Paternity Leave

One of the biggest perks of the last week has been Eric's paternity leave. He got very little time off after Gretta was born and it was all used by the time that she got out of the NICU. It has been great to have him home this week. We defiantly couldn't have made it without him. I am sure I would have been at my wits end. I am just hanging in there as it is. If Eric wasn't here I would be in deep trouble, and Gretta would defiantly be bored, and I am sure really upset about the whole situation. Instead she is quite enjoying her daily daddy-daughter dates.
Eric has been a great help and is turned into quite the "Mr. Mom". Here are some pictures of him making dinner, and taking care of Eliza.
I am very grateful that Eric is so lucky to have paternity leave. We are going to enjoy every minute of our family being together during this special time.
Thanks Eric for all your hard work! I love you!

Nana Carolyn's Visit

One of the best perks having Eliza is that my mom came to visit for a few days. I enjoyed her visit, but was at the hospital for most of it. The person who REALLY enjoyed her visit was Gretta. Gretta LOVES Nana. When we picked Nana up she said, "I am so happy to see you!" Nana did a lot of fun things with Gretta. She took her to Kidspace with Grandma Linda. They went to the store and then Gretta helped her make lots of different things. Gretta loves to help in the kitchen and to wear her apron. Nana also is very talented at braiding Gretta's hair and Gretta loves to look beautiful. It was a fun short visit and Gretta can't wait for her to come back. Gretta also wanted to know where Aunt Anna, Uncle Gabe and Pops where because they usually come as a package. She is going to have to wait until May to see the whole gang.
Nana thanks for coming!!!

Eliza Anne

We welcomed Eliza Anne into our home on April 17th at 4:23pm. She weight 7lbs and was 21 inches long. She has been a wonderful addition to our family. Her big sister, Gretta, has really enjoyed being a big sister. Some of my favorite pictures are the ones where Gretta is meeting Eliza for the first time. She was so excited, and you can see the joy and love in her face.

Relaxing

This morning I put all the extra pillows from Gretta's bed into her crib, so I could change the sheets. When I came back into the room this is what I found. She was just relaxing and hanging out. Looks comfortable to me too!

Playing Mom

Last night after I put Gretta to bed I went back to check on her and she told me that her baby doll needed it's diaper changed. I told her the doll was okay and to go to bed. Well when I went back into check on her this is what I found... She had gotten her changing pad out, a wipe, the diaper rash cream, and a baby diaper. After all this work I guess she decided she was tired because she was a sleep in her bed.

38 weeks Pregnant

Here is me 38 weeks pregnant and on the count down. I am done being pregnant and ready to meet this little girl.

Beat the Bishop Race

This Saturday our ward sponsored the Beat the Bishop Race at the Rose Bowl. The first picture is of Gretta on the way to the race in her car seat. She wanted her sunglasses and she put them on herself. I couldn't help but take a picture it was so cute.
The next picture is of Gretta and Eric before the race. I am sad I didn't get an after. Eric won first place in the "stroller pushing" category. The whole way Gretta was yelling, "faster, daddy, faster!!!" Way to go!

Gretta's Art Work

Here are some pictures of Gretta's most recent art work. I have been trying to be more creative at finding activities we can do inside besides watching TV. Gretta would watch TV all day if you would let her. Someone told me about these cool finger paints that crayola makes called color wonder that are suppose to be mess free. The finger paints are all clear and look like Vaseline. Somehow when they are applied to the special paper the color shows up. It is pretty cool and mess free. Gretta has really enjoyed trying them out and creating some new master pieces.
Enjoy!

Gretta and Aunt Allison

Aunt Allison came over to play with Gretta on Saturday during Priesthood session, and Gretta wanted to take her picture. Gretta has been really interested in taking pictures her self and then she wants to look at them on the camera screen. I think it might be time to buy her own kid camera and turn her loose. She might have a future in photography.

The value of a dollar

You would think having a banker as a Dad might better help you understand the value of a dollar. Well it hasn't happened yet with Gretta. It is just a good thing she is only two, and the bill you see in the picture was only a dollar bill.
Gretta loves money. However, she still hasn't quite figured out that bills are also money. When she asks for money she usually wants a quarter to put in the candy machine, or into a ride at the store.
Well she got a card today in the mail from Nana wishing her "Get Well Soon" because she has had a little cold. In the card was a dollar bill. Usually I just take the dollar bill, and put it in her piggy bank for her, but today I gave it to her and tried to get her to put it in herself. She didn't want to put it in right away and told me that she wanted to play with it for a while. I figured nothing bad would happen. (That is where I went wrong.) She just keep carrying it around the house saying, "money". When I noticed she didn't have it with her I asked her what happened and she said, "I ate it". I didn't really think that she did until I went to the family room and saw this on the floor. I am still not sure if she ate any of it, but I do know it was hard to tell it was even a dollar bill because she had torn it into so many small pieces. I guess I learned my lesson today... I should just put in her piggy bank for her next time, and wait until she is a little older to learn the value of money.