Belly Button

Yesterday, at just 12 days old, Miss Adelaide Vivienne became the proud owner of an adorable new belly button!

Matilda's first chior performance

Matilda has joined the Little Cherubs choir at our church. It is a choir for 3-5 year olds that performs 10 times a year and is the most adorable thing you could imagine!

I missed her first performance because I was at the hospital still from having Adelaide, but Ed recorded the show for me and to share with all of you!

Matilda is at the far right of the front row wearing a pink striped dress and tights.



The song they sang was "A Great Big God"
Here are the lyrics:

You hung all the stars and named them one by one
You tolled out the moon and lit the sun.
Tipping up the mountains, pouring out the sea;
Then you turned around and you made me!

You're a great big God, a very busy God
But you take time for me.
You're a great big God, a very busy God,
But you take care of me.

You control the thunder, cause the wind to blow
Send the driving rain and silent snow;
Open every flower, color every tree;
Then you sit right down and talk to me!

You're a great big God, a very busy God,
But you take time for me.
You're a great big God, a very busy God,
But you take care of me.

You're always there; you really care
You're a great big wonderful God!

You're a great big God, a very busy God
But you take time for me.
You're a great big God, a very busy God,
But you take time for me!

Happy Halloween from the Gustafson "Ghouls"

The girls have been so excited about Halloween this year! They have been preparing all month. They went to a farm to pick out pumpkins and painted them.


They got apples and made caramel apples with Daddy; we all went shopping together for Halloween costumes; checked a pile of Halloween books out of the library; watched Garfeild's Halloween special, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Barney's Halloween Party and Ichabod Crane; Matilda's school had a Halloween party; they wore glow-in-the-dark skeleton pjs; and were delighted to recieve adorable felt trick or treating bags from Mona and Joe.

Today was the big day. They got all dressed up--Evelyn was Little Red Riding Hood and Matilda was a witch.






Ed loaded them up in the wagon and they went Trick or Treating for over an hour while Adelaide and I handed out candy at home. They came home with their bags full of candy!


There is one house on a street near ours that goes all-out every year with spooky Halloween decorations. Matilda has noticed and has been talking about going there for weeks. They went door to door all the way there, but when they got to the much anticipated spooky house, they just couldn't get the nerve to go up to the door through the dark tunnel the home owners had constructed. Ed reports that both girls broke down in tears in the driveway of the spooky house and demanded to come straight home--they didn't even want to do any more trick or treating at other houses! Maybe next year they won't be so scared. But they had a fantastic time. And they thoroughly enjoyed having a few pieces of candy after dinner. And we had MANY more trick or treaters this year than we have before. I think we only have about 5 pieces of candy left-over from the 2 shopping bags full that we purchased!

Happy birthday, little Lulu!

Evelyn turned 2 today! Late last night, when she was fast asleep, Ed and I blew up a bunch of balloons and covered her floor with them to surprise her when she woke up this morning. Matilda, Ed and I all burst in singing happy birthday first thing this morning, just to get things off on the right foot.


She kept busy playing with her balloons all morning while we got the house picked up and got ready for her little party. Grandma and Grandpa came over and we opened presents. She was pretty spoiled this year getting movies, books, stickers, play food, a "bilibo," and Jessie from Toy Story, but the highlights were her doll house, the baby doll cradle and rocking chair--complete with new doll who she sings lullabies to:


And a Dora the Explorer tricycle


After presents we had pepperoni pizza and oranges for lunch followed, of course, by birthday cake! I made a sour cream pumpkin spice cake with a swirl of brown sugar streusel, apricot filling and an orange glaze in a pumpkin shaped pan--with some sprinkles of course, it IS a birthday party! The whole time we were singing "Happy Birthday" she was trying to blow out her candles. When we were done, she successfully extinguished them--she is our first child to blow out her own birthday candles! She was so excited about all her new toys that she hardly had any cake. Although, I did give her the scraps from carving the cake the day before and it was judged "nummy!"


As the festivities drew to a close and nap time was near, we managed to get all three of the girls rounded up for a birthday picture--here they are: 3, 2 and new:

Evelyn is turning 2!

