Will's first holidays...

Halloween...

Look at our cute candy corn! William's first Halloween was a fun one. We bounced all over the valley seeing friends and family and showing off my first official homemade Halloween costume. It's true, I did all of the sewing myself, and I'm very proud! It was actually pretty easy. William was a trooper and wore a smile the entire day! Halloween is much more fun with him but I have a feeling I won't be choosing the costume much longer!

William and Lily

Will and Jax

Thanksgiving...

What a crazy day!! It was full of delicious food and lots of family. We had a nice slow morning and then went to Mike's mom's for an early dinner followed by my mom's for a late dinner. We were exploding at the seams. William sat at the table and enjoyed looking around at everyone. It took everything we had not to feed him prime rib and mashed potatoes although his dad did sneak him a taste of homemade gravy! He wasn't too sure what to think of it. Grandpa Bart surprised us with some hunting wear for him. We have been looking for deer hunting attire all over and haven't been able to find anything until now. I love the hat, but Will loved the deer on his slippers. They keep him entertained every time he wears them.

Beef with his camo

Here we are at my mom's, and the huge meal she cooked for the six of us. It was so good! All of my favorite comfort foods. William loved having unkin David in town and so did I. It is nice to have him home. He is back in DC now, but gets updates on Will's size everyday. Will looks like he is already eating prime rib, but he's only on rice cereal. I just love this pic though.

Beef with his...well...beef.

Hangin' with Unkin Dave

Oh Boy...

Well it has been a bit since I've updated the blog and I'm sorry to all my followers that it has taken so long. I have been loving motherhood and been keeping busy with "the beef." We call him beef most of the time and realized it was an official nickname when the grandparents started calling him beef. He is happy and health and busy. We have spent the last three months being entertained by his smiles. He is a really happy baby. If he makes eye contact with you, you are guaranteed a smile. His favorite times are bath time and laying on the bed staring at the ceiling fan.

I'm back at work now and although I enjoy being around adults and getting back into the swing of things, I desperately miss him when I'm away. My mom usually watches him during the days that Mike and I are both at work. It is really nice because she knows what he wants and how he likes things. They talk to each other all day, take naps and baths, and play. He is always happy when we pick him up.

We started him on rice cereal about two weeks ago. According to all the books I'm starting him too early but the truth is...beef weighs 18lbs! He is just a tank. He is in the 98th percentile for both height and weight and my milk is just not holding him. So the first time we tried he wasn't too sure about it. I don't think that anything got in and he was mad because he was hungry. We put the cereal in his mouth, he looked at us, smiled, and the cereal came spilling out both sides of his mouth. It was more entertaining than anything. Now though he loves it. He started to open his mouth when he sees the spoon and only pushes half of it back out with his tongue.

Here are a few new pics. I'm going to get better at this blog thing so check back soon!

Helping mom with laundry

playing in the exersaucer

These are the newborn pics:

Settling In...

Well after the first few weeks of having Will home I can officially say that I understand what it is like to be so completely exhausted and so completely happy at the same time. Will is doing extremely well! The pediatrician, Dr. Fruin, says that he is "very strong and very intelligent." At his two week appointment he weighted in at 10lbs and was 21.75 inches long. Most babies are barely gaining their birth weight back, but Will has surpassed expectations and earned himself the nickname "beefcake." He sleeps all the time and is a great cuddler. His primary position is on his belly on someones chest, mom, dad, grandma, gg'ma, he'll take anyone at this point.

The smirk and the smile...

Believe it or not, William is a smiler. He dishes smiles out like they were candy and in turn has his dad and I wrapped around his tiny little fingers. He smiles when he is drifting off to sleep, leaving us wonder what it is he is dreaming about. He also gets this drunken milk face after eating, where you can tell that he is in heaven with a full belly. And then there are the times when he just makes eye contact with us and flashes a little smile our way. It just makes me so happy to see that tiny smile.

Three Generations of Glenn

Mike and I have been enjoying the company of our family and friends and really appreciate all of the dinners, conversation, and laughter you all have brought. It is so nice knowing that we are surrounded by people who love and support us and we look forward to having you all in William's life as he continues to grow.

