Schragerpalooza 2011 – Part IV

Before the Virginia Schragers loaded up the minivan for their long trek back home, they were kind enough to agree to a sitting in an effort to capture a family photo.  After several minutes of what it must be like to herd cats, we all drank heavily.

 

 

Schragerpalooza 2011 – Part III

Enjoy some more photos of the Schrager girls from their epic weekend together.

Not the best composed photo, but I love Becca’s reaction to Bailey’s kisses and the girls piling onto Aunt Laurie’s lap…

Camryn’s Anticlimactic First Bath

We’re still a tad traumatized from Delaney’s first bath 3 years after the fact, but it had to be done. Things had started sticking to Camryn, like papers, socks and lots of Bailey fluff.  According to most parenting books and a few blogs, that was completely unacceptable.  She needed to be bathed.

To our complete and utter amazement Camryn loved it.  She just leaned back and enjoyed the experience. We’re not convinced that she’s not setting us up for something terrible down the road though, so we’re not letting our guard down.

 

For more screaming and crying, be sure to check out this classic video of Delaney’s first bath:

 

Schragerpalooza 2011 and Karrs Too – Part II

With so many Schragers in Charlotte, the city was on high alert.  It was such a rare occurrence that Aunt Laurie emerged from the mountains after hearing of the news via carrier pigeon.

Charlotte will not see such an important gathering until the Democratic National Convention rolls into town later this year.  (Although I tend to believe that the DNC will produce a lot less in the way of solid waste I would gather.)

Schragerpalooza 2011 – Part I

Just as the dust was settling from “Smith-O-Rama” along comes Schragerpalooza.

Papa flew up from Florida and the Virginia-based Schragers, Adam, Carly Diana and Becca, made the long drive down to meet the latest edition to the family and enjoy some free Cherry Coke Zero.

Some might say that having that many Schrager under one roof is a sign of the Apocalypse, but others would say it was a recipe for a very busy and entertaining weekend.

No.  This picture is not blurry.  It must be your eyes.  Go get them checked.

Watch Out… It’s the Schrager Sisters

Laney’s been taking her new role as Big Sister seriously.  She’s very good at letting us know when Camryn is crying, which is very helpful because it’s so difficult to hear her in a house full of hardwood. She loves to watch Camryn have her diaper changed, which I have to admit, is a little odd.

Bottom line.  There’s two of them now and there’s nothing I can do about it.  So hang on!  It’s going to be a hell of a ride.

Camryn Meets The Smiths

The Smiths had a lot to be thankful for the when Camryn was born.  Not only was she a beautiful new edition to the family, it’s because of her that they missed the devastating tornadoes in Springfield, MA which is only a few miles from where they live.

Nana, Bumpa and Uncle Jason were kind enough to watch Laney and Bailey while we were at the hospital and couldn’t wait to get their hands on Camryn and my Diet Cherry Coke.

Camryn Goes Home

After a couple of days at Presbyterian Hospital under the watchful eye of “The Tiger Nurse” the Schragers were more then ready to head home on Saturday.

Flashback: Delaney Goes Home – Part 1 | Part 2

The Schrager Sisters… Together Again For The First Time

Delaney couldn’t wait to meet Baby Sister.  She’d been practicing with Molly the Dolly for weeks after taking her Big Sister Class.  She showed us how you hold the baby, change the baby, feed the baby and push the baby around in the stroller.  She had her Big Sister shirt and her “magic soap” to make sure the baby didn’t get any germs.  She was ready for everything!

…except the crying.  See, Laney’s dolls don’t cry like real babies.

Nana and Uncle Jason brought Laney to the hospital to meet Camryn for the first time.  She wasn’t expecting to see Mommy in a hospital bed with all of the equipment around, but once she saw Camryn she came running over to say hi.

She sat next to me and couldn’t wait to hold her.  Laney talked to her a bit and rubbed her head asking, “why doesn’t she have girl hair!?”

I placed Camryn in Delaney’s lap as per her instructions.  A few seconds later Delaney heard something she hadn’t heard before, but will be hearing for years to come… her sister cried.  That was enough for her.  “I don’t like it when she cries!”

I held Camryn for Laney the rest of the visit, but it was obvious that she loved having her baby sister here.  She also loved the Disney Princess Scooter Camryn got for her as well.  Bribery will get you everywhere.

Introducing Camryn Josephine Schrager

On June 2, 2011 at 9:04 PM ET Camryn Josephine Schrager was born.  She was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and measured 21 3/4 inches and as you might well expect, she was born with a full head of hair.

Camryn is named after Samantha’s grandfather Charlie and my Aunt Judy and shares a birthday with Cousin Julia!  Our girls love to steal the thunder away from other people’s birthdays.  I’m sorry for that.

Samantha made it look easy.  The only way I ever knew she was having a contraction was to look at the monitor.  At one point, she was smiling for a picture and didn’t tell me she was having a contraction until after I was done!  I’m really going to have to get her trained for mixed martial arts.  We could make a killing in the UFC with her pain tolerance.  Obviously being married to me prepared her for this sort of pain.

Like Delaney, Camryn loves the drama and couldn’t just pop herself out and enjoy the moment.  She had to make it all about her.  It was a tense few minutes when the nurses had to take her away to get her color from blue to pink because the cord was around her neck.  Thankfully, she composed herself quickly and rejoined us for a few hours of intense snugglin’.