A sunny, warm day in Washington

The last 12 hours have brought quite the snow storm to the greater DC area. While the snow continues to fall, and is supposed to do so for a while longer, we probably have about 10 inches on the ground at last count. Although it took us longer to get Benjamin ready to go outside than we actually spent outside, he appears to love his first snowstorm!

The Blizzard!

Thanksgiving Weekend

The Benj-man doesn't eat turkey yet so his first Thanksgiving involved a lot of turkey bibs, cute outfits, and attention from his grandparents, aunts, and various others. It also included his first Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) ride into NYC to see his (and Dan's) first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We didn't see a lot of the parade, but SpongeBob SquarePants was a big hit ;)

Thanksgiving 2009

Pictures of the Teeth (and More!)

So Dan was finally able to get a few good shots of Benjamin's teeth yesterday (really, it's harder than it sounds!). Also in the album are some misc shots - of Benji hanging out, in the bath, and of some play dates with his friends Sasha and Lyra. Enjoy!

Teeth and other Misc Nov Pics

One Tooth is for Babies

But TWO teeth are for big boys! Just minutes after Chrissie told Dan "I think he's cutting another tooth," Dan saw it while getting Benj ready for bed (yes, Dan has now found both teeth, but Chrissie's not jealous, not at all!). Also on the bottom, also in the middle. Guess the first tooth was just lonely.

Zibel Boy Cuts a Tooth!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chrissie or Dan

(November 18, 2009, Washington, D.C.) - Benjamin woke up with his first tooth today! His parents, Dan and Chrissie, report that the tooth cut through the gums at some point between 7:30 pm on November 17th and 6:30 am on November 18th. Given the boy woke up with a start at 11:30 pm last evening and 12:30 am this morning (going back to sleep on his own, much to his parents glee), they further suspect that the tooth officially came in in the vicinity of those times. The boy is doing fine without tylenol, though is not so in to showing the tooth, so pictures will follow at some point.

###

UPDATE: Dan has confirmed the location of the tooth - bottom left (our right) middle tooth.

Six Months!

Last weekend, Benjamin celebrated his 6 month birthday. Today we went to the doc for his checkup - he got a great report and continues to be in the 75th percentile for height (27 1/4 inches), weight (19 lbs. 3 oz.), and head circumference (45 cm). He also got a ton of shots (and is now sleeping them - and the tylenol - off!).

Below are two albums - the first from last weekend when Ellen and Allan (Dan's Aunt/Uncle) visited us and the second is a mish mash of pics from the last couple weeks. It includes our trip to Ann Arbor (B's first plane ride!) and some random shots.

Enjoy!

Ellen and Allan Visit

Ellen and Allan Visit

Other Pics

Misc. Benj - Oct/Early Nov

A blog emergency!

So we were going to post some more pictures of Benji from this past weekend, but as luck would have it -- we had a blogging emergency. The pictures of the new bath, and videos of the paper tearing will have to wait.

As you will see, Benji is somewhat sad these days.

Not a very happy boy... from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Benji's First Halloween!

Benjamin (aka Yoda) had several Halloween celebrations this week. The first set of pictures, in the grey stroller you won't recognize, are from his Halloween parade at school. The next set are from Halloween day hanging in the house and then heading out to walk around the Hill. Benjamin did, however, sleep through our sighting of the Obama girls treat or treating in our neighborhood. Oh well, mom and dad enjoyed seeing them anyway!

Look for more pics later this week of Benji's new bath tub and just some all around fun video of him hanging out.

Halloween!

Who Needs a Chair?

So in addition to sitting in his high chair, Benjamin has almost mastered the art of just sitting on his tush on the floor. He's been practicing at school and has gotten really good at it. I captured it on video this evening (excuse the cold induced scratchiness in my singing, but it made B happy and I wanted to get the video!).

A New Seat!

As Benji has become quite the foodie of late (bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, & peas) -- we knew we had to up the ante on his eating arrangement. Luckily, we were ready to go with Benji's new highchair. He's quite the fan!

Benji tries the high chair!

Dinner Time

Benji has become quite the little eater!

Dinner Time! from Dan Zibel on Vimeo.

Apples!

On Sunday, we ventured out to Markham, Virginia to go apple picking at Stribling Orchard. It was a beautiful fall day. The pictures speak for themselves.

There's also one shot at the end to show you all how well Benji boy is sitting these days. In other news, he's now enjoying oatmeal, sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, and this weekend's new edition - carrots. Some green veggies will follow before introducing more fruit (despite the influx of apples in our house!).

