Introducing...

Savannah Rose Barta!

Weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long, Savannah arrived at 7:00 P.M. on February 9, 2011.

Both Becca and Savannah are doing well, and we got to go over and see them last night, each getting a quick turn to hold our new little niece.  :-)

Now, can a proud aunt post too many pictures of her first niece?!  Hopefully not, because here comes quite the flood of them!  :-)

We liked the note they had on the board.

This is what we found upon our arrival at the hospital.

Savannah Rose Barta

Now you can watch us all adore our little sister/niece/granddaughter.  :-)

Conner meets his little sister.

Nobody wants to see her...really!  :-)

Aunt Val takes her turn

Aunt Lisa's turn

 Uncle Zach's turn

 Aunt Bethy's turn

Uncle David's turn

 Aunt "Mimmery's" turn

You can tell she was upset to have an opportunity to hold her.  :-)

Aunt "Hy-Vee's" turn

I always forget how tiny newborns are!

 Look!  She opened her eyes!

 Nana "Moo-er's" turn

 Papa "Moo-er's" turn

 Nana Barta's turn

Papa Barta did get a turn too, we just don't seem to have a picture.

The many faces of Savannah Rose

 

There's nothing quite like babies' feet.  :-)

 The boys check on Mommy and cuddle with her.

 

 

 Willie didn't like Mommy being in the hospital bed, but he cuddled nicely with her for quite a while.

Conner enjoyed looking at some of the books in between watching his little sister and giving her kisses.

Unfortunately, we don't seem to have gotten any pictures of the boys giving baby sister kisses (though I think Jared did), but it was very, very sweet.

The following pictures are from today when Nana and Papa Mueller took Savannah's brothers over to see her again before nap time came around.

Look at that!  We knew Becca wouldn't take very long to get stuff into her hair!

Willie and Conner got to hold little Savannah today when they were there with just Nana and Papa Mueller and there was much less commotion.  Sorry, we don't have any pictures.  They didn't exactly hold on to her long enough for Nana to snap them.

She looks quite pensive here.

Willie gets some Mommy time .

Conner gets some Mommy time too.

Look!  Daddy gets to hold her too!  :-)

 I believe I can honestly say that I have done my very best to introduce my niece to all of you.  Wasn't it a pleasure to make her acquaintance?  :-)

Dogsitting Fun

Our neighbor down the street asked us to watch her dogs for her while she was gone from Tuesday the 21st through part of Friday the 24th of December.  Zachary, with a little help and oversight from Heidi, was quite thrilled at the opportunity.

Following is the result of a collaborative effort between Zachary and Heidi to share with you just a little bit of the fun they had.

Introducing Mac

 "It's cold out here!"

Zach and Mac

"We're making faces at each other."

Introducing Jack

 "What do you think you're doing taking pictures of me?!"

Zach and Mac

"Nurse, I could use a little more help!"

(No, Zach was not operating.  Mac was allowing him to rub his belly.)

Jack and Mac

"Tag - You're it!"

(These boys like to ruff-house, just like any others.)

[Yes, "ruff-house" was an intentional misspelling.]

Jack

"Me again?!"

Zach with Mac again

"Awww, he cares about me!"

Mac

"Oh, is it my turn?"

Zach, Jack, Mac

"Get Zach!"

Zach and Mac

 Dogs ~ boys' best friends

Zach - as if you couldn't tell :-)

 "Heidi thought I looked a bit engrossed in the dogs."

Mac and Jack...or is it Jack and Mac???

"Do you know which is which? "

Dogs and Zach

"Oh, oh, a treat!!!!!!!!"

Thus, Mac, Jack, and Zach looked forward to spending a little while together every day and had a rather enjoyable time of it.

Birthday Catch-Up

Sorry folks, I ought to have been much, much, and significantly better about this.

Here are the ones that have occurred since the last birthday post.

Daddy's birthday was September 15th.

Valerie's birthday was September 17th.

Kimberly's birthday was October 26th.

Jared's golden birthday was October 28th.

I covered Lisa's on December 7th.

Rebecca's birthday was December 17th.

I'm sorry there are no pictures in this post, but that would delay the already wwwaaayyy toooooo long-ly procrastinated post all the more.

Can I start the new year with a clean record?

Happy Birthday to Lisa!

Lisa is 8 years old today!

Please feel free to comment with birthday greetings to this special birthday girl.  She would be delighted to hear from you.

We'll be celebrating this evening with a meal of her choice, followed by a dessert of her choice, after which we will retire to the family room and delight in observing the pleasure she displays as she opens her cards and gifts.


P.S.  I know I missed several birthdays.  After Lisa's birthday and celebration is over, I do have a post prepared to recognize the birthdays I have missed.  I just don't want to detract from her special day.

Quote of the Day

Mom tries to encourage us to serve one another with a good attitude.  At lunch time today, the following dialogue took place when one child was asked to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a sibling and was not super excited about having this wonderful opportunity to serve.

Mom: How would you respond if Jesus asked you to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Him?

Child: You want a peanut butter and jelly?!

:-)