Christmas
Dec 30th
Christmas was fun and different this year as we are a new family. We are still getting used to the extra time it takes to venture out of the house. Packing for Noah has its degrees of difficulty depending on how long we spend out or away.
We started with the Christmas Eve service at CLF and went to the Willey’s house directly after. Always fun playing with the kids and passing Noah around.
We spent Christmas Day with the Runges. My parents came down for the meal, but Kent was sick with the flu. We took a care package over to him because he didn’t want to get Noah sick. Its fun watching Bronte and Gen fight over holding Noah.
Also, this year’s Christmas Card was a hit. I started getting texts as soon as the card hit mailboxes and I’m still getting messages. Just to clarify to those people who have questions: the entire card is Photoshopped! No, I did not put Noah on the back of a motorcycle!
He’s Here!
Dec 3rd
Noah Richard Willey, born at 5:25pm on November 27th weighing 7lbs – 5oz and measuring 19in long (but he seems a lot longer!)
Pictures here.
Betsy was a trooper as Thanksgiving Day was ending and the inducing process started. The Foley catheter that was put in started the labor pains an hour after and contractions started at 3am on the 27th. By 7am we were in the hospital.
They started pitosin and by noon she was at 5cm. She got the epidural around that time too and by 1pm she was feeling much better.But by 4pm she was still at 5cm and Noah’s heart rate would drop really low during contractions. At one point his heart rate dropped so low that 5 nurses burst into the room and kinda freaked Betsy out. His heart rate stabilized but the informed our doctor and after checking on Betsy recommended the C-section due to her lack of progression and the trauma on Noah. So by 5pm she was getting prepped and by 5:25 Noah was born!
Its been a wild ride and we’re all glad to be out of the hospital. A 5 day stay is no fun. Due to the c-section I have happily been on full duty! Our hospital room at Mission was great as well as the nursing staff. There is no way we would have come out of the hospital as happy and informed without them!
One huge benefit was the availability of a nursery at night between 11pm and 6am for the babies to be sent under nurses care so the parents can get some sleep! That alone save Betsy’s sanity after the first few nights/days will little sleep and lots of residual hormones running rampant through her system.
We had some kinks in the breastfeeding department but Betsy persevered and is handling it like a champ.
Waiting…
Nov 22nd
Betsy wanted to take some pictures of her pregnant state before Noah gets here. Here’s what I took
Check out pictures here.
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BBQ
Nov 22nd
In lieu of a Baby shower we had a BBQ. It was a lovely, warm day. We had a great time celebrating with our friends and family. The bounce house was – as always – a hit. Thanks to all who made the trek to the OC to helps us celebrate! Check out Tim’s pictures.
View the pictures here.
Dick’s 75th Surprise Birthday
Oct 6th
This past weekend was the culmination of a Runge family deception. Helen and Lora orchestrated a surprise 75th birthday for Dick which included a ruse about a fake baby shower. Dick’s sister Monika and her husband Chuck drove in from Chicago for the week to surprise him. His Daughter Cindy and his granddaughter Sarah flew in from Louisiana.
Check out the pictures here.
Needless to say he was visibly touched by the everyone who came and shocked that anyone would drive all the way from Paso Robles just to see him! Thanks to everyone who helped put this evening together!
Dahms’ Family Baptism
Sep 5th
The Dahms family decided to get baptized as a family last Saturday and Betsy and I were there to share it with them.
Luke Family Moving Party
Sep 1st
My brother David and his family have moved to Idaho. Very sad for us as we won’t be seeing them in person very often anymore, but our prayers are with him and his family in their new state. I have been a bit backlogged with postings. Check out the pics.
Richardson Grove State Park
Aug 27th
Once again I had some vacation to take while Betsy was off of school for the summer. I have a hard time turning down a chance to go to the Redwoods and relax for as long as I can. I also look forward to visiting with my extended family up in Fortuna and Eureka.
We stopped in Half Moon Bay on the way up. It was about an 8 hour drive there, then another 4 to Richardson Grove State Park. We got settled in our favorite spot and commenced our wonderous repose. (Yeah, it really felt like that.)
We spent most of our time resting by the river, reading, playing rummy or visiting the Silvers families. I didn’t take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, so late Friday afternoon I grabbed my camera and went on a photo walk. You’ll see the change in the pics (I do) after the picture of the berries. See the photos here.
Steve Seim at Stanford!
Aug 26th
In talking to Steve I found out he was going to be playing at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California on the Saturday we were traveling back from the Redwoods. We packed up camp at 6am and bolted south in order to make his Game at 10am. We only made it to the second game because Steve’s team was creaming their opponents. They ended up with a gold medal for their efforts and apparently didn’t even lose a game! Congrats Steve!
Visit to Uncle Bart & Aunt Pauline
Aug 26th
Betsy and I got to spend a night on our way back home in Fresno at Bart & Pauline’s. They were great as usual, Pauline even made us French toast for breakfast!