Well everyone, Emory is over 2 weeks old now - hard to believe how the time has flown! We are settling in and getting adjusted at home. We are loving it! Georgia and Jackson adore EmJ. She definitely is not lacking any visual or auditory stimulation around here. Jackson will hold Emory and just say "Hi baby" over and over again. He tried to hand her a car the other day - pushing it into her hand saying, "Car? Car?" So sweet - I know it will be fun for them when she can interact more. Georgia is the loving older sister. She will lay on the couch with EmJ on her chest for a good half hour. She just relishes the time with her. Georgia is still not quite used to calling her by her name yet - she mostly asks and talks about "the new baby". We call Emory "June Bug" sometimes (her middle name is June) and Georgia likes to call her "Lady Bug" or "Sweet Darling". I am not sure where she got that last one, but is is so neat to watch the way she loves her little sister. I never had a sister, and so I am thrilled that Georgia and Emory will be able to have this relationship. Here are some more pics! At home, not even a week old.Snuggling with DaddyNo, we didn't forget about the other kids - they play so well together. Jackson feels so special when we let him hold EmJWalking home from the park - boy, the double jogging stroller sure comes in handy!

GA and J love to spin - Brian and I love to watch Jackson "wind-up" before he takes off.

The rest of the story...

Diaper cake made for us by one of Brian's students - wow!!!
Getting ready to leave the hospital.
John and Joey (my brothers) with Brian and EmJ.

Ok, for the rest of the labor story! Where were we...back home laboring together. Contractions still about 6 minutes apart, but continuing to get more intense. Every time I would get up to pee I would have 3 or more contractions just to walk the 15 ft. to the bathroom. I would brace myself against Brian and breathe through it. Brian ran to my parents' house at 8 and picked up Jackson to put him down for bed. About 8:30 or so I was holding onto Brian's shoulders trying to walk to the bathroom. He said, "Hey, it's kind of like middle school dancing." He said that when I didn't laugh at that at all, he knew it was time to go to the hospital. He called our friend Tonya (who has done this 3 times before) and she agreed with him. We left the house shortly after 9 o'clock to go to the hospital and passed my mom walking with Georgia to our house. Mom told me later that Georgia kept asking her who was watching Jackson - such a thoughtful big sister! For those of you thinking of calling Child Protective Services, my parents live only 3 blocks away and Jackson was probaby not alone more than 3 minutes. We made it to the hospital about 9:30. While we were turning into the hospital the guy behind us honked - probably b/c Brian was turning slowly because I could feel the smallest bump and turn - and Brian said he wanted to give him the what-for, but I was in the middle of a contraction so he couldn't. Ha - good husband. I was 6-7 cm when we arrived and they put us in a room. We spoke to the midwife about breaking my water to get things moving. She had another mom who was at 9 cm, so she said that after she delivered that baby, she would come back to do it. So, about 10:45 they broke my water - which, by the way, doesn't hurt. But what does hurt is the contractions that hit you like a brick wall afterward. They were on top of each other and were really intense. I was doing the really deep, low breathing - think gorilla who has been shot and is moaning his last breaths. By the way, Brian is doing great this whole time, so encouraging, "Focus on your breathing - nice slow breaths, you're doing great..." After about 5-7 of these contractions, I am ready to push. For those of you who have never felt this sensation before, there is no way to describe it. When you say, "I need to push" what you really mean is "I feel like I am about to poop a watermelon, so somebody better be ready to catch this thing." Well after a good push and a half (not exactly sure what that means, but that is what the midwife said it was), Emory was born. Let's not mention how my throat was sore from semi-screaming her out. Sorry for the men out there reading this :). One thing that I find really amazing is how easily everyone can give you directions as you are doing the hardest thing you have ever done. Comments such as: keep your chin to your chest, bottom down, deep breaths, don't scream - all sound so easy off of the lips but they are not the one who is doing the work. Really, all I am thinking during the pushing phase is the harder I push, the faster this baby will come out. Leave it to me to be logical. Well, she arrived, a beautiful baby girl. Let me just say for the record that Brian and I were both really wanting a girl, so we were thrilled! They put her up on my chest right away. Boy, was she pink! We had asked for them to delay her getting eye drops and the vitamin K shot because I wanted to try to nurse her right away. So, I held her there on my chest and and got to nurse her until probably 1am - so amazing! It was such a neat time to bond with her, and that is something that I will never forget. What an amazing miracle to have a baby. God has truly blessed us, and we can't wait for all of you to meet our newest blessing!

