Latest Ultrasound and Info

I guess it is about time I stop letting Everett dominate this blog and start writing about his younger sibling to come. Last week Amy and I drove down to Yale Medical Center for her ultrasound. This is still one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I have posted the pictures below. It looks like everything is going well, the baby is perfectly healthy, about 5 inches long to the tip of its tail, and genetically at very low risk for any nasty diseases. All in all it was a great visit and we got to see the new baby. Now this ultrasound was done at 12 weeks so they tell us that they are not really sure if it is going to be a boy or a girl. I must say that we have all been thinking girl for the last number of weeks but we saw something here that just might mean we need to take another look at our boy name list. I guess we will know better at the next ultrasound, at 20 weeks.

Disney

I broke in to post a blog since Clint is busy. I wanted to post some pictures of our Disney trip in August with the Venn family. What a blast!! Disney is pretty tiring....so much so that Everett fell asleep on the haunted mansion ride.

Pictures and More Pictures

The Journey in Fatherhood Continues

March 19. That is when Everett was born. It seems March runs in the family. I am March 10, Clare is March 14th, our dog is March 9th, my brother in law is March 15 and Frank is March 30-31(2 days, long story). So it is no surprise to me that we have another date added to the calendar...March 21, 2009. This is the estimated date that we will become a family of four.

That's right, by now most of you know that we are once again expecting that stork to fly by the house and drop another bundle of joy (it would be nice if it was that easy and peaceful right). At this point we do not know if it will be a girl or a boy so we could use some name suggestions.

I will once again do my best to post updates to the blog. There will probably not be pictures of Amy's belly growing (they don't seem to like that) but I will do the best I can.

Please leave a comment, throw a name out there, we would love some ideas.

Play That Funky Music White Boy

This past weekend Everett and I flew back to Ohio for my cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and a beautiful reception complete with a waterfront tent. Everett got a chance to meet my cousin's little girls and practice his dance moves. Here is a video of him in action.

Dancing Baby

No not this one: This one:



He does that any time we put music on now, and he definately has his favorite songs.

14 Months

Everett has hit 14 months in May so I thought I would just post a few pictures so you can see how he is doing. He loves doing all little boy things.

Here he is learning to play Go Fish. He is good at picking a card but not so good at giving them up.

Here he is trying to climb up on the table.

This is cowboy Everett in Daddy's hat.

Going out to play in the rain.

Getting muddy in the back yard and picking up treasures.

Climbing a tree.

Everett Discovers a Marker

The other day when Amy was home alone with the brood and Everett and the two dogs were giving her a run for her money Everett stumbled upon a new toy. I think the resulting picture says it all.

I consider this a right of passage, much like having to shave a bare spot in his head when he will undoubtedly get gum in his hair. The funny think about this is we were only hours away from getting his professional 1 year portraits done. Luckily it washed off.

More Pics from Myrtle Beach

Everett and Clare look a lot alike.


Here they are playing.

Aunt Danielle reading a story.

Everett heading for the water.

Clare at Dinner.

Everett Running Into the Ocean

Here is a video of Everett showing no fear as he heads straight for the water. He did this over and over again no matter where we put him down on the beach.

Myrtle Beach Vacation

This past weekend Amy and I took the baby to Myrtle Beach to visit my parents and sister. Amy's sister came by with Tad and Clare also. It was a great visit. We had a lot of fun and have quite a few pictures to share. Everett loves the ocean and runs straight into it without any fear. Although it was in the low 60s and the water was freezing cold he would not stop playing even when he started turning blue and shivering. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. I will follow up soon with more pictures and videos.

KidCity (exactly what it sounds like)

After we went sledding the other weekend we stopped in to what we thought was a kid's museum called KidCity. What it is is an old building that has been filled with nothing but playscapes. They range from space ships to kaleidescopes, model trains, to a big apple tree clubhouse. There is a Pirate Ship, a little person grocery store, and a whole under the sea area. The following are a few pictures from the last time we went. We actually bought a membership because Everett loved it so much and it is good for him to be able to socialize with others. Right now his social skills consist of kissing and showing off for the girls, and pushing the boys out of his way.

A note on being a Dad

This blog, started as a Journey to Fatherhood, has now become a Journey IN Fatherhood. I have spent most of these pages dedicated to the milestones and growth of Everett but have not touched on what it feels like to be a dad, so to remedy that I offer this thought:

When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things." I Cor. xiii. 11.

When I was a child I used to laugh and sing and dance around. When I became a man these things ceased as I knew them. The best part about being a dad is that I get to experience them all over again. I can dance to ridiculously goofy songs (think "Whip it" by Devo); I can run around the house acting like a monster, bounce on the bed, make funny faces, go sledding, pretend the grocery cart (carriage for New Englanders) is a race car (complete with skidding rear wheels.) I can even screech out the sound effects. I don't have to care what the outside world thinks of that behavior, only that it makes my son smile, or laugh that laugh that makes me forget there is an outside world. Sure, there will be a time that comes way to soon when that type of behavior embarrasses him and I will have to cease once again. Hell, I will probably even embarrass him a few times before I stop, but until then, I sure am having fun. It is important to remember how much fun the world can be, and however wise I think I become the real wisdom is in viewing the world through a child's eyes. I hope this blog is entertaining but also reminds us of how wonderful the little things are. I thank my son for showing me this once again.

Everett Discovers Snow

If you were watching the weather reports last week you would know that this past Friday we got a lot of snow in New England. 6-8 inches fell through the morning on Friday. Everett happened to discover it though the window while playing.

Seeing his interest I decided to take him to get a sled, that way on Saturday morning we could really introduce him to the snow. The next morning we got up, had some breakfast, got dressed for the weather, and after a quick internet search for the perfect hill complete with directions and topo maps we headed out for a good time. Here are a few pictures from the event.

As you can see from the last picture above, he didn't quite understand what was happening. Amy and I sure had a good time though. Check out the video below:

Everett's First Play Date

The other day we had the pleasure of watching Naomi for a few hours while her mom took care of some things she needed to take care of. Everett loved having another little person in the house. He touched her hair, tried to poke her eyes and nose and mouth, gave her big tackle hugs, and took every toy she was playing with. I guess we will have to work on the sharing. He is not used to other babies around. Naomi on the other hand attends daycare where she is often stepped on and tackled and crawled over, she just took it in stride. We loved having her and will gladly do it again anytime. Here are a few pictures of the two: