Christmas Eve

On our way to church - it is a somewhat rare occurance that we are all showered and dressed up, so we thought we should capture the moment!


Maren is wearing her first dress...and tights!

Hinsdale church (where Greg is working) had a live nativity/pagent/play where the animals actually took part in the play! Mary even rode down the center aisle of the church on a donkey! This was before the service...the kids could pet the animals. Joel even got to sit on the donkey after the service, but it was dark and the pictures didn't turn out very well.

Singing Silent Night in candle light.

Bikes and Grass

The weather has been cold - but not too cold for a 2 1/2 year old and his fearless father - and sunny. Joel has been practicing riding his bike and can do it all on his own now! Greg took some video so I could see and I was so impressed! They also spent some time exploring in the tall grass on campus...my guys are so cute! :)

Little Smiles

Maren has started to smile and most of them are directed at Joel, and Greg too! Here are some cute ones of the three of them...

Christmas Time

Joel has been excitedly pointing out all the christmas lights on peoples houses and the trees in the windows...we finally got ours last weekend and Joel LOVED putting the ornaments on the tree and seeing it all lit up. Here he is decorating the lower fourth of the tree! :)



Joel made this ornament at Sunday school...sorry for the blurr!

Brother and Sister

Joel is so sweet with Maren...he likes to be near her and any time I am not holding her he likes to lay next to her or sit next to her bouncy seat. He also helps put the pacifier in her mouth when she is crying and he always gives her a kiss on the head before he goes to bed. I love how gentle he is and how much he seems to really love her...I hope it lasts!

Grandpa Thomas Visits

My dad rode the train out from Portland to visit us last week and stayed for three nights. It was so fun to have him here, even though most of the time we just hung out at the house - out of the COLD weather. He played with Joel a lot. Joel loved having him here so much...he is still asking where Grandpa is!

Amazing Eyes

Maren has been getting a lot of attention lately, but we are still just as in love with Joel as ever. He is so energetic and talkative and talented and we are just amazed with him every day. The other day Joel came up to me and said, "I am smart and cute and SO fast!" (I guess all the doting we do has sunk in!) He is also SO BIG! Maybe it's just because Maren is so small, but he seems to have grown so much in the last couple of months. I have been noticing his eyes, and especially his eyelashes, a lot lately and thought I would try to capture their length on camera so you can all see them. What a beautiful boy.

Weight Update

We went to the doctor today for Maren's one month check up. She now weighs 6 pounds 10 ounces, which is another 6 ounces of weight gain in the the last week. The doctor is pleased with her progress even though she is still at the bottom of the growth chart. She seems to be doing great all around!

Cute Hat

Our friend Robin made this hat for Maren...it is a perfect fit! Thank you Robin!

Winter Fun

Joel and Greg have braved the FREEZING temperatures a few times to go and play in the snow...it is all ice now, but the day it came down it was soft and fun to play with! Maren and I have opted to stay warm indoors, sipping hot chocolate and milk! :)

Preemie

As of last Monday (the 27th) Maren weighted 6 pounds 4 ounces...this pound of weight gain happened in 5 days, after I started supplementing with formula. Because she is so little she only has a few things that fit, so I went and bought this preemie outfit so we don't have to do laundry every other day! So cute!

Pea in a Pod

Baby poses

Maren was sleeping in her bouncy seat and I found her with her hands under her chin like she was posing...so cute!

Uncle Kevin

Jen's brother Kevin came to visit for a day when he was in town last weekend. It was fun to see him and Joel LOVED playing with him. Here are a few pics...

Little Peanut

Everyone who sees Maren comments on how little she is, but it is sometimes hard to tell from pictures - so here are a few that hopefully show how small she really is!

Happy 1 Week Birthday!

Maren was born a week ago today and she is doing great! We went to the doctor for a routine follow-up visit yesterday and her pediatrician said she looks healthy and cute as can be! She has actually gained 5 ounces since leaving the hospital on Sunday, which brings her only 2 ounces from her birth weight...they usually like to see babies up to their birth weight by 2 weeks old, so she is way ahead!

Home at last...

Here are a few pictures from the 24 hours that Maren and I have been home...it was so hard to be at the hospital for so long, and we are glad to be together as a family. Maren is doing great - she is finally catching on to the whole nursing thing and she sleeps a TON. Greg is a great nurse, as I am prety much chair-bound most of the time either feeding Maren or pumping. Joel is happy to have us home from the hospital and wants to help feed her and hold her a lot...such a good brother already! Thanks to all of you who prayed for Maren's health and a safe delivery...we are blessed!

Introducing...

Maren Marie Nealon!
5 lbs. 4 oz. and nearly 19" long.
born 11:47 on Nov. 2, 2006

Her birth could not have been more different than Joel's. It was 31 degrees out and she was born by C-section in about 15 minutes. Joel was born when it was almost 100 degrees, and it took nearly 24 hours!

We are both so happy to have this girl we've been waiting so long to meet! Joel didn't miss a beat... He sang her a song and then played with his new truck... big brother is already getting into his role.

Here is a picture or two. I'm sure Jen will provide more!

It's official...

We will meet our baby girl tomorrow, November 2nd. The c-section is scheduled for 11:30am. We will post pictures and details as soon as possible after she is born.

36 Weeks

Marathon Pictures - They did it!

Greg and his twin brother Matt ran in the Chicago Marathon this morning and they did AWESOME! They had a goal of finishing in 3 hours, 10 minutes, which is the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. They met and exceeded their goal, finishing in 3 hours, 8 minutes and 42 seconds (to be exact!). Just in case you don't want to do the math, here's the breakdown - they ran an average of 7 minute 11 second miles for 26.2 miles...this is unthinkable for a non-runner like me, and pretty impressive no matter what. Great job guys!

Joel and I (and Brian & Emily) braved the 36 degree weather and went to the 10-mile mark to cheer them on...here they are running up to where we were.

They were ahead of pace enough to stop and say hi and take pictures for a minute - they made it look effortless and fun!

Pumpkin Patch...

Ok, so it's not really a pumpkin patch, more like pumpkins in a parking lot, but Joel didn't know the difference and had fun picking out a little pumpkin!

Gymnastics!

Joel has been taking gymnastics classes for almost a year now, and today Greg and I both went with him so we could take pictures. He gets more confident and adventuresome with each session, to the point that he is running and jumping and balancing on EVERYTHING - in and out of the class! :) Here are a couple of pictures - some may be blurry because he was moving so fast!

Each class starts with stretching...

At the end of the stretching time, they jump up and say ta-da!

Kicking over the candlestick...

Joel can do two summersaults in a row now!

Doing the bear walk up the parallel bars...this took some time to learn, but he has mastered it now!

Jump in the "pool!"

Walking on the balance beam - every curb has become a balance beam since starting gymnastics!