Christmas!

What a blessing to have a baby at Christmastime.


yearly tradition- decorating christmas sugar cookies, yum.

first visit to see santa

white elephant at great grandma mary lou's for christmas eve = hilarious and hopefully a new tradition



shh, sleeping reindeer.


yep, that's right. 27" imac!!! thank you mom and dad :)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




grandma converse's beautiful new art addition in remembrance of good family memories in hawaii. i miss you, paka.

Merry Christmas

Disneyland

We went to Disneyland for my 26th birthday yesterday with the family. It was so incredibly crowded but definately worth it. I have always looked forward to having children so that one day I could take them to Disneyland and see their faces light up. I'm not so sure Hunter knew what was going on, but I truly was in heaven. We took pretty much every photo op we could think of and it was a day I will always remember.










My mom bought Hunter this Mickey Mouse hat and had his name embroidered. so cute!


Hunter tried to pull the sword from the stone. ;) ha




we ran into some of chase's family too! what are the chances of that?!

Photo Shoot

These pictures were taken by my brother, Andrew, a few days after Hunter's birth.

3 Months & Thanksgiving

Our son is a quarter of a year old today! He is huge and compares with the size of six month olds. He has outgrown his newborn clothes and is ready for size 3 diapers now. I keep telling him to slow down and take his time, but he already doesnt listen to me. ha ;) He is constantly playing with his hands and smiling now. Chase and I have thought that maybe we witnessed a couple giggles, but we're not sure. He really is a happy baby and has been sleeping 10 uninterrupted hours through the night for a few weeks now. YAY! There is a tweety bird rattle that he loves to hold and shake and a really soft blanket that instantly soothes him. Looking forward to giggles, rice cereal, and batting at and holding toys this next month hopefully.



This is Hunter's birth announcement that awesome Uncle Andrew made for him. I will post the rest of the photo shoot from his birth soon.



Thanksgiving night at my parents' house




Thanksgiving day at Chase's Aunt Donna and Jay's house in Marina Del Rey.



PreThanksgiving Pot Luck with Grandma Vicki and Great Grandpa Gene

2 months

Hunter turned 2 months yesterday and he had his checkup and first vaccinations today. He weighs 14.2 lbs and is 25 inches long!!! That puts him in the 95th percentile! What can I say, the boy is like his parents, he loves to eat. :) He is smiling occassionally now and has discovered his hands. He has slept through the night twice so far, but normally wakes up just once between 10 and 7 to eat. I am having so much fun being a mom and am so proud of my little man.

Pumpkin Patch

Hunter slept through his first pumpkin patch experience, but he looked darn cute doing it. My mom found this adorable Elliot costume at Old Navy!(That's Pete's dragon for you non disney fanatics) :) He has his 2 month checkup next week and I can't wait to find out how much he's grown...

happy one month

Hunter turns one month today! I can't believe how fast the time is flying already. He is growing so quickly and even looks so different in such a short time. He grabs onto my neck and shoulders tightly now when I hold him and is making lots more baby noises besides cries. He is able to hold his head up really well while being held and on his tummy. His newborn clothes are getting tighter and he's up to the next diaper size too. I am anxiously awaiting that first "social smile" (one thats not because of gas) which I think is soon to come. Also, Hunter's cousin, Braden Joshua was born last week to Chase's step sister Jessica Fisher. We are so excited that he was a healthy boy and that they will be so close in age. We look forward to introducing them to each other hopefully soon.

First bath

Hunter lost the last of his umbilical cord yesterday so we were able to give him his first real bath in the tub. No more sponge baths. He did so good, never cried or fussed at all. We videotaped the whole thing like obsessive first time parents :) Hey, you only get a first bath once!


I was just informed that it is illegal to print or post pictures of your baby in the bath. Even if his "parts" are covered and everything! I hope no one reported me, I removed them as soon as I heard. GEEZ America! Give me a break.

HUNTER IS HERE!

September 2nd, 2009. 11:52 am. 8 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches long, grey eyes so far and brown hair. He is absolutely perfect and healthy and everything that we have been praying for. He is such a good baby, only cries when he's hungry. We are so lucky and feel so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for what we have been blessed with. The first week he was home we were visited by lots of family, friends and neighbors, all bringing Hunter gifts and filling our fridge with goodies. Thank you to all of you who came by and shared your love. We truly appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity. Please come by anytime, we love the company and we want Hunter to bond with all the special people that will be in his life. Also, if you have any good pictures, could you please email them to us? We didnt take nearly enough at the hospital or his first few days home. Here are a few of what we do have....







and the happy grandparents...








LABOR AND DELIVERY...

I had been having mild irregular contractions for over a week and getting more anxious and uncomfortable every day. Tuesday, September 1st around 5:30 pm they started getting stronger and more painful so I started timing them. They were about every 7-9 minutes, but by 9:00 pm they were 3-5 minutes apart so we headed to the hospital. When we got there, they hooked me up to some machines to track the contractions and Hunter's heartbeat. But when they checked me, I hadnt changed since the doctor's appointment the day before and so they wouldn't admit me. I was in so much pain, they gave me a shot of something to help me relax and decided to hold me overnight and see if I would make any progress or if the contractions would fade away. After an extremely long and painful night with no sleep, they checked me at 6:30 am and I had made it to a 5. They broke my water and ordered my epidural which came soon after. By 10:00 I was fully dilated and pushing. Unfortunately, the epidural guy gave me a button to push when I felt any pain so I used it. I used it so much that I felt no urge to push and they had to tell me when it was time. Poor Hunter got stuck under my pelvis and they had to use a vacuum to help him out. 11:52 he was born and an hour later, they were done stitching me up. All of the grandparents were there waiting for his arrival and his uncle Andrew and great grandma Converse. We were at the hospital until Friday evening and now adjusting to our new wonderful life at home.

I am recovering slowly but surely, moving around a lot better now and thanks to Hunter we are actually getting plenty of sleep. I had some trouble breastfeeding in the beginning, but things are much better now and Hunter is getting breast milk from a bottle which I am thrilled about. Chase is back to work now but calls to check in on his "little buddy" throughout the day. He is such a wonderful father and is blowing everyone away with his gentleness and eagerness to change diapers. :) I feel so lucky to be married to such a wonderful man and am so glad that my son has him as a father. Does life get any better than this? I am soaking in every minute and loving every movement and face Hunter makes because I know how fast it will go. I will remember and cherish these days for the rest of my life.

( oh, by the way, how creepily accurate was that horoscope? wierd.)