Our Daughter Stacey and her Husband Mike

Family Circle

It is early, 4:24 am. I have been awake for 2 hours and up for the past hour. The main causes of my sleeplessness is heartburn and lower back pain. I ate pizza for dinner last night. I suspect the pizza is what gave me heartburn. The heartburn is dissipating, whereas the back pain remains. My back hurts less in a sitting position than in a lying position.

Bob and I visited with Stacey, Harper and June for a few hours yesterday afternoon. I brought over a portable floor gym, the Fisher Price Apptivity Gym, that I purchased this week. I wanted something new and fun to entertain the girls while at our house.

See the peek-a-boo mirror? The mirror is removable. An iPhone or iPod touch device can be inserted in the place of the mirror. Fisher-Price has free apps that can be downloaded to be used with this Apptivity Gym. Babies can interact directly with the iPhone or iPod by batting at the overhead toys. Besides providing entertainment for the baby, batting at the overhead toys enhances gross motor skills. The other toys — a roller ball penguin, froggy with beads, birdie paddle wheel and lion clackers — strengthen fine motor skills while providing baby with busy activities.

June spent most of the time with the activity gym. She liked it a lot. Harper entertained us by showing Nana Linda and Grandpa how close she was to crawling. Oh, our granddaughters are growing up so quickly! We were at the house when Mike came home from work, so we got to visit with him for a while too. We had a great visit. My favorite part of the visit was “family circle”. All of us sat on the floor and listened to Bob play the guitar.

I hope we have many more “family circles”.

Six Months Old

It took me SIX months, but I *FINALLY* photographed our daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters all in the same picture!

Harper and June are 6 months old today.

Independence Day 2012

The thunderstorm that rolled through at noon today and left us without any power for 4 hours did not dampen our spirits. We enjoyed our Independence Day holiday to the max because we spent the day with Stacey, Mike and our two granddaughters. Bob grilled hamburgers and hot dogs over a wood fire (after the rain stopped falling). We chose to have an indoor picnic, as temperatures quickly climbed from the upper 60s to the upper 90s after the thunderstorm. In addition to the hamburgers and hot dogs we enjoyed potato salad, baked beans, watermelon and, for dessert, ice cream sandwiches.

Harper and June’s 1st Fourth of July

Stacey, Harper, June and Mike

A Long Day

Our granddaughters are now 6 days old. The girls had their first outing since coming home from the hospital this past Sunday. Stacey and Mike took the girls to their first pediatrician appointment. Afterward, they came over to our house for lunch. I made tuna casserole and green beans for lunch. It had been a long day for the new family. After lunch all four of them took about a 40-minute nap, while I read my Kindle and kept an eye on the girls.

Taking a Nap

Bob was very happy when he came home from work (at 3:30 pm) and found Stacey, Mike and the girls at our house.

Bob, holding his twin granddaughters together for the first time

Awaiting Arrival of Grandchildren

I received a telephone call from Chris, Stacey’s mother, at 1:30 the afternoon of May 18th. Stacey’s C-section had been scheduled for Tuesday, May 22. She has been going to the doctor every Friday since mid April. The doctor decided to push up the C-section because Stacey’s hands and feet were very swollen from water retention. In addition Harper’s fluid level had gone down. Nothing for alarm, though, because the doctor scheduled the C-section for after his office hours. Chris said that the babies would be taken at 4:00 PM. Bob and I drove to Hamot Women’s Hospital in Erie, arriving there by 3:15 PM. Mike arrived around 3:40 PM and went immediately into the birthing center.

Mike going into the birthing center

Sue, Mike’s mother, was the next to arrive, followed by Jay, Chris’s husband.

Five grandparents, in waiting
Sue’s husband, Henry, was not able to come to the hospital.

To be continued …

10 Weeks, or Less, to Go

My stepdaughter, Stacey, and Mike are expecting the arrival of their two little girls at the end of May. The anticipation is building!

Stacey

Stacey and Mike

Meeting Elise for First Time

Our great niece, Elise, was born the day after Christmas. Since then, we have made two attempts to visit my family and meet baby Elise. Both attempts were thwarted by inclement winter weather. Yesterday, we finally met baby Elise!

Our morning began at 8:00 AM with breakfast at the Train Station, a restaurant located in our hometown.

The Train Station

My husband has lived most of his life in our hometown. The Train Station has been serving food for as long as he can remember. The food quality is excellent; prices are affordable; and the service is great. Today Bob’s daughter, Stacey, and our son-in-law, Mike, joined us for breakfast. The four of us enjoyed a hearty breakfast and bountiful conversation. An hour later Bob, Stacey and I began the 2 1/2-hour drive to my brother’s house. Mike didn’t accompany us, as he had plans for the day.

We had a wonderful visit with my brother and his family. I cuddled Elise and interacted with my other great niece, Anna, and her brother Kaleb. The conversation among the adults was lively and enlightening. It is always good to catch up on family news. We keep in touch on Facebook, telephone calls and email. However, I feel the best way to catch up on family news is in person.