On the Market

Our house is officially on the market!

You can see the actual listing, with all the pictures, by clicking here:

http://fishre.com/detailedListing.aspx?id=65174

(Our realtor is actually with Prudential, but the link above is through a different company's website, shhh! It is too much of pain to go through Prudential's website - they make you create a log-in to see any of the pictures). Today all the realtors from Prudential came to the house to do a walk-through. We already had two showings before the house hit the market. I'm not going to lie, it is very difficult to keep the house clean and organized with two huge (hairy) dogs and a baby, and it is a little stressful knowing that any time they want to show the house I have to worry about (1) finding a place for Connor & I to go with short notice and (2) hoping it isn't raining (and hoping they don't jump the fence) because the dogs have to be put outside in the backyard during the showing. So, we are really hoping that it sells quickly (obviously!). It is a huge old house with a lot of character and will make a great home for someone who is looking to spend a fortune on heating bills OR replacement windows is interested in a Victorian house.

When it does sell, it will be bittersweet, as I really have enjoyed living here for the past four years. It was where we got engaged, the house we lived in when we got married, and the home to which we brought Connor home from the hospital. However, it is a lot of house and requires a lot of time, maintenance, and money that we just aren't interested in putting into it. And, we are looking forward to our next housing adventure, so if you are local, spread the word about its availability and if you aren't, keep your fingers crossed for a quick and stress-free sale!

County Fair

Well, another week has passed. Connor will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. This past week was relatively uneventful. It was highlighted by our trip to the Lycoming County Fair in Hughesville on Tuesday, which also happened to be the hottest day of the week. No better way to cool yourself down than by taking laps around a huge race track, intermingling with various farm animals, and eating no less than three items of deep fried gloriousness.

The nice thing about the fair is that you pay a $5.00 admission price and you get unlimited use of the rides. We were unable to take advantage of it this year, however, because we couldn't find a carny who looked respectable enough for us to temporarily leave our baby with while we rode the sweet pirate ship type ride that actually went all the way upside down. Oh well. On to more important topics - the food. After taking the obligatory lap around to (1) check out our options and (2) hopefully run into all the people we knew before we ate so we didn't have to bother talking while shoveling food in our mouths, we settled on: french fries, hot sausage sandwiches, and soft serve cones. Oh, and I also had a cake on a stick dipped in chocolate with peanut butter icing that I was tricked into thinking was actually a frozen banana with those toppings. If we had the energy to walk another lap, I most definitely would have gotten a funnel cake, but it was too hot and Baby Linn was tuckered out. We opted to head home before the night's headliner, Aaron Kelly - fifth place finisher on American Idol season 243 - took the stage (that's as good as it gets for Lycoming County, people)!

He's either bored out of his mind or pouting because I said "no" when he asked if he could ride the camel in the petting zoo (he didn't meet the minimum height requirement).

Two other exciting developments over the past week or so: the nighttime sleeping is getting oh-so-slightly better. Connor usually goes to bed between 9-10. His first stretch of sleep is the longest and lasts between 3-4 hours. He'll usually wake up between 1-2am to eat, and luckily he goes right back to sleep. He'll start to stir around 4am, but if I ignore him, he'll eventually fall back to sleep until between 5-530am. At that point I'll feed him and he'll usually fall back to sleep on my chest for another hour or so (my favorite part of the day)! I've found that he generally sleeps better if he gets a bath before bed. He really enjoys bathtime and it seems to relax him.

Embarrassing pictures #2,323 and #2,324, but he's so adorable I couldn't help myself!

Finally, we're starting to see some smiles out of Connor. They are starting to become more frequent, and unsolicited, and they melt my heart!

Time Flies...

I decided to start this blog while I was pregnant. In fact, Ryan will tell you that I became obsessed with starting one (not true). I had every intention of actually blogging throughout my pregnancy - covering topics such as "How to trick your boss into thinking you are drinking when you don't want her to know you're pregnant yet," "Is it okay to eat blue cheese with my wings?," "The stripping wallpaper and repainting a small master bathroom project that you thought would be done in a weekend really takes your entire third trimester," and "Why don't women wear elastic waist maternity pants ALL the time?" Lucky for you, I am the most technologically challenged person alive and really had no idea how to go about even starting one, so you were spared all the fascinating details of my nine months of sobriety.

