Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Our two little angels fell fast asleep in each others' arms last night.
Can you tell they had a good Christmas?

My Two Daughters

The Cora Lyn Show

If you're looking for the Cora Lyn Picture Show, please click here to be transported to our picasa album. (Yes, we will post more pictures there soon. Hopefully tomorrow.) If you love how we write and would like to read a lengthy but hopefully not-too-boring synopsis of the show, carry onward. . .

Introducing the cast of main characters:

Baby Incubator / Mommy: Karen
Big Daddy Hoffman / Proud Papa: Chris
Baby #1 / Cutest and Bestest Big Sister: Ally
Baby #2: Cora
Private Nurse, Nanny, Baby-Cuddler Extraordinaire, Maid, and Friend: Jessica

The background story:

Mommy was pregnant. She puked her way through the first 6 1/2 months. The next 2 months or so were still nauseating but definitely more tolerable. The last 3-4 weeks were even better except for the weird swelling/blood pressure episode which prompted extra tests and ultrasounds and labs, which made Mommy even more annoyed that the baby wasn't out yet. (Mommy is still working on nurturing the virtue of patience.) Baby #2 was due December 2nd. Mommy wished Baby #2 would come 3 weeks early to make up for when Baby #1 stayed in utero an extra week.

Mid-November came and went.
Thanksgiving came and went.
December 2nd came and went. Mommy started to anticipate another dreadful week of impatient waiting.
December 3rd came, and so did Mommy's friend Jess. We went and got some Thai food that evening since we were all still waiting for Baby #2 to make her grand entrance. Mommy ate a bland but tasty rice noodle concoction; she also sipped down 3 spoonfuls of Chris' spicy dinner on the off chance that it would promote labor. (I guess you need to be a believer first.) December 3rd went, but Jess stayed.

December 4th: Mommy had been put on the waiting list for induction on this day; if there was room in the hospital the nurses would call and she would come in and get the party started. Mommy had mixed thoughts about that. She really wanted Baby #2 out ASAP, but also wanted Baby #2 to come out on her own without modern medicine initiating it all. Turns out the L&D unit was full that day so we wouldn't have gotten in anyway except . . .

December 4, 2009: The Cora Lyn Show officially begins . . .

06:30ish-- Daddy initiates the routine conversation of "How are you feeling this morning? Anything different? Any contractions?" Mommy, feeling completely normal and annoyed at the normalcy, responds with her normal answer. She slept through the night without incident, only a few wimpy pseudo-contractions in the last half hour, but definitely nothing to get excited about.

Daddy is getting dressed for work. He says he's trying to decide which pants to wear today: the tan or the black ones. Mommy feels a little pop in her pelvis, and then a big gush. She says, "My water just broke." Daddy asks if she's serious this time, and then he says, "I guess I"ll wear my jeans today."

06:33ish-- We call Jess on her cell phone to tell her the news and she comes upstairs. Mommy is now having contractions, and they're pretty strong. (Talk about going from zero to 60 in a flash!) Karen takes a quick shower. Jess makes herself some coffee and takes a quick shower. Daddy loads up the car, warms up the car, and pulls Ally out of bed. Ally's still very sleepy but excited to be going to Ashlyn's house.

07:08-- We drop Ally off at Ashlyn's house. The contractions are stronger and about 3 minutes apart now. Mommy begins to wonder if maybe she shouldn't have spent those 5 minutes in the shower, but she doesn't share this thought with Daddy or he'd probably freak out. (She really should've bought Daddy that catcher's mitt.) Mommy's calm and okay with whatever happens 'cause she knows this will all be over quick, and they've got a licensed L&D nurse riding along in the back seat of the car.

07:15ish-- Daddy parks the car at the hospital. (How exciting! We actually made it!) We walk in, go up the elevator, and enter the Birth Center.

07:20ish-- Mommy jumps into a hospital gown and then remembers they never took a full-term profile picture, so Jess snaps one. The over-sized gown makes her actually look quiet pregnant. Then Mommy is placed on a monitor and checked by the nurse: 7cm and paper thin cervix. In normal people speak: Baby #2's reign over Mommy's body is rapidly coming to an end. In spanish speak: El fin se acerca y hay poco tiempo.

07:30ish-- Mommy gets a free ride to her hospital room in a pediatric wheelchair. (I would ask why they had one that size on the L&D floor, but I'm not naive. How sad for those girls.) Mommy hops into her new bed, and then the party really gets started.

