Baby Hawk is here - the birth!

Here, here, here! Baby Hawk is here! Eleven days before his due date, and in fast fashion at 5:13 AM.

Hawkins Nehemiah, 6 lb 7 oz, 18.5 inches

A bit of his birth story...

For a couple of weeks leading up to his birth-day, I had been having contractions starting and stopping, with many nights of little sleep, and I kept wondering how much longer I could hang on! On a beautiful warm spring Tuesday (May 2nd) the boys and I took a picnic lunch to campus and had a great time riding bikes around, seeing a few friends, and enjoying the end-of-year feeling among the students. That evening I noticed contractions regularly every 10 minutes, but didn't overthink it since that had been happening so much. At 1 AM I woke up with a strong contraction, and phew! I got up to do some stretches and calm myself down. I fell back asleep but woke up again at 2 AM with the same thing; once again I got up to stretch but then got back in bed. At 3 AM I woke up again with contractions and the feeling that I had fluid leaking. That was strange because I had never had my water break during labor before except at the hospital right before pushing. I got up to go to the bathroom and realized, "Yep, this is my water breaking. Yep, these contractions are 5 minutes apart and quite strong." I woke Jim up and we both suddenly got into high gear packing our bags. We called Gayle Woody to come over to stay with the boys; thankfully she had her phone on and came over quickly.

We left our house about 4:15 AM and drove through the mountains in the dark early morning to the hospital in Franklin, about 25 minutes away. During the drive I really had to focus to relax through the contractions, and I was texting back and forth with Fiona (doula friend who now lives in Hawaii and was awake at 10 PM their time), who gave me great advice and helped me calm my mind to be mentally prepared. I also was texting and getting prayer support from Heather, my friend in Cape Town, who was awake at 10 AM their time!! We got to the hospital and checked in at the emergency room, and then we had to wait 10 excruciating minutes for the nurse from the labor/delivery floor to come fetch us and escort us upstairs. The nurses checked us in and took us to the triage/exam room since they were full and no delivery rooms were available. They calmly asked us questions and started their procedures - but I was having a hard time being patient because I knew this baby was going to come very soon and very quickly! I tried to communicate the urgency but I don't think they realized how close we really were.

Sure enough, while the nurse was typing on her computer and taking a blood sample from my arm, I realized the contractions were nearing the end (getting VERY intense) and that I was going to be ready to push really soon. I looked at Jim, who was holding my hand the whole time and helping me relax through the contractions, and tried to say, "No, really, this is IT." Then suddenly I said, "I'm ready to push" (or something to that effect) and there was no holding back!! The nurse jumped up and yelled out the door for more staff to come: "Baby is crowning!" and by the time two nurses made it back to the bedside he was already halfway out. They scooped him up and put him on my chest! What a sense of relief and astonishment!

It was 5:13 AM, an hour after we had left home and only about 20 minutes since we had gotten to the room. The doctor arrived about 15 minutes later after the birth!!

Our tiny exam room. This was about 3-4 hours later when they finally came back to weigh and measure him.

6 lb 7 oz! And very tightly scrunched up - so he was hard to measure, but they got him at 18.5 inches.

After a long morning of phone calls to family, and trying to decide on his name, a postpartum room finally opened up and we moved there for that day, one night, and the next day (coming home about 5 PM on May 4th). As soon as we saw Hawk we knew that he had some physical issues with his feet, hands, joints - and perhaps mouth and jaw. We weren't sure what to think; we were so glad that he had arrived but we felt confused and scared, too, because he clearly wasn't a 'normal' healthy newborn. Much of that first day he cried loudly and wasn't interested in trying to nurse. It was hard to settle him down. Thankfully the nurses and pediatrician were calm and no one commented on his feet or said anything to treat us differently. And even though we didn't know what health issues he was facing, the pediatrician was confident that he wasn't in any immediate health danger, and she supported us taking him home and getting to bond with him. I am so thankful she felt that way right from the start.

The next morning the two older brothers arrived to see "baby Hawk"!

And Jaja drove up from Durham right away on the 3rd!

We love you, little Hawk!

Arriving home (home?!)

Thursday, Feb 4 was the day our 'cubes' arrived from the moving company and we had the keys to our new (rental) house and were able to unload!! 

There were some agonizing hours leading up to the delivery, due to a snow day (higher up in the mountains, which prevented trucks from getting through) and the complicating factor of Sylva's narrow streets and the narrow, winding turns of our driveway. Where was the flatbed truck to park, and could the forklift make it up the steep turn to our driveway?? The driver from the moving company was balking at the delivery, until finally - nearly panicking - I had the brilliant idea to go into the Police station and ask for help. Within minutes of hearing the problem, they offered to mark off a parking spot on Main St across from the station, and stop the traffic so the forklift could unload the cubes and drive two blocks up to our driveway. On Thursday morning, an officer was there at the parking spot and another officer was positioned at the intersection to direct traffic. 

Now there's a welcome to Sylva!! We love our new small town!! The officer even gave Timo a little stuffed skunk ("Don't drink; you'll stink") as a present.

