introducing annie

anna jennings mershon
born
wednesday, january 28, 2009
8:36 in the morning
at
sibley memorial hospital
washington, dc
8 pounds, 5 ounces
20.5 inches long

we made it!

so our daughter is set to be born on the morning after an ice storm.



first, lest anyone worry, we have made it safely to the hospital.

but, it did take us an extra half hour.

knowing the forecast predicted it would be pretty bad overnight, and knowing we were supposed to be to the hospital at 5:30 am, before the temperatures warmed up the roads, we had the foresight to park on the flat street perpendicular to ours and just past the crest of the hill that we're on.

getting to the car from the house was another matter.

daddy heroically shoveled what seemed like a half mile from the front door, up the road, around the corner and to the car. a one man snow plow!

we figure the neighbors will forgive us for all the racket, given the circumstances.

and, we figure this is a sign from above ... this one's probably not gonna make it easy on us!

but we'll find that out for ourselves ... in just a few hours!

wiggly house

we have yet to share a lot of details about jack's christmas ... but here's one special gift that he received ... the gift that keeps on giving!

weekend update, part 2

as the painting continued at jack's house ... so did the need to keep jack occupied and out from under foot.

so jack, mommy and nana headed out for breakfast at one of our favorite spots.

following some fine french pastries, we headed to the national building museum for some playtime in their "building zone" permanent exhibit.

unfortunately, we headed down during the rehearsal for the inaugural parade and were surprised to find almost every route to the museum closed down. we finally made it after a trip that took twice as long as it should have. however, the trip did afford us a chance to see police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, mobile medical units, and -- the highlight -- a number of pickup trucks in convoy formation, each towing about 12 port-a-johns. jack, the truck fanatic, was in heaven.

however, he was also not wholly disappointed when we arrived at our destination and he saw all the trucks and blocks there were to play with:

he enjoyed wearing the "gear" as well ...

can they build it?

yes, they can!

and building is fun ...

but knocking down is even better ...

and if jack had a hammer, he'd hammer in the morning ...

and all over this land

and after all the knockdowns ...

jack was tko'd!

we figured daddy could use a little more time to get the painting finished, so after our time at the museum, we haded across the street to burger king.

yeah, that's right. astute readers will realize that mommy took jack to hot donalds on saturday and then burger king on sunday. great maternal nurturing, right? well, we did get mac & cheese and apple fries at bk. and, hey, it's better than letting him ingest the paint at home, right??

when we did return home, we found daddy almost finished with the painting ... transforming jack's former nursery from mediterranean sky to kittery point green.

to reward this hard work and escape the few fumes there were ... we headed to a happy hour with our beach friends. jack has really begun to play with the kids and doesn't need his parents hovering over him. what a nice development.

and a nice -- and productive -- weekend!

weekend update, part 1

our weekend was a busy one. so busy that ... here on wednesday ... it has been decided that it must be split into two parts to facilitate actually conveying it to our dear readers.

on saturday morning, jack, mommy and daddy headed out to the hospital where the baby will be born (and incidentally where jack was born as well). we had a "sibling's tour" of the hospital -- which included seeing a baby in the nursery and checking out a post-partum room like the one mommy will be in -- followed by some baby care activities.

after leaving the maternity floor, we headed past the cafeteria (where jack declared he would buy a cookie to bring to mommy when she is in the hospital) into a little room all stocked with baby dolls.

first the kids practiced swaddling and holding the babies. jack played the loving big brother with aplomb:

he also diapered the baby like a pro:

and even got her snugly back into her jammies:

he and baby also enjoyed a snack -- that juice box (a rare treat) was gone in about 5.2 seconds flat:

and jack colored a picture to welcome our new baby:

finally, the kids all listened to a reading of "i'm a big sister" (there were 4 girls and 2 boys), which jack knows from our own readings of "i'm a big brother." he is very fond of quoting what babies can not eat ... "babies can't eat pizza or apples or ice cream." to which jack adds, "or hot chocolate, or warm chocolate, or chips ..." and this morning's addition "... or pancakes!"

as we headed home, an off-handed comment daddy made when we first arrived about jack needing a haircut bloomed into a full blown obsession for jack. he told us, "i need to go to the barber shop to make my hair not so crazy."

who were we to argue with that? so, while daddy headed to the hardware store to begin the project of painting the baby's nursery, mommy and jack headed up to the plaza and the barber shop for a trim (and several lollipops):

we arrived home to find daddy in the thick of taping, sanding and beginning to paint the trim. jack loves to help with painting projects. so mommy sagely lured him away the only way she knew how ... with a trip for lunch at mcdonalds!!

jack was thrilled to have a happy meal at "hot donald's" as it's known in our house

after a nap (for both jack and mommy), we took a shopping trip to allow daddy more unfettered painting time and jack took the container store by storm with his charm. oh yeah, and his shrieking when mommy took away the roll of wrapping paper he was using as a sword.

a time-out in the container store, a return home, dinner, and bed all followed in short order.

after all, we had to gear up for sunday ...

POLICE BLOTTER

Bethesda, MD. Tuesday, January 6, 2008. 7:04 p.m.

Authorities responded to reports of an "assault" on the second floor of a Bethesda home. Witnesses reported that the suspected assailant, Jack (2) had sprayed the victim, Floyd (8), a housecat, with a bottle of Febreeze fabric freshener. The suspect admitted to the spraying at the scene. The victim's sister Janice (8), wisely fled the area prior to the assault. When the suspect refused to relinquish the Febreeze bottle to authorities, he was sentenced to two minutes in "time-out" and was released on his own recognizance. The victim is reported in stable condition and, in fact, does smell a lot better.

out with the old, in with the new

it's been quite a while since our last post and we hope you, gentle reader, will forgive those of us at llvj who took an end-of-year hiatus.

rest assured that the time was full of blogworthy happenings, which we'll impart in the coming days.

but, a few highlights of our time include:

• a visit to jack's house by santa, resulting in many presents
  
• a visit to jack's house by grandma and grandpa, resulting in many presents
  
• a visit to jack's house by nana and grandad, resulting in many presents
  
• a party in honor of the little girl in utero whom we call "baby ita," resulting in many presents
  
• a hot dog party with pals drew and liam (no presents here per se, but isn't a hot dog party a present in and of itself?)
  
• a successful move into jack's big boy room and big boy bed
  
• a trip to the zoo, resulting in a present from the woman at the information desk
  
• ... and of course much, much more

almost enough to carry us through until baby #2's arrival in three weeks.

and then we'll have plenty more to tell you, if only we can find the time to do it!

so happy new year and here's looking at you (looking at us)!