September

Not only was this past Saturday my first SOLO DAY with the kids (read: out-numbered for hours on end!!! ahh!) but my first SOLO venture out of the house. Where did we go...? Target, of course & the trip was a TOTAL success! No meltdowns, no poo explosions, no whipping out the boob in the middle of aisle 9... And as you can see Nick met the experience with his usual level of excitement.

Never too early to start preparing for Halloween - she's giving the black tongue look a dry (wet?) run...

She's been doing this for months - when she's almost done eating she'll grab my hand or arm & nuzzle her face against it. But she'll ONLY do it when she's in he highchair & I'm in the seat to her right...

So as previously mentioned, Nick didn't quite inherit the photogenic genes his sister has. But Papou managed to capture a few of his fabulously goofy expresssions - which also highlights why I call him "my little old man"...

Yes, he's sound asleep.

The first official brother-sister shot....

...which included lots of mmm-wah kissing breaks. Aww. She loves her brother. I'll be sure to remind her of these tender moments when he's torturing the crap out of her in a few years.
I was attempting to get an announcement picture this morning. They'll probably be going out when he's ~20. Greg & I realized that Nick has no 'good' side for photography. Poor kid. Anyway, from the 300+ (gotta love the continuous shooting feature) shots that got trashed I did manage to get 2 which highlight his freakishly large man-hands. He's going to be palming a basketball before he's out of diapers.
After the park the other day we took them to Burger King. She's been to fast food joints before but she was PLEASED AS PUNCH with her hat. Establishing once again, that SHE is the queen in these parts.
So Nick blew up a diaper in Uncle Peter's lap - an experience in an of itself. But we told him for the full thrill he should really go ahead & change the loaded diaper. And he DID. Successfully! We were SO hoping Nick would Christen him... no such luck (at least THIS time...)

How a 20mos old does a tupperware party.

A visit with Anna & Luke. Nick slept thru it. Shocker.
As you can see Nick's been keeping us busy. When Adrienne was a newborn we woke her up constantly. Silly us. This kid wants to sleep 22hrs a day - we're all for it.
Aunt Keri - this binkie shot is for you!

Mid-sneeze.

And Adrienne thinks his sneezes are HYSTERICAL!

This is the best picture of his hands I can get - but it still doesn't do them justice. His fingers are as long as mine. Swear.
Trying to catch those elusive newborn-baby-grins - I caught a 1/2 smile.

First bath!
They don't know I waited until I was all cleaned up to blow up a diaper. Wink wink.

Post-bath, looking quite dapper.
The first car trip with BOTH kids and a glimpse of what our backseat is going to look like for the next 15 years.

We're trying to teach Adrienne the Jets chant. Maybe her version will bring them more luck than the real one.

Papou Nick just sent over a few pics from the hospital - have to share this super-sweet one...

As the new man of the house made an entrance he not only established his dominance with his not-to-be-trifled-with 'tough guy' onesie but also in a typical guy pose - sound asleep in a recliner.

But prior to getting home we had our first up-the-back poo explosion. Not even 10 minutes before we left the hospital I got him dressed. I sat down, put him over my shoulder and the next thing I knew I felt his little body curl up. It took just a split-second too long to realize what was about to happen. Huge poo. Huge. Got him completely undressed, changed his 5-finger discounted St. Peter's long sleeve t-shirt and looked at Greg - omg - I only brought ONE going home outfit. So the poor kid had to make his entrance into society in a defiled onesie. And the worst part about it was that I wasn't even upset. I found it absolutely hysterical. You can totally tell this is baby #2.

Dad looks fantastic considering his 67 hours of labor, an emergency c-section and painfully engorged boobs.

9.9.08 ~ 10:16am
7lbs, 15oz, 21"
Nicholas Charles

And he was just SO HAPPY to be joining the rest of us.
The Billowseses v4.0

And what everyone wants to know - what did Adrienne think? Well, aside from seeing me, 2 new stuffed pandas and all 4 grandparents in a room with 1,000 fascinating buttons & knobs all calling her name, she did momentarily notice there was a baby in the room. Once her excitement subsided a little she tenderly welcomed her baby brother.

Which quickly turned into moment of fear for everyone else as she went to point out (more like poke out) his eyes & nose.

The 2 grandfather's & Nicholas Charles's namesakes - Grandpa Charlie & Papou Nick.

Ahh, Greg's first poo-diaper change. My mom was called in to assist. They got the diaper taken care of only to find that he peed during the process and now needed a wardrode change. At this point they both threw in the towel & called in a professional. At times like this it is SO good to be totally unable to help because there is nothing better than watching 2 adults get out-matched by a 5hr-old.

awwww...

Knew you'd be back.