Phone Pictures

When you have a baby, sometimes it is easier to snap a photo with your phone than track down the "real" camera.  I noticed I had sets of threes, so here's Jane over the first 6 weeks:

Day One

Day Two

9 Days Old

4 Weeks Old

6 Weeks Old

November, Phase 1

Sleeping on the couch

Building their "Haunted House" (a Halloween gingerbread house).  I can't believe how nicely they worked together and enjoyed this project.  Thanks, Auntie Mich, for sending it to us!

One month old already!

Annoyed Baby

We had to document her coordinating headband/outfit combo

Still Annoyed Baby

What you see if you zoom out from the photo shoot...

Mom and Sam

Halloween 2013

Sammy as Wild player Justin Fontaine

Cal as the dalmatian puppy

Penguin #4--Jane

Anne and her teacher in the costume parade

She's Secretariat's jockey Ron Turcotte.  I made that costume for $1.50.  Boo yah!

Sammy's preschool class.  The Westphalls are always in the minority with their homemade costumes.

Jane's First Few Days

Black hair!

Meeting Calvin.  He's very sweet to her and says, "Baby" instead of "Jane"

Meeting Sambo.  Sammy is pretty indifferent to the baby.  He's busy with other stuff :)

Meeting Anne.  Anne is quite happy with her sister, but is not overbearing and doesn't "hover" around her, which is perfect.  She's very helpful when I need her to be, and very sweet to Jane.

Wrapped up tight.  Her face is a perfect circle.

Buckled in and ready to go home.

All snuggled up!  I've never been a fan of headbands on babies, but all that hair is screaming for decoration!  As Sam said, "This is your last chance--if you want headbands, get headbands."

Jane Laura Westphall was born October 10, 2013 at 10:05 p.m.  My water broke at home at 4:30, we went to the hospital, and everything was smooth sailing from there.  We brought her home on Saturday morning and have been adjusting fairly well to life with 4 kids.  Jane weighed 8 lbs, 10 oz and was 21.5 inches long.  Pretty petite for a Westphall baby!  She's a good napper (so far) and a little rougher at night time.  The big kids love her and are adjusting well.

Keeping it real..

My dinnertime "helper"  Crabby face included at no extra charge.

What my kitchen looks like when we sit down.  No wonder I don't want to talk to anyone while we eat.

Summertime Catch-Up

Color-coordinated outfits for church

Bobo, too!

Vikings pants, Wild jersey, and a bucket of golf balls.  We have discovered his love language.

Cal will sit still for NHL Network and little else

"I threw my blanket down the stairs, but I don't know how to go down stairs.  Let the weeping commence."

Bobo on his "racehorse"  The helmet is for safety, obviously :)

Wild Pre-Season Game

We took in Wild vs. Jets in the preseason.  Oma was on hand to help.

Calvie said, "hottey" about 100 times.  He was pretty happy (and not scared of the horn)

Taking it all in from the Club level

Happy Westies!  Thanks, Opa!

Sambo's Turn

Off to preschool went the boy today.  All summer he was apprehensive about school, but today he was totally fine.  Opa took him to school and picked him up with no tears or anything abnormal :)

Ready to go!

Had to include this one--so indicative of Sambo!  He could not stop looking around and talking while we were taking pictures.  "Oh, a school bus!  I wish I could ride the bus."  "Mom, it is too foggy to take pictures."  "Mom, I'm done with this shirt."

KINDERGARTEN!!!

Oma treated Anne to a new outfit--ponies galore!

First day of preschool; 2011

Getting bigger!

So, in my mind, last October, I had a very sentimental blog post planned in my head all about Anne turning 5 and what that represented to me.  But it turns out that it was SUCH a milestone to me that I couldn't even put my words down without becoming an emotional mess.  Seriously.  For almost an entire year I have been a weepy nutjob when I've thought about sending her to school.  It means a lot of happy and sad things to me (and to Sam).  Now, combine those feelings with my OWN first week of school and the craziness of being 8 months pregnant and you have one mess of a mama on your hands!

Anne went off to school on Wednesday ready to conquer the world.  However, her confidence disappeared the minute they faced the school doors.  She lost her composure and had quite a few tears when Daddy left.  She also had quite a few tears when I picked her up in the afternoon.  This morning was better--she got her crying out at home and kept it together at school.  Hopefully the days will continue to get better as we figure out our routine and she gets used to her new place.

Parenting doesn't seem to ever get easier--just different.  This week we've learned that you can prepare for something as much as possible and still not be ready for it.  It is also becoming apparent that I can ignore baby tears pretty easily, but big-kid tears are much harder to handle.

4th Birthday Boy

Ready to open his gifts

He looks so old right here!

A new glove from Erin and Todd (he took it to bed with him that night)

Enjoying his birthday song

Twinsies

Sambo had a great birthday all-around.  On his actual birthday he went mini-golfing and bowling with a few of his friends and had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.  It was a boys-only night--Sam and 2 of his football-coach friends came with their sons and partied together.  The following day we had his family party.  Sambo's custom menu of hot dogs and chips was pretty easy to put together :)

As a newly-minted 4-year-old, Sammy is just great.  He is still a sweet, sensitive boy.  He likes to hug as much as he likes to play rough.  He'll hockey-fight one minute and the next stop and say, "I just love you, Mom."  He reads everything and makes up what he can't figure out.  He counts to 100 and can count by twos and tens.  His aptitude for sports trivia is becoming evident--not sure if I should credit that to Daddy or Opa in the gene pool!  He is pretty patient with his assertive older sister and his rough-and-tumble baby brother.  Since Sam and I are both 2nd in birth order, it doesn't surprise us that Sammy is pretty mellow and easy to get along with.  We 2nd children are like that :)

This fall he'll be busy with preschool, Sunday school, and AWANA.  Life really opens up when you are four!