Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

After a relatively short period of active labor and about an hour in the delivery room, we were happy to welcome a new baby boy into the world this morning!

I'll post pictures after I get home tonight, but in the meantime, here are the specs:

Name: Carsten John
Birthdate & time: October 7, 2010, 6:08 a.m.
Weight: 7 lbs. 2 oz.
Height: 20 inches

Mama, baby, and the rest of the family are doing great! It was heartwarming to see Elisabeth give baby Carsten a big hug this morning.
- Lance

Waiting for the best things. . .

Love, love, love this picture.

One of the reasons I became interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a teenager was the religion's focus on the family.  Mainly, that families could be together forever.  What an amazing concept - to spend eternity with those that you love.

We were able to be there to witness when Lance's brother, Chris, started his forever family with my new SIL, Wendy, in the Salt Lake City Temple in August.  And it was beautiful.  And touching.  And exciting.  All at the same time.

We love Christopher.  It could be because he is so generous and selfless and cool and we spend more time with him than any of Lance's siblings.  Yet that isn't why he is pretty special to our family.

The happy couple with most of the nieces and nephews.

Lance and Chris

When we were struggling to get pregnant and have children, I felt like there was an unsaid connection and understanding between Chris and us.  He wasn't married.  We didn't have kids.  In a religion like ours that focuses so much on family, this is heartbreaking.  There are constant reminders everywhere that we either didn't have a spouse in which to share life or children in which to find joy.   Whenever we were together with Lance's growing, huge family, there was always a reminder that everyone was progressing forward in life without us - We still remained childless for 6 years while multiple babies were born and Chris still remained alone, while slowly everyone got married.  We never really talked about it (how awkward would that be to discuss my innermost feelings with my brother-in-law?  Maybe almost as awkward as me posting them here - publicly.  Let me apologize publicly - Sorry, Chris.), but I always felt in my heart that Chris understood what we were going through in a way no one else could.

After we had Elisabeth, there was nothing more that I wanted than for Chris to find his special someone.  I didn't want him to be the only one "left behind."

So, with many tears and much laughter, we were able to witness him being sealed to one of the most intelligent and kind women I have ever met.  We couldn't be happier for them and even saying that doesn't justify how we feel.

Priceless.  We have the temple marriage lesson down pat.  Now to work on modesty.

The best things do come to those who wait.   Even better for those who wait patiently (which is NOT me.  Still waiting for baby #2 to show up.)

All's Quiet on the Homefront

Spent the day walking around the mall and running various errands due to an unseasonal rain.

Made the following eclectic purchases:
- two Thanksgiving placemats from Pottery Barn kids
- a Cinderella nightgown for one of Elisabeth's Christmas presents
- a box of See's candy to surprise Lance at work
- a bone for Sofi
- a birthday card
- two hot dogs from Costco

Guess baby is now technically "overdue" though I am still pretty calm. He will come when he is ready to come.

Rocking Her World

I went into Elisabeth's bedroom last night and crawled into bed with her.  I scratched her back while she slept and couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.  We are about to rock this little sweetheart's world.  She is going to go from being the beloved, only child who has her parents undivided attention to having to share every moment with an incredibly needy, yet sweet newborn brother.  And that is just the beginning.

Many times these past few weeks Lance and I have looked at each other and asked ourselves (while chuckling) "What were we thinking?"  Of course we want our son to be born into our family.  But. . . I am not sure we are ready to enter into the world of parenthood for those with multiple children.

Ready or not, change is immanent.   And to our credit, we have never been ones to have lofty expectations for the future.  We just kinda jump into things, head first, taking things as they come.

I just hope this little independent girl will weather the storm of change with grace.

And this mom can shake the feeling of guilt for shattering the only life her daughter has known.

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Note:  As you probably already guessed, no baby yet.  I am going to try to do a post a day so if you notice a day goes by without a post you will know I am most likely at the hospital having a baby.

Two Nos and a Yes

No baby yet, for those who are diligently checking my blog to see what is going on.  Wait, is there anyone out there diligently checking my blog?  Maybe not.  I can only dream.

No baby name yet.  Two names are high in the running - Carsten and John.  Elisabeth is partial to Carsten.  Lance is partial to John.  And I am stuck somewhere in the middle.  Carsten was my great-grandpa who came over from Norway to the U.S.  It is a strong, good name that means "Follower of Christ" and has German roots.  And it is very unique.   John was my grandpa's name as well as one of Lance's greats, and has a lot of meaning to us because that is what Elisabeth named her son in the New Testament after waiting years and years for him to come.   Besides, who wouldn't want their son to aspire to be like John the Baptist?   So, we continue to debate and hope that our baby will come home with a name. 

Yes, I am pretty much ready.  My hospital bag was packed just tonight.  Elisabeth's clothes have been packed and sent over to her friend's house where she will stay and the dog has been bathed and her bedding washed so her caretakers won't regret offering to take her too much.  And I have baked enough zucchini bread that if I don't cook for a week or so, we can live off of that.

Ready or not, our little boy can come anytime now.  We look forward to meeting him!

 Me at 39 weeks, 5 days.  He is certainly a lot more compact than Elisabeth was.  However, my arms have definitely fattened up a bit - making me feel like a beached whale whenever I take Elisabeth to the pool or attend my bi-weekly water aerobics class.

38 weeks pregnant with Elisabeth

A Good Work Ethic

I am all about teaching a good work ethic to my family.  Nothing bothers me more than people *without* a good work ethic.  Instilling this in my family is high on my priority list.  (As high as learning the art of relaxation is on Lance's.)

Papa has his work during the day and a small laundry list of household chores that belong to him and only him.

Elisabeth is in charge of setting the table, feeding the dog (yet another reason Sofi is overweight), picking up her toys, and unloading the silverware when the dishwasher is done.  No, we are not breaking any childhood slavery laws.  She enjoys helping.  So I give into her whims to always help me cook, bake, and set the table at dinner time.  Realistically, I only have a few years before she realizes that she would rather be playing than working so I am taking full advantage of the joy she receives from helping me out.

For me, my chore list is never-ending, just like the mountain of laundry that sits at the end of our bed waiting to be folded.  One can only do so much.

Sofi is the laziest member of our household.  She sleeps most of the day and night, only waking for food, a walk, a few minutes of play every evening, and to move from the sofa to her bed to our bed throughout the day.

We have decided she needs to be assigned more responsibilities around the house.

First chore - babysitting.  As you can see, the role play with dolls seems to be going really well.

When you're the best of friends

Elisabeth and Tutti - 4th of July, 2010

Elisabeth and Taylor are the best of friends.  They have so much fun playing with each other and as of late, getting into a lot of trouble - Like drawing all over Elisabeth's nice kitchen set with pen, finger painting with bright blue fertilizer or locking themselves into my car and pretending to "drive."

Elisabeth started calling Taylor "Tutti" for some reason and it has stuck.  Taylor doesn't mind, though only Elisabeth and Elisabeth's family can call her that.

They love having matching shoes and always have to wear similar clothes.  Elisabeth likes to wear dresses daily.  Tutti - not so much.  But, whenever we get together to play, Tutti dones a dress so she can be just like her friend.

Tutti's mom, who happens to be one of my best friends, goes back to work tomorrow as a teacher, meaning that both EB and I will not be able to spend as much time with our good friends.  I think we will both go through major withdrawal. 

Friends are a true blessing, no matter how old you are.