Link to pics:

Apple Picking

Long Overdue Pics

Below is an album of assorted pictures from the last couple of weeks. There are a couple from Benjamin's first taste of cereal 3 weeks ago, some from his first taste of sweet potato, and then finally, from this weekend, spent with Grammy Carol and Grandpa Jack. Enjoy!

September Pics of Benjamin

We've Been Remiss

We're sorry - we've left our adoring fans (ok, really, Benji's adoring fans) hanging with little to no information or pictures. We promise that we will share some new pics soon (truth be told, we haven't really taken any recently...), but we did want to update you on the little guy's progress.

We started Benjamin on "solids" nearly 3 weeks ago, and just this week, we are starting to make some progress. Benjamin eats rice cereal twice a day at school (the teachers think he wants to eat because he sees his friends doing so, we're not so sure) and has been experimenting with fruits and vegetables at home for dinner. Last night he ate half a banana and a cube of pureed sweet potato with no fuss. He swallowed it without the aid of a pacifier or a bottle - previously we've had to help him with the concept by giving him something to suck on.

Later this week we plan to introduce oatmeal and butternut squash.

And really, we promise to give you some pics soon!

Halloween Poll Over! - UPDATED 9/21

Turns out the Juliano/Zibel household is a democracy. We ordered the Yoda costume yesterday, and it is already on our way to us. Stay tuned for pictures on or about October 31st!

Thanks to all who voted. 10 out of 16 inquiring minds chose Yoda. But Dan's not quite on board, yet, so stay tuned.

Report from Benjamin's 4 Month Check Up

We can't believe it's been 4 months since Benji was born, but alas that's what the calendar says. He had his check up today and, well, he's grown... a bit...

He is now 25 1/2 inches long (+2 1/4 since 2 month check up) and weighs in at 15 lbs. 14 oz. Yes, you read that correctly, he weighs nearly 16 pounds and has gained 3+ lbs. over the two months (remember when he couldn't gain weight!?). He is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight, so now he's officially an overachiever (which his Daddy always knew he would be).

We also got the go ahead to start introducing solids so look for some cute (read: really messy) feeding pictures soon. Rice cereal is first on the agenda, followed by some other cereals, then veggies, and then fruits. Mom and Dad plan on figuring out how the heck to make "baby food" this weekend so that Benji can enjoy the produce we're getting from our CSA in the weeks to come.

As always, stay tuned.

Benji's First Days of "School"

Benjamin started his transition to "school" (daycare) this week, spending 2 hours on Wednesday and 4 hours on Thursday with his teachers and new friends at Bright Horizons East End.

The report Dan received when he picked Benji up on Wednesday was "a typical first day," which, we're pretty sure was code for he cried a bit (not entirely abnormal for Benji...). But, he didn't cry when we left him in the morning, and he wasn't crying when Dan got there to pick him up, so it couldn't have been too bad!

On Thursday, Dan received a glowing report from Ms. Iris (his main teacher) who said Benji had an excellent day, even slept for about an hour, and that he was likely ready to do a full day rather than continue the 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-hour transition. We were very excited to hear he did well (though we really had little doubt he would) and were also relieved that we wouldn't have to figure out the logistics of short days next week as well (when Dan goes back to work and has jury duty!).

Friday is Benjamin's 4-month check up where he will get measured and weighed, as well as receive another round of shots. This should be an excellent way for Dan to spend his last day of paternity leave! We are also hoping to get the go-ahead to start introducing cereal and additional solid (pureed) foods. We will post the vital statistics over the weekend.

A few pics from the last week are in the album below.

Early September Misc. Pics

Links for Halloween Poll

Here are the corresponding links for the halloween poll at the right, in case you need to see the costumes to decide.

Yoda

The Red Chili Pepper

The Baseball

Dan Quoted in Story about Teddy Kennedy

Dan was quoted in this news story - and was on camera as well (still looking for the video) - when he and Benji were at the Newseum today. He SWEARS he said more interesting things than this, but at least he's the first person quoted! If we find the video, we'll share that too.

D.C.'s Newseum Pays Tribute to Sen. Kennedy|ABC 7 News

Shared via AddThis

We're Home!

