a new friend

The first week with a new baby sister has started to take its toll on Charlotte. Yesterday we found her wandering around the yard...jabbering away. We thought she was talking to herself. Ok, we get it. Maybe an imaginary friend. These things happen when a sibling is introduced to the family. Sort of cute right? Well the imaginary friend was not so imaginary. Her friend it turned out was an earthworm from the yard. She picked it up and carried it around, even into the house to show Nanny and Mom. Dad made her bring it back outside to put it back home in the dirt. Before she released it free, she gave it a kiss goodbye. Goodbye Mr. Worm. It was nice to know you.







We know you all want to see pictures of Maeve. So we have obliged. Here she is with dad and her big sister Charlotte. Charlotte is so good with her so far. She doesn't call her Maeve. Charlotte calls her "little sister Maeve".





Jasmine came by on Saturday to bring some gifts, one for Charlotte and one for Maeve. After a quick disinfecting Jasmine was allowed to hold Maeve. Hey, we are better then we are with Charlotte, at least we dont make people wear surgical gowns and masks.



And last but certianly not least, a huge "Happy Mothers Day" to my wife Shelby. She makes me proud daily of how wonderful she is as a mother and role model for our girls. She has a tough job and dad doesn't nearly tell her often enough how much he loves her and how great of a job she is doing.

My Girls

Awww Shucks!

Maeve made her way home from the hospital on Monday. Mom was sad to leave. Dad was ready to go. Mom really enjoyed the stay this time taking advantage of the free help. Maeve was strapped into her car seat and away we went. She didn't make a peep the whole time. Just slept in the back until we arrived home.







Charlotte has had a cold or strep or whatever they think it is. So its been a battle of Tylenol vs. fever. Luckily the Tylenol has been working and we kept it under control. She was feeling better yesterday so we decided to grill outside. Dad found some corn on the cob and Charlotte soon went to work with grandpa shucking away!

Maeve Madness

The little peanut has been doing great. She spent a few hours last night with mom and dad in their hospital room, sleeping soundly ... yes you guessed it... like a baby. However there were some sleep interruptions. Nurses checking on mom, then Maeve not latching on very well, more nurses, ecetera, so on, and so forth. You get the idea. Mom enjoys the hospital stay more than dad. But he thinks that's just because of the craftmatic adjustable bed and the lack of complaining when she asks the nurses for more ice water.

Charlotte has been having a blast playing with Nanny and Grandpa. She still likes her sister, which is good, and loves coming to the posspabull (hospital) to see mom and Maeve. Only one more day then we are heading home!

Yes Maeve, this is EXACTLY how dad feels!

Big Sister

Charlotte was very excited to hold her new little sister today. It was so cute to see her give her kisses and hugs. She was gentle and loving, the way a sister should be. At least the way a sister should be until she turns like eleven or twelve. Then its a whole different story.






Nanny and Grampa were lovingly welcomed by Charlotte. They arrived this afternoon after driving 13 hours from North Carolina. We welcome the extra help and Charlotte seems to have found a new pal in her grandpa.

Kelly and Dave and Adrie May (Im not too sure on the spelling) were moved across the hall from Shelby. They had beer. We had beer. They ordered pizza. We ordered pizza. We almost had a party together but Shelby was a little banged up with the stitches and all. So instead we partied from a distance. Hopefully tomorrow we can hang out a little more. Maybe even have breakfast together.


Nanny and Grandpa are in charge of Charlotte tonight. Dad is here at the hospital with mom and Maeve. She is so quiet and peaceful. We really are cherrishing the time with her tonight while we have the nurses to help!

...and now the rest of the story

It was just another Friday. Dad working from home. Mom busy taking care of Charlotte. Around lunch time dad took off to do some chores. While getting his car inspected he received a call from mom.
"When are you going to be home?" she asked.
"Uhh I dont know, a half hour or so, why?" dad replied.
"Well I am having contractions and I called the OB to see what to do. Don't rush home, it's probably nothing."

Dad of course flew home (however he did stop and get a huge iced coffee from Starbucks in case it was going to be a long night). He got home, the doctor called and said, "well it looks like you will be having your baby today".

What? Today? Mom was scheduled for her C-section on Thursday 8th. We aren't ready yet? Thats 6 days away. We need so more time.

Nope. There was no more time. Charlotte awoke from her nap. What were we going to do with her? Certainly she couldn't be in the operating room with a c-section going on. Nanny and Grampa were coming Wednesday from North Carolina to watch her so we could be together in the hospital. Now what do we do?

