Holiday Staycation

We decided to treat the family to a holiday staycation this year... what a FABULOUS idea that turned out to be! We stayed, sight-unseen at The Hyatt at Olive 8 and it was perfect. Actually, the hotel accommodations turned out WAY better than we'd expected and we hope to stay again.

After checking into our hotel, we packed up the kiddos and walked to the Fairmont to view the Teddy Bear Suite. Jaydan was unsure when we arrived...

Though he was happy to view the trees in the lobby.

Even London enjoyed herself in the saline pool. The spa/pool locker rooms were sweet - if we hadn't had the kiddos we could have really enjoyed the saunas and steam rooms.

The Teddy Bears eventually won Jaydan over and he was happy to hang out.

And happy to take a picture with his baby sister.

Seriously though, would highly recommend this hotel. It was really great to get away from home and stay somewhere new and exciting. We enjoyed clam chowder with fish and chips for dinner at Pacific Place and then delicious room service breakfast in the morning before heading out in the rain to meander through the crowded streets and shops. It really was a fun family event.

Thankful

It's the time of the year to reflect on your life and have a sense of gratitude for all you've been given. We are truly grateful for all our blessings. Our eternal family means everything.

Halloween 2010

Yes, I know I'm REALLY late. We had a fun Halloween with 2 this year - the night began by celebrating Grandma Cindy's birthday with a Spiderman cake. Super for Jaydan's love of superheroes. We made our way to the church Trunk or Treat where Jaydan proceeded to enjoy some homemade chili, games and the candy, of course.

Jaydan enjoying his first real trick or treat experience... all smiles.

Jaydan aka Spiderman holding baby London the dalmation.

at least we got Spiderman to smile for this one.


Spiderman!

Spiderman shoots his web... at everyone and everything... all the time.

Halloween was a success. Jaydan ended up with more than enough candy - he's still going through it and it's nearly Christmas. Looking forward to more spooky fun next year!

Shutterfly for the Holidays

This will be my shameless plug for the season: Bloggers, you can get 50 FREE Holiday Cards from Shutterfly! Check out this awesome deal - totally worth a few minutes of your time and a little space on your blog. Everyone loves FREE right?

I must say that I really do, honestly, love Shutterfly. I have used it for gifts since we had Jaydan early 2008 - particularly the calendars because it's such a great way to photo-journal our year and share it with family. I keep every one after the year has passed so that we can preserve a hard copy of each "year in review" for future viewing - important in our house since everything tends to remain in soft copy, hidden on our computer. I also use Shutterfly for our Chirstmas cards every year to greet our friends and family, wishing them the best for the holiday season and the year to come. It's nice to share an update with a photo of our family with both those that we see often and those we don't see enough. With mainly electronic correspondence these days, it's nice to get something other than a bill via snail mail.

This year I'm LOVING Shutterfly's Story Cards - a quick and easy way to share the highlights of the year plus favorite photos. I'm thinking this will be much more fun than a traditional Christmas letter enclosure. The one that I'm eyeing is called Love 2010 and allows you to bullet point some of the best moments of the year - for us it would include London's birth in June, Jaydan starting preschool and our 6th wedding anniversary. If I really get lazy, Shutterfly will even address and send my cards to my contacts so I don't have to do the legwork - SO awesome for a busy mom. Shutterfly also gets your gifts shipped to you QUICKLY so if you run into a last minute gift need, this is a great personalized way to fulfill.

Enjoy the freebie!!

First day of school!

Jaydan had his first day of preschool on Wednesday. He had lots of fun and I think that he will enjoy it. Keeping our fingers crossed for an excellent year!

Impromptu Sun Cove... the last of summer

We were able to take a quick and impromptu visit to Sun Cove in September. It was great to be able to get away for one more weekend for some sun - it was a beautiful 75* and sunny for us all weekend.

Jaydan got to play on the different play structures, swim in the pool, pick plums & enjoy the toys and kid-friendly things at Cider Works. The tire-horse swing was so cute that Grandma took us into Wenatchee to buy one. He will now be able to enjoy the swing year-round at Grandma and Papa Obermaier's house. He's excited.

Jaydan also slept in a "big boy" bed for the 2 nights of our visit. He was in Papa Dan's bed & was happy to tell about it upon our return. Now that we're home, we're transitioning him to his own "big boy" bed by removing the crib from his room so that London can start to use it. We'll see how that goes.

It was a good weekend and a GREAT way to say our farewells to the sunshine. Both of our football teams - Eastlake and UW - won their games so that was nice icing on the cake.

Seaside 2010

Seaside 2010 was a SUPER FUN trip. We certainly enjoyed our stay again this year - both Jaydan and London seemed to as well. We were a tad worried about travelling London as she was only 2 months old, but she was a trooper and just hung out with everyone.

Night 1 we all went out for dinner... dessert was donuts that were displayed in the nearby case. Jaydan, having not had a donut before, saw them and said "mmmm... I want a chocolate bagel!!" Love it. We lovingly refer to chocolate donuts as chocolate bagels in our house now.

