how sweet it is...

introducing...

analise marie rue

born 1.11.08

6:36pm
7lbs 2oz

20in

such a perfect little one... she has a bit of dark brown hair and the most beautiful fingers and fingernails i have ever seen. ashley and kelly are amazing parents and so smitten... how wonderful!

oh baby baby!

it's go time people! baby rue is on her way! what an amazing day... i can't describe how wonderful it is to anticipate her arrival... holding her for the first time... seeing d's reaction... and most importantly learning this little one's name!!!

4:27am - "we are at the hospital; but it will probably be awhile. ashley's water broke though." -kelly

8:40am - "water broke late last night went to the hospital at 3. she will be here sometime today"-ashley

8:50am - phone conversation with ashley to get the details! her water broke at 8pm thurs evening. ash and kelly got to the hospital around 3:30am and after a few tests it was confirmed that her water did break. ash sounds normal on the phone despite being in labor and being hooked up to many machines - she is awesome! we joked about how having your water break is not such a pleasant experience... i laughed and told her that there will be many things like that today. :)

9 am - made phone calls to crew to share the news. d got to talk to em and told her, "ashley's baby is coming. her water broke at 10." we all can't wait!!!

10:09am - "so excited!" -john

11:24am - "thanks, mer! can't wait!" -rachie

2pm - excited phone message from jen saying keep her updated!

2:15pm - phone call with kelly - ash has epidural and contractions are being monitored. the doctor had to rotate the baby and ash is getting potosin to enduse labor. there is the possibility of c-section delivery by 8pm tonight. hoping this litlle one arrives sooner than that.

more updates to come!

i think you're crazy... just like me

to say i have a lot of blogging to catch up on is an understatement... but for now today is my new beginning.

taught a new class on pse brushes last week. it went really well and i think that the women had fun. they had great questions! i am working on a digital christmas card class - i love my job!

dylan's tidbits:

- last weekend in the car -
d - mom is this my song?
m - sure. this is john mayer... i really like him.
d - oh. well, i love my dad.
m - well, i love your dad too, but i really like john mayer's music.
d - ok. i like john mayer too.

- in the car on the way home from daycare -
d - mom, my stomach is almost up to here. (points to her throat)
m - really! why? (thinking d's telling me she is going to be sick)
d - because that means i am going to get bigger and then i can go to kindergarten and be in mum's class. i am going to learn then you know.
m - yes d i know.
d - haha! mom i'm silly. i like dad... he is silly too.

- after finishing a lollipop -
d - hey mom look at this!
(i look and find her opening and closing her mouth in slow motion)
d - my teeth are sticking together!
(i am amazed that she has the ability to describe what she is experiencing)

- in the garage last weekend after cleaning it out and a day filled with d's stories -
d - hey guys. do you want to hear the pledge of allegiance?
m & b - yes!?
and you know what she actually said it! every word - even indivisible. the only word she stumbled on was liberty - she says titi, which is pretty amusing. what a crazy little one!

- and just because we are done potty training -
d - mom, you know when you have to poop you have a tummy ache... and when there is pee no tummy ache!
(good to know d.)

enjoy your monday night. i will be watching heroes (my favorite!!!) and then it's off to a game at 10:40 - yikes!

and in this moment i am happy...happy

on saturday, i scrapped with girls from the store and pigged out on yummy comfort foods - so fun! and guess what i actually finished a project!luckily i had some help. :) brandi and i created this project... 3 5x7 canvases covered with photos of part of my birthday adventure. we stopped at a little roadside stand and asked to pick some flowers... the pictures tell the rest of the story - we had flowers by the armful! what a perfect day. i turned the photos black and white and left the flowers color. the buttons are from my nashville trip - i know, i know, i have a lot of catching up to do!

hope you love them as much as we do!!!

easy like sunday morning

really it's sunday evening... 6:49 to be exact. brian is sleeping beside me and dylan is on the front room on the couch enjoying a ring pop and her new favorite show yo gabba gabba. it's got a old school hip hop feel to it with lots of color. i love that she loves it. if you were to sit down beside her she would tell you that she let her bunny go today so she can have a kitten. we let her go because she is too wild, but we really are going to get a kitten (or two... we'll see).

