Easter fun!

Today began at the early hour of 5. We took Charlie to his first sunrise service at St. John's. He slept peacefully through the service and breakfast afterwards. He was quite stylish in his shirt and tie!

After church we went to my parent's house for a bit. Charlie got his first Easter basket from his Aunt Amanda and Uncle Will.

He also got in some good play time with Grandpa Buck!

We headed to Oma Kathe's for our Easter lunch. Charlie loved spending time with his cousins Michelle and Laura.

His other cousins were crazy kiddos! Here's Carsten riding on Connor's back!

Charlie got to meet Sue Sue. They were snuggling up a storm on the couch. 

After awhile, we headed to Willow Hill to spend some time with the Knutson clan. Grandma Cher/Laur/Jill all planned an Easter basket hunt. Here's Natalie with her loot!

Charlie met his Great Great Aunt Bev. She had the magic touch and put him right to sleep. 

Maya was very interested in Charlie! When he would fuss a little, she'd say "Don't cry baby Charlie!" It was very sweet!

We had a great Easter, but this mama is quite tired! Time to catch some zzz's before the little man needs to eat again!

Unwanted Visitor

 (This is post 2 for tonight, so make sure you scroll down to see the first post!)


Last night I was cleaning bottles at the kitchen sink when I noticed a creature lurking around the base of our bird feeder. At first I thought it was either a raccoon or a small cat, but then I saw that gross rat tail: it's an opossum. Tonight our ugly little visitor returned. I discovered this when our guard kitty was standing watch for a prolonged period of time at the big window. I tried scaring him away, but he is not one to scare easily!

Here's our guard kitty. Notice Maya's picture there as well...Guess it's time I switched it out for an updated one!

There's the unwanted visitor! 

Easter Eggs and More!

3 weeks have now past since our little Charlie came into our lives. He started out at 8lbs 7oz, but he weighed in at 9lbs 15oz yesterday! Yikes, he is growing so fast!

Yesterday we took him in for his circumcision. We opted to wait since he was jaundice in the hospital. He slept for the majority of the day yesterday, but it sure doesn't seem to be bothering him today. He's such a trooper!

Something new this week: we started him on a nuk. He doesn't use it very often, but every once in a while it comes in handy. We haven't given it to him at bedtime, but he's very good about putting himself to sleep at night when he's swaddled tightly.

Here are some cute pictures I captured this week:

This is his 3 week picture in the bouncy seat. He looks like a little old man face when he scrunches it up...

Here we are at tummy time trying to eat his fingers. Yum!

Taking a snooze on Daddy's chest. 

This post is a 2 for 1: I'm also highlighting Easter Egg Dying that occurred today at Amy's house. This is a Good Friday tradition going back to when I was a wee one. Grandma Jeannette loved to host this event.

Connor and Megan working hard.

Nathan and Kaylee observing their eggs.

Amy and Oma Kathe with Amy's Peep cake. 

Tyler was adamant that I did not take a picture of him. Ha, got him!

After a short while, we realized it was only adults dying the eggs. The kids did a couple each and then ran off to play. We all finished them. Here's Amy, Oma, Aunt Christa and Christa's sister Lori. 

Tony getting creative with his egg and Mom thinking about what to do next...

Kaylee and Charlie spent a LOT of cousin time in the big comfy chair. 

What a great day! Tomorrow Tony and I are leaving Charlie for the first time. He's going to my parent's house while we go out for dinner with T's bros/wives. It'll be nice to get out for a few hours.

Another big weekend!

Just like last weekend, we started off with having just one plan, Lion's Lasagna dinner in PI on Sunday, but we ended up having a weekend full of fun!

Friday night, my friend Becky FINALLY came to meet Charlie. She's been sick and didn't want to get our little guy sick. Charlie and Becky spent some quality time snuggling, and Becky and I spent some quality time visiting.

My cousin Hannah had planned on coming Saturday to meet little Charlie, and she brought her mom, MB along with her. They also brought us lunch! Tomie's Chicken! It's so delicious. If you're ever stranded in Stacyville, IA, go to Tomie's Grocery Store and buy some chicken. You won't regret it.

After a few hours of visiting with MB and Hannah, my dad stopped by for some quality grand parenting time.  There was some napping involved...

Tony went up to Minneapolis for a David Crowder concert with my brother Will and our friend Michael, so Charlie and I were on our own Saturday night. We went to my aunt Christa's for a party. Charlie got to snuggle with Aunt Amy for quite a while. When we got home, my mom came over for a visit. Charlie and I were tucked into bed by 9, and we were awake for our first feeding at 12:30 when Tony walked in the door. Perfect timing!

Sunday we went to church. Charlie was a perfect angel through the service, and boy was he a hit! Everyone was wanting a peek at him. The ladies made him a prayer shawl as well. How sweet!

After church we headed to Grandma Jayne's and Grandpa Bob's to wait until our lasagna lunch in PI. Grandma Jayne fed Charlie before we left.

After lunch, we all headed back to G and g's for some games, visiting, and resting. Charlie had TONS of snuggle time with his family.

Here's a part of the gaming action: BINGO. Harvey won the first round and Grandma Cher won the next round.

Great Aunt Laur was feeding Charlie, and Natalie thought she needed some help. 

Then Natalie took over for a bit. She's such a big helper!

Laur and Jill invested in the newest iPad. Harvey was giving them all some lessons...

