Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to one and all. Here are some Christmas pictures from the Broadbent family:


Jeffrey anxiously awaiting Christmas Day


Fortunately, the weather outside has not been frightful, and Jeffrey and Laird have figured out a new way to swing, independent of their parents. Since Jeffrey can now pump, he now holds on to Laird's hand while he swings and moves them both. It sure saves me some work.


No Christmas is complete without a visit to Santa Claus, who was kind enough to visit our community center recently. Laird and Jeffrey were very impressed.




I recently visited my brother Phil in DC and took a little tour of our nation's capital. It has been a few years since I have been there, and it was a lot of fun seeing everything, though I would prefer that next time I come it is not December, as it was only 25 degrees.




And no post would be complete without a picture of little Lucy. She is growing quickly and is a real cutie.

We recognize that we have been extremely blessed this year. We hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The Broadbents

10 Things about Laird David Broadbent

Not to be outdone by his big brother, here are ten things you might want to know about Laird:

1. He loves fruit - fruit juice, fruit flavored Gatorade, anything fruity.

2. Is obsessed with firetrucks, construction equipment, trucks in general or any other large vehicle.

3. Will play Duck Duck Goose every Family Night if given the option. He is still fuzzy on the rules, but he likes to run around and say Duck.

4. His favorite phrase recently is "Chicken Nuggets for Lucy" which he think is hilarious because he loves Chicken Nuggets but Lucy can't eat them.

5. Favorite Christmas Song: "Jingle Bells". Another constant request.

6. Loves to hold Lucy, though being "gentle" is not his strong suit.

7. Likes to watch football with his dad. If there is no football on, he requests to sit on my lap in my study and make or watch videos with the camera on the computer.

8. One of his current favorite books is "Sneetches" by Dr. Seuss. I was sorry he got sick of "Green Eggs and Ham" because I almost had it memorized.

9. He tells anyone who will listed that "Orange Juice gives him a rash".

10. He is named after Laird Hamilton and David Bednar.


Don't worry - that's not a real baby

10 Things about Jeffrey Keith Broadbent

The regular college football season is now over. Other than that, I have no news to report. We have just been getting ready for Christmas and enjoying the mild weather in Houston. Lucy gets bigger everyday and is doing great. In lieu of reporting on recent activities, here are ten things you might find interesting about Jeffrey:

1. He hates fruit - he will eat raisins (and sometimes apples), but anything else containing more than trace fragments of fruit is rejected.

2. He's a big fan of the Magic Tree House and Magic School Bus books. He'll read them over and over.

3. Gives us a daily count of presents under the Christmas Tree. "Christmas Spirit" has morphed into full-blown "Christmas Fever". I don't know how he will hold out another 17 days.

4. Loves to hold Lucy and give her a bottle. He's a very good big brother.

5. Enjoys playing baseball and frisbee. Hasn't enjoyed football that much.

6. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is one of his current favorite books. Part of the Christmas Fever.

7. Named after Jeffrey R. Holland. Middle name is from his mother's father.

8. Loves everything about Kindergarten except substitute teachers. The substitutes are pretty mean.

9. Favorite food is chocolate ice cream. Any ice cream will do really.

10. Has watched the movie "Black Beauty" about 100 times. I guess he likes it.


That's our boy.

One Month Old

Lucy is one month old today.

Not to ignore another important member of our family, Bartok recently moved into his winter home.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. Lots of great food and football and we celebrate a great country. It's great. Here is the story of this week in and around the Broadbent home:

Thanksgiving morning started with the Turkey Trot 10K. It was cold - race time temperature of 45 with a wind chill that had to be in the mid-20s. The Broadbent brothers (Steve, Phil, Mark and I) raced in the same race for the first time ever and were joined by two of my siblings-in-law (Greg and Kim). Greg and Kim left us in the dust - we suspect that is because they are (a) cross country runners and (b) not held back by Broadbent athletic genes. Kim actually finished 3rd in her age group (she finished in 47 min at age 14). As for the brothers, Mark won even running with an ankle brace, Steve finished second, I finished third and Phil was fourth. I was very happy to be in at just under an hour (59:40).


I am in the maroon shirt and blue shorts

Later we headed over to the Broadbent family homestead to eat dinner with the Monroes (Keith, Bev, Greg, Kim and Charity), Grandma Nancy, Mark, Steve, Katie, Phil and Jen, and two missionaries from the deaf branch. It was a big crowd and everyone enjoyed the food. Thanks Mom for leading the charge and all her assistants (I was not one of them).


