Sweet Siblings

All in all our first week home as a family of four has gone pretty smoothly. Here are a few sibling shots I couldn't resist sharing. Bubba crawled up on our bed to "cuddyo" "our baby sister" which is what he calls her. Mommy is learning to put her down only in safe spots. Later that same morning things were too quiet and I found Hank on the floor next to her bassinet. He was just waiting for her to wake up. Bubba loves to have her "watch shows" with him in the morning.

Our Little Angel

Bubba's stage debut was Wednesday night as an angel. He wasn't too wild about the costume. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYNWVMI1rMU

The 2 year old group was supposed to sing 3 songs. He made it through "Ring the Bells" and then decided he'd rather sit on his Mom's lap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6ZCgNu1540

Mommy's 33rd Birthday

Thursday was my 33rd birthday. My family came over with a yummy ice cream cake to celebrate with us. I received sweet cards which would have made me teary even without all of my hormones and really thoughtful gifts - including a gift certificate to the GAP :) and a big check from my inlaws that I need to find a fun way to spend. Here's the crew minus Nanny who was taking the picture. The ice cream cake from Coldstone Creamery was fantastic and Aunt Klions ate a piece even though a little spit flew through the air as Bubba worked so hard to get those darn candles out.

A few more pics I couldn't resist posting

Our two huge blessings! Haddie's first bear from her Aunts - K2 & K3! Cuddling with Dad is becoming an obsession for both of them :)

Wednesday Picture of Our Sweet Girl

Per your request KT - here is her sweet face cuddling with Daddy. Sleeping in her bassinet which she did from 11pm-almost 4am. I'm sure it's a total fluke but did her Mommy & Daddy ever love the sleep. Our "James" - William was Haddie's NICU nurse following our Csection and then has been assigned to us for the last 2 days. He's off for the rest of the week so he came in to say goodbye.

More Day 1 Baby Pics

Our DAUGHTER!

We have a daughter! Esther Louise Merritt arrived via C-section at 8:03AM this morning. She weighed 7 lbs. 5.4 ounces and was 20 inches long. I'll load up as many pictures as it will let me and the details will have to come later :)

39 Weeks and Done Tomorrow

At the request of my sister K3 - here is what is probably my last belly picture taken yesterday morning as we headed out the door to church. We are off to the hospital at 5AM tomorrow and if everything is running according to schedule Bubba's baby sister should arrive between 7:30 and 8. Thanks again for all of your prayers for us! We'll post some pictures as soon as we can!

Trimming the Tree

Well the tree has been up and lit since before Thanksgiving so 3 days pre-Csection I decided the ornaments need to be done. I coerced my hubby with cinnamon rolls and cocoa. Bubba needed no coercion but definitely enjoyed a cinnamon roll on his new John Deere tractor plate.So now in the spirit, my husband found some great traditional Christmas music on Yahoo which we played from his laptop while we worked. Bubba was most excited to put up his Present Garland from Nanny and his new Lightening McQueen and TowMater ornaments (from the CARS movie). Then I mentioned that Daddy could lift him up and he could put ornaments on the top branches. He thought that was a great idea although Daddy got a workout lifting his 35 lbs up and down, up and down.

Oh the things we do for our kids...

Last night we bundled up Bubba in a million layers (us too) and met our friends downtown to catch some Christmas spirit. The temp was a little below 20 degrees with a little windchill making it even chillier. We had a front row spot for the Holiday Lights Parade on the edge of Green Square Park (currently being held hostage by gazillions of crows and their droppings which made for many jokes by the Dads).

Now back to the parade - it was complete with Santas, Nativity scenes, a band, firetrucks and some candy. Then we warmed up in a coffee shop while we waited for the fireworks to start (all 4 minutes of them).

I kept teasing a certain spouse of mine calling him Scrooge when he complained about the cold because somehow it never seems to bother him on the days he's hunting pheasants.

The boys loved it all and especially loved my husband encouraging them to yell "BOOM - AH!" for the fireworks.

A new family tradition? Probably yes :)
Here's Bubba all bundled in his stroller and doing his best CHEESE. Maybe our last pose as a family of 3? Kelley, Pete, Ernie, and Baby Girl-to-be :)

A Great Morning for the Park

The high today was an unseasonably warm 58 degrees. Grandma, Aunt Wendy, and the cousins joined Bubba and me for a stroll to the park. The kids got rid of tons of energy and Wendy got a great workout pushing the double stroller. The slide and the merry-go-round were the biggest hits!

