Geneva Basketball & Uncle Nate

Kate spent time down at the gym with mom and dad today. All of dads co-workers love to see Kate. We had an extra special visitor today, one of dads former players (Uncle Nate Conley). Nate is the asst. basketball coach at Seton Hill University and he came by to go to lunch with mom and dad. We thank God for Nate and all that God is doing in his life. He is a great coach and even better Christian example for those around him. Nate is finishing up his masters degree and will be a great addition to any athletic program (We love you Uncle Nate). Mom and dad were up quite a bit last night...Kate wanted to eat a bit more than usual, hopefully we can get some rest tonight.

Busy Weekend!

Kate has been away from the blog for a few days. She took her first official LONG trip. Kate took mom and dad to Indiana to see family. Kate did great in the car...mom and dad were impressed. The usual stops to eat and stretch but other than that it was sleep! We went out on Friday and came back Sunday afternoon. Kate stopped by the basketball office to see Dad on Monday and got the chanct so spend time Becky (asst. AD at Geneva). Becky is such a good friend and so special to Chad & Jamie. We look forward to filling all of you in on our upcoming family plans later this week. Stay tuned!!

Picture Day

Mom & Dad are finally getting around to putting together the birth announcement. Mom spent most of the evening trying to capture that "Kodak Moment". We came up with some good ones and wanted to share a few. Kate continues to eat better and better each day. Her little cat like sounds get stronger and stronger as well. We thank God for this amazing journey and for his blessing of sending us Kate! We tell her how much her family and Jesus love her every night!

Day of Rest (not Sunday)

We think Kate hit a little growth spurt today. She decided to sleep almost the entire day, even during her evening awake time. She pretty much had a sleeping and eating pattern in that order all day. Mom brought Kate down to the college today to meet the Geneva men's basketball players. The guys were excited to be honorary uncles. They all thought she had big hands (which are good for basketball players). Mom and dad hope for another good night of sleep...5 hours and getting better each night!

Busy Week

We had a busy day today. Dad has overnight basketball camp at the college and mom had to get paint taken off the car because she ran over a paint line in her last week of pregnancy! (Thanks Brock). Kate and mom came down and ate lunch with dad and all 120 basketball campers. Kate was once again able to stretch her eating to 5 hours last night. Mom & dad love the extra sleep! We are praying for at least 5 hours again tonight. We will keep you posted!

Great Day at Church!

We had a great day at church. Kate wore her blue dress from G-Mom and was wrapped in her blanket from Uncle David & Aunt Megan. She loves going to church which includes sleeping through the sermon. We went to lunch after church with Uncle Doug, Aunt Connie & Courtney. It was Kate's first trip to Subway and she loved it! We visited the entire Smith family for Amber's graduation party. It was great to finally meet the entire family. Pastor Gary Smith is the basketball team chaplain and Amber student taught with Jamie and Stacey was one of her 5th graders. Kate wishes Amber all the best in college this fall. We took a bath tonight...Kate has come to love the water. Mom & Dad think we might have a swimmer on our hands. She is a lot like her mom in the fact she loves getting her hair washed. Off to bed, we hope for some good sleep!

The Smith girls meeting Kate!

Best Night of Sleep Yet!

Last night was the best night of sleep Kate has had since joining our family. We went from 11:45pm until 5:00 am before she decided to eat again. It was fabulous!! Mom and Dad were very proud of Kate and made sure that they took her for ice cream this afternoon..ha! We had a great lazy Saturday today, we were invited over to Fred & Lami Ziegler's house to visit which was great. They had a great lunch and gave Kate a Pooh Bear handmade blanket. Thank you Ziegler family!! Kate is beginning to add new sounds to her speaking with mom & dad. She still sounds mostly like a little cat, but she is beginning to get louder...more sounds to come we are sure!

2 Week Check Up

Kate Marie Briscoe had her two week check up yesterday and she now weighs in at 7 lbs 15 oz. This is one pound more than what she weighted when we left the hospital. The doctor said all looked good. Mom & Dad were thankful to the Lord that all went well and that little Kate is growing just as she should. Kate had a great afternoon at home with mom while dad worked. Friday night we ventured out of our comfort zone and went to dinner an hour away with Uncle Doug & Aunt Connie. This was a huge adventure knowing that for the first time mom would have to take the feeding show on the road! Dad & Uncle Doug chased down and met Mr. Steeler Big Ben at the mall. Kate slept all the way through dinner and all the way home. We had a great time with Uncle Doug & Aunt Connie!

