{PHOTOBOMB! - Evie's Newborn Pictures}

Shortly after coming home from the hospital, Kelly came over and took pictures of Miss Evie. One of my regrets with Anna was that we took her to have her picture taken around 3 months and never had pictures taken right away and they are only so tiny and "pose-able" for so long. So when Kelly asked if she could come and take some pictures, I was thrilled. We had fun taking the pictures and I loved that I got to use so many of my favorite hats (My favorite winter accessory for Evie!). I think at one point I even commented I kind of want to have another one so we can do this again, but Bob has reminded me that is no reason to have a baby, so we will wait on that for now:).  Anyway, Kelly sent over so many cute pictures, but below are just a "few" of my favorites!

 

 

{Everly Claire Seidel}

Bob, Anna, and I are proud to share that Everly Claire made her debut on 12/31/2012 at 12:17 AM.  Everly weighed 7 lb, 12 oz at birth and was 19 inches long.  I was scheduled for an induction on January 2, as Bob and I were hoping for a 2013 baby, but little Miss Evie had other plans.  While the tax deduction will be great, Anna has to have surgery on her thumb in 2013, so we were hoping to knock the deductible out in one shot.  Either way, we are so excited that she is here and happy to report we are doing great!

I woke up on Sunday morning and felt good, but told Bob I felt like I should walk so we got dressed, ate, and packed up and headed to the mall to walk around.  Sure enough, shortly after getting there I told Bob I felt like I had a contraction or two.  So I started noting them and they were anywhere from 9 to 17 minutes apart.  Around 1, we met up with my mom and my mom, Anna and I headed to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner before going to my parents to watch the game.  While at the store the contractions started to pick up and by the time we got back to my parents they were more like 8-9 minutes apart.  Bob downloaded an app to track them on the ipad and we settled in for the game.  By halftime they were closer to 5 or 6 minutes apart so I called the Dr.  Unfortunately my Dr was on vacation for New Years, but the on call Dr said we could come in to be checked and monitored.  By the time we got to the hospital, they were 3-4 minutes apart.  We spent close to 3 hours in triage walking and walking and finally I had progressed enough to be admitted, close to 5 cm.  Once admitted and in our room, I quickly requested an epidural.  They had to call the Dr in to administer it and he was at home, so what felt like an eternity, but it was only like 20-30 minutes before I got the epidural.  Once I received the epidural, I was blissfully in heaven.  I quickly went from 5 cm to 10 in the next half hour and after about 40 minutes of pushing Evie made her big debut.  Overall, I was in active labor for about 6 hours and it wasn't too bad.  (I can say that now that is over:))

Everly is doing great!  She is eating like a champ and on a very consistent 3 hour schedule.  Both Bob and I can't get over how easy going and content she is.  She is as cute as a button and Anna loves to help!  She likes to help with feeding, diaper changes and loves to hold her.  Bob goes back to work next week so we have quite a few transitions to work through ahead of us, but are looking forward to settling in with our new addition and getting sleep whenever we can:)  Below are some pictures from her big debut!

My mom was so excited she got to be there for the birth!

Evie and Dad

Grandma loving grand-daughter #2!

Anna is so excited to be a big sister!

The perks of a New Years Eve baby - champagne in the hospital  - thanks Kelly!

Proud Grandparents

Grandma Seidel enjoys a snuggle

Papa Paul made it up that night to meet Miss Evie

First Family Photo

Aunt Liz and Anna take a peak at Miss Evie





 

{Who Rang the Doorbell?}

We had a very exciting night last week, last Wednesday as I was finishing up Anna's bath, the doorbell rang!  Low and behold, St. Nick had paid us a visit!  And just like that he was gone with a flash, but not before filling Anna's stocking with some goodies.  It took Anna a little bit to catch on to the fact that he had come and left her some presents, but hasn't stopped talking about him ever since, and the candy was certainly her favorite.

 

In addition to filling her stocking, St. Nick also brought the Elf on the Shelf.  After Anna finished going through her stocking, the three of us snuggled up on the couch and read The Elf on the Shelf so we could learn all about how he works.  Anna has affectionately named him Yo-Yo and each night Yo-Yo flies back to the North Pole to report on how well Anna has behaved that day.  So far we have found Yo-Yo on the mantle, on Anna's toy shelf, and in the Christmas tree, I am sure that Yo-Yo will come up with more creative places to hide, but he is still getting the hang of all of this (and trying to remember to move around each night :)). 

