We Went to the Wiggles!

Last Sunday, we took the girls to see the Wiggles. Grace was too little to go when we went last summer, so this was her year, especially since this tour is the last one for Greg, Murray, and Jeff because they are retiring.

Here are the girls posing at home with the bone they decorated for Wags the Dog. If you look closely, you can see on the right where Ella wrote her name--pretty good for a 3.5 year old!

 Here is the other side . . .

 On the road . . . we had to drive to San Jose.

Here is the stage before the show with Kurt and Ella there on the lower right.

Mommy waited in a "line" for what seemed like forever to get these shirts.

 I like the genuine smile in this one . . . Ella won't give me posed genuine smiles much anymore.

 Dancing in the aisle . . .

 Ella gave Greg, the yellow Wiggle, the rose for Dorothy the Dinosaur.

Mommy and her girls . . .



 As Aunt Toni Wilder pointed out on facebook, "Grace takes after our side of the family."



Walter Arrived . . . Two Months Ago!

Walter Allen Christopher Grahl arrived at 3:38 am on May 18th. He was 8.4 pounds and 19 inches long. I only had to endure about three hours of labor and about five minutes of pushing, but when you do it naturally, it feels like FOREVER. Ladies, don't feel pressured to go all natural because it really really really really hurts if you do. Even though I had Grace only two years ago, I forgot how much it hurts. I'm forgetting even now what the pain felt like with Walter, but I know it was excruciating.

But I digress . . .

The important fact is that we have an absolute angel. Walter is so mellow and happy and healthy, praise the Lord.

Here he is at about 20 minutes old :)

Resting comfortably after his first bath . . .

 Dad looks pretty good for three hours of sleep . . . he went to bed around 11 pm and I woke him up at 2 am to go to the hospital.

 Grandma Grahl was in town to help out, so after getting the girls breakfast, they all came over to the hospital to see Walter.

 Wow! I'm a mother of three!

 When I first held him and looked into his eyes, I saw my mother's father (Grandpa Ernie) in him. My mother also had the same "almond eyes" when she was born.

 Here's my chauffeur and ride out of the hospital . . . I think the guy posing in the background was just out for a smoke.

 Walter at home--so tiny--so precious!

 Aunt Tracey came down for the weekend to meet Walter.

He's yawning, not crying. Tracey is a very experienced aunt.

 The blessing of those first few weeks is how much they sleep!

 Ella still asks if she can hold him everyday.

 Aunt Sandra often had her hands full :)

 Ella tells me all the time, "I love my baby brudder."

 Walter and Kurt share one of their first father/son moments :)

 Grace loves to get down on the floor and lie next to him.