Post Christmas

 The day after Christmas, the Hansen side of the family came down to see us in Arizona since we couldn't make it to Utah. 

 As always, there were amazing dinners (this one of locally raised food).

 Mustache time.

Cousin Ellie's newborn outfit borrowed just for a picture.

Still can't tell what color Clara's eyes are.

And we made it to the new year!  Our family is complete with the newest addition and we are excited to think about what this year will bring.  Ada is talking and talking and talking now.  She was starting to act out a little from the lack of attention from us, but we are all finally finding a balance.  She is so smart and funny and still one of the happiest kids we know.  She has another eye surgery coming up in March, but it is nothing we will worry about right now.  She is still having fun at "school" and talks about her friends and teachers there.   
Clara is rapidly gaining weight- I still feel like I'm feeding her all the time and we think she might soon catch up with her big sister!  She is smiling at us as soon as we walk into the room and we think we may have even heard a laugh!  I forgot how much fun this stage is. 
Bryan and I are still not getting enough sleep, but as it was pointed out to us, we don't expect it for the next 18 years or so.  Everyone is slowly adjusting to the new dynamic, so it's only getting better!
 

Christmas Day

This was our first Christmas staying home instead of traveling to see family.  While we really missed seeing everyone, it was nice to have quiet time as a new family of four. 

Ada helped Clara unpack her stocking from Santa.

 This was Ada's first Christmas really getting excited about it all.  And she LOVED it.

We are hoping she will take after her dad and have more artistic ability than I do.

 Dad helping open the presents.  He was possibly as excited as Ada.

Clara spent the whole morning like this.

So of course, we had to mock her.

Here are a few pictures from the first couple of weeks.  Slowly catching up.

 Clara really wants to go home from the hospital.

 We still have no idea what color her eyes will be.

 Ada loves helping with her baby sister.

 Clara smiles as much as Ada did.

 Grandma getting some baby time.

 HUNGRY!!

 Keeping Ada entertained.

The first real bath.

 Sisters.

 Snow for Christmas!

 :)

She already loves the sun.

Cuatro

Oh, Boy.  It has been a crazy and wonderful few weeks.  On December 3, we welcomed the fourth member of our family.  Clara Afton Hansen was born at 9:27 p.m. and weighed 8 lb. 14 oz!!  If you would have told me she was that big, I never would have believed it.  That's almost 2 pounds bigger than her sister!  And with almost hourly feedings, she's not slowing down!
Thanks to our moms, everything went pretty smoothly for the first couple of weeks.  Obachan was fortunately able to come down a few anxious days before Clara got here.  She hung out with Ada and we all distracted ourselves by decorating for Christmas. 

The night we put the Christmas tree up, I started feeling slightly stronger contractions than I had been feeling for weeks.  Even though it was 3 days past her due date, I wasn't feeling very optimistic about something happening.  I was able to sleep that night, and had an appointment with the midwife, Tisha, the next morning.  I was finally checked (I'd been putting it off for fear of getting my hopes up) and was dilated to a 5 or 6!  I still assumed it would be a while, but that maybe she would come in the next day or two or three.  After the appointment, I came home and took a nap, being able to sleep between increasingly painful contractions.  After sitting on the exercise ball and taking a bath to relax, I decided that maybe Bryan and I should go into Labor and Delivery.  It was almost 7:00p.m.  Because the contractions still weren't very regular, I was worried they would send us home, but luckily we only live 3 blocks from the hospital, so it wasn't going to be a big waste of time.  I had a few more contractions on the drive there and as we were checking in, and by the time I was checked in Triage, I was at an 8 or 9!!  I couldn't believe it!  My first thought was that I wasn't going to be able to labor in the tub, but the nurse told me she would go fill it and I could get in right away.
At the appointment, Tisha had told me that if I went into labor that night, to have them try to call her.  She wasn't on call, but because I wanted to have an unmedicated birth, she would try to come in.  Luckily, we timed it right and she was able to make it.  I stayed in the tub for close to an hour, and it was great.  I was feeling the pain with each contraction, but was able to relax in between.  Bryan stayed by me the whole time and encouraged me.  Tisha would just come in to check on me (and dim the lights so it was a calmer atmosphere), but then leave us alone. 
Finally, after Bryan realized I was getting a lot more vocal with the contractions, I decided I needed to get out.  I wanted to sit on the birthing ball for comfort, but after one contraction, I felt the need to push.  With a lot of assistance, I got up on the bed and laid on my side.  After about 15 minutes of pushing, Clara was here!!  They immediately put her on my chest, and Tisha told me to feel the cord pulsing.  It wasn't something I'd ever imagined I would experience, and it was amazing!  Actually, everything about the whole birth was amazing.  It happened so fast and was so dreamlike that we couldn't have asked for it to be any better! 

