anna-jaaaaaaaaane!

just so you know, i miss anna-jane.

she might scream loud enough to break sound barriers,

she might bang her head on something really hard when she's mad,

she might splash her bathwater all over me,

she might sleep halfway on my bed when I bunk with her,

she might move my make-up brushes from my bag to her food tray,

and she might call me bunion,

but she gives the tightest hugs

and she squeals with excitement when I find her

and she sings "Mamma Mina" in a tiny voice

and she turns her head like a puppy when she asks for something

and she looks like and angel when she sleeps

and she eats goinges (oranges)

and she tries really hard to say my name

and I love her so much.

Judah is here!

Bree and I went walking about a mile a day. Normally we walked around their neighborhood lake, but one day we went to the mall. I'm sure missing a lot of good shopping living in a smaller city. Here is Bree with Anna-Jane next to a pond. Finally, a week late, on Anna-Jane's second birthday, Bree began labor. I was inspired by her determination during contractions. When she finally got into the tub, she just kept breathing. Mom and I took turns with Anna-Jane in the basement because she wanted to get in the tub and screamed since she couldn't.
And finally, he was born at 1:30 on November 14th. It was really amazing, and I was super proud of my big sister.

Here's Dad holding his baby for the first time.

And he's wrapped.

It was obviously convenient for her to have Judah at home. She could drink water during labor, ate a little chicken noodle soup, and chewed Sonic ice. She had the lights off during birth with music on, she got to shower immediately while Judah was held by family, and she rested in her own bed. Bree said this birth was harder (yeah, he weighed 9 lbs 5 oz! and had a 15" head!), but her recovery is much better than with Anna-Jane. She's doing so great.and grandmother Bibi is loving her new grandson.after all the excitement, we celebrated Anna-Jane's birthday, too. We sang and she blew out her candle and ate a cupcake. She loved it.

It snowed on the day Anna-Jane was born, and it snowed Judah's birthday! Josh made snow ice cream that night. YUM.

So, on the 15th, we took advantage of the snow. Josh took Anna-Jane out on the sled. And we took a picture with her.

Here we are with the midwife (Dottie the blonde) and her assistant (Emily in the green sweater) as they examine Judah.

And I'm holding him as I get one of the rare seconds he opens his eyes. He literally sleeps and eats only. He slept 6.5 hours last night and feeds about an hour each time. He is a goooooood baby, as Anna-Jane announced when he was born. By the way, she and Mom came in time to watch him enter the world and A-J said, "It's a baby! It's a good baby!" over and over. And he IS a good baby!

And a family photo!

Oh baby, this has been a great vacation.

having fun

last night we had dinner with our cousins the Cochranes. Laurie makes a spicy chili that we all like to think has special powers for a quicker labor. Bree has Braxton-Hicks contractions every once in awhile, but nothing serious yet. Oh, and as of last night, my name according to Anna-Jane was "Bunion."

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yesterday morning, Mom was curling her hair in Bree's bathroom while Bree and I chatted with her. Anna-Jane hid behind the shower curtain and started playing "Where's Anna-Jane?" with Bree...and you'll hear Anna-Jane say "Anna-Jane (wan-jane) Where'd you go? (wherd igo)"

so much fun with this little entertainer. she has her freak-out moments like normal kids, but she's so adorable, I love her!

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this morning I walked into the living room where Bree was reading "A to Z" to her and Anna-Jane started yelling "wobee!!! J! wobee, J!!!" (Robin, "J"). She wanted me to read the rest of the book to her. And she upgraded the sound of my name.

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Off to Bree's chiropractor and then to her midwife for a check up.

robin in denver

robin here (as usual). I made it to Denver safely, and it's so great to be with the Leonards. This very minute, we're listening to Enya while all their pictures play in a slide show on the tv. Also, Kyle is reading "A to Z" to Anna-Jane. She's adorable in the mornings with her little sleepy eyes. At breakfast, she was having trouble getting oatmeal on her spoon, so I helped her and she put her head down. Bree said she got embarrassed. I won't do that again.

