Sneak Peek

Just as we did with Amita, we had newborn photos taken of Ansel.  You can view a preview here.  We are fully aware that our son is on Facebook before we are!  We will also be sharing a link once all the photos are published.

In talking with the photographer (the same woman with the patience of Job who tolerated 3+ hours of non-stop crying and somehow managed to get good pictures of Amita), we found out that Amita is literally the poster child for difficult babies.  Apparently, she is the cover shot on the marketing material that they use to show people that great pictures can be taken in any circumstance!  We can laugh now... but at the time, the 3 hours sure felt like eternity!!

Ansel also had his 2 week checkup with the doctor today.  We got great news - Ansel grew another inch and gained a pound and a half since his last checkup!!  He is super healthy and won't be going back until January for his 2 month checkup.  I guess I need to start doing bicep curls so that I can carry him around in his car seat!!!

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving, we have even more to be thankful for than last year.  Ansel has been such a joy and a blessing... and big sister Amita can't get enough of him either.  Being able to spend the past two weeks together as a family has been beyond wonderful... I won't say it's felt like a long vacation exactly, but it's not often we get that much consecutive time together.  I will miss Aaron (and his extra set of hands!) when he returns to work on Monday.

We didn't travel for the T-day holiday, but we did still celebrate.  Thursday was pajama (and jerseys for some of us) day.  We all stayed in the house and ate appetizers and watched football most of the day.  Did I mention I'm thankful for DVR?  We also hosted a mini Thanksgiving dinner on Friday.  Aaron's parents came over and watched the kids so Aaron and I could hang out in the kitchen and cook together.  It was a welcome break and there's nothing quite like a deep fried turkey with all the sides... I'd eat that pretty much every day of the year!!

Here's Amita helping me make "hunkin" pie.  She really liked our hand held mixer.

And of course, no good chef can go too long without sampling.  She made sure it was fit to serve to company.

A whole day of eating and watching TV sure is exhausting!

Amita modeling a new bow for her hair.

The whole gang hanging out on the floor.  Amita loves having her brother close by!

Ansel just chillin.  He seems to be a very laid back baby, but since we didn't go to a hospital, we can't really worry that there was a mix up in the nursery!  I think he'll be a good counterpoint to the type A personalities in our house!!

My boys sleeping in on a lazy Saturday morning.  Even with the camera flash going off in his face, this little guy didn't move!

Holy Guacamole!

Sunday night was Mexican night at the Bubb household, so Amita got to help in the kitchen preparing our dinner.  She loved stirring the guacamole and was even brave enough to try some!

Meanwhile, Ansel continues to grow and we are all starting to settle into somewhat of a routine.  He is pretty calm and laid back much of the time... it feels like we need to learn this baby thing all over again because he is so different from Amita!  Ansel also got to meet our church family yesterday... he was a big hit there!

Here's Amita trying the guac from the giant stirring spoon!  Super glad Aaron grabbed the camera when he did to capture this!

Ansel took a siesta during the Mexican festivities.

Here's our little guy posing for the camera.

Resting comfortably in daddy's arms, thanks to the patented "Bubb Shoosh"!

Amita inspecting Ansel's toes.  This is at least one body part of his that we don't have to worry about her poking too hard!  She is very enthusiastic about her baby brother!!

Life with Two

We are starting to settle in to the new normal with two little ones here.  One thing is certain: there's never a dull moment!  But Amita seems to be embracing her new role as big sister and she is very taken with Ansel.  It's her first question when she wakes up - she wants to know where the baby is!  She has been very affectionate with him and it's been really fun watching her interact with him - she just wants to love on him!!

Ansel got his first trip to the doctor's office to get checked out and he had a glowing report!  The doc said he is strong and robust and perfectly healthy.  We couldn't ask for more.  We have been slowly learning about Ansel's personal preferences and have been able to enjoy a few moments with him being a sleepy, snuggly little bundle (something that Amita was never keen on!).  It's been fantastic!

Here's Amita holding her brother for the first time.  She loved every minute of it!

Amita can't give out enough hugs and kisses to Ansel.  She'll stop playing to come over and give out more love.

Daddy and Ansel snuggling.  That's the good stuff!

Amita checking on her brother... I tried to explain that if he was quiet, we should just leave him alone... but she felt the need to keep on adjusting him!

Ansel brought Amita a few gifts with his arrival.  A purse filled with fun girly stuff and a stroller for her to push her babies in.  She was WILD over both gifts and couldn't get enough of them.  She actually cried every time she had to stop playing with them yesterday - she didn't even want to break for food!  And is it me, or is she channelling Elton John?!?!?!?!

A First Look

I am typing one handed in near darkness this morning while the new man in my life snuggles up against me for a snack.  It is such a joy to finally hold the little guy we've been waiting so long for!!  We are so thankful for a healthy pregnancy and safe (and short!) home birth.  But given my limited typing abilities (and possibly also mental abilities after a few nights with lots less sleep!), I'll get right to the photos.

Here we are on Sunday morning as Amita met Ansel for the first time.  She is very curious about the new baby that has come to live with us.

Here's Ansel all snuggled up and snoozing.

Toddler Fun

For those of you waiting for a baby update... you'll have to keep waiting, just like we are!  But our toddler has been keeping us plenty busy in the meantime.  Our sweet little hunkin (her word for pumpkin!) has been expanding her vocabulary like it's going out of style!  She has words for many of our common objects (cars, cats, spoon, fork, milk) and is also picking up words and phrases from listening to mom and dad talk (all clean, fall down, gross).  Nothing seems to get past her keen eyes and ears these days!

We spent last weekend with two big activities for her.  We made homemade popcorn and she loved watching the corn pop up and out of the machine!  We also built her a playhouse for the basement this winter.  We happened to have a large box (due to a chair incident from several weeks ago when Aaron went to urgent care!) that we repurposed into her new favorite toy!  As usual, we had a blast hanging out and watching her learn something new.  Here's a few pictures of it all.

Watching the corn pop with daddy.  I can't get enough of that surprised expression!

Sampling some of the tasty treats.

Here's the new playhouse.  Not too shabby for only using a box cutter, some packing tape, and an engineer!

Peeking out through the windows.  It makes saying, "I see you!" so much more fun!!

Trying out the door.  Amita (and the cats) seem to love the new hideout!