The Birthday!!!

Wow, I keep staring at this little face and can't believe that he is my son! William David Glenn was born on Aug. 14, 2008 at a healthy 8lbs and 10oz and 21 inches long (that explains the rib kicks.) Mike and I are so happy that he is here and can't believe that we are parents. He is pure joy.

8lbs 10oz of perfection

My labor was great and I had a wonderful nurse to help me through it. After two days of on and off again contractions, we went to the hospital. When we got there I was dilated to a four so they let me stay and gave me an epidural within half an hour of arriving. I almost named him Erik after the anesthesiologist because I was so thankful for the pain relief! My contractions although strong, weren't regular enough so they gave me a little pitocin. We waited for a few short hours before I was ready to push. Mike and the family were at my side the whole time laughing and chatting, I was thankful for the support. When it came time to start pushing we thought the doctor wouldn't be able to make it in time. The nurse Mikell got a few backup nurses just in case she ended up delivering! Luckily Dr. Ponder made it and after three short pushes he was out. Mike was a great coach too. It is the most amazing feeling to know that in one instant you are a parent.

The first bath

Will came out with the cord around his neck but Mike still got to cut it, twice in fact. Once when he was coming out and once again because the cord was too long. His swollen purple face just took my breath away. Mike gave the first bath and Will didn't like it at first, but he came around. I wonder if he will be a water baby, only time will tell. Our two day stay was filled with friends and family coming to welcome him to the world. It was just the way that we wanted it. It is a little weird introducing him as my son though. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us!

Getting ready to go home

We went in as two and came out as three, after we figured out the car seat of course. On the way home it hit me that this was real and someone actually allowed me to take him home. Mike drove 50mph on the freeway in the right lane with the hazard lights on. I have a picture of him at the wheel concentrating on the road, barely able to have conversation. I spent most of the ride staring at William. And of course in true Glenn fashion, we stopped by the Taco Bell. It seems as though all big moments in our life include the bell, disgusting but true!

Locked and Loaded

Grandma and Grandpa brought Fenway home and he got to sniff him out. He did really well and didn't really seem to mind the fact that Will was home too, he was just excited to see Mike and I again and play with the tennis ball. We'll see how he does with a little competition for our attention.

Just hanging out with Bear

Totalled...

So sad... Last Thursday Mike was getting on the freeway and someone hit him from behind! It totalled our old grey 'grandma' car but he was okay and walked away without a scratch! We were so thankful that he survived let alone walked away unscathed. The other guy had five kids in his minivan one of them ended up with a broken collar bone from the seat belt, but the report is that she is doing fine now.
He was parked at a dead stop at one of those meter lights on the freeway, the guy behind him didn't stop and hit him going about 50 mph! The car crumpled in all of the right places, the inside of the car was in perfect shape. The papa instinct kicked in and one of Mike's firsts thoughts was..."if a car seat were in the back, he would have been fine!" Now we're just trying to figure out what to do, buy another car (we're still paying on Mike's) or use an "oldy but goody" for awhile. We are just thankful that he was ok! Other than that we are doing just great. My belly just keeps getting bigger and baby is getting closer and closer. We can feel him rolling around in there, especially at night. I can't believe that it is only six weeks away until we are officially his mama and dad. We will keep you updated and let you know when he arrives!!

Counting Down...

I can't believe that we are only 9 weeks away!! Mike says we're down to the wire, we're in the single digits now on our weekly countdown. For our anniversary my parents gave us a gift certificate to fetal foto and we got to see pics of our little man. He was folded in half with a foot up by his head and as far as we can tell he has big cheeks like me.

I love this picture because you can see his toes (all five of them) and his big toe is sticking out like he was sucking on it! I hate feet so I think it is a little gross but somehow it's cute when he does it.

I think that this pic is great too because he looks upset, I think that it is his wake-up face. You can really see his nose and cheeks on this one though. I wonder if he is going to look like Mike or me...only time will tell. Do you know that he already has his own fingerprints? And he opens his eyes and looks around now, his irises are blue but I'm hoping that they will change color and be like his dad's big brown eyes.