Just 2 short years ago, we headed to the hospital to start an induction of labor to meet Evelyn. Hinting at Evelyn's active nature and enthusiastic personality, the labor and delivery were much faster than anticipated!

She had grown, learned and experienced so much in the last year.

In October, She dressed up as a bee and had her first experience trick or treating.

In November, she learned to walk, and she flew to Canada to visit friends with Mommy.

In December, her language skills really took off!

In January, she kept busy with housework, and weaned at the end of the month.

In February, she learned to pose for pictures with "CHEESE!" She got all 4 incisors in the same week, and she had her 15 month check up where she came in at the 90th percentile for height and weight at 27 pounds and 33 inches.

In March, she continued to climb on everything, from standing on top of her rocking horse to trapping her big sister under a laundry basket--I have yet to see a physical challenge she's not ready to try to best. We also found out in March that Evelyn would be a big sister!

In April, I was pretty sick, but Evelyn and Matilda stayed happy and busy dressing up as princesses, drawing, dancing, singing and watching princess movies. By this point, Evelyn was as heavily invested in princesses as Matilda. She was also learning to adore her baby dolls and enjoy longer more complex bedtime stories.

In May, we celebrated Easter. The girls went to a farm to hold chicks and bunnies and hunt for Eggs. The Easter Bunny left baskets full of goodies for them, Kim and Eric came to visit and we had a nice celebration at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

In June, we celebrated Father's Day... twice! Evelyn had a wonderful bike ride and picnic with Daddy and the next weekend we gave him presents and had ice cream cake! She also had her toe nails painted for the first time, continued to enjoy playing dress up and climbing everything in the house.

In July, we celebrated Matilda's 3rd birthday. Evelyn and Matilda also spent nearly 2 weeks in Door County. 1 week while Ed and I were in Canada, and then a bit longer for the family reunion. Evelyn had a wonderful time meeting her cousins and swimming in the hot tub, taking walks, and playing on the swing set. She even started coppying her older cousins by trying to drink out of big-girl cups! At the end of the month, I took the girls to the Shedd Aquarium while Ed was at the Big Ten media day luncheon. They had a great time looking at the animals and even watching a movie!

In August, Ed went away on a guys' trip and Grandpa Mike came to stay with us for a week to help take care of the girls. We all had a great time.

In September, Uncle Eric came to visit and go to a football game with Ed. Evelyn was so smitten with Uncle Eric. She and the girls had a fantastic time playing with him and loved not having to share him. 2 months later, Evelyn still asks "Where's Uncle Eric?" when she wakes up from nap and wants to play! She can't wait for him to visit again--and bring Aunt Kim! In September we also noticed that Evelyn was having skin reactions to disposable diapers, so we started using cloth diapers for her. She's showing interest in potty training and hopefully we'll be ready to give that a go this winter!

In October, Evelyn was invited to join Matilda's preschool for their first field trip and she and Ed went along to Norton farm for a hay-ride, pumpkin and gourd picking, and met a chicken! We have also been busy enjoying fall and Halloween activities--making caramel apples, painting pumpkins, shopping for Halloween costumes, sampling Halloween candy, reading spooky stories and watching fun kids' Halloween movies. And, the highlight of this month so far, baby Adelaide was born! Evelyn loves her baby sister and is very interested in what she is doing, making certain she's not crying, giving hugs and kisses and saying, "she's so cute!"

Tomorrow we will celebrate as my baby turns 2!

One Week Old

Adelaide had her first check up today. She was 6 pounds, 15 ounces when she was born, but down to 6 pounds 5 ounces the day we went home. Today, she was already back up to 6 pounds 13.5 ounces, so she's growing really well! She's still a very content and healthy baby, is fitting in nicely and is getting cuter every day!

Adelaide Vivienne

As you well know, this has been a difficult and complicated pregnancy. Once we got close to the end, I had frequent monitoring, and very suddenly had some concerning bloodwork and symptoms to point to me possibly having cholestasis like I did with Evelyn. For the baby's safety, my doctor decided to induce at 37 weeks.





