October 31, 2007
Once again, the Lambethians were cooking something special for Halloween. We were invited (we feel special, that’s twice now!) over to their street for pizza and refreshments, to be followed by a hay ride around the neighborhood. With pick-up trucks for tractors the kids were driven around the neighborhood on trailers packed with hay, stopping every block or two to beg for candy trick-or-treat. This presented a huge problem as the size of our candy bag was grossly inadequate for the amount of candy that many houses generated. Next year we are bringing a duffle bag.
It always cracks me up when I find full-size candy bars inside Larsen’s halloween bag. I mean, do people seriously buy full-size candy for halloween, or is it simply a last resort after the 20 lbs. bag of candy from Costco runs out? This year we ended up with 3 full-size candy bars AND zero loose jelly beans, M&Ms or candy corn. Oh yeah, we are movin’ on up!
Of course, as parents we were forced to inspect the candy after putting the kids to bed and devour confiscate any suspicious looking treats.
October 18, 2007
One of our favorite things about the area we live at is the large number of families nearby with kids close to Larsen’s age. Yes the new house is nice and all, but being in proximity to kids that can play with Larsen is pretty awesome as well.
There is one street over from ours that is a community in it of itself. Lambeth Lane is a cul-de-sac with a very close-knit group of neighbors, the kind that on a whim roll a barbecue out to the street, grill some burgers and call it a party. Today they were throwing a pumpkin carving party for the kids, and the Lambethians were kind enough to invite a few outsiders to attend…us included. One thing the Lambethians are known for is there immense generosity, so their “pumpkin gathering” meant at least 2 pumpkins per kid, rows of conference tables for carving, bagfuls of pumpkin carving kits, paper towels, Chick-fil-A, drinks, cookies and music. The kids were having fun, and so were the parents as they started to take over the carving duties of their children. Oh yes, the Lambethians are also very competitive.
We had a great time and the opportunity to met some new neighbors as well. There were no less than 18 kids there, so Larsen met some new friends as well.
October 13, 2007
The Castle Hills Village Shops held a pumpkin patch event this weekend, and it was such a nice day we decided to partake. We were having awesome weather, in need of a few extra pumpkins for halloween, and seemed like a good opportunity to get the kids outdoors for a change.
Larsen enjoyed the kids craft station (where he made a halloween picture frame) and the small band that was playing in the background. They were also having free horse carriage rides, but Larsen wasn’t too keen on waiting in line for it. Besides, he just didn’t see how riding around in a horse-drawn carriage could be any fun at all. It is scary how much like me this kid is sometimes.
We decided to walk across the street to the pond to see the ducks, but after a couple of pictures Larsen quickly reminded us it was time for lunch. They boy must maintain his high-energy status, which he does by fueling eating every hour on the hour. We ended up having lunch at Ciao Bella!, a nice small Italian restaurant at the Village Shops, where Larsen nearly ate his weight in Fettucini Alfredo.
October 12, 2007
We have now been home for a few days, and as expected we have been getting some wonderful broken sleep. Mandi is feeling better, so we can tag-team Landri during those early morning feedings. I had forgotten how hard it is to get yourself up and awake after just a few short hours of sleep. I know I’ve been down this road before, but it all still feels new to me. People tell me it will all come back to me, but I’m still waiting for that to happen. You should see me fumble with a diaper at 3 in the morning, half-naked and with only one eye open.
Larsen is very excited about his baby sister, and has been great about wanting to be of help with her. We shall see how long that lasts. I know it won’t be long before we start hearing things like: “Landri did it”, “Landri hit me”, “Landri said a bad word”, “Landri broke my toy”, “Landri got a tattoo”, you know… the usual.
So far we have done the “baby’s first bath” thing, struggled to re-learn how to do the baby-burrito, watched in amazement the elastic qualities of the human body as exhibited by a medieval tool called the “breast pump”, and received many visitors looking for an opportunity to meet and hold Landri.
It has been a full week, but with only half the sleep. I don’t see this pattern changing for a while now, so thank goodness for caffeine.
October 9, 2007
The day after we got home from the hospital, I was doubled over in terrible pain. After spending 3 nights in the hospital to get pumped with more antibiotics, my Dr. felt I was well enough to come home. I had two infections and have never experienced such intense pain.
Luis has been so wonderful, he took good care of Landri and I in the hospital and has taken on the responsibility of getting Larsen to school each day and bed at night, I could not have done this without him, he should get daddy and hubby of the year. Also, he gets up in the middle of the night and gives the baby a bottle and that allows me to get 6 hours of sleep in a row, what an awesome man, I am so lucky.
We are all doing great! It has been a life change for us all with a new house, Larsen in Kindergarten and a new baby, but life is great and we are happy. Landri is changing everyday, she is really a very good baby.
October 7, 2007
Mandi has been having strong abdominal pain, more than the normal afterpains she was expected to have, since very early this morning. The pain was so bad that we headed back to the hospital at about 9:00 am.
The Dr. suggested she received antibiotics for the next 24 hours, which she is getting via IV to tackle any possibility this is being caused by an infection. She is also getting pain medication, but since it didn’t seem to improve things much the Dr. ordered a CT scan. The scan didn’t seem to uncover any hidden problems though.
At this point we are going to be spending the night at the hospital and waiting to see if things are any better in the morning. Hopefully there is a drastic improvement so that we can all go home and spend some time together as a family.
October 4, 2007
Our baby girl was born today October 4, 2007 @ 3:53 pm, weighing at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 cm. long.
It all started with a 4:45 am woke up time in order to make our desired 7:00 am hospital arrival time. Larsen was a real trooper, waking up without a fight at 5:15 am. We left the house at 6:24 am after getting Larsen, and ourselves, ready for the event that was about to unravel. We dropped Larsen off at a friend’s house who so kindly offered to take him to school.
After a quick stop at Starbucks (I knew it was going to be a long day) we arrived at the hospital at 6:59 am (a whole minute early!). Of course, I made sure Mandi recognized we weren’t late before we checked in. By 8:00 am we were ready to get this show on the road.
Here is a quick summary of how it all went down (straight from my Twitter updates):
08:03 AM October 04, 2007
Got to the hospital right at 7am, and they are about to start the IV. Wife is already 4cm dialated, so this may not take long at all.
08:32 AM October 04, 2007
Dr. just broke my wife’s water. Little by little we are getting there.
09:10 AM October 04, 2007
Contractions are now about 3 minutes apart. We are cooking with gas now!
09:48 AM October 04, 2007
My wife is now feeling the pain, so let the numbing begin! Oh yeah, its epidural time!
10:11 AM October 04, 2007
Mandi is now 5cm dialated. At this rate she is going to be pushing very soon. FYI: 9cm is the magic number.
10:27 AM October 04, 2007
A mirror has been requested (not by me), so that my wife can see every gory detail this time around. What, too much info? 
11:46 AM October 04, 2007
I have created a Flickr album with some pictures about the pregnancy and delivery of baby Landri: http://flickr.com/weborican/
12:34 PM October 04, 2007
Delivery room progress has slowed down a bit. Things are quiet at the moment, but I’m afraid that may just be the calm before the storm.
02:52 PM October 04, 2007
Although we are still progressing slowly, Mandi is now 6-7 cm. dilated. It may be late afternoon before this baby decides to come out.
03:22 PM October 04, 2007
Ok, that was fast. Mandi is now fully dilated so we are about to get busy. We may have a baby here before long.
04:08 PM October 04, 2007
Landri was born today 10/4/07 @ 3:53 pm weighing at 6 lbs 8 oz. All is well and mom is doing great!
