Halloween

Our little poodle skirt girl she loved her costume!

Ava with the little monkey

So excited about getting treats

Our first stop...Hannah's house

We took turns taking her to houses

Owen slept in his carseat

We got the kiddos all dressed up and ventured out trick-or-treating on Halloween. Ava loved her costume, especially the glasses. Trick-or-treating was really fun this year for us. Ava loved it! She was grinning ear to ear as we walked around from house to house. Hannah had a special bag for Ava with lots of candy and a Mickey Mouse book. Ava got her bag filled with treats and then we went to McDonalds. There couldn't have been a better night for Ava! Owen was a complete angel and slept in his carseat for the whole 2 hours we were gone. It was a very fun night for the family!

Ava turns 3!

Making cupcakes with Mommy Licking the spatula....

Lighting the candles....

Blowing them out (first birthday she's actually been successful!)

Opening presents from Mom & Dad

On November 1st, Ava had her 3rd birthday! She is modeling the shirt Hannah made for her in the pictures. So cute! I can't believe she is 3 already. She seems so big and mature, especially since Owen has been born. She is such a big helper, getting me the phone, burp cloths, helping change diapers, and anything else she can reach or do. She's so willing to help out with anything she can, and it makes her feel so special when I thank her for being a big helper. She is really adjusting well to being a big sister. We didn't do a lot on her actual birthday. I promised her we'd make cupcakes which she dearly loves. I also made her request for supper which was "chicken with sauce" which translates to a roasted chicken which we cut up and put bbq sauce on it for her. She ate every last morsel along with her broccoli and squash. She was so excited for Daddy to come home so we could sing happy birthday, and she could blow out her candles. Hannah and Luke ended up joining us for supper which was fun. Daddy got her the helicopter they'd been watching the last few weeks in Bomgaars, her favorite present. It has lots of buttons that light it up and play sounds. She also got magnetic dolls that you can change their outfits and a doll high chair. Our families are coming for a party this weekend and she is very excited!

Owen is 2 weeks old..

Owen's first bottle...

Ava & Owen (2 weeks)

Hard to believe Owen is 2 weeks old. I had my first major outing with both kids as we headed down to my parents for the day. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to get ready and get out of the house. I guess that's not too bad, but hard for me to get used to again. Owen likes to eat a couple times in the morning which can eat up an hour in a hurry! Owen also had his first bottle. He took 2 ounces from Brad, so that was pretty good for a 2 week old.

Our Little Glow Worm...

The bili blanket...

At 10 days old, Owen had some lab work checked. First we checked his bilirubin as he was looking more jaundice all the time. Sure enough, his bili was 20 which is significantly high. Of course, we had to head to the medical supply store to get a bili blanket for Owen to have on as much as possible. We also had Owen's TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) checked. His newborn screening done while we were still in the hospital revealed that is was out of range. In the hospital it was 42 and at 10 days old, it was down to 18. This is still elevated (normal range is 1-5). We were referred to a pediatric endocrinoloigst at Sanford in Sioux Falls. She rechecked his TSH and it was down to 7.7 (18 days old). We elected to not start medication yet and recheck it in 3 weeks. Hopefully, it will return to a normal level. If not, we will have to start daily thyroid meds. This is not the end of the world. There are far worse things that we could have happen, so we will deal with whatever happens. Between the bili checks and trips to Sioux Falls for Owen and my own doctor visits, it has been a busy first two weeks for us. Lots of running! Owen is done with the bili blanket officially at 3 weeks old, but have to have it rechecked one more time next week. I'm glad I'm on maternity leave just to coordinate all the appointments and we aren't done yet.

Our Sleepy Baby...

10 Days Old

Just some fun pictures as Shelly and I were attempting to get a birth announcement photo. Owen is 10 days old. The best one will be coming on the announcement.....

Owen's First Bath....

Yes- he fell asleep! We can do nothing to keep this boy awake except if its 2 am!

Ava was taking a shower, but couldn't wait to get out and help with Owen's bath

Owen had his first real bath at 1 week, 2 days old after his belly button fell off completely and we could finally submerge his body. We did a couple sponge baths in the evening prior to this in an attempt to get him to be awake for a while, so he would possible sleep at night. The reason I had to post these is that the first bath experience went so much different than it did for his sister. Ava screamed her entire first bath and every bath she had for nearly the entire first year of her life. Owen, on the other hand, falls asleep! I think our kids will be very different!

Owen is One Week Old...

5 days old My 3 favorite people 6 days old

An attempt at getting Ava & Owen together...not so good!

Some of Ava's "interesting" behaviors those first few days at home

1 week

At one week old, Owen is a good baby. He is still not sleeping much at night, but is very restful during the day. We are still having Owen sleep with us most of the time as that is the only time he actually sleeps during the night time hours. It is not a perfect arrangement, but we are dealing and will do anything to get some sleep. Ava is adjusting slowly to the changes at our house. It is starting to seem real that we are a family of four now!