A Spontaneous Trip

Thanks to some friends of ours who gave us a hotel room they weren't going to use, we got to have a spur-of-the-moment little getaway to Nauvoo this week. After doing the math (three kids + three hours in the car) we decided it was time to invest in a portable DVD player for the boys, and we were glad we did! Doesn't Peter look happy?

Aunt Katie arrived just before us. She will be working up there for a few months, so this was also a chance to get to go see her. Here is the awesome view from her house:
And here she is with her favorite (and only) niece.
Benjamin was especially excited to see her!
I think Nora might get her aunt's beautiful auburn hair!
We hopped over to the Nauvoo pageant that night. It was a really nice production, but the boys got tired and hot rather quickly, so we didn't stay long.
The next day while Aunt Katie started her training, we met up with some friends from home. Kenny and Krista are some of the nicest people, and are great with the boys!
It was nice to get out of the house and walk around a little.

Nora also enjoyed the walks. She slept almost the entire day. We got to hear a funny story about Leonora's namesake while we were there. It made me like her name even more.

By lunch time, Peter had decided to take a nap too.
We had a few more minutes with Katie during her lunch break before heading back. It was so fun to see her!
And then of course Peter's nap was over right after we got back on the road. We thought he was entertained in the back seat with the DVD player and a bag of pretzels. But then this is what we found. The kid was swimming in pretzels. :) We had a great time!

CELEBRATE

A few of my favorite things these past few weeks, post-gestational diabetes:

1. Being able to enjoy all the ripe, juicy peaches I want!
2. The hospital fridge was stocked with these little cartons of heaven, and I couldn't get enough...3. Why yes, I did eat a donut for breakfast the morning after giving birth. I was so happy not to be eating eggs for the first time in a month!

4. Some inspired friends brought some of this over.

5. Paul and I got to have a little date while my Mom was in town, so we headed out for some frozen custard. Mmmm...raspberry concrete. So good.

In many, many ways, it's so nice to not be pregnant anymore!

Grandma's Visit

The first week of Nora's life, Paul took work off and we were on our own. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was really nice to have our whole family together as we started off on our adventure with three kids. An added bonus of course was not having to worry about cooking dinner, since friends brought us meals every night.

After that first week, we were lucky enough to have my Mom come to stay with us, and Paul went back to work. My house always gets whipped into shape when she comes, and this week was no exception. She amazes me how much she can get done, all when entertaining two busy little boys. Nora seemed happy to meet her Grandma!

Ironically enough, my sister Miriam had her baby just two days after my Mom's arrival. John James arrived early, making little Anna a big sister and Miriam floundering to make arrangements for those first few days. Sorry, Miriam! I'm glad you have Mom to yourself now!

Benjamin took this picture during breakfast. Peter made a sharp break from his high chair this week, and has decided he much prefers standing on a chair (or as in this picture, not eating at all and reading books on the floor).

A typical shot of our evenings. Benjamin loved the new domino game Grandma brought him, and loved even more having her there to play it with him.
We have been home a little more than we're used to these past few weeks, which is to be expected. This summer has been really, really hot and sticky, so the boys haven't been able to spend much time outside. So we have to get creative to keep them from going crazy. We watched a LOT of Star Wars this week, had a lot of light saber battles, and Benjamin put together and took apart his Star Wars lego sets dozens of times. Peter has gotten in on the Star Wars craze too, and requests it by name (although it sounds a lot like "dinosaur"). His favorite character is "Baca" (Chewbacca), but he also likes the "Eeeee-woks."

Here Peter amazed us by stacking 15 blocks, and Benjamin amazed us with his self control by not knocking it down.
Another beautiful shot of Grandma and Nora.
Nora did a happy dance when her cord fell off this week.
Benjamin enjoyed reading books with Grandma on the air mattress every night. She is a great story teller!
Nora mostly did this all week, making us often forget we even had a third child.

My Mom finished making this beautiful blanket for Nora, and I witnessed firsthand how time consuming it is to sew on a ruffled edge. This was a labor of love!

