Welcome to the World, Emily Rose!

Well, our little girl finally decided to join the world!  And she was only 9 days late, early compared to the 12 days late standard set by Big Sister Kara.  However, she may have stayed in there just as long if the doctors hadn't induced when they did.

The induction was scheduled for Friday, March 8th since the doctors tend to get a little concerned if the second baby is more than a week overdue.  We were told to report to the maternity ward at 7:30 am to get the ball rolling; however, we got a call at 6:00 am that morning telling us the maternity ward was overflowing and to check back later in the day (there was a blizzard forecast for Saturday and the change in weather often causes labor in women - unfortunately Mommy was not so lucky!).  We got a call around noon to show up at 2 in the afternoon.  We finally got the ball rolling at 3:45, and boy did that ball roll!  Within 3.5 hours, Mommy was ready to push.  Emily joined the world at 7:35 pm that night, weighing in at 7 lb, 4 oz and 20 inches long.

Big Sister Kara is really enjoying her new role.  She's getting really good at getting herself dressed in the morning.  She still ends up with mismatched clothes and the occasional inside-out shirt, but who doesn't have that happen?  She also decided she's too old for The Lion King songs and instead prefers Poison's Every Rose Has Its Thorn.  I think we're in for quite a ride with our two girls!

Kara Quotes:
Grandma: "Kara, what do you think of your new sister?"
Kara: "Beautiful"

A neighbor brought by dinner with cupcakes for dessert.
Kara: "Are cupcakes junk food?"
Mommy: "Yes, but it's okay to eat them occasionally."
Kara: "Cupcakes are (pause) fantastic!"

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Calm Before the Storm

Mommy and Daddy have been spending a lot of time with Kara recently.  The highlight was the Royal Ball.  Kara dressed up as a princess and Daddy got dressed up to go dance and drink punch.  Kara had a blast!  Another day, we went up to Nederland to check out the Carousel of Happiness, which Kara thought was pretty cool.  In addition, we've been getting a lot of snow recently, so Daddy and Kara have been getting out and playing.

Kara is getting exciting about having her baby brother or sister join us.  We got out the Pack-N-Play last weekend, and Kara spent the rest of the day putting her stuffed animals to sleep in there.  She also renamed Fifi to Fifi Human Baby and practiced putting diapers on him.

The baby has decided not to come on its own, so Mommy and Daddy will be reporting to the hospital at 7:30 am tomorrow to try and induce labor.  Hopefully we will have pictures to share of our little one soon!

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Let's Play Pretend!

Kara loves playing pretend.  Kara especially loves to re-enact scenes from her favorite movies (Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, Beauty and the Beast, and Lion King).  Mommy and Daddy have both taken their turns as the Beast, Prince Charming, the Evil Stepsisters, the Tramp, and Gaston.  She also likes to pretend to be a pirate and go on adventures (see video below), or pretend that she's playing with monsters.  It's always fun to see what she'll come up with.

Our little girl is not always so sweet, though.  Bedtime and naptime have become challenges as Kara continues to push boundaries and Mommy's buttons.  Kara likes to come out of her room repeatedly after we tuck her in.  She always wakes up in the middle of the night to ask silly questions (like, "What do doors do?").  Mommy and Daddy are hoping this is a short-lived phase...

We are happy to say that Kara has grown out of her peanut allergy.  She passed her blood test early in January and then passed the Peanut Challenge (sitting at the allergists office for three hours while she eats peanuts) later in the month.  Daddy is very excited that he gets to share peanut butter sandwiches with his little girl!

In baby news, Mommy's belly continues to grow.  Mommy and Daddy have gotten the nursery all ready for the baby who is due to join us on February 27th.  Kara is very excited to become a big sister!

Kara's latest sayings:
"How does the baby get out of Mommy?" Uh, how do we explain this to a 3-year old?

"I put the Grinch there because I thought he would do a wonderful job."  Said while playing ball with Daddy after putting the Grinch in front of the goal.

"This is a map of our territory and the path to the Candy Castle."  Kara explaining the game board for Candy Land.

"Daddy's shoes are humongous!  That's like gigantic Mommy!"  Just surprising Mommy with her use of words.

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Mimi and Papa's Visit to Chilly Colorado

Mimi and Papa stayed in Colorado for about a week after Christmas.  Unfortunately for them, a cold front followed the snow storm we got on Christmas.  The high temperature for most days was about 20° F (-6° C), and it was below freezing the whole time.  With all the cold weather, it was a bit challenging to find fun things to do with Kara.  Much of the time was spent playing with the new Christmas toys and watching new movies (and enjoying the classics like Beauty and the Beast).  One day, we even convinced Mimi to go play outside in the snow.  Kara, Mimi, and Papa had fun making a snow mound (the snow was too dry for a snowman) and snow angels.

The big outing for the week was Mimi and Papa taking Kara for a visit to the Butterfly Pavilion.  Kara had a great time holding Rosie the Tarantula as well as checking out the butterflies and climbing in the activity area.

All in all, it was a great (and cold) visit from Mimi and Papa.

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Christmas 2012

Christmas here in Colorado was very merry this year!  It snowed a couple inches Christmas Eve, so it was a white one too!

The festivities started on the 23rd when Mommy was surprised to find Mimi and Papa H. walking through the door!  Daddy (and everyone else in the family) managed to keep their trip a secret, so that was quite a shocking/happy gift that Mommy received.  Kara was also very surprised to see them and asked if the baby was coming too - Mommy kept telling her that she wouldn't see Mimi again until the baby came...guess she has a pretty good memory these days!

Grandma S., Grandpa S., Aunt Amy, and GG K. came on Christmas morning to spend day the with Kara.  Most of the morning was spent watching Kara tear through her presents and trying to stop her from opening everyone else's gifts!  There were a couple of breaks taken to eat breakfast and play a new game here and there.  Kara got board games (Hi Ho Cherry-O was her favorite), books, DVDs, jewelry, and even a LeapPad!

Santa brought the jack-in-the-box that Kara wanted so badly, and she did play with it happily for the morning.  Then she decided she didn't like it and that it was scary.  Sigh...  Kara also got a turtle that projects stars on her ceiling at night.  She's in love with it.  Now if only she'd go to sleep with the turtle in her room....

We also had a couple friends join us for the afternoon and dinner that night.  Kara really enjoyed all the extra playmates that day. Our little house was full and hopefully everyone had a good time.  We sure did!

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