9 weeks

So Hans turned 9 weeks today. Crazy. 1/4th of a school year's worth and I think he's learned more than some of my students will learn all this next year (I know that's not fair, he started with nothing). Anyway, we seem to have recovered from our journeys east and west and enjoyed a week just here at home again. 

Below is a little photo montage (a mere sampling) of some of the pictures I took this week trying to capture the 'true Hans.' Really I was just trying to get a good smile. 

Ready? Here we go.

There's crooked grin Hans:

 

 Cute but aloof Hans:

 Bored with this whole thing Hans:

Possibly filling his pants Hans:

Totally freaked out Hans:

Now we'll move on to my attempts for the weekly picture. This may be the 'official' 9 week shot. It's a decent smile but he was moving a little quicker than my shutter speed could handle.

But wait, there's more! Though he was nearly falling over, I found this a pretty cute picture. At least it isn't as blurry.

But, the one person who can really get Hans to smile is his big brother. Get a load of these two! It's like they already have some joke that only the two of them are in on. In about 12 years we're going to be in trouble.

Oh and while we're at it let's do that thing that kids never want their parents to do and let's compare these two boys at the same age. 

Henry at 9 weeks: 

Hans at 9 weeks:

Fun in Ohio

The boys and I were busy in Ohio with Grandma Janet and Grandpa Delmar. Here is just a sampling of our fun in no particular order.

Gathering with Beyelers. Henry and Hans with all their 2nd cousins (in order of age).

Gathering with Nussbaums. Henry played with his 2nd cousins Grant and Jordan.

Henry requested a lot of lego vehicles. I was quite busy building cars, boats, planes, etc.

Riding with Grandpa in his old car--a very special time for Henry.

Henry showing Hans how a forklift works.

The three of us at the new school playground that we visited multiple times.

The happy grandparents and grandchildren.

Busy climber.

Grandma Janet giving Henry a mower ride (no blades were moving--don't worry). Henry got to drive which was hilarious. At one point, they were doing very small circles.

Weeks 7 & 8

The past week was a bit crazy for us. Derek took a school group to California for the week and the boys and I flew to Ohio so I could get some help from Grandma Janet and Grandpa Delmar. Both week 7 and week 8 pictures were taken at their house. For now I will just post the weekly photos and then I'll post again with all the things we did there. I can't thank my parents enough for all they did for me, Henry and Hans!! Thank you again. I'm sure they will get more sleep this week.

Week 7: Almost smiling.

Week 8: Finally caught his little crooked grin. There were better smiles but I didn't get a good clear picture of them. Maybe next week.

Week 6

This week we took no pictures. I guess when we don't have guests we don't feel we're doing anything photo-worthy. It was a nice week. Hans is growing quickly, mostly in width not length as far as I can tell. We also had a ton of rain this week so not as many bike rides or trips to the playground. Thankfully today the rain has moved on.

These early weeks it's so hard to get a picture of him without is held being tilted and he is rarely looking at the camera. This is the best we could get.

Some dear friends are moving away next week. We are sad to see them go but very happy that we could hang out for a bit this morning and hope to tomorrow morning as well. Above is Silas and Henry hanging out in Silas' pool.

Silas was helping Henry understand what he has to look forward to when Hans starts pulling up on things (and people). I guess Henry looked like a sturdy structure to hold onto. Henry was not so sure about this.

Ah, success for Silas and Henry eventually thought it was kind of funny. We are sad that we won't be able to hang out as much with Silas (and Molly and Adam too) after their moving day. We wish that Henry and Silas would have many more days to play together as they grow up, but life takes us to different places now. Such is life.

Visitors and 5 weeks old

This past week we had my family (Tina) visiting. It was very nice of Grandma and Grandpa to drive back again and for Todd, Megan, Doug and Greg to make the long drive here. The weather was nice (a bit hot) so we were able to keep the three older boys (and adults) busy with activities. These are in no particular order and are just a sampling of activities.

Visiting the capital and Farmer's Market.

Playing baseball after a picnic dinner.

Walking to various places.

Biking around the neighborhood. (Unfortunately I have no picture of the tandem bike rides--Todd and Delmar, then Todd and Janet, then Todd and Megan. It seems Todd was deemed the permanent lead rider of the Schwinn Twin deluxe)

Kayaking and canoeing.

And watching Hans turn 5 weeks old. This isn't the best picture or outfit. With the hot weather, Hans usually dons only his diaper or else he overheats. He did amazing job being moved around to various places for a few days with all of our outings (no we did not go kayaking or biking). He is starting to make a few different noises but still prefers grunting as his main vocalization. We're still waiting on a real smile.

4 Weeks and Visitors

This past week we had my (Derek) parents here visiting. This resulted in a couple of little outings. We definitely feel like we're out and about a lot more four weeks A.B. (after birth) compared to when Henry was born. Pics to follow.

Henry wanted to sit on the big chair.

 

 Then Grandpa and I joined him.

The boys with the grandparents.

Four week picture. Hans seems to be doing a smashing job of filling out. His cheeks (on both ends) are pudgier by the day.

Henry wanted to participate in the 4 week photo as well. He really is doing a good job of being a helpful big brother.

Hans week 3 and the older brother

I'll start with an explanation of the above picture. What do YOU see when you look at it? Well I found this on the toy table the other day and was about to pick it up and Henry said 'No, don't mess with it.' Turns out he had made this truck and wanted to keep it for a while. Yes, transportation items are pretty important. Take a look at the next pick. I've taken a lot of pictures of Henry on the push bike but this one is one of my favorites.

Fortunately, Henry is not ALL about cars and bikes. He's also all about space ships and rockets. Take a look at his 'space man'/super hero outfits. I think he called himself 'Super Joe.' In this picture.

Take the same outfit, delete the goggles and add a hard hat and you become a space man.

And that's it for the Henry pictures. Now for an update on Hans. First of all, the boy is growing like a weed (as he's supposed to do). He was born at 6 lbs 14 oz and three weeks later he weighs 9 lbs 1 oz. That is some impressive weight gain (averaging about 2 ounces a day)!

Here's the 3 week photo.