The Herring Family
The Herring FamilyLogan and Cindy come to Visit!
This weekend, we had a set of visitors -- Logan and Cindy! This is Stacy's old roommate from college, and a great friend.
Over the weekend, and boys and the girls got to play outside with some GREAT weather, and just generally be kids. Mom got to hang out and talk with someone with something called "Adult Conversation". Sometimes I wonder what this is.
It was a great weekend, and I think everyone had a good time. Just a good time to enjoy company and the nice weather!
Mom & Dad: March - Dec 2011
Ah. The patriarch and the matriarch. Let's start with the latter!
Besides being the true "head of the household", Mom has started playing handbells at the local church, where she also helps out with PMO (Parent's Morning Out) at times. She had been lending some of her Graphic Design handiwork to come up with a logo for the shirts and bags that the group has been using, as well! Furthermore, Mom is back to doing some contract work for The Durham Visitor's and Convention Bureau, where she was formerly the Direct Of Marking and Communication. Currently, Mom has been doing a superb job raising two wonderful (and well mannered!) children, which frankly, takes more patience than I would ever have. All day, she organizes trips, plans activities, plays, cleans, resupplies, and does... every day. If there is ever a heart to a family, it is a lot of the time the Mom's and she has my total respect, and an open budget to do what she can with what we have.
I am impressed (as always)!
Then, the Dad. Notable events that have happened have been few. Mostly, I have moved out of racing, for the time being. I have sold the last "race car" that I had, and I am putting all my effort into my health, and into the family for a while. Playing lots of indoor soccer. Then, in September, I had an MCL 2 injury that still has me on the sidelines. However, it has been a great time to hang out with the family more, and make out schedules a little less hectic. I have enjoyed it, and I think I might be taking a step back for a little while longer to just be more of a Family Dad.
Overall, I think this has been a great year. We have started working on the house (which forced us to start working on it ;) ) and we are starting to develop into a family of four similar, yet unique, individuals. These are good times, and now that we are ending the 'baby' portion of the family, expect more updates, and hopefully with more pictures!
Remember to check the link on the side for the Shutterfly pictures, as words might not always appear here, but new pictures always will!
- Dad
Herring House Updates: March - Dec 2011
Herring House - ah the place where we all live, and lately, where we all work.In an effort to actually update the house and repair some items in the house, we have been busy working in this house that we love.
Since we have kids and dogs, we are not to the point where we are ready for a living area overhaul. So, to make the downstairs a little more exciting, we threw in some new rugs! It gave the room a little more plushness that we all needed. We will see show long we can keep the dog fuzz off the floors, but I am betting on `not long`. :)
Then we had The Great Oven Failure of 2011! This means, that the oven we had, a GE Profile, just failed on us. These are the types of occasions where you get to go back in time and see what previous owners did. Well, we got to see the 27" Drop-in oven we had was hard wired to a breaker. Then, we got to see the "handy work" that one person previously can do with a hammer to dry wall.
We attempted to fix the model we had - no dice. They quit making parts for out model. We attempted to buy a updated replacement... but they were about two times more expensive, with less features, than the equivalent free standing models. Ugh. In all, to be efficient as possible, we cut out the drop-in space, moved the counters down, removed the HULKING microwave hood for just a hood.
To replace these items, we got a free standing convection Oven, a good residential BROAN hood (connected to the exterior vent, mind you), and a free standing 1.1 cu inch microwave. In all, the same cost for all that work as just getting a terrible 27" updated model replacement for the oven we didn't like to begin with.
Also on the list was some "updating" of the house. Stacy and I are not really fans of gold. I am sure in the pantheon of house updates, they all go from Gold --> Antique --> Silver/Brushed Steel and back again in the span of 40-50 years. However, it was our houses' time for less gold, and more silver/Antique. To keep our house spruced up, but without breaking the kids piggy banks', we just updated some light fixtures, light switch panels, electrical box plates, and put CFLs all through out the house. Also, since we had a ceiling fan fail, we replaced it with a Westminster unit, and it is really a quality piece. I think we were both surprised at the great construction and quality. I highly recommend looking at their fans, which can be found at our new favorite store (that I should buy some stock in), Lowes.
The Herring Family has some more painting and HUGE projects on the horizon. Of them, we will be getting City Sewer and Water around May, so wish us luck! After that, only one more BIG project (Heat pump) and then some more niggly projects I have wanted to do for a while (replace rotting wood/masonite on the house).
Let's see if I can keep this updated, and let you see the progress!
