Oma and opa

I was so happy and blessed my mom and dad could stay with us for a longer period of time. They were a GREAT help to me and it was so nice for them as well to spend time with their grandchildren who they hadn't seen since January....

My mom came two weeks before Kane was born and she and Quinn soon became best buddies. It made it a lot easier for me to focus on Kane knowing that Quinn was very comfortable with oma.

Oma and opa with their two youngest grandchildren.

Oma giving Kane a bath.

A tomato for Quinn....

Yummie!

and one for Teddy too!

Playing on the swing and slide with oma was one of Quinn's favorite things to do. They could hang out there forever, singing songs together. There were times she only wanted oma to come out there with her to swing, because she knew all the songs and the moves going with them.

Doing arts and crafts with oma.

And getting the mail was one of their daily tasks!

Thanks opa and oma for such a wonderful time!

We really miss you and we can't wait for your next visit this winter!

Kane's first weeks

Not only we celebrated the arrival of our little baby boy. Also back home in the Netherlands were people so happy and excited about their new cousin and nephew. And of course, the traditional Dutch 'beschuit met muisje' is part of that!

Tess and Luke enjoying every bite of them......

Just a few days old. Full belly and snoozing.......I have a similar picture of Quinn like this and it's amazing how much he reminds me of her when she was that age. You can defenitely tell they are brother and sister!

Kisses, kisses, kisses. Quinn is full of kisses for the baby.

Sleeping in his crib for the first time. He looks so tiny in it.
At night he sleeps in a bassinet in our room though, so I can hear him sooner and he doesn't have to wake up the whole house when he gets hungry. But during the day, I try to have him sleep in his crib at least once in a while, so he gets used to his bed. He also likes to sleep in the seat of his swing, which is nice and cosy.....

More kisses for the little man.....

Our two babies.......

It's so nice at this age where they just fall asleep in your arms (sometimes it's the only place where they will fall asleep.....haha).

Our family......

Time for his first real bath in his baby tub after his umbilical cord fell of. He LOVED it in the warm water.

Quinn was my special helper, making sure the water was still good temperature and all......

Oma feeding him his first bottle.....I was at the dentist at the time.....luckily I had pumped a little here and there already so we didn't have to interrupt Kane's feeding schedule. And he took the bottle just fine! He had it empty in no time..... 

Quinn is 19 months old

Being a 19 month old is a big job. There are so many things to play with and to explore. Here are a few of Quinn's favorite activities for the moment:
Eating snacks! Yummie yummie. And a little puzzling in the meantime....

A snack and a drink for Teddy too!

Working on her laptop, just like mommy.

Reading books. And she has lots of them. Dutch and English. Sometimes she gives Ryan a dutch book to read to her. Those stories are always fun to listen to.....;-)

Coloring is so much fun! Although she tends to put the crayons in her mouth once in a while as well...

She loves it when I wrap Teddy in a blanket, just like I do with Kane. She walks around with him like he's her baby, so cute. She's going to be one great mommy some day.

And sleeping is also one of her favorite things to do. She sleeps a good 12 hours at night and takes a 2 to 3 hour afternoon nap. Hopefully we can continue this pattern for a while.....

@ the hospital

Two days at the hospital. It was good to be able to focus 100% on our little boy for this short amount of time because I knew that big sister would be all over me once we were home. But at the same time, I missed my girl a lot. It was the first time to be away from her at night. Luckily she was in the great hands of my parents, in her own house, own bed. She did great. And we had the computer at the hospital as well, so we could skype with them now and then.....

It seems so unreal. This little man was still inside of me less than an hour ago and now here he is,  looking at his mommy. What a wonderful feeling.

Proud daddy and Kane getting to know each other.

Quinn did really good at the hospital. She loved to sit on the bed with me cuddling with her little brother. It feels like yesterday that she was lying in my arms as our newborn baby and now she is the big sister already.

Opa and oma Oostvogels admiring their second grandson.

And grandpa and grandma Everson are evenly proud of course....

Me cuddling with my little boy.

Our friends Jason and Karri Luebke and their oldest daughter Addison came to visit us.

Addison loved holding the baby. She is a pro at it: has had lots of practise at home with her baby brother Jameson who was born just 5 months ago.

Daddy holding Quinn's new baby.

Our new family of FOUR!

Quinn and Teddy happy to be back with mommy. Quinn missed holding on to my hair probably the most of all.......

Also the Friedman family came to visit. Pam is a great photographer and will be shooting Kane's first professional pictures for his birth announcement.

And Gwen and Tim Goffard came to meet Kane.....

Time to go home so time to get dressed in some real clothes.

But first daddy had to make sure opa's heart is in good condition....

Quinn and Teddy in the hospital baby bed.

One last check to make sure our numbers match so we're not taking the wrong baby home. I couldn't imagine....

All buckled in and ready to go on his first car ride. He looks so tiny again in the carseat.