The Patels

Sleepy time friends.

When Rachel was little we use to go into her room and check on her every night. Then she started waking up when we went in so our nightly visits stopped! A few weeks ago she was taking a long nap so I peeked in on her knowing that if she woke up it wouldn't matter anyway and this is what I saw (the picture on the left). She looked so sweet and precious sleeping with "kitty" tucked under her arm. Up until she moved into her big girl bed she never really had any friends of the stuffed variety but now she has her favorites - kitty (from Papaw), big bear and bear (two of my bears from high school if you can believe it!). The picture on the right is one I took a few days later - if you look closely you can see both bears tucked under the covers on each side of her.

All Smiles

This may not seem like a big deal to you but the fact that Anna is smiling while sitting in her little Fisher Price swing is a HUGE deal! For the first six to eight weeks of her life she cried every time we tried to put her in here (which was every meal if she was awake). She is almost twelve weeks old and has only fallen asleep in her swing once. Rachel loved this swing and we're hopeful that these sweet smiles are indication of changes to come!

Look at me!

The State Fair!

We went to the State Fair a couple of weeks ago and had so much fun! Rachel loved the rides and she got to enjoy them with her friend Ryann. Fun times for the Patels and Aycocks (although you notice we didn't get any pics of the adults).

"Mommy, take a cheese"

As you can imagine with having a new baby sister, Rachel is really into babies these days. She likes to nurse them, change their diapers, check their heartbeats, and the list goes on. The other day she was trying so hard to swaddle her baby and finally let me do it (she is also into doing everything herself and asking "why?" all of the time!). So, after the baby was swaddled for the 3rd time she finally sat beside her and said "Mommy, take a cheese!" It took me a few minutes to figure out what she was saying but when I did it made me laugh. And as you can see she has her "cheese" smile on.

October 7, 2007 - 2 months old!

Pumpkin Patch!

Here are pics from our annual visit to the pumpkin patch.

I'm the Big Sister

All wrapped up

Foot Day at Preschool

Each fall at Rachel's preschool they have "Foot Day". They set up stations outside for them to step in, on, etc. to experience the different senstations/feelings. I was able to go an watch and take pictures. She had so much fun!

Sweet Anna

Family of 4!

Smiles

It is one of the sweetest moments when your children begin to smile. I remember when Rachel first started smiling and it was so incredible to see her respond to me in that way. Anna started smiling a few weeks ago and it just melts my heart when she looks at me with a big smile! Catching it on camera is no simple task but I've been trying. Here is a small glimpse of the smiles to come!

Anna's friends

These mobile bugs are Anna's favorite friends of the stuffed variety. We love to watch her as she watches them go around and around. She kicks her legs and coos at them. Of course, she would rather spend her time with Mommy, Daddy and sissy but the bugs keep her company when we can't be right there.

Daddy's Girl II

1 Month old!

I can hardly believe that Anna is already 1 month old! I tried to take a picture each month of Rachel on a blanket to show how much she had grown so now I'm starting the tradition with Anna. Here is our first shot. I wish she would stop growing already!

Pre-school!

Rachel's first day of Pre-school was last week! She loved it! After we visited the pre-school she kept talking about how they didn't have any fish because they didn't have any water. It was so cute - she was glad to see the fish there in the water on the first day! I can't believe she is big enough to go to school - sad!

Bed-time video

If you haven't seen this video on youtube yet you have got to listen to it! It made me laugh so hard! It is a very sweet and funny video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA

First Real Bath

Anna finally lost her umbilical cord
and was able to take a real bath! She loved being in the warm water and looking at herself. Her bathtimes are much more fun now that she can get in the water (she usually screamed the whole time she was getting a sponge bath).

"I'm little and Anna's little"

Lately, Rachel talks a lot about being "little" or "big". She'll say, " Mommy, you are big and Daddy is big and I'm little and Anna's little". Well, it is true, she and Anna are both little but this picture certainly doesn't make it seem so! She looks huge compared to Anna! We often hear her say, "When I big...I can ride a bike or I can have a dog, etc., etc." It is so cute!

Sisterly Love

Rachel absolutely adores Anna! She is really sweet with her most of the time and you can see that in these shots.

Bathtime

Here is Anna taking one of her first sponge baths at home. She didn't really like them so much but I really can't blame her. She already likes her real baths much better.

Family Visits

Soon after Anna was born we had some visitors. Vimal's sister, Amy came and his Mom. Then a couple of weeks later his Dad and Step-mom came to visit.

Home Sweet Home!

Here are a few pictures from our arrival home. We are getting a little sleep here and there and feeding around the clock. But, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Welcome Anna Jadon Patel

We are so excited to announce Anna Jadon Patel's arrival into the world! She joined us on August 7th, 2007 at 6:17 pm (after 17 long hours of labor!!). She weighed 7 pounds and 4 ounces and was 21 inches long. We think she is beautiful!

Here are a few pictures from the day! It has taken a while to get this posted because we are all sleep deprived around here.

40 Week Doctor's visit

My due date is just two days away! Not much has changed since my visit last week but here is the quick run down. I am about 50-75% effaced (I was around 50% last week but I also saw the other Doctor in my practice so I'm pretty sure these are not scientific numbers but estimates!), no dialation and the baby is still very low. The doctor was encouraged that the baby is so low and he seems to think that will make things go smoother and quicker (I am hoping for this but will try very hard not expect it!!).

My next appointment is Wednesday the 8th so I'll be sending out an update then if nothing has happened by that point. We did talk about induction and they said they would let me go to 41 1/2 weeks or so. Please pray that I will go into labor on my own anytime now! Thanks!