Mom had been talking to her pregnant friend Kelly all day. Kelly suggested bringing her over so she could watch her. Charlotte of course loves playing with Brodie and Mason, they are her pseudo brothers. But there was one little twist. Kelly was also having contractions. Ok, wait a minute. Mom is having contractions. Kelly is having contractions. So lets bring Charlotte to her house? Illogical yes. However Kellys mom was on her way to her house "just in case".

Needless to say we dropped Charlotte off at her house, wished her luck and she half heartedly joked, "maybe I'll meet you there in a few hours."

We headed to the hospital. Dad frantic. Mom calm as could be. When we arrived the room was ready for us. Within two hours mom was in surgery with dad and was happy to see his newborn baby girl come out healthy (but of course not happy). She was beautiful. He announced the sex and even cut the cord while mom was getting stitched back up.

Since mom and Kelly share the same doctor, when she was finished with mom, dad joked to her not to leave because Kelly would be in soon. He was right. Shortly after we were all together in recovery we found out Kelly and Dave had arrived at the hospital as well. She was just a few doors down, patiently waiting to give birth! They came over to see us and dad popped this pic. Too funny, in the same hospital, at the same time.


Kelly gave birth to a beautiful daughter somewhere around 4am this morning, May 3rd. Unfortunately there was no rooms left in maternity so she is in the pediatrics ward with Dave, having a slightly less enjoyable hospital stay (no dvd players, no free snacks, no comfy couch to sleep on). Hopefully a room next to mom will open up so they can hang out.

So thats the story of the two pregnant friends following each other to the hospital to give birth. We are very lucky to have such great friends that we can share miracles with.

Lisa you are next!

Welcome to the WORLD!

We are pleased to announce the early arrival of Maeve Katherine Ronan! Born Friday May 2, 2008 at 6:35pm! Weight 6lbs 12ozs. Happy, healthy, and both mom and baby are doing great!

More to come later but here is a few pictures until then!

Walk for MS? Now Speak Out for MS

Dear Supporter,

Imagine MS becoming as obsolete as polio or smallpox.

Congress will soon decide whether to commit to a major MS research initiative.

Urge Congress to support $15 million for MS research.

You've participated in Walk MS and have helped us move closer to a cure.

You put in the miles, you raised money for the cause, and hopefully you crossed the finish line. If you could do one small thing today that could make a huge difference for people living with MS, you'd do it, right?

We have an opportunity right now to secure $15 million in federal funds for MS research. But we need your help today to show Congress how important this research is.

Please take a minute to e-mail your members of Congress, urging them to support this life-changing research. Simply click here.

Your e-mail will make a difference. A delegation of MS activists from your state will be in Washington, D.C., on May 8. You can magnify their voices on this issue. Send your message today, so your legislator receives it at the same time supporters are meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill. 

While we hope that you'll always participate in Walk MS, taking this simple action now can help achieve our common goal: a world free of MS.
 
Advocating for MS issues works. We've proven it. Last year, MS activists encouraged their legislators to make MS research eligible for another stream of funding through a Defense research program. This new $15 million would come from a similar program.

Increased research will help thousands of people living with MS, but we are competing for funds. We must act now, and we need your help today.

Tell Congress that people living with MS will benefit from this investment. 

Earlier this year I visited my congresswoman to talk about an initiative that could help people with MS. She told me that I was "the first patient voice" she'd heard from on the issue. Please don't assume your members of Congress know how important this issue is. Tell them yourself.

The more people who speak up, the more successful we'll be. Once you've taken action, please help us spread the word. Tell friends and family about this important funding opportunity, and urge them to add their voices as well. 

Thank you so much for your support.

Sincerely,

Scott Hanson
MS Activist

Growing and growing

As mom's belly grows, so does Charlotte. I guess a two and a half year old is no longer a baby, but we know as soon as number two arrives Charlotte is going to be kicked out of babyhood for good. While we are so proud of her for growing into such an amazing little girl, we are sad to see babyhood go even though it's hard to imagine her not being able to talk, not being able to express herself, not being able to sing princess songs over and over again.

Along with baby number two will come a change to this blog. Unfortunately with two children we wont have the time or energy to keep this blog going. Therefore it will cease to exist and we will remove it forever.

Yeah right, we could never do that! The name will be changing and NO we are not open for new name suggestions. You will get what you get and you will like it! You know who you are, the ones who keep telling us what to name our next child. The wetnoses link will stay, but we are 100% sure the name Charlotte's Web will change. It won't be just hers anymore, although we have toyed around with the idea of running two (one for each child). It seems like a lot of work, and well, we aren't sure if you are ok with clicking onto another site. So for now we will run a little quiz to see if you want two sites or one. Click the survey on the upper right hand corner to provide feedback.

