Christmas morning

Miss Lu was finally wrestled into bed around 8:30 on Christmas Eve. We weren't sure Santa was going to make it since he had to assemble a few things still, but he came through:

We told Lucy to come and get us when her alarm clock said 8:00; she showed up around 7:30, which really wasn't too bad all things considered. There was great rejoicing at the sight of her beloved pillow pet.

Calvin started grinning the minute we put him down onto his new play gym. The sock monkey was an unexpected hit too :)

Mr. Nick made french toast for breakfast and then the morning really got underway.

At the end of the day, Miss Lu was thoroughly spoiled (and happy to be so!)

Boogie down

We all like to boogie now and then.

The Nativity

This year we were invited over to the Sintays on Christmas Eve, along with the Hansens. Our kids all play well together, and we all enjoy each other's company. Before we let the kids loose, we had them act out the Nativity story.

Miss Lu was thrilled to be a shepherd—she brought her own sheep

The star decided she wanted to be a sheep too, so Shepherd Lu took her in

Mr. Calvin was almost too big for the manger ...

The shepherd took particularly good care of baby Jesus

Several "wise guys" made an appearance as well (they're pretending to hold their gifts)

It was a little unorthodox in places, but we made it through the whole story!

Bathing beauty (I mean hunk)

Calvin enjoys his baths, even when Lucy helps out:

Merry Christmas to all ...

... and to all a Good Night!

(yeah, all those cheeks are pretty pinchable :)

On computing

Nick and I have been laughing about the following conversation we had with Miss Lu for two days straight now.

(Background: we're in the middle of a conversation with Lucy regarding how Mommy knows lots of things too after Lucy let us know she thought Daddy knew everything and Mommy, well, Mommy not so much.)

Nick: "Lucy, Mommy knows how to use a keyboard to make an umlaut!"

Lucy: "Oh. What's a keyboard?"

Nick: [expecting to answer a question about the word "umlaut"] "Oh, um ... it's by the computer" [breaks into laughter ...]

Trust Lucy to ask you the unexpected question.

Self Portrait by Lucy, November 2010

Smiling baby boy

So. Mr. Calvin made his grand entrance just before Halloween, and he's been smiling (practically) ever since. Mostly for Dad. Sometimes for Sissy. Hardly ever for Mom (but Mom gets a lot of lip smacking and tongue sticking out). 

But this week, things started to change. 

Fall is over

Miss Lu is thrilled to finally put on her snowpants and get out in the snow!

Winter arrived at our house this week. Guess this means I'd better get back to blogging. I now have a backlog of cute baby pics to share!

Preparing for labor

Me: "I made a labor mix for the ipod."

Mr. Nick: "Great! [looks it over] ... You need some NPR podcasts on there too."

Me: "I loaded up Car Talk, This American Life, and some others—we'll save your reading voice this time. The only problem is I only have one pair of headphones."

Mr. Nick: "Oh, we're grabbing the thing [our ipod speaker]."

Me: "We are?"

Mr. Nick: "Yeah, I'm grabbing it on the way out."

Me: "Ok."

Mr. Nick: "Because I don't want to be bored."

Me: "Bored?"

Mr. Nick: "Well, you know, at least you get to do things while I just ... sit there ... [realizing this is not going well and slowly backing out of the doorway]"

Me: "I see."

Lucy helps me shop for groceries

I thought these lists were too cute not to share :) 

(Burgers, tuna fish, chicken, yogurt)

(Donut with sprinkles, milk, protein)

The donut is for Lucy; the protein is for me (to help baby brother grow strong). I think she got the better end of the deal.

38 (and a half) weeks

Lucy speaks

Miss Lu has been busy. Busy saying things that make us laugh.

1. I went to pick her up from school on Monday. Outside her classroom, another mom looked over and said, "Oh, you must be Lucy's mom!" (All of her classmates know Lucy is getting a baby brother soon.) We chatted for a bit, and then she told me how, when she was volunteering in the classroom the other day, Lucy had told the class "My mom is old! She's old enough that she lived with the dinosaurs!" I didn't have a good response to that one.

