Halloween 2011: Our little giraffe and bat

 For this year's pumpkin carving artistry, David was tasked to make a rocket ship.  Elijah thoroughly enjoyed assisting with the process.  Eva provided the rocket noise.

Enchanted by the glowing pumpkin

Not bad!  a rocket moon and star

Proud of his pumpkin

 My two little pumpkins

 Eva's first Halloween she proudly wore a shirt from her great-Aunt Laura.

 We went to a "Trunk or Treat" at a local church where Elijah soon warmed up to playing the games.

He loved playing the inflatable baseball game, announcing he was Big Papi.  Each hit he announced was a "Home Run!"

ABQ Pumpkin Patch

October 29, 2011
The Saturday before Halloween, we went with Mom and Dad Otten and our good friends Jeremy and Wendy (with kids Caleb, Leah and baby James) to a pumpkin patch in the Rio Grande river valley for some Fall fun.

Wendy and I agreed it would be cute for the kids to dress in costume. Caleb decided he wasn't into it, but the other kids all were.  Mom Voss had given Elijah a tiger costume I assumed he would want to wear this year, but when Elijah saw his last year's giraffe costume, he wanted to wear it again this year.  We lent the tiger costume to Leah.  Elijah was thrilled to be in his giraffe costume, and kept remarking on how he had a tail.

The kids had so much fun playing in a "corn box," digging in a mound of dirt, sliding down a tube slide, feeding animals, pretending to drive tractors, going on a hay ride and running through a corn maze.

Elijah and Leah were so excited to go to the pumpkin patch they grabbed hands and ran (notice Eli holding his tail)!

 Eva the "Bat Baby" showing her wings.  Turned out to be the perfect costume for her as she makes very bat-like newborn baby squeaks.  We joked it sounded like echolocation.

 Hay ride!

Nothing entertains kids like digging in the dirt!

Fun with a tube slide

"The Triplets": Caleb, Leah and Elijah sliding together.

 Family photo with Mom and Dad Otten

 Digging in the corn box

Elijah's favorite pastime... digging and dumping!

We were sad to say goodbye to Dad "Poppi" Otten who had to catch a plane that afternoon.  We had such a wonderful visit with him.

 That night David and Elijah built a Lego space shuttle.  Elijah was utterly captivated for over an hour with the building process, and was so proud of the finished product.  Great Father-Son bonding project!

Dad and Mom Otten Visit to meet Baby Eva

One week after Evangeline was born, Mom Otten came to help out.  The timing was perfect.  Eva was 6 days early, and Mom arrived right when we needed her... right when I got feverishly painful mastitis.  

She was able to help give Eva her first bath, and cuddle her when she was snugly wrapped in a towel afterwards.  A few days later, Dad came to meet his new grand-daughter, play tractors with Elijah, and help out as well.  Mom and Dad were such a blessing.  I didn't wash a dish a single time they were here, and the laundry just "magically" was done!

 We took Elijah to what may be his favorite place to go, the Hot Air Balloon Museum, for "Stories in the Sky."  It was a Halloween-themed story time, and Elijah dressed appropriately. After the stories, song and dance, there is a craft for the little ones.  

 We usually meet Elijah's little buddies, Caleb and Leah there, and Leah managed to get in this picture with Mom, Dad and Elijah!

Making pancakes with Elijah.  He announced that they were delicious.  He loves to cook.  Still our little Sous Chef!

On a walk along the Rio Grande

Eva pretty in pink, and content on Mom's lap

Elijah discovers new technology in Mom's iPad.  She downloaded some games for him.  He especially enjoyed (and was great at) the memory game.  Mom is figuring out a way they could play Memory via Skype.  I think in a year or two she may be able to publish a book for grandparents on "How to Play with Your Grandchildren Through Skype."

It was Halloween, so we took Elijah (our giraffe) and Eva (the baby bat... not pictured.  She's being held by the man with the camera!) to a "Trunk or Treat" at a local church.  Elijah soon warmed up to the games.

We tried to get the perfect picture of Mom with her two grandchildren and discovered it's a lot harder with two!

At one of our favorite New Mexican restaurants... right after being serenaded by a mariachi-style band!

curl, feet, and hair swirl

 My favorite part of holding a newborn is the way they curl up on your chest and sleep.  Perfectly sweet.  Moments to treasure...

Playing with My Sister

"Mama, Eva happy!" Elijah told me. He then moved his trains and backhoe to play by her and show her. He loves "playing with" his sister, especially when she's happy and awake!

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Eva friend James

Eva was happy to meet her friend James... brother of Caleb and Leah who are good friends of Elijah. We had a wonderful spaghetti dinner with Jeremy and Wendy while we watched the Colts get romped on by the Saints. The older kids had a wonderful time jumping on the beds, playing trains, and running around the house. Eva was thankful to have somebody going at her pace.

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Evangeline's new friend

I met Deanna at our church's women's Bible Study. We were both new to ABQ, and both were teachers. Early on she asked for prayer for a baby, and in an awesome answered prayer, 2 weeks later found out she was pregnant. Then I found out I was pregnant. Then we found out our due dates were one day apart. Then that we both were having girls! Her husband, Tom was stationed in Japan at one time, and we've had fun going with them to a yummy Mom-and-Pop's Japanese restaurant among other things.

We were so excited when their little girl, Averlee, was born a day after Evangeline. After Eva's first pediatrician appointment (she's doing great) we stopped by base and Evangeline and Averlee got to meet.  Sweet baby girls!

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Introducing Evangeline Elizabeth Voss

We would like to introduce Evangeline Elizabeth Voss, born Wednesday, October 12th at 8:37pm. She was 7 lbs 10 oz and 20.25 inches tall. 

In choosing her name, we wanted a strong meaning. Evangeline means "good news" and Elizabeth "God's promise or oath" so together we pray that she will be a bearer of the good news of God's promise.

Jamie started feeling intense contractions on Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning they had settled into a consistent rhythm. She sent me a text at work at around 3:30 that the contractions were 5 minutes apart and growing in intensity. We dropped Elijah off with our friends and headed into the hospital. 

When we arrived, Jamie was 5cm dilated and moved to the labor room. Without going into too much detail, all I can say is that Jamie was outstanding and was able to have a completely natural birth. We actually almost ended up delivering the baby ourselves as the nurses said they would come back in an hour to check on Jamie, but Jamie was moving into the pushing phase. I had to pull the emergency cord and two midwives and four nurses came rushing into the room. When Jamie was checked she was 9.5 cm and the baby was coming. 

When Elijah came to visit the following day he was thrilled to see his baby sister and to hold her. He gave her his gift, a giraffe lovey he had picked out (Eli has a monkey lovey). He proudly told every nurse and doctor that came in, "I give Baby Eva giraffe!" Elijah had also made a card for her that he placed in her little crib.  He spent about half an hour at the hospital before he and I went out to Chick-Fil-A together for some quality bonding time. 

When leaving the hospital, Elijah wanted to help carry his little sister out the door to the car. He's shown below helping hold her carrier while we walked down the hallway. Eva was perfect and slept through the whole ordeal.

Well, our Saturn has reached capacity! With two car seats in the back seat, there is no way for even a small kid to fit in between them. Eli enjoyed looking at Eva the whole drive home. He announced, "I love my baby sister Eva!"