A while back I signed up on Facebook just to see what it was. According to their website, Facebook claims to be, “… a social utility that connects you with the people around you.” The key there is “social”. The short list of why they say you should join is to:
I’ve already got a blog to let everyone know what is going on and you can get one too if you want for free (Blogger). We share our photos and videos on Picasa Web Albums, which of course is free. So why would I want to use Facebook? No really, I’m asking so leave a comment and tell me why. I can do everything that you can do on Facebook without having to live in their little private sandbox where they control everything. And I like control.
Oh, the social thing you say? Well I’m not really all that social, but you may have a point. Social applications are all the rage in these days. I’ve decided to give Facebook a chance so I’ve committed to keeping up with it at least minimally for a while. It is good at finding people through your relationships such as your schools and work. In the end I think I’ll still prefer managing my presence on the web myself with my own sites and tools, but I might be able to be convinced to at least maintain a presence on Facebook. It does at least offer RSS feeds so that I can easily follow it. What’s that? You use Facebook but not an RSS reader? Well, if you want to me to give Facebook a go of it and you want to be my friend you better at least give an RSS reader a try. PS, I fully accept that most of you will only be my friend so that you can lobby me to get Jenny to join.
Last week we got a call from my brother, Matthew, with a suprise. We got on the webcam and he introduced us to his son, Jayden Joseph Kane – a most handsome lad. He is almost ten months old and looks a little like his dad and a lot like his mom. He walks really good for his age (we’ve been working a little more with Molly after watching Jayden show off!). We are so excited to have another blessing in the Kane family (that’s 6 grandkids in 3 years for anyone who’s counting!) and how much more interesting it is to have a boy to add to the mix! We look forward to meeting little Jayden in person at Christmas. Congratulations, Matt & Lindsay; welcome baby Jayden!! Grandma Kane has already created a web album to show off our newest addition (but not for long . . . ) – so go on over and see my adorable new nephew.
I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write all that I’d like to about our blossoming 2-year old, but how about some recent quotes to tide you over?
Scenario 1:
We are listening to our “ABC music” and Molly is crying. Mama says, “What’s the matter, Molly?”
“Well, Molly doesn’t like you dancing, Mama” says Livy.
“Oh, really?” says Mama.
“Yeah, really,” says Livy.
Scenario 2:
“Livy, will you pick up those shorts for me, please.”
Livy is pounding away on her keyboard and looks up to say “well, I’m kinda workin’ here. I’m making a video.”
Scenario 3:
After observing Daddy clean the floors for Mama yesterday, Livy kindly offered,
“I’ll clean the house for you, Mama.” (picking up her toy broom & dustpan and setting to work)
Scenario 4:
Whenever it seems a potential treat is on the horizon:
“I’m gonna be a good girl for you, Daddy.”
Yesterday our sweet Ms. Molly turned 1-year old!! We celebrated by going out to lunch at one of Mommy’s favorite grad school hangouts (Longhorn Po’boys) after our OB appointment. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed gyros & hand cut fries. We also had a family trip to the pet store and picked out two bubblers for the aquarium for Molly’s birthday gift. The crocodile is really cool and we are looking forward to getting it into the tank half burried to see if anyone thinks it is real. Molly is really enjoying some gifts we bought early on for her, too, like her Bounce & Spin Zebra; she can climb up and spin all by herself now. She isn’t walking independently, but will push a little cart or baby doll stroller to do her evening laps around the living room. Livy & I took her to see the pediatrician this morning for her 1-year well check and she is doing great – she’s 25 inches tall (50th percentile) and weighs 22.5 lbs (75th percentile). Her hair is starting to curl on the ends and she is more beautiful than ever! She says “mama” and “dada” and always knows where her big sister is. Both girls play with their baby dolls everyday and will be quite excited to have a new baby sister coming home soon. We’ve had a wonderful year together and look forward to all the excitement of watching Molly grow in the next year and enjoying her budding personality.
Okay, today I’m feeling much more prepared than I was a week ago when we had a false alarm with Baby III. There was some indication of a slow amniotic fluid leak (or so I thought according to what I remembered with Olivia), but it turned out to be nothing. Anyway, after rushing to throw together a bag and waiting in the hospital a few hours feeling completely unprepared, I decided to go ahead and make a few more preparations at home. So we now have a hospital bag packed according to my list, and the infant carseat in the van, and my music downloaded to the laptop (I like the Prince of Egypt soundtrack for labor), and a box of newborn diapers in the house. JR will grab the last of the newborn necessities out of the attic this weekend and I will wash & assemble the bedding, clothing, & bouncy seat. There isn’t actually a whole lot of transition this time as many baby things are still out thanks to our having a ‘big baby’ in the house. I do want to get Livy a book about being a big sister and talk more about what’s to come – looking at photos of the “big girls” at the hospital and so forth. Livy understands so much more this time, but Molly is of course, clueless! Our friends the Hamands were kind enough to come over for the false alarm at a moment’s notice and thankfully, it did not scare them off from keeping the girls during “new baby’s” delivery. They have a little girl, Reese, who is in between ours and another girl on the way. We will also squeeze in a little birthday party for Molly this weekend (her birthday is actually Monday the 18th) and it will be good to focus on Molly for a bit and reflect on her busy first year. We technically have two and a half weeks left but the last month always feels so unpredictable and I go back and forth between thinking we have plenty of time to panicking that we are out of time. I’m definitely ready to not be pregnant anymore as sleep is quite elusive and I’m uncomfortable most of the time (I thought once the baby “dropped” you weren’t supposed to get heartburn anymore??!!), but we don’t have much time left now. The last big hurdle to overcome is the name – we are still discerning . . . hopefully, we settle on the right one soon!! We’d appreciate your prayers for a safe & healthy delivery and a happy adjustment to our newest addition. Stay tuned for the big announcement!!
We wanted to give you a quick update and share a picture of our new addition! Even though she has only been with us a short time we are already in love. We can’t wait to take her up to Nebraska for Christmas. I might be a little biased, but I think her best feature is her eyes which I’m definitely going to take credit for.
Click on the link below to see our latest family picture.
It’s 7:45 and I’m trying to decide where to start. Livy fell asleep on my lap after supper so she is already out. Jenny is rocking Molly with a bottle now so she’ll soon follow. (I meant Molly would be soon to follow but I wouldn’t be surprised if they both ended up asleep.) So now the question is where to start. It’s early enough to actually get something done, but I think making a list here would be overwhelming enough to make me not do anything. Hopefully I’ll make it back to the computer later to do some blogging finally. I might even reward myself with a bowl of Cap’n Crunch (with Crunch Berries of course) which just happen to be sitting here on the desk. I assume they ended up there the same way they ended up in the shopping cart last night; Livy.