Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!



So I could probably title this post "Catching Up" but something tells me I'll have to use that in the future so I'll stick with "Happy New Year" this time. Things have been wonderful and only somewhat wacky here in the Walton household. I'll try to be brief and, again, let most of the pictures speak for themselves.

The weekend before Christmas, Aaron's parents and his sister's family came in from out of town to celebrate. Aunt Lori went to OU so we figured what better way to welcome our visitors :) Yes, we do have a crimson bow for such occasions. And, yes, I did feel like I needed to put it on for Harper's first trip to the mall so that no one thought she was a boy.


Sunday evening we went to Aaron's other sister's house in town for Christmas dinner and gift exchange. Caleb got to sit at the "big kid" table with the other cousins and did very well. He especially liked hanging out with his cousin Addie.


We had a slight issue with Caleb overlooking his own presents on Sunday night because he preferred what other people were opening (sorry!!). However, he did come to enjoy the tool set and other gifts throughout the week.



Caleb had been fighting a runny nose and cough for about a week but Sunday night he coughed throughout the night, coughing so hard at time that he made himself sick. Aaron was taking off work Monday anyway since his family was in town and our wonderful pediatrician got Caleb in first thing Monday morning. Turns out he had bronchitis and needed to stay far away from Harper (and anyone else wanting to stay well for the holidays). Needless to say, Aaron's parents and family cut their visit short and headed out Monday afternoon.

Tuesday Aaron went to work and my dad came to the rescue to entertain a cranky, sick two year-old who was already dealing with not being the center of attention. I think Dad heard "No, G-Dad" or "G-Dad, stop" so many times he was convinced that Caleb didn't like him any more. But my sister got the same treatment when she came to play the next day so his feelings weren't too hurt. We pulled out several new toys in an effort to keep Caleb (and everyone else) sane, including these great foam blocks. Caleb was all about sorting them by color or shape.


Caleb was no longer contagious and feeling much better by Christmas eve. We ventured to the church's children's service and Caleb did very well in "big church", though he did have a hard time with using a whispering voice. We realized we had yet to take a picture as a family of four, so here it is. Nothing great or glamorous and it was followed by Harper screaming bloody murder because she woke up starving and Caleb having a messy diaper. So we cut short the idea of going out to eat with my parents after church and just went to their house for leftovers.


In the hustle and bustle of Caleb's birthday, Harper's birth, house stuff, etc., we hadn't really talked to Caleb about Christmas, giving and receiving gifts, stockings, Santa, Jesus, or anything. So we gave it the cliffs notes version and Caleb helped with making cookies for Santa.

As we were getting out milk, Caleb spotted an orange in the fruit drawer and decided Santa needed a healthy option too. He colored a very nice note for Santa and Santa even wrote him a thank you note in return.


I searched high and low for matching pjs for Caleb and Harper. No easy task to find 0-3 and 3T in something gender-neutral but I found these at Children's Place. Caleb was very excited to be matching with his sister. He slept very well and was excited to wake up to an overflowing stocking and a Handy Manny tool bench with real things to fix. My parents and sister joined us for stockings and a casual breakfast.


Christmas evening was spent at my parents' house. We thought something other than the traditional ham or turkey would be fun so mom attempted Cornish hen. I think she was more frustrated than the rest of us but they took much longer than planned to cook and there were several of us (namely me) that were weirded out by a whole bird just sitting on the plate. Aaron loved it and thankfully took all of mine. I'm much more interested in all the tasty side dishes and desserts anyway. There were a ridiculous am out of presents to open for just eight people - 4 of us, mom and dad, and Morgan and her fiance Brian. Caleb grew tired of it quickly but found other ways of entertaining himself, like climbing up on the ottoman and jumping to the couch. Oh the fun that's in store for us for the next 16 years!


His favorite present of the evening was his new red guitar (pronounced "gee-tar"), complete with guitar pick, which we promptly lost. He has enjoyed serenading all of us this last week.


