We Clean Up Pretty Well!

A few of the pictures we had taken on Saturday...

Mitchell Gets Baptized

Here are a few pictures from Mitchell's Baptism this morning. In addition to Grammie and Bobo, John, Bonnie, Bill and Bobby stopped through on their way home from NC and Mary Beth, Ashton and Bella came along as well. It was all very nice and Mitchell did GREAT...even though he was wearing a "dress". He even got a little ribbing from Mr. Sid about that. Apparently, christening gowns are not very common in the Presbyterian church.

Immediately after the service, Grammie and Bobo hit the road for a long drive back to Texas. The Mitchell's stuck around and had some lunch and then, they too, had to hit the road. Because of Thanksgiving traffic, they were able to make the 3 hour drive in 6 hours. Yuck!

A little note about the gown: It was made from Great-Grandma Talley's wedding dress and lace from Grammie's wedding dress. Kamryn wore it at her baptism. It's a good thing that we had Mitchell baptized when we did...another couple weeks and it wouldn't have fit the big boy!

Thanksgiving Week

Posted 3/29/08.

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and, in typical fashion, it was a busy one in the Talley house.

Sunday night, Daddy's friend Jack (with daughters Brittany, Jacey and Cassidy in tow) stopped in on their way from Texas to New Jersey. Despite Daddy pointing out to Jack that Atlanta was not on the way from Texas to New Jersey, they decided to come by anyway to spend the night. Kam and the girls got along famously and acted like old friends. While it is technically true (they first met when they were a couple months old), they haven't seen each other since before they were a year old. No matter, though.

Grammie and Bobo made it in from Texas at dinner time on Tuesday night and were SO excited to see their grandbabies. It's been a whole two months and they were chomping at the bit.

Daddy and Bobo played golf on Wednesday while the girls (and boy) finished up with Thanksgiving shopping and relaxed around the house.

Thursday was a day of gorging ourselves on an outstanding Thanksgiving dinner. Daddy roasted the turkey and stuffed it with an andouille/portobello/artichoke dressing that was out of this world and cooked the green beans. Mama handled the sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. Grammie made her cornbread dressing and Kamryn helped her made some pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese dressing. YUMMY! Mitchell was only able to drink milk but had no real complaints. Next year he'll be able to join us!

Friday, Grammie and Mama went shopping while Daddy and Bobo stayed home with the kids. Much "CSI: Miami" was watched, as was "Live Free and Die Hard".

Today, the Talley's went to have their pictures taken and, afterwards, went to the movies with Grammie and Bobo. The girls agreed on "Enchanted" and Daddy and Bobo put up little resistance. Mitchell handled his first movie theater experience like a CHAMP! Afterwards, it was wings, sweet potato fries and beer at "Buffalos".

Tomorow is Mitchell's baptism! Big day!!

Pictures with Santa!

Two Month Check-Up

22.5 inches long (25-50%)

11 pounds, 13 ozs (50%)

SIX shots. Yuck!

Big Sis Through The Years - Halloween Edition

Happy Halloweenie!

What a fantastic Halloween we had!

In order to tackle two separate neighborhoods, Kamryn needed a little help. Kamryn elicited the help of her baby brother (Superman) while MARY BETH brought in reinforcements in the form of Darth Vader (Ashton) and a second ballerina (Bella). Daddy, Mama and MARY BETH proudly paraded these gorgeous kids around our neighborhood.

After hitting a few houses in our neighborhood, we hit Ashley's neighborhood where the majority of the trick or treating was done. EW (the other neighborhood) has way better candy and people REALLY do it up out there...haunted houses and all.

After filling up the buckets, we headed back to Ashley's house for a couple beverages and a little unwinding time. Around 9:30, we parted ways with MARY BETH and her crew and returned to our respective homes for a little rest.

I'll be recapping the rest of the week a little later on. Lots to talk about!

P.S. to MARY BETH: Are you feeling less neglected now? Kisses (even though I know you HATE being touched..)

Another week goes by...

The whole Talley crew managed to survive the first week of "get-back-into-the-real-world" life.

