Christmas Card

The Lamers Family

Wishes You

A Very Merry Christmas!

Life has definitely been busy lately, especially with our new addition, and that certainly has something to do with the last minute nature of our "Christmas card".

But before the day was through, we wanted to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas. We hope that you have enjoyed the celebration of Christ's birth today, as well as your time spent together. We certainly have!

2009 is quickly approaching, and we cannot remember any year being surrounded by this amount of uncertainty and fear, outside of that silly Y2K thing. Times may indeed get worse before they get better…all the more reason not to put your faith in the world! Still, we pray that you are happy and make great strides in your life during this upcoming year, no matter what obstacles are thrown in your path.

Love,

Jon, Duquesa, Jerome, Elliot, and Siena

We have a baby girl!

I knew we were about to leave the realm of the ordinary when she stopped our slow waddle to the car and said, "Call 911. This baby is coming right now!"

Now, I consider myself a pretty good writer, and I know that I can express myself far better in written prose than spoken word, but this blog post is one that I doubt can approach a true to life depiction of the lived experience.

The ball began rolling in the mid-afternoon this last Saturday. I was out in the backyard building some stairs in the middle of a new retaining wall, likely the last chance I would get to work outside before the snow buries my project for the winter. Duquesa beckoned for me to come talk to her from the back door, where she put me on notice that she felt minor contractions - tremors of the event to come. Life would go on normally for the next few hours though. We went to mass, and then stopped by the mall for Duquesa to get a little exercise in a warm place. She was able to walk while her mom and I chased Jerome all over the mall for a few hours.

Labor did not really set in until around 8:30 - 9:00, after Jerome and Elliot finally went to bed. I began to time her contractions while attempting to keep her as comfortable as possible. Duquesa had some nasty back-labor, so laying in bed was not as comfortable as it could have been for her. Still, contractions never got more frequent than 7 minutes apart. I knew we would be heading in soon, so I packed my bag and got the car ready with the infant car seat while Molli took great care of Duquesa.

The next time I saw her, I knew she had just had a more serious contraction. Even though they were still a ways apart, we both thought it was time to go in to the hospital. Last time, with Elliot, we jumped the gun a little - she ended up laboring for about 16 hours after we arrived at St. John's. I had hoped that this labor would be far less grueling for Duquesa, but I had no idea at how my wish was about to be granted.

My favorite rendition of this part of the story comes from my 13 year old sister, Sarah. Thankfully, she wrote this exclamatory email just after the experience, so the emotion comes through quite well, even in all caps and with the spelling errors, which add to the charm:

