Will our water woes ever end? Last night we were up until about 11:30 trying to stop the rain from leaking in the attic over the kitchen. Curtis kept calling for bucket after bucket until we ran out of buckets and had to start handing any container we could find - coolers, tupperware, cut up milk jugs.....Curtis stayed home from work today to patch up holes in the roof. He thinks he got most of them. Fingers crossed we don't have to re-roof the whole thing, which is what it was looking like we would have to do last night.

Max's bilirubin is still elevated, although not enough to require more time on the blanket. We went to the doc Mon, Wed, and Fri this week. We go back again Tues. I think his problem is that he just doesn't poop enough. When he finally does poop for the day, we've started cheering for him.

Wanda got a haircut this week. I don't have a picture yet (she's is so NOT photogenic), but trust us - she's adorable once again. No more dreadlocks.

Yeah! Max is off the bili-blanket! It's so nice to not be attached to an electrical outlet. However, we still have to go back to the doctor on Monday to get a new bilirubin level and weigh him just to make sure he's really doing well. But I can live with that. Today I took him outside several times to get some natural sunlight - anything to make sure we don't go back on the blanket.

In construction world, the 2nd story walls started to go up. Curtis built the walls in sections so installation is going easier than expected. Of course, after 2 trips to Lowes for the day, we still don't have quite enough 2x4's on hand to complete the north wall. Oh well - maybe Jack will get to go tomorrow. He loves the tool store! Curtis's dad also got the stairs installed. I tried walking up them, but they're not enclosed yet and the boards for the steps are only temporary. My fear of getting to heights (not a fear of heights - just a fear of getting to them) kicked in and I had to go back down before making it up the full flight.

Jack had a visitor today - Alex! He has her wrapped around his little finger. They spent most of the afternoon with Alex carrying Jack, and Jack pointing where to go next. He has a tooth that's bugging him, so he had to take a cartoon break for a while to let the Children's Motrin work its magic. But once the medicine kicked in, he was back to normal Jack.

Max is glowing green! I took him for his first doctor's visit yesterday afternoon, and his bilirubin count was at 14 (should be less than 10). So he's hooked up to a bili-blanket, which is basically a light pad that gives him a constant exposure to UV rays which break down the bilirubin. It's the modern day version of the old wives' tale of sitting the baby in the window. We had tried keeping Max near a window and short walks with him outside before his doctor visit, but with the high heat and humidity, it was difficult to get him out there enough. Now we're trapped inside and can't be too far from an electrical outlet. Hopefully we hear from the Home Health nurse soon about when they will be out to get a new bili level and see how quickly we can take him off it.

Here's Trystin helping give Max a bath yesterday morning. Well, mostly he just stood there and watched. But he was a good big brother. Last night he was a good helper for dad, too. He picked up loose screws. Curtis has the garage area pretty much enclosed - we're just waiting for garage doors, need to install 2 windows, and start building stairs and walls for the laundry room. The flooring is all screwed down, so he will be starting to build walls for the 2nd floor. Roof trusses have been ordered and will be here next week, if not by the end of this week. It's going fast now!

And Jack is still all boy. Here he got a hold of daddy's hat before heading to play in the dirt. Yesterday he got a hold of Trystin's shoe, managed to put it on correctly (well, not the right foot, but had it on his foot nonetheless), and walked around the living room like it was no big deal. He's been very entertaining. Every once in a while he gets a little upset that mommy can't always pick him up, but he's very happy to have Grandma Elaine's as a back up. He likes to check on baby Max in the basinet. The little booger is so strong he can do a pull up on the basinet without any assistance - nice show of strength, but unfortunately for him something that gets him in trouble!

Welcome Home Max!!

Jack finally got to do some w-o-r-k!

4 generations: Mommy, Grandpa Den, Jack, and Great Grandpa Ed

So Max decided to show us who's boss once again. Monday evening I started having contractions that wouldn't stop no matter what I did, so we decided to get checked out, thinking Max was still breech. When the nurses did their initial exam, we were delightfully surprised to discover Max had flipped over at some point in the evening and was now ready to be born on his own - no c-section! So the nurses started monitoring and we waited. And waited. And waited. Every time we thought the contractions were starting to pick up, they would stop. And just when we were convinced the contractions were totally done and it was time to head back home, the contractions would start up again stronger than before. Finally late Tuesday morning, Dr. Morgan ordered an ultrasound after a brief concern that Jack was not handling contractions well. Max was just fine (he had just been taking a cat nap in the womb), but we all decided today was the day and we weren't going home. Dr. Morgan broke my water to encourage things along. Once again though, my contractions were strong but didn't progress. So around 1pm or so doc ordered the lowest dose of Pitocin. And things finally started taking off. Max took his first glimpse of the world at 4:31pm July 1. He weighed just barely under 6lbs and stretched out 19 1/4 inches.

So yea! No surgery required. We were able to deliver just the way we wanted. No pain killers - just ibuprofin afterwards. We are looking forward to seeing what kind of person Max will become. So far we think he's going to have an "I'll show you" attitude. Why do we think that? Well....

• I didn't think I was pregnant in the first place. Curtis made me take a test anyway, and well, Max showed us!
• We were convinced we were having a girl. But Max showed all boy at his 21 wk ultrasound.
• He made us go through the whole breech situation. Yes, it was fun to see him with the extra ultrasounds, but the idea of c-section had us really anxious.
• Everyone said we would never make it until July (due date was July 15). Max showed us by coming early but of course he waited until the first day of July to prove everyone wrong.

Trystin and Jack have each had a turn to visit already. Trystin held him for a while and then asked for his Big Brother present. Unfortunately we had forgot it at home in our rush to get to the hospital Monday night. But he understood and is looking forward to finding out what kind of book he'll get once Max is home. Jack was also thrilled to meet his brother. I know he doesn't understand the concept of baby brother, but you could tell he knew Max was special to our family. Jack gave Max the sweetest kiss to welcome him.

We'll add pictures once everyone is settled back at home. Thank you to everyone who's sent us messages!