Almost Christmas already!

Where is the time going? How can Christmas be two days away? How can Sam already be 2.5 weeks old?

We are all home and adjusting pretty well to being a family of four. Nate is proud big brother and is always asking "Where's Sam?" And then when he finds him (usually sleeping in his Papasan chair) he'll announce "It's Sam! It's Sam." over and over again. He likes to give Sam hugs too. We have to remind him to be gentle and not squish his little brother.

Nate has also decided he is not a big boy any more, he is just a big brother. Apparently, you can't be both.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to write a better blog update after Christmas while Ken is off work until the new year. Happy Holidays and enjoy a few new pictures.

Big brother holding his little brother.

Sam's mug shot for the Christmas cards. (It's hard to get a cute newborn picture, isn't it?)

Sam hanging out in mom and dad's room.

Sam relaxing after a hard day.

Baby is here!

My first Christmas gift is here! Samuel was born at 10:11pm on Friday, December 5, 2008. He was 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 in. long. Unfortunately, I did not get to the hospital in time for my second Christmas gift, and epidural. I was fully dilated when we arrived at the hospital but at least Sam was not born in the front seat of our car. Nate just came back in the room so I'll post a longer story later. We are all doing fine and looking forward to going home tomorrow.

A visit with St. Nick

Quick appointment update first. I saw my OB yesterday and despite this baby being even lower than last week, I'm still around 1.5 cm so no change. I have another appointment scheduled for Monday when I will be past my due date and if there there is no baby here by next Wednesday, I have a c-section scheduled for 11:00. One way or another, baby will be here by this time next week.

This morning I decided to take Nate to the mall to see Santa and play on the playground there. So we head out and in the car Nate and I practice what he'll say to Santa. (By the way, Nate has refused to talk with Santa or sit on his lap since his first Christmas when he was a month old.) I told Nate that Santa would ask him if had been a good boy that year and Nate could say "Yes" because he had been good lately and was doing a good job of listening to mommy and daddy. And then Santa would ask him what he wanted for Christmas. Nate replied that he wanted "Lights. Rudolph lights that would shine in the dark." Okay, not sure where that came from because he'd never mentioned it to me but I'll go with it. We get to the mall and trek over to Santa Land. As we approach, I can see Nate freezing up. So once again this year, I am saved the expense of a $20 5x7 of my boy with Santa. We ended up going to the second floor where Nate could look down on Santa talking with other kids. We probably watched him for at least 15 minutes but I couldn't convince Nate to go talk to him.

On the playground where I explained to Nate that he would have to take off his shoes if he wanted to get down and play. After watching the other kids play for about 20 minutes, we left the playground with his shoes still firmly on his feet. I guess we are just raising a cautious son who is not one to dive into new situations. (Especially ones that involve removing his shoes.) So we went back to spy on Santa for another few minutes before we left. Maybe next year will be the year Nate finally talks with the jolly old man.

Still a one child family

New baby has not made an appearance yet so Nate is still the only baby, er big boy, in the house. He had his three year check up last week and was 39" tall (75th percentile) and weighed 31.5 lbs (50th percentile). I was so pleased with how he behaved. He let the doctor listen to his heart and check his ears and eyes without a fuss. He also answered all the questions she asked him. He somehow knew the "right" answers like he does eat his vegetables and always brushes his teeth twice a day. (I corrected him behind his back.) The only thing he wouldn't do is hop like a bunny. He's been jumping since he was like 15 months old! I'll say it again, I really can't believe he is three years old already!

Quick cute story about Nate. For his birthday, he received a goldfish he named Pick. (He names everything Pick. We're not sure where he picked that name up.) After feeding him the other night, Nate told me that Pick was talking to him. I asked Nate was Pick was saying and Nate just opened and closed his mouth like his fish. He said that Pick was just a little fish now and can't talk but when Pick grows up and is a big fish he'll talk and say "Hi Nate".

I have my 39.5 week appointment tomorrow. One way or another, I think a baby will be here in a week!