There goes the forklift turning up the street (with the library up on the hill) while traffic is stopped

Here comes the forklift, two blocks up from Main St, and pulling onto our street/driveway

Grandpa and Timo and I were there to watch, and ran up the street after the forklift to our garage. There is a little stream next to the road, so of course Timo stopped to throw in some rocks.

Entrance to Hooper St, a short paved road. Our house is just above at the top of the hill.

How appropriate, the sun has come out and it looks to be a beautiful day! Dad and I opened up the cubes and unloaded a bit, then had some lunch which Mom had packed. Shortly after, Mr Woody arrived to help, and he and Dad together unloaded the cubes into the house in less than 2 hours!

Can you guess what our favorite feature of the driveway/garage area is?

There's Dad watching the 2nd cube coming up the driveway - and a view to our neighbors.

Since Mom & Dad were in town, and Jim was working, we were able to sleep at the Woodys' for two more nights while we unpacked a bit and set up the beds. Finally, on Saturday, we gathered up the rest of our things and officially moved over to 126 Hooper St!

the "playroom" has great built-in shelving. The Legos were the first toys out!

view of the side yard from the street above

We could not have done this move/transition the past 5 weeks without the help and support of my amazing parents!!!!!

Can we say "phew"!!

Our excitement - and relief - was growing with each turn of the winding mountain roads. "We made it to North Carolina!" I kept saying to Timo. And then, finally, we exited the highway, drove through the little village of Dillsboro, crossed the Tuckaseegee River and turned onto Macktown Rd (next to the big Rafting sign), and wound our way up to the Woody's house.

We were exhausted and relieved and thankful to arrive in Sylva on Jan 6th. And what a great feeling it was to be able to pull up the driveway of "the mountain house" (as we called it, to help Timo remember it from our family reunion there this past July) and be greeted by Phil and Gayle Woody's friendly faces. They graciously hosted us upon arrival; it turned out to be an open-ended invitation that stretched into a 11 day stay (for me and the boys) and a 4 week stay (for Jim)!! 

Once we arrived we were able to start looking for a rental house and getting acclimated. In the middle of trying to rest up from the trip and start in on all the logistics of moving to a new town, we spent a lot of time hanging out at the house and exploring the woods around the property. I quickly realized that we all now need big mud boots/rain boots/wellies/rubber boots/gum boots! Hurray!

one of the best things about the house is this play area, loaded with trains and Fisher-Price toys

Most evenings were spent around the cozy wood stove. One night we had a little sing-along, thanks to Gayle. (Don't look at my face to judge; in fact I really enjoyed it too!)

Timo loved helping Mr Woody gather some branches to bring in for kindling

A barn and mud and tools. Heaven for a little boy like this one!

We all spent a week together at the Woodys until we found a house to rent and Jim started his new job at Western, and then I drove with the boys and Mom back to Durham. The house wasn't available until Feb 3rd, so we ended up staying in Durham for 2 weeks - while Jim began at his new role as the study abroad advisor. The first two weeks were spent alongside the outgoing/retiring advisor and trying to get his mind around a lot of new information and procedures for the position.


One morning we went for a little walk around Sylva, getting to know this mountain town. (Colorado Springs is at a high altitude and is right on the front of the Rockies, but now we really are in the mountains!) It's a town of about 2,500 people and the county has a population of 40,000; a few miles down the road is the campus of Western Carolina and the 'town' of Cullowhee. So, yep, small town mountain life for sure!! More details on this coming in future posts! We're still learning...


One of the best parts of Sylva and the county is this incredible, historic courthouse, which now houses the public library. 

And here's Jim, on campus for the first time on a day when he filled out some paperwork at Human Resources and got his ID card (and gym access, of course). Okay, Jim, your turn to write a post about your new job.

Arrival to the Springs!

We left Memphis and headed west, travelling with Mom (who arrived in Memphis driving our 2nd car, and then journeyed with us the rest of the way) through Arkansas and Oklahoma and Kansas on Day 1. A brief overnight in Wichita (at a pool with a hotel of course), then on through Kansas and into eastern Colorado. Gradually our elevation rose as we crossed the plains, until we saw the Rockies in the distance; suddenly the miles went by quickly and the mountains loomed up in front of us, and then we arrived in our new town - at 6,000 ft!! Anyone thirsty and light-headed and squinting in the bright sun? Yep, this will take some getting used to. But, wow, it's amazing to walk out in the morning and greet the mountains! "There's Pike's Peak!" Gemma likes to announce whenever we see it.

The road trip went very well, and the kids ended up doing great, sleeping and singing and eating and playing without too much protesting, though there were definitely rough moments. It helped to stop at rest areas and stretch our legs and eat a picnic lunch; and it helped that Gemma had a little LeapFrog 'my first laptop', as well as other little wrapped presents to open throughout the day (a tradition taken from the Gieser side). She spent countless hours playing the Leapfrog games and music. Winner! Timo was his generally amiable self, dozing and snacking and playing. (He did have some major throw-up during our overnight in Wichita due to too many goldfish crackers, but he slept well and was fine afterwards. He hasn't eaten them since.)

