Happy Halloween w/ Additions

This weekend the Dickens celebrated Greg's first true Trunk or Treating experience and the addition of Brighton Theodore Dickens to our family. Friday afternoon Skinny Lynnie arrived from New York to help watch Greg while Amber and I spent time in the hospital. This is my mother's third straight week living out of a suitcase and we are extremely grateful that she could make it to Lexington. That evening Amber and I went to the hospital to begin Amber's induction. After filling out the paperwork we waited only about 10 minuted before we were brought back to the delivery room. The nurses placed Amber's IV and started her on a low dose oxytocin regiment.

Saturday morning Amber's water broke and she started to have regular contractions. After a relatively rough morning of contractions and pain, Amber delivered Brighton Theodore Dickens at 1:24pm weighing 10lbs. 3oz. and measuring 22in. long. Both of us are super excited to welcome Brighton into our home, but even more excited was his older brother Gregory. First chance he had, Greg wanted to hold his little brother and luckily I caught the two of them together.

Brighton is doing great despite having a slightly irregular sleeping pattern (aka. awake at night and sleeping in the day...uh oh!)

Here are some images of him with Amber, the family, and "Grandmi".

As parents we are blessed to have two healthy and active little boys. We are even more blessed to have Greg as our first born and wonderful example. Despite our lives this weekend revolving around the birth of Brighton we made it a priority to make Greg feel special as well. So Saturday evening Grandmi and I took Greg to the ward's Trunk or Treat where he was able to spend time getting candy, seeing his nursery buddies, and being the super little guy that he is. Here are some of the pictures from the Trunk or Treat.

 As closure to this post, here are some more random pictures.

Above: Greg in the hospital room trying to push every button he saw. His favorite part of the hospital, however, was the "fast bus" ride from the parking structure to the main entrance. 

Above: Greg trying to show Brighton that it is ok to be naked :) and also to demonstrate his rippling abs to the female nurses.

Oh How the World Changes

We love Greg, but oh how his life is going to change. Thanks Greg for the some great memories! Can't wait to see you with your new brother.

Almost Done

This weekend was Amber's birthday. That means that one pretty cool lady became one year older. In order to celebrate, Amber and I went out to dinner and enjoyed some nice quiet time. For her birthday Amber received a steamer mop (trust me, I asked if she wanted anything more "exciting") and a electric tortilla press (who would have guessed that Amber loves tacos) from my parents.

Greg's new room received another addition as I finished his toy chest. Amber suggested adding a lid to the chest. However, when it was finished we both noticed that it resembled a coffin. Oh well, too late now to remove the lid. Hopefully Greg doesn't hold it against and in 20 years come back and murder us in our sleep.

The weather here has been incredible minus the 0" of rain this fall. Because of the lack of rain I haven't mowed the grass in nearly a month (compared to 2x a week in the spring). Today was another gorgeous day with temperatures hitting the low 80s. Greg particularly liked wearing shorts on our evening walk and running up and down the sidewalk showing off his new halloween shirt. 

A Sick and Long Weekend!

The weekend is sunny and warm and what did the Dickens do this weekend?...we were sick and studying. Bummer! We did catch Greg eating crackers in his new boat (aka Thomas the train box). 

Between studying breaks I also finished Greg's jungle mural. As you can see, he really liked it...especially the monkey.

Greg's New Room

When we finished Greg's first room, we dropped to the ground in exhaustion and decided to never ever design a room again. Too much work, too much detail, and never enough time. 

Fast forward 2 years and we are at it once again. Little Dickens #2 is due in less than a month and Amber and I decided to decorate the spare bedroom in preparation for Greg's exodus from the "baby" room. Is it not sad that Greg is no longer a baby and now a toddler?

With a little help from some friends, I discovered some online sites that cater to building your own furniture with detailed plans and cut specifications. Since Greg will be adjusting to a real bed, we decided on something that would be low to the ground...the Pottery Barn Stratton Day Bed. I went to Lowes, picked up the wood, had it cut, borrowed a miter saw and disappeared for about a week into the garage working on the bed. Since the new room would have a jungle color scheme we decided on a dark oak wood stain. The bed turned out really well and you can see it below. It has slots for baskets and if needed I can add drawers. Better yet, the bed is segmented into 3 parts and so when we move I can easily break it down and pack it up. 

This weekend we painted the new room and replaced the light switch and wall sockets. Lots of paint and many hours later, here is the finished room. Two walls are "Cream in my coffee", the third is "La Fonda Tortuga" and the last is a mixture of the previous two with "Stampede", "Cincinnatian Hotel Carl Tan", and "Summer Splash". Once again we said never again.

The room still needs a dresser which we picked out and I am in the process of completing a toy chest for Greg. And lastly the room will be decorated with some curtains and a jungle mural above the bed that is currently in process.

Yikes! Sometimes it pays being the first child. Even Greg was exhausted.