Amelia holds Bryce for the first time...

Amelia in Action...

You can never get enough bouncing in when you have great friends and a giant neighborhood trampoline!  Amelia and Anthony have a jump around together...Enjoy!

"Happened...what?"  Amelia can't figure out why the song on her Barbie phone (thanks Zia) is so short!  She just starts to get her groove on and then it cuts out...what happened?!?

Welcome Bryce!

Bryce Matthew was born on September 13, 2012 at 2:25am after a week of lots of false starts to labor we were so excited to finally hold him in our arms!  He weighed in at 3.8kg and measured 53cm long.  (Although the doctor measured him for his week check up and he was 55cm long.)

Bryce was one of the few boy names that we really liked.  Neither of us have taught a Bryce and so we don't have any negative (or positive) associations with the name.  We chose the middle name after a special place: Mathews, Virginia.  We have the most blissful summers at our house near the bay and it is such a memory filled, relaxing place for us that it just made sense.  Plus Matthew is just lovely...and when you have been teaching as long as we have it is VERY hard to find names that work. 

Amelia is very excited about her new baby brother.  She squealed with delight when she first saw him and then tried to tickle him.  Today she was "helping" me change his diaper, but I think it was more like a baptismal from squeezing the wet cotton balls around him.  (She will be 2 in a few weeks and is really into water play - transfer, squeezing, etc. so this was a fun activity for her!)

Amelia doesn't seem bothered by having to share mommy with her brother and is absolutely loving all the extra time with daddy.  He is enjoying not having me hover around and having more of a full parenting partnership.  I don't know how many dads feel that way after their second arrives, hopefully lots, but it just makes me once again so thankful to have married such a special man.  We have been looking back and laughing about the fact that when we first met in Doha we would never have predicted that we would have two children.  Thankfully, we do!

I have until early December to be at home on leave.  I know it will fly by in a wink.  I also know that the next few weeks are going to be tough as he nurses around the clock to try to put on lots of weight.  But, it is so much more reassuring of what is "normal" the second time around.  Just knowing that everything is a stage and transitions are frequent helps me keep a bit more perspective when sleep is not an option.

Baby Haske is Nearly Here...

Wow!  Can you believe that baby Haske is nearly here?!?  I saw the doctor today and the little guy is in position so be ready for good news within the next week...or less! 

In the meantime, we are having lots of fun with Amelia.  She loves to jump on the trampoline (video to come soon), play in the sandbox, go down the slide, swing (higher!) and is learning to push herself along on her tricycle.  What a change a year brings.  It is amazing to see her little toddler cohort take on the world in a whole new way.  Last year at this time we were all waiting for first steps and words.  How far away that seems!