Nana and Papa Visit

Dale and Vicki came back for two weeks and we were so happy to see them! They have been living in Germany since July and won't be back until next summer. We got a lot of family time in and some great babysitting for my first week back at work. Knowing Eden and Judah were with them made going back so much easier!

We got to see a lot of Harper, which was fun for all of us, but especially for Eden.

We weren't sure if Eden would remember Nana and Papa (even though she loves talking to them on skype) but after a few days she was running to the door when they came over! I'm sure Judah will be doing the same thing in a few years...

Nana and Judah

Its always fun to watch Eden play with Harper. Harper is such a good sport and Eden just soaks up everything Harper does. Here she is watching her spin (she started spinning about 2 seconds later). Harper did a great job of wearing Eden out...she was ready for bed by about 6 every night (too bad we didn't put her down until 7 or 8 when she was super crabby!)

We can't wait to visit Nana and Papa in a few months!

Snow Day

We got our first snow last week. Last year Eden didn't really get out in the snow much, but I think this winter will be a lot more fun! We woke up to a few inches of snow and it fell in big flakes all day! Eden and Luke built a snow man and had a snow ball fight (ok, Luke threw snow balls at Eden). Eden mostly liked to eat the snow...good thing it was fresh! Judah and I took the time to snuggle and watch some t.v.

The snow is mostly melted now but we are supposed to get another storm this weekend...it might be time to get some snow pants!

Surprise!

About a week after bringing Judah home, Gatsby our tiny cat, went crazy. It was the middle of the night and she got under the covers on our bed and was meowing constantly. Luke put her outside because we were both sleep deprived and listening to a cat all night was not an option. The next morning she knocked a pile of blankets out of our hall linen closet. As I was cleaning it up she kept meowing at me and pawing the drawer. I pulled it open and Suprise! there was a kitten!

The kitten (we think it's a boy) is super cute and Eden LOVES it! She stops and waves and says hi about 1,000 times a day. I think they will be bff soon....

2 more weeks....

I have 2 weeks left of maternity leave, and I don't think I will be able to go back. There are three big issues that are getting in the way:

1. I've gotten used to sleeping in. Eden, Judah and I all sleep in until 8:30 or 9 every day. Which means that I don't go to bed until 10:30 or 11 (after Judah eats) at night. I don't know if I will be able to make it through a work day if I have to get up at 7 after being up to feed Judah at night...I think its time for all of us to have an earlier bed time. Sad day...

2. I don't want to drop my babies off with someone else. We are super lucky and we have a great lady from church who will watch them AND Luke and I have worked out our schedules so we only have to drop them off on Thursdays! Yeah! But I still would love to stay with them all day.

3. I can't wear sweatpants at work. This is really worrying me, I mean staying up at night worrying me. Before this maternity leave I would get dressed in jeans as soon as I woke up, otherwise I would spend the day laying around. I guess I associated sweatpants with being sick and lazy or something. Now I change back into sweatpants as soon as I get home! This might have something to do with my regular jeans not quite fitting comfortably yet, but I have really gotten used to it. I don't know if I can go back to wearing jeans for more than 1 hour at a time. I might have to wean myself off of all day sweats!

Its been so great to be at home with Eden and Judah and I am so blessed to have a job that I love and that is SUPER flexible...and maybe not wearing sweats 24-7 will be good...

Our Big Helper

Eden is taking her new role as big sister very seriously and has been such a help with Judah. She brings him diapers and wipes when its time for a diaper change, she brings him his pacifier, she sometimes throws away diapers and she even got his hat off of the back porch the other day. She also gets her own diapers for diaper changes, brings her cup to the fridge when she wants more milk, and helps feed sprocket in the mornings. She loves to clean things with wipes including her mouth!

Sometimes, though, she gets a little confused. She might steal Judah's pacifier after giving it to him so that she can have a turn. She tries to help me load the dishwasher but so far has only loaded it with clean dishes from the utensil drawer or clothes.

She also tried to feed sprocket but I guess she forgot where his food was, so her animal crackers were the next best choice. I think sprocket was fine with changing things up...he got the whole bag!

The Apple Orchard

This weekend we had so much fun going to an apple orchard with Rachel and Harper. The weather was perfect...sunny and about 65.

We got to see some goats. Eden loved them and kept trying to say goats (go, go).

There was also a hay maze. Harper went right in and Eden had fun trying to find her.

We wore Judah out with all of the excitement! We had a great time and got some yummy kettle corn, apple cider donuts, and some really juicy apples. We all had a nice time getting out of the house too!

Judah Rune is Here!

A month before Judah's due date, the doctor told us that he would most likely come early. Because I was induced with Eden, I had no idea what real contractions felt like (I didn't even have braxton hicks contractions with her) so we spent a month waiting and wondering. Earlier this summer we had talked about wanting him to come on the 25th or the 1st so that it would be easier to remember his birthday (I am horrible with numbers). I guess he was listening, and so October 1st he finally came! I started having contractions the night before (during the office). They started to get pretty intense around 1:30 am and by the time we got the the hospital around 2:30 they were minutes apart and painful. We had an amazing nurse who rushed to get me the epidural, which I got just in time. We then waited around and Judah decided he was ready to come around 6:45. It took a little longer than Eden because he was facing the wrong direction, which meant no cone head baby for us! He was born around 7:15 and was 8 pounds 4 ounces and 21 inches.
Eden came to meet him later that morning and she has been the sweetest big sister since the minute she saw him! She tries to share everything with him (food, toys, her milk) and even hands us wipes when we change his diaper. When we brought him home she showed him all of her favorite toys! So sweet...

I think us being gone for 2 days was harder for her than us bringing home a new baby. We are loving watching her interact with him and we can't wait for him to get older!
I just know that the minute I post this, my luck will change, but so far Judah has been the best baby! He sleeps 3 1/2 hours at night and falls right back to sleep. During the day he hangs out from around 8-10 and again in the evening from 7-9, and he naps during Eden's nap. He mostly grunts unless he is really upset, which isn't often. He is so sweet and it feels like he has been around forever. I, of course, am excited for him to start to sleep even longer at night, but since Eden got up every 2 hours for her first few weeks, I can't complain!