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| Discussing breakfast options with Dad |
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| Gracie slept through most of breakfast |
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| Cruising Railroad after breakfast |
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| Checking out the Ben Mann mural at Mallards |
Sunday, April 17, 2011
A Weekend Tradition
We introduced Gracie to a Larson Pahl Family favorite this weekend....breakfast at the Little Cheerful. She's a little young to enjoy the daily specials, but it wont be too long before she will be joining big sister Luna in ordering a fruit face pancake. Luna loved showing off Gracie to anyone that would listen, including her favorite person at the LC, Stu.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Welcome Grace Ann! It's Mommy's Turn....
What a week! After thinking we would be welcoming a new baby any day (starting back in March) Grace Ann finally made her appearance on April 9. And of course she is well worth the wait. As Brian already shared in his post after Grace's birth, she is a big girl....10 pounds 11 ounces, but thanks to a great support team of Brian, Mary Burgess & Emily I had the birth experience we had hoped for (no drugs or stitches!).
We are thankful to be home and adjusting to life as a family of 4. Luna has been amazing with Grace and is so excited to be a big sister. A huge thanks to my parents for watching Luna while we were in the hospital and bringing her to visit. Luna loves calling Grace "my baby" and is full of love for her little sister.
Grace is still figuring out her sleeping & waking schedule and (not surprisingly) LOVES to eat. I am so lucky to have Brian home for two weeks! He has been amazing, as usual, with helping make sure I get opportunities to sleep, keeping Luna busy and showering all his girls with love and affection. What an awesome man.
Well, here are more pics of the family. Enjoy!!
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| Proud Papa! |
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| Oma & Grammy giving Grace her first bath |
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| Quality Daddy daughter time |
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| Luna loves her new camera from baby Grace |
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| Grandpa and Grace |
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| Luna loves giving Grace hugs |
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| Chillin' |
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| Jenny came for a visit to meet the new Larson Pahl Team member |
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| Uncle Bob came to visit too - Luna loves her new backpack! |
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| Auntie Emily practicing for her new baby in June |
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| Kristen stopped by to meet Grace Ann |
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| Dr. Lee gave Grace Ann a clean bill of health |
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| Leaving the hospital |
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| Home at last! |
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| Rocking with Oma |
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| Hanging out with Grammy |
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| Luna took a picture of Mommy feeding Grace |
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| Thanks for the awesome new book Kristen & Monica! |
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| Luna loves helping with Grace's diaper changes |
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| Luna showing off her new baby sister to Brewmasta' Chris |
Sunday, April 10, 2011
It's Official: Luna is a BIG Sister
Well, it's been an exciting, exhausting few days at Luna's house in Bellingham, Washington. Lynnelle began labor early Friday, and at 9:58 on the morning of Saturday, April 9, our Grace Ann was born. In a process that at times seemed like it would never end, Lynnelle had at her side younger sister, Emily, our doula (yes, "our" - I would have been lost without her) Mary, and me.
After 15 hours of strong but inconsistent contractions, we decided to head to the hospital. Things started picking up around 11:00 Friday night, so it seemed like we better get in. Lynnelle measured 7-8cm, so they admitted her and called the doctor. About 30 minuted later, the doctor arrived and paid us a visit. Understandably, she thought as we did and said it didn't look like it would be very long before baby would arrive. However the admitting and prep process slowed everything WAY down. Contractions almost came to a halt and were more spread out. This was one of our fears about getting to the hospital too early. But since Luna came so fast, we didn't want to take any chances.
A long night followed, but the nurses and doctor were terrific about leaving us alone and letting Lynnelle labor in the way she wanted. And though the staff at the child birth center and the doctors at Bellingham OB GYN and Associates are first rate, we could not have done this without Lynnelle's sister, Emily and Mary Burgess. Mary is a doula in Bellingham and she does absolutely amazing things for moms, babies, siblings, AND dads in our community. We are so lucky to have her here. I hope if you are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant, you will consider having her be a part of your birth. You will NOT regret it.
Grace Ann took her time, but she eventually joined us almost 26 hours after first knocking on the door. She weighed 10 pounds 11 ounces and is 22 inches long. Holy uterus, Batman! Wanting to outdo her long labor, she gave us a brief scare once she was here. Her temperature and blood sugar levels were pretty low, so they rushed her to the nursery for some formula and her first trip to the tanning bed. It's never really too early to start tanning in northwest Washington, is it? Lynnelle wasn't pleased that the baby was getting all the attention, so she proceeded to lose a lot of blood. Let's just say that daddy wasn't too happy with his girls. He has enough gray hairs already!!! The doctors and nurses got to work on Lynnelle's uterus while dad went with Grace to the nursery.
