Anna Kimball Doescher

was preparing to make her arrival just a week ago today! Much to my relief, she made her entrance into this world without any drama, awakening me with a few minor contractions at 2am, letting me fall back asleep for a bit, then summoning me to the hospital at the respectable time of 9:30am. Three hours later I was pushing, and only for 10 minutes at that, and then there she was!

We told the doctor we wanted Matt to share the news with me and announcing whether we had a son or daughter. So I couldn't see Anna Kimball when he gave her anatomy a concentrated stare, just to make sure he had things correct, and happily proclaimed that it was "Anna Kimball."

That's not what I was expecting to hear (and no, this is not where we give away our boy name ... must keep saving it!), but it really didn't take long for the news to set in and for it to seem just right that Emery would have a sister (a sister! she is so lucky!) and that Matt would now be vastly outnumbered by the women of the house. Thankfully, he's such a good sport about it all and just so happy to be with "his girls."

I finish with a few pics from this week, but first want to say that we really aren't sure if we'll be calling her Anna or Anna Kimball. I thought I had convinced Matt that it would be Anna Kimball, but right there in the delivery room after she arrived, Matt calmly insisted that he would just be calling her Anna. That Anna Kimball is a lot of syllables.

Well, I love the way Anna Kimball sounds, but he does have a point. I'm even having trouble saying it all the time. So, we'll just have to see what sticks. If all else fails, maybe she'll just be AK!

Not ready to have this baby!

My due date is January 17, less than two weeks away and I am definitely not ready to have this baby. I mean yes, I do have diapers on hand, sleepers washed and folded, new bathtub purchased, etc. but I have literally been on vacation since Henny and Papa arrived and begun helping out with so many of the tasks involved in caring for a toddler and keeping a household organized and fed ... and why would I want that to end ahead of schedule?!?

I wish I had some fabulous pictures that document how wonderful this vacation has been, but I've been too busy not doing my normal routine to get any good ones taken, nor have I spent nearly as much time with Emery as I usually do, hence a lack of photo opps. Am I starting to sound like I'd rather not be mothering a toddler and a soon-to-be newborn? If so, that's not the case ... I'm just realistically acknowledging that it simply won't be possible to rest and run the errands I want to run, when I want to run them,  have extended periods of alone time, etc. etc. etc. in just a matter of days.

So for right now I'm going to thoroughly enjoy every second of this brief respite ... pray like mad Baby D #2 has no intentions of showing up early. Did you hear that ____ _____? (blanks are for the still top-secret names!)

One last time

in my childhood home in Annapolis this weekend, which has finally sold. Ahhh ... it's all too sad and nostalgic to think about very hard, so I'm choosing not to think about it much at all and just enjoy all the memories that have been made here, especially this weekend!

 We celebrated cousin Molly's first birthday and she was ALL smiles ...

Emery was never far from cousin Tucker and repeatedly attacked him with hugs and cuddles, which thankfully didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

The birthday celebration continued ...

 Uncle Austin was very nice to read with Emery ... one last story on the family room couch (sniffle).

An attempt at a decent family photo in front of the blue house.

Catching some sun on the front stoop ... let's not start thinking about how it was just yesterday that it was ME in little overalls sitting on the front stoop. (sniffle)

 Here is Emery in one of my favorite childhood spots on the side of our house - I'll always remember going to sit on this box when I got bent out of shape about something not going my way while playing outside. It's actually the neighbor's box, but I think he's going to give it to me!

Emery checking out the stove that used to heat our house. (sniffle)

Just being cute at the front door. Good thing these smiles will keep me from sniffling too much tomorrow when we leave for good.

What could be better

Than Emery giving up her morning nap and allowing us to do more fun things in the morning, before it gets too hot, like going to the park!

A not-too-hot Saturday last weekend that allowed us to take a family hike at Reflection Riding. Matt had been here several times and I'd never been, but always kind of wondered about the name. Turns out Reflection Riding maps back to old English "ridings," which were places where the scenery progressed in a pleasant and varied way. The trails weren't too steep, very wide, and they did indeed twist and turn in pleasant ways, often opening up into pastures, making very easy for me to picture us returning again and again!

Avocado smeared on whole-grain toast that's been slathered with mayo and mustard, then topped off with a little lemon juice and sea salt.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (how long will it be before Matt notices these in the fridge? I'm not going to tell him they're staring right at him!)

Discovering the source of Emery's bedtime antics ... I heard lots of chatter after I'd put her down, which was a bit unusual. It turns out she'd managed to reach far enough to grab "Goodnight Moon" off the dresser for one more reading. I don't know why, but that just melts my heart.

A very merry Christmas

We're moments from leaving for the airport - an easy excuse to post photos, but without captions.  Use your imagination :) ... it was a fabulous time with family and Emery was delighted with her first Christmas!

A fall fling

I had all good intentions of writing a rather lengthy post about our fun day trip this past weekend to the Cherohala Skyway, where we caught the lingering markers of a stunning autumn, but time is slipping like sand though my fingers this week, so the pictures will have to suffice.


Ready to go!


Pausing to enjoy the view


Always happy in Daddy's arms


Hmm, not so sure about this


Never mind, this is great!


Yay, here I go again!


So happy that Daddy always catches me


On a hike through the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, where some of the trees are 400 years old, 100 feet tall and more than 20 feet in circumference


One tree hugger, one Daddy hugger


Fading signs of fall


Lunch! North Carolina bbq - it wasn't the best I've ever had, but to my starving stomach, it was sublime.


As was the chocolate meringue pie - note to self, learn how to make this.


Exhausted from all the fun