Maxim James Arrives

On Saturday my sister Jenna and her husband Chris welcomed a little boy into the world.  They named him Maxim James.  He was born five days before his due date and was a welcome surprise a few days ahead of schedule.  He was a little peanut at 6 pounds, 11 ounces and 19.5 inches long.  He was born 9/29/12 at 8:52pm.  Matt and I were able to visit less than two hours after he was born, and again today.  Declan has a cold but Teagan was able to sneak in for a peak at her new cousin.  We can't wait to visit again once they are home from the hospital and also get some official newborn photos of the little guy.  Declan will be excited to have a little boy cousin finally who is relatively close in age (just under 18 months apart).  In total between my siblings and I we now have five kids under the age of 4.5...and counting.

Congratulations Jenna and Chris and welcome little Max.

Sweet little bundle just over an hour old

proud Daddy

The new D family

Mama and her son after a smooth, all natural delivery

already working the pouty lip

Less than 24 hours old - snuggles with Mama

Blonde fuzzy head

A very proud and happy Mama

Fire Station Open House

Matt had a golf tournament on Saturday and I had the kids from late morning until after dinner.  We all went to Lowe's for Teagan's project and then I took the kids home for lunch/nap.  The fire station in the village had an open house so Mame came with and we met friends there.  Teagan enjoyed the bounce house and Declan was a happy boy with his own balloon.  They played games, ate snow cones and climbed on the fire trucks.  The weather was nice and crisp - a perfect early fall day.  Everyone had fun and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.  We look forward to the open house at the fire station down the road from our house in a few weeks.

a boy and his balloon

loved the buckets and bean bags

getting tattooed

knocking down the "fire" with the fire hose

Gavin's turn

Double trouble

Time for snow cones

Declan was a BIG fan

Little man in a BIG fire truck

The bar was just the right height for monkey business

Just barely taller than the tire

Gone Fishin'

Teagan has been spending time with her friend Gavin, and he is an avid fisherman and kept telling Teagan about all of his fishing adventures.  On Sunday, he invited her to his new fishing hole.  I wanted to take photos so we dragged Declan along, which perhaps was not the brightest idea we've ever had.  He wanted to go straight into the water.  I had to restrain him in the stroller and take him for a nature walk, and that worked temporarily but after a while he was bored and tired and ready to go.  The kids enjoyed throwing rocks and checking out the pond too.  Overall everyone had a good time, even Declan although he would have preferred swimming in the pond if he was allowed.

Snack time...this sitting still thing lasted about two minutes

The first fish caught

Taking turns touching the slimy fish

Teagan throwing back the sunfish

Ahhh, handsome boy haircut, I can't take it - love you little boy!!!

Big boy feet

fishing with Daddy

Entertaining himself with a shark finger puppet

Eating M&Ms instead of fishing

Looking at the worms

Some macro shots from Mama and Declan's nature walk:

And one last silly photo of the little fisher-boy and girl

Outside Fun

With the summer coming to an end and the days getting a little cooler we are soaking up every minute of outside time we can find.  This weekend was forecast to be chilly but both days ended up being perfect late summer weather so we were happy to get in some outdoor play time.  Declan was only out for a little while before he needed a nap so Teagan had fun making up games and I enjoyed capturing her crazy jump moves.

I...can....almost....reach...the....ball...

Riding up and down the driveway in his car

Some crazy invented-by-a-four-yr-old game

Big jumps

Future Olympic long jumper