Merry Christmas - 2012

Merry Christmas from the Meyer boys!  Michael (4 months) and Isaac (2 years) sitting patiently in front of the tree so mommy could take the picture.  After the picture, they were able to open presents!  Isaac was in awe of all the gifts from mommy and daddy and Santa!  Michael loved looking at the wrapping paper and feeling it in his hands!  What a fun morning!  :)

Michael and Baby Jesus - December 2012

We had a lot of fun putting Michael in his bumbo and taking pictures in front of the Christmas tree.  Michael was SO sweet and precious as he took in all the lights and beauty of his first Christmas!

Michael is really starting to pay attention to details.  He is fascinated by touch and feel, so everything you give him he will hold, play with, and eventually stick in his mouth.

We placed baby Jesus next to Michael in front of the tree this Christmas for a picture.  The most precious thing ever happened!  Michael reached out and held baby Jesus's hand!  See the picture to the left.

Here is Michael smiling for the camera.  He is becoming quite photogenic.  These will probably be my all-time favorite Christmas photos of Michael.  They are so precious!

Christmas Eve 2012

We spent Christmas Eve together as a family.  Nana and Papa Meyer came over for dinner and then we went to the 6:00 PM mass at Holy Trinity.  Of course, we were running late, so it was quite the rush to get there.  Daddy dropped mommy, Isaac and Michael off at the front of the church, and in the process, he handed Isaac the little T-rex that Isaac wanted to bring to church.  Somehow, Isaac dropped it right away before he got out of the car, but mommy and daddy didn't know he dropped it until they got into church.  Isaac kept saying the entire mass, "Where did little T-rex go?"  He would not be quiet about it!  Good thing daddy found it after mass!

We ended up sitting in the sanctuary area at Holy Trinity, behind the alter.  Isaac got out all his farm animals and lined them up on the floor.  He played and played!  Both boys were so go during mass.  We laughed that Isaac brought all the "stable animals" to Christmas Eve service.  :)

These are pictures of our family - top right - in front of the poinsettias at Holy Trinity; middle, picture in front  of our Christmas tree at home, and bottom, picture in front of the Christmas tree at Holy Trinity.

Thanksgiving 2012

We spent Thanksgiving day with the Meyer Family.  Mark, Beth, Emory and Stella came to Des Moines to celebrate.  This is a picture of four out of the five grandchildren on the Meyer side.  From left to right: Isaac (2 years), Michael (4 months), Stella (8 months), Emory (3 years).

Michael's Baptism

 Michael Joseph was baptized on Sunday November 25, 2012 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Des Moines.  We were so very thankful to have Fr. Michael Amadeo baptize Michael, as he also baptized Isaac two years earlier.  Uncle Ryan (Michael) and Aunt Mikhael are Michael's god-parents, thus, one of the reasons we chose the name Michael for our second son. 

Michael was baptized during the mass along with Elliot Sherzan (Thomas and Kathleen), son of one of mommy's teachers who just had a baby, and Jamison Lynch (Luke and Alicia) all of Holy Trinity.

 Michael was so alert during the entire mass.  He didn't even cry when the water was poured over his head or when the oil was rubbed in his hair.  What a happy boy we have!

After mass, we hosted a party at our home in honor of Michael.  I will add more pictures later from the actual baptism, but above is a picture of Isaac and Uncle Nick.  Uncle Nick kept Isaac entertained throughout the entire mass.  Isaac talked to Nick the entire time, telling him about his sheep, cow and giraffe, reading stories, and coloring in his spiderman notebook!  They were best buddies.  Isaac really had a fun time hanging with Uncle Nick.

Grandma Cindy helped mommy decorate Michael's baptism cake.  Isaac wanted blue cupcakes to go with the cake,

We were thankful that great-grandpa Wayne and great-grandma Bernadine were feeling good enough to travel.  They made the trip all the way to Des Moines, attended mass with us, and stayed for the party afterwards.  Here is a picture of great-grandpa Wayne and grandma Cindy.

We thank God for our many blessings.  It is days like today that make us realize how lucky we are to share so much love and joy with our family members.  Thank you God for the opportunity to celebrate together and for your continued blessings on all of our family members.

