Rebecca Nicole Dyer is here!

Becca was born today at 12:27PM. She weighed in at 7lb 9oz. She was 20.25in long. And if they took a decible measurement of her screams, it would have been off the chart. This girl can scream. It was a refreshing sound actually. With Bella, all we heard was gasping, grunting, and wimpering when she was born. Becca came out fighting. The nurses gave her the loudest baby of the day award and one even came into our temp room and told us the staff was glad she is going home with us :) We are too! No NICU for this one.

After she calmed down from the trauma of being extracted from her comfortable home, she spent some time snuggling with us and getting to know us. It was a precious 90min before they took her to the receiving nursery.

We are sitting here now in the comfort of our hospital room. Becca is sleeping softly in her little rollaway basket. We will get to feed her shortly when she wakes up.

At this point, it's tough to say who she looks more like. I would guess Cat, but you all can decide for yourselves :)

Sunny Day

Yesterday Bella and I spent the day together since I will be in the hospital for the next few days, and when I come home I'll be bringing a baby with me that Bella won't be able to throw in the toy box when it starts to cry. So, Bella and I went to the park, to storytime at the bookstore, to Build a Bear to buy "Bear" some clothes, and to Chick-Fil-A (one of her favorites). We had fun, although by the time we got to Build A Bear, Bella was already tired and hungry, so poor Bear just got sunglasses, which I'm sure he'll need now that it's summer. Since the time that we've announced that we are expecting another child, everyone has been commenting about what an adjustment for Bella, and poor Bella she won't be the center of attention anymore, and I have been apprehensive about how young she is. So last night when I was telling my brother that I was beginning to get nostalgic for the times when it was just Bella and me and Todd, he said - "But it will be better." And I know this is true because how much fun was it growing up with a big brother! And he should know - after all he has 3 boys. And of course it will be better. Isn't that why we said we wanted another one. We know that the next few months are, well, not the highlight of the child rearing years, but it lasts such a short time. And this time, we will have Bella to keep our spirits bright. In the future Bella may be sharing center stage with her sister, but she will always be in the lime light. That's just who she is. And in no time at all Bella will be glad for the playmate. So here's to sunnier days at the Dyer household.

The Little Gym

Earlier this month, Bella graduated from the little "birdies" class to the "beast" class at The Little Gym. It was a fun day in which, as Todd put it, the teacher pulled out all the stops. There was the parachute, the air track, bubbles and balls. And at the end of class, there was a medal ceremony. Bella was so proud of her metal. She still enjoys putting it on. The following Saturday Todd and I debated on whether to move her up to the beast class for the summer since technically she wouldn't be old enough for it until after the summer secession. So Todd went to the birdies class, and all the mommas made fun of him and said they expected to see him and Bella at the beast class next week. Todd and Bella are very popular. Apparently there is one little girl that asks about Bella all the time, and she gets excited when her mother tells her that they are coming to see Bella. That's our Bella. She makes friends wherever she goes.

Tee Time

I snapped this one of Todd and Bella before they took off to "hit golf balls". Todd actually had a putter cut down to Bella's size, and he practices with her. He says she gets excited when she hits the ball, but she hasn't figured out how to do it on her own. So, she gets bored and begins to pick up the golf balls and behead flowers (a favorite past time at Popo and Grammy's). She also likes to take the tops off of things and put them back, like my contact lens case, or take everything out of something and put it back, like her board books that come in their own carrying case. So she enjoyed taking Todd's golf balls out of their sleeve and putting them back. We've thought about buying her some new toys that work on fine motor skills, but then we figured why should we when she'd rather play with the lotion flip top.

Oh, and she is a real ham now. If you say "Say Cheese" or even point the camera in her direction she will turn on the smile, even if she isn't feeling well.

Don't they look smug!

Go Wings!!!

In the spirit of the NHL Playoffs, Bella sported her new jersey today to show everyone who she is pulling for. Cat gave me an early Father's Day gift and bought tickets to Monday's game 3! So look for us on TV. I haven't decided if I will wear my Lidstrom jersey or just be a secret Wings fan at the game. At any rate, Bella and I have been cheering on our team! :)

Show me the SHAMU

Or just "MOO" as Bella says. We took our first road trip with Bella this past weekend. Since Bella enjoyed her visits to the Dallas and Atlanta aquariums so much, we decided to take her to Sea World so that she could see the animals perform. Now I have to say, all my life I have been a planner, and all my life I've seen my plans either come off beautifully, deteriorate, or die a miserable death (usually it has been the later two). The car ride down to San Antonio was no exception. Since Bella was going to miss her Sat. morning gym class, I looked into when the make-up classes were held, and it just so happened that they had a class on Thu morning (the day we were planning on leaving). I thought, PERFECT! Todd can take her to class, get her all tired out, and then she'll fall asleep in the car, and we can be on our way, and when she would wake up, we'd get down, fed her and be back in the car. If we were lucky, we'd only have an hour to two hours left to go at that point, which would get us into San Antonio in time for a quick dip in the pool and then dinner and bed. Well... Bella didn't fall asleep, but that was ok because then we had the chance to feed her and with a full stomach she was bound to sleep longer. BUT... Todd had to stop for one of his ritual car ride milk shakes, which of course woke Bella up. YIKES! We still had at least 4 hours to go. Let me just say that by the time we got to Austin, we were all cranky and getting on each others nerves. So we got out, let Bella walk around and explore a pet store. She loves animals. Once we got to our hotel we were all a bit spent, but we found the pool and found out that Bella was not too fond of it. After consulting the weather report, we decided to go to Sea World on Sat since it was going to be 10 degrees cooler. Friday morning we headed down to the Mercado and ate breakfast at Mi Tierra. YUMMY! Bella danced around to the Mariachi music and pretty much hammed it up for anyone who would watch.

Then we headed over to the riverwalk to buy some water shoes since Bella fell and hit her head on the cement the day before. Then we headed back to the hotel where Bella took a 3 hour nap. A 3 hour nap. Todd and I read on the patio while we waited for Sleeping Beauty to wake up.

Once Bella woke up, we took her down to the pool. She still wasn't really fond of it, but with her Daddy by her side she was able to remain calm and enjoy it, a little.Then the real fun began. She discovered, with a little help from mom and dad, the playground. It was a big hit, and she was even able to show off some of her hanging skills. Finally on Sat., we made it to Sea World. Bella loved the shows. She was mesmerized, and never really squirmed or seemed bored. But the poor girl did completely tucker out by 2:00.

And no, that is not Shamu in the picture. That is me. And yes, I still have 2 1/2 months TO GO! All in all, it was an excellent trip, and I can't wait to go back with Baby #2. (She still doesn't have a name. What? It's not like she is even here yet!) . Oh, and the ride back you ask. Great. Bella slept most of the way home, and was really quite good for the remaining two hours we had to go.