After 20 days on the road, 8 states (and 1 "District") visited and/or passed through, 5 different houses slept in, 2060 miles driven, and 352 pictures and/or videos of Benjamin, WE ARE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't get us wrong. We had a fabulous whirlwind trip over the past 2 1/2 weeks. Benjamin and his grandparents (but especially his grandparents) had a great time getting to know each other better, and Benji's parents had a good time too (they had TWO dates without the Benj-man!). But we are glad to be in our own house and are greatly looking forward to sleeping in our own bed. And Benjamin was so excited to be home, he went to sleep in his crib no problem - we're hoping that he'll continue his most recent trend of sleeping through the night as well.

Anyways, below are a few final pictures from our last days of the trip. Thanks for reading and hope to see all you local folks soon!

Final Pics of the Roadtrip

Cape Cod!

After leaving NY, we continued north -- and landed on the shores of Cape Cod, spending time with Noni and Papi in Falmouth for a few days of even more rest and relaxation on the beach. While Benji is a little small to be eating lobster, his mom and dad had a few in his honor! As the week came to a close, we spent a day with Benji's great Aunt Ellen and Uncle Allan in New Seabury, and then a day in Scituate with Adam, Merri, Halsey, and little in-utero baby Laban/Wade.

We've landed in Cambridge, MA for a few days, and will be heading back to DC later this week. More photos will certainly follow....

Cape Cod

Pool Party!

Sorry for the delay.... we've been meaning to post about leg two (Chrissie's Dad's) of our journey, but we've been very busy at leg three (the Cape with Dan's parents).

Anyways, after leaving the north fork, we journeyed to Dix Hills to hang out with Chrissie's Dad, Stepmom, and sisters. Benji had lots of fun getting used to the pool and meeting lots of friends and family at a bbq/pool party. Pictures are below.

Benji Visits Dix Hills

Coming soon: pics/blog post from our time on the Cape.

A Quick Study

On only his second day at the beach, Benjamin learned a most important lesson about both the beach and vacation: Napping is essential! (Remember, this is a baby whose preferred - and often only - napping place is his stroller while it is outside and moving.)

We also put his feet in the water, which he was none too happy about. It was a bit chilly, and we think he just wasn't a fan of LI Sound. We're hoping he'll enjoy the pool at Grandpa Jim's a bit more and then maybe be so accustomed to water that he'll try out the ocean at the Cape. But we'll just have to see. Click below for more pictures of Benji's trip to the beach.

Benji at the Beach -- Day 2

ROAD TRIP!!

So Saturday marked the start of Benji's first road trip -- with visits to all his many grandparents planned along the way. He's been excited for his vacation for quite some time now, because, as he's told us repeatedly, it's very tiring being such a cute little boy. The trip began with Benji's first traffic jam on the Jersey Turnpike. It was bound to happen sooner or later. But 9 hours after leaving DC, we made it to Jamesport, NY -- on the western side of Long Island's North Fork. Benji was a superstar for the whole ride up.

But on Monday, Benji got to go to the beach for the very first time -- he had a whole lot of fun. See pictures below. More to follow as we continue our trip over the next few weeks.

Benji's First Beach Day

Benji's Big Adventure: His First Baseball Game

Several of the last Sundays, when the Nationals have been in town, we have toyed with taking Benjamin to his first baseball game. This morning, we decided today was the day!

The nats were clinging to a 2-1 lead when their closer blew it and gave up a solo home run in the top of the 9th. BUT, as we were walking home from the bus (we left in the bottom of the 9th because we were all hot and tired), we heard the fireworks implying they'd won. So while he didn't see it, we're pretty sure the Nats pulled it out in Benji's honor.

Pictures and a short video are below.

Benji's First Baseball Game!

Smile for the Camera!

So Benj has been smiling for a couple weeks now, but we have not been able to capture it with the camera - despite lots of attempts (see below).

Trying to Capture a Smile

HOWEVER - I managed to video one this morning after Benji's morning nap. Enjoy!

The heartland of America

So, as many of you know, I (Dan) have been spending a whole lot of time away from home of late - which undoubtedly makes little Benjinator very sad. But, there's a silver lining to every cloud, and this one involves the Delaware County (Indiana) fair. There's not a whole lot to see in terms of tourism in Muncie, Indiana -- but the county fair offered a slice of good ol' fashioned America -- teenage boys and girls on dates, fried onions, fried dough, fried mushrooms, fried fried, rides, carnival booths, fried hot dogs, and more fried dough.

More pictures may come later in the week. Stay tuned for updates.

Muncie

Two Months and Counting - Mediocrity at Its Best!