OH MY GOODNESS GRASHOUS TO YOU ALL I EXPRESS MY EXCITMENT!!!!!!!!! AND I AM COMPLETLEY NERVE RECKED ITS GOING TO TAKE ME A LONG LONG TIME TO WRITE THIS EMAIL BECAUSE I AM SHAKING SO MUCH!!! AT 12:05 ON THE 16TH OFNOVEMBER WE HAD A LITTLE TINY BEAUTIFUL WONDERFUL ABSOLUTLY PRESIOUSE AMAZING (EVERYTHING POSITIVE ABOUT A LITTLE BABY GIRL THAT IS POSSIBLE) BORN IN MY FAMILY'S HOUSE!!!!!!!! I KNOW I CAN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER!!!!! SITTING IN THE KITCHEN BY MYSELF BURNING A CD OF PEACEFUL SONGS FOR DUQUESA (MY SIS-IN-LAW) TO GIVE BIRTH TO AND THEN I HEAR A SOUND. I AM NOT GOING TO DESCRIBE THE SOUND BECAUSE IT WAS SCARY. SHE CAME OUT OF THE PLACE OF THE HOUSE WHERE SHE AND MY BROTHER STAY AND SHE WAS LEANING ON MY BROTHER . WITH HER BELLY TOUCHING HIS (HE WALKED BACKWARDS) THEY MADE THEIR WAY THROUGH THE KITCHEN ON THE WAY TO THE CAR BUT SHE COULD NOT MAKE IT. SO ALL OF A SUDDEN MY SISTER IN LAW IS LAYING IN OUR GUEST BEDROOM ON THE BED WITH 10 HUGE TOWELS AROUND HER (IT MAY HAVE BEEN MORE) GIVING BIRTH TO A CHILD. MY BROTHER JUST DELIVERED HIS CHILD IN MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MOLLY (DUQUESA'S MOM) WAS ON THE PHONE WITH 911 GETTING MAD ABOUT HOW THEY WERE NOT HERE YET AND THE MAN ON THE OTHER LINE WAS ASKING HER STUPID QUESTIONS (OR AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT WE THOUGHT AT THE TIME) AND GIVING US DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO DELIVER A BABY!!! THEN I HEARD A BEAUTIFUL NOISE FROM THE KITCHEN. THE SOUND OF MY WONDERFUL LITTLE BABY NEICE SENA (LONG E ITS ITALIAN) WAS CRYING. SHE JUST CAME OUT OF HER MOM!!!! I DON'T THINK I WILL EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER FORGET THIS NIGHT EVEN IF I GROW UP AND GET ALL TIMERS. MAMA AND BABY AND DADA ARE ON THEIR WAY TO THE HOSPITAL OR ALREADY THERE AND SENA IS HEALTHY AND I AM NOT GOING TO SLEEP TONIGHT!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL AND I LOVE MY NEW LITTLE BABY NEICE AND MY REALLY AMAZINGLY STRONG SISTER IN LAW. SHE REALLY IS A WONDERFUL STONG BEAUTIFUL WOMEN AND SHE HAS HAD 3 BABIES AND NOT EVEN MARRIED 3 YEARS YET. I LOVE HER WITH ALL MY HEART AND WILL ADMIRE HER ALL OF MY LIFE. OMG I AM AN AUNT FOR A 5TH TIME!! AND I WATCHED A BABY BEING BORN!!!!!

I think Sarah is going to be a wonderful writer some day. That night, I was asked many times by doctors and nurses what had happened, and I couldn't muster nearly that amount of detail. Perhaps it was the effect of adrenaline, but the situation seemed very simple to me at the time. I just put Duquesa on the bed, went and washed my hands, rolled up my sleeves and delivered the baby. In fact, I was concentrating so hard on holding the baby correctly and making sure everything appeared normal that I completely forgot to check if it was a boy or a girl! Duquesa and I both agreed later that we were only able let the wonderful news sink in hours later once we were settled and knew for sure that momma and baby were both healthy.

After Siena was born, we wrapped her in clean towels and made sure her air passages were clear. Not only were they completely free of any blockage, but she came out remarkably clean. Truly, part of the reason our ad lib home birth went so well was that the whole process was far less messy than it often is. The other main reason is how quick it went. I never imagined a birth happening so quickly and seemingly effortlessly. It was literally a matter of only a few minutes from when I laid Duquesa down to the moment I held Siena in my hands. The paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and helped me cut the cord and pack up momma and baby for the ride to the hospital.

After the nurses recovered from the shock or our story, they weighed little Siena and told us she came in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and measured 20 inches long. She is so precious and petite - the perfect little girl baby. She even makes very girlie little coos and squeaks. We are so happy to have a little girl to go with our two wonderful little boys! I know Duquesa is going to have a blast decking out her little girl in all things frilly and pink.

We are so blessed and thankful to God that everything went so well in a situation that could have been tragic. As I am writing, little Siena is lying on my chest asleep, giving me ample opportunity to take in that priceless new-baby smell and to cherish a moment with my new daughter. I am all out of words, so I will let some pictures do the rest of the talking.

The Belly

A picture of this big baby belly before it's gone. Less than a week to the due date!

Halloween & Elliot's 1st Birthday!

We have some great pictures to share and we hope that you enjoy.
The boys had a great time trick or treating and thankfully they weren't too interested in the candy, so we were able to bypass that for another year. Here is our lion and our Spiderman:






It was hard to believe that we were celebrating Elliot's 1st birthday on November 2nd. This year has definitely gone quickly. He was a precious birthday boy, even though he was a little sick. I think one of his favorite parts was his birthday balloon that he got to see first thing in the morning when he awoke. A close second was the opening of gifts - of which the wrapping was by far the best part. We had a great time celebrating our little guy and enjoying family.