So, here's what's going on right now. (Plus Bree and Mom on the couch)

I think we're going to walk a lot today. We walked (shopped) yesterday and Bree's due date just breezed past us. I admit, I'm happy to have fun time with everyone before the drama begins.

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I miss my honey.

oh, we are so different

Josh and I got cable last month (I got a cost of living raise this month, so it went to cable, a sweet pleasure) and our preference in entertainment is so very different. I like HGTV (well, you already know that), TLC, and the Today show. He likes FOX, Discovery (Man vs. Wild, Diry Jobs, Myth Busters), Animal Planet, and football.

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I like Man vs. Wild and some Dirty Jobs, but he doesn't like ANY of my shows. It's funny how we're starting to work out the "who gets the remote" battles. About 5 minutes ago, it was "Say Yes to the Dress," then I got on the computer and now it's on "Dirty Jobs." Just a minute ago, I watched some dude pop larvae out of his skin "POP-SQUISH" and I was absolutely horrified. Imagine sitting in a gruesome horror movie- that was my expression. Ew.

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Anyway, the other night, Josh kicked me pretty hard in our sleep. Of course I woke up,

"JOSH! Why did you do that?"

"What?"

"You just kicked me!"

"Oh...." (he trails off)

The bed starts shaking and I hear Josh laughing to himself.

"Why are you laughing? You just kicked me."

"I was dreaming I punted a football."

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In other news, Josh and I started a Marriage Enrichment group! There are 4 couples (Haffkes, Yeagens, Williams) and we had them over for dessert and coffee last night. It was really fun- the guys told the "how we met" stories, and the girls described their wedding days. Both sets of stories took a long time, it was great. I loved hearing how God brought other couples together. We have no leaders, just trade off facilitating, and we'll begin John Gottman's "7 Principles for Making Marriage Work" which I read in grad school and loved. We're both really excited about this new chapter of our marriage.

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Alright, tomorrow morning Josh will take me to DFW to fly to Denver. Bree is actually due Saturday, so we'll see how long Judah waits. I'll be there until the 17th, long visit.

I can't wait to see her big belly, and my special niece, Anna-Jane. I remember her birthday vividly, even though I wasn't there for it...special. Josh might be able to join us after the fact, we'll see.

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Okay, sorry I don't have any pictures this post. I'll have a lot soon when Judah is born.

anticipation

I'm headed to Austin for a work trip today and I'll be back tomorrow. My flight is reserved for Saturday to be with Bree and family in Denver for Judah's home birth. I've been asking Bree, "Should I pack for CO and take a bag with me to Austin in case you go into labor and I catch a flight from Austin?" She said no, until she called this morning and said, "Well, I'm showing some signs, take a bag."

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Honestly, I have no idea what I put in that suitcase, but it's packed and I'm about to chuck it in the trunk. Ah!

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Judah, I can't wait to meet you, but please wait for Bibi (my mom) and me to get there this weekend. Love, Birdie

family pumpkin carving contest

finally, our 4th Annual Northern & Nye Pumpkin Carving Contest!

Since Josh and I won the first year (and should have won the second year if a 10 year old wasn't judging) and we are tough competition.

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This year we went for Phantom of the Opera.

His mask actually detaches from his face.

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Chris made a pretty flower vase (and she hosted in her home), she won last year!

Dad had a political pumpkin from the IRS.

Blake (Chelsey's boyfriend) and Abby (Rance's fiancee) made a...a...cute guy. It was really cute, but I don't know what it's called!! I love these people. Mom made this lady, quite elaborate!And the winners: the Newlyweds Amanda and Matt's Pumpkin Cooler.
Here we are altogether. Year 4, and loving our tradition, missing family members Kim, Jay, Scott, Randy, Bree, Kyle, Anna-Jane, Chelsey, and Rance.

Later, Jeni and Sheridan came to hang out with us. Here's her cute little pumpkin outfit! She was a smiler that night.