Our Latest Addition...

Annemarie with her eyes open

We had a great delivery and hospital stay. I'm still amazed how quickly those first couple of days go and surprised at what it feels like to leave the hospital with such precious cargo. For those of you who haven't heard details, here are a few...

I started having consistant contractions on Tuesday and went into the hospital to be checked. With Jack I wasn't even aware that I was in labor (I made it to six centimeters without feeling my contractions) so for some reason I was worried I wouldn't make it to the hospital in time. Of course the hospital is less than two minutes away so this was kind of ridiculous. Anyhow, we arrived at the hospital and I was in early labor. We were given the option to go home and come back (the nurse and my doctor were sure I'd be back that night) so we headed home since Erin was arriving from Oregon that night. We figured we'd watch some TV, eat dinner, Doug would pick up Erin and then we could go back to the hospital. Unfortunately after dinner all contractions completely stopped. I was so disappointed!

Thankfully everything started up again on Thursday. We arrived at the hospital around 9p, checked in and waited for the action to begin. What a quiet and boring night - I did not progress far and by morning my doctor started me on petocin, since she had broken my water the night before. That got things going again. I decided to have an epidural just like I'd had with the boys. I was nice and comfortable for about an hour or two and then ended up pushing for about 15 minutes. We were blessed with the arrival of a healthy and perfect baby girl.

Annemarie was born Friday afternoon and we were released from the hospital Sunday afternoon. Below are a few pictures from our hospital stay or as I like to refer to it - my vacation...

The first bath was not a hit. This child detests being changed and likes to let you know just how upset she is. Though she's quiet most of the time she does have a set of pipes.

Right after the bath, under the heat lamp she was able to get cozy and comfortable.

Annemarie is a great eater and my milk has already started to come in. Here she is sucking on her fingers after finishing her last meal.

A look and sound I'm already really familiar with. She's loud!

Looking so small in her carseat. All set and ready for the ride home from the hospital.

Annemarie Kate - born 4.11.08 - 6lbs 9oz

She's here! And even a few days early. We welcome the arrival of our daughter and third child, Annemarie Kate Peppmeier. She was born at 1:12p on Friday and is over two pounds smaller than both her brothers were. Here's her first picture - about a minute or so old. I look a little dazed, still cannot believe she's here!

On the scale, right after she was born

The proud daddy

First visit with Aunt Erin

Meeting BIG brother Jack

Getting a snuggle from BIG brother Will

I have more pictures from our hospital stay and will be posting them soon. We're all at home, Erin is staying with us until April 18 and then Tutu (my mom) arrives. We are so lucky to have so many people who what to come and help. Everyone is doing really well. Check back soon!

Name Game

Captain Jack

During these last couple of months there has been a lot of focus on our third child's name. Of course there continues to be speculation that we'll name her Grace, which people find entertaining due to the sitcom. Though I must admit Will and Jack seem to be a common sibling combination, I've seen it a couple of times. However, today I realized there's another popular movie series out there that also contain the names Captain Jack Sparrow and Will Turner. So if instead of going the Will & Grace route there's also the Pirates of the Caribbean option, and the girl's name was Elizabeth, which I do like.

What prompted this thought? Will and Jack attended a birthday party this afternoon with a pirate theme. Jack has enjoyed wearing his bandanna very much and I've been calling him Captain Jack.

Baby Showers!

So, this is what 38+ weeks look like! I've been very blessed these last few weeks. Two baby showers and lots of nice gifts. First my friends Stef and Gina threw me a surprise shower here in Montana. I was completely surprised and was treated to an evening of wonderful food, company and of course beautiful gifts. Next, Nancy Hoffert Chris's cousin hosted a baby shower in Oregon. All the guests got together with unwrapped gifts shared them with each other and then wrapped them and sent them to me! I had such a great time opening all the gifts and looking through the pictures. Everyone was so thoughful and made me feel so special.
In other baby news...my 38 week appointment was yesterday and things are progressing. I'm pretty sure this baby will arrive early. I'm trying to take it easy - Erin's coming out to help but the soonest she'll be able to arrive is next week. Not sure if I'll last that long, but I'm trying!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Jack & Will with ALL the gifts

"Yay! Spider-Man hat!"

Opening the bulldozer Opah sent

Will jumped on the table he was so excited about the pirate ship

Playing with the gifts

Re-lighting the candles

Our birthday boy!

