Meet the family

And then there were THREE

Monday, January 2 . . .

Tuesday January 3, 2012 9:22 am - welcome Isaac Alan Mueller!

Coming home on our coldest day yet this winter - but you were well bundled!

Our friend Leslie watched Analise and Elijah during the morning so that Daniel could go to class. Then Stephanie had them over for lunch while Daniel came and got me so we arrived home with Isaac to a pretty quite house.

Grady must be thinking "Great, here we go again." Hard to believe the pooch has been with us through all of these adjustments and changes. He's sure a good little dog!

For posterity sake I'm writing down the birth story . . .

We woke up during the night because we heard Elijah crying, but once awake I realized I was having pretty regular contractions. Nothing very hard or uncomfortable but regular - about every 8 minutes (they say to come to the hospital when they are every 5 minutes.)

This got me thinking, "great, we're going to have a baby today. I'm going to need to call Leslie or Chandra. I hope they have their phones on. I feel bad waking somebody up - maybe I'll just wait and see how this goes." So from 3 - 6am I just dozed and waited and kept checking the clock every so often.

Then we got up - Daniel made coffee and I showered, finished packing the bag and called Leslie, who didn't answer her phone. I waited and at 7 called Chandra (another friend) who said she could come over. But again, I said no rush because I really wasn't feeling too bad and the contractions were not close yet.

Elijah woke up and came down to watch "George monkey" and "Cat in the Hat" - our morning routine. During these shows I started feeling it a bit more and had to walk away to breath a little - but Eli kept inviting me back to the chair to watch his show with him. :)

Closer to 8 I called Chandra again to say that we had really better be leaving and to see if she was on her way. She arrived a few minutes later and we left quickly.

On the way I had a few more contractions and definitely more intense. We parked in the parking garage and though Daniel offered me a wheel chair, I thought I'd walk. I was pretty determined to be tough this time around. I held Daniel's hand tightly and had to stop for a drink at the water fountain once -but we made it to the maternity around 8:45.

They put us in a holding room where they monitored baby's heart beat and my contractions. By this time the contractions were very intense - but still I was trying to be tough and not overreact that they weren't checking how far along I was. The nurse made the comment "Well, you should have a baby within the hour!" When she left I told Daniel "I don't think I can make it an hour!"

And thankfully it wasn't an hour - not even close.

The details from here are blurry to me but essentially the doctor came in and it was go time!

Daniel said it looked like a movie that they wheeled the bed quickly to the delivery room with a few people diving out of the way. Then the room was full of nurses getting everything ready and within three pushes the baby arrived at 9:22 - less than a half hour after arriving in the maternity.

Daniel stayed until lunch when he went and picked up Analise and Elijah. He made them scrambled eggs and cheese and then put everyone down for naps. That evening Leslie came and watched them so he could attend his night class from 5- 9pm. She came back in the morning so that he could go to class and come pick me up around noon. To add to the confusion, we didn't have a name chosen for the first 24 hours so I was thinking constantly about what we were going to name this child! Finally, when Daniel arrived we committed Isaac Alan to paper and immediately I felt relief and joy about the choice.

So after 9 months of waiting, in just over 24 hours we delivered a baby and were back home again.

God has been so good - everything went so smoothly, the baby and I are healthy, Analise and Elijah have been adjusting well, and Daniel is the rock that kind of holds it together right now - that it leaves my head spinning just a little.

The name Isaac means "laughter." Sometimes, when faced with such a mountain of blessings there is no better way to express the gratitude and joy at the absurdity and extravagance of the gift that we've been given than to break into laughter. When I think of this week I'm amazed at God's goodness and I'm definitely laughing!

Christmas

Christmas this year was a quiet event - well as quiet as our family of four can ever be.

Christmas Eve Elijah was running a slight fever and very tired during the Christmas Eve service - he perked up a little for Christmas morning - but still went down for a nap at 10:30!

While he hasn't quite figured out the wonder of opening up presents - and actually threw one back at me because he was busy playing with something else - Analise has fully arrived. She tried her best to wait patiently for Elijah to open a gift before it was again her turn, but it's SO HARD when he just doesn't have the same enthusiasm!
The train set has been a big hit - we've built a new track every day!
Hmm, I see one with an "A" - is that for me?
"Let me double check . . . "

Daddy is relaxing for a little between cinnamon rolls and egg bake while kids are busy with toys.
Watching a little show and relaxing. We truly did not get out of our jammies the entire day - it was wonderful.
Happy Holidays! Ever since the ice show at Busch Gardens - Analise has been honing in on a perfect "Happy Holidays!" while waving at the crowd. She even "skates" over to shake hands with the audience - I love it!

Happy Holidays!

What's so funny?
"Say cheese!"
My friend Stephanie and her two boys came over to play and make "gingerbread houses" out of graham crackers. As we predicted - the kids decorated for about 5 minutes then burst off to go play and we sat at the table and "finished" the job! It was fun anyway!
Did I mention she is pregnant too? And due just a few weeks after me . . .
Look at those bellies!
hanging out with the crew . . .

Florida and Atlanta

After Hilton Head we went south to visit my aunt Liz, uncle Curt and cousin Hannah. One morning we went to Disney village where we shopped around, played with toys, road some rides and ate lunch. Basically got to experience as much of Disney as a 3 year old and 1 year old can handle - and it's free!

Eli was quite taken with Hannah and is busy pointing out the train.

Minnie and Mickey stop for a photo op.

All this talk of princesses had our little gal (and her mom) in the mood for dress up. So we went home and had our own little beauty parlor! With special glitter make-up, nail polish, and a new "Belle" dress from Aunt Liz she was looking pretty fancy.

Next stop was Aunt Jane's house. She and Aunt Ger graciously hosted us for a week. They golfed with Daniel, we swam in their club's pool, and (the highlight) Ger lent us her golf cart to go cruising. Elijah was in HEAVEN!

We also spent a day at Busch Gardens. It was perfect because we got to see all of their Christmas shows as well as the Sesame Street characters and show in the children's park.
Notice Eli's reaction in this picture . . . he's not such a fan of costumed creatures.

Analise was practicing her ballet moves from the back of a book when Daniel snuck in with the camera.
the little guy -
Last stop - Eloise's house! (sorry Beth, but Eloise was the real highlight here :) Our friends from Paris, now in Atlanta who have children the same ages as ours - and one more on the way! The girls enjoyed doing everything girly - including a tea party with some delicious Christmas cookies.
the gang - snuggling under a blanket to watch some shows

playing on the tire swing at the park . . .

H.I. are for . . .

Hilton Head Island!

We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with our Mueller family on the beach at Hilton Head, South Carolina. Time in the warm weather will hopefully make the winter more bearable here in N.H. - right?

snuggle time with blankie and Grandma. This was down time for Grandma who had been busy preparing a Thanksgiving dinner and taking Eli downstairs to play pool . . . well, his version of pool anyway
loving the sand!
Christmas at Thanksgiving with the Warrens. Analise has been a little confused by this and now calls her "Christmas list" her "Thanksgiving list" - ironic isn't it? Making a list of all your wants and calling them your Thanksgiving list - ah, out of the mouths of children . . .
tired out! After walking around Savannah all day the kiddos crashed in the stroller.
The beach house at Hilton Head.
waves crashing at night made sleeping like a baby easy - even for an 8.5 month preggo
Analise and Hannah help Grandma by cleaning off the beaters after making whipped cream.
little friends -