07:35 and onward-- It's all a big blur. Mommy is hooked back up to the monitor and gets an IV. Mommy, Daddy, and Jess contemplate taking bets on who will make their grand entrance first-- anesthesia or Baby #2. Brian, the nurse anesthetist, wins the race. He places an epidural. Of course, there's only time for a small spinal dose to potentially take effect, but Mommy's grateful it's there.

Mommy lies back down and is checked by the nurse again: 10cm and very small lip on right side. In normal people speak: The exit is completely open for business. NICU nurses show up as a precaution since Baby #2 decided to poop while still in there. (You needed to know that detail, huh?)

08:16ish-- Mommy's feeling a lot more pressure than she had with Baby #1. She prays this is just due to lack of medication, but fears the culprit may be a larger Hoffman head coming through her pelvis. Too late to turn back now. Dr. Custodio (Daddy referred to him as Dr. Janitor, but not to his face; Ally refers to him as the green doctor and the vagina doctor.) shows up with a few minutes to spare.

08:18ish-- Everyone is in position now. The nurse and Jess support Mommy's legs. Daddy shows his support by holding Mommy's hand and patting her head. There's no time to laugh or tell jokes with this delivery. Mommy finds it hard to concentrate 'cause everything is happening so fast, but she manages to follow some of the directions and pushes during 2 contractions.

08:21-- Baby #2 officially arrives. All Mommy sees is her butt before she's surrounded by NICU staff, but it's a cute butt. And there was a strong cry emanating from the other end. NICU suctions Baby #2's lungs and then quickly scatters, so Mommy knows all's good. After awhile Mommy gets to hold the parasite she's been harboring for the last 9 months. She certainly is beautiful, 'cause she looks exactly like her big sister.

10:00ish-- Daddy goes and picks Ally up. When he walks inside Ashlyn's house Ally asks, "Did the baby pop out today?" When he says yes, Ally responds by happily jumping up and down and up and down with excitement. They go out for breakfast at Burger King and then head over to the hospital to meet the newest addition.

When Ally walks in the room she asks, "Mommy, is that your baby?" Then she crawls into the bed and cuddles up next to Baby #2 and Mommy. Baby #2 fusses a little, so the Cutest and Bestest Big Sister gently pats the baby and says, "It's okay baby. I love you." And then Big Sister gives little sister a kiss. Mommy will treasure that moment forever.

December 5th: Apparently we've started a tradition of being indecisive when it comes to names (and other things, too). Just as with Ally, we held off on officially naming Baby #2 until the next morning.

Cora Lyn Hoffman, welcome to our family!
Born December 4, 2009
Weighing in at 7 lbs, 12 ounces
20 inches long
Perfectly shaped, normally sized head

Finally, the big arrival..

After waiting for what seemed like forever, the big day was finally here. Sarah Palin was in town. She quit the Turkey Trot early to avoid the crowds but stayed longer for the book signing, so I guess it all evens out. The line was literally almost around the block. Someone made the comment to me that the line just shows how people are starving for common sense. And, all politics aside, I had to agree. Anybody camped out in that long of a line on a cold late November morning just for the chance to spend 10 seconds with someone famous (democrat, republican, actor, athlete, juggler, etc) is probably not all filled up on common sense.










And in other arrival news, the baby is finally here. Not nearly as long of a line to see her. Cora Lyn Hoffman was born on Friday, Dec 4th at 8:21 am.

Two Butterballs

This is what happens when Mommy needs to run to the potty in the middle of making English muffins in our oh-so-slow toaster. In true Paula Dean style, Ally helped herself to a little snack while waiting things out.

I'm okay with this morning's little indulgence for 4 reasons:
1) Ally was being adorably self-sufficient.
2) We figured out last week that she's the same size as her 1.5-year-old cousin and could stand to be fattened up a bit. (Her constantly falling pants and undies have also been a strong indicator of this fact.)
3) There are worse things to be gobbled down than something so
smartly-balanced.
4) Mommy loves her some butter, too.


Although I feel like a hippo most days, by obstetrical standards I continue to measure small. The docs ordered another ultrasound to be sure everything's still okay, but we weren't worried. In my mind, all that meant was an opportunity for Baby #2 to have another in-the-womb photo shoot.
Verdict is: Everything is still all good. She's measuring right on target. She's already got long eyelashes. She definitely looks like a Hoffman; I just hope her head circumference will stay in the 50th percentile. (The weird, deformed Chihuahua paw in the bottom right corner is actually the umbilical cord.) So, now that you know what she looks like, any good name suggestions?