Emory June

So sweet.
Here she is!
Nana gettting to hold Emory for the first time.Daddy giving his newest girl some lovin'
Just a few minutes after she was born!

We are so blessed to welcome Emory June Coffey into the world on November 24th, 2009 at 11:26pm. She weighed 8 lbs 0 oz, and was 19.4 inches long! I felt my first contractions on Monday evening, and felt them throughout the night. Brian stayed home from work on Tuesday because I was still having contractions pretty regularly. We got out and about a bit in the morning, trying to stay active and keep labor moving along. Brian said that when I was having a contraction at the mall, some women looked at me like they knew exactly what was going on - I didn't really care what anyone thought, just was focused on breathing through it. :) When we got home, the kids took a great nap (thank you, Jesus!) and I tried to lay down too. That was good for me to get some rest before things got really intense. I went for a walk when I got up. I got home and the kids were up and we were all going to talk a walk together to drop the kids off at Nana and Poppy's. I was having a lot of contractions, so Brian walked the kids down and I went around the block. Every 15-20 steps I would feel a contraction and lean against a tree to breathe through it. One of our neighbors was out doing her Christmas decorations and I just walked up to a tree in her yard and leaned against it to breathe, and then kept walking afterward. I am sure it was a bit interesting to her, but I was not really in a place to explain. By the next contraction I heard Brian running down the hill and he was behind me rubbing my back and talking me through it. We headed back home to labor there more. My contractions were 6-8 minutes apart, but pretty intense 90 sec - 2 mins long.

Ok, Em J has to eat, more to come soon.

The Belly Shot & Typical Sibling Interaction

Georgia and Mommy. Yesterday morning I said to her, "You're mommy's girl, aren't you." She promptly replied, "No. I'm daddy's girl. You can have Jackson." At least she's honest!
Well, for those of you who have wondered how huge I am, here ya go. Georgia is the photographer once again. :) 39 weeks - almost there!So, these are typical faces seen around the Coffey household. I always warn people with small children that when Georgia's bottom teeth come out, beware! She is about to have a Brian moment (haha, not in a negative way - just a big burst of energy). You can see the result of this little bit of energy being transferred to Jackson.
Ahh, friends once again. She got it out of her system.

Good Friends

The Rozelle's came out to visit the other weekend. Jay, Brian, and two other guys (Tom and Ben) went camping, and Katie and I stayed here with the kiddos. Of course, we went to our favorite hiking spot. It was a beautiful weekend, and it was great to get outside to remember our friend Paul's birthday (he loved the outdoors!). The kids play so well together - it is neat that the kids remember each other even though they don't see each other all that often.

Fall Hiking

When we can't get out to go to Old Man's Cave, we like to go to Indian Run Falls in Dublin. You would never think that this place could be here. For you followers of the blog, you have seen video of this place before. Well, we took the kids out earlier this month when the thermometer on the car said that it was 80 degrees outside!!! They just thrive being outside!Georgia took this picture - impressed?!?
I love this picture - Jackson just adores Brian, so neat for me to watch!

