7 days old

Mason is one week old today! It has been a whirlwind week for sure, but we are learning his personality and his little quirks. He is truly a calm and laid-back baby so far. We are very thankful for this for many reasons!!

Grandmama and Grandaddy came up to stay while we were in the hospital with Mason. They helped with the house and yard and most importantly, Maddie. We are so thankful that they could see Mason so soon and share his first few days with us. Frank's parents will be en route soon from Germany. Maddie is very excited to show off her new little brother to her Oma and Opa!!

He is a great eater and sleeps well, but mostly during the day. We have had several rough nights of 2-3 hours sleep and are trying to outsmart his internal clock. He is staying awake for longer and longer periods of time, so we hope he will make the switch to the correct day/night sleep habits.

His four day check up was on Monday and he is almost back to birth weight! He weighed in at 8 lbs. , 11 oz. Not too shabby. Like I said, he is an extremely hungry little boy! This kid laughs at 3 ounce bottles.....you have to have a newborn to appreciate what that means.

Maddie is adjusting well to Mason, smothering him with kisses and touches every chance she gets. She has been very gentle with him so far. She is always willing to help with handing me something he needs and is generally very excited about him being her "baby." When I picked her up from daycare yesterday, the first thing she said was, "Where's the baby??"

She is a little resentful of my time with him, but we are working through that as best we can. Typical second child stuff, I'm told.

Lots more photos to share; a ridiculous amount in fact. But here they are...

First family photo. Who has the most energy here??

Sisterly love. Mason was finally out of the special care unit. We were so thrilled!

Heading home

His going home duds....the nurses loved his overalls!

Sunny says, "Really, another one??"

Maddie gave Mason a welcome home gift -- a mini Elmo doll. He actually stares at it quite a bit!
Mason "gave" Maddie a pink-haired doll that she isn't very impressed with -- figures.

Helping (playing) with Mason's pacifier

Celebrating his good 4-day doctor visit with jazz hands!

Maddie showing off her braids. One of the afternoon helpers at daycare is a braiding expert.
I can't even get her pigtails even!!


Hanging out

Lying in the sunshine

Did someone say milk?

First Glimpses

Sorry to disappoint if you were expecting some eloquent writeup covering our adventures at the hospital.....just too tired tonight. Here are a few snapshots to satisfy everyone's curiosity what the little rascal might look like. So far he has been very easy going and laid back. We will have to see if that's just exhaustion or personality.....keep your fingers crossed.

There we are all three having survived the rigors of labor, well Janet and Mason more so than me.

A tired but happy Mommy and a tuckered out Mason chilling right after delivery.

Wait maybe not so tuckered out....this place is kind of interesting.




I am quite handsome




Time for some exercises



Hey lil' Bro



Maddie is pretty excited about her little brother. She can't get enough touching him and giving little sister kisses.



Some well deserved rest after a night in special care.


We got home at about 2pm today and are trying to figure out how to make it all work. So far both Mason and Maddie have been pretty cooperative and Grandma is a huge help keeping everything in line.

Welcome Sassy Pants No 2

Alright, we did it!

Mason Kelly was born on Sept 10 at 3:07 pm. Janet's water had broken earlier in the morning and after dropping Maddie off at daycare and a short visit to the OB/Gyn, we were admitted to the hospital. This time no additional help was needed to get the process going and a little after 3pm Mason weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 14 oz. Like Maddie, he measured exactly 21 inches. Unlike Maddie who screamed for 2 hours straight after her delivery, Mason seemed quite happy and content in his new surroundings (or lack thereof). He seems to be a more "chill" baby.

Janet did really well and overall was very pleased with her experience which was so different from last time. Save for a lack of sleep she is recovering nicely.

Grandma and Grandaddy came up to take care of Maddie and she got to visit with her little brother for a while Thursday night. She was sooooo excited about the new baby and generally quite hyper and unruly.......a regular whirlwind in usual Maddie fashion. We hope the excitement lasts a long while before giving way to jealousy....we'll see.

We did have a bit of a tense night as Mason has some problems controlling his sugar levels and had to be taken to the special care nursery for some IV glucose. He seems to be doing well though and we hope that he will soon be able to join us in our room. Of course you do worry yourself sick over everything that might be not 100% with your baby.

Unfortunately I am not able to post pictures from the computer I am using here at the hospital so we will have to postpone that until we get home, which should be tomorrow.