4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July with my family while they were here helping us the first week after Blake was born.  That morning, we put the kids in their outfits that Gaga bought for them (Connor's said Mr. Independent, totally fitting), Connor was in a "parade" with his friends Lincoln, Jackson, and Teyla from across the street, we all watched Thor, ate yummy food, and watched fireworks later that night.  Great day.

Love how smiley Will is all the time!

Love my two boys!

Flags, drums, pinwheels, and pom-poms.  We love our friends!

Big sleepy smiles!  Happy 4th of July!

Home from the hospital

My family (mom, dad, Ady, Jono, and baby Will) came to stay with and help us the first week after Blake was born (Friday, June 29 - Saturday, July 7).  It was fun having them here, and we really appreciated all their help!  Brad also stayed home from work that first week.  It was a party!

Saturday afternoon when we came home from the hospital, we opened the gifts my family brought for Blake.  They were very thoughtful and got Connor a few gifts too so he wouldn't feel left out.  It was a baby shower for Blake and a Big Brother Party for Connor.  Connor loved it (and so did I).

New bad and ball!

This is Connor's favorite thing he got.  He calls it "sticky ball."  And he's really good at it!

He also got snaps and M&Ms - his two other favorite things.

Cute cousins.

Love him!

Cute cousins.

Great big brother.

Sunday afternoon we did a big family dinner with my family and the Jeppsons.  So fun to have everyone together to celebrate our sweet new boy.

Great Grandpa Gotberg.

Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Brian with their 3 grandchildren - Connor (2.5 years), Alexis (7 months), Blake (newborn).

Adorable Alexis.

My little snuggle bug.  This is by far the best part of the newborn phase.  A warm little ball snuggled up and sleeping on your chest.

Blake and Papa, Blake's namesake (Paul).

Monday, July 2 was Blake's first doctor appointment.  The doctor wanted to see him so soon because he was Coombs positive at birth and she wanted to monitor his bilirubin count and jaundice.  His bilirubin count was 12 (up from 9 a few days before in the hospital) and he was looking a little yellow (down to his knees), but he was still only in the moderate-low risk zone so the doctor wasn't concerned.  She did a general check up and weighed him.  Here's his weight progression:

Birth (Thursday night) - 8 lb. 14 oz.
Leaving the hospital (Saturday morning) - 8 lb. 6 oz.
First doctor visit (Monday afternoon, July 2) - 8 lb. 15 oz. - already passed his birth weight!  In 2 days!! 
Second doctor visit (Friday afternoon, July 6) - 9 lb. 9 oz. - 10 ounces in 4 days!  What a chunker!

 Tuesday we hung out at home and gave Blake his first sponge bath.

Me and my 2 sweet boys.

Like I said - absolute best part.

Look!  They're communicating! :)

 Thanks for coming everyone!  We miss you already!

March Trip to California

March 6-14, we all went down to visit my family one last time before Baby #2 comes in July. As always, we had a great trip.

Disneyland with Claire and Jaxson:

Lounging around the house with my family:

Walking around the Spectrum:

And, of course, another trip to Disneyland with our friends the Tullis'.

Oh how we miss our family, friends, and DISNEYLAND!

Surprise trip to California - Nov. 2011

Since Ady didn't have her baby while we were visiting California in October, I made a surprise visit to California in November. I just couldn't stand to not see cute Baby Will until Christmas. It was just me (Connor stayed with Brenda for a few days and Brad worked) and I didn't tell anyone I was coming. My friend Christine picked me up from LB airport and I wish I would have snapped a picture of my mom's face when she opened the door and saw me standing on the front step. Fantastic. It is always fun to spend time with my family and I was in heaven holding my sweet nephew for a whole week!

He is SO much bigger now and I'm glad I got to spend that week with him while he was still in the sweet newborn phase. Auntie loves you Will!



Warm, snugly, sweet-smelling ball of goodness.