As predicted, Leigh had a rough first day away from her baby boy. Mitchell's first day, however, went swimmingly. Frankly, as long as he has a little chow and a few cuddles with someone of the feminine persuasion (that's my boy!), he's happy wherever. Kamryn managed to get over whatever bug she had but we had a good day together. Kamryn stayed occupied by Scooby and toys in the living room and Dad was able to get some work done in the office. All was well. Once the first day was over, Mama did much better and finished off the week with some semblance of normalcy.

Overall, the work week was pretty uneventful. The weekend, however, was a little more hectic.

Kam and her Mom went to a birthday party on Saturday morning while Mitchell and Daddy hung at the house. Afterwards, the whole family went to the Fall Festival at our church. One of the booths was for free chiropractic adjustments and Mitchell got his first real spinal adjustment.

While one might think 7 weeks is a little young for a spinal adjustment, the chiropractor (who is also a friend of Leigh's) indicated that simple manipulations can assist with gastro-intestinal issues. This sounded like a winner to us as Mitchell is a 4 day pooper and, undoubtedly, one of the gassiest babies I've ever seen. Regrettably, it didn't work. He seemed to enjoy the attempt, though.

**As an aside, we keep hearing about how we're in an energy crisis and everybody is on a search for the perfect alternative fuel. Without getting into a political rant about the uselessness of ethanol, I have a different idea. I'm willing to offer up a few ounces of Mama's milk to any scientist who would like to identify the exact chemical make-up of said milk. Another group of scientists can work to replicate Mitchell's digestive tract to act as a refinery of sorts. If the milk can be mass-produced in crude form, it can then be refined through this large-scale version of Mitchell's intestines and the resulting product will be a powerful (and plentiful) alternative fuel source. The only downside to this would be the foul odor resulting from the burning of this fuel but, hey, it is but a small sacrifice to make us energy-independent.

Before I start to peddle this idea, I should probably confirm whether or not Mitchell's gas is even combustable. Maybe he and I can hang out on the couch tonight and, when he starts to scrunch up his face, I'll light a match and see if he can make a blue flame.

Alas, I digress.

Sunday was a fairly typical Sunday. We went to church, watched the race and, at 5:15, I left for youth group. Last night's activity was Trick-or-Treating for canned goods for the food pantry and, after several years of not dressing up for Halloween, I decided to re-visit my own youth and dress up. After racking my brain on what to wear, I settled on being a Goth Club-Kid and, if I say so myself, looked pretty Goth Club-Kid-y. Kamryn was unfazed over the fact that her Daddy was wearing earrings but was a little put-off by the fact that I'd painted my fingernails black and was wearing make-up. She seemed relieved after I came home, showered and started looking like Daddy again.

While I was gone, Kam hit a major milestone in that she wrote her first AND last name all by herself. The "Y" and the "N" need a little more work but how many 4 year-olds do YOU know who have perfect penmanship? That's what I thought. Watch out Kindergarten!!!!

Mitchell didn't have any real milestones this week. He's just hanging back and taking it all in.

Mom and Dad didn't have any more milestones either. We're just sitting back, scratching our heads and trying to figure out what we did RIGHT to get two of the smartest, sweetest and most beautiful children to ever grace this joint. Leigh must've stored up some really good karma because I'm pretty sure it wasn't from me.

That's all for now. More updates after Halloween!

First Day at School!

Today represented a major milestone in the life of Mitchell in that he's now spending his first day with Ashley!

While Mitchell and Daddy seemed to take this in stride, it caused much sadness and consternation for his mother. She'll be OK, though. Not sure I'll see much of my son this afternoon, though. I have a feeling that Leigh and Mitchell will make a beeline for the bedroom when they get home and lock themselves in.

In addition to Mitchell spending his first full day away from Mom and Dad, he's also spending it without his big sister. Unfortunately, after a big pumpkin carving party on Saturday night, Kam came home and did her best "Exorcist" impression. The shame of it is that she didn't even have that much to drink that night. Just a couple juiceboxes. Since she was sporting a good 101 for part of yesterday, it was decided that she and her Daddy would spend today at home getting her nursed back to health.

The silver lining to this cloud, however, is that it will give Ashley an opportunity to spend a day getting used to Mitchell without "Big Sister" critiquing her performance and telling her how to do her job.