Then, when Connor arrived, I intended to start right away so as not to forget any details (and also to avoid the inevitable loooong catch-up post). However, to my surprise, I did not become computer literate while in labor (although it was so long I could have done some reading and taught myself how to do it), and my lack of sleep while getting adjusted to motherhood, coupled with our busy summer schedule so far, got in the way of my best intentions. Now, sweet Connor is almost seven weeks old and, thanks to many helpful hints from Emily Bansner (and, also some of the pictures on this post that I stole from her facebook page), I finally got serious about it.

So, here's a little recap of our first few weeks as a family:

I should start by saying that Ryan's sister Courtney gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Evelyn Breann, on May 18th. We actually had the same due date, and it was nice to have someone to commiserate with share the joys of pregnancy with. I am so excited that Connor and Evy will grow up together, and I can't wait to see the personalities they will develop. Ryan's birthday was the Sunday after we got home from the hospital, and the cousins met for the first time over birthday dinner at Gramma's house.

First meeting was a little boring. Neither was very talkative.

The following weekend, Ryan's sister Allison & niece Julia and brother Collin & girlfriend Emily came home from Colorado. On Saturday, we all went to the wedding of our friend. It was held at the restaurant his family owns and the food was fantastic.

Crashing his first wedding at 11 days old!

Most well behaved Linn boy at the wedding (seriously).

Allison had organized a party for the day after the wedding for friends and family to "meet the babies." My parents came up for the day and it was nice to introduce Connor to everyone.

Gramma's got her hands full with Connor and Evy!

Nana/GiGi/Grandy (pending poll results) holding the babies

Uncle Collin doing his famous "fish pose" with Connor

 

It was a very long, very fun weekend. Some of us had more fun than others, but Ryan would kill me if I posted those pictures! By the time Monday rolled around, I was ready to do nothing for a few days. Allison and Julia had the perfect remedy - they came to our house and picked the cherries from the trees along the side of our house (who knew a house in the city would have fruit trees) and took them home and Debbie baked us a pie with the Pioneer Woman's crust recipe (I could devote a whole separate blog to proclaiming my love for her and her recipes).

 

Connor needed a nap too after the weekend's excitement

We were sad to see Allison and Julia leave to go back to Denver. However, they are moving to Jupiter, Florida, next month, and we can't wait to use them for their sweet vacation spot  visit them! On Wednesday of that week, Connor made his first trip to the Lewisburg Farmer's Market. Ryan has off on Wednesdays so we usually use that day to do our grocery shopping and other fun activities. It was a beautiful day. Connor slept the whole time, but Ryan and I enjoyed all the farmer's market goodies, such as homemade soft pretzels and french fries. Afterwards, we went to The Tack Room, where I got my first pair of cowboy boots!

Ready for the farmer's market.

 

The following weekend was the 100th anniversary celebration for Texas & Blockhouse Fish and Game Club. This club is very special to Ryan's family and they have made many memories there throughout the years. Ryan has been excited for this weekend since he became a member about three years ago. It was extra special because Collin became a member a few weeks before ("just in time for the picture" says Ryan). Collin flew back to PA and Emily made a last-minute decision to join him ("she didn't want to miss being in the picture" says Ryan). On Friday night they had a casual cocktail party with lots of hors o'doeuvres and a spectacular fireworks show. We took Connor with us and he was a big hit. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures or his first trip to Blockhouse (I told you I am terrible with the camera), but I am sure in a few short years you will see lots of pictures of Ryan and Connor in camo and/or with a fish he caught. On Saturday my mom came up to Williamsport to hang out with Connor while we enjoyed the formal 100th anniversary dinner. The food was disappointing but the most important goal was accomplished - we were back row, center stage for the picture!

Dad and two sons, all members. Ryan was hoping to win the best dressed award with his seersucker suit, but Heister pulled a game-changer with his camo tux!

