Eleanor's First Bath

Here is Eleanor taking her first bath. She had a great time. She cried when she had to get out!

SHE'S HERE!

Well, after lots of waiting (well, not really, but it seemed like lots of waiting) Eleanor Ruth Hammonds arrived on Sunday June 8th at 6:27 pm. She weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 53 centimeters long. Contractions started Friday night, so that part was long...however, everybody is doing really well. Eleanor is so precious and adorable and... I could go on, but I won't.
After spending 5 days at the Maternity Home (getting spoiled and waiting on) we came home Friday afternoon and Eleanor has settled in really well. She only wakes up once during the night. (Long may this continue!!!) We are still getting spoiled and waited on by Jill, who leaves Monday. Who will cook dinner then???
The plan is to upload photos and show Eleanor off, because she is just so cute, but because we have such a slow internet connection the photos aren't uploading - very frustrating!! However, I'll keep trying...
Success!!

What's Going On

Well, we have moved into the farm cottage and I have been keeping the home fires burning (literally). We have had a few frosty mornings and lots of sunny days. They have moved to once a day milking and Andrew hopes they will be drying off soon.
A couple of weekends ago we went over to Stewart Island and did some sea kayaking and hiking. Last weekend Andrew went out for the opening of duck shooting with the boys and this weekend we are having a relaxing weekend in Wanaka. Its been nice being able to get away and not have to worry about the bed and breakfast and strawberries.
Its a weird feeling that school has started back and not going back myself. However, I've been sorting stuff into what stays and what goes. I'm also getting in lots of walking - which has been great!
We are getting excited about our scan on Monday and moving back to Kentucky. We have set up a diaper registry at cottonbabies.com (see links at the side for a direct link). For those who have asked we haven't registered anywhere else, but will once we get to KY.
We are getting very excited!!!

What a busy week! It was my last week at school and brought lots of mixed emotions. Sad because I've been teaching there for just over 2 years and glad to be able to relax and slow down. The kids gave me flowers on Friday at assembly and I have been enjoying them this weekend. School also gave us a baby shower (pictures on Flickr Page) and we got lots of goodies for Eleanor. She's very lucky to have such great friends!
We also finalized the sale of the house this week! Which means all go ahead for getting ready for baby and moving back to Kentucky. We are moving back to the Browns farm on Tuesday and will be there until the end of May. Look for updates about where we will be in June. (Life is never boring at the Andrew Hammonds' house...)

Weekend Travels

Andrew and I have been taking advantage of the great fall sunshine we have been having in Southland. A couple of weeks ago we took a drive to the Catlins and did a few short walks and saw some local residents (seals), an old lighthouse, and a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Last weekend we had to travel up to Christchurch to see the US Consulate General. It was a long trip in the truck for me. There were lots of pit stops! On the way home we took the inland scenic route and stopped halfway home at Wanaka. We had a delicious Mexican meal at "Amigos" and woke up to a gorgeous day in Central Otago. We traveled up to Mount Aspiring National Park. There were fantastic views to be had and will definitely be a place to check out again in the future. Due to the fact that Andrew has a very pregnant wife we only took a short walk to an old swing bridge and were unable to complete the 2-3 hour hike straight up the side of a mountain. You can check out some pictures from New Year's at Wanaka and our trip to the Catlins on our flicker page. I will try to get pictures from the latest weekend in Wanaka up soon.

Bulge Updates

For all those people who have been wanting to see pictures here they are. The first one was at Christmas around 15 weeks and the next one was more recent at 27 weeks. Eleanor is definitely getting big! She loves to kick and flip and move, mainly at night. I think she just knows that Andrew needs to kicked into shape on a regular basis.

Bed and Breakfast

We have been really busy having people staying at the Bed and Breakfast! Which is good for business, but does make life stressful at times when both Andrew and I working other jobs as well. However, it all works out in the end. Thank-God for our friend who cooks breakfast and our house cleaner! You can check-out our website to book your very own stay or check out the slideshow on the blog I'm trying to add with Flickr.