my two favorite guys in the glory of the early morning sun.

leica meets callen

yesterday we went to lunch with our friend kristen and her son callen. callen is a sweet little redhead with big ole hazel eyes.

he loved to gently touch leica's head and he even tried to sit on leica's lap.

obviously, leica loved it.

leica is loved

nancy day, a wonderfully nurturing and wise woman i became friends with while working at the salon. she is beyond talented in so many ways and one of those talents is quilting! when i told nancy i was pregnant, she decided this baby needed a quilt. it definitely is one of the most specials gifts i have ever received. she asked me to chose 5 of my favorite colors, for dustin and i to trace our hands, and she asked debra, carol, adam, and heather at the salon what they might wish for us to have along this new part of our journey. so much thought and care and time was put into the construction of this quilt. 

it shines with brilliant beauty.

 

we have been showered with love since leica's arrival. encouraging words, frequent visits, and presents! oh so many presents! this baby is going to be the best dressed, warmest, most entertained baby around.

 

thanks!

catch up

i am basically playing catch-up in the worst of ways. i set up this blog while i was still pregnant as a way to document this monumental time and to stay connected to out of town relatives, which is basically everyone! work just happened. life just happened. baby just happened...4 weeks early. and here i am, with a two month old, wanting to share EVERY big thing that happened, while it was happening, BUT plans don't always play out the way that you've worked them in your head. so, whenever i find that picture that captures the moment and i have to share, i'm posting it.

leica looks so tiny next to that tiny bottle. he was 3 days old and had just graduated from the NICU.

the awesome cradle cheryl, dustin's mom, is letting us use. she and dustin's dad, mike, built this cradle when she was pregnant with dustin. it has rocked many kids since january 1980.

leica and coot.

 grandma barbie and leica. he's doing his first leica power fist.

again, i marvel at how tiny leica was. he's swaddled in two blankets and they wrapped around him twice. just dustin's nose is as big as little newborn leica.

leica's favorite spot.

 the sling.

he is only a baby, but baby's can sometimes be mysterious. i have found a few of leica's kryptonites. 
the sling is one. 

oh hey! i'm 2 months today!

yay!

snake!

yep, on sunday, this 3.5 ft long blotched water snake (i researched) was just hanging out on our back porch. dustin was out back grilling some yummy trashcan turkey burgers, when all of the sudden he's urgently shuffling the dogs in the door with burgers and buns in hand. dustin's not the urgent kinda guy, so my interest immediately peaked. when dustin said it was a "huge snake" that made him hurry i'm thinking foot-long garter snake at best.

then there was this big daddy.

 might not look like much, but that push broom is 3 ft wide and the snake is obviously longer. needless to say, dustin's on back porch duties until i'm over it. it might be a few more days.

here we are!

after finally, finally figuring this all out...

here we are!

this is leica thomas popken, born april 16, 2011.
he weighed 5lbs, 10oz.
he measured 19.25in.
he is perfect.

we have already experienced a handful of firsts

 first cook-out

 first bath

 first visit from g-ma popken

first (and thrilling!) time on the playmat

 and leica has already doubled his birth weight!