Santa Claus Came To Town

This week we went to the library for story time. To Jordan's delight, Santa Claus was there to read The Night Before Christmas! We've been reading lots of Santa stories lately and he's also watched the Santa movie we have A LOT, so he was very excited when Santa walked into the room. As Santa read the story he kept telling everyone around him, "IT'S SANTA! IT'S SANTA!" It was adorable to see how excited he was. 

When it was time for all the kiddies to get to sit on Santa's lap Jordan got a little nervous. So while we watched kid after kid sit on Santa's lap, I tried to assure him that Santa is very nice. Jordan noticed that the kids got a candy cane after sitting with Santa. He asked me if he could have one and I said, "After you sit with Santa he will give you one." I could see from this answer he was trying to figure out a way in his mind to not have to sit with Santa and still get the goodie.

While we were becoming the last ones in the room to see Santa, Jordan realized something... he asked me, "Mom, where are his reindeer?" I said, "I don't know... maybe they are at the North Pole." Jordan then asked the librarian the same question. She told him they were on the roof. He looked up at the ceiling and agreed they were on the roof. With that he was finally ready to sit with Santa... good thing too, because we were the last ones to have a turn with Santa. 

When Jordan got on Santa's lap he asked, "What do you want for Christmas?" Jordan replied with, "Where are your reindeer?" Santa said, "Ahhh..." I guess he wasn't expecting that from a two year old. The picture above is of Jordan pointing to the ceiling telling Santa that the reindeer are on the roof. What a funny little guy.

Jordan was very happy to get a candy cane... he wanted me to open it immediately after saying goodbye to Santa. I am happy we didn't have a crying meltdown this year like we did last year with meeting St. Nick. 

Here is Jordan in the car when we got home with candy cane all over his mouth. Later that day he asked me, "Do you want a candy cane Mom?" This translates to, "I want a candy cane Mom, and if you have one I know I can have one too." He's a smart little boy. When I said I didn't want a candy cane he said, "Why not?" Mom outsmarted him on that one. 

 I am thrilled to announce that we got our very own real Christmas tree this year! Growing up we always had a real Christmas tree and so keeping with that tradition (as I like to do) we got one of our very own. I love the smell of evergreen trees! We also put colored motion lights on the tree which remind me of home.

It was really fun to decorate the tree with Jordan. He was very excited to help and especially wanted to make sure we had a star on the top of the tree. He enjoys plugging in the lights and helping me water the tree. He's a boy after my own heart, since I've always loved doing those things.

Here is the tree fully decorated! Family traditions are a special way to make the season bright. We look forward to keeping family traditions going and to making new ones with our own family. Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving in New Mexico

This year we had the special chance to spend Thanksgiving with my sister Heather in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She recently moved there from her medical residency in Wisconsin. She is the closest fam we have now that we are in the southwest, about 7 hours away. My Mom says it's kind of funny that both of her daughters are in the southwest part of the country... who saw that coming?

Here are some pictures of the Thanksgiving food preparations. Everyone picked in and we had a delicious dinner together... followed by seconds and thirds... and so on. Yummm yummm....

Here are some pictures of us all playing in Heather's back yard. We played a lot of "PIG" with her basketball court. The shots got crazier the longer we played. Jordan loved what he called "going fishing" by her pool. He would stick the pole on the covered pool and tell us about the big fish he caught. Then we would eat them. He's got a really great imagination. Jordan also had fun throwing leaves at his Aunt Heather. Fun times all around.

We got the chance to go on a tram up the Sandia Mountains of Albuquerque. It was an awesome experience and an amazing view. Jordan wasn't scared at all by the height. He's been trained as a Webb should in liking heights.

Here's a collage of what we saw on the tram. It was a beautiful time of day to go up. The sun was just beginning to set.

Here's a picture of the Sandia mountainside.

The sunset with a jet flying by. When Jordan sees the airplanes and their contrails he calls them "rockets"!

Some pretty mountain views.

