A belated birthday celebration

We're a couple weeks after the actual date, but while we were in Port Huron with all of our Faust-side family, we celebrated Cassidy's 2nd birthday. The afternoon was filled with balloons, family, food and fun. The smile on Pumpkin's face says it all!

Triple layer chocolate fudge cake is GOOD! Grandpa is sooooooooo much fun!

Uncle Joe, Aunt Jo and Caitlyn got Cassidy this gorgeous coat and hat. We'll find lots of opportunites to wear this adorable set this winter! And the ball is a gift from Grandpa and Grandpa; it lights up when bounced! A gift from Aunt Sheri, Uncle Aaron and Kayla, these dress-up shoes were an instant hit. Cassidy immediately took off her own shoes to try these on!

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving 2010! Among many other things, we are thankful for...

...enjoying a yummy meal, served by cousin Kayla

...rocking and being loved, again by sweet cousin Kayla

...laughing in Grandpa's bouncy house...the "traditional" Thanksgiving meal:

organic macaroni and cheese...coloring with Kayla

...snuggle time with Uncle Aaron

A good fit

Well, not quite the best fit but she wore them anyway!

Far-Far's shoes looked like too much fun to pass up. Hmmm...maybe if I just tie them up tighter...

Grandparents Jensen

Grandpa and Grandma Jensen ("Far-Far" and "Far-Mor", the Danish name for Grandpa and Grandma) are here visiting for a few days, to see us and meet baby Travis for the first time. We're having a great time despite the gloomy November weather! Thursday we had breakfast at the orchard, then went on to story time at the library and lunch at one of our favorite waterview restaurants.

Cassidy really loved the bow on her birthday present!
She was a little shy at first during the library story hour, but warmed up quickly and was soon dancing circles around everyone!

The diner is now open!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, PRETTY PUMPKIN!

It's amazing to us that we are already celebrating Cassidy Dawn's second birthday. What happened to the last year? It feels like we were just getting ready for her first party and here we are, a full year later. We have a 2-year old and a 2-week old! Cassidy is a wonderful, fun, adventurous, beautiful girl and we are so very blessed to have her as our daughter.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET CASSIDY!

It's been a fun day. Dawn, Jake and Ruby drove over for a fun, relaxing day with us. After lunch, Cassidy enjoyed her very first cupcake: red velvet with cream cheese frosting. She loved it!

The sweater

Today is such a special day! Dawn, Jake and Ruby arrived this morning to spend the day with us. We are celebrating Cassidy's second birthday, and Jake and Ruby are meeting Travis for the first time. It was the perfect occasion to dress Travis in the sweater that Jake wore as a baby. Jake noticed right away when he walked in the door. I can't believe I now have a little baby boy that fits in this special sweater. It seems like Jake was just cozy in my arms wearing it.

Camping in

It's been a crummy week, weather-wise. Kurt and Cassidy have had to bundle up in winter gear to go outside, which feels funny when there's no snow on the ground. The fact that it's dark out after dinner also makes it hard to get more time outside (though Cassidy really doesn't care...she loves to be outside in the dark, running laps around the house!). Last night Kurt had a great idea. He brought in our smaller tent and set it up in her room. She is having a blast with her new tent!

No tricks here, just two little Treats

Cassidyland

Cassidy is an independent, free-spirited little girl who is most happy to entertain herself in her own little world which I affectionately refer to as "Cassidyland". She has existed in this little bubble of a world, safe and happy as can be, completely unaware that something (or someone) might come along and disturb her tiny utopia...until now. We were anxious to find out how she would react to the new baby since she appeared to have no clue he was on his way all these months. We were prepared for her to act out in jealousy when she realized she had to share the spotlight, but she surprised us by not reacting at all! She has completely ignored her baby brother for a whole week. But today we are seeing some signs of acknowledgement and even affection toward Travis. Hopefully her interest in him will grow and soon she won't remember life without her brother.

Here she is playing in Travis' closet, especially interested in his little shoes, which do not fit her feet, much to her shock and dismay and despite repeated efforts.

She has yet to put Travis in her doll stroller, but this morning thought it was high time that his teensy newborn diapers take a spin around the house!

Father and son

These early days, Travis is with me (the food source!) so many hours of the day, but Kurt grabs him as much as possible for some Daddy Cuddle Time. We're happy we saved vacation time so he can be home with us for another week.

Our first week as a family of four

Here we are, already a full week after Travis' birth. We were so happy to be able to come home quickly from the hospital and start our life as a family of four at home. It's been a great week! Cassidy is doing well, though still does not seem to notice Travis much. I guess he's just not that interesting to her yet. Travis is a great eater and sleeper and we're all feeling pretty rested after each night, so we count our blessings on that front. Friday we had our first outing as a family - up to Charlevoix for Travis' weight check (he's already above birth weight!) and to go grocery shopping. We feel so normal, like he's been with us a long time and this is how it was always supposed to be. Overall, the adjustment process is going much better than we could've imagined.

Here are some new pictures of Travis. He sleeps so much still, and loves to be swaddled. I spend hours staring at his face, wondering who this little person will become. We think he's just perfect and as handsome and sweet as can be. Sometimes we think he looks a lot like Cassidy did as a newborn, and other times totally different. Time will tell!

I know it's way too early for him to officially "smile" but I swear he has special smiles just for me. Here he's giving a wink to his fans.

One of the week's biggest events was his first at-home bath. I realized as I was gathering supplies for it that we don't have a towel just for him so he used Cassidy's pink and purple kitty towel. :) We remember that Cassidy loved her first bath, but Travis wasn't so sure it was for him. We'll have to work on that. This picture best captures his emotions while being bathed.

Travis

Here are some more pictures of the big day!

Cassidy, the big sister

Cassidy had a ball all weekend with Uncle Aaron, Aunt Sheri and (especially) Kayla. She was mildly intrigued with her little brother - Uncle Aaron is more fun!

Grandpa Faust and his grandsonTravis looking at his big cousin, Kayla

Cassidy and Daddy in our hospital room

The handsome sleeping boy Proud Uncle Aaron

Aaron, Sheri and Kayla with Travis

Big cousin Kayla and Grandma Faust with Travis. Kayla is the most loving, adoring cousin. She will be a great big sister for her new sibling next spring!

Our little monkey