Adjusting

It's been an adjustment for all of us, but we are loving it!  Easton had a short period of acting out, but quickly got use to having a brother around and sharing the attention.  He loves his little brother, it's the first thing he asks for in the morning, and always has to say good-night.  He is usually gentle around him, and wants to share toys & food, etc.  We're trying to stress that baby only drinks Mommy's milk and can't play with toys.  But if he sees a burp cloth, blanket, dirty outfit, anything laying around that is the baby's, he will bring it to him.  Insists he needs his binky even if he's not fussing, and sometimes he thinks it's funny to give it a suck himself ;)  I'm thankful that Mom was around to pick up Easton almost everyday the month of May! It helped me out a lot.  That way if Callen was napping (ok me too) we didn't have to pack up and leave.  It was also helpful to have Mark's parents here too.  It made the initial adjustment much easier!  I don't know the exact dates of when these pictures were taken, but they all were in the month of May.

Here ya go baby!

First bottle

Morning cuddle time

 

 

With Grandma and Grandpa Radtke here, Easton and I have been having date nights on Friday afternoons.  It's been a good bonding time and a little one-on-one attention for Easton.  We both enjoy it.  We go to a park and follow that up with supper at Slade's Drive-In.  It's a win-win for both of us :)

 

Fresh

We had Callen's newborn pictures taken by the same lady that did Easton's.  She does a great job with newborns!  She has a magical way of getting them into a deep sleep, and then can manipulate their arms, legs, heads, etc. to get these great shots! I'm always amazed and worn out by the time we are done.  But the proof is in the pictures ;)

We also had some pictures of the boys taken, as well as some family shots. 

 

Mother's Day

I am lucky to be the Mother of these 2 sweet little boys! I sometimes wonder how I got so lucky, but thankful for each and everyday. 

Going home

Thankful for the great nurses and doctors at Sanford, but we were ready to head home!  I think Daddy could have went home the day before, but as for me, I was still feeling plenty of discomfort and enjoyed the nurses help during the night, etc.  The food was plentiful and the rest was much needed.  But, the time had come and we were excited to get home and start our life as a family of four!

 

Brotherly Love

I have so many pictures I could post, but this one says it all :)

I'm ready to hold my baby brother Grandma

 

 

Callen, feeling the LoVe!

Grandparents are the footsteps to the future generations.

Granpa Albert holding Callen Albert

 

Something magical happens with parents turn into grandparents.  Their attitude changes from "money-doesn't-grow-on-trees" to spending it like it does :)

 

We were blessed with so many well wishes via text and Facebook.  But we love in person visits!  His cousins just couldn't wait till Monday, so they made their MN weekend trip a little longer by coming to Sioux Falls.  It was so sweet to see the boys interact. 

Callen meets Easton for the first time!

Nothing seemed more precious to me than the initial meeting of these two.  Easton was so excited to see the "baby" we had been talking about for 9 months.  He did great.  Lots of "nice touches" and kisses later, he was ready to go back home with Grandma and Grandpa.  I feel so lucky to be the Momma of these two boys.  I love them to the moon and back! 

Easton's kisses- he leans his head in for you to kiss it!

So I have to share you with this?

Ok, I think I can do that.  He's pretty cute :)

Oh Baby- Callen Albert

With great pleasure I'm happy to announce our sweet little family addition, Callen Albert! 

He came a week early, and all on his own :)  The labor was much different than Easton's, and much easier!!  Here's our labor & delivery story: After the greenhouse on Saturday afternoon, Easton and I came home and took a nice long nap.  The plan was to meet Mom & Dad at church for 6 PM Mass, but we kind of over slept ;)  They brought over Mom's delicious homemade pizza afterwards. I think my Mom picked up on my tired cues, it's not common they spoil us with delivered meals :)  Mark got home around 6:30, and I mentioned to him that I had been having some contractions.  We all sat down to eat, and I realized they were coming on more frequent & became more intense.  Mom told me to start tracking them.  Dad got his phone out and kept track of time, and sure enough I was in the early stages of labor! They were about 4-5 minutes apart and were getting stronger!  I barely got my pizza finished and Mom was telling me to go get showered and packed!  So off Easton went (happily) with Grandma and Grandpa, little did he know his days of being an only child were coming to an end. 
We got to Sioux Falls around 9PM, but not before having to get gas in the Yukon!  If I wouldn't have gotten the car seat in the night before, we would have been messing with that too!  I remember having to stop in the parking lot at the hospital and concentrate on breathing through the contractions! We were up to my room by 10:30 PM and I think I had my epidural by 11:30 PM.  I looked at the clock around 11:50 and told the nurse, "I guess I won't be having a May 3rd baby"! But it didn't take long, Callen arrived on Sunday, May 4 @ 1:47 AM.  He was 9 lbs. 2 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long.  I was shocked when they put him on the scale.  I knew I would have a big baby, but didn't think he'd be over 9 pounds!  A whole pound bigger than Easton was!  But everything went great, my placenta didn't want to detach right away with, but I didn't need surgery like I did with Easton.  The recovery seemed to take a little longer this time around, but it was all worth it.  Our little gift from God was perfect, and I was so happy I was done being pregnant :)