The Seidel family is really starting to get excited and ready for Christmas.  We visited Santa Friday night with our cousins, but unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures of Anna on Santa's lap - we love to talk about Santa, but not quite ready to get up close and personal, hopefully next year.  Tonight we baked Christmas cookies as Anna needs to bring some to school for their Christmas program this week,  They still have yet to be frosted, but I assure you, Anna had a blast helping make them and the flour all over the kitchen is enough evidence to prove it :) 

This afternoon, Anna was thrilled to wake up from her nap to a nice layer of snow to play in - I think she likes being pulled in her sled the best!

 

This weekend also marked the 36 week mark of my pregnancy, hard to believe we only have 4 weeks to go before we finally to meet our little one.  It's strange, time cannot go fast and at the same time, slow enough.  We are absolutely so excited to meet her and cannot wait to expand our family and I am certainly starting to get to the point where I am ready to no longer be pregnant anymore, but I find ourselves also savoring our moments with Anna and our time together.  Anna is starting to get ready to be a big sister and loves to point out that the baby is in momma's belly.  We are very excited for her and know she is going to be such a good big sister and big helper.   She has taken such an active interest in playing with her dolls, changing the diapers, and putting them to sleep, I love seeing the little mommy come out in her:)

{First Preschool Update}

Anna has been attending First Preschool for 3 months now and we are thrilled to share she has adjusted quite well.  Dropping her off was pretty tough the first month or so, but sometime in October both her teacher and I agreed we had turned the corner and each drop off after that proved that Anna was excited to be there and play with her friends and teachers.  We were sad to learn 2 weeks ago that her teacher Miss Vonnie is moving to the baby room full time, however Anna seems to love her new teachers and seems to be adjusting quite well to the change - we are also excited to know that Baby Seidel will be in good hands with Miss Vonnie when she starts there next year!  It amazes me the things that Anna has learned while she is there just two days a week and how much she has changed at home as well - It's fun to hear her randomly sing songs, count, sing the ABC's, talk about her friends at school, etc.  Anna also had her first school pictures taken at the end of September - wish I knew how they got her to crack up as much as they did - I just love that grin!

 

Just last weekend, First Preschool had a float in the Green Bay Holiday Parade and we were thrilled to partake in the festivities.  The float was themed "A Bunch of Gifts" and they worked hard on decorating the manger, complete with lights and music.  Anna was a cow and all the kids sang songs they had learned in school.  It was so fun to see Anna interact with her friends and teachers and we were very impressed with all the work they put into the event - they even won an award!

{A Sneak Peak}

I have to admit, after we learned we were pregnant, I was so very excited to start working on the nursery for the new baby, especially since knowing we would be finding out the sex of the baby and could decorate accordingly.  Once we got Anna settled in her room we slowly got to work.  This weekend we got a chance to hang a few things on the walls and it is starting to feel like a real nursery.  I have also been busy doing laundry and sorting baby clothes, washing bottles, etc and it feels good to know we really are starting to get ready to bring a baby home.  While we still have 10 weeks to go, we know the time will go fast with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and getting ready for Elizabeth's wedding, so I feel better knowing I am prepared.  That and I am starting to get more and more exhausted with each passing day, so the more we can get done now, the better.  So I thought I would share a few pictures of the nursery for Baby Girl Seidel, there are still a few things we would like to do, including new blinds for the window (I hate the plastic mini blinds that came with the house) and I am going to attempt to make a mobile to hang over the crib.  I also would love to get a chandelier to hang in place of the light fixture on the ceiling and we have wooden letters painted that spell out the baby's name to hang over the crib once she is here, but that is our little secret for now:)  Once we found out we were having a girl, I immediately started looking at baby bedding for a little girl and couldn't find anything I really liked, so I asked my aunt if she would be willing to make us a quilt which she has agreed to do and we are so excited and thankful that she would take the time to do that for our little girl and cannot wait to see it!  I also have to give Bob credit, he did such a great job on the chair rail - from cutting the wood, sanding, finding the right stain to match the woodwork and painting the room, we both love how it turned out - thank goodness he is so handy:)

 

