Little Garrett is here

Our little man arrived early on Monday morning. He was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and has a full head of hair. Labor was surprisingly easy this time around. Phew.

Here is a video of Delaney meeting Garrett and a few other pics.

Our little football fan princess

Delaney has a ridiculous amount of UCLA and CAL paraphernalia, and she also seems obsessed with wearing it on a daily basis. I am somewhat relieved when she has run out of college gear because it means occasionally she will look girly girl. Kevin loves it when Delaney asks to wear her Golden Bear shirt, though, and accommodates it any time she asks.

(Oh yeah, for those you wondering, no signs of labor whatsoever.)






and here are a few other random shots

Pics of Garrett's new room

Here are some shots of the final baby room. We were lucky in that I painted it blue before Delaney was born, so that was one less thing to worry about. Then we just switched out pink and put in red and blue! And, of course, some surf decor.

Pics of Delaney's new room

Here are some pics of Delaney's new room which seems like it took us 5 months to construct.

Silly video of Delaney

Delaney seems to have taken a liking to Kevin hitting her with the pillow. She just loves it and laughs the whole time.

On my way...

I had a doc appointment this morning and I was 1cm dilated and "soft". Unlike with Delaney where I was rock solid all the way up to labor (and even through a part of labor), at least I am showing signs of readying. I know it basically doesn't mean much but it was at least a little something to give me hope that I wouldn't be late.

I asked today about how late they would let me go and they said it depends. But generally if I'm miserable they would *consider* inducing me at 39+ weeks. We'll see.

In other bad news it appears I am getting a tinge of the rash that I got with Delaney. It is a rare pregnancy rash called PUPPS which has many differing degrees of terribleness, and so far it's pretty manageable. A friend had told me that you only get this in your first pregnancy so I was sure when my belly starting itching and breaking out into hives the other day that it wasn't PUPPS. After talking to the doc today she thinks it's the beginning of it. So... now... I get to take/put on Benadryl to try and make it better and just try like heck not to itch. Easier said than done.

We got our Bob Duallie Revolution stroller a few weeks back and man that thing is deluxe. I am so glad we forked out the money to get it because it really is a nice stroller. At least Kevin could get a discount.

This weekend our plans are basically to finish as many items as we can that are still on our to-do list, number one for me is the trip to CostCo. We are going to order the trundle for Delaney's bed, do some gardening, install the infant car seat and clean up the house. Phew. I feel like we are finally close to being ready.

I have nearly trained the contractor at work who is taking my spot and that's a relief.

I can't believe we are getting so close to being able to meet our little man.

Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure we named him. Garrett Larsen. Unless he comes out with a different name tattooed on his chest, I'm guessing that's what we're sticking with. :)

Dear Delaney September 2008

Dear Delaney,

You are roughly 2 years and 4 months now and I thought I would write you a letter because you have changed so much in the last few months. You are doing so many things and bringing us so much joy, it only feels right to record it in a letter.

We are approximately three weeks away from the arrival of your baby brother and it seems like you are starting to understand that there will be another creature arriving very shortly. You are still sleeping in the baby's room but you fully acknowledge that all of the decorations, gadgets and toys in there are for your baby brother. I know the transition is going to be very rough for you and I am bracing myself for the disappointment and tantrums that will inevitably come when you realize that you are not our only baby anymore. It makes me a tinge sad to think about it but I know in the end it's going to be so good for you and my hope is that you can be as close one day to your brother as I was with mine growing up. You are going to be an amazing big sister and I can't imagine a better little girl to show our little boy the ways of life than you. I fully expect and want you to show him how to live life since you have no trouble doing so yourself. You show your dad and I how to do this every day. I have no doubt that you will push him to be more daring, exploring and rough and tumble. You will talk endlessly to him and eventually hug and show him true affection like you do us.

One of the things I love best about you right now is the tone and intonation of your sing-song voice. It's so innocent and cute... many times a day you confirm something that we say by cheerfully saying "yeah!" in the cutest most innocent inflection. It makes me smile every time you do it. Your dad and I find ourselves talking about you all the time even when you are not in our presence and have already gone to bed. A lot of times it's when you're right there too. You'll say something hilarious, surprising or cute and we will just look at each other and smile.