Benjamin had his 2 month check up (at 10 weeks) today. He has grown to 23 1/4 inches (+1.5 inches since last month) and 12 lbs. 4 oz. (+3 lbs). He is solidly in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference (hence, the mediocrity headline). This is a marked improvement on his weight since last month when he was still in the 25th percentile. He also got lots of immunizations and despite the infant tylenol is a little out-of-sorts this evening (we'll be redosing him in about 90 minutes).

UPDATED - 7:30 pm - there are new pics in the album below since the original post

Pictures from Tuesday's bath (his first minus the sling in the baby tub) and playing yesterday with his Gram are below!

Misc

Some Pics of Benji in the Bumbo

Here are some pics from Monday morning - we're getting Benji introduced to his Bumbo seat. He's still a bit too small for it, but he's getting there!

Benji in the Bumbo

For some reason, I have not been able to upload videos this week - rest assured, I'll keep trying.

The First of Many Posts This Week

So Gram (Chrissie's mom) is here in D.C., which means lots of pics, and Dan is in Muncie, Indiana for work and has demanded pics and videos on a daily basis. The confluence of these two events means lots of posts this week so stay tuned!

These pics are of Benji chilling and also of his bath - which he is finally starting to enjoy. There will also be a video of tummy time appearing soon too, but the internet isn't cooperating, and Chrissie wants to go to bed.

Gram's Visit Day 1

Photos and Video from the Past Week

Below is Benji's July 4th photo shoot! We put him in the only outfit we had that resembled red, white, and blue, but he subsequently peed on it (as he is known to do). (Click on the image to go to the album.)

Benji's July 4th Photo Shoot

We also took some video this week of Benji just chillin' out.

Benji's Cousin Ezra Gets His First Haircut

We interrupt the Benjamin picture fest to share adorable pics of his cousin's first hair cut. We'll share more of Benji soon, we promise.

Ezra's First Haircut

Dan's First Father's Day!

All of us - but Dan in particular - had a fabulous Father's Day today!

We started with brunch at Art & Soul, a new restaurant on Capitol Hill opened by Art Soul (from Chicago and used to be Oprah's chef), then took a drive to, and walk through, Great Falls National Park in Virginia.

Our drive to the park was made even more pleasant by the fact that we bought a new car yesterday (Saturday)! Chrissie bid farewell to her beloved Jeep Cherokee, and Dan is now the proud co-owner of his first new car, a 2009 Honda CRV.

Click below to see some pictures from Father's Day weekend. Enjoy!

Father's Day 2009

A Third New Skill or Just a Fluke?

So this alleged new skill happened last night at some point between Chrissie putting Benji back to bed at 3:15, and Dan walking into Benji's room at 6 am. Thus, there are no pictures - you'll have to take our word for it.

Benjamin has been using a sleep positioner because from early on he was so squirmy that he would almost wind up on his side. So we used the positioner to allow him to sleep on his side and not roll over onto his belly. Benji has been known to move the positioner across the crib, and in the middle of the night, his foot was almost through the slats of the crib.

We have also been swaddling Benji so that his Moro Reflex doesn't wake him using these handy velcro-blanket swaddler things. He's been pretty adept at getting free from the swaddle, particular to get his arms out so that he can rest his head on them (very cute, though we don't have any pictures of that either), but it at least helps him fall asleep.

So back to last night - Dan goes into get him this morning and, while he is still swaddled and still in the sleep positioner, he had turned over almost entirely onto his belly. Yes, in a swaddle, with no use of his arms and legs, he had manipulated his body to pretty much roll over. His head was sideways - albeit the opposite side he usually sleeps on - so that was good (infants are no longer supposed to sleep belly/face down to fight SIDS), but needless to say we were a little shocked.

Two New Skills

So Benji is getting a lot better at just "being," when not sleeping or eating (on most days, at least). Here's a little video of him on his play mat. If you watch all the way to the end you'll see what other skill he's gotten really good at too.

Weekend at Benji's

Benji had a fun weekend. Courtney came to visit, he got to see Costco for the first time, and he even managed to find time for a few of his favorite activities -- eating, sleeping, and pooping. A few photos, and another video clip of our cute little boy.

Photos in the album below.

Benji's Weekend

One Month Down... a Lifetime to Go!