The induction went smoothly. I recieved my first dose of pitocin at 4:00am on Friday, October 21st and 9 hours and just 1 push later, we welcomed our third daughter, Adelaide Vivienne Gustafson, into this world. She was 6 pounds, 15 ounces (the last ultrasound over-estimated her weight by more than a pound!) and 20.5 inches long. She has very dark brown, soft baby hair, dark blue eyes we suspect will turn brown, pale blonde eyebrows and a very pleasant pink complexion. She's long and thin but very healthy.




She took to nursing well right after birth and is generally a very sleepy and content newborn. Matilda and Evelyn absolutely love her and they want to look at her, touch her, hug her, hold her, kiss her and talk about her all the time. We are slowly adjusting to our new larger family and a more packed routine. I am recovering well and Adelaide continues to eat well, sleep, and be a perfectly happy healthy newborn despite being 3 weeks early. We are all so happy and blessed to be adding another healthy baby to our family.

Matilda's school took their first field trip today and invited younger siblings to attend as well. The kids went to Norton Farm where they took a hay ride, picked out pumpkins, gourds and corn, met a chicken, and walked through a corn maze. They had a great time at the farm and brought home a bag of apples to make caramel apples with this weekend. We also plan to paint the pumpkins they picked out and display them on the front porch for the trick-or-treaters.







Althought it is uncharacteristically warm here right now, you can't help but be in an Autumnal state of mind when your kitchen table is covered in mini gourds and your cute little girls keep asking when they can go on a hay ride again!

Updates

It's been a while since I've felt up to updating the blog, but I figured I should toss out some information and stats for those of you who still check in here.

TRAVELS and VISITORS:

In July, Ed and I attended a beautiful wedding in Ottawa while Jim and Joanne took care of the girls in Door County. After the wedding, we drove out to Montreal for 3 days and then made the drive out to Door County to get the girls and attend the Lampson Family Reunion at Jim and Joanne's house. We had a fantastic time at the wedding, and some supurb meals in Montreal, but my pregnancy complications made travel pretty tiring. It was wonderful to get away for a romantic trip, just the two of us, before the baby comes though. The girls had a great time with their grandparents, even though we know they were a lot of work; and it was lovely to see the whole family together--especially all 8 children!




In August, Ed went up to Bent's Camp in northern Wisconsin with his friends, Kian, Eddie and Hyong, for their annual guys trip. They had a great time fishing and doing "guy stuff" at the resort in the woods and became local ledgends at the bar. Ed caught a muskee and he and Kian were even chased by a bear, making the trip quite memorable! While he was gone, my dad came out to visit and help me with the girls. He really was a God-send, playing and having fun with the girls, helping prepare meals, cleaning up and really letting me get some rest. He also helped me get some organizational and handy-man projects done around the house. I'm so thankful for his help.

At the end of August, Mona and Joe came out to visit on their way to South Dakota. We had a great visit and Matilda and Evelyn had a fantastic time giving high-fives, twirling with uncle Joe, playing dress-up and playing with the magnetic paper doll Mona brought along. It was a short, but really nice visit.

Ed was invited to the Big Ten media day luncheon in down town Chicago this year, so we all went down town together and while he was rubbing elbows with boosters and coaches, I took the girls to their first trip to the Shedd Aquarium! It was my first visit too! They really enjoyed watching the 4D Dora movie and were enthralled with the dolphins, whales and penguins. We're looking forward to taking them back in the winter when it's not so crowded so they won't have to stay in their stroller the whole time and can really get a look at all the exhibits.

Ed and I went to the Wisconsin season-opener vs. UNLV. The seats are amazing up in a luxury box with private restrooms, temperature control and wait staff. We had a great time and I'm looking forward to the next game. Uncle Eric came out for the Oregon State game and the girls were absolutely delighted to see him. Evelyn is particularly enamoured and asks about him frequently.