Here's a picture of Connor on Father's Day. Unfortunately, we did not get one of Ryan and Connor together. Ryan made up for it by buying himself an iPad for his Father's Day gift "from Connor."

 

Things settled down for a little while after the anniversary weekend. We have spent a great deal of time up at Heister's house sitting by the pool.

Ready for his Baywatch audition

Cousins napping in the shade while their bathing beauty moms enjoy the sun

On the last Saturday in June, we had a family picnic at my parents' house in Wyomissing. It was originally supposed to be at my aunt's house in Chambersburg, but her air conditioner quit working that morning and everyone knows Doughertys do not function well in the heat and humidity, so my parents offered to host it at their house. Again, I don't have any pictures, but we had a great time and it was nice to see my extended family and introduce them to Connor. Three days later Connor and I made a return trip to Wyomissing for the 4th of July holiday. I absolutely LOVE Wyomissing on the 4th of July and I couldn't wait to take Connor to his first parade. My mom got him an adorable outfit for the occasion (actually, she got him three outfits. and I made sure he wore all three throughout the day).

All patriotic and ready for the parade

He appears less than impressed by the parade. He'll appreciate it more next year when Aunt Lisa is back in Wyomissing!

Doc holding his grandson for the first time (only took him five weeks). I think that is even a smile on my dad's face, but it may just be gas.

 

Nothing exciting has really happened since the 4th of July, but I can't believe how big and fast our sweet boy is growing.

One day old

One week old

Four weeks old

Six weeks old

We are really enjoying our little guy. He will be seven weeks old tomorrow. He is starting to be more interactive - smiling and cooing. IWe think he's pretty darn cute and can't believe we get to keep him! The only thing that isn't so fun is the sleeping but we're working on that..He's sleeping about 3 hours at a time through the night - hoping that he'll start going longer stretches SOON! He has his 2 month appointment on August 1st - I can't wait to see how much he has officially grown!

Well, congrats if you've made it to the end of this post. Again, I apologize for the length of this post but now I'm all caught up. I promise to keep it current from now on so that the posts don't get this long!

WHATSHERNAME?

Because labor and delivery took MUCH longer than expected, my parents did not get to spend much time with Connor after he was born. They popped in to meet him and snap a few pictures but had to head home shortly afterwards (at 4:00am) because my mom had to work the next afternoon. My mom made the trip back to Williamsport the day after we got home from the hospital to help out around the house and spend some quality time with Connor.

We had a very nice visit. One problem - since I am an only child, Connor is her first grandchild. Although she had nine months to prepare, there has been no definite decisions made about what she will be called by her grandchildren. I am not surprised at all, as this is the very same woman whose living room did not have furniture for a good 4 years because she could not decide on the "perfect" set, and only made a decision when my dad gave her an ultimatum "pick one now or else I will." I believe she has narrowed it down to a few choices, and in an attempt to speed up this process (as I write this, Connor is already almost 7 weeks old and may be talking before a consensus is reached), I thought we could vote on it. Please participate in the poll on the right side of the page.

While I can't promise that the option with the most votes will win since I believe she has a definite preference, and she should be called whatever she wants (until my kid totally butchers it), I'm hoping that the 10 day time limit on the poll will help her make a final decision!

Memorial Day? Sure felt like Labor Day to Me!

WARNING: this post is going to be ridiculously long. I realize I am probably breaking some blogging etiquette with its length. I wanted to capture the details for myself, but I highly recommend you skip the story and go straight to the pictures.

