And Then There Were Four!

First off, a little change-up to the blog narrator... Danika did a fine job these past 2 years, but now that it's not just about her, mom is taking over as the blogger for the Dummer family!

Our family of 3 is now a family of 4! Last Friday morning, March 16th at 3:52 God 'graced' us with our newest little bundle, Haddie Grace Dummer! She weighed 7lbs. 14 oz. (a whole 1.1 lbs. bigger than Danika! I did carry her for 13 days longer than D, which explains the weight difference)

Everything went pretty well- I started having contractions around 6pm on Thursday afternoon and knew by about 8pm that this was the real deal... I labored at home until about 1am and then we headed to the hospital and were there about 3 hours before she arrived!

Here's a few pics of her 1st few days:

Welcome to the outside world Haddie!

Daddy giving me my first bath! 

So proud! 

1st Meeting for the sisters

Daddy and his girls:) (love this one...gives me a tear!) He is so great with both of them...I'm definitely at a point where I could not be doing any of it without him! What an amazing husband, father, and teammate:) Can't imagine anyone else I'd rather have by my side on this crazy parenting journey through life!

Checkin' things out...

Our Family of Four:)

Happy St. Patricks Day! One day short of having 2 holiday birthdays!

Mommy and my girls:)

And how is Miss Danika adjusting you ask?!?!....Where do I begin?

Little Miss Attitude has made her arrival to our house!

Thursday I kept her home from Daycare to have one last mommy/Danika play day together before baby's arrival (little did I know it would be that night!)

We went to the children's museum and played in the water, with play dough, made crafts, read books, and all kinds of other fun things! It was a great day!

THEN...

Mommy and daddy disappeared for 3 days and when we came home, we had 2 new girls- Haddie of course, and a whole new Danika!

My mom insists she wasn't spoiled while we were gone, and I finally  believe her...it's just a combination of the terrible two's setting in, and the changes at our house that are making the monster child come out in her!

Some day's she's great, and other days we are so frustrated and puzzled where the attitude came from. Her greatest struggles are wanting to be held and rock with daddy, (which, if you know anything about Danika, she has always been daddy's girl, but now more than ever and she is typically NOT a snuggler!) diaper changes, naps/bedtime, and tantrums!  Our 1st few days home we had way more Danika issues than Haddie! We know to just take it one day at a time and we keep telling ourselves "this too shall pass...we are not horrible parents...she will not hate us for ruining her world" Still, its hard not to feel guilty and you top it off with a bunch of crazy 'new mom' hormones and yikes, I have my moments!

So, for now we have just accepted the fact that there are going to be days and moments when she refuses everything we ask of her

And she spends most of her time like this.....

And we know there will also be lots of special moments to treasure with our special 1st born:)

Like these... 

As for Haddie, she is already a little more than 1 week old! She has already grown and changed in just that week! Here are a few pics:)

Haddie Grace   1 Week Old

Here's a look back at Danika at 1 week- they look more alike than I thought they did, but they definitely each have their own features too! 

Danika Jolee   1 Week Old

Well, sorry it took a while to get pics up- the new life of a sleep deprived parent of 2 may definitely turn this into a biweekly blog:)

Love,

The Dummers

Daren, Jamie, Danika, & Haddie

Come out, come out where ever you are!!!

Happy Sunday! We've had a pretty busy, and at the same time, uneventful week around the Dummer household! Busy with mom getting sub plans and her classroom ready for rest of the school year, swim lessons, meetings, etc... The uneventful part is that my sister has decided she's awfully warm and cozy in mommy's belly and just doesn't want to come out yet! Talk about the longest week of waiting...E...V...E...R! They shouldn't have expected her to be 8 days early like I was, but it's hard not to get antsy- it's REALLY hard to imagine that if she gets super stubborn, she could technically not arrive for nearly 2 more weeks! We're not even thinking like that- just 1 day at a time. Friday was mom's official last day of teaching for the school year, so hopefully that will help with the daily exhaustion a little bit and make the wait a little more bearable.

We've been trying to get in as much quality time together as we can before my whole world changes and it's not just about me anymore...

I love reading books and singing songs with mom and dad at bedtime!

 

Mixin' up some coffee for mom and dad

 

Yep, I also serve Sophie my delicious concoctions!  

This IS the last belly shot that will be taken... officially 40 weeks pregnant!

It's time to come out and meet the world little girl! 

Sorry, but it's a short and sweet blog this week...

Hopefully the next time you hear from us, we'll have baby news to share (wait...I think I said that last week didn't I?!?! I really MEAN it this time!)

Love,

Danika, Daren, Jamie, and Baby

Snow?!?! check... Baby?!?! Not yet!

Yep, you heard right...no baby yet! BUT we did get something else pretty exciting this week...a snow day! Mom and I got to stay home together and play all day. The snow was more of a wet 'mush' so we didn't go out and play in it, but it was still a nice and much needed day to relax at home together. This weekend though, I DID finally go outside and play in the new snow with mom and dad. Mom wasn't too capable of fitting her big body and mine on the saucer sled, so she snapped some pictures while dad and I went down the hill.

My favorite thing to do every morning (which has become a daily routine) is to come into mom and dad's bedroom and have some milk and a snack on their bed and watch a little bit of The Cat in the Hat. It's a rare occurance when mom and dad aren't rushing around to get ready for the day, or that dad is actually home when I wake up on a weekend because he's at the farm or working, so this weekend I enjoyed waking up and doing my routine WITH mom and dad in their bed:) Nothing better than snacks, TV, and snugglin' with my parents!

Today we celebrated my Great Grandma Valerie's upcoming 80th birthday! Her birthday is on Wednesday March 7th, so who knows, maybe she'll share it with my baby sister?!?! Anyway, we had a great celebration with all of moms family...

"Happy Birthday to you...happy birthday dear Grams, Happy Birthday to you!" 

The whole family

(In Front is Grams and her 3 girls- Great Aunt Julie and Tracey and Granny...the back is the grandkids, great grandkids, son/grandson-in laws, and grandma's sister Aunt Imogene and Uncle Lawrence

Grams and Mommy

What a special day with a very special Grandma!

Baby Update... 39 Weeks

(Hopefully this is the LAST 'in the belly' update before we meet the little peanut!)

Well, we thought for sure she would have made her arrival today, since this is how many days early Danika was, but obviously by the last 9 months, every pregnancy is different and she'll come when she's ready. I do definitely feel like I'll go early though, even if it's just a few days. She is still SO high in my belly and I'm very uncomfortable with her butt and feet in my ribs, but I just keep telling myself it's not for much longer and it's well worth it! I've had some intense contractions, but when I slow myself down they usually subside and I haven't had more than 5 in an hour, so no major concern at this point. My midwife did check me this week and I'm dialated to 2cm and 50% effaced....which means progress is happening, BUT it also means I could sit like this for another week! Only time will tell:) Like I mentioned above Wednesday is my grams' birthday and Friday is my sister's birthday, so maybe it will happen on one of their days, or maybe she'll have her own special day:) I hope the next time you hear from us we will have news and pictures to share of baby Dummer!

Have a great week!

Love,

Danika, Daren, & Jamie