Sweet Afton

After months of anticipation we finally welcomed our daughter Afton Christine (named after Andrew's maternal grandmother and mother) into the world. It was a smooth delivery, with only one small road bump following Afton's birth. Here's a recount of our last week-

Much to my delight, I woke up last Monday morning (December 15th) having mild contractions. Luckily, I belong to a medical practice which believes in "helping" (some might say pushing) the labor process along, so after a quick trip to the doctor I was sent over to the neighboring hospital. I was given an epidural early on, and 8 hours later, our baby girl was born. Afton sustained a few battle wounds during the process (such as a completely bruised face), but most are now completely healed. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 5 ounces and was 20 inches long.

After coming home from the hospital on Wednesday, we had to return the next day when we discovered that Afton's bilirubin count was higher than 20 (this is what causes jaundice). I don't know what was worse- taking my newborn baby back to the hospital 4 days after she was born or going out in public still looking 5-6 months pregnant. I also quickly discovered that the special treatment you recieve after delievery ends the moment you are discharged. Even though we had only left the day before, Afton and I were placed in a makeshift room (practically a closet) with no bathroom, which needless to say, was not fun while I was still recovering. Luckily Afton only had to stay 2 nights, and I was able to go home the 2nd night (leaving the baby in the care of the far more capable hospital staff) and sleep for 9 hours straight . The highlight of this hospital visit occured when a brand new dad walked into my room while I was using a double breast pump. I think its safe to say he's traumatized for life.

Afton during her treatment to get the bilirubin count down...she was not a fan of the eye mask

Now that the dust has settled we are having a blast getting to know our newest family member. She is a sweet little thing and sleeps like a champ- at least during the day. We are currently staying at Andrew's parent's house, where the boys have plenty of room to play, and where we are getting a ton of help and attention. Speaking of Sam and Luke, they seem to be taking this life change extremely well. I know its still early on, but so far they go between ignoring the baby or wanting to shower her with kisses. It works for us!

West Wing Tour

Inside the White House Press Room

Outside the entrance of the West Wing

On the steps of the Old Executive Office Building

Presidental Departure

If you've ever tried to take a picture in front of the White House, then you know how annoying the thick black fences are (see the pictures from the "Thanksgiving 2008" posting for an example). It is impossible to get a good shot without them. Well, not today my friends! Today, Andrew and I were invited to watch President Bush depart on Marine 1 from the south lawn. We were among a handful of reporters (at least they had really large cameras) and some other spectators (like us) as we stood about 30 yards away from the landing area by the back steps of the White House. We watched Marine 1 make its landing and President Bush exit from the West Wing to board the helicopter. Sam was a little anxious during the whole ordeal (we later learned that he thought we were going to board the massive helicopter ourselves), but the rest of us thought it was pretty awesome! Following the departure we were able to walk around the grounds and gardens a little bit. We are also slated to go on a tour of the West Wing this Saturday, so unless this baby girl decides to come early, I'm sure we'll have some pictures of that as well.

In front of the Oval Office

Marine 1 landing

Awww, President Bush...we still love you!

See, no fences!

Thanksgiving 2008

It’s hard to image a Thanksgiving better than Thanksgiving with my in laws. The day begins with the boys playing football, and leads into a massive gathering roughly consisting of 15 adults and 20 children. With that many children running around there is always some amount of chaos, but chaos in a fun way (yes, I know that is hard to imagine). And the food, ohh the food! Fortunately I married into a family which shares my affinity for food, and man, can they cook!

Andrew's Mom and Aunt Colleen (holding baby Annie)

Luke "performing" with his older cousins

Tradition holds that on the day following Thanksgiving the women wake up and join the masses for some therapy shopping and lunch out. This year I got the added bonus of having my brother Joe and sister Becca come down to spend the weekend with us. We took a quick jaunt downtown, visited the DC temple, and still managed to get in some more shopping. The weekend ended with the blessing of our newest nephew Jacob at Grant and Jen’s church, and was followed by a gathering at their house.

I love Andrew's pained expression in this picture...

In front of the White House

My baby sister Becca

My brother Joe and Sam in front of the DC temple

My Twilight Weekend

I typically think of myself as a peaceable person. I don't like conflict, and I usually try to avoid it. This is why I intended to avoid writing anything about the new Twilight movie. But after the prodding of a friend I have decided that I can no longer be silent. Let's just get it out in the air right now- I HATED TWILIGHT!!! I hated the crummy acting, the choppy screenplay, the hair and makeup, and especially the "special effects". I spent the entire two hours going between laughing hysterically to wanting to gouge my eyes out. Had it not been for the enormous box of Raisinets I kept pouring into my mouth, I don't think I would have made it through the entire movie. In all fairness, I'm not sure how much of this hatred is deserved. Don't get me wrong, I still think it was a terrible movie, but I'm not sure if my detest was fed from my being 8 1/2 months pregnant or the group of friends I attended the movie with (I'm talking to you Merry, Erica and Jill). Either way, I would advise against seeing this movie until they do the remake in 2030.

On a positive note, I was able to spend the weekend with one of my best friends from High School, Jill. She typically comes down to spend a few days with me in the fall, and this year it just so happened to be on the opening weekend of Twilight. On Friday night we joined a group of my girlfriends for dinner at a Thai Restaurant and then to see the highly anticipated (mostly by myself) movie. The next day we went to the National Air and Space museum in Dullas with Andrew and the kids. Jill seemed to be a good sport about having my kids jump all over her and tell complete strangers that her name is "Becky" and "Stinky" so hopefully this won't be the last of her trips.

Fall Fun

I think I may have passed my obsession with fall onto my kids. In the last month and a half we have graced pumpkin patches, apple orchards and numerous fall festivals. We've been doing this for years, but the difference is that my boys finally caught onto the hype and couldn't get enough of fall and all of it's wonderfulness! To feed this obsession we even checked out dozens of fall themed library books. Everyday Sam drew a handful of pictures filled with jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and haunted houses. Halloween was also a big event with Sam dressed as Captain Hook and Luke playing the role of Peter Pan. My parents came down to trick or treat with us (along with some of our friends) in Grant and Jen (Andrew's brother and sister in law) and Andrew's parent's neighborhood. Unfortunately, my kids went through withdraw the moment the candy was gone and the Halloween decor came down (apparently turkeys and cornucopias are not as cool as bats and witches- that's news to me).

I know that winter doesn't officially begin for another month, but with the weather turning and the leaves quickly dropping, it seems like a good time to make peace with the fact we had a great fall this year. Ohh, and I can't end this post without mentioning the Phillies' World Series win and the immense joy it brought Andrew!

Yes that is Sam in a wig, and he loved every minute of it.

Just the Two of Us

Andrew and I have not taken a trip alone since Sam made his debut into the world nearly 5 years ago. Our destination- Chicago. The provider of this trip- The Federal Reserve. The enablers- Andrew's parents who graciously watched Sam and Luke. Andrew had 3 days of work training, so with one plane ticket, a hotel suite, and food expenses paid for, I decided to tag along. Lets just say it was the best decision I've made in a while. Being nearly 7 months pregnant, I was free to lounge around in bed all day long, order room service, read books 1-3 of the Twilight series and SLEEP! It was heaven. Our hotel was right on Michigan Avenue (an amazing little shopping mecca) and only a few blocks from the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Andrew and I had a blast touring the city (both by foot and boat), eating out and enjoying each other's company uninterrupted by kids! I even managed to get myself out of bed before 9 a.m. one day to go to the Chicago Institute of Art.