It has been awhile since my last post, and a lot has happened since then. Derek is a loving baby that loves to be held, which made things hard the first two weeks while I was extremely sick with the spinal headache fiasco. That was a huge trial for Dan and I, thank you to everyone who helped us during that time. I am sorry if I have not thanked you personally, my memory of those two weeks following Derek's birth are fuzzy at best.
Jacob has been a big help (as much as a two year old could be) He loves his little brother and always try to share his toys with him. When Derek cries he tries to give him his binki and says, " its okay baby".
After my spinal blood block, I was able to enjoy and get to know our newest addition. I also had my family over a few Sundays ago for dinner and football. It was the first time my Dad and Richie had seen Derek; they had been sick when he was born. The Colts won that day, too bad they didn't go on to win the Superbowl. My only consolation is that the Vikings ( Bret Favre) did not even make it to the Superbowl.

I was pregnant at the same time as my sister-in-law Sherrie. She gave birth to Hailey 5 days before Derek came. It has been awesome having someone who is going through the whole new baby thing at the same time. We have had fun taking pictures of the two of them together.
This is Jacob playing with Kate in the kitchen.
Because it is so cold outside and with Derek I am unwilling to go anywhere , Jacob hasn't been able to run around and get out some of his energy. My solution... let him play with Kate. Our dog is great with him, she lets him chase, pet, and torment her without complaint. She is a great dog.
we have gone over to my parents house a few times so I can take a breather while Dan is at work. Jacob loves hanging out over there. Between playing with the Grandparents and hanging out with Heather and Richie, he just has a ball. That is just a bit of an update on our family. Hope everyone has a great Valentines Day this weekend!

Our new bundle of joy!

Derek Brewster Astin was born Saturday at 9:13. He weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce. I am extremely glad that we decided to go ahead with an inducement, because even in a controlled setting it was an extremely fast birth. I went from a 6 to a 10 in twelve minutes. I had to push through only 3 contractions and Derek was born. Dan was great, he held my hand and helped me with my breathing.
He was a bit blue, because he had his umbilical cord around his neck. Luckily it didn't cause him any stress because he just slid right out. Derek has dark hair and long fingers and toes. His feet are so big! They are as long as his cousin Jonah's feet... and he is over 6 months old!
Angie and Heather came to the hospital to chill and play games with us while we waited for the labor to start, They brought games and books.... didn't have tons of time to read or play. They got to see Derek and hold him.
Heather and Angie then took over babysitting duty at my parents house so my Mom could come see Derek. (My Dad has a bit of a cold, so he has been unable to see Derek yet) My sister Rachel also came down to see him. Dan's parents where able to come down to see Derek Saturday afternoon. Noreen forgot to check in and almost got taken down by a nurse ( Steve thought it was pretty funny). The same time Grandpa and Grandma Astin where there, Great Grandpa and Donna Nielson stopped by.
Jacob stayed with my parents for a couple of days while I was at the hospital. This was a true blessing, and I am very thankful they where there to help. My Mom brought Jacob yesterday to the hospital to see me and Derek, He was so busy worrying about not leaving my side he was indifferent to Baby Derek for most of the visit. He just wanted to sit next to me and eat my fig newtons.
Our little family!
Thanks to everyone who has helped us and prayed for Derek's safe arrival. We feel very blessed to have this adorable new addition to our family!

Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Even though it wasn't the most pleasant experience being 9 months pregnant during the most family party oriented holiday, and the time of the year where the most pictures are taken.... I have to say I can look back on this Christmas and smile.
It was are first Christmas in our new house and I loved watching Jacob opening his gifts under the tree. He is the most dainty gift opener, it takes him forever to open one gift.
We went over to the Glassfords for Christmas breakfast and to exchange gifts. My parents, like always, surprised us with a great gift... a huge barbecue. Now Dan has to learn how to use it.
Jacob ate bacon! that is right, he ate meat willingly! Jacob ( the child that will eat broccoli and lima beans over chicken nuggets ate bacon! )
This year I wanted to give my parents something that I know they would really love and that I don't think they would do themselfs. I turned their wonderful blog into a book. This was truly a labor of love, but I am so glad that I did it. I did tons of resurch concerning 'blog to book' websites and found nowhere I was satisfied with. So I decided to format and publish the book through a book publishing and printing company. It turned out great, and now my parents have a family journal/scrapbook.
This was at the Astin's Christmas Party, jacob had a lot of fun playing with his cousins!Here is the Family Christmas picture, It turned out good, especially considering my hugeness and Jacob freezing.
We also took family photos this weekend. I am hoping that the next one could be in the warm months and without me being pregnant. Angie and Chad better come down for a vacation TOGETHER in the summer months, none of these separate vacations. I want a family photo with that has flowers and grass in the background.
Jacob was a good trooper, he was cold which made it difficult to get him to smile.

