Great visitors today

Today was a great day of visitors, rest and bonding. Ivy has slept a lot today, still tuckered out by her 12:24 a.m. entrance.

We had some great visitors today. Grandpa "Hey" Steve was the first to stop by -- for the second baby in a row -- this morning, followed by Grandma Nomi (my mom). Next came our family friends Mary Kay and Jeramie Larson, and then Pastor Arlin Hill from East Hill, who came to visit and pray for Ivy and us. Then my best friend Jeff Schroeder, his very pregnant wife Amber, and his mom, Jackie. Then the Hathcock Five was joined by the Dunn Five, as Savannah's brother, sister and parents came, bringing London and Liberty to meet their new little sister for the first time.

Thanks to everyone who came out today, for everyone who sent their well wishes on Facebook, by phone and by text, and for everyone else who has been praying for us! It's been a great day! We just need Ivy to wake up a little bit more so she can eat and then pee!

Here's our first family photo:

Shortcut to the Tummy

Had to share this great story from dinner tonight...

I (Marcus) was trying to get London to eat tonight, and he was munching on everything except for the main course, which was a baked chicken leg. I thought it would be helpful to tell him why we eat.

I said:
"So, London, when we eat, the food goes in our mouth, down our throat and into our tummy. And when it gets to our tummy, it makes us strong -- gives us muscles!"

London, as he normally does after long statements from Dad, said, "Wow!" Then he started eating his chicken.

Later on, during dinner, London started shoving balls of rice under his shirt, saying, "It go in my tummy! Muscles!" Kid was looking for a shortcut to eating. Thought if he could just get the food directly to the tummy it would accomplish its task better. We were rolling in laughter.

BONUS STORY:
Lately Savannah's found these Advent season Bible readings, and we've read a few verses and lit a candle before bedtime. Tonight we were in the middle of reading the bible verse from the computer when London blurts out, "VeggieTales! I want silly cup!"

It was then we realized that on BibleGateway.com there was a sidebar ad for VeggieTales, and that London was totally concentrating on that, and a Silly Song with Larry he's watched a few times called "Sippy Cup."

Christmas is here!?

Wow, we can hardly believe another Christmas fast approaches. It's been a while since we've been on here, but as we've learned, there's really not a lot of time for writing blogs when you're chasing two little ones around!

Quick recap. Liberty is talking, saying "dada", "mama", "more" and "baby." She's also crawling! London says all sorts of words now, and is quite an athlete, singer, theologian and comedian. We had Aunt Stephanie out here the week before Thanksgiving, which was a nice treat. She just ate up little Liberty!

We had fun this past weekend going out to Albers Tree Farm just north of Sandy, as we do every year, to cut down the perfect tree. It's funny; the first time we went out there it was just Sav and I. The second time, same thing. The third time, we had a newborn baby boy. The fourth time, we had a pregnant mama and a 14-month-old. Now, it's all four of us!

We were excited that because of our new house and its 10-foot ceilings we were able to get an awesome, tall tree. Pictures of that are coming soon, but enjoy this family pic of us as we descended the hill into the tree area at Albers Farm.

Merry Christmas to all!

Halfy birthday, Liberty!

Can you believe it -- Liberty is SIX MONTHS OLD today!

In some ways, it feels like she still just got here. In other ways, it feels like she's always been here. Regardless, she's such a precious part of our lives: so calm, cheerful, sensitive and delicate. She fully embraces the Haven part of her name, bringing peace to everyone she meets.

To celebrate her "halfy birthday," please enjoy this video of Liberty trying her first bites of solid food!

Our holy ritual of getting the "make"

London and I (Marcus) do love our special time of getting the mail. We get it pretty much every day. That used to be a chore -- something we could easily forget -- but with our special time, it's definitely a highlight of both of our days.

It started out with my carrying infant London to the mailbox when he was a wee, immobile lad, out of convenience. Then, when he got a little older, I let him hold the keys. Then, older still, he started walking and was able to stick our key in other people's boxes.