Everything else here has been going very well. Lots of company over the past few weeks. Otherwise, we've just been getting used to each other. We're starting to get our schedules down pat.

This morning, Mitchell and I started off with a bottle (for him, not me) and, after some chow, headed upstairs for a shower. Much like his sister when SHE was still an infant, Mitchell LOVES the shower. Since we didn't have to worry about getting Kam ready, it was a little more relaxed but, as long as her morning attitude is good, she's pretty easy in the mornings. Leigh and Mitchell headed out the door at 6:45.

This afternoon, Leigh and Mitchell will come home, we'll play for a bit, have some dinner and play some more. At 10:30, Mitchell and Daddy will wrap up the evening with a bottle (for both of us this time) and head to bed. The next morning, we'll start all over again.

Not a whole lot of other milestones to report yet. Mitchell's working diligently on finding his smile and, occasionally, succeeds. He gets a kick out of being kissed on his dimple. He's also been doing some bodybuilding and is progressing well towards his goal of holding his head up by himself. A little more tummy-time and he'll have it down.

As for the recent blog silence, we hope that is now resolved (until the next problem comes up) and we should be able to provide pictures and anecdotes on a more frequent basis. Keep your fingers crossed.

The Past 10 Days Have Been CRAZY...

It's been a crazy 10 days and I've fallen short in my responsibilities for keeping this blog current. Fortunately, I have a nearly photographic memory so I will do my best to recap the past 10 days in one blog post:

Thursday, September 13: Mitchell had one of his first major outings and was given an opportunity to see mankind (or womankind) at it's worse...a Vera Bradley close-out sale at Cobb Galleria Center. While Mommy was able to get some real bargains, Daddy and Mitchell watched as thousands of vultures (who had shapeshifted into human females) picked the carcass of Vera Bradley with absolute abandon. Lest you think I'm exaggerating, I assure you, I'm not. I've seen crackheads demonstrate greater restraint than these people. I told Mitchell that this isn't REALLY how the real world behaves and promised him that I would do my best to make sure that he doesn't get dragged into a 50-75% off purse sale again.

After that, the whole family (with the exception of Mitchell since he doesn't have much hair) got haircuts and settled down for the night.

Friday, September 14th: Pretty uneventful day. Daddy worked all morning and then hung out with Mommy and Mitchell for the afternoon. Kamryn got home at 4:30 and we all bummed around that night waiting for Grandma and Paw-Paw to get into town.

I also realized that Mitchell needed a picture of his namesake (Paw-Paw Cain) in his bedroom and went on a mad search through my box of pictures. I hit the MOTHERLODE. Not only did I find a picture of Cain, he was also surrounded by me and John Mitchell. The picture was taken in July, 1990 and, as you can see above, had me with VERY big hair, George Michael styled stubble and a snappy post-80s Ocean Pacific shorts set (Kamryn had no idea who I was). John, in typical South Florida redneck style, was wearing a hot pink ball cap. My grandfather, meanwhile, did his best not to look embarrassed by these two fools while frying some fish...even though his smirk is pretty obvious.

As goofy as the picture is, it contains a Mitchell, a Cain and a Talley and I'm ecstatic that such a picture exists. I'll be taking this to be blown up and framed for Mitchell's room.

Saturday, September 15th: The day started off very early as Grandma and Paw-Paw made it here at 2:15 that morning. Around 4:00, we all retired to our beds. After waking up, Daddy, Kam and Grandma went to some garage sales but did little else for the rest of the day.

Sunday, September 16th: While at church, Daddy's phone rang with a surprise phone call; John, Bill and Bobby Mitchell were on their way home from North Carolina and asked if they could stop by. Their timing was outstanding. We grilled some burgers and, while the big kids were out playing in the back yard, Grandma, Paw-Paw and John had an opportunity to catch up from the past 6+ years. John and his boys left at 4:00 or so and Paw-Paw left at 8:00 for his long drive back to Texas.