We enjoyed time on the beach - Jaydan made "roads" with the rakes and shovels.

He loved to hang out with the big boys.


We had to hit up the carousel and he seemed happy about that (classic smile and all)

Jaydan LOVED swimming in the pool. He became very daring & was jumping in like a crazy kid.

All in all, it was fantastic. The weather wasn't too bad either, only sprinkling for short bouts on one of the days. We look forward to another trip next year!!

Sicky

Sickness has struck our home... London is still classically sleeping through most of the action. She's been a little fussy but for the most part she's her usual content self.

Poor little J-bug, on the other hand, has had a 102* fever. He's been refusing food and drink except the occasional cracker, sip of juice or bite of a strawberry. Little man was so tired that he fell asleep on the floor with his blankies.

We are praying that our kiddos are happy and healthy ASAP because we're supposed to be headed to Seaside for our family vaca on Saturday... keep your fingers crossed.

Summer twenty.ten

It's been a fairly uneventful summer as we've been adjusting to life as a family of 4. Thankfully the weather finally picked up so that we actually feel like we're having a summer.

Jaydan has been enjoying popsicles... both store bought and homemade.

London has been practicing her sitting skills.

And trying to get a smile on camera.

And sleeping... cradling those cheeks is hard work.

And baths of course... nothing like a nice soak to end a summer day.

As previously stated, a rather uneventful summer. But we are definitely enjoying the sun that we're getting - playtime outside is the best!

Seattle Aquarium

We took Jaydan (London tagged along, of course) to the Seattle Aquarium for the first time today.

In typical Jaydan fashion, he was very hesitant at first. We got past the initial wall of fish and to the tide pools where he cautiously stared into the water from Dirk's arms. After the first pool, he stood by himself at the second. We made it to the first tanks and then he was hooked... every time we turned a corner he whispered "wow" under his breath.

Looking at one of many fish tanks with daddy.

Watching the seals. Please note that by the time we reached the underwater dome and the seals, we nearly had to run to keep up with the kid. He was here and there and looking at everything wide-eyed.

Surfing "Shamu's" back. Every killer whale is Shamu to Jaydan since we visited Sea World.


Enthralled by the underwater dome.

Pooped in the car on the way home. We kept him up way past his normal naptime by stopping for fish and chips on the waterfront after leaving the Aquarium and then ice cream for the walk back to the car. We were shocked that he was able to stay awake all the way to I5 once we got moving.

Thanks to the sunny weather and the ever fabulous people watching downtown, we are happy to have enjoyed a relaxing summer Saturday as a family.

Thomas the Train

Following London's birth, we knew we wanted to do something special for Jaydan so that he didn't feel too left out of the attention. We purchased tickets for "A Day Out with Thomas" since he shows affection for trains. Boy did we have a blast - it was SUPER hot and sunny and there was plenty to be seen. Jaydan's wide eyes at the full sized Thomas engine made every penny worth it.

The view from the train was beautiful...

Thomas arrived in style... all children screamed as he chugged by.

Jaydan got a Thomas tattoo and a sticker.

As the tattoo was applied he was busy looking around at all of the other things to do and get into... mischeivous child so easily distracted.

We were SO tempted to buy him the hat but figured he'd never wear it again considering the somber face just for a picture. We'll consider a t-shirt.

2 weeks

So of course I'm delayed on updating the blog...

London was dressed as a strawberry for church at 2 weeks 3 days old.

She's starting to fill out... she's our big girl. :)

But still sleeping soundly during the day.

Somewhere around 18 days of age, London was starting to fill out her clothes a bit. We noticed her thighs beginning to thicken and her tummy remain distended long after eating. Come her 1 month checkup with the pediatrician, we learned that she was, in fact, a BIG girl. She weighed in at a whopping 10lbs. 6oz. - just one ounce shy of 3 pounds up from birth, putting her in the 90th percentile. She remained in the 50th percentile for height at 21" long.

Clearly she has no problem holding onto the milk that will do her body good... despite the spit up after every meal. She goes through many more outfits per day compared to Jaydan - and that's not just because it's fun to dress a baby girl in adorable clothing. And typically, the wardrobe changes make her spit up again so the change is all for not. Unfortunately for her (and us), she seems to have a bit of colic as well. We feared this as Jaydan gave us a run for our money in the tummy department. She seems to do better than he at this point though.

All in all, we're doing well and are loving (almost) every moment of parenting 2.

Sunday best

London got all dressed up for her first Sunday at church.

We thought she was pretty cute.

Phototherapy

We were discharged from the hospital late Saturday night June 5. I had my postpartum checkup Monday morning. Unfortunately, London had lost more than 10% birth weight - down to 6 lbs. 8 oz. and her jaundice was still dancing on the moderate/high risk line. Since she was only a 37-weeker, she was prescribed phototherapy.

