cousins

Over Memorial Day weekend, Kenton's cousin Sabrina drove up from Sacramento with her family for a visit. This was our first time meeting her daughter, MacKenzie! I borrowed most of these photos from Outi - thanks Outi! :)


A serious shot, but so cute!

Sabrina with her husband, Tor.

Nursing our babies. :)
It was great to visit with Sabrina! We have a lot in common right now, with our new little ones. Plus, it was great to see what Cedar might be like in just a couple of months. It's amazing how quickly infants change from month to month. MacKenzie is only 3 months old now!

There's a happy photo!
Papa Lew & MacKenzie

4 weeks

Friday, May 29th marked 4 weeks since Cedar joined our family. He is such a blessing to us - we all just adore him! He still sleeps so much but we're getting more & more awake time. He's starting to coo a bit & really looks at us when he's awake. If he's upset, Finn gets a little panicked & likes to try & soothe him. Cedar often quiets down for a bit when Finn comes near & has even taken the pacifier from Finn, which makes him feel so proud to be helping! :)

On our first day home without Kenton, Cedar was crying while Finn was eating lunch & I was trying to get my lunch together. Finn came running in & yelled "I WANT JUICE!" I told him, "Don't yell at me" & his response was "CEDAR'S SCARING ME!" (still yelling) :P Cedar really doesn't cry that often but it was funny to see Finn getting a little stressed about the noise.

Here are some photos of our 4 week old Cedar. He's so precious!

I spend a lot of my days in this position, nursing my baby.

In the middle of eating - awake & happy.

All done, satisfied & passed out in my hand.
It's hard work eating so much & so often! :)

summer is better

With the wonderful weather we've been having, Finn has been getting frustrated about the sun being in his eyes. He says, "I like winter; I want winter time." This is pleasing to Kenton, who doesn't like to be hot. But summer is my favorite season, so I've been trying to convince Finn that summer is better - or at least, summer is fun too! :) I figured, a run through the sprinkler was a good start - Finn loved it! He played in the water for much longer than I expected.


Ready, set...

GO!

A little cross-eyed. :)

family time

This past week, Kenton went back to work. I'd been feeling anxious about being home alone with the boys & dreading this time. Much to my surprise, this week went really well & I had a lot of fun with my boys. :) Finn sure keeps things interesting & the days go by much faster than I expected. But it is so great when Kenton gets home from work & I have an extra set of arms. Finn loves having Kenton around to play with - they really bonded while Kenton was home for Cedar's birth/first few weeks. We try to enjoy our time in the evenings when we can all be together.

Dad, Finn & Cedar were looking at books together so I got my camera & joined them. :)

We've had some really warm weather this last week, which is why Cedar & Kenton are shirtless. :P

55

On Sunday, May 24th, we celebrated my mom's 55th Birthday!

All of her grandchildren were excited to help blow out the single candle...

Well, I guess Cedar didn't really care about the cake or the candle. :P

Finn got pretty excited when Memaw opened the decoy box of cake mix that was hiding the gift certificate that my sisters & I got for her. :)

So excited!

Getting a good look at each other.

Oh my! You can see Cedar's red & slightly swollen right eye; he has a clogged tear duct, but it's looking better already.

Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you so much & had a great time celebrating YOU! :)

sleeping

Cedar fell asleep while I was bouncing him in his seat. He looks pretty relaxed. :)

Looking cozy again, napping next to Mama. Cedar sleeps best next to me. :)

Finn snuggled in too after he woke up from his nap.

Pretending to sleep - but couldn't hide the smiles.

There, that's better - no smiles this time. :P Cedar didn't have to pretend in any of the photos! We are enjoying the peaceful, newborn sleepiness. :)

portland

Since we needed to drive to Portland to drop off the Elkintons at the airport, we decided to make a day of it. After saying our sad goodbyes (Finn & Charis gave each other such a big hug that they fell over) & making our promise to visit next year, we headed to IKEA for a quick trip + breakfast. :) We didn't have anything we were shopping for, but we managed to find some cool toys for our backyard - click here & here! (Kenton attached them to our big tree yesterday & Finn is so excited!) After IKEA, we picked up Erik (he was visiting his friend) & went to lunch. We dropped Erik back off at his friend's house & made our way to the Oregon Zoo!