Monday, September 17th: Although Kamryn had a vacation week, Daddy, much to his chagrin, had to go back to the office. The pain of this was somewhat remedied by the fact that he got to show-off his baby pictures to many co-workers and speak ad-nauseum about how his son is the greatest baby boy to grace this world in (at least) the last 35 years. Meanwhile, Mitchell went for his two-week check-up, weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs, 2 ozs and was given a clean bill of health. Afterwards, Grandma and Kamryn came home and decorated the yard for the beginning of fall with a heavy emphasis on Halloween.

Tuesday, September 18th: Absolutely nothing happened. In fact, when Daddy got home at 8:30 pm, it appeared that the rest of the Talley crew had not managed to get out of their pajamas all day.

Wednesday, September 19th: Mama, Kam, Mitchell and Grandma went to a play of "Robin Hood"

Thursday, September 20th: Mitchell reached a milestone by losing his umbilical cord and there was great rejoicing (yay.).

Friday, September 21st: While Daddy was at work, the rest of the crew spent the morning pursuing Grandma's favorite hobby; garage sales. Since losing the umbilical cord, Mitchell reached yet another milestone by taking his first shower with Daddy. He LOVED it! Like sister, like brother. He really dug the water and really DIDN'T dig having to get out. Finally, we celebrated the fact that TODAY was the day that he was supposed to grace us with his presence.

Saturday, September 22nd: Daddy and Grandma got up early to head to the airport. Kamryn had a play date with her "sissy" Anna (the picture above shows Anna, Mitchell and my daughter striking her best Britney Spears pose) and, while she was gone, Daddy, Mama and Mitchell chose NOT to use the time wisely and vegged out for most of the afternoon. The evening was finished off with dinner with Jack and Diane and, while the girls headed upstairs for some kid shows, Mitchell and Daddy had some couch time.

So far, today has been pretty uneventful as well. We blew off church and the day has mostly been spent fixing the computer and watching the race.

More updates as they're warranted.

The Origins of a Name: Cain

My son WAS named after my Paw-Paw Cain. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, I'll let an OLD letter do the talking.

Paw-Paw was diagnosed with liver cancer on Christmas Eve 1996. On the night of Christmas, I sat down and wrote him a letter. I read this letter at his funeral in March, 1997.

December 25th, 1996


Dear Paw-Paw,

When y’all were out here over Thanksgiving, I got to see some of the poetry that Grandma has been writing over the past few months. I never realized that she possessed that talent! The other day, I happened to see the one she wrote about you. Needless to say, it stirred my memory and made me recall a lot of things that I never really forgot about, but simply haven’t thought about in a while. Since then, I’ve searched the old memory banks and, despite everything that’s going on right now, have cracked a lot of smiles and even giggled a few times. Let’s start off with some terms from my childhood. I remember hearing these every time I walked in your door:

“Scob Your Knob” - I believe that this preceded the more famous and more widely-used term “Noogie Attack”, but they are the same thing, aren’t they? You always told me that you were going to do it, but I don’t recall ever receiving a “knob-scobbing” from you. LAURIE was the executrix ofthose. Got her back, though. Both Cain and Leslie have received knob scobbings from me.

“The horse is going to bite the corn”: This one you DID do to me, more times than I can remember! If I was within an arms length of you, you’d reach over, grab hold of my knee and tickle me until I was laughing so hard that I’d almost be crying. I still remember them VIVIDLY. You will be mighty proud to know that this tradition continues. Every once in a while, when Ashleigh is in a pouty mood, I’ll reach over and grab her knew. It’s amazing how quickly that pouty mood goes away.

Fortunately, I was never given a “knuckle sandwich” or taken to "Fist City, buy I learned an important lesson, as I’m sure Hunter can attest: the hand really IS quicker than the eye!

I do have to admit to something. I may not be telling you something you don’t already know. I know where you used to hid the Bubble Yum or Bubblelicious. You used to make us close our eyes and we couldn’t peek while you went to the kitchen to get us some bubble gum. One night I made it my mission…I was going to find the hiding place. So late at night, I snooped around the kitchen and, lo and behold, I found a pack of Bubble Yum in the top of the cabinet to the right of the stove. That night was not without it’s danger, though. As I was standing on my knees on the top of the counter, I heard Jim coming in to make a Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich and nearly fell and landed on my noggin trying to get down before I got caught.

