Alexander Joesph Lane is here! -- Updated w/picture!!

Beautiful Boy!!

Everyone was very surprised and overjoyed when Wendy called to say her water had broken yesterday, May 19th, 2008. I had talked to her just 2 hours before and she was feeling fine and definitely not having any signs of labor. But, little Alex was ready to come and he did! He was born at 5:44 pm and weighed 8 lbs. and was 19 3/4 in. long. He is just precious! We can't wait to meet him and congratulate his mommy, daddy and BIG sister!!!

(I'll post a picture later...of course I'm having internet issues!)

A few more pictures from Rachel's 4th b-day party

Bradley...digging around! :)

Elle climbing up to slide with Rachel

Thomas enjoyed watching the slide from his daddy's arms. :)

Had to post a picture of both "Pop's"

This is Rachel's new Little Mermaid swimgear

that Gege and Papa gave her.

Go Rachel! This was right before we turned the

water on again...the slide got really hot real quick!

Makes Rachel and Bradley look tiny!

It took me forever to get my dumb internet service to cooperate and let me post some more pics. I wanted to add a couple so you could see the scale of the slide and stuff.

My little stinkers

Rachel was "helping" Bradley walk down the stairs. She was so proud of herself for helping him. He really didn't want her to hold his hand, but he tolerated it and I grabbed my camera for a quick pic of the moment.
This is Bradley's new favorite thing to do. A week ago, we moved our couch so that it sits under the kitchen/den window. Bradley has discovered that he can climb up the couch and stand on the top and reach the kitchen sink. He LOVES turning on the water and swiveling the faucet. Of course, it's dangerous and I sternly tell him "no" every time he does this. But, I decided to grab a picture of it first. He was VERY proud of himself for figuring out this whole scenario.
What a stinker!!! By the way, if you make Bradley's hair and skin tone darker, I think he looks like Nick's baby pictures in this one. :)

Swivel that faucet, Bradley!

Divine Intervention & Mr. Mom

Let me tell you about our Sunday morning routine/struggle. Last night, Bradley had some major issues sleeping, meaning he didn't very well. He woke up several times and talked/fussed but didn't need me until about 4:00. I listened to him for about 10 minutes and then realized that he wasn't going to work it out on his own. So, I grabbed a juice, (I know this is a horrible habit, but we do it anyway) and went to see Bradley. He calmed down when I picked him up, so I stood and swayed with him for a few minutes and then laid him back down. He seemed to do fine until 5:00. I repeated my exact actions of the previous hour. This time, when I laid him down, he stood up and started crying and working himself up very hysterically. But, I decided to head back to bed and let Nick have a try. So, I nudged Nick out of his slumber and he went in to try to calm Bradley back down. He was in there until about 6 and then laid him back. I think we both dozed off and then I heard Bradley talking and calling, "MA" at 6:30!!! I don't know what was going on! But, I ignored him until 7, when I heard Rachel yelling for me as loud as she could. I went to get her first and then we got Bradley. Needless to say, Nick, Bradley and I didn't get much sleep after 4 this morning. So, I really didn't want to get ready and go to church. But, my main objective right now is to get us in the habit of going to church again. We've been out of church for sooooo long and I want it to be our Sunday "thing". So, we DID get dressed and go, even though we were a few minutes late. Rachel was fine, as usual, she enjoyed the music and loved looking around at all the people. Bradley was fine too...he was just so tired. Nick held him and I think he fell asleep in Nick's arms around 10:30. He was OUT! He slept for a good hour, so I didn't even have to take him to the nursery to see if he would stay in there or not. I took Rachel and she was fine...she immediately started playing with another little girl. This is the first time I've been able to actually hear the sermon at this church. And, the message was excellent...one that I really needed to hear!!! (I'll share more about that in a later post.) Bradley woke up about 20 minutes before the preacher was finished, but he hung out in Nick's lap eating snacks and sipping juice. When he got tired of doing that, Nick took him out while I stayed in the service. I was thrilled to get to hear the whole thing. I was also so appreciative of Nick allowing me to stay and listen to the message. So, was it Divine Intervention that Bradley slept during the service so that I could avoid the nursery, stay in the service and hear an awesome message?? I think so!

Mr. Mom refers to my precious husband who was so willing to watch the kids for me today so I could take a nap! He was on a roll today, watching Bradley this morning at church and then taking them upstairs to play so I could have some peace and quiet for a nap. When they're in the den and I'm in our room, they can't stand that they're not allowed to come in...and they really don't know how to be Quiet! Sometimes they "accidentally" drop something, scream, sing loud, etc... while I'm napping. So, it's nice to have them upstairs, where they're a little farther away.

What a great day!

Nicholas Brad Milligan turns 30!

