One Mammoth Olivia Update

I know it's been all Gabe this and Gabe that for a while, so here's what his big sister's been up to...

A couple weeks back, we all took a ride out to a corn maze and pumpkin patch. The corn maze was insane. I expected something at least mildly difficult, but no...it had to be this:

There were 6 checkpoints, each with a map, so we figured we could get to one or two and then go, but again, no. We spent more than an hour getting into it and finally just followed someone to a checkpoint where there was a map, took a picture of it and used that to get us back out so Rebecca could go feed Gabe. Maybe if we'd had another 18 hours....

While we were there, we let Olivia play on this giant jumping "pillow."

On another day, Rebecca, Olivia and Gabe went to the Zoo with some friends.

Ok, you're officially a geek if you know what the number on the helicopter is from. (yes, I know...)

The Polar Bear was quite playful the day they went, as you can see.

Olivia's also been doing a dance/gymnastics class at the Little Gym each week and she loves it!

More Gabe cuteness

So I went away for a week and now I'm back and the kiddo smiles up a storm for Mommy, but looks at me like, "who are you?" He's still cute, tho :)

He's holding his head up really well now and Olivia is doing wonderfully with him.

I suppose I'd have this look if someone were pounding on my back, too.

I did get him to smile once without mommy around...once.

But, this is the look i normally get.

We took a quick video of him smiling and cooing, but he hasn't mastered the art of conversation just yet...

Smile!

We finally got him to hold a smile long enough to take a picture of it! Careful ladies, he'll break your heart!

A Couple More Gabe Pics

The little guy is doing very well. He's getting big and he's given us a couple of smiles, but they come and go so quickly, we haven't been able to get a picture just yet. He loves to sleep and looks so peaceful when he's sleeping, but when he's awake, he's very aware and looks all around.

Summerfield's Bravest

So during the whole birth adventure, the firefighters from one of the stations here in Summerfield were the first to respond. I must say, they were great. They were very helpful and did everything possible to make Rebecca and Gabe comfortable while we waited for the EMS folks to arrive. They gave us a bunch of blankets and help Rebecca maintain at least a touch of modesty, considering she was naked from the waist down when they arrived.

As we were leaving in the ambulance, the lead guy that night asked us to bring Gabe by the firehouse when we got a chance. Well, about a week after Gabe was born, we went to the firehouse nearest the site and there wasn't anyone there. So the next weekend, we went to another firehouse and the guys there were kind enough to look up the call records for that night and told us who the guys were that responded and where they were stationed and even when their next shift was so we could go see them.

They all happened to be working the next day, so we went out to their station that evening and were lucky enough to find Mike and the guys there. They were so excited to see us! Mike even remembered Gabe's name. We stayed around for a little while and they brought Olivia out to the firetruck and let her sit up in the driver's seat and play around for a while. They gave both Gabe and Olivia Junior Firefighter's badges and said we were welcome to come back anytime.

More cute pics

just a few more cute ones for y'all.
We had him weighed on Tuesday and he's up to 7lbs 6oz.

More pics

More pics for everyone to enjoy. The kiddo sleeps alot...

Though he is alert sometimes :)

But mostly, it's sleepytime

A bunch of Gabe pics

Just a few pics for y'all

Ok...so the dog needs her own boppy...

Olivia's First trip to the dentist

She loved the dentist. they put some sunglasses on her and scrubbed her teeth. The hygienist was so great with her and made it lots of fun for her.

Gabe's First Bath

Yeah...he didn't like it much. The boy squeals like a piglet when you do something to him he doesn't like, so you can imagine that it wasn't the quietest moment in the house when this was going on.

Yay...two shirtless pics of me in as many days...

The Birth of Gabe Part 2 - The Re-Creation

Since we were so into the moment of that night, we didn't think to bring a camera in the car with us, so we decided to recreate the moment in the driveway, sans the half-naked wife and mess. They forced me to take my shirt off to accurately portray my role in the event, so I apologize in advance...So roomy, so nice with the leather seats and tan interior. It just needs a set of stirrups.

Mom calling the OnStar guy an idiot. Yes, she really did.


Nana wrote up the story in great, funny detail on their blog: http://sherckle.blogspot.com/2008/09/arrival-of-gabriel-josiah-sarine-90508.html and http://sherckle.blogspot.com/2008/09/birthing-shrine-of-gabriel-josiah.html

Baby Gabe Pics

Here are some more Baby Gabe pics for y'all. Mom and baby are doing very well. He's a quiet little guy, only getting upset when we take his shirt off to feed him. Otherwise, he just looks around and watches everything and sleeps when he wants to. He's taken to breastfeeding very well, certainly better than Olivia did. :)

Big Sister


Pop-Pop


Nana

It's official!

We just got Gabe's birth certificate to review and couldn't help laughing at this.

A funny thing happened on the way to the hospital...

So....

Rebecca started having some random contractions a couple days ago, but they were so far apart, it wasn't anything to worry about. Then she worked last night and had contractions once an hour. Again, no big deal. Today, we had planned on going to Charlotte around noon, but I had a last minute meeting in Danville, VA, so we postponed leaving until 8pm tonight. I called Rebecca at 6:30pm to tell her I was on the way home and she said she's still been having the contractions, sometimes as close as 10 minutes apart, but not lasting more than 10 seconds. I said we should rethink going to Charlotte and she said, "well, I'm going to go get a pedicure and we'll see when I get done."

Well, she got home and we decided not to go. By then it was 8:30 and olivia really needed to go to bed, so, around 9pm, we put her to bed and went to our room. Almost immediately, she started having contractions 5 minutes apart or less. We were supposed to go for two hours like that before going to the hospital, but by 10:30, she was ready to go, so we piled everything into our car and then decided to put Rebecca and I in the back of my mom's Chevy Equinox while she drove and my dad drove our car to the hospital (a neighbor came up to stay with Olivia, who was sleeping through the whole thing).

So we got about 5 minutes down the road and Rebecca started to holler that she had to push. I tried to tell her not to, but she said "his head is already out!" Sure enough, there he was. I called our Doc really quick and she said to get his shoulders out, so I turned his head a little bit to the side and he shot out like a watermelon seed. I'm lucky I caught him! My mom had called 911 and the EMT's were on there way.



So here he is, Gabriel Josiah Sarine born at 10:48pm near the corner of Lake Brandt Road and Plainfield Rd, delivered in the back of my mom's SUV by his dad. It certainly wasn't how we planned things, but it was definitely a memorable experience.

So now here's all the important info: born 9/5/08 at 10:48pm, weighing 7 lbs even, 19 3/4" long. Mom and baby are doing very well and I promise to post some more pictures tomorrow, once we've gotten a little sleep.

36 weeks!

Here we are...36 weeks! Gabe's getting ready to come out!

More Baby Gabe Pics!

We did our second 3D Ultrasound on Tuesday and Gabe was looking great! We were amazed by how much he already looks like Olivia.

He opened his eyes a few times for us.

Last time, we made him cry...this time, he smiled!

He actually made a few funny faces...

And he even came close to sucking his thumb.

Natural Science Center

Olivia and Daddy went to the Natural Science Center. The NSC has all manner of kid-friendly displays and fun things to see.

This thing is freaking awesome. Olivia and I could (and did) sit and watch it for a long time. It's like a rollercoaster for little steel balls, with jumps and loops and trap doors...it's really something to see.

They have a big maze that has a three big frogs in it. Olivia loves running through it and finding all the frogs.

This is another favorite display. It's a water table that pumps the water from the bottom back to the top end of the table and you can put barriers in the water to create rapids and waterfalls and watch the boats float around and over them.