Happy Anniversary!

(one day late)

Hey - what's one day in 47 years? Forty seven years!

Sausage, Apple & Egg Casserole

One of the dishes that Brandon and I made on our big pre-baby cooking day was a breakfast casserole that contained (you guessed it) sausage, apples, and eggs. We enjoyed eating it out of the freezer, so I made it 'fresh' on Christmas morning. It's so tasty and easy that I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Instead of typing it up myself I looked online and let someone else do the work for me. CLICK HERE and you will find that it's also a pretty inexpensive meal.

The Holy Family
And
Our own little angel

The WOOD CLAN
December 2010

Sorry the CHARD wing could not be present.

4 Months

Yep, I'm 4 months old today! I have a little cold, but otherwise am doing really well.

I enjoy tummy time more and more each day and I'm close to rolling over.

I still thoroughly enjoy my sleep going to bed at 10 and waking up at 9.

I continue to eat 4 times a day, about 4 hours between each meal.

I've started to drool a whole bunch and LOVE to suck on my fingers.

I really like to play in the bumbo chair, but my favorite activity is hanging out in the exersaucer. What fun! Some times, I still startle myself when I move the toys. I also enjoy watching Chloe and Fuzzball chase each other. They're so fast!

I'm a real easy going boy and I rarely cry.

The highlight of my week was meeting Santa. He sure is a jolly old man!

Oh yeah...and Mommy & Daddy bought a house yesterday...

Papa & Viv

Sadly, these are the only pictures I took during our visit to Chicago - and I had to borrow Mom & Pop's camera to take them. Happily, they're pretty darned cute.

Irene Signer Born on Thanksgiving day 1916 Born into eternal life Thanksgiving day 2010.

Our beloved mother, gram and great gram has left an indelible impression on all of us. She will be sorely missed.

Godspeed, gram. Keep watch over us.

Isaac's Big Day!

Here are some pics from Isaac's Baptism. He was such a good little boy. The party outfit was courtesy of Godmother Marissa. Check out his converse!

3 months

Hey everybody!

Today I'm 3 months old. I'm really enjoying life!

I'm now eating 4 times a day, every 4 hours while I'm awake. I go to sleep at 10pm and wake up about 9am. I'm awake much more throughout the day, just napping a few hours.

I can hold my head up pretty well and I'm actually liking tummy time!

I've been going to physical therapy since my last post. I have something called torticollis. It means I prefer to turn my head to the left which has caused the muscles on the left side of my neck to become very tight now making it difficult for me to turn my head to the right. Since I favor my left side, the back of my head on that side has become flat too. PT sessions and stretching at home has really been helping. It's hard work but I tough it out.

I'm smiling and talking a lot these days. I enjoy looking at my hands and I'm quite certain I control when they move. I've discovered the baby in the mirror always looking at me is ME!
What a ham!

Halloween Fun!

Vivian's Blog

Vivian has her own blog! As you know, Gavin had his own blog for the first year of his life. I turned his blog into a keepsake book for him using the tools at blurb.com. It was relatively easy and I'm really glad I did it. So... we're doing the same thing for Viv. Here's the URL: http://vivianchard.blogspot.com/

Hugs from Hyrum!

The folks are headed home.

Mom and Pop had originally planned to leave Hyrum tomorrow (Sunday), because Pop wanted to go to the USU Aggies' homecoming football game this afternoon. Our gorgeous weather has taken a turn, however, and the threat of snow on Sunday was enough to make them rethink their plan. So this morning, after our requisite breakfast at Angie's, they hit the road. We are so grateful for all their help and we are happy to have been able to share Vivian's first couple of weeks with them. Safe travels, Mom and Pop! Oh, and GO AGGIES!

ps - I updated the web album with more pics from when the folks were here.

Family Time

Hello from Hyrum, where we are thoroughly enjoying our newest family member. I kept saying how cool it would be for our baby girl to be born on 10/10/10 and, lo and behold, it actually happened. Right from the start she's been nothing but cooperative! Our day started bright and early when my water broke at 3:30 am. Brandon and I arrived at the hospital at ~7:30 am and had a relaxing and easy morning while my labor progressed. I got smart this time and opted to have an epidural. Once the epidural kicked in my labor went into high gear. A couple of hours and not very many pushes later, our baby girl was born. Unbelievably easy. You've probably already gotten all the stats, but for the record, Vivian Kayla Chard arrived at 1:12 in the afternoon. She weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 19.5 inches long. I might be a little bit biased, but I'm pretty sure she's absolutely perfect. She had a little bit of jaundice when we left the hospital on Tuesday and it got a little worse after our first day home, but then it got a little better. We think she's well on her way to being in the pink, but we can take her in for another bilirubin test on Monday if we're concerned.

