Trick or Treat!

Our Halloween was really fun this year. It makes a big difference when your child is actually old enough to walk around and get candy. We went to a Trunk or Treat at church a few days before Halloween.

Dallin went as a dinosaur.

Connor's costume was "frightfully cute."

He stayed snuggled up in a sling while we trunk-or-treated.

Dallin was really excited to have a bucket to put things in.

He had a lot of fun putting rocks in there.

All lined up ready for candy!

He caught on to it pretty quickly. After the first few cars when he realized that people were giving him things to keep in his bucket, he got really excited!

He had no idea that it was candy (or even knew what candy was). They could have been giving him more rocks and he would have been just as happy. He was very polite and signed "Thank you" to everyone. He even tried to say it verbally a few times.

On Halloween Day, Connor was sporting this festive shirt:

Dallin had to jump in the picture.

Because any time the camera is out we must be taking a picture of him!

Mckay and I took Dallin around the neighborhood.

I think Dallin's favorite part about that was meeting about 40 new people and trying to walk into their houses.

And adding to his candy stash, of course.

He likes to dump his bucket on his lap and play in his candy pile, much like a child would play in a pile of leaves. Someday we'll get around to eating it.

Pre-baby Dallin

Here are a few pictures from before the baby was born that I never got around to posting.

Dallin likes to climb into our entertainment center cabinet.

He'll take toys in and just hang out for a while. We might have to permanently leave that compartment empty for him.

***

A few weeks ago, Dallin had a doctor appointment in Indianapolis. This happened to be during Mckay's fall break from school, so we made a little trip out of it. We went to the Museum of Art in the morning, had a picnic lunch in the park, and then went to the doctor in the afternoon. (Everything went great with the doctor, in case you were wondering.)

There aren't too many fun things for Dallin at the art museum because you can't touch most of the art, so he was confined to a stroller. But he did enjoy the art that he was allowed to get out and touch. This exhibit looked like a simple raised platform, at first glance, that you could walk on.

But when you looked down through the glass bottom...

...you could see thousands of tiny people holding you up...

...complete with hands and faces.

I'm not quite sure what this display was about. It had something to do with the water system in Indianapolis.

But what's not to love about a bunch of big yoga balls bolted to the floor?

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Dallin's encounter with Spaghettios:

Our solution to this mess was to throw him directly into the tub. Do you know what happens when that tomato sauce meets my shiny new white bathtub? Think "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" and the pink bathtub ring. Someone should have told that silly cat about bleach.

***

Dallin had a friend come over to play with him. Of course, Dallin wanted to show off his secret clubhouse.

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More pictures of both boys to come!

Announcement

My sister put together this really cute announcement, so I thought I'd share it.

Enjoy!

Guess who has 2 kids now?

We do!

Connor David Easton was born on October 18th at 3:56 pm, weighing 7lbs 8 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.

On Tuesday, I had an appointment scheduled with the midwife to see how I was progressing. I was dilated to 5 cm, so labor could start soon. Given my history of fast labor with Dallin (read about it here), she was concerned that once labor started, it would take too long to get to the hospital. She was almost reluctant to let me go home to pack. As a precaution, she gave me her personal cell phone number and brief instructions on delivering in the car. She was making me feel very nervous.

After a while at home, I was having regular contractions (every 5 or 6 minutes), but they were not really that strong. I was nervous about what would happen when they did get stronger though, so I called the midwife and we went over to the hospital a little before 1pm.

I felt silly walking into the ER and telling them I was in labor, when I didn't feel like I was at all. I thought about making my contractions look more dramatic so they would believe me. But they knew I was coming because the midwife called ahead and they took us right up to Labor and Delivery to get settled.

My last belly shot at 38 weeks, 5 days

They monitored my contractions and the baby's heartbeat for 20 minutes while they got all my information down and paperwork signed. I had to get a stupid IV lock on my hand "just in case" anything happened. It was annoying having it on my hand the whole time, but it was much better than being attached to an IV. Sharon, my midwife, checked me again and I was already at 7 cm. By this time contractions we definitely picking up in intensity, but still pretty manageable. They filled up the birthing tub and I got in. It was kind of nice relaxing through the contractions in the warm water. For the next hour or so, we just relaxed, watched some Law and Order on TV and chatted with Sharon.

