bits of life

as cute as asher is, he does spent a considerable amount of time with this expression on his face. it is sometimes b/c of gas (especially in the middle of the night), but mostly i think it is b/c he is hungry. at his doctor appointment monday we learned that he has put on a pound a week in the last few weeks, bringing the grand total up to 10lb 6oz. what a haas.

a lot of life has been a little bit more limited to our house lately, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun. annie chased isaac and ryder around last night, capturing these pictures as she went.

at first glance, you might not notice ryder arched over the arm of the chair, but you would be missing out big time

isaac loves to hide under ryder's crib and have you crawl under there to "eat him up"

take two

getting ready for bath

just like a mountain stream

all ready for the nightly family walk

tale of two parties

this past saturday the boys had invitations to two different, nearly simultaneous, birthday parties. isaac is always up for a party, and ryder is always up for what isaac is doing, and asher does not really have a voice yet. it turned out to be a pretty great day overall.

ryder found the perfect opportunity to spend some time by his little introverted self. he may be an artist after all

mom julie with birthday boy bradley. he will be a big brother come august.

the absolutely amazing cake put together by sean and julie's friend janelle

all eyes on the birthday boy...well, except for ryder's.

after a 20 minute drive during which the boys recharged their batteries with a cat nap, we went to cousin soren's first birthday party. there were about 25 kids there, a true dream come true for isaac. he ran all over the joint playing in the pond, while ryder spent most of his time collecting rocks with grandma chris.

a day in the life

the folks i work with came over and brought bucca di beppo for lunch. unfortunately we have not seen the book since.

asher sleeps great during the day, but at night he gets a little colicky and upset. in a few months we will let him cry it out. for now annie takes the brunt of the midnight shift.

it now takes two strollers to get take the three of them on a walk.

celebrating aunt beth's birthday. she came over to hang with the fam on her day.

super boy holds super baby

packing on the pounds, raising the roof, still looking a bit like an old man

isaac loves holding asher. asher is a pretty big fan as well

the parade continues

it has been a while since the blog was updated, mostly b/c time has slipped quickly by these last couple weeks. i am finding life with three children is very true to what my buddy jeff says: "the weeks fly by but the days last forever." it is funny what mild sleep deprivation will do to your sense of time.

this picture is a pretty accurate depiction of life these days. complicated, hilarious, and always entertaining. even more so when we have visitors.

gaga comes over, reads, and even lets isaac on her shoulders

same song, different verse

could you picture a big brother with more pride?

this guy has been packing on the weight lately. by our at home estimates, he is about 10.5 pounds which means he has put on 3 pounds in less than 4 weeks. i see sumo in his future.

the brewers (katie and mark) came by to meet him. he struck a black panther pose.

we have been trying to get him outside as much as possible, since jaundice may still be a bit of an issue. we will find out at the doctor this week if it has worked.

blake reading to our little introvert.

megan cooked a great meal for us, and held our youngest. double win.

11 days old

thanks to plum district we earned a photography session with lavish lark. kimi came out and spent a couple of hours with our family, photographing the boys. she was kind enough to give us 9 of our favorite proofs. enjoy...

11 days old and still surviving.

respect the van

asher watching has quickly become a favorite pastime around here

what a difference 5 months makes. our friends ryan and judi came over last weekend and brought their daughter kayla, who was born this past summer. although the size difference was astounding, we know that asher will be catching up quickly. at his dr. appointment today, he weighed 7lb 13oz, having put on over 2 oz each day since monday when he weighed 7lb 4oz. our doctor told us that they are only supposed to put on half an ounce a day. apparently he has never seen our boys eat.

asher probably looks more like ryder than isaac at this point and if that is any indication of his personality we are going to have another huge ham on our hands.

brad an arja brought us mexican food and homemade coffee cake the other night. they also brought a tool set for the boys which was a huge hit.

aunt beth, uncle derek and my mom came over last night for some play time

isaac started playing "lick monster" while they were over.

everybody got a lot of exercise running away from him

especially aunt beth, who served as a pack mule

although i used to swear i would rather die, we bought a minivan a few weeks ago. while you can say that you don't like the way they look or the soccer mom connotation you might associate with them, you simply cannot deny that they are insanely practical. doors that open at a click of a button, seats that fold and move for easy configuration, and profile low enough for the boys to climb in and out by themselves all mean that having three 3 and under is not nearly as tough as it could be.

a few months ago i caught a glimpse of myself from the outside as it were, and all of a sudden i realized i was a middle aged dad. i change diapers, i give baths, and i buckle carseats all week long, but for some reason it was a surprise to realize that if a stranger looks at me, they are simply going to see a mid-30's father who is looking a little more fatigued than normal the past couple weeks. i just don't normally see myself through that same lens. maybe the van will help...

baby steps

so my initial post about our system equilibrating pretty quickly to asher's presence may have been a little premature. i know he has only been home for three full days now, but things are not settling nearly as fast as i wish they would. i took the day off today (mostly b/c i was gone all day yesterday snowboarding with my high school students--yes, my job is very rough) and let's just say it did not get off to a pristine start.

isaac marched into our room at a few minutes before 6, and i walked into his and ryder's room to find the younger one standing in his bed with nothing but a sagging diaper and sleeves on, the rest of his sleeper hanging behind him like a flowing, purple cape. then next couple hours went kind of like this: lots of bossing and whining from two toddlers probably feeling a bit stressed from undergoing a huge transition, dropping the gallon of milk on the kitchen floor, and to top it all off, suffering through barney's christmas video for what felt like the bajillionith time. needless to say everybody's patience was a little strained by the time momma and asher made it downstairs.

to avoid some sort of major family incident, the five of us decided to get outside for a while. you have to love january in socal, 75 degrees and sunny. yes, annie had major abdominal surgery only a week ago, but she ain't slowing down for nobody. after driving to the park, everybody kinda loosened up and the boys were able to expend some of their excess. you can hardly tell them apart in the video given their matching hats and shirts. overall the day turned out, and we should have it all figured out just in time for the next one to come along.