All Dressed Up

Ok, for all of you who have been anxiously awaiting to see if I ever decided to update this thing again, here we go. Trick-or-treating was great, mostly because of all the candy that the kids got (and Brian and I ate!). Thankfully, I have such a big belly, you can't tell what is candy and what is baby. We are just under 2 weeks out now. I have made a list of things that I want to get accomplished before baby bean #3 arrives - we will see how that goes. I plan on accomplishing lots next week as I have started my maternity leave for work. I still have a few loose ends to tie up, but boy, does that feel good! High up on the list is packing the bag for the hospital (nope, haven't done that yet) - been too busy cleaning out the refrigerator - it looks sweet!!! Anyway, will try to do better. Be patient with me. I covet your prayers for a speedy and easy labor, as well as a healthy baby. Feel free to comment with any last minute name suggestions!!!

A neat day...

Well friends, my camera cord is missing, so while one is on order, words will have to suffice. Two things happened last week that I wanted to share - one funny, and one just neat. We'll go neat, then funny.

Neat: I was playing my guitar on the front porch sitting with Georgia (who was more interested in watcing the trashman than my playing). I had just grabbed the music to "Prince of Peace" because Georgia likes to sing the echo songs. Well, as the trashman made his way up the street, he stopped in front of our house. He walked up to the front porch and asked if he could listen. Not sure why God picked me for this task, because my guitar skills are very limited. (If you find yourself thinking, "I didn't even know Molly played the guitar," you are not too far off track). So, the trashman sat on the steps of the front porch and I sang to him about Jesus - Lord of Lord, and King of Kings. A divine appointment - neat.

Funny: I was playing with the kiddos in the backyard. I turned on the sprinkler and put their suits on and let the burn some energy. When we finished, Georgia wanted to put her clothes back on (the girl changes clothes at least 4 times a day - no exaggeration. 1 outfit is always the black dress that she wore when she was a flowergirl, and the other is usually a red, Spanish, "flamingo dancer" dress that some friends brought her from a trip to Spain.) Before I know it, the girl is squatting in the middle of the yard, telling me she has to go pee. At this point, I feel a mix of pride and laughter - pride at the fact that I have taught my little girl that it is ok to pee in the woods and I am laughing at the fact that she thinks our backyard is the woods. I explain to her that when our house is less than 10 feet away, it is better to just go inside and pee on the toilet. She responds with her new favorite bathroom phrase, "Mommy, I need some privacy" and dashes around the side of the house. At this time, Jackson is wandering into the neighbors yard, so I have to go after him before I chase my naked 3 year-old around. I grab Jack and begin my search for Georgia. I am hoping that she is being discreet because 2 male neighbors are outside working on their house. I can't find her on the side of the house, so proceed toward the front. I am looking, looking, calling for her, and then I spot her. She is squatting down in the front yard behind a small Japanese maple and in front of a bush. I do have to say that if I were going to pick a place to pee, this would be it. And, besides a little mulch on her bottom, she performed quite nicely. :)

Visit to Tennessee

We had a wonderful trip to Tennessee a couple weeks ago. We stayed with Brian's brother, Justin, and his wife, Allison. They were great! We took the kids swimming in the pool, which is great entertainment. Although there was a brief moment when I thought Jackson was going to drown. I was sitting in a chair on the edge of the pool (no, not the big pool - those of you who are dialing children's services can hang up the phone now) and the kids were playing in the water. It was 1 ft. deep, and Georgia was swimming around like an alligator and Jackson was just standing there watching. Well, not sure what exactly inspired him to just try to take off, but he tried to run after Georgia and his upper body was moving a little faster than his legs in the water. As you can imagine, this sent him face first into the water. AHH! Mother alert goes off, instincts take over, and before you can blink an eye I am in the pool (skirt and all) pulling him up. Thankfully, God installed children with this reflex where they gasp for air when they are about to fall in the water (startle reflex maybe?) and Jackson was just fine. He wasn't even coughing or anything. And, not that anyone cares about this, I didn't even really get wet! I attribute this mostly to the lifesaving classes I took in 10th grade and a little to the fact that the water was only 12 inches deep. Ah, the joys of parenting.

