Let It Snow

Well we made it to November 13th without snow! Not to bad. Today is the Bears-Vikes game. Joey is trying to decide which fan-ware to sport. If you remember last year, Joey was born the day after the Vikings destroyed the Bears (and his daddy's dreams). This year is going to be a little bit tougher for the Vikes...

A Spooktacular October!

Check out my new smile!

Joey has become quite the ham lately! Needless to say, we can't get enough of it.

Halloween night was spent with Aunt Katie, Uncle Nick, and the little lion Sage! We thought we were pretty smart using the baby monitor to listen for the doorbell while we watched the Vikings game downstairs, until we found out it wasn't on!

This is just the beginning of the things we do to embarrass our children!

Joey took his first flight to Houston this month for Great Aunt Peggy and Great Uncle Bob's 60th wedding anniversary! He was a super trooper on the plane - no crying and he slept at least an hour both ways!

Massive Summer Recap

So the last 2 months have flown by. Hang on to your hats - as I try to hit the highlights...

Super Joe turns 9 months tomorrow! You would not believe what he has been up to. He's is currently breaking in 4 new top teeth (that's right - ALL at the same time).

CHECK OUT MY TOOTHY SMILE!

We've been enjoying our crop share all summer thanks to Jim and Jenny. Joey has expanded his menu to include: rice, peas, beans, carrots, mango, banana (not a fav), oatmeal, avocado, papaya, potatoes, and steak tartar (just kidding).

MMMMMM - PEA FACE

Making things even more interesting - Joey has started crawling. Well, really it is more like a scoot - dragging his little body across the floor and earning him nick names such as GI Joe and Combat Kitty. This also allows him to locate every piece of lint, crumb, and dirt on the floor. He just can't get that butt up yet.

Best of all, we've been able to share the last couple of months with good friends and family.

Father's Day at the Cabin!

Well, it's official, this little guy just keeps getting bigger and bigger! He has two teeth, sits on his own, rolls both directions, scoots on his back and can do long division. He has been sampling all kinds of new flavors: rice, banana (not a fan), carrot, peas, and papaya. He started taking swimming lessons with Daddy. Joey learns to swim and Dan learns nursery rhymes. Grandma Flynn was in the weekend before Father's Day and we had a great visit to the Science Museum and a couple of very humbling games of Pinocle. Last weekend we celebrated Father's Day at the cabin. Joey took a chilly dip in Sandy Lake. This weekend is a call weekend - boo hoo. We are looking forward to celebrating the 4th at Sandy Lake once again.

HANGING WITH DADDY!

LOOK GRANDPA, I HAVE A PUTZ HAT TOO!

Memorial Day Weekend - 6 months!

Last weekend Erin and Pat came for a visit. We spent Saturday and Sunday at the cabin. Joey was hanging with Sage and Dan took his first wake boarding run of the season. The weather was awesome! On Monday and Tuesday, Dan got to show his city off to his big sis. Dan, Erin, Pat and Joey hit the sculpture garden and the Guthrie.

This weekend we took a road trip to Des Moines to visit our good friends, Jennifer and James. The weather was beautiful and we spent the better part of the weekend either at the grill or in the pool. It looks like Joey is going to be a water baby. He loved the pool! It was good practice since he and Dan are going to take swimming lessons at the Y next month.

Joey just turned 6 months. Tonight he had his first taste of solid food - whole grain rice mixed with breast milk....yummmy? He takes after his Mom and Dad and seems to be a natural eater. Also, he has two teeth that have finally broken through after weeks of drooling so we're getting ready to say goodbye to those toothless smiles. :(

Cheeks

Cheeks, originally uploaded by jendivo.

