Grandma

I should have posted this a while ago, but just came across the pictures and remembered I hadn't done it.  Grandma Flammer came after Sofia was born to help out.  Can I just say...wonderful?!  It was great to have her here for the company and for all the help.  The extra set of hands was very useful with distracting Hannah, and having a yummy home cooked meal every night was a heaven send.  Hannah spent lots of time helping her out in the kitchen.  Here's a picture of them at work:  

and a picture of her with Sofia:

Thanks so much for all the help!!

The Past Few Days

These past few days have been really good.  Grandma Flammer has been here to help - and those extra 2 hands have been wonderful.  Everything with Sofia seems to be going pretty well- she is a pretty chill baby and we are VERY happy with that.  She eats, sleeps, and poops pretty darn well.  So, that makes life much better.  Everything she does, we think back and it was lots harder with Hannah.  I'm not sure if that's because Hannah was the first, or if it's just because she was a more challenging baby.  Maybe both?  Anyway, here are a few random pictures of the past few days.

I personally love this one.  I was trying to get Hannah to kiss Sofia for a baby announcement picture, and this is what we ended up with.  It seems more realistic than having them both smile.  :D

 Here they are snuggling together on Valentines Day after work!

Family Pictures

Here's our most recent family photos.  Our family of 3 right before leaving for the hospital:

and here we are right after getting home from the hospital.  Our new family of 4:

I'm thinking we should take another photo sometime soon when we're all looking a little more chipper.  :D

Hello Sofia!

Well, at 1:30 AM this morning Sofia decided the time was right, apparently someone forgot to tell Sofia that her parents usually go to bed at 9:00 so she may have been the first baby born when both parents were sleeping (Britt really wishes she would have been sleeping!).  Britt went to the Doctor yesterday for a checkup and he told her to head over to the hospital.  We got to the hospital at 2:00 in the afternoon and they hooked Britt up to check the heart rate and contractions, then we proceeded to walk the halls of the 5th floor for 4 hours waiting for a bed to open up in delivery (Britt and I really missed the glory days of Logan Hospital)  We finally got a bed at 9:30 and from then until 1:30 it was a contraction marathon.  Britt was a trooper as always.  I tried to talk her into an epidural, when she declined I asked the nurse if I could get one.  I envy the guys manage to miss out on the hard labor part of delivery.  Any who, Britt did great, I wont bore with the gory details needless to say we now have a 7 lb. 1 oz. 20 inch bundle.

I personally think that Sofia is a genius, after practicing for just a few seconds she was able to pull off a pretty good Elvis lip impersonation.  Maybe Hannah can teach her to say 'thank you, thank you very much!'

I am somewhat partial on this picture, but this may have been the 'reality check' moment when Hannah might have been calculating the implications of being a big sister and having to actually share her room and mommy time.

There is something absolutely amazing about holding a newborn baby.  With all the feelings of inadequacy comes an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for wonderful parents (Britt's and mine) and the joys associated with family.  I am a lucky man.

Brittany Update

I have officially passed the 38 week mark in pregnancy and am definitely in uncharted territory.  I have the typical complaints of pregnancy (not sleeping well, back aches, my brain has turned to mush, underestimating the size of my belly, etc...), but for the most part am feeling fairly well.  Everything has gone smoothly thus far and we're keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way.  I'm a little nervous about the arrival of another little one, but I know we'll get it figured out one way or another.  I spend my days playing with Hannah, cooking, and cleaning.  Nights are spent in preparation for Sofia and doing church stuff.  Nothing too exciting, but it seems to keep me occupied.

James Update

He is keeping VERY busy with life.  He's doing the energy efficiency job 4 days a week as well as being a TA for an undergrad class on campus.  School takes up 2 days a week as well as lots of evenings.  His church calling takes care of Sunday and lots of time in between.  So, he has his hands full.  He seems to be enjoying school.  It stresses him out and is definitely a challenge, but he seems to enjoy it (and that makes me very happy).  I know he's overwhelmed with everything and feels like he is stretched pretty thin at times, but he is doing a great job.  It's so much fun to watch him play with Hannah - I sometimes wonder which one is a bigger kid. 

Hannah Update

It has been a while since I've posted anything and I'm trying to document things a little better before this baby finally comes.  So, I thought I should do a quick update on all of us.

Hannah:

She is such a happy little girl.  She's grown up so much the past little bit that she definitely isn't a baby anymore.  She has learned how to throw a good fit - enough to be considered a drama queen.  But, for the most part she's generally happy and very good natured.  She's lots of fun to be around. Some of the new things she has been doing include:

- a few words (finally!!!)  She's said daddy for a long time and has recently started saying mommy more and more.  Her favorite is uh-oh (right after she's thrown something).  She's just started saying some phrases like "it's cool" and "get out."  Sometimes they are in the right context, but other times I think she just likes to say them.

- throwing things over the balcony.  We live on the 3rd floor and there is common area in the middle of the apartment complex down below.  She's just discovered the law of gravity is more fun going from the 3rd floor to the 1st then it is from the high chair to the floor.

- purses and shoes.  She loves bags and always wants to carry (drag) her own.  She also has discovered she likes wearing our shoes and walking around.

 

Here she is playing dress up.  We had just gotten back from a sale where I stocked up on some clothes for her for the next year.  She was very excited and wanted to try them all on.

Roaches B Gone

We have this little problem - called roaches.  They kind of appeared all at once and then multiplied in force.  I think I'm pretty good (for a girl) at dealing with this kind of thing.  They were okay for a little while, but once they mass produced they were everywhere.  There's just something disturbing about turning on the light at night and seeing 20 of the littler vermin scatter around.  It was to the point where I would have to wash dishes before we could use them.  Gross.  Anyway, we talked to the manager and she arranged for the exterminator to come.  In preparation for that we had to remove everything from all of the cupboards and closets.  All of the furniture had to be a few feet from the walls.  Yuck.  Yuck.  Yuck.  It was not a fun process, but we did it.  Here are some pictures of the disaster our apartment was for a day.  It felt like moving all over again.  Now, we're just crossing our fingers and hoping they magically disappear.