Mommy and GeorgiaDaddy and Jackson

Here is a pic of Allison and Georgia together - Georgia was LOVING that they were both wearing orange! Allison is a TV anchor, so when Georgia saw her on TV wearing orange, she was thrilled that they matched!

Summer Photo Shoot

I love these photos because they seem to just epitomize my kids. The individual shots are the little faces that they make all the time but are so fleeting that you can't seem to capture them on film (or whatever digital cameras capture them on...we'll stick with film because it sounds so much more romantic). Have I mentioned that we just love these little kiddos?!?

Catch-Up Time

Busy, busy summer days. I do not post as often as I would like to, but a good friend told me that if I were going to err, it would be better to err on the the side of making the memories rather than documenting them. I concur; which is why I am just posting after quite a bit of time here. Well, here is what we have been up to the past few weeks.

We met my parents up at Lake Erie - they have a little cottage up there. It is so relaxing and peaceful! We took the kiddos on the boat, and they loved it! They both sat with Nana and watched Poppy (we are trying to get Georgia to call him Popeye because we think it will be funny) as we cruised along. I took Georgia below deck into the little cabin and we bounced up and down as we went over the waves. It took Jackson about 5 minutes of listening to the hum of the motor before he was asleep and Georgia followed suit shortly thereafter.

We visited COSI as well (for those of you out-of-towners, this is an absolutely FABULOUS science museum geared toward kids. The kids and I rode in the space module - very cool, and Georgia learned that with the right set-up (proper use of a fulcrum, I think?), she could lift a car! There is a car attached to a giant steel beam with a rope at the other end. The center of balance is positioned so that you can pull on the rope and lift the car. Well, of course Georgia wanted to give it a try. She grabbed onto the rope pretty high up when her end was low and the car was in the air, and then when we let the car back down, Georgia did not let go of the rope, and it took her soaring above our heads. A moment of panic ensued with Brian's arms wide open, ready to make the catch of a lifetime and me pulling with all of my weight to bring her end back down. This, I must mention, is the first time I have been happy to have those extra pregnancy pounds! :)

July 2nd marked Georgia's 3rd birthday! I can't believe that our little girl is growing up! She got a bike helment and is now riding her "big girl bike" - which, I got as a steal at a garage sale for $7! We had family over to our house to celebrate with us. Georgia is such a sweet girl and I love her more and more every day. When she arrived, I remember feeling a new kind of love that I had never known before and that could not have ever been explained to me until I became a parent. But if you would have told me that my love could grow even more, I would not have believed you. But, alas, it has. I feel so blessed that God has given us these little ones.
Gram holding Georgia as we sing to her - the cake was yummy (my favorite: yellow cake with chocolate icing!)

We went to the 4th of July parade in Dublin. Let me just say, we got more candy at that stinking parade than at Halloween! I like to think that it is that my kids are so dang cute that people cannot resist handing them candy. But, I probably should take into account the fact that I was watching like a hawk for the candy passer-outers, and taught Georgia (as any good mom should) to hold out both hands and say 'please!' Jackson was the dark horse in it all - people walked up and gave him candy too and if his hands were full, they just set it by his feet. Brian and I already ate all of the good stuff, but the kids are still enjoying the dum-dums suckers.

Haircuts All Around!

We went to the Sterling's for dinner not to long ago, and the kids both got their first haircuts! (Yes, Georgia is almost 3 and has never had even a trim!!!). Jackson's hair was growing over his ears and he was beginning to form a bit of a mullet. Amber did a GREAT job. Jackson was very amused by a popsicle, and then a lollipop when he had polished that off. Georgia was SO desperate to get her haircut too that she sat still like an angel with no bribery needed. :) While we were along for the ride, I got my haircut too. Two days later, I cut Brian's hair - just buzzed it. Amber and Cory were right in saying that it is not a good thing for your marriage - ha! I am not so swift with the clippers and Brian is a bit of a perfectionist (bad combination). I guess I would rather fork over the $15 than go through the stress of the haircut. Actually, it wasn't that bad. It was actually my best haircutting job yet (I think I may have done it 3 other times, so really, the only way I can go is up!). Brian only had to touch up a few spots and he even complimented me on my work afterward! Yea. But, I think in everyone's best interest, I'll leave the haircutting to Amber.Jackson loving his purple popsicle. He may have eaten equal parts popsicle and hair.The final outcome - so handsome! Amber is a pro!Georgia is eating this up!!! She begged to have it cut - Amber maybe took 1/8th of an inch off, but it was the greatest thing ever in Georgia's eyes.Georgia now says everyday, "Mommy, I need to get a haircut again!" = she would have it everyday if she could!

