Life at Home

We took it as easy as possible for the next few days and spent as much time as possible getting to know Hannah and being with Mary and David. Recovery was slow, but we had lots of help, especially from Dave and Gayle.

Mary and David joined Hannah for her first tummy time.

Natalie came over for baby holding and playing with the kids.

David and Mary helped Joshua and Dave work on the sprinklers in the front yard.

Dave and Joshua smoked lots of delicious meat, including making bacon.

Joshua had a little photoshoot with the kids.

 Hannah is a good eater and wants to eat often, including throughout the night, so we try to make sure we nap during the day.

Meeting Hannah

 

On Friday, everyone started arriving to meet Hannah. Due to COVID restrictions, Heather was the only one who was able to come visit us at the hospital and meet Hannah there. Mom and Dad got to meet her Thursday evening, but everyone else had to wait until Friday. Micah got to hold her first because it was his birthday.

Photo: Michelle

Photo: Michelle

Dave and Gayle arrived that afternoon to stay with us and help out for a week.

Evan was at CC for a lot of the day, but stopped by on his way home to meet the baby.

Welcome Hannah Ann

We had a C-section scheduled for November 2 at 7:30am, but we didn't quite make it. I went into labor the night before and we welcomed Hannah Ann at 1:25am, a few hours before we planned. She weighed 9lbs, 2 oz, and was 20.9 inches long. The surgery and recovery went smoothly, and we were delighted to meet our sweet little girl.

Our time in the hospital was largely uneventful, but passed slowly, and we were excited to get an early discharge and go home Thursday evening.

Mom and Dad brought the kids home and made chili for dinner, so we had a lovely welcome when we arrived. Mary and David were excited to meet their new sister. They liked touching and holding her.

 Hannah is as sweet as can be, and we are so glad she's part of our family.

Drawing

 I couldn't believe how well Mary drew the other half of this bunny all on her own.

Counting Down

We snapped a couple belly pictures last week.

I tried to look as pregnant as I feel.

 I, of course, have been counting down the days for a long time, but since we hit about 15 days to go, Mary has also been very excited about counting down the days to the new baby. She always knows the right number of days.

Work Party Round Two

We had another work party in our front yard and got a ton done, starting with digging out the area across the driveway.

We also added pavers to the river rock in the front strip and finished putting out river rock.

Next we dug for the path across the yard.

We put gravel in the area across the driveway.

The final project for the day was putting the gravel and pavers down to make a path through the yard.

 After we finished, things looked much different in the yard, and it's so exciting to see it coming together.

Joshua's Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Joshua's birthday, starting off with a pastry he got for birthday breakfast.

The kids helped me make a pie.

 We took a drive in the afternoon and got ice cream in Three Rivers, then finished the day off with Manhattan clam chowder and rhubarb pie at home. 

The Great Yard Project Continues

Dave came down last weekend to preach in Orange Cove again, and we spent the day Saturday working on the yard.

Dave and Joshua worked on the sprinkler system.

The kids and I unloaded our first batch of river rock.

 And, of course, they enjoyed playing in the mud. We got a lot of stuff done, and it's exciting to see it finally starting to come together.

Sunday Fun

Photo: Gayle

Dave was preaching in Orange Cove Sunday, so he and Gayle came down for the weekend. We enjoyed the time together, including playing in this box which was barely big enough for Mary and David.

Photo: Gayle

I made an ice cream cake for the first time for Sunday dinner, which we hosted at our house because Mom and Dad were out of town.

Kerr Cousins

Photo: Jayne

We headed up to Modesto last weekend to visit family, including meeting some of the Kerr cousins. Friday night we had dinner at Jim and Jayne's house and met some of Dave's cousins who were in town.

The following morning, we got to watch Solace and Amari play soccer before heading home. It was a short trip, but fun to see everyone.

(Trying to) Stay Cool

In the midst of a late and very hot heat wave, we've been trying to stay cool by enjoying indoor activities. Gayle brought the kids watercolor paints, which were a big hit.

They've also enjoyed playing with Legos a lot recently.

Mary made a snowman out of playdough, complete with clothes.

I found the kids happily playing with magformers before breakfast one morning.