Pickin' Pumpkins

Now, I'm not a big fan of Halloween, but one of my absolute favorite traditions is getting pumpkins and carving them. For the last two years Matt and I have gone up to a pumpkin patch in Farmington to actually walk around their field and pick our perfect pumpkins. The pumpkins are more expensive this way, but it's much more fun than buying them from a bin at a grocery store. They also have a mini hay bale maze and spots for fun pictures and it's just great! This year we went for FHE a couple of days before Tori was born. Forgetting how quickly it gets dark, we were finding our pumpkins after the sun had already set. So, it was a short trip, but still fun and we found some great pumpkins.

Don't worry, Madeleine did enjoy herself. She hasn't quite figured out the smiling for the camera thing. She had a great time picking up any pumpkin she could and sticking it in our little cart. We finally had to just let her pick two of the many pumpkins she picked for herself and Tori. Matt found a big green one that has unfortunately turned more orange, and mine is just a perfect pumpkin shape. Although if we had more evening light, I would've found a big round one like my belly.

We had a great time this year. But I think we'll try to get there earlier in the day next year. Look forward to pictures of these lovely pumpkins carved.

The Girls

So now that we've been home a week with little Tori I think we'll keep her. She's such a good baby in so many ways. Once she figures out this nighttime thing, she'll be the perfect baby. Madeleine absolutely adores her. She often asks to hold her, which I don't think she understands yet that you actually have to hold on to her. Every time she sees her she says hi and wants to hug and kiss her, and my favorite, tickle her. Madeleine is so proud of her baby sister and has shown her serious side as she has taken on the big sister role. What sweet, cute girls we have!!!

It's Another Girl!

Here it is! Our first official photo of our Family of Four. Tori Mae Draper became an official member of our family on Wednesday, October 10th at 8:53 AM. Jenny is so happy to be done with being pregnant. Tori was five days overdue, and Jenny was really anxious to get that writhing mass out of her belly.

The vital stats that everyone always needs to know are that she weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and measured 19.5 inches. Madeleine, in contrast, weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 21 inches. So, they're pretty comparable. I think they look a lot alike as babies, but here are the pictures so you can determine for yourself.

Their respective bows give away who is who: Tori with the orange bow for her near-Halloween debut, and Madeleine's Christmas bow, since we came home from the hospital with her on December 25. Could you have told them apart without the bows?

For those of you who don't know, we decided to name her Tori after much deliberation. Jenny and I hemmed and hawed for several months about what to name her, with Tori always being in the running. Then, last Thursday we got the unexpected news that my Grandma Draper had passed away in her sleep, a month before her 85th birthday. Grandma Draper had always been a wonderful example and friend to us. For a year and a half after Jenny and I got married, Grams let us live in her basement off campus at USU, rent-free, while I wrapped up my Masters Degree. She was always so active, keeping the big old house and yard in good repair, tending to her large vegetable garden, and generally making us feel bad that we were being outpaced by an octogenarian. She was a magnificent example of service and work to us, and even before her passing, we thought we might name our baby after Grandma's father, Torrey Lynn Austin, in her honor. The sudden news last Thursday sealed the deal for us. Tori's middle name, Mae, is in honor of another great lady in our lives, my own mother, whose middle name is also Mae.

Finally, here are two more photos of Jenny and I mere minutes after Tori's grand entrance. You can tell in this picture that it's 9:00 AM from the clock on the wall, meaning she's just seven minutes old.

This picture of Jenny was taken nearly immediately after she had given birth. Two thoughts here: 1) Aren't epidurals magical?, and 2) Let's hope Tori winds up with Jenny's looks and not mine!

What a Zoo!

Nope, no baby yet, so we'll update the blog with something a little more pedestrian. So, last weekend we headed up to This is the Place State Park for the Step Out! Diabetes Walkathon. My parents, brothers, and daughter all accompanied me and were part of our team from my place of work. We thought it would be nice to raise some money for diabetes research, since several members of my immediate and extended family have suffered from the disease.

Jenny didn't make it with us, since she's nine months pregnant. We walked three miles from the park down and around to Hogle Zoo. Part of your entrance fee went to lunch and free admission to the zoo. We thought it would be a fun time to introduce Madeleine to the zoo and spend the afternoon there.

Well, we thought wrong. The weather decided that it would be a good day to turn rainy and cold. In fact, by the midafternoon, it got so cold that a minor blizzard erupted! Luckily, Jenny joined us at the zoo with warm coats and blankets, so we were able to survive. Most of us had walked three miles, so we were pretty warm from the physical exertion. But poor Madeleine was shivering in her little jacket. It's a good thing Jenny is on the ball and remembered Madeleine's coat and mittens.

We decided that since we didn't have to pay more to get in the zoo, and because it was so cold that it was completely uncrowded, we would stick out the inclement weather and see the animals. Most of the time we spent finding indoor exhibits, as seen on the right, where Madeleine pounds the glass in front of a creepy looking monkey. Hey, it's only Hogle Zoo, you don't expect world-class animals.

Fortunately, a lot of animals were fairly easy to see, so Madeleine enjoyed herself. She particularly liked making elephant noises at the pachyderms. Here we are at the elephant exhibit. It was a fun day, but not as much fun as it could have been if the weather would have cooperated. We'll have to go back another day when temperatures rise above 36 degrees.