First Mother's Day

Last weekend we hit Chicago for a visit. We had a great reason to go - the sweet wedding of our good friends Chris Coleman and Laura Bender. Friday Night Dinners returned with a bang with a night out a Avec with Jennifer and James. Saturday was celebrated with the wedding at the St. James chapel (not to be confused with the St. James Episcopal church) and reception in the Garfield Park Conservatory. Sunday was spent as it should have been, surrounded by mothers, aunts, grandmas, friends, and spirit moms. Stephen spoiled us with brunch at the Paramount Room. Dan gave me an awesome painting by our good friend Quang Hong of my favorite Joey shot.

This weekend we were off to Sandy Lake. What a beautiful weekend!!! All the docks, lifts, and boats are now in the water and ready to go. Joey and Sage dipped their toes in the water for the first time. The two cousins hung out together at the cabin doing what they love to do: eating, pooping, and sleeping.

Next weekend we are looking forward to introducing Joey to Aunt Erin for the first time!!

Make sure to check out Flickr for more photos...

Getting Ready for Summer!

Last weekend we celebrated cabin opener! We're looking forward to all the fun the summer has to offer. After Gener spent last summer proctoring his own education in plumbing, it looks like the theme of this summer is going to be electricity. So far the # of times shocked = only 1. The best thing about the cabin is sharing it with family and friends and we're looking forward to doing that with many of you this year.

This weekend Dan is off to Chicago to celebrate the end of bachelor-hood for Chris Coleman. That means this weekend's parent to Joey ratio is going to be 1:1. Wish me luck!

Andy has a short but sweet layover

Andy had a couple hours in MSP airport on Sunday so Joey and Sage insisted we go visit their NY Uncle. There's nothing like a family reunion to make a weekend. This weekend we're off to Zimmerman to get things rolling up at the cabin. Can't wait for those water babies to hit the beach. The weather is suppose to be sweet. Minnesota 70s here we come!

I COULD WATCH HIM DO THIS FOR HOURS

Road Trip to Chicago

Joey took his first road trip to Chicago for Easter. Traveling with a 4 month old wasn't too bad. He slept the better part of the trip. We only stopped twice on the way there and once on the way back. It was great to see everyone. Friday we stopped in to see our good friends Katie and Shawn Koch. Friday night we had a great meal at Jim and Jenny's. It was great to see everyone and Joey got to meet a bunch of good friends. Saturday we celebrated Laura's Bachelorette party at the House of Blues while the boys gathered a backyard BBQ. Sunday we headed out to New Lenox to celebrate Easter with Pat, Jim, Jenny, and Jamie and Melanie Cantorna and family. Monday we spent some sweet time with Pat, Jenny, Lily, and Lucas before having to jump back in the car. We'll be back in Chicago in a month for Chris and Laura's wedding and we can't wait.

Visiting Sage

How sweet the weekend is! After pushing through my first big weekend of call last weekend and surviving the week of clinic and surgery, I have arrived at a free weekend. Here is how it went down...

Saturday: 3am feed Joey. 6am -pump. Off to round at 6:30am. Call starts at 7am. Consult. Delivery. Consult. Home
Sunday: 2am feed Joey. 6am - feed Joey. Round again. 2 surgeries. Home around 4pm. Spilt 8oz of pumped breast milk IN the breast pump (this was an all time breastfeeding low). On the brink of tears. Delivery. Call ends at 10pm...Sleep.
Monday: 3am - feed Joey. 7am - feed Joey. Off to round by 7:30. Clinic from 9am - 5pm. Home. Delivery at 1am.
Tuesday: 3am - feed Joey. 7am - feed Joey. Off to round by 7:30. Clinic from 9am - 12pm. Surgery. Home by 3pm. Doc meeting at 5:30pm - 8:30. Consult. Home at 10:30pm...Sleep.
Wednesday: 3am - feed Joey. 7am - feed Joey. Off to round by 7:30. Clinic from 9am - 5pm. Home. On call again. Just phone calls throughout the night.
Thursday: 3am - feed Joey. 7am - feed Joey. Clinic from 9am - 12pm. Surgery. Home around 5pm.

