A big adventure

We have a good excuse for not posting cute baby pictures... our power went out! No - not a flicker... or a shutter... but OUT. For 3 days. Katie's thoughts - "Changing newborn diapers by candlelight is kind of romantic". Here's the good sports (my parents) washing our dishes in the dark.


Despite the darkness, and even because of it, a great week was had by all including a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo....


... and pancakes...


... and cookies!


Thanks also to friends who stopped by! Just clarify - the "well behaved" ones in the middle are ours. What a Supermom.


-Alex (and fam)

Bigger and Better

It's a nice cool evening in Evanston to welcome us home. As I type, our first daughter runs over to our brown chair (a chair with its own history to tell). She kindly asks for our second to be placed in her lap. So here they sit, Abbie covering her in kisses, rubbing her lips through sleeping Isabel's soft hair. There will be many moments of chaos to come, but tonight makes me wonder how it could not all be worth it in the end.

-Alex (and family)

Here is where the magic happened. If anyone hasn't guessed it yet, Katie's outstanding effort enabled another amazing and beautiful birth.

Us.

Lori getting a little baby fix.

Uncle Dan, looking the pro.

The wee one.

...and baby makes four!

The big day finally came! The baby girl we've been waiting for all these days finally arrived! Isabel Elizabeth Martinson was born August 17, 2007 at 1:53 am. She is 8lbs. 7oz. and 21.5" long. Mama, Isabel, and Abbie are all happy, healthy, and glad to all be together at home.

Term and waiting

Well friends...here we are. The belly is now 37 weeks - so supposedly "any time." At our doctor visit yesterday, I was already 3cm dilated - but the doc assured Alex the baby wouldn't just fall out...at least not until I'd had a few painful contractions to earn her :-) So we wait...here are some pictures of what we are doing, besides work, etc., to stay occupied!


I turned around one morning and Abbie had picked up a copy of Alex's latest publication - she was reading her Daddy's chemistry paper! A little extra peer review never hurt...:-)


Here's a reflection picture of Mama, Abbie, Ali and Papa in the "giant bean" sculpture at Millenium park. Uncle Dan just moved to Chicago so we were meeting him for a concert in the park.



Here we are enjoying our new set of wheels - it's a big hit! We can run, go off-roading and also tote Baby Sister when she comes! Mama loves the new double jogger - she had to jog with it just for half a block to test it out...hmm...maybe she should jog for a whole block and the waiting for the baby would be over!


Abbie playing in the fountain at Millenium Park on a hot Chicago afternoon.

Nana and Abbie building a sandcastle at the beach, also on a hot Chicago afternoon...there's been a trend of these hot Chicago afternoons lately! Not that I'm pregnant, over heated and noticing hot afternoons or anything ;-)

Abbie and Daddy on an evening stroll as Mama waddles along. We're trying to do lots of walking!