Christmas Time

It is the Christmas Season! Sadly because of a difficult pregnancy I have had to cut back on traditions and fun Christmas activities. Luckily I was able to take part in my family's traditional gingerbread house decorating competition ( even though some think that it was the gingerbread that put me on temporary bed rest, it was worth it) I love doing things with the family this time of year!
Daniel's Dad was Santa again this year, so I took Jacob over to their house to get a picture of Jacob with Santa. Lets just say he wasn't fond of the idea. He thought he was going to get to see and play with Grandpa, instead he found a guy in a red suit with an abnormally white beard, Santa. He stopped right in his tracks. It took a lot of coaxing to get him near Santa let alone on his lap. We couldn't get him to smile, but I still think the pictures are still cute.
Me and Jacob wearing festive hats, while Jacob holds on to his candy cane ( the bribe we gave him for sitting on Santa's Lap)

Dan's Vacation

Dan was lucky enough to go on a cruise with his extended family last week. Sadly, because I am with child, I was unable to go. Poor Dan had to go to the western Caribbean without me. This is a picture of the formal night on the cruise ship with his siblings and significant others.
The first excursion the went to Progresso Mexico. They had to ride in a bus for 2 hours each way to see the Mayan ruins, in Chichen-itza, and only got to stay for about an hour. This is a Mayan pyramid, it was a tribute to the gods and had lots of snake carvings all over it. The Mayans worshiped snakes, Dan wouldn't have made a good Mayan. See the large snake heads! Since there time was limited they couldn't learn a lot about all of the Mayan structures, but this specific building was used for human sacrifices.
A lot of the buildings had carvings on the stonework. Here is a picture of what appears to be a guy in a head dress with elf shoes on. The ancient version of basketball. Throw the ball in this small little hole and win! Loose and you die. On their second excursion Dan went to Cozumel to snorkel and see fish, but I haven't gotten the pictures developed yet. They rented Jeeps and drove around the whole island; they toured an old lighthouse, chilled near the beach and saw crocodiles.

This is Daniel pointing to a large lizard sitting on a rock.
While driving around the island they found the Three Amigos Cantina, and couldn't help taking a picture. Dan had a great time, but I am glad to have him home and safe.

Pumpkin Patch

When I was a kid my parents always took me to the Vineyard Nursery to pick out a pumpkin. Because I loved going as a child, I have done the same thing with Jacob. This year my parents came with us. Even though I had to waddle through a corn maze and pumpkin patch, it was fun to watch Jacob play and enjoy the same things I did when I was his age.

This is a picture of my dad and Jacob in the corn maze.

This is Jacob running through the corn after leaving my Dad in the dust.

Jacob picked out his pumpkins and pulled them around in the red wagon. I am just glad he didn't want me to pull him around in the red wagon!

Jacob is 2!

Jacob turned two on the 10th of October. Daniel and I got him an ice cream cone and let him get messy. Ice cream ended up getting everywhere, which is why it is a special occasion when he gets an ice cream cone.
I love this picture not only because I think my son is adorable, but because of the poster in the background.
Jacob blew out his own candles this year! He wanted to play with the toy animals on the cake so bad that he wouldn't smile until the giraffe was in his hands.
My parents got him a huge dinosaur floor puzzle, I think my Dad and Richie where more excited about the puzzle then Jacob! Dan and Jacob ( mostly Dan) put the puzzle together about every other night, and Jacob will sit there and point out the different dinosaurs.
Jacob is getting so big! It is weird to think he is going to be the older brother soon, my baby is becoming a little boy! Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated his birthday with us.