Grateful

Yesterday there was a terrible accident on the freeway near our house. The whole freeway was shutdown which turned my typical 15 minute commute into an hour long commute, with all of the extra time taking place in the 2 miles between the second to last exit, which I could have taken, and my exit.

It made me thankful for a few things. First, that me and my family have been safe and healthy. And the second and less important, that in the 3.5 years living in the Tri-Cities this is maybe the third time I have ever gotten stuck in traffic.

It is so nice to not spend time stuck in traffic away from my family. This year they are reconstructing the interchange at the end of the bridge I take to work. It has resulted in occasional closures forcing me to take the other bridge and the "long route". It added just a minute or two to my commute and I didn't have to make any significant changes.

This is one of the things that we love about living here.

I won!

First of all, I just wanted to brag that I actually won a blog giveaway! My talented friend Amy is going to make me a fabulous bag and I am so excited!

Lydia is almost 4 weeks old! I swear I am starting to see real smiles, but so far I am the only one to see them. I may have post-partum psychosis, but at least it's the happy kind. Lydia looks so much like Asher did as a baby to me. It's strange because I didn't think Asher and Maddie looked that much alike at all.

updates

Maddie is so much fun! She loves to play dress up.




Today, I had to change Maddie, but Lydia was sleeping on my chest and I wanted her to stay asleep so I used Asher as a place holder. He was so proud. Sorry no long posts, I'm a bit sleep deprived and am having a hard time forming coherent sentences.

2 weeks!

I can't believe she's two weeks old! Where has the time gone?

Why do I buy stuff?

Thumbtacks meet the leather couch.

one week down...

Lydia and I have survived our first week together! She had her first Dr.'s appointment yesterday. Right before we left, she pooped all over herself and her car seat. I forgot that new babies do that. There is no diaper that can contain a newborn. She didn't have to have any shots, but they gave me a flu shot. I didn't think it was fair, haven't I suffered enough :)? She is nearly back up to her birth weight, which doesn't surprise me because it seems like all she wants to do is eat. I forgot that newborns take so long to eat. It takes her 45-60 minutes every two to three hours. I feel like all I do is sit on the couch while Asher and Madeleine go on a destructive rampage. Having a new baby is hard, but oh so worth it. I love how she just wants to be held all of the time. I love that Asher and Madeleine are so excited about her. Every morning they run out to see her with big smiles on their faces. Asher says "it's so good to have two sisters!" Madeleine says "baby Lydia is beautiful like me!" Maddie has such a healthy self-esteem.

Asher also had his first two days of preschool this week! His preschool teacher is my friend, Molly, who lives just the next street over. It's so nice not to have to deal with three car seats, it's so much easier to just walk there. He would not pose for any pictures, which was frustrating because Asher usually LOVES to pose for pictures. Paul was home and Asher was really excited to have Daddy take him. He also insisted that Maddie walk with them. He was sad that she couldn't stay with him.

Paul went and got Asher alone and Maddie and I sat in the front yard and waited for them to get home. As soon as Asher saw Madeleine he yelled her name and ran and gave her a giant hug. Asher was just beaming when he got home from preschool, so I know he had a good time, but when we would ask him what happened at preschool he said it was a secret and he wouldn't give us any details. Later, he did say playing outside was his favorite part.

Also, Asher can read and spell simple words with some toy letters we have, but I can never get him to try and write any letters. He always says "it's too hard" and he won't do it. The evening after preschool I found him coloring the letter A over and over again in a notebook. I was so excited.

Welcome Baby Lydia Judith Smith

Vanessa is out of commission at the hospital and so the baby announcement falls to me. Last night, September 3, at 7:51 Vanessa gave birth to Lydia Judith Smith. She weighed 7 pounds 8.5 ounces (our biggest yet) and was 20.5 inches long.
As you can see, Lydia didn't immediately take to her new existence, but she soon settled down.

She has a big, round head (I think they said 36 cm) and has a hard time fitting in the new born hats we bought her. Luckily Grandma Ashby made her some adorable hats that do fit her.

Today I brought the kids by and they just loved her. Madeleine kept saying "She's so cute," and Asher kept saying "Now I don't have to miss her any more." They were really sweet.
Mom and baby are both doing great.