We got home on Tuesday around noon and Mom and Pop arrived around 6 pm - so even though they weren't here when Vivian was born, they sure didn't miss much! Gavin seems to really like his baby sister. He wishes she was awake more and he's curious about and protective of her. When he was fawning over her yesterday, Papa took a picture of the two of them and Gavin yelled at him to stop taking pictures because the flash was too bright for Vivian (whose eyes were closed in slumber). Although he's enamored with his sister, he's also been doing plenty of new things (mostly naughty ones) to get attention. As much of a handful as he's been, he's still a pretty good kid. We went with Nana and Papa on Saturday to the gardener's market and Gavin got to see a few of his friends (and a few of our friends got to meet Vivian for the first time).
We don't have a whole lot planned for the coming week. A trip to the American West Heritage Center is on the list, and I'm going to enlist Papa to help with Gavin's Halloween costume. Nana has been a great help with dishes and cooking and laundry.

I can tell that I'm rambling, so I'll shut up and post a couple of pictures. I'll be adding more to the web album over the next few days as well. Vivian will need to eat again soon and then I hope to catch some zzz's. Goodnight, Family!

2 months old!!!

Hi family,

Today I'm 2 months old! I continue to be an excellent eater! I eat between every 3 1/2 and 4 hours.

I've realized being awake is actually fun, so I'm usually up for 6-8 hours a day. I graduated to my crib about 2 weeks ago. The past 9 nights I've slept from 10pm until 6am. This morning, Mommy actually woke me up at 7!

I'm smiling some and even cooing. Occasionally, I even let out a little scream.

I like my binky on and off, more off though, especially since I've found my hands and enjoy putting them in my mouth.

I enjoy bath time and watching big sister Evelyn play. She makes me smile. Going for rides in the stroller is super fun too!

Today, we went to Colleen & Efi's and Mommy, Daddy & Evelyn went swimming in their new pool. I opted to lounge poolside in the rocking chair. Daddy has the next 2 weeks off. Our plans include going to the pumpkin patch, zoo, park, on walks and lots of relaxing.

As you can see, the photo shoot made me sleepy.

I love you...

1 Month Old!!!

Hello family! Today I am one month old. I'm very excited to have been born into this family because I've heard you all are pretty cool.

I spend most of my time sleeping but I have to be honest, I LOVE to eat! Hands down, it's my favorite pass time. My doctor told Mommy I get the prize for gaining the most weight the quickest.

I also enjoy playing on my activity mat and going for walks or rides in the car. I'm really starting to like bath time. I'm learning how relaxing taking a bath really is.

My binky is my best friend at times (and Mommy & Daddy's too). Now that big sister Evelyn likes me, it's almost to the point where she likes me too much. I guess I should feel honored, but she needs to learn I'm a fragile young man. This morning, she couldn't handle not being part of my photo shoot, so I allowed her to participate.

My least favorite activity is tummy time. Who ever thought of this??? For now, I do just fine lifting my head up. So what if I don't have control of it. :)

Mommy and Daddy have learned Evelyn and I are very different and special in our own way and that it's way easier to change a girls diaper.

Happy Birthday to Evelyn Avery!!!

Today I am 2 years old! Time sure does fly by! The most exciting news of my life happened 3 weeks ago. That's when baby brother Isaac arrived. At first, I wasn't that thrilled to learn he was going to be staying with us all the time and I definitely wasn't keen on sharing Mommy and Daddy with him. But now, I can honestly say I like him. I give him hugs and kisses and share my toys! I even ask about him if I don't know where he is.

I've been keeping busy the past 6 months. I like to color, play with stickers and work on puzzles. I really love Elmo and watching Sesame Street or Sid the Science Kid. I also enjoy reading.

I can say my ABC's fairly well and can even point out some letters. I can count to 11 or 13, depending on my mood. I need to work on my colors. I like to say everything is blue. Mommy is wondering if I'm color blind or just being a stinker, since I tend to pick up things pretty quickly. :)

I'm not yet potty trained, but am working on it...slowly. Some days I'm interested and others...not so much.

We've been going on walks in the new stroller. Isaac sits next to me. I enjoy keeping him company and frequently look over at him to make sure he's okay.

Lots of Love to Everyone...
Evelyn

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMES TWO
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR EVELYN
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

LOVE Papa

Yesterday Mom, Pop and uncle Bob went to Navy Pier to view the "Tall Ships" It was a great day with temps in the 70s with a nice breeze off the lake. Not only did we view the ships but were able to get on many of them. A great thrill for this old man with a nautical ancestry. After the ships we took the buss to Millennium Park as Bob had never been there. He was pretty impressed with "Cloud Gate" (the bean) From there we walked past the Art Institute Gardens all the way to the Parthenon restaurant for dinner. Then on the Metra train to Naperville were we fell in a heap from exhaustion.