Before taking Grandma back to the airport, we had a little lunch at our favorite pizza place.
And now it's back to just us. We miss you, Grandma! Thanks for coming!

Nora

Leonora is four days old now, and has been home since Tuesday afternoon. So far, she's been a pretty easy newborn, and Benjamin and Peter have been adjusting better than expected.
We've been debating what her nickname should be. We named her Leonora (pronounced "Leah-Nora") with the intention of shortening it, since it is a mouthful. We love the name, mostly because the person she's named after is part of both of our family histories though not a blood relative of either of us. Anyways, it's an interesting intersect between our lines and a name that we've both come to love. And having gotten to know our own little Leonora over the past few days, we've decided that she makes a great "Nora."
Three-day-old Nora in her bouncer. I'll try to do fairly regular age progression shots in this to track her growth.
I'm certainly not used to having such a tiny baby! All of her features are a lot more delicate than either of my boys were. Today at the pediatrician, she weighed in at 6 lbs. 15 oz., about 6 oz. lighter than she was at birth. Here Benjamin is showing me how "long" he is next to his baby sister.
A couple of shots of her with her eyes open.
Nora seems to be a good mix. She doesn't look strongly like one side or the other.

I took this the other morning. The boys were both fawning over her, and I just thought it was a sweet moment.

QUICK! We're Running out of Red Pigment...and...It's a GIRL!!!!

Well, I know the only question people really care about is, "does she have red hair?" The answer is...sort of. With Benjamin it was, "WOW! Look at that RED HAIR!" With Peter, the nursery nurses asked us where the red(ish) hair came from with quiet curiosity, no dramatic emphasis. With Leonora Taylor, no comments about red hair, but she definitely has a reddish hue. I guess we're just running out of red pigment.

Now the details: Leonora Taylor healthy and strong. She weighs 7 lbs 5 oz and I still have yet to hear how long. She is absolutely perfect.

Sarah was a Rock Star! And while that is nothing new to me, it is still astonishing to see just how serene she is even when walking the shadowed valley.

We recently watched a couple of seasons of 24, a bit of a guilty pleasure. When they put us in delivery room 24 with this clock it was really hard not to make the occasional doo, dew, doo, dew. It made for a laugh or two, but mainly made us want to cover that blasted second hand.

Benjamin and Peter spent the day with some good friends and were really excited to see their new baby sister. At first Benjamin was interested in holding her, but he got it out of his system pretty quickly. Once he saw the Amazing Spider Man puzzle that Leonora got for him he was off in his own little world.

Peter on the other hand would take a few minutes holding the baby, gently touching her soft, delicate head and putting his cheek to hers. He would then abruptly request to be put down on the ground only to demand to be picked back up a few minutes later. He would run back to the bed, reach his arms toward the baby and repeat, "Holt, holt, holt."

While I remember wanting to hold Benjamin and Peter as newbies, when they took Leonora away after the delivery for two agonizing (for me) hours I nearly became irate at what seemed an unnecessary separation. I can't stand not being able to hold her and can't wait to see her tomorrow. Peter is now in bed, and Benjamin is sleeping over at a friends house (we'll see how that goes.)

It was a truly blessed day. Thank you for your prayers.

Almost There

It's been a crazy past few weeks, but I think I'm ready! I've been busy organizing, deep cleaning, and de-cluttering in preparation for this new baby. We've made a lot of progress in our bathroom. (Remember what it used to look like? It's come a long way!) The only area we didn't address yet is the tub. Our bedroom has also gotten a mini-makover to make room for a port-a-crib. It really does feel nice to have things in order.

For the past few weeks, Peter has been requesting the same three bedtime stories about bringing home a new baby. He seems very interested in the idea, but I'm not really sure how he'll take it when it actually happens. He has started to get a lot more clingy, especially when we go to friends' houses, so he must know something is up.

Today was my LAST non-stress-test appointment! Benjamin and Peter have both been really great about going to these with me twice a week, and the staff has been so nice. Everything has looked healthy and normal, so we're grateful for that. And my induction date is THIS MONDAY! Only three more days until we meet her...