Settling in as a family of 4

1 Month Old

Where has this past month gone? Audrey continues to eat and sleep well and she is a delightful baby. We are truly blessed....

Happy 5 Year Anniversary, Honey!

And thank you for giving me 2 of the 3 most important people in my life :)

Ryan's first day of school

Ryan started school the week after Audrey was born (I'm glad it wasn't the week she was born!) Daddy was really looking forward to be able to take and pick-up Ryan from school during his paternity leave because he knows that he would never have an opportunity like this again. Ryan is returning to St Peter's again this year and is in a 3 year old class that meets on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings from 9:30 to 12. His teacher are Mrs. McNew, Mrs. Bell, and Mrs. We also signed him up for Thursday Lunch Bunch through 2PM which starts this week - thank gosh they allow peanut products because peanut butter sandwiches are the only "main course" that he eats right now that doesn't require heat. His teachers say he is as good as gold at school but he has had his moments leaving the house, and during drop-off and pick-up. Regardless, we are so proud of how Ryan has handled a lot of changes in the last few weeks!

Audrey's first bottle

Audrey has been a really great baby as of almost 3 weeks of age (we've just arrived at her due date). She sleeps a lot and through everything (including her big brother and many, many football games), and she rarely fusses and nurses great. She weighed 6 lbs 1 oz at birth, decreased to 5 lbs 9 oz when released from the hospital on Wednesday (which is normal), increased to 5 lbs 9.5 oz at her first pediatrician appointment that Friday which her DR was satisfied with, and gained 10 oz to a whopping 6 lbs 4 oz the following Friday so she is well on her way!

Daddy gave Audrey her first bottle at 2 weeks and 2 days and she downed 50 ml in 3 minutes - she continues to amaze us every day!

New Car

We have been talking about replacing Mike's car for a while now and decided to wait until Mike's paternity leave so he would have some time to do research, etc. We also were targeting a leftover 2011 and September is a great time to get a good deal. We narrowed it down to between a Toyota Highlander and a Honda Pilot. We test drove and liked both cars but it turned out that since left overs were slim on both models, we ended up finding a Highlander that fit our needs the best and Toyota had 0% for 60 months as well. We love our new car!

Big Brother Ryan

Everyone has been asking how Ryan has been adjusting to his new little sister. For the most part, he pretty much acts like she is not around. Although, he knows exactly where she is whenever he is asked and will always give her a kiss when asked as well. He has interacted a few times with her - he read her a book, played "This little Piggy went to Market" with her toes, and tonight he asked to hold her for the first time - it melted my heart! Ryan is spending a lot of time with Daddy during Mike's month off and they have done a lot together including Morris Arboretum, Elmwood Park Zoo, Please Touch Museum and a weekly gym class at The Little Gym.

The picture of Ryan holding a small wine glass was his first taste of "special coke" (sparkling grape juice) that he toasted with celebrating Audrey's arrival home with us. The next photo is of Ryan visiting the hospital and opening his big brother gift from Audrey - a camera! Ryan and Grandma did a great job of decorating outside of the house for our arrival home!