These days, our ritual goes as follows:
- "London, do you want to get the mail?"
- "Make!" (he calls it "make" for some reason... thinking he may combine "mail" with "key")
- He motions to the door. "Keys?"
- I grab the keys, then grab the boy. We walk along the parking lot as he points out cars.
- We approach a sign that says "NO Skateboarding, Bike Riding, etc." He has learned to point to it and say, "NO!!!!" Already reading, eh?
- We get closer to the mailbox and he says, "Hi, Make!"
- I grab the keys and he watches as I get our actual mail.
- Then I set him down and he attempts to open everyone else's boxes.
- When a car goes by, he'll point at it and say "CAR!" or "UH-COCK" (his word for "TRUCK") and as it passes he says, "BYE-BYEEE!"
- He basically does the same thing for any bicyclists or passersby. It's interesting to see who responds to him and who pretends not to notice. If they pretend not to notice, I either say, "They can't hear you," while in earshot, or just address them and say, "Hey, he's saying hi to you!"
- Nowadays I entertain London by jumping off the retaining wall onto the sidewalk nearby. He counts before I jump: "TWO... TWO... TWO!"
- Eventually he gets bored and we go back to the apartment.

This is a constantly evolving thing, and it's really one of the more special times of my day :-)

Father's Day

I (Marcus) am so thankful to be a dad. London and Liberty are what I'm most proud of in my life, and I couldn't be happier to be their father. God has filled my cup indeed!

Today was a great, busy day. It started with Fatherfest at East Hill, where I took pictures for the archives and had fun talking with friends. Then it was off to Flying Pie, where we got our usual pizza meal deal. Then we scurried downtown and Savannah and I sat and talked in a Smart Park while the kids slept in the car. When they woke up, we walked around Pioneer Place and got some yummy buffalo wings at Buffalo Wild Wings (I'd never been there before). Then we saw "UP," which was a challenge given our two tired children, but it was a great movie nonetheless.

A great day. I have to say, it doesn't compare to last year, though, when we found out Savannah was pregnant with a baby who ended up being Liberty. I had given her a dollar store pregnancy test as a joke last year, and forced her to take it. Boy, were we surprised when it came out positive!

Similarly, this year, our good friends Josh and Angela found out THIS Father's Day that they are having their second baby! What a special day to receive such special news!

One quick, funny story from today: London was dipping celery in ranch dressing at Buffalo Wild Wings, when all of the sudden, he plunged his hands into the ramekin and started spreading the dressing all over his hands and arms. We were wondering what he was doing, but Savannah figured it out quickly: He thought the Ranch was sunscreen! Let's just hope he doesn't start eating SPF-50!

Liberty's coming into her own

Our little princess is really starting to respond to us. We can't believe how big she's getting, and how much she's learning. She likes to talk to Mom and Dad from time to time, and even will laugh when Daddy tickles her. Watch the video below to see her react to Daddy:

New family pics!

Wow, it's been a few weeks, huh?

Well, would you believe we've been busy making videos and taking pictures? You don't believe it? Well, check these new family photos out, taken on Mother's Day. The studio-style one is from the free pictures taken at East Hill; the other was taken at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens. Enjoy!

What amazing weather!

We've been really blessed with some fantastic weather lately. We thought April 6 and 7 was good... April 19 and 20 were record-breaking, dancing at around 80 degrees!

Daddy has Mondays off, so we went to Jamison Square Park in Portland's Pearl District to do some splishing and splashing. London loves wading in the fountain water and climbing the terraced fountain steps. There were a lot of other kids around, as you might expect (especially since school wasn't in session that day), but London didn't mind them... and they didn't mind him.

After playing for a while, all four of us went to Ben & Jerry's (and a day before Free Cone Day, darn!) for some waffle cones of cookie dough and mocha chip. Mmmm! What a day! We thank God for these days because they're probably the closest thing to paradise Earth has to offer!

Watch London as he plays in Jamison Park!

Even more Easter fun!