- Dad
Sarah: March - Dec 2011
Sarah... ah.. much has changed in the past 9 months. We have gained the ability to play on the iPad. We walk, run and climb on everything. We now talk in mostly complete sentences, of which I hear "nnnnn...nnnn...Mahna Mahna", which means "Dad, play Mahna Mahna on YouTube". And, finally, we are starting to enter the terrible Twos and still teething. :(
Speaking of which, we are developing a personality of our own now, as well. We like Mahna Mahna as our favorite song. Sarah LOVES to bounce and dance... and fall. She will jump and fall off of any and everything. Also, she loves to explore. And by explore, I mean we can climb up, on, over anything in our way. Doors? Not a problem. Locks? Getting there.
Development and trait-wise, Sarah is different than her older sister. She still has blonde hair and blue eyes (like Dad did), and has not shown a hand dominance. All of her teeth are still working their ways in. Sarah is always happy and bubbly until she is not, but generally, that means there is a real problem or I am really hurt. Sarah can do anything the big kids can do, and if not, she will try until she does it. She seems to have been latching onto what Megan learns, and is trying to learn at the same rate. She comes up with DOOZIES of words that we didn't realize she had learned. Also, she likes to say ":sniff sniff: Daddy Scchmeeells". :\
As for activities, the main one that Dad gets to see is the integrating of two separate and different personalities working together. Sarah and Megan are similar, and also very different. Sarah will take on things much bigger than her, and takes a knock and generally keeps on going. Older sister is a bit more of a rules lawyer, and sets up games and rules for everyone to follow. Sarah just falls along and tries to have fun.
All is well as we move into the New Year, and here's to more updates... and some more photos in Dad's Photostream so he can put more images into posts. :\
- Dad
Megan: March - Dec 2011
Ah. So it is time to catch up.
Let's see. Megan. She is no longer playing any formalized ball sports. Mostly, she loves dressing up now, playing word games and puzzles, and is figuring out how to be a big sister. She is now regularly attending PMO at a local Lutheran church and is developing some childhood friends. Cannon seems to be in the running for the name I hear the most, right next to Nathan.
Toy-wise, there are a lot of toys. Surprisingly, many of these are books or puzzles. Lots of drawing and penciling. Most of this happens on the desk setup for her and Sarah.
Personality, we are the drama-queen. If I think about it, this is definitely something that she gets from Dad, and something we both have to constantly work on. Favorite color - purple, without a doubt. Handedness - Right. Hair - Long and messy without a natural part. Eyes - Blue. Coordination - Unsure.
Overally, Megan is turning into a very polite young lady, and seems to be a kid, which is great. However, both her and her sister use surprisingly grown-up (complex) words at times, which is always very strange to hear for me. :)
Still, all seems to be going well in the life of Megan, and The Parents will get back to making these monthly, instead of yearly, updates.
Now, back to dancing, playing, dressing up, and listening to Megan's "fantastical" stories!
- Dad
Little Kicker
Megan loves to play soccer with Dad, so we enrolled her in a soccer program this winter. She enjoyed the class and it gave her a chance to spend some quality time with Dad. This weekend, she completed the class and there was a little award ceremony at the end where she received a "shiny medal" (as Megan calls it). Sarah and I went too, to cheer her on and take some pictures!
Even Sarah got in on the soccer action...
Trying to catch up
Yes, I'm behind. But here's a little of what's been going on with us lately.
The Birthday:
Megan turned 3 at the beginning of the month! THREE!! Can you believe it? We've had a grand time celebrating all month long. We've been to Marbles Kids' Museum and Monkey Joe's and eaten a lot of cake. As we were putting the candles on her cake, she said, "Mommy, put my 3 on and light it up!" She just gets cuter with age!
(Please look past the hair in the last picture. By the end of the day it takes on a life of its own.)
Happy Third Birthday, Megan!!!
The Wedding:
On March 5, Uncle Kevin (Brian's bother) and Aunt Vicky got married! Megan was the flower girl and the whole event was just wonderful! Megan was very deliberate (and cute) in her flower distribution as she walked down the aisle. And she and Sarah both had a blast dancing to the music. But the highlight of the evening for Megan (and probably all of us) was the delicious wedding cake! When it came time to cut the cake Megan said something along the lines of, "Finally! I've been waiting for the cake ALL DAY!!" Congrats, Kevin and Vicky! Thanks for letting us be a part of your amazing day!
Sarah:
Sarah just turned 10 months! Whoa...that's almost a year old. It's been a fast and fun year. Sarah is into everything. She's been crawling since 6 months and standing, cruising and climbing since not too long after learning to crawl. She's been taking little steps here and there, but last night, she officially walked! Yay, Sarah!!