I remember spending the summers with y’all in Pensacola. Along with that, I remember having the occasional Saturday night fish fry. Or coming home from church on Sunday and you would go out to make hamburgers on the grill. I am a firm believer that you should patent your hamburger grilling technique because yours have always been the best.

We definitely hit the amusement park circuit when we were kids. We went to Disney World, Opryland and Six Flags (kinda funny that I live within jogging distance of Six Flags nineteen years later, hunh?). On fact, I dare say that it hasn’t been all that long ago that Grandma finally threw away those little fruit-shaped juice containers we used to get at the park. We carried them hundreds of miles home and drink Coke or tea out of them whenever we were there. And it wasn’t just the amusement parks that were loads of fun. Meredith Kris and I would bug you to death to take us to the park down the street. “We’ve gotta wait until it cools off a bit” you told us. You took us every evening we asked, though.

You always did everything for us all those summers. Take us to the park, drive Jim and me to the mall if it was too rainy to walk or fix a bike when it was broken. And it hasn’t stopped since we’ve become adults. You were there to fix the heater hose on my trashy Olds Cutlass when I drove it too hard and put a “Bra” on my Storm when I couldn’t figure the stupid thing out.

Although I’ve dwelled on my memories of my childhood, the most important memory of all is how patient you were with the girls and me (me, in particular) all those summers. You never showed that you lost your patience with me even though I’m CERTAIN that there were occasions when I wore out your last nerve. The example that you always set in your spirituality and love for the Lord helped to mold the faith in Him that I have today. And even though I never showed my affection for the men in my life as I did the women, you never loved me any less. Just know that I never loved you any less either.

I just wanted to take a moment and share these things with you. Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I’ll see you in a few weeks.

Your loving grandson,

Billy

Over the years, I've learned more about him and, as it turns out, my letter only scratches the surface. By no means a saint, he was truly a remarkable man.

The Origins of a Name: Mitchell

The name Mitchell has absolutely no significance and the fact that my childhood best friend’s last name is Mitchell had no bearing upon the name of my son whatsoever. I only agreed to it because Mommy liked the name. Completely coincidental.

Daddy first met John Mitchell in 7th grade and thought he was goofy. As it turns out, the feeling was mutual so, on top of being goofy, he was a poor judge of character.

It was the next year, when we were both 13 that I was asked to be his shepherd when he joined our church. After spending a little time with him, I realized that my initial judgment of him was incorrect and he came to the realization that he really was a poor judge of character.

Somehow, the country-music-loving country boy and the heavy-metal-loving, wannabe city kid struck up a friendship that, 24 years later, has not waivered.

He introduced me to hunting, diving, airboats, skiing, knee-boarding, frogging and drifting a bedless truck. He taught me how to drive a bulldozer and tractor. I introduced him to beer.

There may be other things I introduced him to but they escape me right now.

We flipped airboats in the middle of the Everglades. We ran another friend into a strand of mangrove tress the first time he got on a slalom ski. We did driver changes in his truck on dark nights at 40 miles an hour (climb out the passenger window, cross the bed of the truck, climb into the drivers window). We took girls out to the ‘glades for campfires and built the fire on top of a box of live .22 shells. And although there are many more (mis)adventures, I’ll save those for later. Not our finest moments.

We survived high school, early adulthood and Hurricane Andrew together. We stood at each other’s weddings. We cried together and prayed together (see the airboat flipping incident above). We’ve provided therapy for each other by just listening. Most importantly, we’ve laughed together for almost a quarter of a century.

He’s a good guy and would indeed be a good person to be named after. But Mitchell Cain is not named after John Mitchell. Absolutely not. DEFINITELY not. I promise.

Mitchell and Daddy at Work

Not much to update:

Daddy and Mitchell woke up around 6:15 Tuesday morning to start their day. Daddy fired up his laptop and started answering 8 days worth of e-mails and Mitchell went to work eating. After Mitchell finished up with his job, he came down to join Daddy on the couch to provide a little support.

Had another follow-up Dr's appointment. Between Kam and Mitchell, we've now seen the pediatrician 4 times in 10 days. When he entered the exam room, the Doc said "Wow, it's like we're becoming old friends!", to which Daddy responded, "Yeah, but old friends don't charge to see each other!". Fortunately, the Doctor has a sense of humor and took the comment in the spirit in which it was intended.

