Daddy has the touch!

This is Nico's favorite sleeping position.

soakin' up raise

Just following doctor's orders. But this Summer baby is in his element.

posture update

By day 5... not much improvement.

get pricked

The first 5 days of Nico's life were pretty traumatic, he had to get blood drawn constantly to make sure he was not getting too Jaundice. Finally by day 5 we were told he was in the clear. Here we are on our way to yet another doctor visit.

Nico's cute foot after being pricked.

Time to go home...

As fun as it was to have nurses come check on Amberly and Nico every hour we were really excited to finally go home. Getting him in the car seat was a trip! He loves car rides! We just need to work on his posture :)

A neighbourhood welcome

Our good friends and next door neighbours the Kauzlicks (say that five times in a row) gave Nico a warm welcome too. Now the whole neighbourhood knows he is here.

Bienvenido Nico!

Grandma Hazembuller--who now lives with us--was all excited for Nico to arrive. For those of you who don't "espeek espanol" the banner reads "Welcome Nico".
This is a picture that our really good friend Liz Thayer painted for us as a wedding gift. It hangs at the top of our stairs so everyone can see it. We love the Thayers so much! They've been living in Germany for over a year now, the jerks :).

Grandma Hazembuller

Grandma Hazembuller is out of this world excited. This is her first grandchild! And it happens to be the handsomest grandchild ever!

Sleeping like an angel

Nico is such a nice guy. He never cries very loud or often. We love having him around!

Grandpa and Grandma Taylor

This is when grandpa and grandma Taylor came to see Nico. I call grandpa Taylor "Lightning Diaper" because he can change a diaper in no time. I bet he could do it with one hand!

Bonding time

Mom can't get enough of this muffin!

Mommy, you are so beautiful!

As soon as Nico was born and the nurse gave him to Amberly he opened his eyes wide open. He is super alert, especially when mom is around.
In this one I cought him right as he was saying "Mommy, you are so beautiful".

Wipe, wipe, wipe!

Yea, the wipe down was pretty intense and he didn't like it much. Can you see the white film covering his skin? It's a coat of something to protect his skin while he is under water. It's complicated... you should ask our nurse Zureena about it.

Chillin' like a villain

Look who is here! Nico finally arrived. I tell you, this business of having babies takes too long. Next time we are signing up for the three month program.
He was born at 5:47am on Friday the 17th of August, 2007. He weighed 8lb 5oz and measured a whopping 22 inches long. Believe it or not this is after the nurse gave him a hair cut. She didn't even ask about it. I think in her professional judgment she decided he really needed it.
The delivery was a miraculous experience. We were admitted at 7:30pm. At that point her contractions were coming every 6 to 7 minutes and was dilated to about 3 cm. Amberly requested an epidural at 11:30pm but it didn't work so she got another one at midnight. By 3:30am she was ready to push, however the doctor requested she down-labor, giving her time to get to the hospital. At 5:30am the doctor was in the room, and it was pushing time! Seventeen minutes and four pushes later Nico arrived without crying at all. He is such a good natured guy. The only thing he doesn't like is getting his diapers or clothes changed. I guess he's like me that way.
He is probably the most handsome baby we've ever seen. No joke...
Mommy is doing well. Recovering really fast.

Bring it on baby!

This was our delivery room. Our nurse Zureena was the most wonderful nurse we could have ever asked for. She explained every stage of the delivery to us and was a great support to Amberly. It was pretty neat, you ought to try it.
She looked ready, didn't she?

Hard hat area

So, this is me putting the crib together.

Almost done!

Here is Amberly showing off the beautiful crib we got for Nico. You can also see the view out his window from the third floor of our town home. You'd think we are in Boston... well, not quite. That's Jon & Jamie.
This was 4 days before he was born.

Still waiting...

His clothes are clean and hung. We are packed for the hospital and swimming in diapers. Rafa has his car seat installation mastered. And grandma is all settled in.

Do you think he heard his crib is still in pieces in his room?

But this is the week, if he does not decide to come on his own by Friday night, he will be forced out. So its Saturday at the lastest.