dylan has been at chuckee cheese for the last hour with our neighbor... instead of cleaning the house i took some time to read john's "all i have to say about 2003" piece. i find myself asking where the hell was i new year's 2003? i had heard pieces of the everyday that you wrote about, but my heart breaks a little knowing i was not there for you more...

you write... "i consider cutting myself. i had a friend in high school who did this."


thank you for not doing this... i never understood why he did or how his parents did not know. i will not be one of those parents. thank god for best friends and for your love of sleeveless shirts.

you also wrote..."i have always fantasized that i will have the ability to say wise things to people in need. that when presented with the problems of another, the solace i provide will be so profound and comforting as to heal even the deepest spiritual wounds."

you do this for me... all of you do just by being. today you are in the city... working, writing, studying, living. ashley is growing a tiny beautiful girl inside of her that will change our lives in ways we cannot even imagine yet. she is dedicated everyday to making a difference in a child's life. you are all somewhere doing amazing things... laughing, creating, loving, doing... being! thank you all for being my inspiration!

a parade of naked guys

i had the privelege of attending the bay to breakers race this last sunday with rach, brian, dylan oh and rach's fan club. too much fun! dylan has spent the past two days telling everyone that she went to a parade in the city and she saw a crazy monkey, mingos (flamingos) and naked guys! the crazy monkey was a guy dressed in a gorilla suit that ran right up to dylan's face to say hello and scared the hell out of her. the mingos were girls dressed in pink tutu's and flamingo hats and the naked guys were well, naked guys. oops! my crazy girl and her honesty... she's going to get me into trouble.

for example.... on the way to the city we stopped to get a coffee at starbucks. when brian asked dylan if she would like anything she said, "yes daddy. i would like a scone and chocolate milk from starbucks." guess she blew my cover for our special mom/dylan dates! could she have been more specific?

when we were trying to find parking before the race we found a spot and the car behind us pulled into it! without hesitating rach jumped out of the car and told the driver that it was our spot and they needed to move... and you know what!? they did!!! dylan yelled out from the backseat - "go rachel!" she was right - go rachel! so awesome!!!

on the way back to the car we walked through a field that was covered with little flowers. dylan told us that she was going to pick the whole field for us! she is definately my girl.... she gave it a good effort but had to settle for me clipping a few of the flowers in her hair.

after the race we had a delicious lunch and even got to steal a hug from john. what a beautiful day!

the city makes my heart happy! i'm so glad to know that it is where 3 pieces of my heart call home. what a perfect fit.

one last dylan story... on mother's day we were walking up my parents driveway to the car and she reached out and gently touched a rosemary plant on the edge of the driveway. the whole drive home she kept smelling her hand and grinning at me like it was the most wonderful smell in the world! she amazes me everyday by sharing her simple pleasures that i thought were only my own. so today take time to stop and smell the rosemary!

ok dog!

it's been an eventful week at our house. green tangerines opened their doors to the masses last thursday. the day was a huge success with women lining up at the doors before we opened. some waited in line for almost 2 hrs to check out! and the madness didn't slow down until 2:30!!!! it was out of control. oh, did i mention that my work was printed and handed out and posted in the store? that's a first for me!!! very fun.

on saturday dylan dislocated her elbow and i am now able to pop it back in after our extremely long visit to urgent care. oh the joys of being a mommy!

dylan's latest tidbits:

when watching american idol with the neighbors (bad i know) and commenting on the banter of randy jackson, dylan looked up at us and yelled, "ok dog!" nice.

every night we read a book about animals and their sounds and colors... dylan usually struggles with the picture of the wolf and asks for help. last night she proudly pointed to the picture saying, "kite yote." we are not sure where she learned that, but at least the are both dogs. she also refers to parrots as "carrots".
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well, with the recent occurrences this week, i would like to remind you all of how important you are to us. not a day goes by that i don't think of you and wonder what amazing adventures you are up to that day. dylan and i love you with everything we are and have. be safe and take the time to enjoy a coffee or good book or beautiful flower for us. hopefully we will be coming to the city soon!