Recovery went really well, and Clara was healthy and hungry from the beginning.  Bryan and I were sure she would have jaundice, but (we think) because she nursed so often, that bilirubin never had a chance.

Obachan brought Ada in the next morning, and the sisters bonded instantly.  I was a little worried about how Ada would react, but she didn't seem to be phased at all by the fact that her little sister was now on the outside of my belly.  It was like she already knew her! 

Then Ada learned how to help take care of the new baby by practicing swaddling.

Obachan stayed for a few more days (thank goodness) and Ojichan was able to fly down for a night to meet Clara.  Then we had our first night alone with two kids.  It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, but we knew the next day, Grandma was coming down.
Grandma stayed with us for four days, entertaining Ada and showering the girls with grandma-love.
I still can't imagine how we would have done it without our moms.  We were able to adjust so much better with them here.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to convince either of them to stay forever.
So now we are on our own, but are handling it.  Bryan finished schoolwork today, so now we have a few weeks together as a family to figure it all out!

We have about 4,000 pictures of the new life with a new baby, so we will post more soon.

Uno Dos Tres

Last night while we were eating dinner, Ada started counting to about 13 in Spanish.  It took us a few seconds to realize what she was saying.  I looked at Bryan and asked if he'd been teaching her, but he was as surprised as I was!  I guess she is learning more than we thought at "preschool"!

Waiting

 There has been a lot happening lately, but everything seems like it's moving in slow motion when waiting for a baby to be born.  I was convinced she was going to come before her due date, which is tomorrow, but I think she's going to prove me wrong.  I've had bouts of semi-regular contractions for the last few weeks, but I guess they are just getting my body prepared for the real thing.  I know due dates are somewhat arbitrary, but it sure puts the pressure on! We are all excited to meet her (Ada included) but we will wait as long as it takes.
Here are a few pictures from the last month or so.
When we asked Ada what she wanted to be for Halloween, we weren't really surprised she wanted to be a robot, since she has been mildly obsessed with them for half of her life.  Luckily, we were able to come through for her.  We took her downtown for the "Trick or Treat Trail" where all the local businesses were giving candy out to the kids.  She had a blast!   And for the next week or two, ate more candy than she ever has in her life (assisted by Mom and Dad, of course). 

 

 Her robot costume.  We were pretty happy with the outcome and some people even gave her extra candy for it.

My side of the family came down for Thanksgiving to help us out and potentially meet the new addition to our family.  They rented a house pretty close to us and it worked out really well to do the big dinner there. Here is Carol trying to keep the girls out of trouble in the kitchen.

 

 

 

Grandma and Grandpa Ken were able to come, too, and bring their dog Zooey.  The girls LOVED giving her all of their attention. 
Unfortunately, everyone had to leave without meeting the new baby, but that just means they have to come down again!

Sick of being sick

So many things have been happening around here.  Ada has started "pre-school" (i.e. day care) a few mornings a week, she has been getting better at using the potty (not quite trained, but getting there) and the new little one has been moving like crazy and is , I hope, as excited as we are to get out of my belly. 
But I don't feel like writing about any of it, because we have all been sick.  Since Ada started "school", she has had several colds that she has passed on to us.  But none of those were as bad as the stomach virus that Bryan acquired last weekend and that we are still recovering from today.  I knew that we'd probably be sick more often around here with more exposure to other people, but this is ridiculous!