Number 24

Grandchild number 24 (on Aaron's side), Hogan Arthur Richardson, arrived on September 7, 2008 to proud parents Betsy and Michael. This is number 3 for them - Hattie is now 7 and Clark is 2 1/2. He's the sweetest little thing and we had such a great time visiting them. Of course, Sam and Jack woke up every person on the floor, but what else is new. Happy Birthday baby Hogan and welcome to the family! On a side note - how great does Aaron look - of course, he decides to get small right as I'm getting ready to get fat!

Ultrasound Number 1

Aaron and I got to see the baby today for the first time. He/she is doing very well with a whopping 176 beats per minute heartrate and a nice strong spine. Of course, that's all we could make out, but the technician and the doctor both said that everything looks great. A bonus - there's only one! My official 40-week due date is April 30th, but since we're trying to go for a size and labor closer to Sam's than Jack's (a.k.a. short and easy at two weeks early with a six pounder versus induced and hard at one week early with an injured eight pounder!), Dr. Callison marked me down for Wednesday, April 15th - that's two weeks and a day early, and on a Wednesday to make sure she's not out of the office or in surgery. If I don't go on my own by that day, she'll help me out! Man - do I love my doctor! A tax break on tax day - that's a happy thing!

Jack's first day

Jack started preschool last Tuesday, September 9th. His first day was actually supposed to be Thursday, September 4th, but he woke up that morning with a nasty fever, so I had to keep him home. He absolutely loves preschool and is never ready to leave when I go to pick him up. The first day, I believe his comment was - "I not go with you, Mommy - I live at preschool!" That's my boy!

Late updates

My very first blog post ever was last August when Aaron and I spent the weekend at the Gaylord Opryland hotel in Nashville to see Alton Brown and the celebrity chef series. We're big fans of Alton Brown (Good East, Feasting on Asphalt, and now Feasting on Waves on the food network - he also hosts Iron Chef America) and had such a great time last year that we went again this year on August 16th. We had a fantastic view from our room this year (thanks babe for the upgrade!) and couldn't stop laughing at the seminar - he's a riot! So nice to be away, just the two of us - even if it is just once a year!

Jack's birthday

I'm finally getting around to downloading all the pictures and video of Jack's birthday. We had a great time at Chuck E. Cheese (I actually didn't mind it that much!) and Jack was, as always, spoiled rotten. Thanks to everybody that attended - he had the best time!