Well, yesterday was Nick's 30th birthday! Hard to believe that we're both in our 30's and no longer 20-somethings! Anyway, we kept it simple...Nick style...and had his parents over for dinner. They brought some delicious steaks and a homemade lemon meringue pie. I made baked beans, baked potatoes, salad and some grilled veggies with bread to accompany the steaks. It was a delicious meal...one that we haven't had in awhile, but it was so good! I definitely overate, though! Nick's not crazy about desserts unless it's homemade chocolate ice cream or lemon meringue pie, so he was thrilled that his mom made him a pie. We didn't have any candles except for the #4 candle that was supposed to be for Rachel's party, but I couldn't find it that day. Anyway, we sang "Happy Birthday" to him and then the kids helped him blow out his candle. They LOVE blowing out candles! I hope it was a special celebration for Nick! He's the best husband, father and son and we love him so much!

I love you babe!!! Happy 30th Birthday!

Boot Camp & Other tidbits...

I originally wrote this on 5/13, but coudn't get it to post!

I have recently noticed from reading some friend's blogs, that there is a new, popular exercise program called "Boot Camp". From what I gather, mommies and daddies take turns either getting up 2 or 3 days a week and meeting at a school track to exercise. A trainer leads the exercise session. They start at 5:30am and get home by 6:30am so they can get ready for work. They take their measurements and also their timed mile and see how they improve after a month. Anyway, I was inspired after reading how so many parents were willing to get up that early and exercise and then come home and get ready to go to work. Well, you know that I don't want to leave and go anywhere to exercise and I especially don't want to pay to join a gym or anything. So, I decided to use the perfectly good treadmill that we have owned for about 3 years and I have NEVER used. Nick has used it a ton, but I've never made the time. So, I decided to have my own little at home boot camp. I now get up at 6:30am four days a week and get on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes. Nick listens out for the kids (who usually wake up by 7) and then hops in the shower when I come back inside. The treadmill is in Nick's shop, so it's not far and it's already light at that time of day (who would have thought?!). I'm actually enjoying this early morning time. It's quiet and peaceful out there and it's just me and Dixie. She's always so glad to see me and excited that someone is outside so early. Anyway, I want to get in better shape and feel better about myself. Why am I telling y'all about this? Because I want to stick with it. I want to be asked how it's going so I can continue to feel motivated to exercise. It's a good thing and I want to keep doing it.



On a completely separate note...I sometimes marvel at the fact that it takes me a whole morning to get something as simple as mopping the floor finished. This morning, I started sweeping the kitchen floor around 9:00. The kids were playing in the den. Bradley went to the door and wanted to go outside. Instead, I let them go upstairs to play. I stopped sweeping, went upstairs, opened the door, helped Bradley figure out what he wanted to do. He decided he wanted to play with the choo choo train. I fixed the track, found a choo-choo and gave him the control. Then he wanted a movie on the tv. So, I turned on the tv and waited for his approval on the movie that was in: Baby Einstein "Baby MacDonald". Bradley seemed satisfied and then Rachel came upstairs. She started playing with the choo choo trains too. I went back downstairs and resumed my sweeping. I was almost done and Rachel said she needed some more juice. I found their cups, re-filled them and then took both kids some juice and then came back downstairs. I then got out the mop and wet it in the sink. I heard Rachel hollering for me from upstairs, so I went back upstairs to see what she needed. (It was about 9:20am). It turns out, that 2 choo-choo's aren't working very well and she wanted me to fix them. So, I went back downstairs, grabbed a screwdriver and some new batteries and went back upstairs. The trains are all battery operated and their AAA batteries are screwed down under a plastic cover. I worked on this for about 10 minutes and figured out that 2 trains aren't working right regardless of whether I put new batteries in the train or in the controller. (This may have something to do with the gentleness in which they are thrown down the stairs by Bradley.) I said I was sorry that I couldn't fix them and came back downstairs to mop the kitchen. It was about 9:40. I finally started mopping and then Rachel came back downstairs. She was fascinated by the whole mopping process. I'll admit that I don't mop often and Nick's the actual mopper. I sweep all the time, but Nick's the one who mops. He's tough and strong and can just do a better job than me! :) Anyway, I finally finished the whole process by 10:00 and then couldn't believe that it had taken me a whole hour to mop such a small floor! Maybe next time I'll ignore the kids and see if that helps. HA! They won't be ignored! It's easier to stop what I'm doing and find them an alternative play area than try to mop with them right under foot! Oh well!

Mother's Day and a few more b-day pics

Happy Mother's Day!


(OOPS! CAn't post any pictures right now...I'll try again tomorrow!)


We decided to use the slide ONE more time this morning since we had to take it back this evening. Bradley actually went down it by himself without the water on. He could control his speed and stopped several times along the way down. He thought it was pretty fun and squealed the whole way down. Rachel waited at the bottom so she could "catch" him.



We had a pretty low-key Mother's Day, which was what I wanted. We missed church for lack of energy and Bradley decided to wake up at 6:30 because he dropped "Bay" out of his crib. Oh well...so much for sleeping in. Nick offered to let me sleep in, but Bradley didn't think it was a good idea. We were all very worn out from such a busy day! I did take a nice nap this afternoon while Nick watched the kids, which is no small feat since Bradley thinks he has to have me at his beck and call at all times! I feel soooooooo blessed to have two beautiful, sweet children who make me SO proud that I'm a mommy!!!!


We had such a fun weekend!