Thanksgiving Festivity #2

For the past 2 days we have had the blessing of all of my husband's family under one roof (ours). The fellowship and the food were fantastic. My in-laws did a great job with the Thanksgiving day food.

Here are the early morning, not-quite-awake faces of Bubba and his cousin, Keely.We celebrated Christmas and Thanksgiving but the best part was just having the cousins have a chance to play together.



Bubba loved playing Santa and passing out the gifts and the big cousins didn't seem to mind letting him "help" them open the gifts. Bubba's favorite gift was the CARS movie. We all watched it together on Thanksgiving Day or should I say we were all in the same room as the kids watched the movie and the adults did a little napping. More unwrapping!

Pheasant Season

My husband plans and waits as patiently as he can all year for pheasant hunting season to arrive. Hopefully our baby will not choose to arrive when he is in a far off field out of cell phone range :)

This year Bubba is very interested in the whole process and not fearful of all the feathers and anything having to do with birds (like his mom). Uncle Todd is my husband's favorite hunting buddy. Here they pose with their bounty and our old hunting dog, Rexie.

Around the Table for Thanksgiving

Finally it was time to eat. Nanny asked us each to say what we were most thankful for this year. Bubba went right after Nanny so he picked up on a few of her phrases. His answer to the big Thanksgiving question “I’m thankful for my husband, Rexie.” For those of you who don’t know, Rexie is our dog :)

Thanksgiving Festivity #1

On Sunday after church, we went to Nanny & Papa's house to celebrate our Thanksgiving. We were minus our clan of 4 in Arizona but we enjoyed much family bonding nonetheless.

In this first photo you can see that Uncle Yee was a little more into the male bonding than the others.

Nanny led the female contingent with her infamous "Home Ec Award" proudly displayed on her chest with a safety pin.

Aunt Klions made her first-ever, completely from scratch pie crust which was deemed fabulous by all tasters. Photo #1 is her cocky smile as she started out feeling very confident.

Photo #2 Show there was a little stress when the stickiness almost made her quit before she got it in the pie pan. Photo #3 is the beautiful result right before it went in the oven.

Santa Claus Came to Town

The big man in RED made his first appearance in town today. Papa joined us and of course we got there early for a front row seat! At the first siting Bubba gave a tentative wave, but after that - as you'll see - he was all gung ho! Santa had all of the kids sit down to hear him read The Night Before Christmas (for all you English majors - sorry I can't underline the title but I'm not sure how to do it on the blog). By that point - Bubba was content sitting only inches from his boots.

After the story, Santa started asking each of the kids what they wanted him to bring them for Christmas. When it was Bubba's turn you should have seen the look on Santa's face as my sweet boy chirped "A backhoe and a combine please". That's my Iowa boy! Now Santa (aka Mommy & Daddy) will have to go on a quest to fulfill this very special request.

Next - while Mommy was chatting with a friend - somehow Papa got Hank hooked up for an on camera interview with Channel 2 News where he repeated his backhoe/combine comment which was not what cheesy, blondie reporter was expecting. We'll have to see if they use it on the air tonight but my bet is N-O.

Bringing Up Boys

This fall we've spent our Monday evenings with 4 other couples watching a DVD series called Bringing Up Boys. As young parents with all of our kids age 3 and under, we can use all of the help we can get.

Our kids have gotten to be even greater pals as they spend an hour in our basement with Ruthie the Queen of Babysitting (our hero!). Their favorite part of the night is when they make their great escape up the basement steps for the sweet treats made by one of us .

Tonight was our last regular gathering before all of our new babies arrive. The pic is of Bubba and his pals enjoying chocolate cupcakes.

My sister's making me do this

My sister, K2, says that everyone needs to have a blog especially when our families live so far apart. So even though I am less than 4 weeks from having our Baby Girl I'm adding something to my to-do list because like any good firstborn I always do what the crazy middle child says??? Check out Dr. Kevin Leman's Birth Order Book if you don't get the sarcasm :)

Here are a few pictures to get my blog going - they include my 35 1/2 week pregnant belly, K3 & my son post-haircut, and my goofy parents who wore the same sweatshirt - out in public -without even noticing it until my sister pointed it out.