Poor Merced

From yahoo real estate...

"Merced, Calif., is a quiet, residential city an easy drive from Yosemite National and Pacific Coast beaches. It's also a perfect case study for the aftermath of the housing crisis. Homes at the median level in Merced have lost 62% of their value from the second quarter of 2006, when they peaked at $336,743, the biggest drop anywhere in the country, according to data provided to Forbes by Local Market Monitor, a Cary, North Carolina-based real estate research firm. Earlier, home building and buying grew exponentially in Merced, but the metro now suffers from a whopping 16.4% unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reflecting a drop-off in building industry jobs and a grim housing market."

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/cities-where-homes-are-losing-most-value

Poor Merced. Poor us. Will it ever recover???

Taking Pictures

I tried to take some pictures today... Samantha cried everytime I put her down (it's amazing that I got the ones I did). Grant has decided that he loves having his picture taken (or at least the flash) so he often gives me a HUGE cheezy smile when I bring out the camera. It's been quite fun the last few weeks.

Grant's Animal Sounds

Why I love him!

We took family pictures last weekend and in order to help Grant smile, Nick made his elephant sound. When I saw the picture taken in the process of this sound, I had to blow it up! Grant loves his Daddy, probably because he is so darn funny (looking! -- ha ha ha).

Cute Grant moment

I can't believe how much Grant picks up -- he is such a little sponge.

Today, he played a short song on his little xylophone and then folded his arms, talked for 10 seconds or so, and said "amen." He did it 2 or 3 times too, so I'm not just imagining things! This was particularly cute because songs in our church meetings are often followed by a prayer, during which we fold our arms, and end with amen! SO CUTE!

It's time to start paying attention and make sure I'm teaching him good things!

Samantha Michelle

Right before we left for the hospital...

Samantha Michelle Fahrney was born on Monday, November 2nd at 9:56 am. Nick and I got to the hospital at 7:15 for a 9:30 surgery. It was a completely different experience to know exactly when she was coming. I got up and took a shower and did my hair and makeup (something I won't do with the next one(s) because I ended up putting my hair up and rubbing all my makeup off anyway).

Surgery went well. I love my OB and I really liked the anesthesiologist. It took a little longer because my doctor had to work a little to make my incision look pretty (I told him I didn't care... it's not like I'm a bikini person). I was nauseous off and on all day Monday -- I think in part because I was starving. Samantha latched right on and is a great nurser, although she's a bit of a barracuda.

I spent all day Tuesday in the hospital and got to go home Wednesday afternoon. Grant loves Daddy so much he didn't necessarily care that I was even home. He has taken peeks at Samantha, but hasn't really made any attempt to meet her yet. He does get a bit jealous when Daddy holds her, but Nick's doing a great job helping Grant.

She's sleeping well (mostly) and letting me sleep for at least a few hours at at time at night. She poops a ton (if I remember right all newborns do). The pediatrician gave her a stamp of approval. She is beautiful!

Grant's Antics

Grant is such a boy! He loves his daddy and playing rough, loves to go outside (brings his shoes to me multiple times a day), and has more bumps and bruises than any poor kid should. Within a 2 week period, Grant rolled his ride on toy down the driveway into the bumper of the truck (no bruise but it looked like it hurt), fell off the curb he was sitting on and ate asphalt (goose egg on forehead, scrape on nose), and then tripped running around stepping off the curb (his forehead as shown). Interestingly enough, all 3 of the things happened when Daddy was in charge. Hum...

Grant has been a trooper the past few weeks (well months really) going to doctor's appointments with me. We get kind of bored sometimes waiting for the doctor. Recently, he has found it to be a fun game to empty my diaper bag. He finds my camera and hands it to be and signs "more" and then will stop and let me take a picture of him. This one I thought was particularly cute!

If there was any doubt in my mind that Grant is not ready for a big boy bed, this moment made it clear (again). He moves WAY too much for a big boy bed. It is so fun to go into his room and find him in different sleeping positions.

Grant is trying to communicate with us so much. We taught him two signs -- more and hungry. He has added ball and fly (he hits his head- thawp). He is mimicking sounds, and loves trucks and buses. Anytime we hear a bus (or truck that sounds like a bus) go by he says "bus." He loves ice, and says ice, which sounds just like socks. He makes a doggy, kitty, pig, and elephant sounds, as well as the gorilla in the video. I want to get a video of all of his cute things. When he gets tired (and delirious) he spins around and makes himself dizzy. That's really fun too! He says Lily, banana, milk, and baby. I'm not sure if anybody else know what the word is, but it's the same every time. I can't believe how much he is growing and learning everyday!