Visiting the Lims

One of the things that we miss most about being new parents is hanging out with our friends. We especially rockin' out with our friends Adam and Beth, and their kids Mia, Angelina and Ethan.

Ethan playing with Kelly's guitar

Otis and "girlfriends" - Angelina (front) and Mia (back)

Beth and Eirik

Mia getting her cute on

Angelina insisting that she sings better than Otis (which is true)

Adam focusing on Call of Duty with Mia giving us some of her inner diva

Beth and Eirik

Ethan dancing to Rock Band music

Ethan looking concerned over that usurper on Beth's lap

The many faces of sleeping Eirik

Most of Eirik's day right now is being taken up by sleeping. We're grateful for that because we know that sooner than we'd like, he's going to be up and running and being a complete go-go kid like his mom.

So here are some pictures of little man being fast asleep and really sweet.

Eirik asleep in his Boppy-nest

Eirik swaddled on Kelly's lap

Nothing's sweeter than a sleeping baby... Except a sleeping baby snuggling with you!

Otis and Eirik asleep after PT

Kelly and Eirik taking an afternoon siesta

Spring Time Flowers

One of the most wonderful things about coming out of winter is the look and smell of spring flowers. Nothing compares with the sweet smell of lilies, hyacinths, violets, tulips and many of the other spring flowers that bloom and chase away the last vestiges of winter with their colorful petals.

Eirik and I took a walk late last month to enjoy the area around Titlow Park and took some photos of one sleepy baby and some pretty flowers we picked along the way.

Eirik and Eddie

Before Eirik came along, we were the proud parents of three fur children:

Eddie (12 years old)

Lady (3 years old)

and, last, but not any way by a long shot, least -

Toby (2 years old).

We freely admit that we shamelessly spoiled them - their very own cat fountain, an IKEA cat bed, comfy blankets on the windows to look outside, outside birds that were fed for their amusement, tasty food, treats, toys, catnip and and open door to our bedroom. We were slightly concerned when Eirik came along that our original "children" would be quite upset.

So far, things have been OK, not perfect, but OK. Lady is indifferent, and Toby, Kelly's former "baby," has taken to sulking by sleeping in the kitchen in his cat bed by the back window and ignoring Kelly.

Eddie, however, has taken on his familiar role of "kitten raiser" and is hard at the task of minding Eirik. One of the more interesting things he does is wake up Kelly by tapping her on the head when Eirik is starting to stir before she knows it.

Hey, boss... I think your kitten is about to wake up.

As Eddie has gotten older, he's slowed down a little and one of his favorite things to do is nap in the sunshine. Not to mention that he loves to snuggle with little man.

Eirik: I'll fight you for the bed.
Eddie: I still outweigh you 2 to 1, wee man...

And as the head cat of the house and Kelly's longtime companion, it comes as no surprise that he's also added protector to his job role. Nothing quite like having a furry guardian to watch over you.

Yes, I know this is your bed, but there it's my job to watch out for monsters!

If Eddie were a dog - this would be him!

Eirik and Kelly at Sonic

When Kelly was pregnant with Eirik, one of the worst cravings she had was for the famous Cherry Lime-aid of Sonic Drive-In. When Kelly was living in South Carolina, Sonic was just down the road, and she often stopped there on her way to inspect pools on Hilton Head Island.

Flash forward a couple of years to Labor Day... In the icky-morning sickness days of being pregnant, one of those Cherry Lime-Aids sure sounded good. Needless to say, Sonic wasn't down the road, so on a trip to Idaho, Kelly stopped in Spokane, Washington for one of those famous drinks. (And to get one for the road, too!)

My pregnancy, sponsored by Sonic!

Almost a year later, we now have a Sonic in Puyallup and on our trip to Wisconsin, we just had to stop at the Sonic on Miller Parkway in Milwaukee for one of those famous Cherry Lime-aids, a coney dog, and of course, the tots!

Repeat after me: Hello, my name is Kelly, and I'm a Limeaidaholic.

But Kelly wasn't the only recipient of that luscious Labor Day Lime-aid... So here we have some shameless pictures of Eirik posing with some of the delights of Sonic!

Eirik with a coney dog that's as big as he is.

No, go find your own tots!

Long time, no post.

It's been a long time since we last posted on our blog - all of the experiences of new parenthood are settling in and, with them, figuring out our days and what to do with them.

Seeing as how it's been more than a month - here's what you've missed!

- Eirik visited his family in Idaho over Easter and met Grampa Don and Nana Janna, along with all of Nana Janna's family, including Great Gramma Dee and Great Grampa Roy.

- Eirik got his 2 month shots... and was not happy about it. And despite feeling like we've betrayed his tiny trust by having 3 needles jabbed into him, we feel that, as a public health preventative measure, vaccinations are important not only to him, but to also help stop the spread of childhood diseases everywhere.

- Eirik had his baby blessing ceremony at Circle Sanctuary in Wisconsin. Surrounded by family, friends, and a supportive community, we called on our gods, our ancestors and the elements to protect and guide him through his days.

- Eirik met his Wisconsin family and friends as well at a party in his honor. Great Gramma Jan came by, and we visited Great Gramma Leona at her room in the care center. Many of our family friends, close friends and family members visited us in Sheboygan, ate cake, and got to hold and cuddle him for the first time.

- Eirik had his baby portraits taken by Tiffany and is one handsome little guy. We can't wait for the photos!

- Eirik is now on the weight and height tables for his age - he's in the lower percentiles, but his growth has been amazing, he is really healthy and is doing incredibly well.

- Eirik can hold up his head for longer periods during the day, and can give us these great baby smiles.

We have a lot of great photos and we'll be sharing them with you in the days to come!