Monday, January 23, 2023

Make way for the Auntie Van

On New Years Eve Caleb became a dad! Rosalind Anne Ham was born at 4:34 AM and was 7 pounds 3ozs and 21 inches long.  You can tell by the picture how excited Caleb is to be a dad.  Poor Johanna had a very rough delivery and will have a very long recovery.  She is amazing and never seems to complain.  They are both just so happy to be parents. 
We were in Arizona when we got the news and Lori and I were talking about when Gary and Julie would get to see Rosalind.  Julie and Lindy were flying into Provo on January 3rd to bring Lindy back to BYU.  I texted Julie and told her that I would be happy to drive her out to Idaho to see her.  She was only here for two days and we had play tickets Wednesday night, so we weren't sure if it would work out.
We got it figured out and I said I was happy to just drop them off and let Lindy and Julie visit with them because I knew I wouldn't have been ready for company right after having a baby.  Julie talked to Caleb and he called me to tell me they would love to have me come see Rosalind and everyone was welcome to come.  He was so excited to show off his beautiful new daughter. 
Julie sent out a text and mom, Tiff and Mel said they were in and we were ready to finalize plans.  I spent the drive home from Arizona looking for places to stay. I found a great deal on a big house and booked that.  Right after I booked it the Provo Airport was shut down because of an airplane crash. Julie and Lindy were supposed to fly in Tuesday morning and we were going to drive out Tuesday afternoon and drive home Wednesday.
They delayed their flight and then ended up canceling it.  We were all scrambling for a new plan.  Julie spent hours on the phone trying to figure it out.  I told her there was a flight on the same airline that flew into Idaho Falls Tuesday night.  I was hoping they could switch their flight and then we could still drive down Tuesday and  pick them up in Idaho that night. 
I'm sure Julie spent her whole afternoon on the phone, but she got it done! I had canceled the Airbnb so I rebooked that and we were all set. 
I was really glad that we left early in the morning to come home from Arizona because I had a lot to do before I headed out to Idaho the next day. 
Right after lunch on Tuesday I left and picked up Tiff, Mel and mom and we headed up to Rexburg.  We named my van the Auntie van and had a lot of fun making lots of jokes about the auntie van.
The house we stayed in was so nice.  It was a new house and every room was decorated so cute.  I had to send Keith and the boys this picture of the Harry Potter room under the stairs.  It was so nice that we all had our own bedroom.
After we went to our place we went to Costa Vida for dinner.  We told Caleb that we wanted to bring them dinner so he sent us their orders.  Great Grandma Ham could hardly wait to meet Rosalind.  We went over there right after dinner.  Johanna and her mom were in the bedroom with Rosalind when we got there and her mom said, "Just a minute, Johanna wants to be ready to see your faces when you see the baby."  I thought that was so cute.
Poor Johanna tore so much that she can't move without help.  She is stuck in bed and needs help to do everything.  Luckily her parents can stay with them and help.  It is such a great situation because they  all get along so well and I know Caleb and Johanna are so grateful for the help.  And I think grandma and grandpa love being there, so it's perfect. 
After mom got a turn we all took turns holding her.  It was so fun to hold a newborn again.  She is just perfect and so loved!
We all got to hold her a couple of times and visit with them.  Johanna is such a trooper, you could tell she was in so much pain, but she kept saying how much she loves her and she knows it is all worth it. I still can't believe they were okay with all of us coming, but they seemed to be happy about it. 
We had to get a picture of the Aunties in front of the Auntie van. Julie and Lindy's flight was delayed so they ended up getting in close to midnight. Tiff went with me to the airport and Mel stayed at the house with mom.  We were so glad when they finally made it in, after all of the trouble it was a relief to see they finally made it. It was so great to see Lindy.  I have missed her so much.  I love talking to her.  I was happy to be able to hear more about her mission and catch up after a year and a half!
It was a late night, but I think we were all able to get some sleep.  The next morning Mel and I dropped Julie and Lindy off at their apartment.  The apartment isn't very big and it's pretty squishy, especially with Johanna's parents staying there, so we told them that they should just go and enjoy some time since we got to go there the night before.
I can't believe Julie is a grandma.  She is the coolest grandma I know!
We got all packed up and checked out of our place and then we went and picked Julie and Lindy up.  Julie said they were fine if we all came in, so we went in and got to hold her one more time.
The grandmas! 
I was so glad that I got to hold Rosalind again.  She is just so sweet.
I'm having a hard time believing that I'm so far removed from having babies that my nephews are having baby's of their own. 
We all held her one last time and took lots of pictures and then we had to head back to Utah. I'm so glad we went and that everything worked out. It's a little crazy that all of us Ham's threw together a last minute trip, we are not the spontaneous kind usually. I'm grateful we could all go.
On Wednesday we drove home and dropped everyone off and went straight to dinner and the play.  I am so glad I saw this play, it was not one I was dying to see, but wow, it was amazing.  The whole production was just fantastic! Julie and Lindy stayed at my house Wednesday night and Thursday morning they went and got Lindy moved into her apartment.  Mel and mom came here and we met Julie and Tiff for lunch while Lindy was at rehearsals for her dance company. I had a migraine so I had to go home and try and sleep it off real quick.  I was able to meet up with them later.  It was fun to have some more time to visit with Julie and Lindy.  Julie went back to Salt Lake that night with Mel and flew out the next morning.  It was a quick trip, but we sure packed a lot in. And now Lindy is back in Provo, yay! She texted last weekend and asked if we wanted to have an auntie movies night.  Tiff was out of town, but Mel came down and Lindy came over and spent the night. It was so fun!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great blog Al and I loved all the pictures! Especially the one where Rosalind is sticking her tongue out!

Tiffany said...

I miss Rosalind...and the Auntie Van.