The Lineup

We had a reunion with our child birthing class tonight at the home of our teacher now that all the little one's have been born!  (It took me three hours to cut up vegetables for our vegetable tray and Jack ate the Olive Penguins that I had started to make while I was tending to Kate.  I will probably never try to make them again...and I will also probably just buy a pre-cut vegetable tray for our next soiree.)

Now that's a nice looking class!

We talked about our babies and our labors and deliveries and enjoyed some delicious food and wonderful company.  We also lined all of the sweet babies up on the couch to snap a quick photo.  What resulted was pure comedy:

Brian's view.
Kate is in the pink dress.

Erin's view.
She was such a darling!

She was not quite sure what to think of the whole thing,
but she was so sweet sitting there.

It was really nice to see everyone and meet their new additions after spending five weeks in class with them!

Congratulations to all the new Mommies and Daddies, and Happy Holidays!

The Elusive Hippo

Kate wonders why her parents insist on hanging blue hippopotamuses above her head.

"Why, if that thing falls on me..."

As if being toted around in a carrier seat isn't enough...

Guess What Time It Is!!

HINT: This is a jerry-rigged photo studio.
Yes, our paper towel holder doubles as our
light source.  And, yes, that is a painter's light.

If you guessed it's time for our annual Christmas card photo shoot, then you guessed right!!  Yep, we are currently working on this year's masterpiece and we are very excited to include a new prop our sweet baby girl!!  (I meant that in the sincerest of terms, Kate...)

For your viewing pleasure, here is last year's holiday card and cards from years past and a sneak peek for this year's card:

Jack *loves* this time of year!

Happy Holidays!

He's Baaack!

I would tell you, but you wouldn't believe me...

...So I will show you:

Matt came back into town.  He loves him
some Buckeyes...and chili dogs...and
extremely short trips to the states as seen
here and here and here and now this post.

He had never attended an OSU vs. Michigan game and
both Brian and he decided what better game than Urban's
first season and the very last game of the Buckeye's
so far undefeated season.

Meanwhile, Kate supported her Daddy and
his Buckeye's from home with her
Mommy, who, unfortunately, did not don
any scarlet and gray that day...

They chose a good one.  They were both
able to revel in the glory of the Buckeye's
defeating the Wolverine's in the 12-0
victorious first season coached by
Urban Meyer. 

I don't think this is a game that either will forget anytime soon!  Thanks for making the trip, Matt!

This Year's Prize Turkey

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with a stop at Brian's Dad's and a stop at Brian's Aunt's.  We had a double dose of turkey!  Kate was such an angel at both places and slept soundly in everyone's arms!

Courtney, Kate's cousin, put it perfectly - who is this year's prize turkey?!  Why, Baby Kate, of course!

Our first Thanksgiving together!

We have so much to be thankful for this year, but Kate certainly tops our list!

Happy Thanksgiving from our turkey family to yours!

Theme Songs

I come up with some pretty random things in the middle of the night.  This is one of them.  Last night I was overcome with the desire to list our current theme songs. 

What in the world, you ask?

Well, our current theme songs are those that are playing in our individual heads throughout the day and night.  No one else can hear them, but they capture the emotion/moment/melody of our current life or the happenings in our life.  Each one of us has our own song, currently, but it is very possible to have a family theme song.

On November 20, 2012, these are our current theme songs:

Brian's current theme song is I Don't Give a Damn For the Whole State of Michigan - with the looming OSU football game this weekend against archrival University of Michigan, Brian sees only in scarlet and gray.

Erin's current theme song is Dream by Priscilla Ahn - this melodic myriad of emotions captures the wide spectrum of emotions that she is currently experiencing.

Kate's current theme song is No Sleep Till Brooklyn by the Beastie Boys - our sweet little girlie has been pretty consistent at giving us four to seven hour chunks of sleep since we returned from the hospital; however the last couple nights have been more like two hour chunks...

Bun's current theme song is Another One Bites the Dust by Queen - for Bun knows all to well what happens when another member is added to the family.  I actually think Bun is singing this song to Jack...

Jack's current theme song is the acoustic version of As Long As You Love Me by Justin Bieber - Jack is still working out where he fits into the mix with a new family of three.  We are working together together to make sure he knows that no matter what we still love him.

We are quite a musically diverse bunch, I tell ya!  Now I wonder how long theme songs last...

Scrub a Dub-Dub

Kate's first time in the tub!

Kate's umbilical cord came off on Monday.  I found it plastered to her leg with poop that exploded from her diaper, so we didn't save it.  But we did give her her very first bath and got her smelling so fresh and so clean, clean!

Daddy is very daring holding that naked butt
with no protection!

Testing the water temperature, sans baby.

Kate's not too sure what to think of this contraption.

And decides to watch with only one eye open.

Mommy assures her all will be well!

And makes sure all her bits are clean!

Uh-oh...our one and only crisis moment.

Phew!  Crisis averted.

Warm, snuggly, and clean after our first bath!   ♥

Bunny Toes

Our sweet Kate is 110% cuddly all over, but how can you do anything but smile and snuggle these toes when you find these sweet little footsies beneath the covers?!

Soooo cute!

You can't.  Trust me, you can't!

Sleepy Smiles!

We know that we still have a few weeks until Kate smiles from true emotion, but in the meantime we are enjoying the innocent smiles we witness while she sleeps!

Today we caught one:

Somewhere fun in Slumberland!

Bless her sleepy little heart!

Capture the Moment

Kate received her very first sponge bath today!  Her umbilical cord is still very much attached so we got some towels, washcloths, warm water and a bit of soap to get our baby clean!  (Not that she was very dirty or anything!)

Shortly after Kate's bath, we wrapped her up in her towel to keep her warm and she quickly found her thumb.  (Yes, we have a thumb/finger sucker on our hands!)  She looked so absolutely adorable that we couldn't help but capture the moment!

Adorable!