Merry Christmas & Happy Chanukah

I had great holidays for my first Chanukah and Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa Haar AND Grandma and PaPa Anderson came to visit us. We all packed up and went to Breckenridge on Sunday. Dad had to stay and work on Monday, but joined us Tuesday night.

On Monday, Mom, PaPa, Grandma and Uncle Paul went snow mobiling. They had a good time, but Mom was sore the next day. I stayed with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Bob. We had a good time to sleeping, reading and sitting by the fire.

Everyone did a lot of relaxing. On Christmas Eve we went to church, then came home and everyone but me had tur-duck-en for dinner. Later we unwrapped presents. I got a lot of fun stuff. Mom opened all my presents and showed them to me. I can't wait to play with my toys and wear my new clothes. I have to grow a little bigger though!

On Christmas Day we all went for a sleigh ride. It was really cold and the snow was pushing in, so I didn't get to see much. Mom and Day kept me under the covers. Plus it was nap time so I was sleepy and happy to stay warm tucked on Mom's lap. Trust me, I'm in there somewhere!

Grandma and Grandpa Haar had to leave on Grandma's birthday, the day after Christmas. We were sad to see them go. We headed home that evening too. Dad, Papa & Uncle Paul went snowmobiling again and had a really good time.

I had a great first Hanukkah and Christmas. Thanks for all my presents!

First Bath

Hannah had her first bath on Tuesday. We had hoped to do it Sunday, but Matt got sick so we waited until he was well. She was great and didn't cry at all. Maybe it was because she was asleep when we started the bath. She curled up in the bath tub and made it hard to get her washed and rinsed. The funniest thing has been that her hair in now spiked because we put a hat on her while her hair was wet, and it won't lay down now!


Spiky Hair!

Hannah Meets Two Uncles

Last weekend Hannah met two of her four uncles. She's such a lucky girl to have so many adoring men. Malcolm and Brian absolutely loved her, and she really enjoyed getting to know them. They held her a lot of the weekend. Brian sang to her a lot. Something that she loved. He dubbed her a "little jelly bean". Which seems appropriate given her current small, round size.

They brought Hannah many gifts. Thanks! One of which was a really cute onesie with a purple elephant on the front that she got to wear for them on Sunday!

One of my favorite photos. I love that she is sticking her tongue out at Uncle Malcolm. Singing with Uncle Brian!Modeling her new outfit! (Grandma Gail, she has ruffles on her bottom!)

Hannah in her Swing

We have found that Hannah loves to swing.



She also had a Dr appointment this morning. She weighted 8 lbs 11 oz and the Dr said she was great. She screamed when they pricked her heel for more blood, but over all it was a good visit. Now we're ready for Uncle Malcom & Uncle Brian to come this afternoon!!!

Grandparents

Hannah is the luckiest little girl ever! Her grandparents couldn't get here fast enough to meet her. We were very blessed to have everyone here for the Thanksgiving week. Grandma & PaPa Anderson were here shortly after she was born. Mom made plane tickets as soon as she knew we were at the hospital. They arrived about 9:30 pm Thursday night.

Grandma & Grandpa Haar arrived on Saturday shortly after we got home. Everyone loved holding and cuddling her. She will definitely be spoiled! Papa already bought her first pink dolly.

Hannah Elizabeth

Hannah Elizabeth arrived at 6:16 pm on November 20th, 2008 after a long but peaceful labor. She was 8 lbs 1 oz and 19 3/4 inches long.

I actually started having contractions late Tuesday night early Wednesday AM, and wandered the house for a couple hours that night. The contractions died off and I sent Matt off to work, not knowing when things would actually get started. Luckly I was able to get a couple hours of sleep during the day. By the time Matt came home, I was having contractions again, but far apart and not to strong. We settled into bed around 10pm and I wasn't able to get comfortable. I got up, hoping that Matt would be able to get some sleep and went down stairs. By midnight, I was having stong contractions and they were getting closer together. I called the doctor around 12:30 am and he suggested we head to the hospital. I went up stairs to tell Matt, and you would have thought there was a fire. He was dressed and heading to the car in no time. I hadn't even had a chance to get myself ready. He rushed to the hospital even though the roads were clear, and we had to check in through the ER. It must have been a busy night for babies, because there were several pregnant women coming in.