We arrived in Colorado Springs on Wed 31st July, quite fried and frazzled and very relieved - and extremely happy to be staying the first five nights with our friends Don and Cyd Storrs (friends from BFA days). Unfortunately life was busy and we didn't take any pictures while at their house! But we were so grateful to start off our time in this town by being with friends. Their house is just a couple of miles from our new (rental) house, so initially we were able to unload the moving truck and get beds set up before we started to sleep at our place. That was a huge help, with the little kids to consider. Plus, Gemma and Timo were in love with Scampi, the Storrs' dog.

The day after we arrived, we drove over to the house to walk through and get acclimated and consider how we would set things up once we unloaded the moving truck. Admittedly, we didn't bring that much furniture - but we ended up having a lot of success at yard sales and on craigslist the first days in town, so all of that furniture was brought over to the house before we officially moved in, too.

Welcome! Here's the place! ...a little yard in front, with a tree and a tiny front porch. And a double garage! Awesome, and extremely important with the crazy weather around here. We've already been through two hailstorms and see why it is critical to have your car in the garage during storms. Not to mention - this is the first single-family house we have lived in (in 12 years of marriage), and the first time we have had a garage - wow!

A view of the back patio, and the side rocky area. We are adjusting to the popular use of rocks for landscaping (instead of grass) around here. Some people have their entire yards (front and back) landscaped with rocks. Hmm. Less to water, which is key in this arid place. In fact the kids enjoy the rocks. Gemma immediately chose one area that she calls her "rock bed", and Timo has taken to grabbing two rocks and banging them together. And sucking on them to see how they taste.

We have since gotten a patio table, 4 chairs, and an umbrella. It is SO, so wonderful to have a backyard!!!! With a shady place to play and eat meals!!! As as stay-at-home mom, the backyard has been a huge bonus already. Things getting crazy in the afternoon? Time to prepare supper? No problem. Kids, go play outside! 

More pictures of the backyard coming soon.
 

here's Timo crawling around the living room (and into the door that leads to the master bedroom)

First order of business: weeding! Lots of that to do in our yard, since we are responsible for it as the renters. We've also had to get a lawnmower. (Fortunately we got a decent push-mower for $10 at a yard sale.)
 

On our first Sunday, we took a Sabbath from unpacking and shopping and generally feeling stressed out, and went over to Garden of the Gods for a stroll and picnic lunch. Beautiful! (And thus began Gemma's fascination with rattlesnacks, when she saw a caution sign about them. The first book she wanted to get at the library - once we got our new cards - was one on rattlesnakes; and her new favorite game is pretending to be a rattlesnake, crawling around the living room and taking bites out of people and furniture. That is, when she can squeeze in this game between all her ballet dancing!)

Unpacking and setting up house, continued... It was amazing to stay at the Storrs' house until we were a bit more settled, and it was truly amazing beyond amazing that Mom/Jaja was with us to help!! (Thanks, Dad, for letting her stay so long!)
 

Our first meal, on the eve of our first night sleeping at the house

Hmm, now where did I put the peeler?

Happy Timo, happy to bang and play with whatever he can find.

"Jaja, first I'm going to comb your hair."

One week in Durham

We have now been here in Durham for one week! Rachel & Craig graciously offered their garage as a storage place for all our stuff (unloaded from the moving truck), and in the meantime we are based with Mom & Dad while we...look for our own apartment; continue the job search and networking process for Jim; finalize the remaining edits on Jim's dissertation; take daily walks and trips to Oval Park (if it's not raining); re-acquaint ourselves with Durham now that we going to be living here, not just visiting; and of course simply spend time together with family and keeping up with the daily tasks of raising two kids. 

In great news: Jim is very, very close to finishing his dissertation. This week his advisor gave him the green light to schedule his defense! Awesome!

And, we have a lead on what looks to be a good apartment (temporary, month-to-month rental): a spacious basement apartment in the home of some folks from church, within walking distance to the Freys' new house and to Duke Park and to downtown Durham. However it isn't quite ready for occupancy yet, so we won't be moving in for a couple of weeks.

Timo meets Auntie Rachel, and shows off his expressiveness

...and meeting Uncle Craig

Timo had a nice cuddle one morning with Uncle Pete (stopping over during a break in his workday, since he had a job in the neighborhood).

Timo interacting with Adah Joy (the cutest toddler on the planet)

 
Gemma has taken to drinking tea on a daily basis (and requesting it several times a day).
 

Asher is very attentive and gentle with Timo. "He's so cute," he'll say as he leans in. One afternoon he decided to climb up in the recliner with Timo and read him a book.
 

Hurrah, we finally got a family photo of all 4 of us together!!! (note to Nonna: Gemma woke up this morning - knowing it was Sunday - requesting her "bow dress and tights" to wear to church.)

and here we are at 1406!