Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra

Its getting closer and closer to Christmas and I am in the spirit!! The closer it gets to Christmas the closer it gets to our cross half country trip. Allison, Norah and I are really excited to spend the holidays with friends and family in New England. Norah is doing really well, we had a doctors appointment last week and she weighed in at 9pounds 11ounces. She is already growing out of her newborn clothes. It really tugs at my heart strings to see her growing so rapidly. After today's Connecticut school shooting I hope she never grows up. If she never had to leave my sight my heart would be much more at ease. On a lighter note we went to my office holiday party last night and Norah was just the bell of the ball. She was the only baby there and everyone just cooed and cawed over her. We all had a really good time overall. They had a white elephant swap and Allison and I fared pretty well, Allison scored a hot cocoa set with mugs and I took home the 6 pack of beer that I had brought. They also held a raffle to give away gift cards, I won a $50 card to Applebees. Only two more days of work until we embark on our journey home. I can't wait to see you all.

We got a little snow the other day. Maybe a white Christmas???

My beautiful girls, does life get any better?

Nana & Pepe' Croteau's Visit

Norah is 3 weeks old today and Pepe' is 53. Happy Birthday Dad. It has been an uneventful but fun visit with my parents so far. They seem fairly smitten with Norah. We practically have to wrestle her away from them. It has been a lot of fun having them around. Today we went to Grand Haven to do a bit of sight seeing. We walked to the end of the Grand Haven Lighthouse and took a few pictures. The weather was really overcast, I really wish it would have been nicer for them. Norah has been quite the little night owl lately, much to the dismay of her mother and I. She is such a good baby though we just can't get upset with her. At 3am when she is bright eyed and bushy tailed it is easy to be grumpy, then she looks up at you and smiles and the world is right again. I guess we will just take it day by day and cherish every moment.

A Croteau / White Thanksgiving

Norah Mae is 2 weeks old today. The time is flying by already. Everyday there is something new we notice about our beautiful girl. Allison and I are settling into parenthood quite well and seem to have gotten much closer. It warms my heart to look at all my girls. Stella Blue is jealous as ever. I have been taking her for walks and we both try to play with her as much as possible so she knows she's still loved. Allison's parents left on black Friday and headed back to New Hampshire. We had a great time with them here in Michigan. It was so nice to have some familiar faces around for Thanksgiving. It meant a lot to us. Nanny and Papa White slaved away in the kitchen making the best side dishes a guy could ask for, Allison made some delicious pie, and I drank craft beer and deep fried a turkey while sitting around a campfire. I think I got the best deal. Saturday we put out our Christmas decorations and watched Christmas movies. It was snowing out and it really put us in the Christmas spirit. I am really happy that we will be in New Hampshire for the holidays. I haven't been home for the holidays in about 5 or 6 years. Nana and Pepe' Croteau will be here on Wednesday to meet baby Norah for the first time. It will be fun to show Norah of to her other set of grand parents. I plan on inundating this blog with pictures of Norah so hopefully that is okay with everyone.

1st snow of the season

Norah Mae's Thanksgiving Outfit Thanks To Aunt Tina and Kerry Fay.

Norah Mae Says Touchdown Is GOOD!!

Allison Is Pointing Norah Down An Expensive Path haha

This Is The Last Year Of Our Little Christmas Tree. Next Year We Will Be Cutting Down A Fresh One.

First Week / Nanny & Papa's Visit

Its hard to believe that my baby girl is already a week old. Oh how the time flies. We can already see her changing and becoming more alert. It is very cool to see her looking back at you, I really wonder sometimes what she is thinking. We have had many firsts this week; first time out in public, first bath, first time meeting her maternal grandparents, first Patriots game (yes it is a milestone, she is going to have to get used to her mother and father yelling at the screen) and he first doctors appointment. We met her new Pediatrician on Thursday and he weighed, measured, and examined her. We were nervous to begin with but Norah gained 5oz. and was about the same height. The doctor said everything looked really good. Nanny and Papa White came to spend the week with us on Thursday. It has been a great time so far. It has been nice having a seasoned vet like Nanny helping us learn some tricks on taking care of a newborn. Papa White has kept us all well stocked in candy, hey what the heck we are on vacation right? Its so nice to have someone besides strangers to show her off too. In one month Allison and I will  pack up the car and head East for Christmas. We can't wait. I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday Nana Croteau, I only missed being your bday twin by a few days.

Norah Mae's first bath, she was NOT thrilled.