The next day we went to do some further exploring to find some petroglyphs. We hiked up a little mountain to see them. It was fun guessing what the pictures stood for. Uncle Charlie was a great help in walking Jordan up the mountain. Natalie was in a frontpack with me and didn't see the sights, but she liked the ride.

Here we are all next to some petroglyphs.

Here we are at the top of a volcano! We really packed in a lot in our short visit with Heather. It was so much fun to be together for Thanksgiving. Thanks Heather for all the fun!

Bart & Gayleen 11/09/12

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Webb! 

My brother Bart and his fiance Gayleen got sealed for time and all eternity on November 9, 2012 in the Portland, Oregon Temple. Congratulations!!!

What a wonderful couple. We are so happy for the two of you!

The fall colors were awesome in Oregon. I couldn't help but take lots of pictures of the leaves since we don't have leaves in Arizona. It was beautiful to see.

The celebrations, pictures, and family gatherings outside the temple. 

We were so happy that we could be there for Bart and Gayleen's sealing. It was a sweet experience. Thank you Natalie for coming early. Natalie is not in this picture because she's inside the temple waiting area staying warm. 

More fall colors.

Here's a sweet picture of Bishop and Sister Peterson. It was so special to have them there for the wedding. They are adopted members of the Webb family and we all love them so much. The Peterson's loved meeting little Natalie. Sister Peterson was so kind to take care of Natalie inside the temple waiting area while we all did pictures outside. 

The Portland, Oregon Temple.

It is amazing the way Heavenly Father paints the earth.

Here are some photos from Bart and Gayleen's reception in Salem. What a fun time. 

Aunt Gayleen and Uncle Bart holding their new niece Natalie. 

The family with the newlyweds. We love you both and we welcome Gayleen to the Webb family!

Being together as a family is one of the best things ever! 

We are so happy to know that families can be together forever. 

Now Bart and Gayleen have that same promise in their marriage. 

Congratulations again Bart and Gayleen! We love you!

Halloween 2012

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! 

This year Jordan was Peter Pan. He is obsessed with all that is Peter Pan and so I thought I better take this opportunity to have him be his favorite character for Halloween. He absolutely loved it! He didn't want to take his costume off at the end of the night and he asked to wear it again the next morning. He's our cute little boy. 

Here is Jordan walking around with Dad at our ward's trunker treat. This year he caught on pretty fast to how this candy getting process works. 

This little boy loves to sword fight with his Dad every day. He tells Preston that he's Captain Hook and Jordan is Peter Pan. Jordan will watch the movie Peter Pan as many times in a row as we'll let him. He also enjoys reading his Peter Pan book and any book that is about pirates. We are getting such a kick out of seeing him in this Peter Pan phase. 

Here's Peter Pan posing with our pumpkins.

Little Natalie's first Halloween. She slept through the entire evening.

Here we all are looking good at the ward Halloween party. From left to right: Peter Pan (Jordan), Captain Hook (Preston), Wendy (Hillary) holding Tinker Bell (Natalie), and Tiger Lilly (Mom). We had such a fun time dressing up as a family for Halloween. Who knows what we'll come up with for Halloween next year?

Our Little Girl

Natalie Ann Murray is two weeks old today. 

Here are her stats from her check up: 

Length 21.25 in. 75th-90th percentile

Head Circumference 37 cm 75th percentile 

Weight 8 lbs. 14 oz. 50th-75th percentile 

She is a healthy little girl. She surpassed her birth weight of 8 lbs. 7 oz. which we are very excited about! 

It seems like Natalie has always been here as a part of our family. She has brought an additional sweet spirit into our home. We love her so much!

Jordan has been the sweetest big brother to Natalie. He loves to hold her, give her kisses, say good morning to her, and he already wants to involve her in his playing (like sword fighting). We look forward to when they can play together, but we tell him for now she is too little. We are thrilled Jordan loves his little sister so much. 

 Natalie is quite the cuddler. She loves to be held and sleeps best on her Mommy, which makes me feel awesome. I am happy she's so cuddly because I am too. Like mother like daughter.

Here is Daddy and Natalie having some cuddle time together. I have almost an exact picture of Preston and Jordan like this... super cute. 

