Chandler Family Visit

My family arrived for a visit and to meet David on Wednesday. First things first, everyone had to get a good view of the new little guy.

Everyone was staying in an AirBnB close by, so we spent most of our time there. I didn't have my camera at the other house, so all the pictures for this post are from Heather and Michelle. The next few days consisted of lots of baby holding and visiting along with good food and walks in the sunshine.

 All eight cousins on the couch.

Mary has discovered that she loves to color and was excited to get to do so with her auntie and cousins during the visit.

The oldest cousin and the youngest.

Uncle Ray and Aunt Joanna came down Friday and Saturday to join the fun.

 The weather was surprisingly warm and sunny for February and we took advantage of it with walks, including one to a nearby park for a game of soccer.

After a few packed but too short days, they headed home early Sunday morning.

Valentine's Day

I cooked my first meal since delivery to make pink heart shaped pancakes for our traditional Valentine's Day breakfast.

Mary and David got new outfits from Grandma for the occasion.

 Joshua brought home sushi so we could enjoy a delicious dinner at home.

After Dave and Gayle returned from their dinner out, we all enjoyed creme brulee together for dessert.

Goodbye Grandpa

My grandpa passed away Friday night. His health was in decline for a number of years and he had been doing particularly poorly for the past few months, so it wasn't a surprise, but it's still hard to say goodbye.

The timing was particularly difficult because we lost Joshua's Grandad at the end of my pregnancy with Mary and hitting the ninth month this time brought back a lot of those memories. Losing my grandpa shortly after delivery was hard.

Grandpa was an active person who loved spending time outside. He always had time to spend with us whether it was teaching us a new game, telling hot dog stories in front of the fire, or working on a project. We will miss him.

On Sunday I made gingerbread, one of Grandpa's favorite desserts. My family was also having gingerbread in Grandpa's honor on Sunday so it was nice to share that moment even though we weren't in California with everyone.

Life at Home

We arrived home from the hospital on Wednesday in time for lunch. It was good to be back in our own space with the whole family together again. Mary did great with Grandma and Grandpa, but had a hard time without us. She was concerned we were going to leave her again, so we've been trying to give her plenty of reassurance since returning home.

The house is a bit crowded with six people, but it's hugely helpful to have Dave and Gayle here while I begin to recover and we adjust to life with a new baby.

Grandma gave Mary her first set of markers and a white board, and she has been enjoying those quite a bit.

She also likes her little brother and quickly learned a new word "bubba." I'm not sure if she's saying "baby" or "brother," but I think it's "brother." She likes to check on him, help burp him, and touch him. 

David is doing great. He started gaining weight again and mostly sleeps at night when he's not eating. It's been fun to remember all the little things about newborns and how tiny they are. He is a happy baby who is generally content and loves to be held. The two things that really seem to bother him are waiting to eat and getting his diaper changed. We are delighted to have him in our family.

Welcome David Scott

February 3 finally arrived and we woke up early to head to the hospital for a 5am check in. We were surprised to discover snow on the windshield, but it was light, so we quickly got that cleared off and were on our way. It was a bit strange to be at the hospital getting ready to have a baby without having contractions, but things went smoothly and we were even able to spend a few minutes relaxing and talking together while watching snowflakes drift down outside. There was a bit of a delay while we waited for my bloodwork to come through, but we were heading to the OR just fifteen minutes after the scheduled time. It was quite different to have a scheduled c-section. Everything was more relaxed and the doctors and nurses had time to explain what was going on as we went. We even listened to music in the OR. The worst part was when my blood pressure dropped after getting anesthesia and I got nauseated and lightheaded. Thankfully, the anesthesiologist was prepared for that and gave me something so I quickly felt better. Soon we were welcoming our little boy into the world. David Scott was born at 8:11am weighing 8lbs, 6oz and measuring 20.5in. Since he was doing well, I got to hold him and barely noticed that I was getting stitched up.

We had another good stay at the hospital with great nurses and care as we got to know our new little guy. The hardest part, of course, was being away from Mary.

She came to visit us everyday with Grandma and Grandpa. She seemed to enjoy meeting her new brother.

Our first photo as a family of four!

David is a sweet baby who took to nursing right away and has been doing great. He likes to be held and is a healthy, happy little guy.

Preparing to Meet the Baby

The big moment is almost here! We have a c-section scheduled for tomorrow morning at 7:30am. Having a scheduled c-section has pros and cons, but since I wasn't a good candidate for a VBAC, we have been focusing on the pros. I have really enjoyed looking forward to a specific day and being able to plan accordingly, especially since all of our family is out of town. Of course, we also had a back up plan in case I went into labor, but now Dave and Gayle are here and everything is ready to go. We are looking forward to the big day tomorrow and finally meeting our new little one.

Adventure Children's Museum

Mary and I had a play date yesterday afternoon with another mom and her daughter from church. We met up at the Adventure Children's Museum and had fun exploring. Mary and I hadn't been there before, and it was pretty cool. They had all kinds of little areas set up for kids to play and explore, including a camping area, pirate ship, different areas of the world, and a garden. Mary and Mauve had fun playing with things together, although Mary was mostly interested in wandering around and looking at everything.

The bakery was one of my favorite parts, although there were a lot of things that were pretty cool. Mary seemed to like climbing around the pirate ship, walking over the Japanese bridge, and playing with the giant Lite Brite the most.

Hot Breakfast

Just a little morning fun eating oatmeal for breakfast.

New Year Celebration

It's been quite awhile since we missed the traditional New Year's Eve party at Mom and Dad's, but with the baby due at the beginning of February, we wanted to get home sooner rather than later and not travel too close to our due date. It was disappointing to miss celebrating with everyone, but Natalie and I still got to make our traditional muddy buddies over video chat.

Photo: Heather 

So tasty!

We had a nice little spread for the evening, but kept it low key. We celebrated the New Year on the first with a delicious dinner and sparkling cider. Welcome to 2020!