Happy Halloween!

Ten Tips for a Great Roadtrip to Disneyland, part 2

You've read the first 5 tips, all about getting to Disneyland. Now here are the rest, all dealing with once you are actually there.

6. If your wife is pregnant and you've got a little one, bring an extra adult with you so you don't have to go on the grown up rides by yourself. We chose Karen and Ally's best friend, Jessie.













7. Spending all day in the park can be tiresome, get rest whenever you can. Sometimes a quick nap in Pluto's or Minnie's bed is all you need to keep going.













8. Stay close to the park, we were about a 5 minute walk from the main gate. Since we didn't take any pictures of our hotel, here instead are a few pictures of Ally with her "friends."














9. The characters in the parks aren't just for kids, adults can have fun with them too.













10. It's worth it to wait in line for an hour to see the princesses, or 45 minutes to see Tinkerbell. Especially if your wife will wait in line while you run off and "test out" some rides to see if they're ok for her or your small child.














Bonus tip: Five days seems to be the perfect length of time for a visit. We got to see everything on our list, never had to rush too much, and weren't sick of the place yet by the time our trip was over.

Bonus tip: If you can, go during the off season. We didn't wait in line much at all and didn't have to fight through crowds. You don't get any fireworks on week nights and a few rides might be closed, but it's worth it for the smaller crowds.

Ten Tips for a Great Roadtrip to Disneyland

1. Try to start out the trip with a very looong day in the car. This sets up more time later in the trip for previously unplanned stops (like Fishermans' Wharf for example). But still find time along the way to stop when you come across a giant caveman, or any other giant things you might find.





2. When along the coast in northern California, if the fog ever lifts, go see the lighthouses along the way. If the fog doesn't lift, there's still plenty of scenery to see.


3. When taking pictures and videos of the giant redwoods, make sure you've got a person in the shot for perspective, otherwise you don't get a good idea of how massive these things really are.


4.Push your mirrors in when going through the drive through tree, otherwise your child will talk about how "daddy broke the car". Don't worry if you forget, they put hinges on those things for a reason.



5. Just because you get to San Francisco around noon doesn't mean that fog will have lifted for the day. But don't worry, fog at the Golden Gate bridge doesn't mean you won't be able to see the sea lions at the pier.






Bonus tip: Central California is a great place to charge up your camera batteries, there's nothing worth taking pictures of along I-5 between Sacramento and LA. Oh, and that smell when you get out of the car, it's nothing you stepped in. It's just the thousands of cows. Don't worry, it goes away when you shut the hotel room door.

Stay tuned for tips 6 through 10 coming soon!

For more pictures, check out our other web page: http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisAndKarenHoffman

Back to Reality

We are happy to report that Princess Ally and her entourage have been returned safely to their proper homes after their grand adventure to the land of the impossible.

I am in the process of editing and organizing the pictures so we can put them up on Picasa. Either Chris or I will eventually post a commentary here with select pictures for those of you who are opposed to flipping over to the other site. For now, here's a cute picture and one that made me laugh:

Beware of Bears.

Even if they appear nice and swear to a diet of only honey-- don't let your guard down. On Monday, Ally got so comfortable with Pooh that she almost fell asleep in his arms. Two days later, he tried to eat her at breakfast.

Living Life

I realize I never finished the last post, and I'm not about to make any attempt to now. If I did, then I'd fall even further behind and you'd never have the pleasure of reading this post. (I'm predicting I'll continue to be a blogging slacker for the next three months. Sorry!) Thanks for the fun times last month, relatives. Ally appreciated getting out of the house and having some new adventures to ramble on and on and on about.

Although I may not have enough energy to blog much about life, I am starting to feel semi-human and have actually begun to live life again. Here's an update of what we've been up to now that I'm not so homebound:



Ally has been dressing up like Tinkerbell and reviewing her princesses and other Disney characters for her big trip. She calls Snow White "Snowflake", but she's cute and can get away with it.





We went to the church campout the second-to-last weekend in August. We pitched our tent right next to the Columbia River. The wind was so bad we had to throw Ally inside to weigh it down while Chris hammered the stakes into the ground. After the hard work was over, Ally and Chris flew their kite. Ashlyn was kind enough to bring her tricycle so Ally could have something to ride on-- She's finally tall enough to reach the pedals with the seat scooted all the way forward!