I am 29 weeks along now and absolutely, positively cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is going.  For the most part, I feel the same way I felt when I was pregnant with Anna, other than the fact that I feel absolutely huge already and some days not sure how I will make it another 10 weeks.  I find myself worrying about things I didn't worry about with Anna, like going into labor early, etc.  I think the second time around the reality of what is happening sinks in a little quicker and I know what to expect when it comes to labor, etc.  That being said, our excitement is really starting to build and we cannot wait to bring our little girl home.  I had my glucose testing last week and thankfully passed so no gestational diabetes to worry about and now start biweekly appointments on the 29th of the month.  Baby's heart rate has being staying steady around 140-145 each time I go in.  She is quite active during the day and doesn't seem to keep me up at night like Anna did, I try to tell myself that is a good sign and that she will already have her days and nights figured out once she is here, but even I know enough to know that isn't likely, but fun to dream, right?  :)

{Zoo Boo}

This weekend we finally got a chance to do a fall activity so we took advantage of our free Zoo Boo ticket from our annual NEW Zoo membership and headed out to the zoo on Saturday afternoon.  New to the Zoo Boo, Bob and I couldn't believe how busy it was but once we found a place to park and walked the mile it took to get in, it was well worth it.  Anna was pretty overwhelmed in the beginning between all the costumes and people, but quickly got a hang of the phrase "trick or treat" once she figured out people will generously give you candy if you say it with a smile - we had such a fun time with our little bumblebee and enjoyed a "boo"tiful fall afternoon!

Armed with her pumpkin, Anna is ready to go!

A little shy...

Anna certainly does not look impressed as she waited in line, but she really did have a good time!

I am not sure when trick or treating got this high tech, but first she had to spin a wheel on an ipad to see what she won - which ended up being bike reflectors, just what she needs! 

Anna and mommy posing for a picture

So far, suckers are Anna's favorite Halloween candy

Riding the Merry Go Round by herself - we decided she was age ready when realized it would cost another dollar for an adult to stand next to her, REALLY????



Family photo

Enjoying her new stash of candy later that night, to be honest, I am not sure who is more excited, Anna, Daddy, or Oscar. 

{Big Changes for Anna!}

September certainly has been a big month for Anna!  2 weeks ago, Bob and I decided to bite the bullet and try putting Anna in her big girl bed.  Our reasoning was really two fold, we were anxious to not only get her new bed out of the garage, but also move the baby furniture into the baby's room so we could start putting the nursery together.  So last Saturday morning Anna spent the day with my mom and aunt and Bob and I got to work.  It took pretty much the whole day (Bob had to take the crib apart to move it out and then back together in the new room, put all Anna's new furniture together including the bed, dresser, and nightstand, lots of organizing of Anna's clothes, toys, etc).  Anyway, we were very anxious for Anna to come home the next morning and see her new room and we absolutely LOVE how it turned out, especially since we really didn't have to change any of the decor, etc. 

I am happy to report, Anna has so far, done absolutely fabulous in her new room! As you will see in the video below, she was very excited to see it and her enthusiasm hasn't changed ever since!  We haven't had any sleeping issues yet.  I am not sure she actually realizes she can get out if she wants to (she does have side rails on each side of the bed now to prevent her from taking any falls in the middle of the night), as she goes down wonderfully at 8 each night and when Bob or I go in her room in the morning around 7 or so she is normally just laying in bed relaxing.  She also loves to play in her room, reading books or playing with some of her toys.

The other big change for our little lady, is Anna started "school" (daycare) as of the beginning of September.  Now that Anna is two, Bob and I felt it was important for Anna to spend time with other kids her age and get the exposure that a daycare could provide her.  My mom loves watching Anna and has requested to keep her one day a week, which works out great for us.  It is important to Bob and I that our parents have the opportunity to be grandparents and not caretakers, so our new arrangement seems to provide everyone the best of both worlds.  We have enrolled Anna at First Daycare downtown, which is ideal for us as it is literally a few blocks from my work.  The daycare is run by First United Methodist Church and came recommended by many of our neighbors and now that we are there, I can very easily see why - the teachers sincerely love these kids and we have no doubt this is going to be an awesome opportunity for Anna.  In addition to daycare, she gets to participate as a "Little Lamb" in the Christian based preschool program that the daycare also runs.  We are so excited for Anna and all the fun she gets to have at "school".  She so far seems to really enjoy it, the drop off in the morning is certainly hard, as Anna still gets sad when I leave, but Miss Vonnie, Anna's teacher assured me that once I am gone, Anna quickly calms down and joins the other friends to play.  The little boy next door is in the room next door to Anna and they often combine the rooms for playtime and it is nice that Anna gets to see a familiar face when we get there.  So far Anna has enjoyed arts and crafts, going to the park, making music and picking veggies from their garden at school.  We look forward to the many opportunities daycare will provide Anna in the future!

 

Anna All Ready for her First Day!