While Matt’s dad was here we decided to have a birthday party for him.  It meant the boys could help Papa blow out candles and open presents.

That night, we were at the banquet for the Board Retreat at camp, Papa and Grandma took Simon and Hudson to the 1st Ever Harvest Party at church.  It was really cold and rainy that night so we thought it was best to not have the boys wondering around in the cold, especially after being sick for part of the week.  The boys loved the chance to do something with Papa and Grandma and to be able to put their costumes on.

Yesterday we had a load of gravel delivered to fix the driveway.  Last summer when they redid our street, the street became higher than the driveway, so there was always a little bit of a bump coming into the driveway and back out onto the street.  While Matt’s parent’s were here to visit Alivia, Matt’s dad needed a project, so we ordered 7 yards of gravel.  It fixed the driveway problem and gave everyone all the shoveling they could handle.  Simon and Hudson got in on the action and really had fun shoveling dirt and using a rake and hoe.  We were able to finish the project about an hour after lunch so it went a lot quicker than we had thought it would, plus 7 yards of gravel goes a lot further than one would think.

Here is the gang watching the big truck dumping the gravel

Hudson showing off his muscles and working hard

Hudson on the hoe

Here is Matt teaching Simon how to use a hoe on gravel

Matt shoveling

Simon really loves it when he gets to help Papa with a project

Simon is always convinced that his red snow shovel does better than an actual dirt shovel.  Generally he is right because it is just his size and not too heavy before he gets whatever material on it he is working on

Well, by now most people have heard that we have H1N1 in our house. But to put everyone at ease a little bit, it is just Simon and Hudson. Thankfully we caught it right at the beginning (like within 24 hours of Simon starting to show symptoms). We praise God for a wonderful pediatrician who insisted that he come in as soon as possible as soon as she heard he had a fever. She prescribed Tamiflu to all of us. By the time I got home from the doctor’s with Simon, Hudson had started to show symptoms too. So he started his treatment within hours of the onset of his cough. Matt and I are just taking the preventative dose, and are trusting God that we won’t get sick. Alivia is too little for the drug, so she and I have have quarantined upstairs away from the rest of the house. The boys are doing really well, and never felt the full onset of symptoms because we started treating so quick. But the hard part is living in two separate parts of the house. Matt’s parent’s are here to help. But they haven’t been able to hold Alivia yet because they are helping to care for the boys. Matt also has not held Alivia since Simon got sick because he has so much contact with the boys. I really miss the boys and I hear them cry down stairs and just want to run down and give them a hug! Simon will call me on the phone/intercom and tell me he misses me and really wants me to come down stairs, and that he loves me a lot. Talk about making me want to cry! But we know this is for the best, and that it will all pass with in a few days, and then we can all breath a sigh of relief and all get to love on little Alivia. But for now I am upstairs with the computer getting some work done, and getting some very nice uninterrupted bonding time with my little girl! So we covet your prayers, that the rest of us stay healthy, and that the boys pull through this quickly and we no longer have all those nasty germs floating through our house. We’ll keep you updated.

Well the Wisconsin Huffman is now a family of five.  Yesterday, Sarah brought down Simon and Hudson to meet their new sister. 

Simon was so excited to see his little miss “fabulous.”  A few months ago when he started calling his baby sister “fabulous” we thought it was cute and funny.  When we told him his baby sister was here and Alivia was her name, he told us no, her name was Fabulous.  He jumped right up on the bed and instantly wanted to do all the things he had talked about doing with her, holding her, snuggling her, and most importantly, loving her. 

As a father, my three year old son made my heart melt (again). 
Simon even wanted an opportunity to hold Alivia.  He wanted to do it all by himself but with a little coaxing he allowed dad to help him hold his new baby sister. 

Hudson on the other hand wasn’t quite sure what to make of the whole thing.  He loved being here but really could care less about any of the new things happening here. He only wanted to play with the controls on the bed mommy was on.  Totally understandable though considering he turns two in a few weeks. 

Tomorrow, Saturday we will be heading home and can’t wait to be home.  I am sure it is going to be chaos for a few years but will be worth it. 

For those of you who have not heard, Alivia Joanne Huffman was born today, October 22, 2009 at 2:22 a.m. to two very excited parents.

Julie was having contractions for most of the day yesterday and started timing them about 4:00 p.m. At that point, they were about 5 minutes apart but not really that strong.  By the time we got to Awana, they were about 3 minutes apart and still not very strong.  We decided to leave early and take the boys home and head to the hospital.  It was a good thing we did.  We arrived at the hospital at 9:15 p.m., Julies water broke while wondering the halls at 10:30 and by 12:30 she was ready for the Epidural.  Just before 2:00 she was ready to go and at 2:22 she was born.

Alivia was 8 pounds 4.5 ounces and 20 inches long.  She is extraordinary and is cute as can be.  Biased of course. 
Julie and baby are doing great.  We are hoping to get to bed soon as she has been up all night and all day today. 

Alivia was the name Julie and I came up with that we really liked and Joanne was Matt’s dad’s mom’s middle name.  October 22 is also Matt’s mom’s mom’s birthday.  Very special day indeed.