Lucy's Blessing Day

Yesterday was Lucy's blessing day. It was very different from Joshua's blessing day in that we didn't have any extended family with us, but it was still a great day for our little family. Adam's mom made Lucy's blessing dress, and it is beautiful! The blessing itself was very special. I am so grateful for Adam and that he is a worthy priesthood holder and is able to bless our children and family. I have to admit, in trying to keep Josh still and quiet during the blessing, it was hard to pay attention to everything that was said. A friend of mine came up to me before Sunday School started and gave me an outline of the blessing that she had written down for me, for which I am very grateful! She knew it is hard to listen and keep kids quiet at the same time.

Being a parent is not always easy, but it's days like this that help me remember just how special our children are and what great responsibility we have as parents to teach these little ones that our Heavenly Father has entrusted us with. I am constantly making mistakes, but everyday is a new start and I hope I can improve each day and be able to effectively teach my children the things they need to know.

The past three weeks

Little Lucy turned 3 weeks old on Wednesday. In some ways it seems like a short time, but when I think about everything that has happened in the past three weeks, it seems like it should have taken longer. And sorry if nothing I say makes sense for a while. I am functioning on very little sleep :) Adam was able to take a week off of work after Lucy was born. We have had lots of fun with Adam's parents visiting the day after Lucy was born. They stayed a week and then the day they flew home, my mom flew out here for another week. Well, she was supposed to stay a week, but I wasn't ready for her to go, so she stayed three more days longer. It was great having family members around to help for a couple weeks. I definitely needed it. One of my worries before Lucy was born was how I was going to be able to handle the needs of a newborn and a two-and-a-half-year-old at the same time. It was great to have grandparents around for a couple weeks to keep Josh entertained while I got used to having a newborn again. This past week was my first week with the kids by myself. Some days were harder than others, but we all survived. I know we'll all get better at this as we take the time to adjust to all the changes. Josh is warming up more and more to his little sister and now likes to touch her hair and give her kisses on her head.

Here are some pictures from the past three weeks.

Four days old.



One week old.





Three weeks old.







I LOVE these socks that look like shoes!



We love our little Lucy!

Little Miss Lucy

Our little Lucy Mae Hansen made her appearance into this world on Wednesday, January 13, 2010, at 12:31pm. I was scheduled to be induced that day and we had to be at the hospital at 5:30am. When I got up that morning, I noticed my water had broke sometime during the night and was slowly leaking. We got ready quickly and headed off to the hospital. For the past three weeks at my OB appointments, I had been dilated to 3cm. When we got to the hospital, I was at 5cm. The nurses got me all settled and after hooking up the monitors and getting a bunch of information, the nurse said I was ready to start on pitocin. I told her I would need an epidural as soon as possible. The contractions were manageable at that point, but I knew when the pitocin kicked in, they would get unbearable. (NOTE: I am a wimp, and I am OK with this fact. As long as there are drugs to reduce pain, I will take them.) The anesthesiologist came a little bit later and gave me the epidural around 7:45am. The nurse checked me before starting the pitocin and I was at 6.5cm. From that point, I continued to dilate about 1cm an hour.

The epidural was working well, but most of it seemed to go into my left leg. My right leg was only slightly numb. I could feel lots of pressure with the growing intensity of the contractions, but luckily, no sharp pains. The, uh, delivery area was also numb enough that I could feel pressure, but no pain. Hallelujah! It just became a waiting game while we waited for the cervix to do its thing and dilate fully and get out of the way. I took the opportunity to take a nap. I didn't get much sleep the night before, and I knew I wasn't going to be getting much sleep in the future, either.

Around noon, the nurse came to check on things and determined it was time to start pushing! I pushed for about 25 minutes, and then we had to stop actively pushing and wait for the doctor to get there. The next push or two would deliver the baby, and the nurse was concerned about some scar tissue from Joshua's delivery. The doctor came, the nurse described her concerns and they were both very good at doing everything they could to try and minimize the tearing this time. After the doctor came, I pushed about two more times, and at 12:31pm, Lucy was born.


























Lucy weighed in at 9lb 4oz, and was 20.5 inches long.


























Lucy and I stayed in the hospital Wednesday night and we were able to be discharged Thursday afternoon. Adam and Josh came to get us and our family of four (!) headed home.

We love our little Lucy and are so grateful she can be part of our family.

BBQ and Elvis

That's what first comes to mind when I think of my uncle Gaylen. He is my mom's older brother, and he passed away last week after a brief battle with cancer in his kidneys and lungs. His funeral is today, and I'm sad we can't be there with the rest of my mom's family. He is the first of any of my parents' siblings to pass away, which is a little difficult to think about.
When I was little, I remember him managing BBQ restaurants and at family reunions, he was always the resident BBQ expert. He also loved all things Elvis. From my perspective as a kid, he seemed kind of gruff at times, but he was also a jokster, too. Now, as an adult, I remember him as a fun-loving, faithful and loving person, and a very hard worker. We will greatly miss him!

Thanksgiving Weekend Adventures

We had a fun and full Thanksgiving weekend with my parents coming for a visit. Our fun times started Wednesday evening when Adam and I started making rolls and pies.







We made five pies (Pratt family tradition to have one for each person): lemon meringue, pumpkin, apple, cherry and chocolate orange mousse (not pictured).




















The cooking continued Thursday morning and went on all day long. It was fun to be with Adam in the kitchen all day, making the various Thanksgiving dishes that we love so much. The aches and pains that go along with being 8 months pregnant slowed down my cooking mojo a bit, but we still had a good time and got everything ready.

The brined turkey, ready for baking.

The turkey after baking, perfectly browned on the outside and nice and juicy on the inside. YUM!



My parents arrived at about 5:30 that night and helped us get the final details ready for dinner. First, though, was the doting on the grandchild, of course.















Josh looks at a puzzle and book that Grandma brought.

And finally it was time to eat! Everything was delicious, especially the garlic mashed potatoes, which made me happy just eating them.

The rest of my parents' visit was filled with shopping, putting up a wallpaper border in Josh's room, putting together the baby's crib set, going for walks to the park with Grandma and Grandpa, going to the Riverwalk to see the Christmas lights, playing games, putting up our Christmas decorations, building block towers with Daddy and Grandpa, finding the house that served as the mission home when my Grandpa was the mission president of the Texas San Antonio Mission about 30 years ago, making Christmas candy, and making a blanket for the baby.













































































































































My parents had to leave Tuesday afternoon. We are so glad they were able to come visit for Thanksgiving. We had lots of fun times and enjoyed every minute of it.

30 weeks down...

...10 to go!

Besides having a hard time getting over this cold this past week, this pregnancy has been going great. I'm getting into the "big and uncomfortable" stage, and I definitely feel it. That and being tired all the time, but that is normal at this stage, too. We are getting more and more excited to have a little baby girl soon, even though sometimes it doesn't seem real to me yet that we're going to have another baby in a few months. I'm sure the reality check will hit me soon enough!

Happy Halloween!

We went to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat activity tonight, and Josh got to show off his mad ninja skills. Adam took him around and I manned the candy giveaway at our car. Josh did well for 7 or 8 cars, holding his candy bucket and saying "thank you" (he hasn't quite conquered "trick-or-treat" just yet), but then he lost interest pretty quickly. He sure was cute, though, even if he wasn't a fan of his headband.




Let's go get some candy, Daddy!



























The ninja thrives in his natural habitat.




















Somber ninja is in a reflective mood.








Happy Halloween everyone!