MATILDA:

Matilda turned 3 this summer. She had her 3 year well-child check up in August and did a spectacular job. She was very polite, friendly and not scared in the least. She let the doctor check everything he needed the check and came out with a clean bill of health. She's 35 pounds and at least 38 3/4 inches tall (she kept ducking whenever the nurse brought the level down to her head). She is still very tall and very lean for her age. She and Evelyn are within 1 pound of eachother! She also recently had her first dental check up. She was exceptionally cooperative at the dentist as well and recieved tons of compliments on both her behavior and her healthy teeth!
Matilda's preschool started on September 12. She's in the 2-3 year old class twice a week and having a great time learning about the calendar and weather and letters and numbers and seasons and making new friends. Evelyn will join her in January.
Matilda has also started Sunday school at church and joined the Little Cherubs Choir. She's coming along nicely learning the new songs for church choir and she sits and behaves for 1/2 the church service now before being released to Sunday school which she enjoys so much she asks to go every day!
She is getting pickier about her foods and more eloquent in her attempts at persuasion. She is obsessed with the Toy Story movies and princesses and loves to "help" in the kitchen and around the house. She is day-time potty trained and learning to be more independant with dressing and undressing. She is getting really excited about the new baby and wants to check on the baby in my tummy daily. She spends most of her time engrossed in books and imaginative play with small dolls. She's becoming more and more social by the day and wants to talk to every other child she sees. And she's a sweet and wonderful big sister.

EVELYN:

Evelyn will be 2 in just over a month, but, looking at her, you'd think she was 2 1/2 already! She is tall and strong and fearless. She has a very friendly, engaging and outgoing personality. She's learning tons of new words every day--especially animal names. We're also working on colors and number recognition and she likes to sing songs with Matilda.
She absolutely adores babies. Pictures of babies, videos of babies, baby dolls, human babies... she squeals and gets all excited and just can't get enough! I don't think she's old enough to really understand that we are going to have a new baby soon, but I think she's going to be totally psyched when that new baby comes home to stay!
Evelyn isn't old enough to be in any organized activities yet, but she will join Matilda in preschool in January. Until then, she's content to have story time with Mommy, work on her flash cards for new words, sing songs, play with her dolls, run in circles and climb everything in sight.
This month we started cloth diapering her because the disposable diapers were giving her terrible rashes. She seems to feel much better now and the diapers are awfully cute. The new baby will wear cloth as well.

NEW BABY:
The new baby is growing well. At our 19 week gender scan we learned that she is a she, her organs and parts are all developing normally and she was in the 50th percentile for size. I'm still having complications with my gallbladder and not being able to gain any weight, so I've had to see the OB nearly every week (sometimes more than once a week) since 6 weeks along. At 27 weeks 3 days (August 15) we had another ultrasound to check her growth and she was up to the 70th percentile in growth! At 31 weeks, 3 days (September 12) I had to visit the high-risk doctors to talk about the weight problems, gallbladder issues and the cholestatis I developed with Evelyn. We had another ultrasound and she was up to the 78th percentile weighing in at 4 pounds 13 ounces! She is growing and developing beautifully. I go in to the doctor frequently to do a test to monitor her movements and heartbeat to make certain she's not stressed, as well as blood tests to keep an eye on my gallbladder and look out for cholestasis. We expect her to put on 1/2 pound or more per week until delivery. There will be at least one more ultrasound to check on her size, fluid levels and placenta function. I'm still pretty sore and having a really hard time eating and, in general, feeling terrible, anti-social and rather crabby... but I'm also so grateful that she is growing and developing appropriately and I'm getting really excited to meet her!
We're almost ready, we need to assemble the crib, buy a box of wipes for the hospital, pack the hospital bag and put all the carseats in the car. She'll be here in 44 days or less!

So, that is what everyone has been up to around here!

Curly Sue

In my never-ending battle against Matilda's morning tangles, I've introduced a new (cute!) weapon of war, and am happy to report that I may be finally gaining ground!

The curlers didn't all stay in her hair all night long, but she was relatively tangle-free when she woke up with adorable little ringlets! And she seemed to actually sit still and have fun while I put the rollers in before bed. :)

Three

Three years ago, today, at 5:58pm I held Matilda for the first time. Labor started on July 3, 2008 while at a movie (Wanted) with Ed after dinner at Red Robin. I refused to believe it was real labor. I was up pacing and laboring at home all night. Ed knew it was the real deal. He got a little sleep and we checked into the hospital the next morning. 10 hours later, just in time for dinner and after nearly 2 hours of pushing, my first daughter came into this world, face up, and we instantly fell in love.

