Grandma Jaci

My mom came to town about a week before Max arrived, and helped us out for the first three weeks of parenthood. By helped us out, I mean she made all our meals, did all our laundry, and let us stare at our baby all day. It made the transition as easy as possible, and now, 48 hours after her departure, we are realizing that having three square meals a day and an extra set of arms for baby holding really is quite the treat.

The first morning she was in town, we went up to Glen Alps and walked around a bit to get out of the house, the weather was great for her entire visit.

She got some shots of Max's first bath at home...and several other firsts that we can safely assume only parents and grandparents are interested in capturing.

Grandpa Bob also made the trip north to meet Max last week. Another Max fan is born.

In return for taking care of Dave and I so well, Grandma Jaci got a lot of baby time.  Max thinks she's pretty cool,  he gave her lots of baby smiles before she headed home to Colorado. 

Max-tron 5000

Max's adventure being alive is continuing quite nicely. He registered a series of firsts over the past couple days. 

Max met Kyle, they got on just fine. 

He got strapped to my chest and...

We all went for a walk up and down our street. Look at all the melting snow and ice!

He set new standards for cuteness, well done son. 

He tried out playing hard to get. It worked. He got more attention. 

Meanwhile, Jes and I enjoyed ourselves some post-preggers treats. For me, a delicious beer...

and then we indulged in some sushi, heretofore off limits and now solidly back in the rotation. 

Cheers!

Max and the blankets

We have received a lot of great blankets from friends and family so we took some pictures of Max lounging about on them.

Here we have Max on a blanket from the Davidson's.

Here we have him on a green number from Grandma Jaci.

And a camel themed one from Grandma Jaci.

And now a friend of Jes's from work. 

And here Max is on a tractor/farming themed blanket from Barbara. 

And finally, a colorful number from Grandma Joanna. 

Cheers!

Max!

After a 9 months, Max made his arrival and he's great. Here are a few pictures from his first few days at home. 

Here's me looking like a giant. 

Jes smiling at lil' duder.

Stan, clearly exhausted from all the hub-bub, steals a moment for himself. 

Michelle and her little girl Elsa came and visited us. Here Elsa attempts to reprogram our tv. 

Grandma Jaci is in town for a few weeks being generally helpful and sneaking some grandson time in as well. 

Max in baby jail. He got off on good behavior. 

Sharon, a friend from Jes's days clerking, came by to visit. 

Jess (two s's) also came by to check him out. 

Here I am looking alive, really alive!

Jes being a mom, pretty awesome.

More pictures to come!

Just Waiting Around

We are all moved in and just hanging out until our little guy decides it's time to join the family. We found the cord to our camera, so here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

 A pair of moose, annoyed that I was driving on their road.

 Another moose -- she likes our yard a lot, and was stopping by frequently last month.

 Stanley and Arthur keep an eye on her when she's around.

 Moose art shot.

I started a new job in February, this was my first day, me feeling very proud to have gotten up before 9:00 a.m.  Taking time off was nice. 

 Dave painting the nursery back in January.

 Dave being made to pose in our family room, we bought furniture!

 The rest of the room.

 Stan is not that impressed, as usual.

The nursery, ready for the little guy. 

More nursery. 

Dave before this morning's Tour of Anchorage -- it's a cross country ski race held on Iditarod weekend each year. It's been so warm that the course had to be altered at the last minute, but the nice temperatures made it a great morning for Dave.

Arthur has been preparing to be a big brother for several months now. He has tested all the baby gear and made sure there is a fine coat of cat fur on everything. Kid was going to have to get used to it sometime, might as well learn from the start. 

Happenings are happening

We've been getting settled and getting out. We made it out to the Spenard Roadhouse for a spot of dinnner on Thursday. 

Jes was pleased with the choices on the menu. 

We went down to Girdwood to celebrate Jes's birthday with some friends. We stopped just off the highway for a bit of sightseeing. 

It was a bit windy but...

...still pretty great.

We did a bit of work around the house...

the nursery before...

...and after. 

Got a bit more work to do like painting the doors and trim, we'll post more as the work moves along. Speaking of work...

...it's going well. 

And here are a few pictures of the table I designed for our move. A few notes, the colored glass on the top is arranged in the positions of the Big Dipper and Polaris which is on the Alaskan state flag. The table surface is made of cottonwood which is found all over Colorado. The idea was to have a table that signified both of our homes. 

More to come, cheers!