Great Day in Western PA!

We had a great night of sleep last night. We are thankful once again for another smooth night. Kate enjoyed the day at home with mom, but had a lunch outing with Uncle Doug & Aunt Connie. They took Kate to her favorite place in Chippewa (Sal's). Tonight we were once again blessed with visitors. Jason & Lisa McCowin (Jason & Chad coach together at Geneva College) came over and brought Kate gifts. It was great for them to finally meet and hold Kate. Thanks Jason and Lisa for the gifts and for your friendship! Later tonight Rachel Sproul from Geneva who lives in our complex brought a nice gift basket over for Kate. Rachel thank you for the great gifts and for volunteering to watch Kate. We have our 2 week check up tomorrow morning...we will have the latest on Kate's growth tomorrow. Off to bed, which is getting better each night!

MLB All-Star Game & Hanging out with Mom!

It has been a busy week for Kate. Aunt Connie & Courtney each took a turn staying with Mom and Kate while Dad was gone for work. It was very tough on Dad leaving his girls for the first time. Kate has been sleeping better and better each night and loves the eating schedule of 11 or 12 pm, 2 am and then again at 6am. Mom and Dad are so glad that she "likes" to sleep at night!ha. We take a walk almost each night. We were able to finally visit Rachel Sproul who works at Geneva, she lives in our complex and it was great for Kate to finally meet her. Rachel thanks for your prayers! Kate also watched her 1st MLB All-Star game with Mom and Dad on Tuesday night. We took a bath in the 3rd inning and watched most of it in bed. We have our 2 week check up tomorrow. We will keep you posted on how much she has grown...Mom would tell you Kate has been eating good! Thank you Lord for our Kate!

My 1st Sunday at Church & Mom's Birthday!

What a wonderful day it has been! We think as parents there is no greater joy or responsibility than taking your child to church. Today, we had that great experience. Kate was able to meet all her church family and needless to say...she was a hit! Pastor Conklin, our new senior pastor, was also celebrating his first Sunday as our pastor. Our hearts were full of thanksgiving and praise to God for blessing us with Kate. Kate slept most of the way through the sermon; a memory Mom & Dad will never forget. On top of the 1st Sunday at church, it is also Mom's Birthday! Kate bought mom a new watch that she wanted and gave her lots of dirty diapers! We thank God for the celebration of today...it is a memory we will not soon forget. Thanks to all our wonderful church family at Ellwood City Church of God! We love you and thank God for you! Happy Birthday Mommy!! We thank God for such a wonderful day!

7-7-07 Just Me, Mom & Dad

We had another good night of sleep last night. Kate was up at her usual 11:30 pm, 2:00 am and 6:00 am. We hope the schedule keeps up but gets longer! It was a pretty day here in Western Pennsylvania today. However, it was a tough day because G-Mom, G-Dad and Uncle Justin headed home. We ate breakfast together and then they headed back to Indiana. A very different feeling this afternoon for Jamie and I, as it is the first time of it being just us. We went for a walk, we went to Marshalls and we took it easy at home. Kate had to pick up a birthday card for Jamie as tomorrow is her birthday. Tonight was fun just hanging out at home...seems like we could care less what is on TV as all we do is sit and watch our gift from God. We took a bath tonight to get ready for our first official Sunday. We are so excited to go to Church tomorrow morning and allow Kate to meet her church family who has been praying for her so much the past 9 months.

1 Week Old Today!

We are starting to get on a set schedule...Kate once again had a pretty good night. She was up to eat at 11:30 pm, 2:00 am and 6:00 am. We are hoping in the days to come to stretch the sleep time for mom and dad! Kate had a big day, she took her longest trip so far to Cranberry, PA to go shopping and eat lunch with Aunt Connie. G-Mom, G-Dad and Uncle Justin went along too. After the big trip for lunch and a weekly stop at Babies-R-Us, we headed home for a long nap. Tonight we had Bryan & Emily Stephany stop by to visit and meet Kate for the 1st time. We had a great time with Bryan & Emily, catching up while they held Kate. Keep Emily in your prayers as she is due October 8th! We feel a little sad tonight...as it is the last night to have G-Mom, G-Dad & Uncle Justin. They have been such a great help and support for Kate in her 1st week of life. It is amazing how fast the 1st week has gone. We have spent most of our free time just praising and thanking God for Kate's life and for the blessing of her being apart of our family! We thank God for our baby Kate! We will keep you posted as we head into week #2.

