Off the Charts, Family Competition and we're off!

Well, we found out at our first doctor's visit that our very long and skinny baby is even longer than we originally thought! The lady who measured him told us that he was 22 3/4 inches long. My first (dumb mom) response was: "Wow! He grew 3/4 of an inch!?" To which she smiled and said that no, they probably just didn't stretch him out all the way at the hospital. She measured again to make sure and she was right! Our boy was 22 3/4 inches long. So, so much for the birth announcement being right!!

So, John Michael has joined Addy in her "off the chart" growth. Today she weighed in at a hefty 29 pounds and was a bit over 33 inches long. We grow 'em big up here. :)

our long peanut
(yes, i realize how wrong it is that he's on a pink changing pad but he spit up on the white one!)

runner up picture for the birth announcement

the porcupine giving kisses to her royal brother

she likes to hold him. lets just hope she doesn't do it without asking!

gg and her boy.

the other day he was awake for so long. I could hardly believe it given how much he sleeps (he slept through his second bath too!) and I couldn't stop taking pictures of him. This one was one of my favorites.

Last, but not least, we got to meet Sadie this weekend! WOW, her blog doesn't do her justice - she is unbelievably cute! We definitely have some family competition in the prettiest eyes category! Check out those blue saucers: (sorry the first picture is sideways - I couldn't fix it).

Let's hope Addy looks happier to see her little cousin next time they're in town. This was the best picture I could get of the two if them. The next time we saw Sadie she was sleeping and the time after that Addy was sleeping!

"Saddy and Adie" (family nicknames)

We miss you Maples!

This will probably be my last post before going to Atlanta for my sister's wedding. Look for pictures of the happy couple and their family soon!

John Michael Hamstra

Outdoor fun

John Michael was looking a little jaundiced to us even though the hospital said he was fine. We thought some "indirect sunlight" would do him some good so we ventured outside of the house. He's taken to basking in the sun quite well i think.


Adeline of course has mastered the art of being outside. She was loving her pool (and her daddy!) on this 100 degree day.


Here's an example of how much Addy loves John Michael. She can't kiss him enough!


Bye Bye!!

Bye Bye!

Hamstra Kids Bathtime!

Unlike his sister, who SCREAMED during her first bath, John Michael slept through his! Every once in a while he'd squirm or grunt but overall he just slept.

Our silly boy.

Here he is "grunting." I guess he's trying to protest but it wasn't very convincing.

And our silly girl.

Doesn't she just keep getting cuter??

Hands and Feet

Why is it that everyone seems so interested in a baby's hands and feet? Our "little" man has MONSTER fingers and feet. His fingers are about the same length as Adeline's!! And his feet barely fit into the shoes we got him. This first picture is my favorite :)

all is well in baby euphoria

Everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing which is so thoughtful but I can't help but laugh a bit... I hardly do anything, how could I not feel pretty good!? Ladies in our church have been bringing us meals, my mom and Johnny have been carrying the brunt of the housework and John Michael is nursing well and sleeping every chance he gets. My only complaint is that he leaks through every single diaper I put on him. Maybe I need to switch sizes from N to 1. He was a big boy... but the dutchness in my (by marriage) is determined to get through what I already have before buying more!! Maybe in the next couple of days I'll be ready to open a new package.

Here's Addy enjoying our first meal from Brad, Julie & Josiah (well, mainly Julie :))


Enjoying her GG.

We sure miss my dad. Addy really took to him. After she was born I cried and cried when he left. This time wasn't quite as sad though because we see him in one week! I'm sure parting after my sister's wedding weekend won't be so sweet but for now we'll just enjoy anticipating a reunion with him, my sister and introducing John Michael to my brother.

I laughed at Leslie's comment about having one Dutch baby and one Mexican baby but he really does have a darker skin tone! Maybe its newborn redness and a bit of jaundice (his eyes looked a little yellow yesterday) but it could be true! Only time will tell.

My good friend Emilee's little girl has really been into dolls lately so I decided to start encouraging Adeline to play with her dolls and she loves it! This ugly doll was mine when I was little. She's bigger than Addy (which is hard to imagine!)

Adeline couldn't have taken to John Michael better. She waves to him all the time, pats him (fairly gently!), and gives him kisses often. She's going to be an incredible big sister. (okay, now I'm tearing up... :))

Still Daddy's little girl

Here's John Michael in one of his rare moments.... awake!

"Wow, keeping your eyes open is hard work! That wore me out."


"Could there be any better place to sleep!? Nope!"

More Pictures, Surprise Visitors and John Michael's Welcome Home Experience

Here are some more pictures - finally!

What a peanut!

He looks a lot chunkier in this picture than he really is. He's pretty skinny right now!

We had some surprise visitors! I was pretty down about being induced (even though it was my own decision) but when I came home from youth group Wednesday night I was shocked to see my dad had flown in from Germany! I don't know how he manages to surprise me time and time again. I should've known better but I was sure that he wouldn't be able to be there since he would be flying out for my sister's wedding which was only a couple of weeks away.


Then, as if that wasn't surprise enough my sister decided at the last minute that she had to be there too! So, she booked a flight Thursday morning and was on a plane by 1:30. It was such a surprise and I was thrilled to see her.



TuTu & Grandfather both visited us in the hospital. Thanks to everyone who visited us!



WELCOME HOME JOHN MICHAEL!!


Here's Adeline greeting John Michael when we came home.

"Hey! What's he doing in our house?"

Here she is signing "I love you"

Kisses for John Michael.

Of course we were all thrilled with her reception... so we all started clapping for her. Here she is clapping for herself.


Rocking John Michael... oh, this is going to be interesting!!