Jon decided the floor was the perfect resting spot. I'd have to admit I took a little snooze as well...

On our way home from G and g's, we stopped at Jaymi's for a game night. Charlie got to meet his friend Liam for the first time. Boy has Liam grown! He's already 1 month old now. We had already used our spare outfit from the diaper bag at G and g's, and Charlie needed another one at Jaymi's. So, Liam lent him this cute little outfit! We don't have any pants that fit Charlie yet, and he's just so adorable in them. Thanks Liam for lending us your clothes!

We stopped at my parent's house on the way home from Jaymi's because my Dad popped some popcorn. He makes THE BEST popcorn in the world. Tony and I chowed down on that while Charlie snuggled with Grandma and Grandpa. I even took a nap on the couch...

It was a busy but fun weekend!

Morning Visitors

Harvey and Natalie decided they needed to come and visit Charlie. We all agreed! So, Aunt Mindy and crew came for a nice visit this morning. Charlie was a little fussy right until I put him in Natalie's arms. Then he was a perfect angel. He sure does love his cousins!

Everyone was all smiles!

I just love Harvey's cheesy smile!

After the Kasson cousins left, Charlie had a little mishap on the changing table with his daddy. It involved a change of clothing and a changing of the changing pad sheet. We decided it was tummy time!

Luna was very interested!

Charlie just wanted to nap...

Daddy tried waking him up, but it was no use. So, we flipped him over and let him nap for a bit. 

I mentioned yesterday that we were taking Charlie to church for the first time. He did wonderfully! He let Tony and I eat our meal while church friends came up and peeked at him. Our friend John's daughter Anna said she is very excited to play with him when he gets older. After church, he went to band practice with us. Aunt Amanda came to keep him company. He was a little fussy until the band started playing, then he just snuggled right in and listened. Pastor Wahl told me this would happen since Charlie was so used to hearing the music for the past 9 months. He's our new biggest fan!

Tonight we're attempting Young Adult Ministry and possibly a visit to Great Great Aunt Bev's and Great Great Uncle Fay's. We're still trying to get a hold of them, but we're hoping for a meet and greet!

2 weeks

I cannot believe I'm already posting a blog about Charlie being 2 weeks old! Where did the time go? It's so hard to believe that we've been blessed with our little man for that long already, and Tony goes back to work in 2 weeks. I'm praying those 2 weeks slow down a little for us...

Here are some pictures of our little man on his 2 week birthday:

Charlie's umbilical cord nubbin fell off in the middle of the night, so now we can use the bath tub from Aunt Laur and Aunt Jill. He really liked it. He liked it so much he gave us a little rain shower in the middle of the bath. I'm sure that's to be expected from a little boy...

 I had the honor of giving him his first real bath. What a trooper he was!

He was happy to be nice and toasty in his clothes after his bath. 

Here's his 2 week picture in the bouncy seat. He's starting to fill it out a little more. 

Looking skeptically at his Mom

The cat meowed and Charlie's eye brows raised a bit

After all the bath excitement, he was tuckered out. 

Sleeping soundly. 

Tonight we're attempting our first church service and In Between band practice. Hopefully all goes well!

Charlie's Big Weekend!

Charlie had quite the weekend! It started with only have a few small plans, but it turned into quite the busy time.

We started Saturday morning with his first photo shoot over in Dodge Center. He did wonderfully! He got a little crabby towards the end, but that's to be expected. I'll share the pictures once they're in my possession.

On our way home, we stopped at Aunt Laur and Aunt Jill's so Charlie could FINALLY meet his Aunt Jill. They had some good snuggle time on the couch. Cate and Claire were there as well, so Charlie got some more snuggle time in.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat after leaving Laur and Jill's and headed home for a small nap. After we woke up, we went out to Willow Hill so Charlie could meet his Aunt Kate, Uncle Brian and Cousin Maya. We had a delicious supper and some great visiting.

Maya was very sweet with her new baby cousin. She was so gentle with him! 

The first cousin photo with Charlie. Next time we should take it before it becomes bedtime. Maya wasn't too excited with the idea. I'm sure we'll have another opportunity at Easter! Natalie is an expert at holding Charlie. He snuggles right into her. I'm thinking future babysitter...

Sunday morning we had a few visitors at our house: a high school friend of mine, Elyse and Jaymi. Charlie likes to put on a good show for new friends. He was a perfect little angel.

After our company left, we headed to my parent's house for our annual St. Patrick's Day meal. It was phenomenal! Jaymi gave my mom a bouncy seat to keep at her house, so Charlie was in heaven while we were all eating. This was Charlie's first meeting with Oma Kathe, but we somehow didn't capture a picture of it!

Aunt Amanda LOVES to hold Charlie whenever she gets a chance. 

Here's Charlie and his Great Great Aunt Elinor. Don't they look like a great Irish pair?

After the masses left, we stayed around for a little snuggle time with Grandpa Buck and Grandma Becky. 

Here's Charlie and his first corn beef and cabbage meal. Note the beautiful sign in the background that Megan made for the big event. 

We got home around 7 Sunday night, and I was EXHAUSTED! Tony had a difficult time waking me up on the couch to get me upstairs. He even woke up first when Charlie cried in the night. Yikes! I guess I need to remember to nap during the day!

Even though it was a busy weekend, we had a great time! This week is nice and low key for us. We might even attempt to go to church on Wednesday. We'll see!