Big Visit Day

Kate is getting on a pretty good sleeping schedule. We have now gone 2 nights in a row of 2am and 6am feedings which is good for mom and dad. Kate had several visitors today. G-Dad (Grandpa Toombs) & Uncle Justin arrived this afternoon from Indianapolis. It was great to see Uncle Justin's first time to meet Kate. We spent the afternoon taking naps and relaxing before dinner. We were blessed this evening with Brock & Kelly bringing us a fantastic dinner! Brock and Kelly have become great friends...it was fun to show Kate off and just spend the evening together. Brock & Kelly both made chicken that was wonderful! Thanks guys for making dinner for us! Off to bed we go for 3 nights in a row on a set schedule...we pray it keeps working! Thanks G-Mom, G-Dad and Uncle Justin for all your help today!

Happy 4th of July!

What a great day! Kate slept the best she has so far last night. Mom and dad were only up at 2am this morning and then again at 6am for feeding. It was great to actually get some rest! We put Kate in her new blue outfit from Uncle David and Aunt Megan to celebrate Independence Day. We had a great time just taking it easy today. We took Kate for her 1st trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for dinner...she slept the entire time. Kate has been eating better and better with each meal...mom really thinks she is getting the hang of it all. Daddy & Kate took a nap this afternoon watching the Pirates & Brewers game while G-Mom and Mommy worked on the closet! After dinner Dad, Mom and G-Mom took her for her 1st stroller ride around the complex and she loved it. Mom and Dad hope for another great night of sleeping. G-Dad (Grandpa Toombs) and Uncle Justin are coming to visit tomorrow for the weekend.

Brave at the Doctor's Office

Well, we went back to the hospital for our 2nd Jaundice test this morning. Kate has become a pro at getting her heel pricked. She did great with the doctors and did not really cry at all. We received a call from the doctor later that day and said her test had remained the same and did not go up which was a blessing! Doctor said as long as she was eating and pooping (which has been successful) that they did not need to see her until her 2 week appointment.

We spent most of the day at home resting and trying to build a schedule. Grammy and Paw Paw Briscoe headed back to Virginia today and they did so many things to help around the house! (Thanks Mom and Dad). We have figured out there will be lots of "firsts" in the coming days. Today we took our first ride in the swing from Cousin Joe and Cousin Lisa...WOW what a ride, she went straight to sleep! Good for dad to remember when nothing else works. We did want to share that we received a letter today from Tara the RN nurse who took such good care of us. The letter shared how much she appreciated seeing us pray before our departure and how God used us to encourage her. It was a very special moment that reminds us that we constantly share and live our faith no matter where we are, even heading home with our Kate. We have had a good day, G-Mom (Grandma Toombs) has been a constant help with everything! Kate loves listening to her praise and worship music right before bed as we pray and thank God for our KATE. Thanks for your prayers for my cousin Tregan, he fell on his head and went to see the doctor and all he had was a concussion. The doctor said all was OK and he was able to go home. Happy 4th of July to everyone and we will talk to you later today after we get more sleep!

Thanks Aunt Connie and Courtney for the beautiful flowers!

Two proud grammys!

First Full Day!

We had a busy first full day at home. It all started with the final feeding at 4:30 am and sleeping until 9 am. What a blessing for mom and dad! We had our first doctor's appointment at 10am. They feel the jaundice which most breast-fed babies get, was a bit high. The doctor wanted some blood tests conducted which took place back at the hospital after the visit. Kate was a trooper- the shots and having blood taken did not hurt too bad! We had a first today...sucking of the thumb! She finally found it and from the picture below you can see she wanted to do it with her hand spread across her face. We took a trip to Target and then the Zielger family, from our church, brought over a fantastic dinner...thanks Lami! Paw Paw Briscoe took Kate for her first Ice Cream trip which was fun...she slept the whole time...ha! We head back to the hospital early tomorrow morning for more blood tests, please keep Kate in your prayers. Also, Kate would like everyone to pray for her cousin Tregan who fell on his head and is at the hospital getting tests done. We will keep you posted.