Archives for December 2010

Can we call this a tradition yet? Last year we decided to shoot a time lapse film of Christmas morning so that we could enjoy the morning in front of the lens, rather than behind it. It was a lot of fun, and we gave it another shot this year.

Of course, our family grew this year, with Carson arriving just two weeks before Christmas day. Navigating the holiday season with a newborn and a little girl with boundless energy brought some new challenges, but the smiles persisted and Santa delivered. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.

From our family to yours: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

If you get these updates via email, click through this link to watch the movie.

We made it a week. It was a true team effort. I honestly don’t know how families get through those first few days with a new baby and a toddler at home with husbands lesser than mine. Matt has become the ultimate caretaker in every way. He is Mr. Mom to Autumn, keeps the kitchen spotless, feeds us all delicious home cooked food, and delivers me extra hot, decaf, non-fat peppermint mochas after giving me time to take a nap. If there was a medal of honor for most wonderful husband, Matt has earned it over and over.

Did I mention I’m in the middle of a nasty cold too? It just seems mean spirited of Mother Nature. As if recovering from giving birth and caring for a newborn all night wasn’t exhausting already. I like to think of it as an “Oh Holy Rabbi” moment. (A reference to a story my mom used to tell us about a family that asked their Rabbi for help dealing with their crowded family quarters. The Rabbi asked them to bring each of their farm animals inside one by one despite their desperate pleas. After life was nearly unbearable, the Rabbi asked them to send the animals back outside and their home felt spacious and comfortable again.) I’m hoping once I feel better, being a new mom all over again with a toddler still in diapers and not sleeping through the night yet consistently will just feel that much easier.

I’m sleep deprived, and doing my best to make sure Autumn gets one-on-one time with Mom every day. She’s adjusting surprisingly well, but clearly misses having our undivided attention. We’ve tried to make life as fun as possible over the holidays including a trip with Dad to the zoo last Monday and a trip to the Children’s Museum scheduled for the whole family tomorrow. Carson and I will spend the entire time sitting down and nursing, but I’m really looking forward to getting out of the house!

Adjusting to the “New Normal” hasn’t been without its hiccups. Life is a blur, but a happy one. Carson is absolutely precious and puts smiles on our faces everyday. And yes, for those that remember from Autumn’s first weeks – we celebrated this special anniversary tonight with cupcakes. We deserve them.

All the Details
Name: Carson Grant Pritchard
Born: December 9, 2010 at 11:40 a.m.
Weight: 8 lbs. 15 oz.
Length: 20 in.

Somebody call Santa Claus and give him our thanks. We’re very happy to introduce our son, Carson Grant Pritchard. He was born this morning at 11:40 a.m. at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco. The labor was relatively short, but intense. Everyone is happy, healthy and exhausted.

He was born naturally, just like his big sister. Speaking of Autumn, she met her brother tonight and concluded that he is “…a little bit scary.” Fair enough.

There are some photos posted on Flickr, with many more to come.