Enjoying the Chaos

Here's a quick post of a chaotic day in our household:

12:00 AM -- Camden's awake! Mommy performs a midnight diaper change and a little post midnight cuddle time.
12:30 AM -- A little shut eye for everyone.
3:15 AM -- Ethan's awake... hungry little man.
3:45 AM -- Ethan thinks it's play time... what a happy baby? Where's our sleepy man?
4:30 AM -- Ethan gets handed off from mommy to daddy.
5:15 AM -- Camden wakes for the day. A little more snuggle time with mommy.
6:00 AM -- Baby swap. Mom and E get a 30 minute nap while daddy and C get ready for daycare.
6:30 AM -- Snow Shoveling (daddy!).
7:00 AM -- Feed Ethan, Feed Camden.
7:30 AM -- Pack for daycare: Ethan's bottles, Camden's soy milk and snow pants, mom's pump, mom's computer, hats, mittens.... and more!
8:00 AM -- Out the door... late (but we're using the weather as an excuse).
8:15 AM -- Drop off: Coats off, Mittens off, Hat and scarves: check, check. Sign in, get Ethan out, get Camden into his breakfast chair (second breakfast of the day for him).
8:40 AM -- Finally, at work. Let the day begin!!!

So much fun, so little time! We were a little grumpy this morning but managed to overcome our sleepy states. The workday passed, for me anyway, in a blur. Then it was time to finish the day:

6:00 PM -- home late! (Daycare pick up took extra long to get out of the daycare door).
6:30 PM -- Soup's on. Literally... the microwave is broken. Healthy choice veggie soup was the selection for the evening.
7:00 PM -- Bath time. Camden first in the tub. Lots of play... while I managed to clip Ethan's fingernails.
7:30 PM -- Camden's prayers, books and nighttime bottle.
7:45 PM -- Camden protests sleep because he could here lots of noise in the hallway.
7:46 PM -- Ethan's bath time.
8:15 PM -- Ethan's bedtime meal.
8:30 PM -- Impromptu webcam with Mike and Mindi Myser.
9:00 PM -- Mommy succombs to a lifetime movie for the first time in ages... daddy is working on projects.
10:50 PM -- Mommy is wishing the laundry fairy put away the five loads of laundry that are unfolded in baskets.
11:50 PM -- Wondering why I'm still blogging. We're also wondering where the TV remote could possibly be. It's been missing for three days!

A little shut eye before our 3 AM feeding!

Ethan's First Day of Daycare

Today marked Ethan's first day of daycare. A bittersweet day for both Kim and me. There are a couple redeeming qualities that make us feel a bit more at ease about this transition. First, Kim is going to be working a part time work schedule, so she'll be at home with the boys for two days of the week anyway. Second, we absolutely LOVE the teachers at our daycare. Traci, Denise, Sheila, Carol (now retired), and Jamie are tremendous. They have given Camden so much love and we've seen Camden develop in so many ways and we believe that much of that is attributable to his care givers.

We're sure that Ethan will receive the same care from his teachers. Kim and I feel so comfortable having our boys there. It'll be interesting to see Ethan and Camden in the same infant room together. I imagine that it's pretty rare to have siblings in the same room, except in the case of twins of course.

In general, we're thankful to be happy with our daycare provider. It makes going to work a lot easier not having to worry about the care your children are getting when you're not with them. If Ethan is anything like his brother, he'll make all kinds of friends and charm all his teachers in no time.

"Don't worry, E. I'll protect you."

Ethan's Baptism

As part of a whirlwind Thanksgiving weekend which included a Thanksgiving feast, a wedding reception for Aunt Lisa and Uncle Tony, we took advantage of having the whole family in Holstein to have Ethan baptized. Like Camden, Ethan's Godparents were Aunt Paige, Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Tony.

Ethan did great. He wasn't phased by Pastor Benson calling him "Ethan George" versus "Ethan Zachary". It's interesting because last year during Camden's baptism he called Camden "Camden Harry". It's even more interesting if you know that the name George is Grandpa Sindt's father, and the name Harry is Grandma Sindt's father.

Following the service, we joined members of the church for some breakfast snacks and coffee. Camden really hammed it up for everyone making sure to keep people entertained. I think Ethan slept. We returned home to the farm for a late morning brunch and took some time to snap some pictures while the boys were still dressed up. Soon, Tony and Lisa would have to hit the road for the long trip back to Chicago.

It was a jam packed weekend with all kinds of significant Sindt family events. But we're happy that we were able to use our family's time together to celebrate such an important milestone in Ethan's life. We're so excited and proud to support Ethan in his relationship with God and hope you will be too.

Halloween 2008

The Nguyen Family Zoo...We put our family zoo on display for Halloween this year. Camden was a giraffe and Ethan wore Camden's lion suit from last year. We paraded the boys around daycare and at my work. We took them to a few houses in the neighborhood too. Our cute little animals turned heads wherever they went. It was a beautiful Halloween night.

The Nguyen Family Zoo...The Zookeepers and their prized lion cub and giraffe.

Grandma Sindt and our sleepy little lion cub. Or is that a roar?

The giraffe tamed himself and put himself in his crate.

Our giraffe "in the wild".

October Moments!

Daddy's going to Florida for a couple days..... what are we going to do?

We'll call Grandma and Grandpa!


"I'm only one month old.... I need an adult to baby ratio in my favor!"

"I'm the little brother.... protect me!"

"Ah, I could do this all day!"

A little stroll at dusk!
Needless to say... .it was a successful trip!

Enjoying the Fall Colors

We love the fall season and the colors. Our neighbors have a beautiful tree in their yard with gorgeous red, yellow, and orange leaves. We took some pictures under it last year and decided to repeat the effort with the boys again this year.

Ethan's One Month Birthday!

It's been four weeks since Ethan arrived! Maternity leave is flying by and keeping up with everything is quite the battle! Nights are still a bit rough.... with E getting up every few hours and most content in the arms of mommy or in bed with us. (Mommy sometimes falls asleep before he finishes eating and wakes up a couple hours later when he's hungry again!) He's gained a lot of weight... probably close to 10 pounds already. He's a chatterbox.... with all these cute little coos and giggles. Today, Ethan and I are off to Maple Grove to enjoy this beautiful fall weather in the outdoor shopping area. Here's a little picture collage of a typical afternoon that Ethan and I have!

Ethan wakes up and we play together. He's alert and loves to check out his environment.

After a nice meal..... a little nap time is often in order!

(Daddy loves these big yawns!!)

Then it's time to pack up and go... if only to go get Big Brother Camden from school.....

It's hard to believe he's already out of his "little" newborn clothes and his zero to three month clothes are fitting just perfectly! He'll be out of those before you know it! Stay tuned for more updates!!!