I should be sleeping...

Keith & Daniel taking a well deserved nap.
Not sure about all these photos.
Ready to go out on the town for a couple hours on Saturday. Very cute sleeper, Christine!

I should probably be sleeping, but I thought I should at least throw a few pictures your way before I hear complaints!

One week old

Daniel turned a week old yesterday. He went for his first doctor's appointment and then his first "walk" to the park. He is now only two ounces shy of his birth weight, right on average, and above average for his length (not sure how that happened).

Daniel Update

Daniel pondering a mystery of the universe, "Is that gas going up or down?"
Sleeping peacefully. Yay!
Above: With his Great Grandma Snelgrove.

Below: Our first night at home was tough and we were already seriously sleep deprived. Take a look at how my Mom found Keith was trying to put on his sleeper the next morning.

Daniel and his parents are adjusting to life at home. It's a steep learning curve, but it helps that he is usually such a happy little fellow. Keith has been going above and beyond the call of husbandly duty to help me recover from the past week, and I feel better each day. Thanks again to everyone who has emailed, called and made us meals. I wish I had known how to be so helpful to my friends who have already had their babies! I promise to do better now that I know better!

Daniel's First Days Part B

Pictured: Keith gives Daniel his first feed.
Proud grandparents Barb and Rob Snelgrove.
Mom and baby on Tuesday when Jenn was feeling better.
A sleeping angel ... for now?
Bottom: the tiny birth announcement placed by the hospital in his bassinet.

Announcing the Arrival of Daniel Robert Griffioen

Its been a crazy last 48 hours. After beginning an induction on Sunday morning at 7.30 and a hard natural labor most of Monday, Daniel Robert Griffioen was finally born through a C-section at 2.21 pm. He was 7 pounds, 13 ounces, 21 inches long, and he is a beautiful baby boy! More to come later, but here are some early pictures that my mother-in-law Barb Snelgrove took at the hospital. Jenn is doing very well but will be there until at least Thurday recovering.

One month to go!

As promised, here's a picture of at least part of the baby room and myself at 8 months pregnant. I'll take a better picture of the room and the border tomorrow. I just thought this one was funny since Stella came and settled into the chair like she wanted to be in on whatever we were doing. At least now you can see my impossible-to-describe paint colour!

Whirlwind

What a crazy weekend we've had! One of Keith's former students, Theo Thams, is a finalist in the Canadian Idol contest, so throughout the summer Keith has had calls and interviews with various media. On Friday Theo came to perform at the local fair and CTV asked Keith if he would come to say a few words and then do an interview with them after. If Theo makes it to the top 3, which he should, then you'll see footage of the concert and probably a sound bite (sp?) from Keith. It was supposed to be a surprise to Theo that Keith was there, so we were ushered in a special gate and put in an air conditioned trailer until it was time to go out. Afterwards, traffic was stopped for us to get out again- I may be ruined for regular parking from now on!


A great crowd came out to support the local boy!



On Saturday evening we headed back to Whoop Up days, this time for a completely different cultural event. My sister's fiance is currently in the running to make the CFR, and was competing in the steer wrestling event. Once again we had some privileged access as we got to watch the rodeo from where the competitors & their families did. The bleachers were nothing to write home about (except maybe to complain), but the view was up close and personal. At one point, we were almost hit by bull snot. Isn't that just what you wanted to imagine?

Somewhere in the middle of all that, Keith also finished working on his composition for the new Hockey Night in Canada Theme and uploaded it to the CBC website. You can listen to it by going to cbc.ca and following the links to the Anthem Challenge and searching for "Aim High".