Mitchell got a clean bill of health and is now back up to 6 lbs, 12 ozs...5 ounces heavier than he was on Friday and only 2 ounces shy of his birth weight. He's a growing boy!

After having a little lunch at Right Wing Tavern, Mitchell and Daddy sacked out on the couch for a brief nap (as evidenced by the picture above) while Mommy checked her work e-mail. This little catnap was short-lived but enjoyed by all.

The rest of the day followed its normal routine. Kam came home, played for a while, then dinner, bath and books. After prayers were said, Mama went to bed while Mitchell and Daddy returned to the couch for a little TV (I'm starting to see a trend here). At 11:00, it was lights out for the whole family.

It's CUDDLE TIME Again!!!

Sunday morning started very early in the Talley house.

After Mom, Michell and I were able to settle down for the night at 1:00 am, Leigh's brief nap was interrupted at 3:30 by a hungry child and a 4 year old who needed to go potty. Unable to go back to sleep, Kam ended up in our bed watching cartoons.

At 5:30, we all got up to see Grammie and Bobo off to Texas and let Mitchell have a little chow. After he ate, Kam requested a little cuddle time, which we happily obliged...until Baby Brother tried to feed off his big sister. When Leigh and I were able to pick ourselves off the floor fron laughing so hard, she (Leigh this time) fed the little fellow some more and went back to sleep for a bit. Meanwhile, Kam, Mitchell and I stayed up and watched some TV in the Living Room.

Headed out the door at 9:20 to run to the hospital so that Little Man could have some more blood drawn. While Mitchell handled the blood-letting without ill effect, the same can not be said for his big sister. When she saw the droplets of blood, her face turned white, she complained that her stomach hurt and laid her head down. Poor girl nearly passed out. After a few minutes, a couple gulps of water and some cuddling by Daddy, she regained her color and did just fine.

From there, it was off to church where Mitchell was admired and adored by many...most of whom were surprised that we brought this 6 day old bundle of joy out of the house. We explained that "that's how we roll". Our philosophy is to NOT to keep our kids at home for the first few weeks but to get them out into the world in order to start building up their little systems from day one and exposing them to more than just our house. This worked very well with Kamryn and we have no reason to believe it would be different with Mitchell. If fact, when Mitchell gets a little cranky, we go for a little walk. The boy LOVES being outside.

Kamryn reached a milestone yesterday as well. After the Children's Sermon was over, Kamryn looked at us and said, "I don't need you to take me to my class" and proceeded to walk to Children's Church without any parental interference. Mommy and Daddy had some serious mixed emotions; we are SO proud of how she's growing up but, at the same time, lament the fact that she's doing it so quickly. Ever since Baby Brother made his entrance, Kam has really exerted her independence.

At the tail end of the sermon, Daddy's phone rang with some outstanding news...NO MORE BILLI BED! Mitchell's billirubin levels, which were at 16+ on Friday and 15.2 on Saturday, had dropped to 12.9 Sunday morning. We were told to schedule a follow-up appointment for Tuesday and, until then, keep him in well-lit rooms. We were all ecstastic. As much as Mitchell hated being on the bed, his parents hated it more. It was tough to resist the urge to grab him whenever he got upset. It was certainly proof-positive that babies aren't the only one's prone to separation anxiety.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. After LONG naps, Kam and I went to Blockbuster and bought "E.T." (which she really enjoyed) and ordered in some Chinese. Last night also marked the end phase one of Paternity leave. Starting this morning, Kam went back to the sitter and Dad goes back to work, albeit from home this week. Real life comes a-knockin'

Not Digging The Scanner

Yesterday afternoon, we received Mitchell's phototherapy bed. It looks remarkably similar to a computer scanner that you lay him on and strap him down. With the exception of diaper changes and meal time, he is to remain on the bed at all times.

We thought this would be a good thing because he took to it so well yesterday afternoon. Night time, however, is a different story.

Mitchell thought that being outside the warm embrace of his Mommy and Daddy's arms was a load of crap and he made his position known to us for the majority of the night. Although Mama is feeling relatively rested, Daddy is feeling that 4 hours sleep a night is not nearly enough. Fortunately, I'll be working from the house next week and my hours will be a little more staggered so maybe I can catch up.