Jack is three! We had such a great day celebrating his birthday. Jack is such a brilliant and fun boy. He has become quite stubborn and sassy. He loves picking out his clothes in the morning and getting dressed, all by himself. He even lays all his clothes out before putting them on, which I find entertaining, I just have to remember to give us enough time for this new ritual. Jack is 37 inches tall and 34 pounds (Will is 40 inches and 36 pounds). Jack is enjoying school twice a week and loves going to swim lessons. He loves playing outside and jumping on his indoor trampoline. He plays very well on his own (usually with trains or Legos) and is pretty good at sharing and playing with Will. He even puts his toys away, which I really appreciate.

Today started when I awoke to two little voices via our monitor. It was Will and Jack having a very nice conversation. (Doug plays basketball on Friday mornings so I usually need to get up with the boys.) Then I heard Will say "let's open another birthday present." That of course caused me to literally leap out of bed as soon as I heard them running up the stairs. Of course I had to intervene. I gathered the gift they had already opened and re-wrapped it. Next we had breakfast and then headed out of the house for some preschool screening/assessment fun at the local middle school. As I've always assumed both children are right where they should be, and they are. In some areas they even excel. Both enjoyed all the questions and tasks. At one point a lady asked Jack how old he was and he said, "Three, today. It's my birthday!" Then he added, "I got a Spider-Man hat! But Mom took it away." I then had to explain myself and that we were waiting until later in the day to open the gifts. Next the boys went to the Wave to play and I went to my 38 week appointment (things are moving along, the baby sister may arrive a little early!). Then I picked up the boys and we headed to Kalispell to meet Doug for a quick trip to Costco. (Apparently I'm still nesting, we picked some more shelving for our laundry room.) After Costco we headed home for lunch and then back to the Wave for swimming. Both boys are taking lessons and love to get their faces wet and dive (from within the pool) into the water. It's so fun to watch how much they've learned and watch them progress. After a long swim we headed home for much needed naps.

Jack's birthday celebration began with dinner of his choice (hot dogs and fruit salad) then opening gifts. At one point Will actually jumped on the table he was so excited about a pirate ship Jack received. It was so funny I wish we taped it. Doug and I could not stop laughing. Next we had a video call from Tutu and Aunt Erin and then of course cupcakes for dessert. We had such a fabulous and fun day. Happy Birthday Jack!

Doug Getting Ready for Baby...

24 Inches in 24 Hours...

Doug thigh-high

Scott Larkin knee-deep

Even though the mountain will be closing next week for the season, the snow continues to pile up. Here are some photos from this past weekend of Scott and myself enjoying what the last storm left behind for us to play in. Keep in mind, this is the end of March.

Boys' Bedroom

Another project completed! The beadboard in the boys bedroom was painted last week, and we finished putting items on the walls. The long shelf holds all their "treasures" as I like to call them. Also, above their beds are vintage reading flash cards that just happen to be their names. My Aunt Pat sent them to us a while back and I've been waiting for the perfect place to hang them. I consider them my "treasures". I love them! The bedroom is huge - roughly 17' x 11' so there's plenty of room for them to run in circles trying to catch the other (as they did the other night) and plenty of room for wrestling and playing. I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Springtime in Whitefish

Spring has been in the air. Streets and yards were no longer covered in snow, but look what we woke up to this morning...
So, those of you coming to visit in the next month or so, snow is ALWAYS a possibility!

Jack's First Day of School

Jack is so big! He started preschool today. His program is Monday and Wednesdays from 9-12. Today was his first day and he did great! The class is a nice size, only 8-10 children and most of them are three-years-olds. He was very excited to get to school. When we got there he ran into the classroom, turned to give me a hug and kiss and was off and exploring. His teachers said he did really well. I hope he really enjoys this fun time to get away from all of us and do something on his own.

Happy Easter!

posing with Easter baskets

Jack & Doug working on a sticker book

Happy Easter everyone! We had a very nice and relaxing holiday. The boys were very excited to discover the Easter Bunny had left some treats for them this morning. Even more amazing they were willing to leave their baskets for Mass at 8:30a. The church was packed, but thankfully we had seats and the boys especially Will, were very well behaved. We drove into Kalispell for some coffee then came home. I made brunch while the boys ate tons of candy and Doug helped them with their new sticker books. Basketball (March Madness) has been on our TV constantly since Thursday so we've been enjoying the tournament. This afternoon everyone took a much needed nap. It's been a great day!

Getting Organized

taking a ride

"chillin" in the wine cellar

We continue to finish up projects and get organized. All the trim and beadboard in the basement was painted this week. We opted for enamel since it's so tough, and the boys can be pretty rough on their surroundings. We survived living on one level for a couple of days. The boys even camped out in our bedroom last night and were very excited to be sleeping in sleeping bags. I'm excited they are back in their rooms tonight. Our wine cellar/storage room has a fresh coat of paint - online we've located some very cool wine racks that attach to the wall. We should be getting those soon. This weekend we'll spend getting the basement back in order. Once everything is in it's place and items hung on the walls I'll be sure to post some pictures. We've done a lot of work down there, but I feel it's really added value to the house.