I just realized this was all about Caleb so far but that's mainly because Harper didn't do much over Christmas but eat, sleep, and make dirty diapers. I am sure she'll get lots more coverage when she starts doing crazy things like ottoman gymnastics. In all seriousness, she is a WONDERFUL baby and - knock on wood - just goes with the flow unless she is hungry. Thank the Lord for that!



We got her newborn pictures in that we ordered from the hospital. The scanner is packed up somewhere so forgive the picture-of-a-picture quality here. Too cute, huh?

Last weekend we hung out with several of my high school friends that were in town for the holidays. Elijah and Adalie are both three months older than Caleb and they all have younger siblings now so it was definitely a zoo keeping up with them as they jumped in the jupiter jump, played outside, and got into everything else, too.


Adalie was great to share her toys with the boys. I am not certain it would have gone so smoothly had we been at our house. Here's a great shot of the boys in her hot pink Barbie Mustang. I am thinking they won't be so thrilled with this cute picture when they're in high school.



The zoo in action: trying to get six kids and three adults to look at the same camera at the same time. Marilyn and Kim, it was so great to see you and your children!! Harper was totally silent and peaceful in her carrier the whole 2+ hours we were there...until we tried to take the picture. Ha!


Our friend Bopha has started a business embroidering things so I utilized her services to create Big Brother/Little Sister shirts for Caleb and Harper. We waited until the end of the day so it was 'now or never' before Caleb went into the bath. Hence the reason Harper is less than thrilled.


I took these super cute pics of Harper last Sunday. The light was just right into the window so I tried it without flash (a tip from my photographer friend Ashley). Harper was cooperating nicely, even though I could hear her pooping like crazy. Unfortunately, this outfit did not last past these pics as she totally blew out the back of the onesie and the waistband of the pants. By the way, these bows/headbands came in the mail direct from the maker but did not say who they were from (I did not order them myself). So, if you gave these to us - thanks!


Caleb is still all about the puzzles. This night in particular, he was in to everything else so Aaron piled up all his puzzle pieces and challenged him to get them all done as fast as he could. He LOVES these puzzles and will sit for a very long time doing them over and over again.


Mr. Imagination got into one of the utensil drawers and decided he was using our extra-long spatula as a hockey stick (or "cock-ie" as Caleb says). And evidently my shoes are perfect for skating on the tile. I love watching his wheels turn as he figures things out.


Last night we hung out with some friends and brought kiddos with us. It was a lot of fun, and we all four made it until midnight.

Hope 2009 is wonderful for your family! Lots of continued change for us, including a move to the new house in the next six weeks or so. Please be praying that we sell our current one soon - I am getting antsy about getting it sold soon so we don't have that hanging over us while getting excited moving in.

Have a great week. I will try to be better about keeping up with the blog. It takes less time to do a week's worth of updates than two weeks and a holiday, right?!?

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Harper's First Week



So, I started this post over 24 hours ago. Partly because there are a million pictures and partly because I am now a mom of two, it has just taken that long to get everything together.

Things are going great so far at the Walton house. Caleb and Harper are getting along very well and Harper is pretty much all about eating and sleeping, including many long stretches through the night. (I know, I've just jinxed myself!) But enough about writing and on to the photos:

LAST PREGGO PIC


IN THE OPERATING ROOM


HARPER WITH HER STATS


CALEB MEETING HARPER


CALEB GETTING PRESENTS (Being a big brother rocks!)


PHOTOS OF HARPER AS AARON TRIES NEW CAMERA SETTINGS






THE RIDE HOME TOGETHER (very curious)


CALEB HOLDING HARPER
He is being a totally great big brother so far. Very sweet and tender.

HANGING OUT IN CALEB'S BED
Note the sharing of lots of cars with sister


HARPER'S FIRST BATH - CALEB HELPING AND CURIOUS


HARPER'S FIRST BATH - CALEB SILLY AND LOOKING FOR ATTENTION

CALEB WEARING MY PANCHO


CALEB FOUND A NEW TV-WATCHING CHAIR, THE GLIDER


HARPER SAYS, "WASSUP?"