2. Words you don't want to hear while driving: "Uh oh. Mom? I lost my booger. I don't know where it went!"

3. Miss Lu: "Now I speak three languages! English, Spanish, and Sign Language!"

Mr. Nick: "Hola, cómo estás?"

Miss Lu: "Huh?"

Mr. Nick: [stage whisper] "Bien. Y tú?"

Miss Lu: "Bien. Y tú?"

Mr. Nick: "Estoy bien, gracias."

Miss Lu: [pause] ... "Sí!"

4. Talking with Mommy about why/how we respect the elderly.

Miss Lu: "So, because they're really old we talk to them?"

Mom: "Yes, because we want to hear about their stories."

Miss Lu: "Really, really old? Like Grandma? She's super old. She knew the dinosaurs."

Mom: "Umm ... [sideskirting] yes, we listen to Grandma."

Baby shower

Last night Katharine hosted a baby shower. And it was lovely. And I was so touched by how many people made the effort to attend. I felt very loved. So thank you Katharine, and thank you to everyone else too! 

Now we just have to get this little pumpkin here ...

I can't wait to take a picture of our little guy in this cute hat!

(Mom, here are the pics I promised. Lucy saw the couch this morning before school and literally squealed with excitement—she kept on looking at everything and saying "Aww, Baby Brother will look so cute! Aww, Baby Brother will love this!" Then she turned to me and said "Now Mom, can he come tonight? Please?")

Books, diapers, bath supplies, outfits, picture frames—he's set!

Diaper cake! (Lucy was pretty excited to see this too)

I thought this was so clever—my friend Jamie thought it up and made it.

Our new stroller! (The accompanying carseat is already installed in the car. You know, just in case.) This was a group gift, and one we really needed and were super excited to receive. Thank you!

Dinner conversation: 13 October 2010

Miss Lu: "Mountain Elementary is the most important thing in the world!" [said while slowly raising one hand dramatically into the air with her pointer finger extended in a victorious #1]

Jenny: "What about God?"

Miss Lu: "Oh yeah, Him too!" [her other hand quickly shoots up, also sporting the aforementioned #1 sign]

Out in the mountains. Apparently another #1 activity in Miss Lu's book.

Columbus Day

Today is Columbus Day. Miss Lucy is out of school, so we've been having a good time making cookies and hanging out. Where's Mr. Nick? Out being manly:

He and a few friends went out into the mountains today to collect wood for the winter. It involves trucks, chainsaws, and lots of manual labor. They're having a blast.

Miss Lu and I went up for a visit to watch them work after lunch, along with some of the other kids. It was beautiful—warm sun, great woods, and friends!

We watched the dads work ....

... and work ...

... and we even helped out a bit ourselves. Okay, so Miss Lucy and Co. helped out. I sat in a camp chair and enjoyed the view out over town.

The baby's room is ready ...

There's still a few finishing touches, but the essentials are ready: drawers filled with clean clothes, diapers by the changing station, and the bassinet cleaned.

We left part of the room as a little play area with younger toys, the dress-ups, and the chalkboard wall ...

... which Miss Lucy promptly began to help decorate to welcome baby brother home!

(That's Lucy on the left, and baby brother on the right ... he's got a lot of hair, and is learning to crawl.)

Just cool

This is so cool. A dad and his kids send a camera up into space.

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

On the consideration of an early induction

My 36-week appointment today went quite well. Good blood pressure, good fetal heartbeat, good ultrasound pictures (they're below), good beginning to dilate, just good stuff all around. Except for the part where they estimated the baby to be about 8 pounds. (gulp!) Of course, I know the measurements can be quite off (they said a pound off in either direction was pretty normal). But still ... 

We're in countdown mode

34 weeks

35 weeks

Last night, Mr. Nick and I sat down for a bit and talked about arrangements to be made, setting up the bassinet, and packing the hospital bag. That's as far as we ever got with Miss Lu; she came before the bag was packed. This time, we're going to be prepared!