She's also saying a few words, mostly "Hi" and "Bye" as she waves to everything and everyone. Her growth continues to be in the 90-95th percentiles for height and she's already into some 18-month clothes. She's also just about to outgrow her car seat, so it's time for us to install the bigger one. Her appetite is quite healthy as well - she loves any finger/table food and mostly eats what we eat. Recently, she's started feeding herself with a spoon. Here current tooth count is 2 on the bottom with at least one if not two top teeth breaking through soon.
Her hair is still pretty short and no matter how much pink I dress her in, everyone always thinks she's a boy. It is rather amusing, though, to see people's reactions when they ask what his name is and I reply, "Sarah."
I'll do my best to resume updates to the blog, and thanks to our readers who still check our blog for occasional signs of life. As Brian posted earlier, you can always check out our photos to see what we're up to! Happy Spring!!!
Yea... we are having a hard time keeping up
http://herringfamilypictures.shutterfly.com/
If you want to see all the latest "hot freshness", please go here as upload photos is doable!
Thank you!
- brian
Daddy Season Two Indoor Soccer Ends!
It has been a while since we have updated! I will update the page once I am at home tonight about the girls, but for the time -- Season Two is over! Dad played on two teams this time, and ended with 19 goals and 10 assists... along with body aches and joint pain that reminded him he is getting older.
See the results of the two teams I played on (Morris Villans and Blue Screen of Death) here:
Dad is now onto Season Three, and only playing on one team, for now, so his body can recover.
We will report more later!
- Dad
Daddy Season One Indoor Soccer Ends!
Hi all. Daddy here.
Just to follow up that I finished the 1st Indoor Season that I have ever played. I finished up with a team of fellow co-workers in the CoEd League in 5th, with a combined record of 2-5. For us, this is impressive, as our wins came against quality teams, and by the end of the season, we were playing as a team! And this is with a group of guys and gals that have never really played much before!
Dad finished up with 7 goals and 5 assists (second on the team, by 1 goal, most total points), which isn't too bad for a Sweeper ;).
Dad will be playing again in his second season on two teams, so wish him well! He enjoys it!
Results:
- dad
Daddy Indoor Soccer!
Hi again, all!
Dad is playing indoor Soccer with people from work on `Tekelec TeIam` (as we put an `I` in team).
Not a lot to show, but Dad has 3 goals, and is getting some exercise. These are all good things.
If you want to see Dad, or follow his team, feel free at:
- Dad
Herring Limo!
Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the `joke post`! Dad had gotten a rental truck during the trade-in process, and Mom could not bare to not snap some photos of Dad in a truck. It was a really NICE truck, but not what I want right now.
So, without further wait.....
This is the new family car -- A 2010 Ford Flex. We were going to go used, but we got a fairly good deal, and traded in the Mommy car for this car. It has lots of room for everyone, and plenty of room to grow into. Also, this is a car that is all Mommy's, and she really appears to like it! I think the whole family will love it, and we are really going to put it to the test in September with a family trip to the Outer Banks. It should be a great time! The car rides VERY quiet, and has lots of comfort and intelligence features that we thought just were not possible with American cars. Ford has really come a long way, and we shopped EVERYTHING.
Below are a few parting shots, and if you want to see more, just visit us or the Family Photos on the right bar!
- Dad
Herring-a-sarus!!
Hi all!
As the family as grown, so has our need for a little more space. At this point in time, we were running out of space in the family car. Everyone loves the family car, and it is really quirky and us. At no point has it ever let us down, and I think everyone loves it. However, with Stacy barely having room to ride passenger, Dad getting kicked by Megan, and the car 100% full with just our daily amount of stuff, the family car isn't fulfilling the role we needed.
This means that we have to unfortunately replace the car. This is something no one is really happy about. :(
So, last week, the Herring family, after a lot of quick, deep and long searching, found a replacement!
Welcome to Herring Truck-a-sarus!!!
See you soon in the Herring-a-sarus!!
- Dad
Egg Art
Yes, we play with our food.
Megan thought it would be fun to decorate her egg sandwich this morning. After she gave the eggs the gift of sight, she looked at me with a surprised expression and said, "Mom! My egg has eyes!"
We continued the arts and craft theme in a more traditional manner with a morning paint session.
Surviving Month One
Now I know why my parents were always calling me "Beth" and my sister "Stacy." That second child's name just hasn't become second nature yet...every time I try to type "Sarah," my fingers automatically start typing "Megan." Anyway...