Wee little angel #3 will be arriving soon. Our due date is November 20th, so we're really getting close. My belly is bigger than ever, bursting with life. I'll try to get some pictures on before it's all gone. :) We can't wait to meet this little babe. It will be so exciting to see who it is. We'll definitely put a post up soon after the birth to let you all know our news.

Oh by the way, for any of you that may be interested, it has snowed a few times already and today, mid-day it was about 27 degrees out. Freezing!!! And it'll only get colder - aaggghhhh!

Happy Birthday Jerome!!! 2 Years Old!

Life at the Lamers......

..............is wonderful! We have not been great at updating everyone, but we are just living life!
Most recently Honey was here to visit and will most likely be returning very soon with Aunt D (like tomorrow)! The sadness in Jerome's face when he realized that Honey was gone was overwhelming. He loves his Honey and that cannot be denied!
Elliot is taking strides in directions that I am not so comfortable with my baby going. He is growing up!!! He sits up, crawls, pulls himself to a standing position and has even started cruising furniture. He is eating anything and everything and loves it. If only I could get his older brother to eat like he does! Elliot is a wiggle worm extraordinaire. He doesn't like to sit still for much other than eating. He plays great on his own. He is under constant study of his brother and learning all he can.
Jerome just loves to play outside. He is a young boy now. No longer a baby at all. He loves to help me clean around the house and he loves to walk around in big people shoes. He brings a smile to my face many, many, many times a day.
My belly is growing and growing and little wee one inside is moving all over the place. I love feeling the flutters and kicks again. What an incredible realization of life within me!
Jon is doing well in his new line of work. He has accepted a position in HR with a computer systems company. It has been a transition for all of us to have him out of the house, but we are thankful for the new position. It makes our time with him in the mornings and evenings all the more special. The boys are truly loving their Dada time - where they wrestle, run, and tickle each other.
Hope you're all well!
Elliot just doing his thing with Noah's Ark!

Elliot can hold his own bottle..............big boy!

This is how Elliot wakes us up every morning - his little bed is at the end of our bed. What a wonderful way to wake up!


Jerome is concentrating on something very seriously

Sweet and precious Elliot

Elliot playing with a pine cone during his photo shoot with Julia at the lake

Brothers

Hard to get a smile out of this boy

Oh.....there's one! :)

And he's off!

What an enjoyable time at the Johnson's cabin for 4th of July!

Jerome really enjoyed playing in the sand and water.

Enjoying the hammock at the cabin with our wee little Elliot

Our little family

Big News...Again

We just realized that we had not posted on our blog yet that we are pregnant again! Yup, there is another little one on the way for us, quickly making Elliot an older brother. It looks like the due date should be Nov 20, so sandwiched right in between Elliot's birthday (Nov 2) and Momma's (Dec 5). Our family will hardly get a break from celebrations once November begins, all the way until the New Year's Eve hangover passes. Well, that's one way to spice up the cold months!

We are really excited about our new baby, but we won't find out the sex until he or she is born. Call us old fashion, but it's kinda fun to have that anticipation.

Back to the here and now, Elliot is in the difficult phase of transitioning to taking formula in a bottle, and he is making the rest of us feel it. Jerome went through this in Italy, and it was two weeks of screaming until it finally started to take. Not wanting to relive this scenario, I decided to ship Duquesa and the boys down to Texas for a few weeks to stay with her family in Brackettville. Well, that's not why she's going down, and nor am I "shipping" them out, but I won't be able to join them in the land of 10,000 degrees for a few weeks, if then. Duquesa's sister, Daphne, is graduating from high school near the end of the month, and her brother Clay is being ordained a Deacon a day later! So big things happening in the Hunt family. I would like to wish everyone down there luck as they try to endure the wrath of a hungry, teething Elliot. We may not be invited back for a few years.

Anyhow, we just got back from the zoo visiting friends Audrey and Karl Charba, as well as their two kids Henry and Claire. We forgot to bring our camera (I know, cardinal sin of parenthood), but I will post a few other pics of recent good times. Cheers!

This is Elliot, Jerome, and their cousin Isabella on Easter. I wanted to eat them more than I did the candy!

Elliot loves flying

Jerome loves fish

Jerome loves...never mind. Not yet, anyway.

Pretty Momma and Elliot walk in the pretty flowers

Dadda and Jerome build a retaining wall in the backyard