Fun with Grandparents...

Grandpa & Grandma Sieve came over to babysit while I went to the doctor (again).

At Grandpa & Grandma VanMeeteren's

We headed down to Iowa to visit Grandma Chris after her shoulder surgery. She can't hold Owen, but she enjoyed talking to him.

Owen is all smiles!

Look at that smile!

Owen loves his crib mobile! I can often set him in his crib while giving Ava a shower. He will be happy as a lark, as long as it doesn't stop playing music and moving.

Grinning for Mommy! (9 weeks)

The "O" Man is 2 months old...

Heading to the 2 month well check at the doctor (and yes, I had time to take pictures and I was still on time!)

Owen & His Daddy

"O" Man is our endearing nickname for Owen. Every child must have a nickname, and I guess this is his. He is "growing" very well. At his 2 month well check he weighed 16 lbs, 3 oz (95th percentile)and was 24" long (85th percentile). Once again, we have another tiny child on our hands. He is beating out his sister by quite a ways (she was 17 lbs at 4 months). Right at 2 months, we had our best night ever where he slept 10:15 pm until 6:30 am. It was a one time fluke, but we were still thrilled. He is really starting to get into toys which is fun. He is also "cooing" a lot. It's so fun to have "conversations" with him. He is so serious and they can last several minutes. It's so great to get to the stage where they actually realize who Mom and Dad are and can interact.

My Two Little Cutie's...

My 3 year old going on 30!

So silly!

2 montsh old!

This picture was taken at around 11 pm...I'm trying to look perky but I would really like to go to bed, if only Owen would!

Sledding Fun...

All bundled up!

Daddy & Ava taking advantage of the slanted terrain on our lot

You could hear her shreaking with delight!

Brad braved the freezing temperatures to go outside with Ava to pull her on the sled. She loved every moment of it even though I nearly froze to death just grabbing a couple of photos. When she came in, I don't think I had ever seen her cheeks so red, but she didn't care. She thought it was great!

The Gingerbread House...

So excited... The Weather Outside...

Our Gingerbread House Kit - Fresh out of the Box & Quite a Mess!

Yes- we used hot glue to repair it...we weren't planning to eat it!

The Fun Begins!

Ava loved to eat the candies just as much as sticking them on

The finished product. Ava was pretty much in charge of the design. We just let her have fun and she certainly did! It was a fun project for a cold, snowy Sunday!

Owen 7-8 Weeks & His Big Sister...

All Cozy in his warm PJ's

my two little munchkins

Posing for the camera

Owen 8 weeks

Just when I thought I was getting into a routine at home, I had to head back to work for a few days before the semester ended. I would be lying if I said I wasn't exhausted, but it has went okay. Luckily, we have had Hannah to come to our house to watch Ava and Owen, and when she wasn't available we had Grandma Joyce. I can't imagine getting them both out the door to daycare in the morning...I think I'd have to start at 3:00 am. Owen decided on 3 out of the 4 days I had to work that he was going to get up at 4:30-5 am so I didn't get to go back to sleep after that feeding. I made it, but glad Christmas break is here!

Owen has become more relaxed and mellow all the time. He is taking naps now that are fairly predicatable. He usually sleeps in the morning after feeding at around 6am until around 10am. He also takes a 3 hour nap in the afternoon and an evening nap that can last from an hour to two hours. Of course, then he's up until midnight! We have decided that we aren't going to do any more waking him up, especially in the evenings. He seems better if you just let him sleep when he wants to. He is still fussy around supper time, but I'm not complaining. He is a good baby. We had his TSH checked again and it was up to just over 9 (normal range is below 4.96 for his age). We will be heading back to the pediatric endocrinologist in January. Just when I thought I was getting a short break from the doctor :)

Some visitors & Owen 7 weeks

The Loosbrock family (minus Nick) came over to meet Owen. We love visitors and it was fun to catch up. Let's be honest...we don't get out much so we welcome people to come over!

Owen 7 weeks & Ava

He's so tiny, isn't he?

At 7 weeks, Owen is so smiley! He lights up and grins when you talk to him almost all the time. He seems to be getting so big so fast! He is sleeping more, going 6 hours at a time at night. Typical night is 11pm to 5 am now and then up again around 7:30 or 8:00 am. He eats less often throughout the day too. He seems to have less fussy times and much more happy times which is nice for us. I can't believe he's nearly 2 months old and I go back to work this week. Ugh! The good news is I only work a few days and then we are off for Christmas break. Luckily, we have Hannah to make the transition so much easier!

Thanksgiving at the Sieve's...

Layne & Owen

Owen - 6 weeks

Ava loved the sit-n-spin Grandma hauled out for her

James and Layne are graciously allowing Ava to play (mess up) their game of Sorry.

Joyce made a wonderful Thankgiving meal and had the family home for Thanksgiving. We ate turkey and all the sides, then relaxed the rest of the day. Ava enjoyed playing with the older kids and seemed to get into her share of mischief. Owen slept most of the day and was really only awake every few hours to eat. Can only imagine what next year will be like? It was good to see all the family again.

Carly Joy...

Owen 6 weeks, Carly 5 weeks

Even Owen's hands are way bigger!

We finally got to meet our newest niece, Carly Joy Springer on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Lisa and Roy made the trip down from Alexandria for the holiday. She was very cute and so petite compared to Owen. They seemed to enjoy batting hands at each other when we put them next to each other. They even seemed to react to each other's cries (maybe hospital nursery memories?). It will be fun to watch them grow up together! I don't think she will ever catch up to Owen's size though!!

Thanksgiving Day...

Family Photo Grandpa & Grandma with Ava & Owen

My parents are in Tucson every year visiting my sister, and our plans with the Sieve side weren't until Saturday, so we decided to go to the Countryside in Adrian for the Thanksgiving Day buffet. We called Gary and Joyce to see if they wanted to meet us and they did. The food was great and it was nice to have no mess to clean up. We headed out to the farm after dinner to relax. It was a fun day for Owen's first Thanksgiving.

Tis the Season (Owen is 6 weeks)...

Caught a Smile...

The tree is up, but no ornaments yet. Owen is in his PJ's however it is wishful thinking that he would be going to bed soon. He usually doesn't go to sleep until around 11pm. At 6 weeks, Owen seemed to turn a corner in the sleep department. He started going 5 hour stretches at night. His typical night is 11:30 pm, up at 4 or 4:30, and then up at 7:30 am. We are thrilled with getting more sleep. He is sleeping alone in the pack-n-play now so that is also a welcome change for mom and dad. I think I'm still catching up on sleep because even with the new changes, I'm still not jumping out of bed in the morning.

Ava couldn't have been more excited to get the Christmas tree up. She loves to play with the lights button at the bottom of tree and is in charge of when the lights get turned on every day. She has located her ornament that says "baby's first Christmas" with her name on it from Grandma Chris. She loves to play with it and move it around the tree. Otherwise, she leaves most ornaments alone. We've talked about the stockings and Santa. She seems very excited. I think it could be a fun Christmas...