Mike is getting ready for him. He was up until 5:30 in the morning setting up the room, painting and putting together the dresser/changing table. It is all going to come together over the next few weeks and I just can't believe that it's here. Every time we walk past the room, we just smile. It's wild to believe that we are going to have a little guy to put in there. We are rearranging the whole house for him. The living room is getting reorganized so that we can fit in the swing and a place to house the car seat, our bedroom is next...need to make space for the bassinet that Mike's dad is making for him. Things are coming together well, I think they call this nesting...

We just can't wait for him to get here!

Slide Show of the pup!

Fenway...

Well I bet you can guess who named him! Fenway is the first addition to our family. He is a southern good ole boy golden retriever. He was born on Jan. 2, 2007 in Hattiesburg, MS and Em fell in love with him in February while visiting her grandparents. She really wanted to bring him home, but didn't have a place to keep him until the wedding so Rob and Jeanie (Em's folks) surprised us with an early wedding gift, to be kept at their house until we were ready to take him. He was the best gift we could have gotten, the gift that keeps on going and going and going. He is always into something and hates to be left out. If we walk from one room to the next Fenway is right there. If we are sitting on the couch watching TV, Fenway is sitting there with us (usually with a tennis ball in his mouth.) We love having him around, he keeps us entertained. He will play fetch all day and night if someone would do it with him and he loves, LOVES, the dog park. Any kind of water attracts Fenway and the dog park has a river and a little pond that he dives into. We even have to keep the doors shut when we shower to prevent him from jumping in. He also loves to play with kids, and lick babies. We think that he is going to be a great dog for our kids and look forward to the day with our son can throw him the ball and give us a break. He loves to dig and believe it or not, he smiles all the time. We call him our little monster (after the green monster at Fenway park) and he sometimes lives up to his name. All in all he is the best dog anyone could ask for and we love him!

The Honeymoon...

One week after getting married we took off for Ocho Rios, Jamaica! We started off with mimosas on the plane and were met with huge exotic flowers and Red Stripe. The resort was an all inclusive with a private beach and three incredible seaside restaurants. Our room was an ocean front suite with a huge balcony that look out onto the crystal blue water. We ate breakfast out there every morning just taking in the incredible views and fresh ocean breeze. We spent a lot of time in the sun, swimming and lounging on the beach with an occasional nap here and there. Mike ended up with heat rash and was miserable for a few days, so we started spending the afternoon in the air conditioned room watching vh1. On our third day, we went on a catamaran trip along the Jamaican coast line. It was so much fun! They served rum punch and sang Jamaican reggae, imagine Mike singing Bob Marley. We pulled into a small peninsula and took turns diving off the edge of the boat. Mike cannon balled in and lost his wedding band in the ocean! Everyone on the boat dove in to help us look for it. The Jamaican natives loaned us their snorkels and goggles and, much to everyones surprise, we found it! (From then on he wore it on his middle finger.) On our last day there we went snorkeling and took fun pictures of exotic fish and coral reefs. We finished off our vacation with an intimate Italian dinner on the beach. It was a fun and relaxing way to start our marriage, we're already looking forward to the next trip!

The wedding...

We got married on May 26th, at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. It was a beautiful day, filled with friends and family. Em got through her vows without a single tear, Mike...not so much. We had a quick break between wedding and reception so we ate some lunch at applebees (buffalo wings and a cold beer, almost as good as the wedding itself!) We had our reception at The Point with beautiful views of the valley and sunset. It was picture perfect. Mike knew that the Ebbert side of the family would have divorce papers drawn up if he shoved cake in my face so he was a gentleman and didn't. We had dancing and dining and drinking. Pabst and Patron were the drinks of choice, although only a select few got the Patron. The night ended with a trip to the car wash (no way we could see out of the windows after the groomsmen got through with the car), and a 30 minute drive up to Park City for the night. It actually took about an hour though, because the hotel had no lights on so we got lost. Later found out we had actually driven past it 4 times. It was an amazing day, the best yet. It was incredible to see how many of you supported us in our marriage and we are thankful everyday to have friends and family like you!

And so it begins...

Okay, we have finally given into all of you bloggers and become part of the blogging community. I am hoping this will give you all a chance to get updates on our growing family.