The Last Few Excursions Before Baby Hattie

I had meant to get this posted 3 weeks ago, but our computer is running out of picture space and we needed to sit down and do some clean up, which takes some time and is very tedious - so you understand the delay.

We just love going to Smith Rock State Park and ended up buying a two year pass b/c its so close and fun for all of us. Behold the pictures of one of our last excursions as a family of 3:

This was actually on a previous trip, with some buddies, but same place, same idea....

The "approach" up to Asterisk Pass

Getting up high where the good views are

Noella, mommy and baby Hattie in utero

 I love these next ones of Adam and Noella. He just loves taking her here and can't wait to do some actual climbing with her some day. She is just so big these days. It hurts my heart (even more so now), but I love who she is growing up to be.

This guy flew right up to where we were hiking and hung out a while. 

Zeb waiting patiently

Henrietta "Hattie" June Holt

Born: March 21st, 2013 at 5:39AM
Weight: 6 lbs 15 oz
Length: 20 in
Cuteness Factor: Off the charts!
(same exact weight, length and cuteness factor as her big sister at birth, 10 days before her due date)

Hattie decided to come right after I finished my last day of work. She had been hinting that she was coming early for a while (kept progressing and progressing, but no real "action"). Since I was Group B Strep positive and needed to be at the hospital for 4 hours before delivery, this made us a little nervous about making it in on time (I wasn't even at the hospital for 3 hours before Noella arrived). After my appointment on wednesday and I was already progressed to 6 cm. I then began having the usual non-painful but regular contractions at dinner. We decided it would best if we just got Noella squared away for the night and head to the hospital. She was well taken care of at our neighbor's home (4 kids, the oldest is a 9 year old girl whom she worships. They made chocolate chip cookies together, did her hair and let her sleep in her idol's room.) Getting to the hospital early made for a very long, boring and sleepless night: waiting and waiting for things to pick up. Lots of time to ponder the thought of having a baby. I won't tell you all the details, I'll just say that the real labor to delivery was quick, about an hour. The second natural birth! Success! Hard, no doubt, but worth it and a success. I must say that going through the painful stuff very quickly really helps with that decision. 

She is perfect and we are settling in as a family of four. She reminds us so much of Noella as a newborn - looks and little mannerisms. It's funny how those memories just come pouring back. Nothing prepares you for life with a newborn, but surely is special. Noella (and we) are adjusting. Life is good. We all love you to the moon, Hattie June! 

The Holts Lately

First and foremost, let me give a warm welcome to our newest baby cousin, Calvin Matthew Bleckman! He was born on monday and is perfect. We can't wait to meet you Calvin! Adam's sister, Maggie, did a wonderful job bringing him into this world :) This delivery was my last milestone for having this baby: once Maggie had their baby, I was NEXT. Duh-duh-duh! 5 weeks and counting.....

That being said, obviously the 'ol blog here has been neglected. Everything just takes extra energy these days and blogging has gone by the wayside because of it. But, here is a little taste of what we've been up to:

First of all, Valentine's Day. Noella is quite the artist and really loves to complete her own crafts. I came home from work tuesday, pulled out our craft basket and took stock: craft sticks, construction paper, crayons, tacky glue.... Okay, paper heart pops it was (not that they ever existed in the first place). All I had to do was cut out the hearts and show her what to do and she completed all 35 or so of them (for her daycare friends and for her music class friends). I began to write "Love Noella" on them in marker to speed things along and she quickly scolded me for that and began writing that herself. Well, just "Noella".

We had to make a valentine's box too. She enjoyed that even more I think. 

Noella wanted to include Zeb in her Valentine's exchange. She set it by his water bowl and a few hours later I saw it on his bed with a bite taken out of it. :) 

Speaking of music class friends, here is a snapshot of the day we hosted. The class is a group of families who take turns hosting the other friends, along with "JanellyBean" who does a great job teaching, engaging and creating a fun musical environment for the kiddos. The class is followed by snacks and playtime. Noella must always wear her fairy dress or a twirly skirt to class (it is a necessity for spinning).