For her first birthday, we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa in Door County with presents and a pink lady strawberry cake with a pink strawberry coolwhip frosting. I couldn't make a traditional buttercream because she couldn't eat dairy yet. She wasn't even walking. She barely tasted the cake, mostly just rubbed it in her hair and enjoyed all the extra attention.

For her second birthday, we went up to Door County again and celebrated with Grandma, Grandpa and Grandpa Mike. She was not old enough to understand that her birthday was approaching or what that meant, but when we came into her room singing "Happy Birthday" that morning, she knew it was going to be a special day. She had a little party with tons of presents and I made her a yellow confetti cake with chocolate fudge frosting, which she couldn't wait to get her hands on. She tried both the cake and the frosting that year and had left overs the next day. That was also the first time Evelyn ever had cake. She didn't hesitate at all.

Today, she turned 3. She's been talking about her birthday for a month. We had a party at home with Grandma, Grandpa, Grandpa Mike, Uncle Chase, Aunt Natalie and Boston. She was excited to see the decorations I made. She was delighted with her presents wrapped in princess paper. I think her favorite present was the Princess Tiana Barbie doll Evelyn gave her. She knew today was special for her from the moment she woke up and she can tell you how old she is.

She had a chocolate fudge cake with ganache and raspberry filling and raspberry cream cheese frosting with a few gold sprinkles. She LOVED blowing out her candles and demanded that we put another candle on her slice of cake before she would try to eat it. She had a blast being surrounded by family and playing with her cousin and little sister. She told us this was her "best birthday ever!" I'm so excited about how much she has learned in just three years and delighted by the little girl she is growing into. We are more in love with her every day.

My darling girl, I hope all your wishes come true!

Happy July

We're busy getting ready for someone's birthday party, but Evelyn is already having a blast!

Breakfast in our Suite

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, we love our table!

I've been having more sick days than well days lately with my pregnancy complications, so it's getting harder for me to get around. This morning, we brought the girls' little table upstairs for them to have breakfast and snack on so I don't have to carry Evelyn up and down the stairs so many times. They absolutely love their little table and I'm so glad we thought of this so they could get even more use out of it. They sat so nicely and enjoyed their cinnamon toast and milk and chatted with eachother this morning. It was so cute. I didn't even have to tell them to sit, they were so excited to see their table up here that they just climbed right up onto their chairs before I even set their plates down! I can't wait to see all three of our little girls having "tea" at that table!

Fashion Plate

Matilda found something in my closet that she likes.

Those are my favorite party shoes, and they're great and all, but look at her legs! They're a million miles long!!!

Here's a peek at her runway walk:

Father's Day

I made a mistake this year and thought Father's Day was the week before it really was. I sent Ed and Evelyn out with instructions "Stay away for at least 4 hours while I try to potty train Matilda." I'm so generous. Anyway, they were determined to have a good day. He and Evelyn went on a long bike ride along the river and then stopped at a park for a picnic of sandwiches, cookies and watermelon before heading home to find a frazzled mommy and a wet Matilda. It was not the most successful attempt at Father's Day or at potty training, so I was glad when my own dad informed me that I was a week early, so I had a chance to do it better.

Evelyn enjoying her pre-Father's Day picnic after a nice bike ride,

wearing an adorable dress from Great Aunt Mona

that was Matilda's last year--they're growing so fast!

For REAL Father's Day, we started celebrating on Saturday. We went out for a family breakfast downtown and then walked to Island Park to enjoy the nice weather and play with the girls. They were really excited to walk on the long bridge all the way across the river and they had a great time playing at the park.

On Sunday, we let Daddy sleep in while the girls and I went out to get some special treats for Daddy. When we got home, we made a special breakfast of poached eggs and smoked salmon on toasted english muffins with home made hollandaise sauce to start the day off right. Later, after nap, the girls signed a card for their daddy and thought up a list of their favorite things to do with Daddy that they wanted to thank him for. Then, we gave Daddy the cards and.....

ICE CREAM CAKE!!!!

Really digging into that ice cream cake--you can see why it was served outside

The girls really enjoyed that ice cream cake, too, and Matilda actually picked out the design all by herself--it was a rectangular white cake with a bright red border and 2 mini ice cream cones on top.