Hy-Vee shop Hy-Vee

Isaac and dad have been enjoying running errands together on the weekends. Saturday morning we went to the hardware store and Sunday we went to Hy-Vee. Isaac got to push his own little green cart and was great at filling it up. He's gotten much better at and now only runs into a few other shoppers. After shopping, Isaac enjoyed riding on the electric horse - Henry the Horse.

Saturday Morning Snuggles

One of my favorite things about Saturday mornings is snuggling with our babies in bed.  Isaac always comes in our room about 6:30 each morning and wants to snuggle.  Michael joined us this morning as well.  Isaac is so kind and patient with Michael.  He loved snuggling in bed this morning and watching Disney Junior (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) with Michael.  Isaac loves to give Michael kisses and tells him that he is a "good boy".  We are so proud to be parenting such wonderful boys.  Our hearts are so full of love and joy!

P.S.  These are Isaac's favorite pajamas ... DINOSAURS!  And he knows every dinosaur by name and what makes them different than the others (such as a fin on its back, three horns on its head, plates on its back, a long neck, long trunk like an elephant, etc)...dimetron, triceratops, stegosaurus, brachiosaurus, and woolly mammoth!  Way to go buddy!

Trip to Omaha

This November, we took a trip to Omaha to visit Ryan, Mikhael, Maria and Emily.  Isaac had a great time playing with his cousins, and Michael loved snuggling with his God-parents.

Here is a picture of Emily, Isaac, and Maria in front of the aquarium at the Omaha zoo.  Maria and Emily loved showing Isaac around the zoo.  We saw a bear (with a crooked nose) climbing a tree, tall giraffes,  alligators, lions, tigers, and many other animals.  Isaac loved seeing the animals and making their "sound".  He especially loved roaring like a lion!

All the kids loved climbing on the giraffe statue. Good thing we found this statue, as Isaac fell midway through our zoo trip and got a "bad owwie" on his knee.  He would point at it about every 2 minutes and ask one of us to kiss it.  Finding this giraffe finally distracted him enough to forget about the owwie for a while!

Here is a picture of Isaac in the car on the way to Omaha.  He thought he was so cool to be wearing sunglasses like mommy and daddy.  And the fact that they were Spiderman sunglasses made Isaac even more excited!

We are so grateful that we live close enough to family that we can spend time together and watch our children grow up together.  I enjoyed just watching the interactions of Maria and Emily teaching Isaac and snuggling with Michael.  It is very special how much they already love and care for each other.  Emily was especially sweet in helping feed Michael his bottle.  :) What a wonderful weekend!

Fun Times

This is how we spend a typical evening after work.  Mommy and daddy get home, put on some comfy clothes, and we play.  Play, play, play.  In this picture we are doing some tummy time together.  Isaac loves showing Michael how his toys work.  He is a wonderful big brother.

We also spend lots of time reading.  Isaac has already learned his letters, numbers and colors.  He even loves reading some of the books to mommy.  Isaac is really good at reading "Blue Hat, Green Hat".  I will always remember how early on he started to understand letter, words, and reading.  What a smart boy!

Halloween 2012

Isaac and Michael had fun getting dressed up for Halloween 2012.  Isaac originally was going to be a farmer, but the farmer costume from aunt Colette was too small.  So then we borrowed the lion costume from aunt Colette instead.  Isaac was excited to wear the lion, as his cousin Brayton had been a lion in previous years.

It's funny how particular little two year old boys can be.  Isaac was SO excited to wear the lion costume, up until it was time to put it on.  Then of course, he refused.   We finally convinced him after an hour of trick or treaters arriving at our door.  Isaac wore the costume long enough to visit a few neighbors houses and then it came off.

Michael, our precious baby, was all decked out in a jack-o-lantern costume.  This is the same costume Isaac wore for his first Halloween.  Michael looked so sweet and pretty much slept through the entire evening.

It was fun having Nana and Papa over to help with the kids as well as answer our door when we took Isaac to the neighbors. 

Our boys are growing up!  I'm sure next year Isaac will be THRILLED to wear his costume...we probably won't be able to get him to take it off!  :)

A long overdue night out...

Audra and I rarely get the chance to get dressed up outside of the occasional wedding-but last night we were able to attend the bras for the cause black tie gala. The theme was old Hollywood. Audra found some black gloves and a new dress, she looked great. Its nice to enjoy each others company without any distractions every now and again.

