Big Sister Della

Della is now a BIG SISTER! 

Della was able to visit her new baby brother in the hospital just hours after his arrival. As expected, she was a little timid at first but warmed right up and was soon her normal exuberant self. 

Nana and Nanny had been prepping Della on the arrival of baby Huck but she was definitely a little unsure when first meeting him ...

Della did make the connection that this new tiny person was indeed baby Huck but she needed a little time, and a few distractions, before she independently asked to see him. Luckily mama had hidden away a few new gifts for Della. New ladybug house-slippers and a new girly-girl skirt. Daddy helped her put on the slippers and skirt of which, the skirt last only 3 seconds ... but she liked the slippers!

 Della then set off to explore ... sans her shirt.  

 We had stashed away some snacks as food is always a good ice breaker.

 Soon she asked to hold baby Huck! 

She was very gentle and gave him her first big sister kiss!

 Later she tried to take baby Huck away from Nana ... it will be a little while longer before she is allowed to carry him solo but it was a sweet gesture. 

 And her final act on her first day as big sister ... Della tried to share her crackers with baby Huck! 

We take this to be a very good sign as sharing doesn't come easy for Della.

Welcome Huck Rainier Porter

Our son Huck Rainier Porter was born exactly on time

November 18, 2013 at 10:40am

First minutes ...

First weight ...

  

 First Bath ...  

First visit with Sister Della ... 

 First visit with Nana ...  

First jammies ... 

Huck Rainier Porter ... welcome to the family.

Daddy & Della at the Park ...

Several weekends ago, following our first trip to the Circus, we stopped at a local park to burn off some energy before heading home. Della loves her parks and loves it even more when Daddy is the one to play with her. 

Note the expressions ... Della was very proud to be riding with the big kids. 

Daddy is just a big kid at heart ... 

October in general ...

I'm pretty sure I missed most of October. Between working my pregnant rear-end off in preparation for maternity leave and simply being pregnant ... the month flew by. 

I figured we could do with an October Della update ... as captured by my phone. 

In August I had posted Della's seemingly huge growth spurt and transition from size 6 to size 7 toddler shoe. Little did I know that in less than 2 months Della would move from size 7 to size 8!  A few days ago I noticed that my rapidly growing daughter had started walking 'funny' in her shoes. I asked our Nanny to keep an eye on it and sure enough, she confirmed Della had outgrown her size 7's. I'm not sure how fast kids are supposed to grow but this seems a tad quick. 

Although Della wears mostly 2nd hand clothing I do tend to splurge on outerwear and shoes ... and by splurge I mean brand new but on-sale/clearance/etc. During a quick trip to the mall (love Nordstom Rack) both Stark and I purchased Della some new shoes ... can you tell which pair daddy picked out? Seems I'm the practical one and Daddy is the sucker for his little princesses demands ... they light up when she walks!

 Della has been honing in her signing and dancing skills. She mostly sings in the shower which is hard to capture on camera but she'll dance whenever music is present. This particular dance session makes me smile ... her footwork is impressive.

Although Della spent much of her summer swimming in the hot tub, we weren't actually living in this house at the time. We've been in the house nearly a month now and randomly one afternoon she grabs her swimming gear and asks to go outside for the 'bubbles'.  She was very persistent ... although it didn't take too much prodding for Stark to bend to her will. 

 As I get more and more pregnant my evening activities get less and less active. As it turns out, Della is very happy to join me for an evening kid friendly movie and a bowl of popcorn. Turns out she can darn near eat a whole bowl of popcorn on her own!

We inherited this bassinet in a recent Craigslist bundle of baby boy stuff ... it's turned out to be Della's favorite play thing. I don't know that the baby boy will actually be allowed to use it. It's pretty typical for Della to pull in all her favorite stuffed animals (babies) to join her in a pretend sleep session. 

I don't know if I should be worried or amazed. Recently Della found a box of outlet plugs and proceeded to organize them on her highchair. Note the very specific, linear layout. She occupied herself with this for nearly 15 minutes ... before flinging them all on the floor. 

My girl is a busy one ... I'm looking forward to seeing her transition from an only child to an older sister. Although the transition may be rough I think she'll make a fantastic big sister.