I certainly hope that's the case. Daddy's lack of sleep is resulting in some irritability and a total lack of patience for the monumentally stupid. For example, we took Mitchell to the hospital today to have his blood work done. Unfortunately, the order was lost and, after Daddy's concern was met with a certain non-chalance, all efforts to contain my discontent were lost. Somewhere out there, there's a none-too-helpful answering service operator who thinks I'm the world's biggest jerk.

ANYHOO...we eventually got Mitchell's blood work done and, as expected, it looks like we're in for a couple more days of the scanner. Hopefully, my boy will get a little more accustomed to this sleeping arrangement.

Otherwise, all else is well. Despite having a little anxiety about the loss of her "Only Child" status, Kamryn is proving to be a GREAT big sister. Earlier this morning when Mitchell was expressing his displeasure at the scanner, Kam was able to calm her brother down by singing to him and rubbing his head and chest. It was almost enough to bring a tear to your eye. I am SO proud of my little girl.

Leigh is doing very well too. She's still moving pretty slow and, even though she's not feeling her best, she's staying very active and looks beautiful. As I said in an earlier post, God made the right decision in having women bear children. If it were me that had to do the job, I wouldn't get out of bed for a month.

With a full belly, Mitchell is resting comfortably on his bed, so we're going to take this opportunity to catch a few zzzz.

My Daughter Is Emulating My Wife A Little TOO Much...

Four Days Old And Already In A Tanning Bed

His Aunt Meredith will be so proud...



















Little Man went in for his first check up today. Overall, he is very healthy. He's still hanging around 6 lbs, 7 ozs, is eating very well and is progressing just like he's supposed to. Unfortunately, however, he continues to be a little jaundiced.

We got some lab work back earlier and, because his billirubin numbers are still a little elevated, he's gotta have some phototherapy. His time in the sunlight and our frequent walks around the neighborhood didn't quite cut it.

A medical supply company is on their way over with, essentially, a baby tanning bed that he will be sleeping in all night tonight. Tomorrow we will take him back to the hospital to have new blood work done and may then have an idea of how long he will have to continue his "tanning".

Leave it to my kids...both of them brought home some issues...Kamryn with her twice-daily antibiotic injections and Mitchell with photo therapy. No complaints, though. If this minor inconvenience is the worst we have to deal with, we are truly blessed.

Aside from his slight yellow tinge, he's doing great. When he's not sleeping, he eats like a madman. He's got two parents and a sister who are doing their best to give him a major case of lap colic as it seems like he's being held constantly. His Grammie and Bobo, who got here on Wednesday, are assisting in that endeavor. Grammie is going to need a couple days rest after this trip as Kamryn has been running her ragged. Mitchell and his Bobo should be well rested, however, as they're both asleep on the couch as I type. It's a position they both seem to enjoy...frequently.

Last night we had a little "Welcome Home, Birthday Boy" dinner and Kamryn and I baked a cake for the event. Kam did a FABULOUS job helping me crack eggs, mix the batter, ice the cake and apply a generous amount of sprinkles. We're going to turn her into a chef yet.

I've kept copious notes of Mitchell's first couple days but, as I'm still on a temporary internet connection, I'm a little hesitant to start telling the story. Once I'm officially back online, I'll bore everyone with ALL of the details.

Phototherapy light has just arrived. More updates as they happen...and as I have internet access.

A Beautiful Baby Boy and the World's Worst Bureaucracy...

Unfortunately, as the result of having my internet service through the world's worst telecommunications company, the Talley family has all but been cut off from the outside world. While we have had our cellular service re-established, we're still dead in the water from and online standpoint. We do have a temporary connection which can go at any time, but we have no e-mail address for, possibly, 48 hours. My apologies for the lack of updates. I'll do better once we're back up and running.

Wanted to get out a couple more recent pictures of the kids. Aren't they gorgeous???

Mitchell is doing great...and by doing great, I mean he eats, sleeps and poops in great quantities but little else. We're on our way out the door to take him to his follow-up Dr's appointment.

Off we go. More updates to come!