After the girls went to bed, Ed and I watched a movie together while enjoying grilled lobster tails, grilled steak and home made tarragon butter using fresh tarragon from our own garden. We even opened a bottle of champagne. It was a nice day for the best dad I could ever pick for my beautiful girls.

And, since Matilda didn't make it into this post yet, here's a random clip of another Daddy-Daugther's day out:

What have the girls been up to?

It's officially summer and the blog is way over-due for an update about the family.

Matilda will be 3 in 11 days. She's SO excited about the new baby and has been spending a lot of time giving my belly hugs and kisses and asking when she can hold the baby. She's still learning tons of new words and speaks so clearly about so many things. She has a very active imagination and it's wonderful to watch her play, especially when she's sharing and playing with Evelyn. Matilda is also working on using the potty like a big girl and is making some progress there. She says she wants to go to the zoo for her birthday and have a princess party with chocolate cake. We will oblige. She spends the rest of her time being hilarious or challenging authority. She's growing up so quickly and I'm impressed that she is trying to make jokes now. She asks me "Mommy, are you happy?" and when I say yes, she asks me if I am all the other dwarfs, one by one, and she finds it hilarious. Her other favorite "joke" is when I ask her for a handshake she says, "no! I'll give you a PANTS shake!" and then wiggles her little bottom as fast as she can. She is so hungry for information too, asking about everything around her from her stuffed globe to the life-story of all her dolls to how anything she sees works. Here's a movie of her talking about her flamenco dancer doll Ed and I got for her in Spain.

Evelyn is tall and strong and athletic. She remains fearless and has learned to climb just about every piece of furniture in the house and definitely keeps me on my toes chasing her around and makes me feel a little bit like a superhero since I save her life about 10 times a day. But she's no tomboy. She loves to play dress up, adores her baby dolls, worships Matilda and even let me paint her toenails the other day. When she's not climbing, sleeping, eating or narrowly avoiding a harrowing fall, she's wandering the house in various stages of dress and undress. She's also getting more and more chatty, has learned to say "no" VERY clearly and is starting to try to sing some songs. The way she runs and kicks a ball around the yard makes it clear that we'll have several summers of youth soccer in our future.

Fleece footie pjs, a princess dress with full tulle skirt and a winter hat... in June.

A little scamp in her birthday suit

Little Pink Toes

Both of my big girls love to chase eachother around, hide under blankets, play with stickers, and do absolutely anything Disney princess related. They have occasional spats here and there, but in general they get along and are good about sharing their toys, space and parents with each other and they genuinely enjoy the other's company and ask where sister is if one is out without the other.

And both Evelyn and Matilda were extremely excited last night when we informed them that we are expecting another girl! I am halfway through the pregnancy now and the baby is growing and developing perfectly and we are so pleased to be adding another little girl to our family!

Easter, 2011

As most of you know by now, we are expecting our 3rd baby! I've been terribly ill and in bed for weeks now, which is why things have been so quiet around here. Luckily, I'm at the end of my first trimester now, starting to feel a little better, and ready to start sharing here again! The baby is doing well and is due 11/11/11.

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. Kim and Eric flew out from Providence to visit and Joanne and Jim hosted an Easter brunch. On Friday the girls spent half the day with the relatives while Ed and I went to a doctor's appointment and did some last minute Easter shopping. Saturday, Ed took the girls to a local farm to participate in the little kids' egg hunt and meet some baby animals--they saw chicks, a donkey, goats, and Matilda held a bunny!

On Sunday, the girls got dressed up in their Easter dresses (little matching sailor suits) and recieved baby dolls from Mommy and Daddy that had dresses that matched the girls' outfits. They really enjoyed those baby dolls!

Everyone met up at Jim and Joanne's house for brunch. The girls played with all the toys and showed off their little dolls.

Joanne got fancy dresses for the girls and Evelyn decided she needed to get a little more dolled up for this special occasion.

After breakfast, the girls spent some time playing outside.

By noon it was time for everyone to go--and the girls and I needed a nap! After nap, we let the girls sample a little Easter candy and gave them the rest of their gifts--some bubbles, a plush doll for Evelyn and a princess Belle barbie for Matilda. They were thrilled!