Sunday in the Mountains

Last weekend we met a group of friends up in the mountains for a potluck brunch. We all hiked up about a 1/2 mile from the ski lodge with our food and kids and spent a lovely sunny morning on the deck of one of the restaurants still closed for the season. It was such a nice way to enjoy the changing colors and crisp air of autumn.

After lunch we went on the chairlift up to the top of the mountain to enjoy even more of the changing leaves. Although it made us both a little nervous, Sasha LOVED her first chairlift and requests to go on another one daily. The only casualty was her bagel that Phil dropped accidentally about 1/2 way up. Jack enjoyed the ride from the comfort of my Moby wrap.

Jack after his first feeding at 12,000 feet.

Our little Jack is growing and changing so much. He is easy to please as long as he's in someone's arms. He's a great sleeper in the evenings, but hasn't mastered the longer stretches after 2 a.m. When he's awake he loves to sit and watch Sasha or lie on his play gym.

Fall Photo Shoot and other news

Here are some of my favorites from a late afternoon photo shoot a week ago out in front of our house. This time of year is magical with the yellow chamisa blooming and the golden aspens in the mountains.

Other goings on this week: Three weeks before Jack was born I got an invitation from the Santa Fe Symphony, the professional group in town, to fill in as a substitute violinist for their concert this Sunday October 10. As crazy as it seems, I had to say yes. I've played in lots of orchestras, but never professional groups and this was my first shot at something that has always been a dream of mine. Thank goodness Jack came a couple of weeks early so I am a bit more recovered physically and have been able to squeeze in sufficient practice time between nursing, changing diapers, and caring for Sasha. A big thanks to Phil and my parents who have bent over backwards to help me make this happen so soon after having a baby. Hopefully this will lead to a more full-time gig with the symphony, but for this weekend, I'm just going to enjoy getting to be a part of it all.

Jack's Second Week

My parents have been a HUGE help since Jack was born. They moved out to New Mexico about 2 months ago and it has been so nice to have them an hour away. It has made the transition to 2 kids so much easier with extra people around to play with Sasha, change diapers, do laundry, cook meals, etc. I can't thank them enough! They plan to come up every Tuesday once we're in a routine, a day I know I'll look forward to every week.

I think Jack looks just like a mini-Phil in this picture. He's becoming more alert and lately has had more diffictulty sleeping for long stretches at night. It's been a little rough!

Sasha is so good with Jack. He's the first thing she asks about in the morning and she tries hard to make him happy by stroking his head and cheeks. She is eager to help change his diaper, pick out his clothes, and is always happy to hold him.

Jack's First Week

Proud Aunt Megan popped up for a visit one evening.

We've been fortunate to have a lot of help from my mom and other extended family this week. Jack pretty much sleeps all the time except when feeding and he is starting to have an hour in the morning of wakefulness.

We have gotten out of the house a fair amount already which is completely different than when Sasha was born. We all went out for frozen yogurt one night, out for a walk in the plaza another night, and drove up into the mountains for a picnic and short hike on Jack's one week birthday on Sunday.

Jack Philip Smucker is here!

Jack decided to make his grand entrance 12 days early. My water broke at 5:15 am after a fitful night of discomfort and little sleep. I actually had prayed in earnest for the first time that this baby would come NOW before I went to sleep that night. My prayers were answered and above is just before we left for the hospital that morning as we were waiting for my parents to arrive from Albuquerque to stay with Sasha.

After about 15 hours of labor and much harder pushing than I ever expected for a second labor (it turns out he was sunny-side up) he "popped out" as Sasha says. We were so thrilled to discover that we had a boy! He arrived at 9:23 p.m. weighing 6 lbs. 5 oz. and is 18 1/2 inches.

Once again Phil was a super star labor coach and has easily jumped back into the newborn parenting phase.