I didn't quite understand what her treatment entailed... when the first home nurse dropped off the equipment I asked her how long London needed to actually be on the lights, thinking she'd say something like 20 minutes, 3 times a day. Boy was I wrong! No I was told that my new baby needed to be on 24 hours except to feed... and I could take her out if she were inconsolably crying. This nurse made me cry. Fortunately, the nurse that came daily to check our progress was AMAZING. Lori let us know each day that things were going well - London gained 3 oz. per day and was able to come off the lights after only 3 days. By that Friday she bounced back up to 7 lbs. 1 oz. We were quite pleased.

at least she sleeps a lot... if she'd been awake and fussy most of the time I'm not sure I would have handled it well.

she seemed comfortable most of the time.

London Kim Huebner

Born June 3, 2010

7:38pm

7 lbs. 7 oz.

19.5"

we love baby toes

auntie Katie came to visit within 2 hours of birth... London lovingly stared at her.

sleeping soundly in the bed with mama

and she's a binky girl... a change for us as Jaydan never took to the darn thing.

Now that we're home and settled, it's nice to be working out a new schedule. Going from 1 to 2 has been a big change, no doubt. I think that making sure each kiddo gets the right amount of attention is the toughy... particularly Jaydan since London gets plenty based on her feeding needs.

We're fortunate that London sleeps for at least 1 four hour stretch each night. It's been really great to get a little bit of sleep. Of course, she and I try to nap during Jaydan's nap too. She's a very mild-mannered baby... sleeps a lot (sometimes even needs to be woken for feedings) and doesn't fuss too much. She's truly a blessing to our family - add her to the list I guess as Jaydan still surprises us often with just how special he is.

London Kim Huebner

Baby girl Huebner was not scheduled to arrive until June 16 at 9 am via cesarean. Due to some health concerns, my doctor decided it best to deliver her early. So, on the date of my 37 week appointment, we scheduled her delivery - June 3, 2010.

We arrived at the hospital at 5pm and were finally admitted after about 45 minutes. I got to get all hooked up to monitors and the nifty gadgets that track your baby's heartrate, contractions and my BP. Fun stuff. Family members were in and out of my room while we waited for the OR. There was a balancing game happening as my scheduled time neared - other laboring women potentially would require cesareans too. Fortunately, I was able to rush into surgery before anyone else.

I had an awesome anesthesiologist - she was super nice and very reassuring about all that was happening. I'll admit that the spinal was something that I was a little afraid of. But all went smoothly and then I was numb and ready to meet my baby girl.

Nameless baby Huebner was born at 7:38pm on June 3, 2010. She weighed in at 7 pounds 7 ounces and 19.5" long. I was surprised at her size given the fact that she was nearly 3 weeks early. She came out with a FULL head of black hair - we're going to have fun styling it in the future. Dirk was able to hold her and get to know her first for about 45 minutes while I was stitched up. We were wheeled back to recovery where she was bathed and I finally got to snuggle her for the first time. I think we were all pleased to finally meet her.

I was moved to my mother/baby unit around 10pm and still not allowed food. My great team of nurses snuck some saltines to my room when I was ready to start pain meds. I had a fantastic team of nurses during our stay - the constant movement in and out of the room made sleep difficult though. Dirk and I stayed at the hospital till Saturday night. London was finally named just before I was discharged. Her first name is for the English in both of our mother's heritage and her she shares her middle name with Aunt Karly.

We're so happy to finally have our baby girl!!

Happy Birthday Dirk!

Dirk is 36! Yikes... ;)

We had an eventful weekend with lots of friends and kiddos. The humble Huebner home was full of friends on Saturday night to celebrate Dirk's birth. We had lots of food and fun. The tykes were running around crazy, talking their baby jibberish. There were plenty of laughs and full bellies by the end of the night. Thank you to all of our friends for coming to celebrate with us - we had a FANTASTIC time and really appreciate your company!!

Today is Dirk's actual birthday... we'll be celebrating more with cake and crepes!

Easter

Happy Easter 2010!

We had a really fun time this year - we didn't expect Jaydan to really get the whole egg hunting concept (silly us) so the Easter bunny only hid a dozen around the living room for him. Needless to say, the hunt was over within 10 minutes of showing him the first egg and that there was a treat inside. I think the bunny will be more prepared next year.

Easter did bring candy-a-plenty as well as some Dora and Spiderman goodies...

We got very excited and animated about the festivities...

And we were fully prepared when the outdoor family hunt began - we were truly experienced egg hunters by now...


Of course, a little help from daddy never hurt...

And continually checking out the bounty is fully necessary...

It was a fantastic weekend for us filled with family and fun, though we missed Grandma and Papa Huebner. We'll have some catch-up time with them next weekend.

After all of the hunting, food and candy overload, we all took a much needed siesta. The remainder of the day was much more relaxing and lazy - the way a Sunday afternoon should be. We were able to spend some family time reflecting on the true meaning of Easter and that we should be grateful for much more than candy and Spiderman.