k shay

baby calisthenics

KJ works out while the adults play Catan.

cutest kids ever

We're so sad you're going to be gone... for SO long!! One of God's greatest blessings is the gift of this family in our lives. Merry Christmas, Rochas! Elmy and Daybed loooooove you!

...what we DID do this weekend

We went to the County Fair!

I desperately wanted to Kate to ride this pony, but she wasn't feeling it... We petted the ponies and talked to the ponies and watched other little kids ride ponies, but when it was her turn to sit on a pony, she flipped. So, we let McKenna go first, watched her do it AND I promised Kate a lollipop if she rode it.

Well... it worked!

She definitely wasn't thrilled about the pony, but she couldn't wait for that lollipop!

 Some "Elmy" love :) 

 Later that night, the Rochas came over for dinner:

 hahaha...

I mean seriously... does it get any cuter??

 Love these babies so much.

So I guess it worked out that we didn't get to spend the weekend in a cabin. We got to spend it with our best friends!

We also got to spend it cleaning because someone looked at our house! Who knows if anything will come of it, but we do have one seriously clean house. It is always nice to start the week that way, especially because it's going to be a busy one. HayHay has several soccer games, Sarah is having an Initials, Inc. party (yay!), our small groups are going out to dinner, book club is at my house and Jordan + his girlfriend (Emily, of course) are coming for the weekend. At least we're nearly ready :)

Monday already??

Out of a whole weekend of fun things, the only pictures I took were on my phone and of this sweet boy:

I could just eat him up!

love both of these sweet boys. KJ takes after David's fashion sense! I even bought him some seersucker yesterday :)

Becca's sister Jessica got married this weekend, and it was a joyous occasion. Friday night was the barn dance at the Coker Barn (so fun!) and Saturday was full of wedding festivities. I "helped" by holding this precious baby throughout the day. We had two couples involved in the wedding (the minister and a groomsman + their wives) stay at our house for the weekend, and they were so sweet to make dinner for us Saturday night. We were blessed by their company and new friendship! Sunday we spent the day lounging at the lake and enjoying the Bryants. David cooked dinner (shredded beef & mashed potatoes: his specialty) and we helped the Bryants kick off their last week of freedom. School starts next week!

400th post: KJ

It seems only fitting that my 400th blog post would be about something monumental.

Becca and I had lunch together on Thursday as our "last supper" and we relished in chatting about what was to come.

She was admitted to the hospital at midnight Thursday night and they induced her labor right away! I certainly couldn't sleep that night, so I headed to the hospital at 3am to wait it out with Keith and Liz (Becca's mom). We all napped and rested while her labor progressed, and we were all rearing to go as the sun was rising. Becca had planned on getting an epidural, but her platelet count was too low and they wouldn't give it to her. She was SUCH A TROOPER though... Holy cow. She had that baby with hardly any drugs at all, and she only had to push ONE TIME! Becca is my hero! It was the greatest miracle I have ever witnessed, and I cannot imagine how a person could watch that happen (which I did!) and not believe in a loving creator God. I sobbed as soon as I saw his little head and hardly stopped crying all day long. I still cannot believe a) that happened and b) they allowed me to be a part of the experience.

I blogged about Kate's birth here and I was much more eloquent then. I suppose I am still so overwhelmed that my words to describe this experience seem so insufficient, thus they are much fewer. Let's just sum it up by saying God is good. Whew.

Keith Michael Rocha, Jr.

"KJ"

8 lbs. 6 oz. 21 1/4 inches long

Becca's sister Diana took pictures of the whole event and had this amazing slideshow put together just hours later!

Baby KJ's birth

You'll recall she did a similar slideshow for Kate.

Shortly after KJ arrived so did the rest of the family! Kate met her new baby brother (but wasn't very interested) and everyone else had a chance to love on him. I went home for a quick nap after lunch and then got to hang out with Kate for the afternoon/evening while Honey and Poppy shot a wedding (yes, they are ALL photographers!).

Kate and I ran a few errands, took dinner to other friends who just had a baby (baby Max!), and hung out at home waiting for David.

Kate relaxing, watching So You Think You Can Dance.

It was so fun for David to come home to this sweet little girl. She loves to pretend to go "nigh nigh" and then wake up and say "morning!". David probably would have taken her up on a quick nap :)

We quickly got our act together, picked up dinner and headed back to Erlanger (room 5019) so David could meet KJ and Kate could see her family.

We love these friends so much, and we are thrilled about this new addition to our lives (selfish, I know). It has been so much fun to watch Kate grow over the past 20 (!) months, and I know it will be the same with KJ. Becca and Keith are such wonderful parents already, and we know KJ is one blessed little man already!