Our due date was May 25th. I was fully prepared to ring in Memorial Day Weekend with a baby in one arm and a Bud Lite Lime in the other (hey, it had been 9 months, and it was the start of the summer season - I was more than ready for a beer). I had an appointment with the midwife on the 23rd, and it was discouraging when she told me I was about 60% effaced but not really dilated. She went ahead and scheduled me to be induced on Thursday, May 31st - which was somewhat of a relief since there was a definite end in sight - but when my due date came and went, I started to get desperate. It was incredibly hot over Memorial Day weekend and my patience seemed to decrease as the temperature rose.  We had a fairly busy weekend - on Saturday we went to our friends Adrianne and John's house for a picnic with some of their friends and their families. On Sunday, we ran errands all morning. On Sunday afternoon, Ryan went over to his mom's house to check out her new smoker. They were making ribs and invited us to join them, but I just could not summon the energy to go over there and it was just too hot for a heavy meal to sound appetizing so I stayed home and just made a quick dinner of grilled cheese and fruit salad. Had I known what was going to happen later, and how long it would be before I got my next meal, I would have waddled my way over to Debbie's house for the ribs!

  I went to bed around 10pm. Around 130am, a strange sensation woke me. I hadn't wet the bed in years so I figured that it was my water breaking, but I wasn't sure since (1) it is apparently pretty rare for the water to break before the contractions are regular and (2) it wasn't a huge gush like I had imagined it would be, but rather just a little trickle. I didn't want to wake Ryan up until I was sure, so I got up, went into the bathroom and turned on the light...only to be greeted by a giant bat circling my head!!! I honestly don't know how I didn't give birth right then and there. I let out a little scream and ran out of the bathroom. I think I was in so much shock that I just stood there in silence in the dark. I don't know if it was my scream, or my slamming the bathroom door, or my staring at him like some sort of creep, but when Ryan woke up and asked me what was wrong I remember saying "Well, I have good news and I have bad news. I think my water broke....and there's a bat in the bathroom." I'm pretty sure his response was "It is 130 in the morning, which one of those is the good news?" Just kidding. We were eerily calm - Ryan called the doctor's office while I took a quick shower (in the guest bathroom, of course). The midwife on duty (who asked me "what makes you think your water broke?") told us to head to the hospital so I packed the last few things in my bag and we debated whether we should drive or just walk the 2 blocks (we drove).

After we arrived at the hospital, they made sure my water was broken before they admitted me. I was thrilled because my favorite midwife (there are 5 of them in the practice) was coming in at 8am and would be on duty for the next 24 hours. When she arrived, I was not dilated at all so they decided to start me on a pitocin drip to get things moving. I was already starving and when they finally said I could have something to eat (they must have known I was going to be there all day) I was hoping for pancakes & bacon. I got a piece of toast with grape jelly. Not even strawberry jelly. Grape. A few hours passed without much progress so they kept increasing the pitocin. It was very uncomfortable. I really had no illusions of having a drug-free birth but the first pain medication they gave me was fentanyl. Basically, you can get one dose an hour. All it did was make me feel dizzy for 20 minutes and then I spent the other 40 watching the clock until it was time for another dose. Meanwhile, they kept upping the pitocin drip, causing me to have very strong contractions, very close together. Let the misery begin.

Right around this time, my parents arrived. I really wanted to tell them to take a hike was really excited to see them, but was hoping to wait until I got my epidural before anyone visited. I think I was 4cm at this point and never wanted a giant needle in my back more. From what I've heard, they are amazing, miraculous, insert any positive adjective here,right? After I got one, I was expecting it to be smooth sailing and that they would let me know in an hour or two that it was time to push. I even called my parents to apologize for being mean earlier and invited them back to join the party. It seemed to work at first and that gave the midwife the license to jack up the pitocin even more. Then right around the time my parents came back (coincidence?), I started feeling a lot of pain. It started only on one side, but pretty rapidly progressed to me feeling EVERYTHING, and those contractions were very strong and very close together. And it was only about 6pm. And I was only about 5cm dilated. Crap.

I will spare you the details of the next several hours, as I've either (1) blocked them out of my mind or (2) there are no "details" other than it was very slow, very painful, and peppered with phrases such as "I think I'm dying" and "We're not having any more children." I had a meltdown around 10:00pm when the midwife checked me and said "it will be a little longer...and by that I mean 3 or 4 more hours." While I was curled up in the fetal position sobbing, Ryan took a little break and went back to our house to give my parents an update and to make me a sandwich/snack for after the baby arrived since the hospital cafeteria had long since closed. I watched the clock, realizing that my chances of having a Memorial Day baby were pretty much slim to none.

