Fun Times with the Howe's

I'm so excited today as we just got our photos back from the hospital. Wesley Medical Center in Wichita is really neat in how they do newborn photos. I was expecting for a nurse to come in with a camera like they did here in Salina for Isak and take a few photos for the web-page and ones that you could order, but in Wichita, they had a professional photographer come in with props and everything and do photos right in your room. These are just a few of my favorites. I love the little toes picture especially :)

Deep in thought. William is quite the thinker. He studies his surroundings quite a bit.

Bundled in the bunting bag and matching hat :)

So tired...quite a big yawn.

Fun family shots here at home. Thank you to our friends the Parry's for loaning us their little bouncer seat. It is now Williams favorite place to take a nap :) I'm going to have to see if he likes sleeping in it at night too. Somehow, he wiggled himself all the way down the seat during his nap yesterday.

Smiling for the camera.

Isak now old enough to sit "still" for a picture and while saying cheese too :)

Brotherly Love....my favorite photo :)

Williams' first bath....seconds before the screaming commenced. He doesn't mind having water poured on his head, just doesn't like it on the rest of him.

I took William in for his one week weight check on Monday and he already weighed 9 lbs! When Isak was born, he had just gained enough weight back to reach his birth weight and William has surpassed him! He does like to eat....all the time. We'll see how much he weighs again on Monday when we go in for his 2 weeks visit. William is quite a content baby. He only cries when he is hungry or sometimes when he is wet. He doesn't mind his brother throwing things around the house, although he is quite a light sleeper so that doesn't always match up well.

Isak has gotten a little louder and more rambunctious (sp?) since we brought William home. He is very gentle towards his brother which is great, just likes to throw a lot of things and talk really loud to let us know that he is still here. Steve has been really great though about taking Isak out to the park,riding around the block in the wagon and playing around in the backyard.

I go back to work next week teaching....well probably still sitting quite a bit but need to get my classes going again. We'll see how the first week goes. I may have to bring William with me a couple nights, I'm not quite ready to leave him home so we'll see how that goes.

Better go calm one down and get the other fed. Have a great week!

The Boys Meet

Steve and I enjoyed an extra day at home before Isak arrived. It was great to catch up on a little sleep and spend some more one on one time with William. Isak arrived home today to meet William and was just enamored with him. He kept saying "Hi William", "I love you William", "Where's William?". The one that scared me the most is when William would be in the swing and he would give it an extra little push and say "Weee!!!". I'm going to have to watch him around the swing.

We had a great day with the boys today and with Grandma and Grandpa Howe visiting. The boys both took a nap at the same time and have been really good this evening. I know challenging days are ahead, but Steve and I have really enjoyed our experience this time around.

Steve and I are truly blessed with our two healthy and wonderful children. We can't be more thankful than we are right now. I've added some pictures below of our fun day!

Mom and the boys

William hanging out in the hospital.

Peek a boo

Grandpa and Grandma Howe and Isak

Kisses for William

Grandpa Howe and William

Grandma Howe and William

The Howe Family

Dad and the boys

High Five for William

Welcome William Joseph Howe!

We are very excited to welcome William Joseph Howe to our family! He was born Sunday February 7th, 2010 in Wichita (successful VBAC...yea!). William weighed 8 lb 13 1/2 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. When he was born, I thought he only weighed as much as Isak (7 lb 14 oz) but was a little surprised when he was bigger. We are so blessed to have two wonderful boys and are looking forward to them meeting one another this week. Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well. Labor lasted quite a while...approximately 29 hours so we are all a little worn out.

William a couple of minutes after delivery

Mom, Dad and William.

Who can resist little toes?

Dad and William

30 hours later and tired.

Isak loves his letters!

Isak loves the Leapfrog videos and has picked up the phonics from the video. I thought it was pretty cute and wanted to share. Unfortunately, the seated video doesn't have the actions he normally does with the letters, but you get the idea.

