brothers

what miles has been up to

we have been absolutely thrilled to watch miles take on his new role as big brother. it's gone relatively well and, although we admit we are still in the honeymoon phase, we will take it! while we were in the hospital, miles was able to stay with nana and papa. kyle ducked out for a night to stay at home with him as well. here are some pictures that show what the little monkey has been up to since henry arrived.this is "go-go" (a.k.a. gloria) - miles goes to her house for daycare and was able to go play with his friends one morning while I was in the hospital

so many fun toys at go-go's house!
"skype-ing" with henry & me at the hospital - he was giving us kisses!
talking on the remote

nana brought over a yummy cake!

wearing daddy's shoes

his new favorite game - hiding in the toy/tv cabinet

watching signing time

playing in his kitchen...a hot diggity dog sandwich!

great aunt jeanie brought over cookies for miles to decorate. he had so much fun!

superbowl 2010

it is tradition to get together with our friends for superbowl weekend. let's be honest...it's not so much about the game, just an excuse to see each other! this year's rendezvous was held at the harms' home in poplar, wi. (poplar is more like a map dot...think duluth/superior). I was unsure if I would make the trek up north with a tiny newborn and fresh incision on my belly. however, I have felt great and thought that we would survive this first family-of-four vacation. survival tip #1: leave around nap time, thereby allowing little miles to snooze away a chunk of the 4 hour trip. survival tip #2: plan on stopping where toddlers can run. we made it up to a small town 1 hour south of duluth before stopping and stretching our legs. we ran into walmart for a few necessities and let miles push the cart to burn off some energy. we then drove to KFC for dinner (classy, I know) and kyle headed in with miles while I fed henry in the car (every mother's dream, right?). I have to say that the stop was longer than expected, but resulted in a much happier toddler.
we arrived at the harms' around 7:30pm and got settled. a special thank you to everyone who crammed into the upstairs and allowed us to spread out in the basement guest suite! the rest of the crew (a.k.a. the maios and bansemars) arrived L-A-T-E that night. we greeted them the next morning and introduced everyone to little henry. it was just three short years ago that our superbowl weekends were filled with late nights, adult beverages, quiet sleepy mornings, and adventures out on the town. now there are six bambinos under the age of two. enough said.

the three "big kids"

miles, ethan, genevieve

the three "little kids"

addison, henry, alana

despite the addition of six little ones, the guys managed to squeeze in plenty of time on the wii and even an afternoon out for burgers and beers. lucky ducks.

the daddies took the kids outside on sunday to wear them out...the kids, not the daddies.

the little girls stayed inside :)

"hi everyone!"

the boys

enjoying the feast!

it was great to see everyone again and to catch up on life in general. the kids were all so well-behaved and I was amazed at how graciously ethan shared all of his toys with miles and genevieve. I'm not sure that would've been the case had we hosted!
there was no shortage of food (thank you ladies) and fun. we are looking forward to this summer's get-a-way with the gang!

xoxo...until next time!

note: there is no information regarding the actual superbowl. I spent the evening in the bedroom calming a fussy newborn and watching the sound of music (love!!). I hardly recall who even won the game.

the first week

I realize that I'm way behind on blogging these first weeks at home with henry. I will do my best to catch up and then stay on top of things. however, as a new mom of two...I make no promises. the other day I didn't manage to get a shower and finally brushed my teeth at 5 pm. my only hope to get blogging done is either during nap time (if the boys' schedules are in sync) or in the evening when kyle is here (usually this is when I zonk on the couch). I promise to try harder from this point forward! so without further ado:

henry's first week home was fairly uneventful. we only ventured out into the cold snowy weather three times - twice to go to the doctor to check his jaundice and the third to meet auntie nykkole.

headed to the doctor

meeting auntie nykkole

nana & papa with their three grandsons!

other than that, we have basically stayed put and let people come to us. it sure is different toting two kiddos around. kyle took off two weeks so he's been home filling the role as toddler daddy. it's difficult because I'm unable to lift miles. I will have to teach him to get out of his crib. more on that at a later date. henry is a pretty chill baby boy. he is nursing well and typically eats about 7-8 times per day. he naps well during the day, but tends to get fussy in the evenings. so far he is a great sleeper at night - eating around 11pm, then up once at 3 or 4am, and back up around 8am. we'll see if this continues! he does NOT like to be naked and will certainly let you know when he is unhappy. as soon as he has a t-shirt back on, he's a quiet and happy camper.

t-shirt = happy boy

we are treasuring each and every moment with him as a newborn. having miles has made us realize just how fast this time flies by. I love snuggling with him on the couch and even love seeing him in the middle of the night. he is a precious little boy and we feel incredibly blessed to be his mommy & daddy.

taking a nap with daddy

nana came to stay over - henry basically slept WITH her all night...she was in heaven!

hungry!

wide awake

learning to cyber with daddy & miles

streeeeetch

getting his hair washed

sweet baby

this hardly looks like him...but I love it!

looks like he's telling a story

this is what we have dubbed "the henry face"

good night angel