Kellan's First Day - August 23, 2010

One week ago today, we celebrated the arrival of our newest family member, Kellan Alexander Hamilton.  Our cameras have been firing off shots left and right but it will be a little slow going to get photos posted.  Kellan is changing, growing and looking like Oliver more and more every day.  He has a very sweet disposition and (so far) has been very easy going.  Oliver has a special way with him that calms him down and Oliver seems to know exactly what he needs.  Kellan is the first person that Oliver looks for when he gets up in the morning or enters a room.  I hope the two of these boys continue this special bond for many years to come.

Kellan's first poopy diaper change.  Thanks Dad!

The one eye peek to make sure we are still there, or wondering how many pictures we will take.

Grandma meets Kellan for the first time!

My Mom (Grandma) is here for two weeks to help out.  It has been a huge help to have her here and I'm already sad that she will be leaving soon.  

Only six hour later, Oliver meets his little brother.  This was his first expression, pure joy and excitement.

Oliver is such a gentle child, especially with his sister Madalyn (as he has referred to her this week) and his little brother Kellan.

Kellan's first kiss from his big brother.  Oliver LOVES to kiss and hug on his little brother.

Oliver telling Kellan about the ways of the world.

How can you resist these puppy dog eyes?

Oliver was jealous of the matching bracelets that Mommy, Daddy and Kellan had.  The nurse was awesome and gave him a matching bracelet with a sheriff's star to match his cowboy shirt.  I'm thinking the nurse understood the importance of this since she has four kids under the age of six herself.

It took a good 20 minutes for Oliver to warm up to me when he came in the room.  After seeing these pictures, I know why.  Mommy looked a little scary.  YIKES!  Plus, it was probably a shock to see me in the hospital bed with a baby.  Hmm... what was going on while Oliver was at school?  

He eventually warmed up enough to have a dinner picnic on my bed and share my fries.

Oliver, Kellan and Mommy together for the first time.

We have a ton more photos to share and a ton from Grandma.  I'll be posting as I get a chance.  

We can't wait to share our newest addition with everyone as well as the usual star of the blog, Oliver!

Kellan's Arrival

Kellan Alexander Hamilton arrived on Monday, August 23, 2010 at 10:48 AM.

We arrived at the hospital at 11:00 PM on Sunday, August 22 to be induced.

Here I am, waiting for the action to start.

Keith wasn't shy to get comfortable on his bed for the night.

Kellan is here!!

He is just moments old in this photo.

Proof that we have a big boy!

9 lbs 8.5 oz

22.25" long

Proud Daddy with his new baby boy.

Happy Mommy with her new little munchkin.

Preparing for Kellan's Birth Day

In preparation and celebration of Kellan's birth day on Monday, Oliver made cupcakes on Sunday.

Mixing the batter.

Placing the festive cupcake papers.

Diving in for some frosting.

Frosting his master pieces.

Adding a few sprinkles.

The more sprinkles, the merrier.

Quality control check.

Mmmmm Bon Appetite

The Final Countdown

Tonight is the night!

We are waiting for the phone to ring.

The hospital is suppose to call with an arrival time so that we can go in and be induced.  My Dr says it is time and who am I to argue with such a great idea.  My Mom arrived yesterday and we are all set.  Tonight, we took some photos of my two boys and I.  The last photos of my pregnant belly with Oliver.  Oliver was a trooper, handing out lots of hugs and kisses to his little brother in my belly.

I love how he is on his tip toes in this one.

I love when Oliver curls up with me for a hug.  When he is like this I tell him he is my puzzle piece.  He loves puzzles and he fits so perfect right above my belly.

I know Oliver is getting really cozy when he tucks his arms in.

After we were done taking photos, he was intrigues by watching the kids ride their scooters on the street outside of our house.  Mom took a few more photos and these are the ones where I said "wow, my belly is huge!".

Wish us well tonight and tomorrow for the delivery.  Next post, the introduction our our youngest son!

The Boys Rooms

We have finally added the finishing touches to Oliver room and the babies room.  I am excited about the work that we have done and I especially want to show case the hard work that Keith put in.  These rooms would not be as wonderful without all of his handy work.

The entry to Oliver's room.

These are the shelves on the wall above Oliver's bed.  We couldn't find matching shelves so Keith made them.

With all of the hard work Keith put in, I added a few small touches as well.  I found this super cute train at the craft store and painted it fun colors for Oliver.

Oliver, demonstrating his favorite way to get into bed.  Up and over the foot board.

Oliver hanging in his library.

Keith made the bed and night stand before I met him.  He sanded both items down so they were nice and smooth for Oliver's precious skin.

The bed that Keith made.  Oliver loves it and it should be useful for many years to come.

Oliver checking out his dinosaur sticker book with his train table in the background.

Keith also made this lamp.  We saw one at Pottery Barn that was the wrong color and quite expensive.  Keith took on the challenge to make one just like it except this one is customized with Oliver's name.  I would like to get a fun shade for it but for now, this one will due.  I was quite impressed with his craftsmanship.