Not long after, everyone was stable and doing fine. Grammy, Oma, Grandpa, and Luna got their first look at Grace while she was in the nursery. Luna peered in through the window and said, "That's my baby!" I think I heard someone say, "That came out of Lynnelle?" Just kidding. Once Grace was crispy and tender and had a satisfactory blood sugar level, we rejoined the family in the delivery room and the celebration began.
Exhausted, sore, and full of joy we attempted to get some rest. It's the end of Day 2 of little Gracie's life, and we couldn't be happier to have her with us. We hope you get to meet her soon. Until then, here are some pictures of our family.
After 15 hours of strong but inconsistent contractions, we decided to head to the hospital. Things started picking up around 11:00 Friday night, so it seemed like we better get in. Lynnelle measured 7-8cm, so they admitted her and called the doctor. About 30 minuted later, the doctor arrived and paid us a visit. Understandably, she thought as we did and said it didn't look like it would be very long before baby would arrive. However the admitting and prep process slowed everything WAY down. Contractions almost came to a halt and were more spread out. This was one of our fears about getting to the hospital too early. But since Luna came so fast, we didn't want to take any chances.
A long night followed, but the nurses and doctor were terrific about leaving us alone and letting Lynnelle labor in the way she wanted. And though the staff at the child birth center and the doctors at Bellingham OB GYN and Associates are first rate, we could not have done this without Lynnelle's sister, Emily and Mary Burgess. Mary is a doula in Bellingham and she does absolutely amazing things for moms, babies, siblings, AND dads in our community. We are so lucky to have her here. I hope if you are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant, you will consider having her be a part of your birth. You will NOT regret it.
Grace Ann took her time, but she eventually joined us almost 26 hours after first knocking on the door. She weighed 10 pounds 11 ounces and is 22 inches long. Holy uterus, Batman! Wanting to outdo her long labor, she gave us a brief scare once she was here. Her temperature and blood sugar levels were pretty low, so they rushed her to the nursery for some formula and her first trip to the tanning bed. It's never really too early to start tanning in northwest Washington, is it? Lynnelle wasn't pleased that the baby was getting all the attention, so she proceeded to lose a lot of blood. Let's just say that daddy wasn't too happy with his girls. He has enough gray hairs already!!! The doctors and nurses got to work on Lynnelle's uterus while dad went with Grace to the nursery.
Not long after, everyone was stable and doing fine. Grammy, Oma, Grandpa, and Luna got their first look at Grace while she was in the nursery. Luna peered in through the window and said, "That's my baby!" I think I heard someone say, "That came out of Lynnelle?" Just kidding. Once Grace was crispy and tender and had a satisfactory blood sugar level, we rejoined the family in the delivery room and the celebration began.
Exhausted, sore, and full of joy we attempted to get some rest. It's the end of Day 2 of little Gracie's life, and we couldn't be happier to have her with us. We hope you get to meet her soon. Until then, here are some pictures of our family.
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| Not long after Grace was born. We had just discovered she was a she and began getting to know how well her lungs work. |
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| Wonderful, strong, super mama, daddy, and baby Grace. |
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| Awaiting first exam. "Oh she is a big one," said one of the nurses. |
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| "10 pounds, 11 ounces," said another. |
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| While Gracie was in the nursery, Luna came in to see how mommy was doing. She took the opportunity to give Luna a gift from baby sister: a new camera just for Luna. |
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| "It's my baby sister. She likes me!" |
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| One tuckered out little girl. |
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| Auntie Emily and Uncle Pat. Thank you so much for being with us during Grace's birth, Emily. |
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| Daddy and Gracie catching some z's. |
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| Thank you Sylvia. |
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| Time for Luna to give her little sister a present: her very own lovey. |
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| Followed by a kiss, of course. Luna is so sweet with her. |
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| And so very happy and excited to be a big sister. |
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| Proud grandpa. |
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| Look at that 'do. Incredible. No wonder we saw the spikes on the ultrasound. |
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| Okay, she's cute, but little babies are actually pretty funny looking. Who are we kidding? |
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| Mom and daughter bonding already. It's fun getting to know her. |
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| "Shaka Bra" |
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| Our little sumo wrestler. |
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| Enough with the pictures dad! |
Monday, March 28, 2011
Happy 40th Daddy!
Daddy turned 40 on Saturday! Luna decided to help mommy make a chocolate cake. Turned out she really just wanted to lick the batter from the bowl & beaters. Who taught her that?
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| Pre-cake milk fix |
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| Yummy! |
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| Licking the bowl of every last drop |
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| Good stuff Mom! |
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