Big tank with fish & sea lions

Running away from the little geyser!

These monkeys charged the glass & scared the little girl that was there before us. It was fun to see some action! :P

Finn really enjoyed seeing all of the animals - they have some great habitats & most of the animals were easy to spot. These guys were interested in Finn too!

But none of the animals brought Finn running faster than he did when he saw backhoes in one of the habitats that was under construction. That's my kid. When lightsabers are not available, backhoes win!

My first-born & my husband

When we had thouroughly worn ourselves out at the zoo, we went to my Aunt Robin & Uncle Truls' house for a delicious dinner. This was their first time to meet Cedar & it was nice to visit with my family & relax a bit before heading back home. Finn also had a great time playing with their dog, Tivi. :)

One last stop at a grocery store to pick up some caffeine for Dad. Cedar was fussing while Kenton ran in & Finn asked to hold him. Finn is a great big brother! He lets us know when Cedar is crying, needs his pacifier or has spit up. He loves to give him hugs & is happiest when his face is inches from Cedar's face. I love to see Finn's interest in Cedar & can't wait to see how much Cedar will love his big brother. Just a few more weeks & we'll start to see some real smiles from the littlest one. :) Can't wait for that!

the last night

On the last night of the Elkinton's visit, we took the kids bowling! This was a first for both Charis & Finn, so they were pretty excited.

We used bumpers in the gutters, so they were pretty successful at knocking down some pins every time. Charis did great at rolling the ball down the lane!

Finn was a little more rough & threw the ball so that it landed pretty hard each time. :\

The ball was going so slowly down the lane that we had enough time to get Finn to turn around & pose for a photo before the pins were knocked over. :P

After a few days of fun at parks & germ-filled bowling alleys, a bath was definitely in order for these two friends. :)

Finn the shark & Charis the hippo!
I love these silly towels - so much more fun to get out of the fun, warm bath when you get to wear a silly towel on your head!

After we got the kids to bed, Kenton's grandparents came over to stay with them so that we could go out & have some adult time! Yay! We took Cedar with us & had dinner at the Steelhead Brewery & dessert at Sweet Life! Yumm! We really enjoyed the food at both restaurants & had a wonderful time eating at our own pace. Thanks Marylee & Lew!

one more park

On Monday, we met Gretchen, Becca & their kids (except Ty) at another park for a picnic & fun.


Griffin blowing bubbles

Charis & Finn digging in the sand

Back to back Finn & Griffin

After a bit, we walked down to the river. The kids had fun throwing rocks in the water & the moms stayed busy trying to keep the kids from getting too soaked or swept away by the river. :P

Some ducks came over & we were all excited to see the little ducklings too. There was a guy by the river who had some bread to throw to the ducks & he let the kids throw some too. So cool!

Kenton & Kris were there too, but the spent the whole time making up a game that resembled disc golf, but with sticks instead of discs. Silly dads! :)

two weeks old

Friday, May 15th marked two weeks since Cedar entered the world. We're getting to know his sweet personality & love having him around.

He is definitely a cuddle bug

Still sleeps so much

What a sweet boy!

On Monday, May 18th, Cedar had his two week checkup with the pediatrician. He weighed 8 lbs 10 oz (39th percentile). He weighed 7 lb 14 oz at birth & 7 lbs 5 oz when we took him in to the doctor's about a week & a half ago! He's growing so much! He also measured 21 3/4" long, got a shot & blood drawn - so sad to hear him cry during the needle pokes. :( He wasn't bothered for too long though & was back to his sleepy self shortly after. We all love him so much!