The next day we took a ride on Ashlyn's boat. Ally wore her life jacket and had no fear jumping into the river and loved being pulled in the tube with me and Ashlyn's mommy. Here she is laughing and waving.

We went to the Benton-Franklin County Fair last week. It was "Fun for the Whole Herd". This is the pig that sneezed on Mommy. Swine flu, anyone?
Ally originally wanted nothing to do with the creature, but I coaxed her into coming closer. I should've just followed my smart child's instinct and stayed away.

Ally got to ride the carousel-- something she's been talking about ever since we bought our fair tickets from the lady. Although she couldn't "buckle up for safety" like Special Agent Oso had taught her, she still had fun going round and round and waving at Daddy. I'd say it was worth the 3 overpriced tickets, but only worth it once.




Ally also got to see some large produce, pretend to be a doctor, hit people with a punch balloon, sample some foods, see a rodeo complete with princesses on horses, and listen to the Beach Boys. What more could a girl ask for? A hair cut you say?






Ally'd been asking to get her hair cut over the past week. I'm not sure where she got the idea from, but I figured it was about time to finally go for it if she's begging. So today was the big day! Don't worry, she still has her curls. She keeps them in a baggy now instead of on her head. They'd make a great toupee for Grandpa.

We went to the library afterward, and Ally paid us back by having a huge tantrum. She finished crying it out in the parking lot (where being quiet isn't so important), and she made a new friend in the process. For all of you who think Ally's always an angel, take a look . . . I am thankful for the kindness (and patience) of strangers.

Hangin' with the Relatives

HI UNCLE MIKE!!!

THIS POST IS STILL IN PROGRESS, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU COULD SEE RECENT PICTURES OF ME AND ALLY. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO JUST CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO MAKE THEM BIGGER. I'LL FINISH UPDATING/WRITING SOON-- HOPEFULLY TODAY OR TOMORROW.


A few weekends ago Karen's Aunt Kathy and Grandma came down for a visit. Since it was a hot 100+ degrees here and a cool 90-something in Spokane, they decided to kidnap us (Ally and Karen) and take us to Spokane for 6 days.


























My brother Kevin, his wife Katie, and our Columbia River Gorge excursion. . .

Our Little Golden Girl

Hi, it's me, Karen. Yes, it's really me blogging this time and not my fabulous husband. I know it's been awhile. I still feel sick and have little tolerance for most activity, but I haven't puked in a few weeks now. Hooray! I think my body and the parasite are finally learning to coexist in a more tolerable manner. Hopefully soon Ally won't feel the need to ask her daily question, "Mommy, do you feel sick or are you happy today?"

Ally has been spending a lot of time self-entertaining: running and dancing in circles, playing dress-up, singing, "riding the bus to Nicaragua", taking care of her babies, and fetching toys while her mommy sits/lays on the couch. (And about once a week I muster up the strength to do the laundry or try to clean.) The Food Network is usually playing in the background throughout the day, but at 2 pm I have to change the channel so Ally can hear her song and watch the people.

She firmly believes this is HER SONG, so much so that I'm not even allowed to mouth the words anymore-- it belongs to Ally. Her best performances are given in the bathtub where the acoustics are better and she sings it loud and strong, but here's a cute version from this morning. I'm hoping the presence of crab goggles on her face will distract you from the greasiness of her hair.




So, to all those that care about us and that we care for deeply, thank you for being a friend. And Ariel, we still have reservations together at the nursing home 5 decades from now, right?

It's a ............

Giant zucchini.
We started harvesting from our garden this week. Our biggest crop right now would be the zucchini and yellow squash. I checked on them one day and they weren't quite ready yet, two days later this guy appeared.









Ally liked snapping the green beans. She didn't really like eating them raw though.












We've also got some corn plants that I bought by accident. The old saying of my grandfather's, "knee high by the 4th of July" doesn't work around here. This picture was taken probably around the 11th of July and they are way more than knee high.











In other news, Ally got her big girl bed this week. She's pretty excited about sleeping in it, but here's how we found her the first morning.










And our final piece of news for the week, Karen had an ultrasound yesterday and we found out that we're having another girl. Ally's excited, I really don't think she wanted a brother. Over the past month she'd been talking a lot about having a little sister so she can put her in a basket. Ally seems to be getting her wish although, right now, she keeps referring to Baby Hoffman #2 as an alien, a scary baby monster, and an octopus.