FINALLY, around 12:30am, they told me I was ready to start pushing. Even though i was exhausted, I was relieved that the end was in sight, although I will admit at that point I was so hungry I may have chosen a cheeseburger over a baby. Ryan was great, holding my leg, and the one good thing about being in labor so long was that the super nice nurse from the night before was on duty again when I finally delivered. After about an hour and a half of pushing, our baby made his grand entrance at 2:10am. We were so excited he was finally here and they literally threw him on my chest as soon as he came out, so it took us a minute or two to figure out if he was a boy or a girl. Connor Brennan Linn was a little bigger than expected, weighing 8 lbs. 12 ozs and was 20.5 in. He was perfect and we were instantly in love.

Remember how I told you in the last post that I would have to post embarrassing picturs of myself? Well, this is the first of many. Apparently, 24 hours of labor and countless bags of IV fluid make you look 25 lbs. heavier than when you arrived, despite birthing an almost 9 lb. baby.



Our first family picture.

Meeting their first grandchild. It is almost 4:00am. Doc looks SO EXCITED!!!

Proud papa!

The rest of my hospital stay was pretty uneventful, although I quickly learned that you have zero privacy due to the constant stream of nurses and aides coming in to check my vital signs and bring cups of water (I was a big fan of the crushed ice), shift supervisors  bringing survys to see if the nurses and aides were doing their jobs, housekeeping feeling the need to empty the trash at the oddest hours, lactation consultants manhandling my boobs, and physical therapists coming to discuss ways to get my pre-baby body back (trust me, lady, it wasn't anything that special to begin with). But my absolute favorite was the phlebotomists coming in at 6:10am to do a blood draw. Really? I'm here all day, did it have to be done at that ungodly hour? And if you're going to do it that early, please get it right the first time! Sorry, Connor, but you got wheeled back to the nursery at night. I felt slightly guilty sending you back but it was the only time I got any rest!

Needless to say, by the time Thursday rolled around, I was more than ready to get out of there, sleep in my own bed (little did I know I would see very little of my own bed for the next several weeks), and get settled in as a family. It took longer to strap Connor in his carseat than it did to actually drive him home!

So tiny!

I was a little nervous about introducing Connor to Lucky and Murphy. What if they got jealous or aggressive - after all, they were our first babies! It was needless. It was as if they knew immediately that the little guy was here to stay, and they were so calm and gentle around him. They enjoy watching him nap in his swing.

Built in babysitters?

So far, so good for our adventures in parenting!



And So It Begins

Dear Connor and any future Baby Linns,

I apologize in advance. You're not going to have a traditional baby book. I just know that I will never get around to filling one out and updating it regularly. In fact, your ultrasound pictures, shower invitation, and hospital bracelet are tucked safely away in my copy of What to Expect when Expecting (note to self: must get family bible to store important keepsakes). So, I am creating this blog - mostly for myself - as a way to organize all the pictures, memories, and experiences we will share as you grow. I suspect, however, there may be some family and friends, especially those who are unable to see you regularly, who will want to follow along on our adventures in parenting (okay, probably just your Grandmother). For that reason, I will try my hardest to keep it interesting, and occasionally blog about things other than you (such as recipes your Dad cooks for us, our travels, or sports) in order to avoid appearing to be one of those crazy boring women who are obsessed with their kids.

That being said, my apology is two-fold. Don't think I won't use this blog to embarrass you. I fully intend to, and for that I'm sorry. If it is any consolation, this means I will also most likely have to post embarrassing pictures of myself (and if you haven't figured it out yet, I HATE having my picture taken - ask your Grandmother and your Aunt Allison) and write about the many humorous mistakes I will certainly make learning as I go. I can't wait to watch you learn, grow, and experience the world. I, along with your Dad, hope to give you every opportunity that we had and then some, and I promise to do it with love and laughter (mostly with you, sometimes at you). Now, if you would just let me get some sleep, we can get started on this adventure...

Love, Mom