Abuela's Visit

This month seems to have gone so fast. We took Dan's Mom back to Birmingham to catch her flight home on Friday. The boys really enjoyed her visit. It seems like we got to do an awful lot while she was here. We drove around a bit and saw the area looking at houses and Dan made sure we stopped by Golden Rule barbecue for ribs and pork sandwiches one night. Abuela took Logan fishing/birdwatching. Logan used binoculars of his own design.

Things are starting to fell normal with the new addition of Baby Owen, although 3 is definitely a different story that 2. I guess the transition from 1 to 2 was a shock too, so we should be alright. Baby Owen is a very good-natured little boy. He sleeps a lot, obviously, but really doesn't cry too much. When he's awake, he's usually just content swinging in his swing and watching Logan and Lincoln run and wrestle around. The older boys have adjusted well too. Logan is his usual protective big brother self and Lincoln seems jealous only once in a while. Lincoln loves to give Baby Owen hugs and sometimes you have to watch him because he squeezes a little too much.

I got my hair cut and colored last week. Dan said I deserved it for going through the whole ordeal and I wasn't going to argue. I decided to go a little shorter and darker and I am really happy with the way it turned out. The place I went was really nice and they did a good job, but it wasn't anything like being able to go to Em's. Emily has been doing my hair for so long that it is weird letting someone else do it now. I suppose this was a little more cost-effective than flying Emily and her hair stuff out here for an appointment. Here's how it turned out.

By the way, I've added some more pictures to our family photosite. Follow this link to have a look at them.

http://www.bkanigan.photosite.com/

Introducing...Owen Holland Kanigan!

Well, he finally made it here. Owen arrived Thursday, November 9, 2006 at 10:53 a.m. He weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and measured 18 in. Everything went pretty smoothly and we have no real complaints. I suppose I can mention that the nurses had to poke my arm 9 times to get the IV in and I felt and looked like a pin cushion. Four different nurses tried on both arms and finally, the anesthesiologist was able to make it work. Both my arms now are black and blue! The also lost my blood work for a while which meant I had to wait 50 minutes longer than I would have liked to get the epidural, but I did end up getting it and after it kicked in, all was good.

The actually pushing didn't take long, in fact the nurse had to get me to slow down so the doctor could get his gloves on. Our doctor was fantastic, he is very nice and exactly what you'd expect from a Southern Gentleman. He called me "sweetie" and Dan "Sir", so Dan liked him too.

Owen was healthy and fine right from the start. His cry sounds like cupboard doors creaking. He sleeps a lot, of course, and seems pretty calm. We had to stay in the hospital until yesterday afternoon so we were very ready to get him home. hospital food is no better in the South, all though they did offer catfish and turnip greens on the menu. I was pretty sick of that hospital bed and Dan said he was sure that the women's centers at hospitals across the nation must be designed by women looking to punish men for their part in causing the pain of delivery because the fold-out guest "beds" are not exactly comfortable either.

So for now we are doing very well. Abuela gets here this week and it will be nice to have her help as well. I think she is a little excited to meet the little one also.

I've added a few more albums to our family photosite (link on the right) so feel free to browse!

Visit to the Space and Rocket Center

Grandma Braithwaite is here helping get ready for the baby. The boys really enjoy having her out here and to tell you the truth, so do I. One of the first things we did was go and visit the Space and Rocket Center and boy, did Logan love it! Logan has been on a rocket kick lately getting books from the library about space and rockets so we knew he'd love it. All though a lot of the things to see and do at the Space and Rocket Center may be better appreciated by older kids, we all had a blast. We say a movie about the Mar Rovers in the IMAX theater and I had to take Lincoln out of the theater because the launch was a little to loud for his ears. I think he may have enjoyed the M&Ms and Sour Patch Kids a little more any way. Grandma took us to the shop and made sure the boys left with toy shuttles which neither of them have put down since. We also got to look at the exhibits outside including the shuttle and other rockets. Grandma dared Daddy to go on the Space Shot ride which invitation Daddy respectfully declined. I have created a few new albums on our family photosite (follow the link on the right) with new pictures.