Here's my mom having some grand-kid cuddle time. Does she look like a happy Grandma or what?

Our precious little girl. 

We are so grateful to know that she is sealed to us for all eternity. Families can be together forever and we intend on making ours a forever family. We feel so blessed and are so grateful for our family. 

Baby Natalie

On Tuesday, October 16th I called Hill at the end of my workday to let her know I was on my way home. I rode my bike the short uphill miles home and greeted both her and Jordan with my customary "Hey Guys!". She looked at me seriously and said, "We need to go for a drive." I said "Really?" She said "Yes, now!" I then put myself into top gear and changed out of my biking gear and into something more presentable for a baby delivery in about 30 seconds. Hill was quite impressed, especially since I was wearing spandex which takes extra effort to remove. It turns out while I was riding home Hill's water had broken and she had everything ready except for me.

With me clothed in more normal people appropriate clothes. I was speedily putting Jordan in his car seat and Hill was gingerly climbing into the front seat of the car. We set off at a fast pace (only slightly over the speed limit) to our friend Rachel's house so we could drop Jordan off while we went to the hospital. Rachel was home and ready to take Jordan when we arrived at her place and we were off to the hospital. About this point Hill's contractions were getting stronger and were about 4-6 minutes apart. She held on strong while we drove the final 25 minutes.

I dropped Hill off at the Women's Center so she could get in line to be admitted. To my great chagrin, after I parked the car and went in Hill was sitting on a seat waiting in line to be admitted. In front of her was a calm girl who was not in pain and looked rather board as the hospital worker filled in her information. With difficulty, we waited patiently while Hill's face turned red and pained as each contraction hit her. The worker must have noticed since she sped up and got Hill admitted.

At the Women's Center they have an area called Triage where the nurses separate the women ready for birth with those that just think they are. The nurse was very nice and got Hill dressed in a stylish open-backed hospital gown and fancy underwear. She then got us situated on a bed and promptly forgot about us. Ok, she most likely did not forget about us but we sat there for a good 45 minutes before she came back, and she really only came back because Hill was ready to puke and needed something to do it in. When the nurse checked her Hill was dilated to a 7. The nurse said, "You are handling this really well!" I think Hill was ready to punch her.

As a side note, the Women's Center we went to usually delivers 6-7 babies a day. On the day the Natalie was born they delivered 13. The poor nurses were really overwhelmed so that is why things were slower than we would have liked.

Once the nurse discovered that Hill was indeed going to have a baby, she kicked things into high gear and got us in a delivery room. On the way she called the anesthesiologist who met us at the room. The new delivery nurse checked Hill as soon as she was on the hospital bed and said, "You are just one shade away from being ready to deliver." At this point the anesthesiologist saw that Hill only had half of the IV bag in her (she needed to have a whole one). The nurse then chimed in and said, "She is ready to deliver, we need to get the doctor." I will not grace you with Hill's response to all this drama (in addition to the third nurse who was insistent she filled all the blanks in on her forms), but needless to say the lack of an epidural was disheartening.

About this point the doctor came in and saved the day. He checked Hill and said, "This baby will be out in just a few pushes, probably in the next 5 minutes." Hill's spirits skyrocketed and we were off to the races. The nurses and doctor got all dressed up in their sterile gear and went to work. Hill pushed through one contraction and Natalie started to crown. She pushed through another contraction and poof! Out she came! She was the cutest, messiest little girl you ever did see! We finally had our little girl with us! She was 8 pounds, 7 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. She was healthy and did not have any issues after the delivery. Hill's water broke shortly after 5 PM and Natalie was born at 7:37 PM. Talk about a fast delivery! I will need to take some emergency delivery classes for our next little one, just in case things go even faster!

It has been about a week now and mom and baby are doing fantastic. Natalie took to nursing like a champ and mom is adjusting to two kids instead of one. Suzie (Hill's mom) is here for extra support too and life is complete. We love our new family and look forward to the fun times ahead!

Proud Daddy

Happy Big Brother

Mommy, Daddy, and our new little girl.

Natalie all ready to head home.