They put us in a room and checked my status. I was only dilated to 3cm, so they made me walk the hall for an hour to see if I would progress. They claim they can't admit you until 4cm. It was one of the longest hours of my life. Anyway they did admit us and we settled in to have a baby. I tried to relax in the whirl pool and finally decided it was time to get an epidural. It was the best decision we made. Unfortunatly I had to wait for the doctor to be available to place the epidural. But after it was placed, Matt and I both were able to get some rest, sleep and relax. We even played cards for a while. They did have to administer some pitocin, but I didn't feel a thing.

We were finally ready to move into the final stages of labor around 4pm, but had to wait for the nurse and doctor to get their acts together. We also had two nursing students that helped with the delivery. They were great and it really left Matt to just focus on supporting me. We finally started pushing around 5:45 pm, and about 35 minutes later we had Hannah. The Dr. let Matt announce that she was a girl, then he cut the cord. I cried and held Hannah while Matt started making phone calls to family.

Hannah is beautiful and healthy. The doctors and nurses at the hospital were great but we are so happy to be home.

Pumpkins

I wanted to compare my belly to a pumpkin since I feel like I ate one. There is a pumpkin patch close, so we went up to pick out a couple of pumpkins to decorate our patio until we carve them for Halloween. We're afraid to put them on the front porch since we have some teens that roam the streets.

This is one of the neatest patches I have ever been to. You drive into their farm and stop at a mail box to pick up your directions and a pair of garden shears. Then you follow the signs out to the field that they are cutting pumpkins in. There had to be 200+ acres of pumpkins. Once you're at the fields, you pick a spot that you want to hunt in and park. We tromped around in the field and looked for LARGE, ROUND pumpkins. We finally found two that we liked. Poor Matt had to carry them back to the car. You pay by the pumpkin when you exit. They also had a petting farm and corn mazes, but we opted to only do the pumpkin picking. We also got two small pumpkins which I think I will try to cook.

I need to get a photo of Ranger with the pumpkins so you can see their sizes. I will try for that tomorrow and post the photo. Unfortunately he didn't get to participate in the activities since we weren't sure if this was a dog friendly place. But next year we plan to go dogs and baby in tow!

Here is a photo of the hill covered in pumpkins. You may have to open it up large to see all the orange dots!

Painted Nursery

Mom painted the nursery while she was here. We're really happy with the color. Just one wall, but it adds a nice warmth to the room. This must be a special baby since this is the only room in our house that has seen a brush near it!

Hiking Eldorado Springs State Park

We have had gorgeous weather in CO these days. We decided today would be a good day to get out in nature so we took a trip to the closest state park, Eldorado Springs Canyon. It is a spectacular canyon that you drive into with shear cliffs on both sides. The roads were rough, and made my belly hurt a couple of times, but luckily our trail was not far in.

We stopped and had lunch by Boulder Creek and let Ranger splash a little, then went off for our hike. About 2 miles round trip on a very flat and shaded trail. The best part was that it was a great vantage point to watch the mountain climbers. What people do for fun absolutely amazes me. I have no clue how high these cliffs are, but we were quite impressed.

We sat by the creek again when we were done hiking, then headed back home. It was a great afternoon.

Labor Day Moose

On Sunday we took a drive into Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a nice drive and the dogs were mostly well behaved. Scout did manage to get out of her seat belt once, but was quite mellow the rest of the trip.

We typically only see elk and sheep in the park, so we were quite surprised when we came across a group of cars pulled over to watch a moose. It was about a football field away in a creek and walked closer to us to eat in some trees. As far as we could tell it was a cow, but it could have been a young bull. Anyway, here is a photo.

Scout on a Barrel

Scout has been spending the summer at a trainer. With the gift of a new camera, we were able to get some video of her. Hopefully this fall she will be ready for Matt to take her hunting. None for me this year, the doctor says no guns while I'm pregnant. Scout returns for her final bit of teaching in a couple of weeks. Mind you this does not mean she is well mannered at home!

Hopefully there will be more to come from out blog as this seems like the easiest way to get out video. Thanks CA Haars (&BG)!