"Oh Boy" from Ronan


He even knows when to use it. Cracks me up.

I have a few good takes of his new phrase but this one is my favorite because of the cheese. Those seven short seconds capture so much of who he is right now-a total ham, cute and amiable.

Yay, I stole a minute to update!

Brothers!!!!


This is Ronan's favorite place, all over Archer.
Check out that hairline!


Eyeballs are still quite rare with this kid. He retreats to the quiet of sleep a lot still. His eyes are a bluish purple color right now. Very lovely.


Enjoying the rewards of Star Money- a Tootsie Pop!
Uh, wrong end, Ronan


Our first Sunday as a family of five


LOVE the puppets and puppet theater from aunts Cindy and Jennifer!

More Archer Pictures





We made it home on Tuesday around 5:00 pm and have been so glad to be in our own place. It has been either raining or snowing ever since we got back, but it has been working out pretty well. Archer is adjusting to his new surroundings and is adored by his brothers and grandparents.

As far as everybody else we are all recovering well from the time away from home and at the hospital. We were so glad to get out of there, we asked them to get us out early so we could beat the weather home as much as possible. Since baby and Mommy were doing so well, they had no objections. Yay!

And if you hadn't already heard about the delivery, it went really fast and easy. Hooray for natural birth that goes according to plan! I am barely feeling the effects of it. The lack of sleep at the hospital wore us out more than anything else.

Archer Wells Pike





Here he is. 8lbs 6 oz born monday dec 22 at 421 pm.
Carolyn will make this post better when she get's on next.

last call

last call for middle names, due date has officially changed to dec 22., on which day this baby will be induced.

'snow goes with christmas' - odin pike


how many people get to cut down a christmas tree from their front door anymore! the first tree we inspected was the perfect sized cedar growing in a cluster. making memories AND making room for forest growth at the same time. not to mention saving money. bonus.

lessons in how to drag a christmas tree


the first snowfall dec 13,
a super fun morning-
ok, now let's go build a fire


take a picture of us! ronan's cheesy smiles where he wrinkles his nose and squares his lips are hilarious. and he will hold it for as long as you need to take the picture. you can tell where the smile starts to become fake, but he still holds it.

apples at the miller's



picking apples on thanksgiving day. a super fun activity for all the kids while they waited for everyone else to arrive for dinner