Somehow, it's been a month (actually 5 weeks, but who's counting) since Benji was born. He's changed a lot in that time... He now weighs in at 9 lbs. 4 oz (!), has grown an inch and 3/4 in length, and keeps his eyes open a lot more. His parents have learned a lot too - like balancing a sleeping baby on one's chest while putting up a blog post - and we're getting close to establishing a rhythm (albeit one that changes every other day or so!). Most excitingly (is that a word?), Benji is now fitting in to the vast majority of his 0-3 clothes so his mama is having fun dressing him every morning. His dad is more excited, however, about the ability to carry Benji in the bjorn (picture to follow).

Below are some pics to show you how much he's grown - and as you all requested, with his eyes wide open. Note that these were taken about 2 hours apart even though he's in different outfits... we do a lot of laundry :-)

Benji's One Month Birthday

It's hard to believe -- but Benji has now been with us for an entire month.  He still sleeps alot, seems to be crying a bit less (knock on wood...), and he's eating a whole lot more.  He has his 1-month doctor's appointment later this week.

In our first multi-media video post, you can see Benji trying out tummy time! He's still a little shaky, but he's slowly starting to hold his head up high!

Benji celebrated the big day with Uncle Alan, Aunt Renee, and Cousin Ez at the annual MOTH (Mom's on the Hill) picnic.  It was quite an event!  Benji wasn't all that aware of his birthday -- but we got some great pics anyway.   Click on the link below to see some pics of the big event. (Most are of Ez -- who is quite photogenic these days!)

MOTH Picnic

Nervous Nelly Parents and Benj Continues to Pack on the Pounds... Um, Ounces

So most of our loyal readers are aware of Benjamin's "screaming issues," and nervous nellies that we are, we decided to take him back to the doc to make sure all was a-ok.

Benji is, of course, fine, and the doc (who kept talking generally about "first time parents") suggested that we feed him more (now keep in mind we were already feeding him more than the nurse practitioner suggested last week) to see if that stops the screaming. Allegedly, babies can't eat too much - ah to be young again ;)

So we're trying the feeding on demand, and we'll see what happens! We have our one month appointment next week so that will be a good follow up. He was also weighed and is now up to 7 lbs 12.6 ozs (+5.6 from last week and +11.6 since birth). He's approaching the 8 pound minimum that will allow him to go into the Baby Bjorn (which very much excites his dad!).

Here's a pic of Benji sleeping outside Eastern Market this am. His mom was quite pleased as she got to sit outside and read the entire front section of the Washington Post for the first time in about 27 days (but who's counting!?)!

By Popular Demand

For those of you who have been asking for more pics, here are a few...

The first couple with the Capitol are from last Sunday evening - we walked down to the rehearsal for the NSO Memorial Day concert.

The rest - a series of Benjamin close ups - were taken by Gram (Carol, Chrissie's mom) while Benji slept in his car seat.

You might notice that he's looking a little pudgy these days - he's up to 7 pounds, 7 ounces - a full 6 ounces more than his birth weight and 10 ounces more than last week. This means the every 2 hour force feeding is over, and we can let him sleep at night if he wishes. The latter is excellent news for mom and dad in particular!

A few pics for Benjamin's fans

This is the picture of a growing baby (we think and hope)!

Two days ago, Benji didn't fit in the boppy. Now, with a little folding of the pillow, he can sit in it (not that he likes it!). His newborn clothes are also starting to be a little snug, and we've been trying on some 0-3 outfits (with different levels of success!). This, of course, is all anecdotal, we go back to the doc on Thursday for the big weigh-in!

Name that Zibel!

Ok -- so, some people say that all newborns look alike.  We think that little Benji actually bears a striking resemblance to his cousin Ezra.  Can you decide which baby is which?  

Zibel No. 1:  EZ or BZ?

What about this one?

Anyone know who this baby is?

And how bout Zibel No. 4?

One hint is that there are two pictures of little Benji.  And two pictures of Ezra.  Submit your responses to danchrissie@gmail.com, or post your guess in the comments.  Results will be posted later in the week.

Metro Rides, Baths, and Silly Faces

A few new milestones in little B's life.  Yesterday, we gave him his very first bath.  It wasn't quite the spa/relaxing experience that he undoubtedly expected, but it was very functional.  

And then today, we took our urban baby on his very first metro ride.  He was a big fan of the "doors closing, please stand clear of the doors" chime.  So much so, that when his mommy hopped on the train, Benji and Dad got left behind!  But we all survived... 

Benji's Bath and Metro Ride

Out and About

Benji spent the end of last week with various grand-parental units. He took his first ride in his new wheels, visited his first new york-style pizzeria, and accompanied friends Mac and Ollie to Stanton Park (ok, really he watched them play on the see-saw, but his eyes might have been closed too...).