My eyes are super tired right now...burning actually. I can't wait to "sleep in" tomorrow. That really just means to lay around in bed with my smiling boys. I'm embracing a whole new level of sleep deprivation. I don't really mind it. It is sweetened by 3am moments with Joey. He is sleeping like a pro. Only one wake up between 7:00pm and 7:30/8am.

Today we visited my spankin' new niece, Sage. She's just down right beautiful. She seems so tiny, but is actually bigger than Joey was at that age. She has uber long fingers and strong lungs (although she rarely cries). Joey is growing soooooooo big. The past couple of days = drooling rivers. Perhaps his teeth are on the way. Grandpa D. can't wait.

After asking Dan if he has any baby photos around (to compare to Joey), he has opened a pandora's box of mementos. As I type this he is reading old letters to Jim. They sound like 5th grade girls. :)

She's heeeeeeerrrrrrreeeee!

Joey has a new cousin! Sage Josephine Piehl 6 pounds 11 ounces was born on March 21, 2010 at 8:44am. Everyone is happy and healthy. She's beautiful. Joey looks huge next to her.

14 Weeks and Kickin'

Well, the last two weeks since returning to work have been great. Dan and Joey have been doing awesome at home and I now have TWO great guys to rush home to. Joey has been getting the sleeping thing down. He goes down without a fuss around 7:30pm and usually wakes up around 3am for a feeding. He then goes back down until 7:30 or 8am. He's now sleeping in the crib in his own room. At bedtime he eats, gets changed, gets wrapped up in his "baby straight jacket." We read Goodnight Moon and then he's out. This upcoming weekend is my first full weekend on call. We'll have to see how that goes... I can't really say I'm looking forward to it.

Back to Work :(

Last weekend Kelley, Robert and Grandma Flynn came for a visit. It was a great time filled with heated games of Pinochle, the Olympic Games, and tasty brews. Kelley has the magic touch and could probably get Joey to sleep in the middle of a 3 ring circus. He's now sleeping ALMOST all night. He goes down without a fuss around 7:30pm and usually sleeps until 4 or 5am. He'll get up at that time for a feeding and then is able to go right back to sleep until 7 or 8am. Monday meant it was time for me to go back to work. Killer. I now have TWO great guys to come home to. Jennifer and James are coming to visit this weekend. James has a photography class and of course we'll ask him to practice on Joey. Dan is already searching the cookbooks for the best creation to try.

Let's Get Some ZZZZZs

Well only 2 weeks before I have to go back to work. I'm already starting to get bummed about not spending the whole day just watching him. We're working on a sleep schedule and it turns out this munchkin loves to sleep. He's got around 30 sleep positions. My favorite is 2 arms straight up! I'm actually typing this with one hand since he has fallen asleep in my other arm.

Vacation in the Wisconsin Dells

We just got back from an awesome weekend in "the Dells." We spent Friday through Sunday at the Wilderness Waterpark. Jim, Jenny, Lily and Lucas met us there on Friday and then Tammy, Paul, Pia, Pat, Chris, Laura, Mike and Laura made the trek on Saturday. Randomly, Garth and Lynda were also at the Dells. It was so sweet to get together with everyone. It makes us realize how much we miss everyone. We are hoping to return to Chicago for Easter and will definately be there for Chris and Laura's wedding in May. Check out lots of photos on Flickr!

2 months already!

Joseph celebrated his 2 month birthday with a trip to see Dr. Plotnik. He weighs a massive 9# 4.5oz and is now starting to coo and smile. We are enjoying our last month of maternity leave. Next weekend we are off to the Wisconsin Dells to meet family and friends. We're also excited for Kelley and Robert to visit the last weekend in February.

7 Big Weeks Old!

Joey is 7 weeks today! He is weighing in at a hefty 9 lbs. He loves hanging out with his Daddy and sleeps around 12 hours a day. Life is good here. We are enjoying maternity leave.