We took a lot of pictures and a lot of video this Easter, and we'd be remiss if we didn't give Liberty a little more camera time, nor if we didn't show the new drum set our apartment managers bought London.

So here are two more videos for your enjoyment! Check 'em out!

Easter fun!

You know, I hate it when people say they've been "too busy to write," but really, it's true.

We had a great Easter... quite busy! I (Marcus) kept busy the week before with rehearsals for our church's production ("The Door"), and Savannah kept busy with -- well -- the kids!

Saturday was a lot of fun at Meinig Park, the wooded wonderland next door to our apartment. London finally was big enough to compete in the Kiwanis Egg Hunt, and as you'll see from the video below, was quite content with his one Tootsie Pop.

Actually, here's a triple-play of Easter videos. You'll see the hunt, London opening his Easter basket from Grandma and Papa Dunn, and a video of me chasing London around the Meinig Park amphitheater (my personal fave)! Enjoy!

Maybe we're done?

We have two gorgeous children, but after a look at www.makemebabies.com, we realize we're pretty lucky -- and that maybe we should stop after two?  Haha, just kidding, but it was fun to see these hideous photos of our would-be kids that were made by combining our pics... (Apparently Marcus' tan tricked the website into thinking he's an African-American.)

Enjoy the slideshow!

PawPaw and Gran visit!

Well, we've been busy this past week, as PawPaw Larry and Granny Debra came for a visit from Dalton, Georgia. They came to see Liberty for the first time, and to play with London lots! We went swimming, played instruments, went out to eat, read books and threw balls. London and Liberty took to their Georgia grandparents quite well!

Here are a few looks at what we did! Enjoy the videos!

22 second cousins (and no first cousins?)

I (Marcus) was thinking about cousins tonight. There is a very real possibility that London and Liberty could grow up without any full first cousins -- a major departure from my and Savannah's experience.

On my mom's side, I have six cousins. On my dad's side, I have three. Savannah has two-dozen!

My older half-sister, Stephanie, has twins -- Kennedy and Foster -- who live in Nashville. They are, for all intents and purposes, my kids' cousins. Although technically, they aren't full first cousins... they are half-first cousins, because Stephanie is my half-sister.

Same is true for my little half-sister, Shannon. If she has children someday, they probably will be quite a bit younger than my two (they BETTER had be... she's only 18!), and they will still be half-first cousins.

Our only hope is for Savannah's full-blooded brother and/or sister to have children, which only time will tell. Otherwise, London and Liberty will have to enjoy the company of their 22 second cousins (the children of our first cousins). Nineteen of those are from Savannah's side, and of those, about a half-dozen of those will be in the age range to play with London and Liberty when we all visit Idaho.

But really, in the end, kids don't care if their cousins are "first", "half-first" or "second" cousins! They just want someone to play with.

Calming (and chowing) down!

Things are settling down around here at the Hathcock cave.

London's appetite slowly is returning. Liberty's is increasing. London's still having some difficulty sharing Mom, but for the most part has returned to his happy-go-lucky self. He has, however, become an anti-homebody, regularly toddling to our front door and banging on it to go for a walk or out on an errand. Outings make him happy.

Illness, praise God, has left us, and now, nearly two weeks after Liberty was born, we're finally able to focus on getting into a rhythm. We asked ourselves tonight, "How much more would we have it together if we would have been home since Feb. 6?" Probably lots more... oh well!

We really have felt supported by our friends and family, who all have lent a hand. On Friday, Savannah's cousin Mary made us a delicious chili dinner with salad and brownies. On Sunday, our good friend Alexis made us a wonderful chicken and noodles dish (I'm not a cook, so I couldn't tell you what it was... but it involved angel hair) a salad, some yummy carrot (cup)cakes and a sweet card. More food's coming our way tomorrow!

Here's some food for thought: a video of little Liberty in her bouncer! She's such a sweetie!

Winter Break -- Snow place Like Home

It all started after a weekend at Grammy and Papa Dunn’s house in Vancouver. We did an early Christmas with them, and awoke Sunday morning (Dec. 14) to a little bit of snow starting to stick. We crossed the river back towards Portland and discovered a vastly different picture: Snow everywhere.