Big Accomplishments

This entry is all about Jack. Today he did something that totally surprised me AND also reminded me that he's getting older. First off, I recently organized the playroom downstairs so it's easier for the boys to find things and put toys away in their designated spots. The boys are pretty good at putting things away, but usually I'm right there on top of them directing the whole effort. Today Jack was playing downstairs by himself and was working on putting together the train set. I went down and checked on him a couple of times, he was having a great time. Anyhow after a while he came back upstairs to have a snack. I went downstairs expecting to find the train still out...but he had picked everything up!! I was so surprised and thrilled! I figure I need to document this kind of stuff.
The other big deal is that Jack is almost a 100% potty trained. He's had a few accidents off and on, but today he stayed dry the entire day and went to the bathroom without being reminded. He's such a big kid! Slowly I'll have to start weening him off the jelly bean reward he's grown accustom to, but right now I'm thrilled not to be buying diapers, even if it's only for a month.

Another Project

Doug rewiring the "wine cellar"
Will & Jack in the workshop

I think Doug might be nesting. This weekend he came to me and actually said, "I need a project". Unfortunately for him the ones he suggested I didn't agree with were a priority, but we did agree on emptying the smaller storage room which we call the wine cellar because it's the perfect size for one, and it's the only unheated interior space in the house. There was some rickety shelving and wires hanging down from the ceiling. Also, we had a pipe break in there a couple of months back, so Doug has been doing some plumbing, electrical work and will be replacing the sorry ceiling with new Sheetrock. We're planning to have all the trim and wainscoting downstairs painted (by professionals) so we figured they could paint that space as well. We plan to use it for excess toy storage and possibly wine. What a combo!

Done!

the updated kitchen

"Sparky" at work

before

after

before

after

The kitchen update is complete! And just under two weeks! We're very happy with our new appliances, granite countertops and new hardware. I'm not sure if the pictures do it justice. We did stick with the same paint color and it will probably be a while until we can update the floors. But until then we'll be enjoying all the new perks in our "new" kitchen.

Boys at Play

Will and Jack are at such a fun stage right now. They are really good pals and have learned that each other is a pretty good play companion. I think it helps that Jack usually does what Will wants and at times they actually share toys with each other. The other afternoon they were playing "race car driver" which included wearing hats and work goggles and running around like crazy. It was just so funny to me that not only had Will come up with this game and the outfit to go with it, but Jack was also more than happy to join in in the fun. I hope they are the best of friends for years to come. They are so lucky to have each other.

Kitchen Remodel

It's funny how some projects come to be. Our kitchen was fine. All the appliances matched, the cabinets are nice and over all it was in pretty good shape. However, a few months ago our built-in microwave started to spark (as in almost catch on fire) each time I'd try to warm something up. Then our dishwasher started, shall we say, not working so hard. And the last straw was two weeks ago when our range died. So the dilema became, just replace the appliances with similar white ones, or buy stainless steel appliances which we've always liked? Of course if we purchased the stainless then they wouldn't really go with the kitchen. In comes the kitchen remodel - so we're updating the countertops, removed all of the old tile backsplash, are putting in a new sink and updating all the cabinet hardware. So overall, it's not a completely new kitchen, but an updated one.

Of course the hardest part of the whole project...not having a kitchen to cook in or prepare food in. We've been eating out almost every day and Doug and I are especially tired of take-out. We're really looking forward to the project being completed. The thin layer of dust that is currently covering the entire main level of the house is also driving me crazy, but we're close to finishing up. Over all this project will take less than two weeks to complete. When you look at it that way, that's not too bad. The new countertops arrive tomorrow and our appliances should be here no later than Wednesday. I'll post pictures as soon as it's completed.

Nesting

master bedroom before

master bedroom after

freshly painted main floor hallway aka "the gallery"

It has been brought to my attention by my live in handyman (Doug) that I have some serious nesting going on. I of course just feel this uncontrolable urge to update, organize and cleanout every square inch of our house. If that sounds like nesting...so be it. : )

This weekend we got lots done. Painted the master bedroom, hung curtains and repostioned some furniture. Also, we painted the den (not pictured, it's still a mess) and the main floor hallway. All our pictures are hung and I'm so happy with everything. Lucky me! Lucky Doug!