Go To Sleep You Little Baby

A pretty picture of our sweet Vivian. Christmas pictures coming soon . . .

Our Bundle of Life and Joy

Announcing Vivian Joy! This little bundle joined our family on Friday, December 19 at 3:35pm. Five days late, and after a few "false alarms," my water broke at around 7:50 on Friday morning. After about 4 hours of some barely noticeable but somewhat regular contractions, we decided that we had better go to the hospital just to be on the safe side. I spent about 2 hours in the maternity triage, where I had about 2 more hours of these mild contractions. The monitor showed them coming quite close together, actually, but I was barely feeling most of them, many not at all. Because my labors with both Cameron and Gordon had progressed so quickly, I was a bit perplexed by this seemingly sluggish progress. Well, at around 2:30 the contractions began to get much more uncomfortable, and I sent Cody to grab the midwife on duty to let her know. By the time she came to move me to the delivery room, it was obvious that this had changed from "phantom" labor to the real thing. I was at 7 cm and going fast. Vivian arrived less than an hour later. I had planned on a "natural" childbirth this time, given my fast deliveries with the boys and a bad epidural experience with Gordon, but I'll admit that as Vivian's debut grew closer, I was asking if there was time for something to take the edge off. Nope, no time. So, I pushed this little one out the old-fashioned way. It was intense, but my recovery has been very easy and swift and I am feeling great. We brought Vivian home the next evening.

The biggest surprise was Vivian's size - a whopping 8 lbs, 1 oz. and 21". Cameron and Gordon were 7 lbs, 3 oz. and 19" and 6 lbs. 13 oz. and 19.5", respectively, and I was at the exact same weight as with both boys, so the fact that she was so much bigger was totally unexpected. Even the doctors and midwives were estimating that she'd be a 6.5 to 7 lb. baby. Perhaps this extra weight is all due to her fingers and toes, which are the longest I've ever seen on a baby. They look just like mine!

Cameron and Gordon are very excited about Vivian's arrival. Cameron is particularly attentive to and enthralled by her, and wants to hold her as much as possible. Today he told me that she looked bored, and went to get some music to play for her.

At just three days old, I know that this may change, but so far Vivian is just as sweet and good-natured as can be. We are very excited that she's here!

And a final note on her name, Vivian means "Full of Life." Her middle name, Joy, is my mom's middle name. So, her name means "Full of Life and Joy", and it's particularly fitting as we approach Christmas to say that our hope and prayer for this little one is that her heart and life will always be attuned to the One who came that we "may have life and have it to the full" and that her "joy may be complete" in Him.

Here's a link to several photos from Vivian's first three days.

Knock-Knock

While my parents were in town last month, the boys kept us quite entertained with their joke telling. "Interrupting Cow" was an oft repeated joke, and as you'll see, what Gordon lacks in timing, he more than makes up for in enthusiasm. We're not sure that Cameron quite gets the "Fun Guy" joke, but he sure seems to think it's funny. And, what little boy wouldn't laugh at a joke that has the word "poop" in it?!?! Watch the videos in order . . .

Luminarias and Fondue

Last weekend we hit Old Town with Cody's parents for the annual Luminaria Stroll, followed by fondue at the Melting Pot. There's nothing like guiding your children through streets lined with candle-lit paper bags and then supervising them around bubbling cheese, scalding oil, and deadly fondue forks. Are we really qualified to be bringing another child in to the world? (Seriously, though, it was fun!)

Thanksgiving Pics

Just a few belated photos from Cameron's Thanksgiving lunch at kindergarten, and a couple more from Thanksgiving Day.

Life is Simple When You're 3-Years-Old

Gordon made this cute little "thankfulness tree" at preschool just before Thanksgiving. He named several things for which he's thankful, which the teachers then wrote down on the leaves and put on the tree. The first three were to be expected:

Mommy
Daddy
Cameron

The fourth, which his teachers said was totally unsolicited by them, was very sweet:

Baby Sister

And the last three just cracked me up:

Suckers
Mac 'n Cheese
Hamburgers

Life is very uncomplicated for a 3-year-old. What a great reminder to be thankful for all the little things we take for granted, like suckers!

More Family Photos

I tried to narrow down the photos from our family photo shoot, but finding that almost impossible since there were so many great ones, I posted most of them here.

Nursery Pics

Since we didn't know either boy's sex beforehand, the nursery decor was pretty "gender neutral" - lots of green, yellow, and light blue. So, instead of starting from scratch with Baby Girl's room, I decided to go with the yellows/greens/blues already in the room and just added some bright pink and a few other "girly" touches. I made the new crib bedding, re-arranged a few things on the walls, and displayed the beautiful baby quilts made by my Aunt Sue. Since our house is on the market and we don't know if we'll be in it long-term or not, the only thing I didn't do was to make a new valance for the window. Otherwise, the room is looking very sweet - with lots of little memorabilia from the boys' infancies and plenty of feminine additions for our little girl.