Norah Mae laying on daddies chest, this is my favorite thing to do these days.

Rise up this morning, Smile with the rising sun.

My three girls, Stella has been needy and will take any attention from Allison she can get.

Our Beautiful Daughter

Saturday November 10th started out like any other day during Allison's pregnancy. We walked and walked (about 5 miles total) Allison galloped in order to lower baby and try to induce labor. It seemed like nothing was going to coerce baby out of the womb. I had told Allison, "I am going to try to sleep in this weekend because who knows when we may get the chance again", I guess babay had other plans, fast forward a few hours. Allison and I decided to relax and watch the Alabama vs. Texas A&M football game, we both wanted Bama to lose so we were cheering pretty heartily every time A&M had a good play. Apparently cheering loudly was what triggered babies get me outta here reflex. Allison started having contractions around 6:30pm. At 9:30 they were 5 minutes apart so we called the hospital and away we went. I was so pregnancy dumb at the time that I was thinking we better get to the hospital asap because this baby is coming, I really didn't want to have to rely on my EMT skills that since acquiring I have not used. It turns out labor takes a lot of time and effort. At 10pm we were at the hospital and and they admitted us, it was time to have a baby. They moved us to a birthing room and told us to relax and wait until baby was ready to come out. We waited and tried to get some rest, it was now Sunday November 11th. At 10am the OB decided it was time to start pushing, my beautiful amazingly tough wife pushed with all her might until 11:23am. Baby Norah Mae  made her first appearance to the world. I was by Allison's side and watched the whole birth go down. The OB even allowed me the opportunity to cut Norah Mae's Umbilical Cord. It was an amazing experience, one that I will never forget. Norah is a perfect little girl and I can tell I'm in trouble when she gets older. I hope I am able to keep some money in my pockets. We stayed at the hospital for a couple days until Tuesday November 13. While in the hospital I changed my first ever diaper and am starting to get the hang of holding her. Allison is recovering well but she is such an attentive mother that she has been rarely sleeping. We took Norah Mae home today, it was most definitely the most nerve racking drive of my entire life. Norah Mae is fitting in quite well here and Stella, although I'm not sure she knows 100% whats going on has been sniffing and checking out baby. I don't want to wish anytime with Norah away but I am so excited to watch her grow up. We cant wait for all the grand parents to visit and we also can't wait to come home for Christmas. When you meet Norah prepare to fall in love, its impossible not to.



 





First Family Photo

Poor Allisons swollen pregnancy feet.

Norah Mae's first afternoon at home.

First car ride.

Eviction Notice Sent

My beautiful blushing bride has very recently turned into a bouncing, lunging, dipping and doodling mad woman hell bent on giving birth as soon as possible. We are trying to wait patiently but 9 months is a long time to wait and well we don't want to wait any longer. Tomorrow (NOV. 9th) is Allison's due date so hopefully sometime soon we see some action, if not her inducement date will be Friday Nov. 16th. Finally there is an end in sight. Allison has taken this pregnancy with the grace of a seasoned mother, even though it is her first time. I am excited to see her in action when baby bean is born, I have virtually no experience with babies so hopefully Allison can deal with my learning curve without killing me. We still haven't broken the news to Stella that she is shortly going to be a big sister but I think she knows somethings up. Stella doesn't enjoy loud noises so I expect our big brave mutt may have  few uneasy nights ahead of her.  Anyways hopefully I will have some pictures of our brand new 2012 baby this week or next to share with you all. Wish us luck.

Allison, not looking thrilled that I am photographing her while mid bouce.

Chili Cook Off

Today we had a chili cook off at work. 17 people entered their best chili trying to place in the top three overall. The top three places earned a free day off of work. I entered my Spicy Honey Cinnamon Chili with the hopes of everyone enjoying it. Everyone seemed to like it and I won most unique tasting chili and third place overall. It was fun and there was a lot of good chili to taste. I can't wait till next year.

Awesome Day In The Duck Blind !!!

My view from the duck blind, those are my decoys not live birds.

Stella Blue loves to sniff my birds.

This was the 1st banded bird I have ever shot. I have to call in the # on the band and then I will find out where it came from. Pretty cool I think!

Military Appreciation Night @ Shelby MI Elementary

Tonight I volunteered at Shelby Elementary school and took part in their military appreciation night. The kids sang the songs of each branch of the military and they sang a few others. It was a pretty good time. Allison came with me and she took a bunch of pictures for us to share.

This dudes legit name was Joe Namath!