80 Degree March

We have been having record high temperatures this month so we decided to take advantage of the 80 degrees it was forecasted to be on St. Patrick's Day and head to the zoo. We weren't alone. The place was packed! Too bad it was still "winter season" so the carousel, train, and concessions were all closed. All the animals were out enjoying the sunshine though. Too bad the kids are only interested in seeing the animals until they catch sight of the huge playground. Then they just focus on finding the fastest path to get to it.

Evan is one month old and is starting to tease us with an occasional smile!

Evan's 1st Few Weeks

Evan is doing great and is adored by both his big brother and sister. He went to the doctor for a weight check the day after we came home from the hospital (so he was 4 days old) and weighed 8lbs 7oz. Then at his 2 week check up he was 9lbs 9oz. They like babies to be back to their birth weight at 2 weeks so he is doing quite well! He is a very inconsistent eater. Sometimes he'll want to eat after only an hour and sometimes he'll shock us and go 4-5 hours. Very hard to plan your day around. Nighttime is going OK. He'll go to bed between 8-9pm and wake between 12-1am, and usually go right back to sleep after that. Then he'll wake again between 3-4 and quite often will not want to go back to sleep.

Owen is 4!!

As much as he wasn't looking forward to it, the day came and Owen turned 4. This past year he has put off everything he didn't want to do until he was 4. The phrase "maybe when I'm 4" was heard daily in our house in response to us asking Owen to try something new. The week or so after his birthday he said "I miss being 3" quite often. Growing up is rough!

Owen is now officially addicted to video games. He got a Leapster Explorer for his birthday and hasn't put it down since. It is next to impossible to get his attention when he is playing the game. Hopefully he'll be that focused on his schoolwork some day!

Evan Michael

It's been awhile. What have we been up to?? Well, we had another baby. Evan Michael was born February 20, 2012 at 8:45am at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, WI. He was 8lbs 14oz and 21 inches long.

While I was in recovery, Evan was having a hard time keeping up his body temperature and blood sugar level. They decided to take him to the nursery to put him under a heat lamp and feed him 1/2 oz of formula. By the time they wheeled me up to my room, his stats were satisfactory and he was able to spend the rest of the time in the room with me. After 3 nights in the hospital, we all got to come home.

Alaina's 1st Birthday

It was a beautiful, windy day on Alaina's party day and she had a blast.



She didn't know what she was supposed to do with the messy cupcake on her tray until we gave her a spoon and she realized she was supposed to EAT it!! Yum!!

After a mini bath in the sink, she dug right into her presents.

Studying Owen dump water into the spinning toy.

Owen's trying hard not to get his shirt wet.

Alaina is a climbing machine. We're really going to have to babyproof with this one! She can make it up an entire flight of stairs. She knows how to climb down as well, but tends to get bored mid-flight and wants to stand up and start playing before she gets to the bottom. Her favorite place to be is in Owen's bed especially after her bath. As we try to dry her off, she makes a bee line for Owen's room, climbs into his bed, stands up and starts jumping with a huge grin on her face. She knows she's not supposed to be jumping, and will sit down when we tell her too, but only for a second. She thinks she's hilarious.

She is cruising along easily and will walk if she is holding onto our hands. She'll stand unassisted for several seconds at a time before squatting down to crawl to what she wants. She loves going outside for wagon and cozy coupe rides and especially loves when she sees a dog walking by.

Alaina is generally a very happy little girl. She plays well by herself until she sees her BFF Mommy and then she needs to be held. She says: Momma, Dada, uh-oh, more, ball, bug (ladybug), hi and bye (waves), so-big, and her two favorite songs are the ABC's and My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean which she tries to sing when she hears Owen singing them. She is very interested in whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating and drinking and is a pro at drinking from a straw.

At her one year appointment she was 30 1/2 inches and 22lbs 1oz. She does awesome at the doctor's office and the nurse tells her that she's her cutest, most favorite patient and she is always excited when she gets to see her.

Owen is 3!!

Owen's 3rd birthday was his best one yet! His stranger anxiety was next to nothing, not to mention he enjoyed eating his cake and opening his presents.

He is still very much into trains, namely Thomas and his friends. Thomas is his favorite, and according to Owen, James is Momma's favorite, and Gordon is both Daddy and Alaina's favorite.

Thomas and Friends DVD's!!

a basketball hoop!!

and a new bike with training wheels!

Hey Owen, What's your favorite....

Color: blue like thomas

Food: nothing. ok chocolate

Drink: milk and water

number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10

animal: grandpa's cows

dog: molly

cat: Margie's and Grandma's

shape: triangle, square, circle

Entertainment

Mama Mia.

Splish Splash