All this activity has left Benji a little light in the belly, but his parents have him on a rigorous feeding schedule that barely leaves them time to eat!

To see the pics of all this fun, click below:

Benji Meets the Fam and Starts to Explore the World

Holy poop!

So on day five of little Benjamin's life, he went on his first non-Doctor's related excursion.  Babies r Us!! So exciting for the little guy.  He did great! We had a bit of trouble figuring out how to hook his carseat into the shopping cart -- but we made do!

After our shopping, we all grabbed lunch.  And then -- well, let's just say Chrissie learned a little lesson in projectile pooping.   But it was ok -- thankfully her instinctual reaction was to close her mouth, not open it. Otherwise, we're doing great.  Benjamin is becoming more awake, and is a little more aware of his surroundings.   He continues to eat every three hours, but we're having fun with the new addition to our family.

It Really was THE time!

It was a little surprising when Chrissie's water broke last Thursday at 2 am and 12 hours later we had a son!

We're not sure there are any loyal readers out there who haven't heard the news, but just in case, Benjamin Noah Zibel entered the world last Thursday, May 7, at 2:07 pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz and was 20 inches long.

We have been home since Saturday and are doing well. Here are some pics from Benjamin's first few days with us.

Introducing...

The Time has Come...

Ok, not THE time, but we're getting close. Without giving y'all too much information, suffice to say that Chrissie's body is readying itself, and we're thinking the little guy may make his appearance a wee-bit early.

So we're proposing a friendly little contest... Fill out the polls on the side about the babe's specs.

That's it. And watch this space (and your inboxes) for updates!

All Work and No Play?

Ok, so we keep listing all the stuff we're getting done around the house in preparation for the babe. It turns out we've been taking some time here and there for ourselves and our friends too!

Yesterday, Saturday, we took a quick day trip to go visit Chris, Ashley, Alanna, and Carter. We bummed around in the beautiful weather, ate some food, and then headed home. It was great to see them. The pictures below will be particular exciting for those of you who want to look at Chrissie's belly. While she is totally convinced that the camera adds MORE than 10 pounds, Dan thinks they are pretty accurate (which was a wee bit depressing to Chrissie). Click on the one photo below to link to the album in picassa.

Visiting Chris/Ash and the babes

We also need to post one special pic here, with a shout out to Ashley, for finding to the time to make Baby Z an awesome quilt. The picture does not do it justice, but there's little monkeys and bananas on it :-)





The first week in April (which yes, seems like a really long time ago) Adam, Merri, and Halsey came to visit. We spent Saturday walking around with the masses at the Cherry Blossom Festival. Then, on Sunday, Dan had a great time at the park after we had a fantabulous brunch at Matchbox. Click on the pic below to view the album.

Adam, Merri, and Halsey Visit - Cherry Blossoms Galore

Movin' Right Along

Sorry for the LONG delay in between posts, but we've been busy... For those of you keeping score at home, we're starting week 36 in the great countdown to 40 so things are getting serious.

Over the past month, we've gotten lots of "stuff," redone the woodwork in the baby's room, had a ceiling fan installed for the little guy, re-tiled the radiator box, had the room painted a fabulous blue, AND gotten all of the furniture in to the room. We're still arranging and getting organized, but we wanted to share some preliminary pics...







We also splurged on ourselves (not EVERYTHING is about the babe, right?) and had our patio redone. Last week we started planting veggies and like. Pictures to follow soon.

Dan also mulched our "tree box" out front this weekend (though we haven't yet done our front yard planting) and added a new highlight for 2009:



Finally, we had our birthing class today so now we're ready for everything and anything (yeah... right!).

Stay tuned for more updates and pics which should be coming soon.

Brunch for the Babe (Well, His Parents)

We had a small brunch with a few of our closest friends last weekend to celebrate the impending birth of the little guy. It was co-ed in nature, but we're pretty sure the guys had a good time anyway, and their presence assured that no "shower games" would be played. It was a good opportunity to see our friends and help the babe get some "necessities" for life outside the womb. Courtney and Grady came in from Michigan (and Travis was missed by all), so between him and the other 5 kids in our living room, we were able to see what we were in for at all different stages....

Here are some pics of the kids:

D.C. Shower - Kids

Pics of the rest of the brunch to come later in the week.

Coming soon: an update on all our house projects.