On to the babies room.  

The furniture and bedding is the same that we used for Oliver but we tried mixing it up a bit with the wall color and some of the finishing touches.

Again, my addition was the painted name.

The bookshelf that is ready for another library collection and new pictures of the baby.

We are all set!  Both boys have great rooms that are ready to be occupied with snips and snails and puppy dog tails.  

(hypothetical only, of course)

Madalyn and Oliver

Oliver and Madalyn getting in some Saturday morning cuddles.

Madalyn is much more patient with Oliver since she returned from her adventures in the great outdoors.  She has yet to go outside, even though she has had several opportunities.  I think she knows where the good life is.

They call it "Nesting"

In the weeks before a baby arrives, it is referred to as "nesting" when a woman rushes to get last minute things done in preparation for the arrival.  Around our house we refer to it as, hurry up and get all of this stuff done because we know that for the next several months our life will be taken over by a little person who has a schedule and agenda of their own.  This has been our story for several weeks, if not the past couple of months.  It's not like life is ending, but sometimes you would think that it is with all of the chores we decide must be done immediately.  Now that we are getting so close to the babies arrival, each spare moment is filled with "to-do" items that must get done because this may be our last spare moment.  Keep in mind, we still haven't packed our bags for the hospital.  Where are our priorities? So dramatic, I know.  With this, we don't have much to share from this past weekend and it doesn't strike me as exciting to take pictures of the car seat cover washing, last minute decorating touches, laundry, etc.  Keith even washed the windows, inside and out.  YAY!  They look fabulous and it was a long over due chore.  We did find time on Sunday morning to make breakfast, where I took a couple of photos of Oliver helping to stir the waffle batter.  He has become quite the helper and we notice that he's much happier if he is involved and helping.  Therefore, we give him tasks.  Maybe this is also our type "A" personalities working on delegating.  

We are hoping to have great news soon about the arrival of our youngest son.  In the meantime, it's chores (nesting) for those of us in the Hamilton house.

Madalyn

In Memory of Madalyn

August 1995 - August 2010

Last Wednesday night, we let Madalyn outside to bask in the evening sun, just like most every evening.  At 1:30 AM, we awoke to the sound of a cat fight and we knew instantly that we had forgotten to let Madalyn back in the house.  We rushed down the stairs and by the time we got outside, there was no sign of Madalyn or anything else.  We searched high and low and when we went back to check the porch we noticed evidence of a cat fight, tufts of fur.  It appeared that Madalyn was the worse for wear but it was apparent that she had a brawl with a black & white neighborhood stray.  We took a seat to ponder where she might be and we heard an owl nearby who's "who" faded off into the distance as it flew away.  As a fifteen year old house cat, we were sure her wild outdoors defense tactics were quite rusty.  We feared the worst that she was in a cat fight and met the end of her days due to a bird of prey.  We were devastated that due to our neglect, Madalyn had passed.  Neither Keith nor I spoke of what the worst possible case of her fate may be.  At that time, we couldn't do much more.
For several days we held out hope that she was in hiding and would come home.  By Friday afternoon it had been nearly 48 hours and we knew that we would never see her again.
Madalyn was a wonderful cat who was caring of her family and patient with Oliver.  She received countless praises as to how soft and pretty she was.  She has traveled the US and lived in more states than many including Washington, Nevada and Colorado.  She will be deeply missed.

This would have been the post at 5:45 PM on Friday.

Now, for the rest of the story...

On Thursday morning, there was no sign of Madalyn so we left food and water on the porch in hopes that she was in hiding and might come home.  Madalyn is the worlds messiest eater so we knew we would see food crumbs everywhere if she had been there.  I also sent an email to the neighbors to ask them to watch for her.
Thursday evening, there was still no sign of Madalyn and the neighborhood kids were on a search party.  We were beginning to give up hope that she had made it.
Friday morning and evening there were still no signs of Madalyn.  Again, we didn't speak of what the outcome was, but each knew that if she didn't make it back by now, she was gone.  We were all very upset and I was an emotional wreck.  Oliver asked about her regularly in which we responded that she was on vacation since we didn't really know.  Friday evening at 5:45, we were heading out for dinner and Keith spotted two kernels of cat food outside of her dish on the porch.  He thought to himself how it seemed weird, almost like Madalyn was back.  Seconds later, he saw her trotting toward the door from under the patio table.  As I came down the stairs I saw her sitting on the kitchen floor.  It seemed absolutely bazaar.  She was back, safe and sound and without a single wound.  She was extremely dirty, tired, sore, thirsty and hungry.  We cleaned her up, avoiding her stomach since that is where she was the most sore.  Gave her lots of food, water, love and space to rest.  She struggled walking up the stairs on Friday but by Sunday she was running up them like she used to and seems to be good as new.
We are SO happy that Madalyn is back and she was able to cash in one of her nine lives to stick around a little longer.  We hope she lives a long and healthy life and both Oliver and the new baby grow up knowing her as part of our family.