how Gabe would do with it or if there is something much more appropriate out there. Any ideas please??

Ok, last news for now is that Gabe had his pinewood derby race for Awana last Saturday. The 'race train' that he and Ryan concocted came in 2nd place for all of the Cubbies!!! Gabe was SO excited and I think Ryan was pretty pleased, too. They got a trophy and a ribbon and lots of respect from me. I wouldn't have the first idea what to do with one of those!

I will try to add some more pictures, then I'm off to cut up some grapefruit to satisfy Gabe's and my cravings. We are down to about 6 pounds of the 18 that I got at Kroger a couple weeks ago! Yum.

WHAT?? A month has REALLY passed me by??

Goodness. Yes, we have been busy, but still. Shameful. Besides a continually growing belly with a continually wiggling baby inside, there is not much to report on. Well, I take that back--I never blogged after our trip to Colorado, which was GREAT! The most special part of the trip was my mom's birthday, which we spent with everyone at a beautiful place in the mountains called Devil's Thumb Ranch. We all missed Mike, but it was so much fun to all be together in such a beautiful place. Here are some pictures from our morning sleigh ride that kicked off the weekend: (it began with hot chocolate and cider and ended with s'mores over our very own bonfire!) **actually, I'm just going to post a bunch of pics from our trip and then start a new post. I'm dealing with some technical issues on this one...

Mush and Tush. They Rhyme!

Yes Gabe, mush and tush do rhyme! We don't really use the word tush, though. Hmm. It has been pretty adorable to see a 3 1/2 year old figures out rhyming. He has come up with some funny ones the past couple of months and is always very proud of himself when he is right. He inadvertently gave away Ryan's birthday gift when he asked me what rhymed with 'watch' and Ryan heard him from the other room. He had done such a good job of not telling Ryan, too! (I did threaten him with a time-out if he told, so every time Ryan teased him and tried to get it out of him, he clammed up pretty fast ;)

The past week has been pretty crazy-- I can't believe all the snow we have gotten! After 8 or 9 inches last weekend and being shut in the house the first part of the week, I had been itching to get out of the house and we had plans to do just that on Friday, but then another 8 or 9 inches rolled in and kept us home again. We did have a nice, lazy day though (besides a couple long hours of shoveling that only got us halfway down the driveway and had another inch piled up by the time we were done).


I have finally gotten around to some 'nesting' and was able to get some of the baby's room sorted out and cleaned. Time is flying by and this new little boy will be here before we know it! Seeing all of his tiny little outfits makes me very excited and knowing that we will be well on our way to some warmer weather by then is even more to look forward to. What a fun season to bring a new life into--when nature is spilling forth new life and fresh growth as well. My due date is right next to Easter, too, and celebrating Christ's resurrection makes that time even more special to me.

Sorry Ryan, to put this in here so late, but Happy 30th Birthday! I'm glad you like your watch ;) We celebrated with his family last Thursday, but the small party we had planned got canceled because of the snow. We'll plan it for sometime after our trip to see my family in Colorado next week, where we will be celebrating my mom's birthday, too.

We are all VERY excited to head out there! I can't wait to meet my new niece, Claire, and I can't wait to congratulate my brother and sister-in-law in person on their little one due in August. We'll just be missing Mike, who is still in Afghanistan. Things are getting more intense for him over there, and he could use a lot of prayer. It has been a tough couple of weeks filled with suicide bombers on base and IED's exploding way to close to his barracks. It is hard to think about him so far away in such stressful and dangerous circumstances. We miss him a lot and pray for his safety both mentally and physically. I so look forward to him being back on this side of the world this summer!

Well, the Superbowl is over so my alone-time is too! Not sure if I'll get to post from Colorado, but I'm sure I'll have some new pictures to add when we get back. Until then!

Can't think of a title...

Yay! I have heard all of your responses and I am pleased! Thanks for taking the time to comment and email. First off, I will appease the masses with a picture just taken of my 7+ month pregnant belly:

Next, I'll bring you up to speed on the last few days...
We've been up in Northern VA since Wednesday--Ryan had his routine check-ups at NIH this past week. The results there are good, praise God! Nothing has changed on his brain or spine since this summer, so he'll just go back in 6 months for another check. (He'll be back up there in April for his kidney check, but they they aren't expecting any changes there, just monitoring things)

It has been a lot easier not to bring Gabe with us for Ryan's tests, so he stayed home with George and Tori this time, too. Ryan and I have been missing him like crazy! We were supposed to head home this morning, but we are sitting under at least 4 inches of snow here, and another 12 are waiting for us in Rocky Mount. We decided to wait it out here with Noah and Rachel until we knew we could make it home without getting stuck. Hopefully we'll get to munch on Gabe by tomorrow!

Last night we had a little shindig for Ryan. He turns 30 on Feb.4, so I thought I'd try to round up a few friends to celebrate with while we were up here. It was fun to rub bellies with a couple of pregnant friends and there was plenty of food to satisfy our various cravings and revved up appetites. Oh, and the Birthday Boy got some food, too!

Well, this might be it for now. We're going to fix some dinner and maybe bust out some snowy weather games!

Ok, Ok, Happy New Year Already!

Sigh. I need to make some decisions and I need your help! As I was laying awake the other night and stressing out over not having updated this blog since WAY before Christmas, I decided that I need some helpful feedback. Does anyone read this blog??? I get bummed when I don't seen any comments and I just don't know how hard I should be trying. I do know a select few of you out there that do follow us. If I were to write more frequently, what do you care to see? or hear about? Are a few pictures every month enough? Do you want an update on our week? or just our year? Do you want to hear my thoughts on life or just what cute things Gabe might be up to? or even just health updates on Ryan?


Ok, I'll give you some time to think, some time to add yourself as a follower of this blog if are not already, some time to make a comment, or some time to call me and tell me you don't care. or you do. Either way!

And in the meantime...We did have a nice Christmas! And New Years. And so far, January has been pretty busy. We got a little blast of some spring weather this past few days, and Gabe and I took advantage of it. I was so proud of him the other day! We needed to be outside after the cold we've been stuck with for so long, so we were going to go for a walk. But he didn't want the jogging stroller. He didn't even want to walk. He just wanted to run! So we did. We parked downtown at the Farmer's Market and ran (with a few breaks here and there) for almost a mile and half! He did so well and we had so much fun. He didn't care for the hills so much, and he dutifully held my hand every time we crossed a street, but he really impressed me. I am excited to get him a good pair of running shoes for his 4th birthday in May and there is a race in Roanoke that includes a kids 1-mile run. I'm pretty sure he could handle it with ease (and with a little more training). We can't wait for spring to really arrive!

A couple other updates:
I am in my third trimester, which is really hard to believe! Just 11 weeks left of what has been a really easy and fun pregnancy. If now is any indication, this little boy is going to be extremely active! It feels like he is always awake and moving, which is fun--until I get kicked in the ribs, which is pretty often. Gabe loves to feel my stomach move and talk to his little brother.

Also Ryan's next check-ups are next week. Hopefully everything is normal. He has been feeling some pressure in his head, but his allergies have been pretty awful, so that is most likely what is causing it.

I'll add a picture from this Christmas, with more to come soon, and then I really would like some feedback from anyone reading this. Thanks!