Michael, Our Angel Baby

I LOVE this photo of Michael.  He is so beautiful!  He is getting the longest eyelashes, and he is always so calm and peaceful.  We love our little Michael!  :)

Fall Fun

 Michael doing some tummy time at 10 weeks old.

 Uncle Mark, cousin Emory, daddy and Isaac trout fishing at our annual Barn on the Bluff trip with the Olson family.

Isaac playing with his red hat that he got from aunt Colette as part of a Halloween Costume!


Michael on the right ------------------------>>>
12 weeks old!  What a smiley boy!

The Meyer brothers just hanging out.  As you can see, Isaac is glued to watching the t.v.  He loves "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" on the Disney Junior Channel!

The Boys

Here is Michael at two months old.  He is growing so big so fast!  Michael has been a pretty easy baby thus far.  The first six weeks, he had some trouble with gas pains each night, so we ended up switching to a gentle ease formula.  This seemed to help.  But, as you can see in this photo, he is a happy child and of course he is SO cute.  Looks a lot like his brother did at this age!

Isaac loves giving baby Michael kisses on his head.  Before Michael was born, we purchased a baby doll for Isaac to practice holding, feeding a bottle, changing a diaper, and giving kisses on the head.  Isaac is SO good with his little brother.  He loves to help mommy and daddy get diapers, get the burp rag when it's time to feed Michael, and throw diapers away in the garbage.  We know Isaac will continue to be such a positive role model for his younger brother!

Isaac's Second Birthday

Isaac turned two on October 1, 2012.  We had a birthday party for him at our house and invited Isaac's cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents to join us for the party.  Isaac had a great time decorating his "dinosaur" cake with grandma Cindy.  Together they mixed up frosting colors and put "dinosaur eggs" on the cake and cupcakes.  Isaac was very particular in putting matching colored eggs on the cupcakes.  For example, we told him to put 3 eggs on each cupcake, so he chose 3 black jelly beans for one cupcake, 3 red jelly beans for another, etc.  He did not like to mix his colors!  :)

Here is a picture of his finished cake.  We had a great time making the cake ourselves and letting Isaac help.  He LOVED licking the frosting!  And of course he loved putting his toy dinosaurs around the cake.

 Daddy set up a tent in the back yard and filled it with balloons.  The kids had a great time throwing and sitting on the balloons.  They especially loved popping them at the end of the party!

We also had a pinatta that the kids broke open with a bat.  Of course it was Brayton's swing that broke through to the candy!

One special feature to our party was the dinosaur tracks that Matt spray painted in the yard.  When the kids came over, Matt told them a dinosaur had been in our yard the night before.  Lauren was amused and also a little anxious at the same time.  She told Matt "Dinosaurs lived a long time ago, so how could one be in your yard?"  She was so nervous at one point that she went into the house to play in order to stay away from the dinosaurs!  Matt finally told her the "secret" that he spray painted the tracks.  The secret didn't last long, as Lauren told everyone that came to the party, "Uncle Matt painted the tracks on the lawn.  They're not real dinosaur tracks.  Uncle Matt spray painted them!"



Here is a picture of Isaac and his cousin Emory eating their birthday cupcakes.  It was so cute when Isaac went to blow out his candles on his cake ... Brayton, Lauren, and Emory all blew his candle out too!  They were all so excited.  So then we gave each of them a candle on their cupcake so they could ALL blow out their own candle!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Introducing Michael Joseph

Michael Joseph was born on August 1, 2012 at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines.  Mommy, Daddy, and Isaac were so excited to welcome our new little guy to the family.

Michael's birth story was much different than his older brother's.  Isaac was two weeks late and mommy was only in labor with Isaac for about six and a half hours.  Michael was 11 days early and labor was much longer...a little over 15 1/2 hours!

With Michael, mommy started having contractions at about 8:00 pm on July 31st.  It happened to be the night of the 2012 women's gymnastics team competition.  We stayed home until a little after midnight watching the Olympics.  The women's gymnastics team won gold!  My contractions started to become closer together so we made the trek to the hospital.  They continued to progress, but very slowly.  The doctor had us do lots of walking to encourage the contractions to become stronger.   So, we were up pretty much the entire night trying to get things moving.

