Newborn

Nope!  He's not mine... obviously! 

  

I had the chance today to take photos of Ace, the newborn son of a friend from church.  He's a few weeks old but was born about a month and a half premature.  He's home, healthy, and doing great!

I was a little uncertain going into the morning.  Mostly because Abby would be with us and might (as always) have her own agenda.  As it was, she did great thanks to some carefully planned activities, snacks, and entertainment.  I've also never taken newborn photos... that is, not since I learned how to do anything with my camera other than turn it on and hit the shutter button. And well, that was only a year ago.

I stuck with the tricks the professionals swear by on their blogs (warm house, warm blankets, full tummy) and took some tips from my sister-in-law, Kimie.  It worked!  Happy, sleepy baby.

Lovely blue backdrop thanks to Kimie, Daniel, Carrie & Ben.  It was perfect!

Tanking up briefly before returning to nap time.

Doesn't he make you want to hold a newborn?!

Full tummy smiles.

Yeah!  I managed to get a shot of little baby toes :)

I couldn't help myself... had to get a shot of the cute baby tush,

Mommy cuddles,

... and spit bubbles.

This was all offered and planned quite last minute.  My friend mentioned she only had phone-camera photos of her baby so far, and I'm hoping she enjoys these!

Birthday Buddy

Jonathan's best buddy Nathaniel has a birthday exactly 1 month apart from his, and today the kids got to celebrate with him at an exciting Fire Station Party.

[Click photos to enlarge]

There was much excitement as we walked down from the nearby Rec Center to the Fire Station.

A bright red fire engine greeted us,

 as did some impressively kid-friendly fire fighters.  

Nathaniel got to meet the firemen right away.

The kids loved climbing up into the fire trucks to take a look around

and sitting in the drivers seat.

Then the firemen showed the kids their gear and some of the fun equipment on the truck.

After the fire truck, the kids piled into the ambulance and took turns playing patient.

Jonathan was strapped in and got to ride the stretcher out of the ambulance.

Frankly, I found the sight of my son on a stretcher disturbing, but he seemed to enjoy the ride.

Nathaniel checked out to have a nice normal sinus rhythm on the EKG machine.

Just as we were gathering for a group photo the ambulance got called away.

It was an extra treat to see it pull out of the fire station on its way to a real emergency.

Back at the Rec Center, we had a yummy Chick-Fil-A lunch followed by chocolate fire-truck cake.

Happy Birthday Nathaniel!

Put on your big girl panties

Panties are the exciting event in Abby's life at the moment.
[This is one of those times I figure it's a good idea the blog isn't totally public :)  ]

Last Thursday started off in Pull-Ups.

A trip to the potty...

 

... earns Abby a stamp.  Or ten.

After dropping Brother off at school, we're headed to Target!

Abby carefully considers all the options.

This package of Hello Kitty Panties looks good.

 At home, she tries on every pair.

[I took this photo so I wouldn't forget the funniest moment of the day.]  

"Mommy, this panties for Daddy!  Daddy come home, Daddy have pretty panties!"

Clearly, Abby loves wearing panties.

It wasn't long before I discovered the first accident.  

[If you don't have a bottle of this stuff, you need one.]

Oh well. Here's to life in big girl panties!

Snapshots

While Colorado photos are still on David's laptop, which isn't here with me tonight, these are a few snapshots from the week.

I came home from morning clinic on Saturday to find Abby wearing a toga made made from a purple blanket and a chip clip.  [Chip clips have been an essential wardrobe accessory in our home for more than 2 years now.]  She was having much more fun than appears from the photo above.

The kids were enthralled in the game "Time Machine," in which Jonathan picks some time from the past or future ("when everything was dirt and worms!"), and their daddy spins them together in the chair until it stops in some remote time.  Inevitably, there is a creature who is after Abby, requiring  Jonathan to rescue her.  The rescue usually involved the use of science fiction weapons, largely laser beams and force fields.  Instructions for the appropriate utilization of such weapons were, of course, provided by Daddy.  I'd say the game's educational value and is questionable, but they were definitely having a ton of fun.  I think it went on a good hour and a half.  I'm impressed no one lost their lunch!

The kids, David, and Pepper were all quite tired come late afternoon.

An evening family walk.

Jonathan's really enjoying his new bike.  When we can find a stretch of sidewalk more than 10 feet long without a major crack, he really gets going.

Why wouldn't you wear a pink bike helmet and zebra rain boots to walk the dog?

Stories at bedtime with Daddy.

Up from bed for yet another round of, "Mommy, can you help me find Baby Monkey?"  Baby Monkey is forever getting lost in a mess of covers and companion animals, but Jonathan is hard to turn down when I'm greeted so sweetly.