I really liked having my freedom during labor rather than being constrained to the bed by wires and tubes. I could go to the bathroom whenever I wanted, I could walk around the room, or sit in my tub of warm water. Sharon just needed to monitor the baby's heartbeat occasionally to make sure everything was still going well, which it was.

A little after 3pm, things were really picking up and getting intense, but the warm water was helping to soften the intensity. After sometime, things were really getting intense and I was feeling some pressure. During one contraction, Sharon broke my water and that really got things going. The baby dropped pretty quickly after that and I was feeling strong pressure to push. After pushing through 2 or 3 contractions (maybe 5 minutes?) Connor was out and brought up on my chest.

Notice the green glove on my hand? That was to keep the IV dry while in the tub. He was a very calm baby, but very alert and opened his eyes after just a few minutes. Mckay cut the cord and then Connor and I got out to get dried and warmed.

We got to relax and bond for a while. Connor ate his first meal like a pro.

He got to snuggle with his Daddy.

He was weighed and bathed, and then they moved us to the Mother and Baby wing.

My mom got into town Sunday night, so she made it just in time.

She stayed at home with Dallin while we went to the hospital. Dallin took a nap and when he woke up, they came over to the hospital to see us.

Dallin has loved Connor from the very first moment.

He's so sweet to him and always wants to hold him...

...and hug him...

...and poke his eyes.

We got to order a special celebratory meal for our family after Connor was born.

We had Filet Mignon, Lobster Ravioli, Pizza (for Dallin), and enough for drinks for twice as many people, apparently.

Dallin enjoyed walking around the room eating his pizza and getting into stuff.

He would play at home with Grandma during the morning and night...

...and then would come to chill with us during the day.

Connor is a very laid back baby. He's not a big crier (except when you change his poopy diapers, of which he's had several).

He's mostly content to eat and sleep, as long as someone is holding him.

On Thursday, we got to come home.

I think I like having another little boy in our family.

Easily Entertained

We have a marble track on our refrigerator that Dallin loves to play with. (What child wouldn't?)

One day he spent about 10 solid minutes doing this while I did the dishes:

If only he'd realized that he was holding the marble catching cup for the end of the track in his hand. It would have saved him a lot of walking back and forth.

This is another video of the same thing, but with a more amusing ending.

37 weeks

Today I am 37 weeks into the pregnancy which means the baby is officially full term! Of course, there are still 3 weeks until the due date so I'm not quite there yet, but if he did happen to come now he'd most likely be developed enough and healthy. Since it's getting down to the end, I've made my list of all the things I still need/want to do before the baby comes. It's a pretty big list, but most of it is stuff that doesn't have to be done before the baby, but I'd like it to be. Things like getting a haircut, making more freezer meals, cleaning and organizing things. But I have my hospital bag packed, so I guess that's really all I need before baby boy is born. Maybe picking a name for baby boy would a good thing to have done before he comes...

Here's a picture of my belly at 36 1/2 weeks.

Now compare to my Dallin-belly at 36 1/2 weeks.

I think baby #2 belly is bigger, and definitely more protruding.

Our week... in pictures

Dallin played the piano with me after church.

He was really getting into it.

***

I brought Dallin's old infant car seat out of storage so I could wash it and get it ready for baby #2. I walked away from it for a minute and came back to find this:

Look at him sitting in there drinking a bottle! He think he's still a little baby, but he's in for quite a shock in a few more weeks!

***

Dallin likes hummus. He really likes it. He doesn't so much care to dip bread or crackers in it; his preferred method of eating it is pure hummus on a spoon.

***

Dallin had a cardiology appointment this week. It was just a follow-up on his existing condition to make sure things are still going well. He still has a soft heart murmur, but his pulmonary stenosis is very very mild. (It seems like the pulmonary stenosis is the source of the murmur, so it's not an additional concern.) The doctor said Dallin is looking really great and we don't have to go back for another year! I'm fine with that because the exam room they put us in wasn't exactly childproof....