Sarah is one month old today! So we have officially survived the first month and are still here and sane enough to blog about it. I'm not saying that every moment has been pure bliss, but it hasn't been as completely insane as I had imagined it to be.
In fact, there have been some downright sweet moments. Yesterday, for instance, a big thunderstorm rolled in after nap time. Megan has developed a crazy fear of the thunder, but when Sarah started crying during the storm, Meg ran over to her, held Sarah's hand and told her, "Don't cry, Sarah. It's thunder. It's just a noise. It's outside. It won't hurt you." I happened to catch this magical moment while I was doing laundry, and I was so proud of Megan for being so caring of Sarah that it brought a little tear to my eye.
And twice this week people have asked Megan if she likes being a big sister. And twice she has replied "Yes." This is a definite shift in Megan's attitude towards sisterhood; two weeks ago she would have told you - hands down - "No." Occasionally she does still tell me, "Megan no want Sarah to go," and she did try to get me to leave Sarah at Granddaddy and Grandmommy's last week, but I can tell she's softening.
So, yes, we are all adjusting. We're trying to keep to our routine and stay busy (not that staying busy is that hard!) It's challenging and we don't make it to too many places on time, but we're getting better. This morning we actually did make it to art class on time, fully dressed, diapered and fed, with almost no resistance to getting out of the house and into the car. Days like today fill me with hope!
Here are a few things that have kept us busy recently...
...hunting for tadpoles and crayfish with Grandmommy
...playing in the sprinkler at playschool
...hiding out in the fort
...just hanging out
Water Safety 101
That's right, we practice water safety, even in 8 inches of water!
Actually, Megan just really likes to float on her back in the water with the life jacket on. The life jacket has become Megan's newest accessory...she wore it around the house and yard all afternoon, and even wore it around the block on our walk.
Sisterly Love
After two and a half weeks, Megan finally decided she wanted to hold Sarah all by herself.
Megan also told Sarah that she loves her!
http://www.vimeo.com/12298051
Dad and the Girls!
Happy Birthday, Dad!!!
Precious Playtime
As I mentioned earlier, we've really been trying to stick with our normal routine as much as possible. Each week, Brian takes Megan to Gymboree for a play class. This gives Megan and Dad some one-on-one time and gives me a chance to get some things done around the house or just have some mom time. This morning, however, Sarah and I tagged along to the class, which allowed me to finally get some pictures of Megan in Gymboree-action!
This morning, the theme was "Butterflies" and all the activities revolved around pretending to be butterflies (ie, starting as a caterpillar, crawling through the tunnel/cocoon, and coming out the other side as a butterfly). There was a butterfly hide-and-seek and Megan found 2 of the butterflies, then she shared one with another little girl. So sweet!!
And not to be left out, Sarah had her own special playtime consisting of tummy time. Megan even joined in, too!
Life With Two
Thanks, Dad, for posting about little Sarah's arrival. It's been almost 2 weeks since she was born and a little over a week since we came home from the hospital. We're all doing really well, though a tad sleep-deprived. Sarah's pediatrician is very pleased with how well she's doing, and on Tuesday she weighed in at 8 pounds 2 ounces (up from 7 pounds 12 ounces at birth and 7 pounds 6 ounces when she left the hospital). I'm recovering much better and faster it seems after this delivery than after Megan's. Though they were two completely different kinds of labor and delivery...I really don't feel like I just gave birth less than 2 weeks ago.
Megan seems to be adjusting okay to being a big sister. Other than the occasional sympathetic crying, she responds well to Sarah and is quick to tell us that "it's awake!" or "baby sister crying."
We've tried to maintain a pretty normal routine, for Megan's sake as well as my own. Megan, Sarah and I went to playgroup on Monday so that Megan could play with her friends. On Wednesday, I ventured out with the girls by myself to Chapel Hill to run an errand (my first trip with them alone!). We rode through UNC's campus, but didn't stop to reminisce since it was a quick trip. And on Friday, we had a very chic girls' outing to Rockwood Park, complete with a picnic lunch and gummy bears from Foster's Market.
And somewhere in there, Sarah got 2 sponge baths this week -- she was smelling pretty milky. Like big sister Megan, she appeared to like the water, but didn't like being cold. Thank goodness for the adorable, cozy bath bag!
I think that just about covers our first two weeks as a family of four. There are lots more pictures on the photo page so check them out. I'll add a few more in separate posts. Stay tuned for more "Life with the Herrings!"
Pictures are up!
Dad is typing left-handed (one handed), so this is short.
Pictures are up!
