"Why, to the North Pole of course..."

Where did we go last night? Well, to the North Pole of course. That is where the Polar express goes.

We got cookies and hot chocolate

And then arrived at the North Pole

We met Santa and of course Elias asked for a transformer...

Emmett's First Month and kicking off the Holiday Season

Life has been full of firsts for our littlest monkey. 

Robin in his first car ride coming home from
the hospital

First family bedtime story

First bath was shocking, but now he LOVES them!

We spend our days relaxing, eating, exercising, and playing with Elias..

"Emmett, here's what they do when you go to the
doctor..."

He is growing like a weed and current stats are:

Weight = 11 lbs, 9 oz (91st percentile)

Height = 21.5 inches (56th percentile)

Head circumference = 39 cm (74th percentile)

Meanwhile, Elias has done a pretty good job adjusting to life with his new brother. The first couple of weeks were challenging, but now he's all "grown up" (i.e. almost potty trained, almost able to go to sleep on his own, and finally trying new food!). Elias enjoys his new school and comes home spelling, writing, and singing. He is almost able to write his name by himself.

We are now headed into Christmas--Mama's favorite time of the year. We kicked it off with some Christmas parties and a visit from Santa to our neighborhood playgroup.

"So Santa, I want a red and blue Transformer..."

Flora boys and Santa

Waiting for Super Baby

A few weeks before Super Baby was born, Mama's friend captured our family in preparation for our newest monkey. Here are a few of our favorite moments:

37 weeks

The Meeting of the Brothers...

This is a story about two brothers. It was instant love when they first met. These little monkeys are bonded on so many levels. Not only do they share a remarkable resemblance, but they are also blood brothers through hemophilia.

 Elias was instantly smitten by his new brother and was very gentle with him.

We look forward to how their relationship plays out over time. Best of friends we suspect....

Emmett's Super Birth Story

Super Baby lived up to his name right up until the end. Here is the story of his birth:

The weeks leading up to the end of Mama's pregnancy were full of early labor contractions or birthing waves that started and stopped. Needless to say it made Mama very tired (they mostly happened at night) and anxious (everyone wanted to meet Super Baby.) Finally Super Baby's due date arrived (November 2nd) and no sign of his arrival. The OB officially gave his eviction notice--Super Baby had one more week or he will have to be coaxed out.

Mama went off to work and worked a whole work day, but things just did not feel quite right. At the end of her day with her last patient, the birthing waves started back up again. On her drive home Mama knew that this might be "it", so the Super Birth plan was initiated: Daddy picked up Elias, Grandma and Grandpa came down to get Elias for the weekend, doula called, and head off to the hospital because the birthing waves were getting stronger and about 5-6 minutes apart.

Mama rushed home, de-Halloweened the house, ate a power dinner (who knew when she will be able to eat again), and labored. A little after 7:00 pm, Mama and Daddy finally headed off to the hospital. Of course, the birthing waves got longer and less intense (the infamous effect of the car ride to the hospital.) When they got there, Mama was put on the monitors and we waited for some news/progress. Two hours passed and Mama's dilation and effacement had not changed despite having back labor and regular birthing waves. The nice intern physician gave Mama the option to go home or stay a little longer. Mama decided to walk and see if she could get better progress than lying in bed. Well, after a short walk with lots of back pressure, Mama's birthing waves became much closer together and stronger (every 2 minutes). The intern returned and informed Mama that she will be admitted per her attending physician's recommendation. "Perfect!" Mama thought since she did not think that she will make it to the car at this point. Her doula was called to return to the hospital and the hospital staff readied her room.

At about 12:30 am, Mama's room was ready and she made her way up the hallway. Once she hit her door, Mama had the urge to sit on the toilet (think supportive bowl). Off she went and as soon as she got there, a big birth wave came on with an audible "POP." Her water broke! -- all over Daddy and the floor. Things were really progressing quite quickly now. Mama had the urge to PUSH. She was helped to the labor bed, everyone rushed in and scrambled for the birth of Super Baby: nurse was trying to get in an IV, Daddy and doula were trying to get Mama through her pain, the doctors were gowning up, factor was found and attempted to be mixed. However after 3-4 quick pushes, OUT HE CAME! Emmett cried right away and then was whisked off to the assessment table. Apgar was 9. He was born at 1:23 am and weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces, 20 inches long, and perfect. He looked a lot like his big brother.

Meanwhile, Mama had to mix her own factor dose (due to the tricky Baxjet administration system) and Emmett was returned very alert and awake to try to latch. He did great although he was more interested in his environment with little snacks here and there (for 4 hours). Everyone did great although his speedy birth took everyone by surprise. Emmett has severe hemophilia like his big brother and uncle, but is otherwise healthy and strong.

We welcome our newest monkey and love him dearly. 

Stayed tuned for more posts on his first 2 weeks in the barrel...

Our newest monkey is here!

Emmett Richard Flora was born today. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 inches long. He came much more quickly (than his brother). We will share the specifics of that later. Everyone is doing well.