Fun in the Sun!

So I let Georgia and Jackson play outside in the sprinkler the other day because it was so hot. Who needs a pool membership when you have a good old garden hose and sprinkler to run through?!? They LOVED it!!! Georgia was getting the biggest kick out of spraying Jackson - Brian and I keep saying that he is going to be one tough cookie when he gets older!

A few more pics of the day...

Officially Walking!

Well, Jackson had taken 7 or so steps on his birthday, but he now likes to walk everywhere.  It was about 5 or so days ago when he decided that he would rather walk than crawl.  He gets himself to standing and then takes off.  He is not quite keeping up with Georgia (but at her pace, it may take awhile!) but he does just fine!  Check him out!

Fun in the Bunny Fountains!

We had dinner the other night with some good friends, the Kearney's. We walked down to the Bunny Fountains - aptly named for the 3 dancing bunny statues on the top of the hill, which, by the way, Brian thinks are kinda creepy. Logan (Sarah and Blake's little boy) and Georgia were LOVING running in the water.
Jackson enjoyed himself as well, and even walked straight through the water!

Birthday Bash!

Happy 1st Birthday Jackson! We had a wonderful birthday for Jackson.
We had some friends over and had cake and ice cream and jumped in the bouncy castle. (Jackson attacked his cousin Emma in there).
Brian cut him the biggest piece of birthday cake I have ever seen! Of course, the boy ate all of it - no messing around there!
The next day we went to El Vaquero (only the best Mexican restaurant ever!) and all of the servers there came in and sang to Jack. He even wore the sombrero - Ole!I can't believe our little baby boy is already 1! He seems so young compared to Georgia - the time has just flown by. We just love him so much and it is so incredible to see his little personality coming out already!

Been A Long Time Gone...

Well everyone, it has been awhile. Here is a brief synopsis of the past month...

The last time I wrote, we were in Tennessee. We had a wonderful time hiking around the Smoky Mountains. Georgia loved it! She hiked up a muddy 1.5 mile trail to see some waterfalls. Brian carried her down as she was pretty tired afterward.

Brian's brother, Justin, got married the following Saturday. The wedding was beautiful. Georgia was the flower girl. Although she did walk down the aisle, she did not throw a single flower, but who cares? I was just happy that she walked down and didn't try to throw all of the petals down the storm drain (the wedding was outside and she actually did this at the rehearsal). What more can you ask from a 2 1/2 year old? Here is a picture of the first dance. Allison was beautiful (as always!)

The following weekend we had some old friends come out from Fort Wayne, the Rozelle's. It is always so fun to see them. Jay and Katie have two kiddos (Jacob and Sarah) who are right about the same age as our kids, so that is always fun. They played together like they hadn't missed a beat, and we had a great time catching up. There is something special about spending time with friends when you have a history together that makes it really relaxing and enjoyable. This picture screams future wedding slideshow to me!
Other than that, not a lot has been going on! We have been trying to get more settled into our house and make it our home. Brian and Georgia are getting good at the tag-team lawn mowing.

We had a wonderful Mother's Day. We dedicated both kiddos at church on Sunday. We are having an open house/Jackson's 1st bday party on Saturday from 1-3, so if you are reading this, we would love for you to stop by. Call if you need directions. Oh yeah, and one more little thing...we're pregnant!!!