Checking in

Grandpa Charlie stopped by to greet grandchild number 13.   

He now potentially has a complete rugby team of grandkids! Or a football team with two extras... And if their dad's talents were passed along, Mathias and Johan might be the benchwarmers! 

Meanwhile, in the life of a two-year old

Last week our small hometown put on an event especially geared towards folks in M's age category.

They simply emptied the City Works garage of exciting equipment.

There was a fire truck, a cherry picking truck, an ambulance, a police car, a mail truck, a wheel loader, and a school bus.   

For extra excitement a four-wheeler and a go-cart were sprinkled in there as well.

It was a hands-on event. Kids were got to climb into driver's seats, check and even run the sirens on the police car.

Unfortunately, dad's camera ran out of juice and  therefore there is very limited documentation.  

It was a tearful time at the end of it all when the machinery drove home.

Two week check

Today was time for the two-week check-in at the doctor's office!



Turns out eating around the clock has paid off! The expectation is that after two weeks a child should have recovered the initial weight loss and returned to his birth weight. The little overachiever has packed on a full 3 oz (about 100g) from his starting weight. And he's showing no signs of a slow down!


There aren't all that many milestones to look for at this age. But they want to verify that he 1) moves his arms and legs , 2) tracks a moving object, 3) squints for bright lights, and 4) startles at loud noises. Junior scored four out of four! Looking good!

Out & about

New Zealand's greatest contribution to man-kind might just be their strollers!  Well.. perhaps that and bungee jumping!

What is a couple of frequent walkers to do when a second child arrives and the first one is not yet ready to ride a bike (even with training wheels)?   

Well... as it turns out: just bolt on a second seat!

With the new setup, M is up higher than before and gets a better view of the neighbor-hood.

Johan has a flat bed on which he mostly sleeps when out side.

I really don't have an explanation to why Mathias insisted on bringing his blanket on what was a very nice and warm day...

On big-brother duty

Mathias now has a week of experience being a big-brother (not counting the first couple of days when Johan was in the hospital).

So far it has gone very well!  Mathias is always kind to his baby brother.He will frequently walk over to him and pat his head or give him a blanket (whether he needs one or not). 

Usually, the first thing he says when he wakes up is ask to see his brother (after asking for Mommy, of course).

Feed me!

If today was any indication, Johan may catch up to Mathias weight-wise in no time.

Johan has been eating something like once an hour all day.  Good for a growing boy but that's hard work!

Settling in...

We're already on the eve of the one week anniversary of the pedal-to-the-metal-drive-to- the-hospital incident.

We are adjusting to being a family of four and adapting a resem-blance of normalcy.

In a first road-trip, J got to tour Costco (700 baby wipes for $16).

We have taken him for a late-summer stroll through the neighbor-hood (he slept right through it).

Having two kids might actually be workable!

100 hours young

I may or may not be awake for the actual 100-hour marker at 3:30 this morning.  So we'll raise a toast (well.. some of us) either tonight or tomorrow morning.

So far we have:

-Had our first doctor's visit, which was scheduled for Saturday morning.  Everything is looking normal. No weight had been gained since we left the hospital but they didn't seem too concerned.

-Worked our way through about 40 diapers.

-Spent a lot of time watching our child just looking around and wiggling his arms and legs.

How time flies!

Meeting little brother

On Wednesday afternoon we brought Mathias to the hospital to meet his new brother.  The introductory meeting went very well.

Johan has now been home for a little over a day and big brother continues to be on his best behavior.  Of course little brother has yet to make a move on one of his toys...

M has made it one of his big-brother responsibilities to make sure we know what color clothing Johan is wearing. So, he'll periodically point to his brother and proclaim: Green! or White!  

Mother & son

Both mother and son are doing very well.

We were sent home yesterday and spent our first night as parents of two...  

Very tired today.

Slightly smaller...

As is customary, our little peanut shrunk a little over his first 24 hours. He's now 7 ounces (200g) smaller...

On a good side he has a pretty voracious appetite so he should put it back on in no-time.

First few pictures

 

These are from when Johan was just over one hour old (perhaps that should be just over an hour young.)

Life in the fastlane

Last night a little after 10 o clock I got my marching orders as Ericka came downstairs and announced: we need to go to the hospital! NOW!

Less than 90 minutes later our son was born! 

After a nail biter of a car ride, we entered the hospital at 10:45 and he arrived at 11:30. 

Time waits for no one!  Afterwards, I found myself in a chair with a newborn in my lap thinking what just happened?!

We named him Johan. He is dong very well, at 6 pounds 13 ounce (3,079 grams) and 19 inches (48 cm).  Both mother and child are doing well and are expected home tomorrow.