Your vocabulary expands exponentially every day and I am in constant amazement at how quickly you pick up words and at how your grammar is improving. I will correct your verb tense one day and you will use it correctly the very next day. If we laugh or relish in a funny phrase that comes out of your mouth, you will continue to do it so you can see future smiles on our faces. One of our favorite moments recently was when we were driving up to Maine and we told you there was a chance we could swim in the hotel pool. Your enthusiastic response was "yeah, we should do that, guys!" Now you use "guys" at the end of a lot of sentences because you knew it made us laugh that once.

Finally we are starting to get real stories from your days at school during our dinner time chats. I have been asking you about your days for months and usually I get the standard "good". Now you actually volunteer information that I think is sometimes accurate. I love it.

Your temperament with other children is wonderful and I daresay it might be one of your best qualities. You are generally giving, accepting, sharing and kind to others. When others are using aggression and frustration with you, you try your best to avoid the situation. We were extremely dismayed to hear that you had actually bit a classmate the other day at school. I know a few of the other kids have been biting regularly for months (as evidenced by the bite bruises and marks you occasionally receive) and a few of the other kids there have taken to showing emotions through aggression towards other kids. Stacey and Melinda tell us that your bite response was in defense and response to some aggression you were receiving from another kid. That doesn't make it excusable and I can only hope that you will not continue to respond in a negative way. We usually only observe you hugging and treating your kid acquaintances with respect.

You have a passion for life and exuberance that never ceases to amaze me. You routinely zoom around our house with your balls and toys, seemingly bouncing off walls in excitement. I think sometimes it could even be assumed that you have more of a boy temperament, but I prefer to think of it as a spunky girl personality.

Your nighttime sleeping abilities are still wonderful and we are now bracing ourselves for the loss of our morning sleep-ins. I stopped using the monitor a while back and recently have turned it on in the mornings to find that you actually are awake surprisingly early every morning. But you are content to be in your crib, whisper to your babies, stuffed animals, and mina blankets. I appreciate your willingness to do this every morning and it only validates our decision to provide you with a separate room in the short term so that you can have your own space to chill out. Your naps are getting shorter and are usually somewhere in the 1-2 hour range. Which I suppose it ok considering you still sleep an average of 12 hours a night.

You are still nowhere near close to being potty trained. You show no interest in going on the potty when we ask you and for now I am content to keep you in diapers. I think I will make a harder push if you don't show natural signs by the new year.

We love you so much and I am pretty sure we tell you that multiple times a day. You are not a snuggle bug kid and sometimes I wish you were, but that doesn't mean we don't regularly get hugs and affection in the way you know how to show it. We are looking forward to growing more with you as we become a family of four.

Love,
Mom

Album cover party

Our friends Scott and Susie threw an "album cover party" last Saturday evening. They threw this exact party two years ago and it was hilarious. The idea is that you go to a record store (yes, a few still exist) and pick out an album and you have to dress exactly like that album cover.

People go all out and the costumes are great because often people have to get VERY specific items in order to match precisely. You are also required to bring the actual album cover.

You can imagine that I was a bit stumped this year being 8 months pregnant. But a friend suggested we do the Juno album cover since she is obviously pregnant. And believe it or not, there actually is an album cover made of Juno. Who knew they were still making album covers?!?!

Here are a few pics..


The Thompson Twins


Yanni


Olivia!


Billy Joel


Leo Sayer


Jimmy Buffett


Fleetwood Mac

CU Pep Rally

Last Friday night we went down to Pearl Street to catch the first CU Football Pep Rally of the season. During football season if there is a home game, the band, cheerleaders, boosters and entire football team all congregate on Pearl Street and march a few blocks west to cheers and applause from the general public.

Delaney got really into it and was high fiving all of the football players and seemed generally enthused to be around all of the cheering and music. I think it's really cool that they do this tradition and wish there was something more like this at UCLA. I don't know if it's because our games were in Pasadena or because they felt like no one in Westwood would care, but it seems to me a great thing to do with the community. I found myself actually getting excited about the CU football team as a result of the rally. I guess it worked, eh?

Here are a few pics...

Dog Dayz in Boulder

One of our favorite things in Boulder is that they open up the big outdoor pool here for dogs to swim before they drain it and close it down for winter. It costs $5 and they have 4-5 days where you can bring your dog and allow him/her to frolick in the pool. Lucy seems to love this activity and is borderline obsessive compulsive about the fetching. Some dogs even go off the diving board!

Even though I think they close down the outdoor pools here way too premature, I still love that they let the doggies have some fun.

Here are a few pics and a vid of our girl enjoying the pool.





And a little video to give you the full idea.