Sophia's 3rd Birthday

I've said it many times before and I'm sure I'll say it many times again...time sure flys by. It's hard to believe that Sophia is already three years old. It seemed not so long ago that she was born and the excitement that everyone had that there was a new girl in the family. Our little girl is now three and is has started dance classes just recently and is turning into a little lady.

She had a fun birthday party with a few friends from the neighborhood. It was quite exciting as it started snowing the morning of her party. She was a little worried when a couple of people had to cancel but had a great time when her friends arrived. The theme was "Dora and Diego" so they played a couple of games before having cake and opening presents. By the time they ate cake, the snow was really coming down so Niclas and Sophia were able to build a snowman with Uncle Jack after the party was over. We felt a bit disorganized with Austin being so young but the party turned out pretty well in the end. Happy Birthday Sophia!

www.flickr.com stewhill6's Happy 3rd Birthday Sophia photoset

Austin 2 Months

Time is going by quickly. Austin is now over 2 months old. He's smiling more everyday and is really starting to interact with everyone. He's sleeping more and more every night. We couldn't be more happy about our newest addition. Here's some pics of him and the other kiddos at 2 months. The family resemblance continues.

Ben Harper in concert

I was lucky enough to get to see Ben Harper for the 2nd time on Nov 14th at the Paramount Theater. I'd seen him before at the Moore Theater and it was an amazing show (even had a guest appearance by Eddie Vedder). This show was equally as good. Mom went with me and we had great seats near the front. Ben played a lot of his new music but threw in some old classics as well as some stuff I hadn't heard before. You can really appreciate the talent of performers when you see them live and Ben sounds even better live than on his albums. I took a bunch of pictures but a lot of them didn't turn out very well. Here's one of the better ones. I look forward to the next time he comes to town.

Austin 1 Month Old

Thought it would be fun to post pictures of each of the kids at 1 month old. I'd say they are definitely related :-) Niclas is closer to 2 months in the picture above as I couldn't find a one month one.

Halloween

Niclas and Sophia went trick or treating in downtown Bothell again this year (they block off the streets and the kids go trick or treating at the different businesses) and they had a great time. Niclas was a Dragon Ninja and Sophia was Tinkerbell. No trick or treating this year for Austin but he'll be ready next year. Trick or treating these days is so different than when we were kids. We used to walk forever and try and visit as many houses as possible. These days, the kids don't have to work so hard. It's definitely much safer though which is the important thing. We had a total of two rings of our doorbell this year and one was from the neighbor kids. The other was two junior high kids who weren't even wearing costumes. I should have just sent them away but you never know what they will do in retaliation. Hope everyone's Halloween was enjoyable.

New Addition - Austin Gage Hill

Austin Gage Hill was born to us on Sunday 9/30 at 1:35pm...three weeks earlier than expected. He measured in at 7lb 13oz and 20in which is great size for being early. Linda's water broke at 4:30am but contractions didn't really start for another hour or so, long enough for the cavalry to arrive to take care of Niclas and Sophia while we went to the hospital. Linda did an amazing job during labor (just like the other two times). Even though Austin was our third child, the process of childbirth was as amazing this time as the others. When you see those 10 fingers and ten toes, it's like a miracle. Austin checked out great and we spent a couple of days at Swedish before going home. Unfortunately, Austin's bilirubin level was a bit high when we were discharged on Tue so we had to go in for a follow up test on Wed which sent Austin back to the hospital for a couple more days...one day under the lights (it looked like he was in a tanning bed) and another for observation. His levels dropped by the second day so we were able to go home on Friday. Everyone is doing great now. Niclas and Sophia love their new little brother. Thanks to everyone for all their support and hope to see everyone soon.

Here's some pictures from the last few weeks.

www.flickr.com stewhill6's Austin Gage photoset

First Day of School

September brought the first day of school for both Niclas and Sophia in 2007. Niclas started Kindergarten this year and Sophia is in her first year of preschool. Here's a few pics from the first day. I can't believe how big they are getting.

www.flickr.com stewhill6's First Day of School 2007 photoset

Niclas' Birthday party

So, still no luck with Spaces so here's my first attempt at posting here. I thought I'd start with Niclas' birthday party. Niclas had about 12 friends/cousins over and we brought in the Spider Man jumphouse again. They had a great time. Here's some pictures of the event.