Adam has been doing double and triple duty around here. Not only is he working like a dog to get his traveling done before the baby comes, but he is also making and cleaning up dinner many many nights (this baby is not making it super easy on me - standing for long periods of time is a no-go for me these days). In addition to all that, he is making all kinds of fun things for our home. Behold his handy-work:

Picture Frame

Benches

The lighting is terrible, I apologize, but I've been meaning to brag on him for a while and keep forgetting to take pictures. Not pictured are the cool floating shelves for the girls' rooms. I've also enlisted him to execute my own projects. He is a busy (and talented) guy!

Let's see.... round two of swimming lessons is in full effect. This is a definite big kid class - no parents. I thought it would be more of an ordeal for her - nope. She loves it and is doing great!

That's mostly it for now. Hope all is well where you are! 

Life's a Beach

Well, our yearly trip to Cannon Beach has come and gone. I look forward to this every winter, after the let down of the holidays, at the start of Adam's crazy busy work season -- this is our traditional winter coast trip. And this year, it would be our last vacation as a family of three. That, I cannot believe.

This couldn't have come at a better time either. Between all of us going through 2 colds, Noella and I going through a nasty GI virus, me getting a sinus infection following one of the above mentioned colds and me going through a terrible reaction to my flu shot all within about 3 weeks - we (I) was ready to take a load off and forget about what all we hadn't been doing while we were all sick or helping each other when the other was sick.

So, following a work day on a wednesday afternoon, with the car loaded and ready to go, I schlepped dog and toddler over two mountain ranges in the rain, ice, snow, fog and dark. I was going to get there, damnit! Noella woke up around Beaverton (about 1.5 hours away from the coastal town) and gabbed my ear off while I drove over the coastal range in the foggy dark trying to keep my eyes pealed for elk.

It was a fabulous, relaxing and true family vacation. Usually we leave by friday because Adam is done with his work by then; but since now we have further to drive, and he had to head straight back out sunday evening to somewhere else, we all stayed the whole weekend to be able to spend more time together. What a treat!

On your mark

Go!

Finding a scallop shell

"Mom, take a picture of me while I smile"

 

Exploring the tide pools

Lots of little hermit crabs

Starfish

Fat, kinda weird starfish....

Just clumps of them all over the rocks

Adam is almost through the worst part of his traveling and we are (he is) working doubly hard at trying to finish some home projects before baby girl # 2 arrives. Here's looking forward to spring, new births and fresh starts! 

Did You Ever Get the Feeling?.....

Noella's sense of humor gets better each day. She genuinely makes us laugh all the time. Some of her original jokes are as follows:

What does a pirate Santa say?
Yo Ho-Ho!

What does a sad owl say?
Boo Hoo-Hoo!

Now, I will admit she had a bit of help formulating those.

We recently checked out "There's a Wocket in my Pocket" from the library. This family loves them some Dr. Seuss. We all have begun a fun game to randomly bust out our own creative prose in the true Seuss form. Out of the blue, Noella will say "Did you ever get the feeling there's a boap on the soap?" or "did you ever get the feeling there's a gubaru in the subaru?". And so on, and so forth. We just go on and on, and it is hilarious (to us).

Did you ever get the feeling there's a glog in the blog? Me too.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Noella's big thing this year was rainbows. Last year, it was pink and purple - this year, she's upgraded to rainbows. So, we went with it and gave her a rainbow party. It will be her last birthday as an only child, so I tried to make it a little extra special. She loves parties and birthdays, so it really was a must. So, onto pinterest I went to get the birthday party ideas flowing. NoJo also really loves arts and crafts, and there's really not much else you can do at your home birthday party at the end of December. Therefore, a rainbow craft party it was. 

Rainbow cupcake display

I tried to get a shot of everything, but it didn't work out like I'd hoped

Craft table

Rainbow fruit and vegetables

Just waiting to be decorated (not the pizza peel)

So excited for her friends to get here

Three candles on her cupcake. I can't believe it.

I've got a similar picture from last year:

Abby, and her green cupcake

Georgia with blue

Hannah with blue

Ruth with pink

The girls! (No, Noella did not get an LG 3-D flat screen for her birthday)

The girls (minus Georgia) with their beautiful creations (rainbow crowns and wands, necklaces and bracelets)

There's the Fab Five!

Happy 3 years baby girl! We love you to the moon and back and I can't believe how bright, sweet and lovely you are. While it hurts my heart to see you grow up so fast, we are so proud of what you are becoming!