- dad
Sarah Ellen Herring is Here! 2:37am!
Well, we were here for about 1 hr 18 mins, and then Sarah was born at 2:37am on May 17th 2010. Delivery took... oh, about 10 mins or so. It was ridiculously fast, and up until this point, Mom has been getting repaired. Mom did this delivery NATURALLY as she could not wait the 1hr to get the lab results back!
Mom and Sarah are getting their first feeding together. We will be moving to the post-delivery room shortly, and then I will be doing whatever Mom needs.
If you need to contact us, please do.
- dad
Baby on the way!!
We are leaving for the hospital. Of course it would be right after midnight.
Check-in afterwards.
Later!
- dad
Catching Up
Thanks, Dad, for putting up the last few posts. With trying to keep up with Megan and get everything ready for the new baby, I just haven't really felt like adding "update blog" to my already too long to-do list. But I will add a few things here to bring all you readers up to speed on life around here.
So Megan turned 2 back in March. It's amazing to have a 2 year old and she's just hilarious with all the things that she says and does. She had a purple cake for her birthday (at her very specific request) and I'm sure she'd love to show you all what it looked like. Her favorite park of the cake - any cake for that matter - is definitely the icing. She's a sugar fiend like me.
Here are Megan's 2-year stats, as well as some other pertinent info:
Height: 36 inches (though I think the nurse was a little ambitious there, and I measured her a little closer to 35 inches)
Weight: 26 lbs, 4 oz (and I'm certain she's gained another few pounds in the last month)
Favorite color: purple
Favorite foods: grapes, blueberries, shrimp, elmo snacks, corn
Favorite letters: M and W (because a W is an upside-down M)
Favorite songs: Old MacDonald and the ABCs
Favorite activities: painting, washing her hands, taking pictures with mom's camera
Here's a Megan photograph...she's not too bad!
So, now you know!! She's also becoming insanely independent and I hear "Megan do by self" all day, with some "Mommy pick up" thrown in for good measure. She seems to have some grasp of the new baby's impending arrival. Last night I told her that my tummy was moving around a lot, and she said, "Baby Sarah come out soon." Bless her heart, I hope she's right!! She'll also tell me that some things are Baby Sarah's, like a pair of shorts that are too small for Megan or the new crib. Hopefully she'll adjust ok once the baby is actually here.
Here are some of the things we've done in the last month...
...Went to The Fork Stables in Norwood to see the horses
...Dyed Easter Eggs
...Hunted Easter Eggs and saw the Easter Bunny
...Went to the Museum of Life and Science and rode the train
...Went to a Durham Bulls Baseball Game and played in the Wool E. Bull playground
So that's it in a nutshell. Otherwise, I'm cleaning, organizing, doing lots of laundry, and just trying to make sure we've got things covered for the baby's arrival. I think we've got the big things covered: crib (check), diapers (check), clean clothes (check), hospital bag packed (check), and car seat installed (check). That puts us in pretty good shape. I'm hoping that all the newborn knowledge will come back to me. It's amazing how foreign it feels even after 2 short years...but Meg's been mobile and talkative for what seems like so long, that I often forget she's only 2. I'm just ready to have this little one out. I'm ready to get this show on the road, to stop being a punching bag for what is surely a world-class kickboxer or a kangaroo that is living in my tummy, to meet this little girl, and to be able to walk normally again (this pregnancy waddle has got to go!). It's sad to think that this will probably be the last time I'll be pregnant, because overall I do enjoy being pregnant - though this pregnancy has been tougher than my first, probably because chasing around a toddler doesn't leave a lot of time to just sit and bask in the pregnancy glow. BUT - I am excited about our growing family and can't wait to introduce little Sarah to you all.
Stay tuned, the next post will probably be "the one." Until then, take care! (oh yeah, and here's one more rare photograph of pregnant mama with the little one.)
Pop goes the Mommy!
Hi again!
Well, it is almost time, but not quite. Since this is our last planned child, and actually carrying around a child inside of you for 9 months is an important time, I thought it was only fitting that we have some pictures to remember this time by!
I guess that it is fitting that our last child is going to be born near Mother's Day weekend. It is a special time for Mommy and the family.
On a related note, Megan and Mom are both born in March while Sarah and Dad are both born in May! This will lead to some interesting birthday situations and delegation in the future, I am sure.
We may not be updating this for a while (or we might have to rely on help from others!), but we should have some exciting news on May 11th 2010! Mom hit her first date 100%! Let's see what happens this time!
Here's to hoping we see you all happy and healthy on the other side!
- Dad