THE FUN PART OF HAVING A GIRL - A BOW THE SIZE OF HER!


PEOPLE HAVE ASKED IF THE TWO LOOK ALIKE. YOU BE THE JUDGE-
THIS IS CALEB

THIS IS HARPER

CALEB


HARPER


So far any of Caleb's reactions to Harper's presence have not been directed toward her, but just attention-getting in general. It is a tough balance to make him still feel important and special but not just keep Harper in the Moses basket all day either. The big test will be tomorrow - our first day at home just Mom, Caleb, and Harper. I am divising a plan, especially for nap time and nursing time. Prayers requested, suggestions welcomed :)

The weather around here is still so yucky. Our sweet Covenant friends have risked life and limb to bring us dinner (or risked the life of the 742-DINE guy!) this week. We are getting very spoiled by all the yummy food being brought to us.

I feel badly as I already missed taking a picture of her first pediatrician's appointment. Aaron assured me that this did not qualify me as a "bad mom". Harper also had her first chiropractor appointment. Not to get on a soapbox but I think chiropractic is wonderful and it has made a big difference for myself, Caleb, and now Harper too.
I will have to figure out what day works best to update the blog. Or, who knows, I may just get to it when I can! Will also need to balance Caleb stories and photos with cute Harper pics. Huh- the little details you don't consider when expanding your family -ha!!!

Have a great week and stay warm!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

She's Here!!!

Harper Grace Walton joined us this morning at 8:26. We weren't quite expecting the monster that we got, but what a beautiful gift is was. When we went to the doctor on Thursday, she was measuring just a couple of ounces under 8 pounds, so we assumed that she would end up around 8-5... Or, how about 9-5... Yes, exactly what I said (Aaron) to the nurse, "what did you just say?" And, the nurse repeated for me, "9 pounds, 5 ounces." Wow. Bigger than Caleb; we would have never guessed. Caleb continues to be off the growth charts, so who knows what we've got on our hands!



When the word got back to Riverfield this morning, (Caleb was at school) several people went into the classroom and mentioned that "Harper's here!" or "the baby is here", which sent Caleb into a panic of excitement, running to the door wondering where she was, and then into a meltdown when he couldn't find her! So sad... But, aside from a couple of meltdowns, he had an overall good day at school and was very excited to make a trip to the hospital to see "HarpHarp Grapes" that the doctor took out of mama's belly.



(Caleb w/ Aunt Mo)
Emily is doing great, recovering from the surgery, so I'm sure you'll hear more from her when we get home Thursday. Sorry this is short, but I've got Caleb asleep, Grandma is on her way, and I'll be back to the hospital!
How humbled we are by the blessings that God has placed upon us.

As "Eeyore" says, "Thanks for noticing..."
Goodnight.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Birthday Week Update

Sorry that this will be so brief but I figure I'd better cut the blog short and go get my bag packed since we have to head out for the hospital tomorrow morning at 6am.

Great birthday week for Mr. Caleb. See captions above each pic:

Opening presents from parents early Wednesday morning


Class snack time to celebrate his special day


Class project- making an ornament out of natural materials that will hang on the tree in their playground


Caleb trying to squeeze his 32 pounds back in to the baby carrier


Caleb climbing up on the crib to practice peeking in on Baby Girl Harper


Caleb's family "party" - opening presents with Grandma, G-Dad, Granny, and Grandpa



Caleb enjoying his car-themed cupcake-cake (pre-icing photo)


Caleb after enjoying his cupcake-cake, giving a high five


There are several video clips that I hope to get around to posting but they take so long to upload that you'll just have to be satisfied with these.

OH, and for all of you that have asked for belly photos, here is one we took last Friday night after our Sunday School Christmas party. Not going to win Miss Photogenic any time soon but not horrible either. Gotta love shiny face (though I've always battled that, regardless of pregnancy!)


Well, depending on when most of you check this, we'll have another Walton in the world by the time you read these very words. Crazy crazy, but very exciting. Keep checking as I am sure Aaron will post pics and info as soon as he can.

Have a great week!