Going on day 3 and Sasha has been so good with this huge change in her life. She is very gentle with little Jack and tries, most of the time successfully, to be very helpful with all the baby care. Phil is off this week and we are really enjoying finding our balance as a family of 4. For some reason it has been so much easier for me to bounce back physically and emotionally this time which I am grateful for. I attribute some of that to the lovely weather right now vs. the cold, dark grey Indiana weather Sasha was born into. I know though that the true test will be when I'm on my own in a few weeks with Phil back to work and mom and dad not here as often.

Babymoon and other happenings

Labor Day has come and gone without any labor around here. Now Phil is on call for the week so we're kind of hoping that nothing happens until next week. He could rearrange things if he or she decides to come now but it would be a hassle. In the meantime, I'm cherishing these last days with Sasha alone and feeling a little bit of guilt/sadness when I think about how our relationship is going to change once the baby is here.

A couple of weekends ago my parents generously took Sasha for a couple of days while Phil and I got away to Pagosa Springs, CO about a 2.5 hour drive away. We stayed at the Springs Resort which has 25 different natural hot tubs all at various temperatures situated along a refreshingly cold river. We spent the days and evenings tub hopping and lounging around reading books. It was so nice to have quality time and conversations together over long dinners especially knowing that there will be a drought of "us" time this next year.

Sasha loves making smores on our firepit for a treat in the evening. Funny quote from last week: We were eating breakfast and she said "Excuse me, Mommy" Me: "Why, Sasha?" Sasha: "I was tooting while I was sleeping last night". Me: "How do you know you were tooting if you were asleep?" Sasha: " Because I'm a tooting machine."

Michigan cont.

Sasha loves to lie in the sun and cares not if she is plastered in sand.

Lake Michigan was so warm this year and there was a wide beach too which was nice.

Running down the big sand dune was fun in the evenings before bed.

Annual Michigan Vacation

We spent 2 weeks this summer up on Lake Michigan at Phil's family's lake house and had a lovely time. The first week Phil, Sasha, and I were by ourselves and we were joined by the whole Smucker gang for the second week. It was so nice to relax on the beach (the term beached whale comes to mind!) in my 3rd trimester state and Sasha was easily entertained with the water, sand, and her Daddy. I'll post more favorite pictures shortly, but here are a few group shots to get started.

Sasha (2), T.J. (1), Anna (1), Mary (3), and Jacob (3). The cousins all had a lot of fun together this year. On a more current note, I'm 37 weeks pregnant now and having more and more contractions as of yesterday. Stay tuned for pending baby news....we're pretty excited around here!

July Wedding

We all went to Eastern Pennsylvania for Phil's cousin's wedding in July which was at a beautiful outdoor Audubon Center. They wanted us as family to sit in the front row for the ceremony (you're kidding, right? with a 2-year-old?) Luckily the whole thing lasted maybe 5 minutes which was enough time for Sasha to figure out how to open a packet of Smarties and eat each one individually. Whew!

June

Phil (front right) got to go whitewater rafting in Taos with a friend as a Father's Day gift this year. It was his first time and he said it was one of the most fun things he's ever done. It happened to be the windiest day the guide had ever exeperienced in 10 years leading trips so it took 3 hours longer than usual and they had to paddle constantly to keep from blowing up river. I'd love to give it a try next year when I'm not pregnant.

Sasha is 2 1/2 now and quite the little chatterbox. She gives a running commentary throughout the day about what she sees and what is on her mind. She is quite small and agile and loves climbing, jumping off of high things, and anything involving gymnastics and swinging. She is pretty obsessed with the Lion King movie and books and is not afraid of any of the scary parts--in fact she claims these are her FAVORITE parts. Is this cause for worry?! For awhile there she thought a good name for the baby would be Scar, the evil lion. Sounds like a Smucker to be reckoned with.

Sasha and her friend Imogen on the slide in our yard (above). We have enjoyed our newly landscaped side yard so much this summer. We now have grass, a swingset, slide, and Phil is in the process of building a fort on the high second terrace below with killer views of 3 mountain ranges. It's tempting to mount a hammock up there for the sunsets. We pretty much eat dinner out at the picnic table every evening and then play until bedtime. Life is simple but good.