Snow Day!!

Keely loved playing and exploring in the snow! We bundled her up and she trekked the whole yard. Of course, her favorite part was eating the snow, not too surprising given how much she enjoys ice cubes! Unfortunately, I had a 102.2 fever, so aside from some brief documentation, I stayed inside.

Tree Hunting

We headed out to Ferndale to hunt down a tree this past weekend. Traditionally, we get our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving (usually on Friday). However this year, given that my c-section was just the previous week, and the terrible weather (really, the bigger issue--had it been nice out I would've totally been up for it; I took Keely to Eric's soccer game two days after we were home from the hospital...anyhow....), we delayed a week. The tree hunt coincided beautifully with free Santa photos at the Ferndale ICU, courtesy of Evantide photography. So we met the Eltrichs, Wassermans, and Shannon Rush out there, with respective children, for photos prior to making our way to a tree farm. Keely totally freaked out at Santa--not too surprising given that I totally didn't prepare her for what to expect, her recent hesistancy (not a word) with strangers, and the parade of kids crying on Santa's lap prior to our turn. She recovered and we proceeded to the tree farm. Although we didn't have the Eltrich technique of "listening to the tree", we found a great Grand Fir for 20$! Typically we get a Noble, Fraser, or Nordman but you can't beat 20$ and it looks pretty good with sturdy branches. We got it up and Keely loves pointing and naming "balls" and "bows" as well as "reindeer" and "penguin" which is of course accompanied by the stomping of her "penguin" feet. I thought we might have to worry about her pulling of the ornaments, but so far so good!

2+ weeks

Torin had his 2(1/2) week well-check on Monday and is doing great! After losing over a pound in the hospital (he as 8 lbs 7oz when we left), he's gained back his birth weight and came in at 10 lbs 1 oz, which is the 75th percentile. Well proportioned, he grew an inch to reach 22", which is also the 75th percentile. Everyone says he looks just like Eric, and he has inherited Eric's small head too--38cm (60th percentile)--which is still covered with strawberry blonde hair. Poor little guy got circumcised and had to endure another heel poke. Thankfully, Eric was able to be there for the first part of the visit to occupy Keely, who is just so active and rambunctious. Unfortunately, he had to go back to work just as Torin went for the circ, so I had to stay with Keely instead of Torin, but the doctor and nurse said he did great! It definitely was a juggling act going solo with Torin post-circ as he got his heel poked and Keely who was overdue for lunch and nap...yikes!

Torin Mattias Frazier is here!

Sorry this took so long to post! I didn't realize it was still a draft, awaiting photos!

Our beautiful boy has arrived! Torin is a big boy, weighing in at 9lbs 9 ounces and measuring 21" long!! Crazy! I knew I was bigger than with Keely as my belly button popped out this time around and I was a little nervous that the two week course of prednisone for my asthma flare this past month was going to bulk up the baby too. He looks just like Keely did as a newborn but has a head of strawberry blonde hair (which I predicted, based on my terrible heartburn). He's also super strong--when the pediatrician was examining him while he was on his tummy, Torin lifted his head up and looked around...the doctor was like "ummm...he shouldn't be able to do that yet" and was quite surprised! The surgery went really well, and although we got bumped for an emergency case I still "got" the anesthesiologist that I requested. Torin is healthy and nursing fantastically. Our friend Mike lent us his awesome digital SLR camera so we've been taking lots of pics, hopefully to uploaded to our flickr account soon, so keep checking! Keely pretty much ignored me and Torin yesterday and wouldn't let me hold her :( although I think she was pretty overwhelmed by a roomful of people (over 6 visitors), a new place, and just waking up from a nap. This afternoon when she visited she at least gave me a kiss, though wouldn't sit next to me, so we're making progress :)

Savoring the moment

Keely's been in a pretty great stage lately (for the most part, barring the occasional temper tantrum). I've been trying to enjoy the time I have with her, knowing that I won't be able to give her my full attention for much longer. It will be life-changing when we bring "baby brother" home...I remember when my sister joined our family. I was a doted-upon 4 1/2 year old, well used to being an only child. So it was somewhat traumatic having to share the attention with a baby. I don't think Keely quite understands what's going on (although she always tries to pull up my shirt when we talk about "baby brother"), but it will certainly be a transition. I hope that being so close in age, hopefully she'll just roll with the punches! Anyhow, she finally lets us put stuff on her head (hats, a hairband, tiny pig tails) and looked so cute with her big flower headband while toting around her purse with cell phone, keys, and wallet. It's fun to see her starting to pretend and imitate.

Pumpkins

We finally made it to Stoney Ridge Farm to check out the pumpkin and gourd patches! We tried twice last year, to no avail (they were closed both times). Keely and I made the trip out with Aaron, Meg, Ian, & Sara. These beautiful pictures are courtesy of the very talented Aaron Nelson, of Evantide photography.





Keely and I carved a pumpkin--she enjoyed pulling out the guts and moving them from one pile to another. The seeds were super yummy all roasted up!





We had a great time trick or treating with friends...the little ones started out in a wagon, but soon Keely was walking up to doors holding out her little bag for goodies!