 At about 7:00 AM, contractions came to a stand still, so the doctor came in and decided to break my water.  This made me a little nervous, but within minutes, my water was broken and we started to rock and roll!  Contractions increased and became consistent once again.  Michael was born at 11:41 AM.

During the pushing stage of delivery, Michael's heart rate started to drop.  The doctor and nurses were anxious to speed up the delivery.  I remember the doctor looking at me straight in the eyes and saying, "You need to get this baby out with the next push.  I need you to really focus."  Of course I got anxious as any mother would, as I did not want to have to go into an emergency c-section.  Luckily, Matthew coached me through it and Michael was delivered with the very next push!  The cord was wrapped around his neck, but the doctor quickly took care of that and within seconds he was in my arms crying.  What a beautiful experience!

We love our Michael Joseph!  Isaac really loved coming to the hospital to see his big brother.  Thanks to Nana and Papa for caring for Isaac while we were in the hospital.

Michael was 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long.  Michael shares his birthday with his cousin, Maria Loots!

Spring Break Trip to Florida - 2012

In March of 2012, we ventured to Orlando and St. Petersburg Florida for a few days of fun in the sun.  We decided to take a trip before Isaac turned two and also before baby Meyer #2 arrived.  (Yes, I am 4 1/2 months pregnant in these pictures!)

Isaac experienced his first plane flight on this trip.  He was such an angel!  It helped that we had brought along some books, snacks, and the I-pad.  Isaac loved making the airplane noise "shhhhh" while waving his arms in the air pretending to be an airplane.

Overall the trip was lots of fun.  Isaac was tentative at first to swim in the various pools, but eventually he became a pro and even became brave enough to jump into the pool into daddy's arms.  A trip to the beach was also a highlight.  Isaac love playing in the sand!

Isaac's First Hair Cut

Isaac had his first haircut at Kiddles Salon in Clive after Christmas, in December 2011.  Momma was so nervous that after cutting his hair, Isaac would lose those beautiful curls.  But the reality was that the hair was very long, and I no longer wanted Isaac to be mistaken for a girl, so it had to be cut.




 

Isaac was a perfect angel during his first haircut.  The salon had a high chair that Isaac sat in during process.  We brought along goldfish and some water, so he was engaged in what he enjoys the most...filling his belly with food!  The salon also had some toy animals for him to play with...oh those toddler salons are so well prepared!!!

Here is a picture of Isaac all trimmed up and looking so handsome.  Momma was pleasantly surprised...the curls survived!  :)

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful holiday celebrating Isaac's second Christmas.  This year he was engaged in all the traditional Christmas activities, especially opening the Christmas presents!  Isaac especially loved watching the lights on the Christmas tree and giving Santa Clause high-fives.

This year mommy and daddy received the best Christmas gift ever...we found out that our family of three would soon become a family of four!  Baby Meyer is due in August 2012!!!  :)

November 2011

November 2011

Isaac loves playing outside.  Of course, like all boys, he loves playing with sticks.  Here is one of his favorite sticks that we kept around for a while, as he loved to play with it each time we were outside.

We had an early snow!  Just a light sprinkling, but it was enough to cover the ground.  Isaac loved putting rocks in the snow to watch them "disappear". 

Isaac loves his zebra Zeno, and of course he is now able to climb in and out of the rocking chair by himself.  Such a big boy!

Emory and Isaac hanging out at Emory's house at Thanksgiving.

Cute, cute!  These boys have so much fun together!

Halloween Fun

Halloween 2011 - Isaac and Daddy

This has to be the cutest frog that ever lived!

Emory and Isaac Celebrate Birthdays!

Nana and Papa baked cakes for Isaac and Emory's birthdays.  These pictures were taken in September of 2011.  Emory turned two and Isaac one.  I love this photo...these boys have so much fun together!






 

Here is a picture of Isaac and mommy and daddy BEFORE Isaac dug into his birthday cake.

And here is the "AFTER" photo.  Only a little bit of chocolate on the face.  That's right, Isaac is not a fan of birthday cake.  How surprising!  This guy only likes his fruits and vegetables!








Emory, on the other hand, LOVED his cake.  This picture was taken midway through.  He was covered in chocolate by the end!

Here is a picture of Papa and Nana with the birthday boys!  :)