Pumpkin Patch

Here are our obligatory pumpkin patch photos. It was pretty fun--we went to a place pretty close to our house last Saturday....you will have to stay tuned for the Halloween costume pics.

Peter was kind of overwhelmed when we first got there....there was a petting zoo and ponies..and of course, lots of pumpkins.

The llama was HUGE. Can't really see that in this picture. But trust me, coming from someone who has an irrational fear of petting zoos, it was big.

"are you telling me that people actually pay money to feed these animals?"

running through the pumpkins

what better place to eat than a pumpkin patch?

the challenges of taking pictures of a family of four

this is the best we could get

we went out to lunch afterwards and Peter had his first chocolate milk. he loved the straw as much as the milk.

1 month

Hard to believe it has been 1 month since Matthew joined us....

We gave him his first bath....

I'm still having trouble deciding if Matthew and Peter look alike...

We also took Matthew on his first walk...



And this morning, I subjected Matthew to his first photo shoot...which is a lot trickier with a toddler running around...

First Haircut

Not sure if you have noticed in the recent pics...but Peter
needed a haircut...Mike already cuts his own hair so he volunteered
to cut Peter's. We distracted him with juice and books. He never
gets juice, so it was quite a treat for him.


Mike bought some scissors with rounded edges.
We thought Peter might be afraid of the whole process,
but I think he was too excited about the juice to notice
what was going on.


where did my hair go?



Afterwards....
he still likes to grab for the camera...

Leaving Hospital and Life at Home....

We came home on Sunday, September 27th. It was weird having a full backseat!

Peter giving a questionable thumbs up about his new partner in crime.

the boys....

for all you fashionistas out there, this was Matthew's "going home" outfit...

this pic is for Tante Heidi.
Bonds is a popular clothing company in Oz
and these socks are from her...he wore them home

sleeping around the house....

more sleeping....

Matthew found his thumb on day 4? Whatever day it was, it was very early. I think he is going to be a very oral child....uh oh...

Hospital Visitors

Of course, the anticipated visit from Peter was the highlight of our hospital stay. We were so excited for Peter to meet his new brother. And we were really interested to see how the 2 would "get along."

Omi bought 2 balloons, one for Peter and one for Matthew. Peter was in love with the balloons...Once Peter arrived, we didn't bring Matthew in right away. We spent some time with Peter and gave him a present (a little puzzle).

After a few minutes, Mike wheeled the bassinet into the room. All in all, it was a really memorable moment. Peter loved looking at Matthew's fingers, toes, etc. At one point I picked up Matthew and held him--Peter's facial expression was priceless. It was as though he was making some further calculations and was finally understanding that this was OUR baby. The look was a combo of jealousy and understanding.....someday when we figure out how to post videos you will have to see it.

He probably would have tipped the bassinet over if we had not stopped him. I think he really wanted to climb in.

I just like this picture because of Mike's facial expression.

Peter thought he would try out Matthew's pacifier....

proud grandparents

they look like they are ready for another one, don't you think?

Miss Nova....our dear friend

Here is Kelly--reminding herself of how little newborns are...she is so close to having her own!!

the newlywed Mrs. T

Dara and Harper

Presenting Matthew Clayton G

This was taken around 5:45am. When we arrived at hospital, the fire alarm went off. I freaked out and was envisioning us huddled in the parking lot while they put out the fire. A nurse quickly reassured us that there was no problem and it was just a false alarm.

Shortly after this picture was taken, a nurse asked me about 150,000 different questions. I don't remember them asking me all of these questions that last time. "What is your highest level of education?" "Which of your family members have heart disease?" It was kind of stressful having to remember all of that info at 5 in the morning, not to mention that the other nurse was trying to insert an IV during this whole process and couldn't find a vein. They were probably tight because I was too busy trying to remember who died of what disease in my family....

After the questioning was completed, we sat and waited. The surgery was delayed by an hour because some poor lady had to have an emergency c-section after a long night of labor. She was wheeled into the room while I was waiting to go in. Mike and I got irritated because the nurses started discussing the ins and outs of her labor and were analyzing her contractions, etc. Didn't really need to hear all of that!

Anyways, we headed to the OR. The anesthesiologist was so nice. He had great bedside manner; the guy that I had during Peter's birth was a real meanie so it was great to have someone that made you feel like you were in good hands. His name was Dr. Lundberg. He did a good job of distracting me once we got into the OR by making small talk. Turns out he used to live next door to one of the most eclectic person I used to work with in the candy industry. What a small world!

Once they removed Matthew, I heard the doctor say, "oh--there is a knot in the umbilical cord!" She claimed it was good luck and very rare. We are still not sure why it is good luck--seems like it could have been very bad luck if I wasn't having a c-section. Anyway, the doctor said that no one knows how these knots occur. I guess Matthew was just doing a lot of stuff in there.

I am pretty exhausted, so I will have to post more pictures later...but here are just a couple...

Matthew Clayton G****
born September 24th, 9:14 am
8lbs 7oz, 21 inches long