Youth group was canceled that night – Marcus was bummed; he was supposed to do worship – and getting home up the mountain to Sandy seemed dubious. So we crashed at Grandma Nomi and Grandpa Steve’s place in Gresham.

As the snow fell, there was a lot of Christmas fun to be had. Sugar cookies were made, winter walks were taken and the Johnny Mathis Christmas CD crooned in the background.

Marcus went to work Monday – dropped off by Grandma Nomi – and afterward we decided to brave the snow and try to make it back to Sandy. With more snow in the forecast, we figured it would be better to be in our own beds.

The free bus was operating, so Marcus was able to get to work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, while Savannah and London stayed indoors at home. Little did they know that staying indoors would be the norm for the next week.

The snow nearly melted by Wednesday, but made a comeback on Thursday. Marcus made a snowman in the front yard at East Hill on his lunch break. Overnight Thursday to Friday, several inches dumped here, making travel conditions bad. Marcus stayed home from work, but did a little work from the comfort of the La-Z-Boy.

We decided that Friday was the only day we would be able to try to get out to do some Christmas shopping, and so we went to Guitar Center in Clackamas – albeit slowly – to allow Savannah to pick up a present for Marcus there. We quickly made our way back to Sandy as more snow started to dump.

Saturday involved a family trek to Joe’s Donuts and Mountain Moka for coffee and doughnuts. London rode in the sling as Mom and Dad trudged up and down Meinig Hill from the apartment to downtown Sandy. There was also a trip to the library, where London played with books and toys and the parents got to connect to the outside world with the Internet.

Later that night, we decided to brave the elements by taking our Chevy HHR out of the carport at the apartment and get some dinner and a movie. Making it out of the driveway was no problem. Going to Safeway to get a movie from a RedBox-type receptacle wasn’t a big deal, either. Finding a restaurant open in this storm was a bit more difficult, but we all enjoyed some delicious Chinese food at Wong’s King in Sandy. Fortunately the girls who waited on us lived nearby. The difficult part was getting back in our unshoveled driveway. We weren’t able to get back under our covered carport, but instead had to slide into an uncovered spot. As you might guess, that left the HHR vulnerable to what came next.

Still more snow dumped Sunday. Church services were (wisely) canceled – not that we were going anyway. Marcus fought cabin fever by taking a few treks into the snow, one time coming back with a pizza from Sparky’s in downtown Sandy. We enjoyed eating our Chinese leftovers, sipping hot chocolate and munching on the frosted sugar cookies Marcus made.

Throughout the week, Marcus and Savannah enjoyed some time together to play in the snow after London went to bed for the night. They enjoyed throwing snowballs, photo sessions, snow shoveling, building a snow fort and just watching the flakes fall beneath the pink sky. It was thick with Christmas spirit.

East Hill closed campus to visitors and, more importantly, employees Monday and Tuesday, so Marcus didn’t have to worry about traversing the snow-on-top-of-ice-on-top-of-snow to get to Gresham (or take a vacation day or unpaid day off)! The free bus was out of commission, too. The weather caused the family to miss a performance of “The Nutcracker” in downtown Portland with Grandma Nomie, Shannon and Grandpa Steve Monday night.

But we all got a show of our own, as we took a stroll (with the jogging stroller) through the snow-covered streets of Sandy. We enjoyed looking at the various Christmas lights displays around our neighborhood, which looked so much prettier with the snow. Houses looked like frosted gingerbread houses with the colored lights on them. Lawn candy canes barely stuck up out of the two-foot-thick snow. It was gorgeous.

This really has felt like a winter break for us. It’s times like these where we wish the snow would never end, but that we could be a bit more mobile. We miss our friends in the Gresham area, but at the same time are grateful for the quality time we’ve had together. We just wish Liberty could have experienced it out of the womb! (No, that doesn’t mean we wished Savannah would go into labor here at our isolated apartment!)

To check out all of our pictures from the blast, click here!