Grandma Nancy with Lucy

On Saturday, we enjoyed watching BYU beat Utah (Go Cougars!) and enjoyed the Monroes' company. And on Sunday, we blessed Lucy. Special thanks go to the Monroes for the beautiful blessing dress (and for their coming to visit) and to Aunt Jan for the baby jewelry.

Family Ties

This week in review from the Broadbents:


Uncle Steve came by to see the baby. He did not use the term "breathtaking".


Jeffrey and Pete go camping. Laird was just in the picture. We were just in the backyard for one night. You have to start somewhere.


Laird doing some light reading of a very big book


Happy children


Lucy's bedroom


Looking chipper at two weeks old

One Week Old

Lucy turned one week old today. She is doing very well, as are her mother and doting brothers. We celebrated by having Grandma Broadbent, Aunt Christina and cousin Charlotte over for the afternoon. Some pictures:


The center of attention


Grandma and grandkid #4


Lucy and her giant cousin Charlotte


Laird the running back


Jeffrey and Laird building a fort

Jeffrey the Surrealist

Jeffrey got a hold of the camera the other day. Here is his take on the world:


That's Jeffrey


A Lonely Lightening McQueen


The Horror


One M&M

Lucy's Homecoming

Sheralie came home from the hospital today. Laird and Jeffrey are thrilled to have their new sister here, as well as their mother. Holding the baby is currently a very popular activity. Sheralie and Lucy are doing great.


Family of Five


Grandfather again


Jeffrey and Lucy



Laird, Lucy and Pete

Baby Girl Broadbent

This morning, at 10:24 am, we welcomed Lucy Anna Broadbent into the world. We are so happy for this beautiful miracle in our lives. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 5 ounces and was 19.5 inches.

Sheralie and Lucy are doing great. Lucy is much more of a sleeper than her big brothers, who were primarily interested in eating in their first 24 hours.

Here are some pictures:


1 hour old

Mother and Daughter resting

Proud Dad and upset daughter

Isn't she cute?

Happy Halloween

Daylight Savings Time meant later start times for trick or treating this year, but Jeffrey and Laird still had a great time. Laird lasted half of the street (about 9 houses) and Jeffrey went for the other half. Jeffrey thought handing out treats was much more fun than collecting treats. Here they are in character:


And some other assorted pictures from the past few weeks:

Laird pretends to go to school

Jeffrey testing out his new bow and arrow

Quote: "Now I'm just like Enos"

Happy October

Sheralie's bedrest has now been lifted, since they (the midwives) want her to be extremely active and actually prompt labor. This seems to be a fairly dramatic shift in policy. I don't understand it one bit.

My actual theory is that they see that Sheralie is pretty much ready, but the midwives have big plans this weekend, so they want her to have the baby before the weekend so as not to disrupt their plans. I know, that is cynical of me, but I don't trust doctors one bit (though the midwives I trust a bit more than actual doctors).

I think my mistrust of doctors stems from their creed: "Do no harm". That is not very inspiring. At least with lawyers, you get "zealous advocacy" so you know your lawyer is on your side. A doctor is just trying not to screw up. He's done his job as long as you exit with all limbs in place.

Post Script: After our experience with the midwives on November 1, 2007, I must say that all of the healthcare workers, including the doctors, nurses and midwives, were amazing and awesome. I apologize for my earlier derisive remarks.

On fires and balmy days

Some updates:

1. My in-laws' house did not burn down. There was some wind damage, but everything is in pretty good shape. Quite a few homes did burn down though.

2. Sheralie did not gain 2 inches in girth as previously reported. The gain was only 2 centimeters, which is not nearly as impressive. If we could all just agree on which system we were using, we would not have these problems.

3. Our heater turned on for the first time in a while. Unfortunately, Sheralie has an unborn baby to warm her up, so our bedding is a bit unequal.

4. It is a beautiful day here in Houston. One of about six per year.

And just to get you warmed up for babies, here are some pictures of baby Jeffrey:


Just home from the hospital


Hardly looks like Jeffrey at all

Update

Sheralie visited the doctor today and they were very impressed that as a result of her bedrest, she has gained 5 pounds and 2 inches (in girth? Probably not height). So they would like her to continue "resting" and gaining weight, though Sheralie convinced them that light housework was okay. So no major worries. Thanks for your concerns and offers for help.

The major drama today is wild fires in San Diego area that are threatening to burn her family's house down. Stay tuned for more updates.

Laird B.

No news on the baby front. Looks like it might be 2-3 weeks yet, so don't hold your breath. Sheralie is slowing down and resting up. Hopefully she will want to watch plenty of college football this weekend.

Laird is our baby that will soon no longer be the baby in the family. Here are some photos of him over the years:


Laird the aspiring musician (he does show talent)


Cool Hand Laird


Looking for something sweet


Right back at ya