Bathroom Renovation Time!

Bathroom when we bought the house...yikes...pink and blue and gross carpet.

Steve's mid-gutting process in December.

Gutting complete...now repair on electrical and plumbing.

Yea! New tub and flooring going in.

Almost done! We now have all the fixtures in, just waiting on the top for the half wall and for me to finish picking out a mirror, shower curtain and accessories. We'll have to put up a final picture in a couple weeks.

It still feels a little weird having this new space. The tub is wonderful and a huge soaker tub...no whirpool jets but it is wonderful none the less. Isak loves his new "swimming pool". Another check off of our renovation checklist!

Almost 37 Weeks

So this is actually the 1st belly picture I've actually had a chance to take this pregnancy, which I'm a little sad about but still got one done. Thought I would post that along with some more Christmas pictures from Grandma and Grandpa Howe's house. Enjoy!

Steve at 37 weeks gestation :) LOL

37 Weeks Pregnant

Isak excited for Grandpa Howe to open his present

The Howe Boys all watching a video

Christmas Time at the Howe's

Isak's new big boy bed!

Graduated from the toddler bed.

Fun Playdough Time

Working at the office with dad :)

Isak's Magic "Gwasses"

MMMM....snow is good.

Putting cookies and milk out for Santa Claus.

Steve, Isak and I on Christmas Eve

Isak opening presents on Christmas Eve

Isak in front of the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve

(Note: Sorry for the influx of pictures at the beginning, it wouldn't let me move the pictures or turn them around)

This year seems to have flown by very quickly for our family. Isak continues to grow and baby #2 is due in just a short couple of weeks!

I am currently almost 37 weeks pregnant. Steve and I have decided to try a VBAC this round and in order to do that we've been seeing a doctor in Wichita every other week as I don't "qualify" for that delivery here in Salina. To help prepare us a little further we've taken Bradley Birth classes this go round and have really enjoyed what we've learned. True to Howe child history, this little one wanted to let me know that he was calling the shots and last week decided to turn breech. I think I tried everything under the sun to get him to turn including hip lifts, hot and cold packs, acupunture and moxibustion (a chinese medicinal herb that has shown great success in turning babies). Luckily at my ultrasound today, baby has finally turned and we are a go ahead once again for the VBAC. It was quite an exciting day!

Isak is continuing to grow and change everyday. He is fascinated with his new Mr. Potato head that he got for Christmas and his toy airplane. It was really fun to see him get into Christmas this year and understand more of what it was. Steve and I spent Christmas Eve here in Salina by relaxing, going to church, and opening presents at home. On Christmas Day we drove to Manhattan to spend Christmas at with Steve's family and his brother's family. It was nice to relax and enjoy some great food...thanks Roxana! Isak has also graduated to his new "big boy bed". The new baby needed the crib so Isak was moved from his toddler bed to the guest bed. He was pretty excited to get his new bed and sleeps a little better through the night...which Steve and I both love.

Steve and I have been busy this break crossing off our to do list :) We are in the process of remodeling our main bathroom and so we are hoping to get it all finished before the new little man arrives .....hopefully. It has been nice to have some down time to accomplish all the little things we never have a chance to do.

The new year is sure to bring fun and excitement to our house. We've lived in our house for a year now and time has just flown by! Steve has demolished and gutted almost our entire basement (except for the storage shelves I insisted he keep until we purchase new ones we can put up). He's gutted the bathroom and cleared the mini forest in the front and back yard. While at the time it doesn't seem like we got as much done as we wanted, looking back, I think it's a pretty impressive list.

Most rewarding this Christmas break has been the time with family. I've enjoyed a couple afternoon naps with Isak, some evening dinners with family (at normal times I may add), and time to spend with Steve. I hope this finds everyone having a wonderful Christmas holiday. I'm savoring the 4 more days until work starts back up again but am looking forward to all the new adventures it will bring.