Here is proof Charlotte is growing. The nightly warm milk in a bottle has been replaced by warm milk in a glass.

No More PINK!

Finally dad had an excuse to buy Charlotte something that wasn't pink and wasn't covered with princesses. Dad signed Charlotte up for Lil' Kicker soccer! A little young you say? HA! They start at 18 months old, we actually got a late start!

Of course with soccer comes the gear. Adidas shorts, Samba shoes, even an authentic Munich soccer jersey all the way from Germany! Dad scoured the internet to find everything in mini toddler sizes. Not an easy task in itself but dad welcomed the challenge of finding some non-girley gear (he did buy her a pink Nike soccer ball though). As soon as Charlotte got geared up, she transformed herself into a soccer star. Running around the house as fast as she could. She was ready to play.

There were probably another 8 kids on her "team", including Lilly from town. Mom had thought dad had really overdone it dressing Charlotte up in all her stuff, however, as soon as he arrived at the Sportsplex everyone asked where he found her shoes, shorts, and shirt. Seems he wasn't the only dad thankful to be able to dress his daughter in something non-pink!

Charlotte had a blast running around dribbling the ball. She is actually very fast and has good ball control. However, she was not a fan of doing the group stretches and exercises. She just wanted to run and kick and play. I don't know who is looking forward to next weekend's practice more, dad or Charlotte.

Who said jocks can't be cute?


I'm ready to go dad!

Some serious speed!



Listening to the coach

We can't wait until next week!

Renegade Pack

Saturday afternoon Paul, Jena, and Marin hosted a shower for us and baby number two. In lieu of gifts (lets face it we have just about everything), they had our friends make frozen meals. Great idea since we know it's going to be very tough to find any time to cook. So we say "Thank you " to everyone who provided meals. Our freezer is jam packed with delicious stuff that we can just reheat and serve. Thank you Paul, Jena, and Marin for such a wonderful shower. The mexican food was a great idea and a huge hit!

The day was PERFECT! 75 degrees and sunny. After a long miserable winter everyone was excited to be outside playing and having fun. Charlotte's little friends are a motley crew. We are going to have to come up with a gang name for them and make them some shirts. "Dirty Diaper Gang" aka DDG crew.


Sammy "the shooter" Ringleben. Able to take out guys with a single shot from 400 yards away.


Colin "the enforcer" Snyder. You owe some money? Colin will take care of you.


Charlotte "the diversion" Ronan. While guys are busy staring at her, the gang makes their move, heisting the loot.


Brodie "the getaway driver" Reeves. This kid can drive!


Marin "the hands" Slosberg. Safe cracker and lock pick extraordinaire.


Mason "the intimidator" Reeves. One grimace from him and you turn and run the other way.

advantage #26

Advantage #26 of being a short male: Being able to crawl into your two year old's crib with her.

Charlotte for some reason, who knows why, wanted nothing to do with bed or her crib tonight. Maybe she was having too much fun playing with dad. Maybe she just wasn't tired. And so the battle to get Charlotte to sleep started. After reading five books (usually it is two), dad lifted her up and placed her in her crib. The crying started. The crying quickly turned to wailing. Wailing quickly turned to a full out temper tantrum all the while she trying to crawl out of her crib (which she can do if she wanted to). Dad tried everything. Making up stories. Rubbing her back. Nothing worked. If he got close enough to her she would wrap her arms around his neck and say "out dada!". Luckily mom came upstairs after a while with some warm milk for her. Even this luscious concoction wasn't working. The crying and screaming only got worse. Finally dad said "If I lay down with you will you go to sleep?". Her tearing eyes lit up and soon dad was climbing over the crib rail and laying down next to his daughter. She immediately quieted and calmed and snuggled up tight to dad. Try doing that if you are 6'2" 240lbs. Advantage #26 of being short.

Here are a few pictures of Charlotte on her new trike. She loves it. When I say loves it, I should say she obsesses about riding her trike. It's one of the first thing she asks for when she wakes up.






Charlotte was also playing a little backyard golf. What a swing!

ABC's

Charlotte loved looking at herself on the webcam today. So we let it roll to see what would happen. Click here to see the video! As you can see she cracks herself up. Not to mention she had a sock on her hand. Yes that is a sock puppet. She is definately our kid.