New Year's Eve 2014

One year ago today we found out we were expecting this handsome little boy. 2015 has been a good year for us, with more joy than sorrow. We thank God for the two precious children we get to have here with us. 

Johannes - 3 Months

Johannes turned three months on Saturday. The past month he did his first major trip, when we flew to Alabama for Thanksgiving. He did really well on the airplane, no crying at all, and just fell asleep when he was tired. This also meant more driving than we have done with him before. Turns out he's not the biggest fan of the car, better than Edith for sure, but driving to Alabama would have taken a really long time, since he doesn't like to spend more than 1,5-2 hours in the carseat. He did really well while we were there, but had a few days after we got back when he was quite cranky. Most nights he still sleeps great, only eats once or twice. He has learned to nap in the swing, and a normal nap is 45-50 minutes. Nursing works well these days, and he doesn't need supplements anymore. He is generally a happy boy, loves to smile and talk. He doesn't want to lie down, but sit up and look around. Watching big sister play and sing is one of the most fun things he knows. We love this little boy so much, and enjoy watching grow and become more social. 

Alla helgons dag

Johannes besöker storasysters grav för första gången.

Halloween

For Halloween, we did beautiful princess and chubby baby. We have pretty cute babies, if I do say so myself. Love these two to pieces.

Johannes 2 Months

Johannes turned two months on Thursday. He is growing like a weed, 15 lbs 2 oz and 24 in already. He loves talking and smiling, even laughing sometimes, and is a pretty content and laid back baby most of the time. He is getting used to big sisters constant attention, and loves listening to her singing for him. The past month has been easier than the first. He sleeps well at night, usually eats only once or twice. Nap time has been harder, as he still wants to be held to sleep. I'm very thankful for sling and carrier, but it's pretty intense to carry a baby around all the time. So we are working on sleeping in the swing, and the last couple of days he has done really good. The milk supply issues have resolved, thankfully, making life less stressful. He is still quite gassy, but seems less bothered by it now, and has avoided getting sick, even with sister coughing and sneezing all over him.

Johannes smiles

Not the best pictures, but too cute not to share.

Johannes -- One Month!

We have realized how little we remember of the details of Edith's first months, so this time we'll try write down more. The first month of Johannes' life has gone by very quickly. The first two weeks were hard, as we were dealing with newborn fussiness, hungry baby because of low milk supply, pregnancy hormones going crazy and just learning to live with a new baby. He did sleep a lot - took 3 hour naps in the swing every day - and still does, but now he has to be held to stay asleep. He may sleep for 30 or 45 minutes in the pram or the swing, but then he wakes up (reminds us of big sister who didn't take more than 30 minute naps until she was well over a year). Unlike Edith, he needs more sleep, so we have to hold him or put him in the sling so he stays asleep. At night he sleeps quite well though, usually eats 2-3 times. At his two weeks appointment he hadn't gained any weight, so we started supplementing more, which made him more content. Next appointment is on Thursday. He is a big, hungry boy though, so he still wants to eat a lot and very often. He got his first cold at three weeks. Thankfully it was a pretty mild one. This past week he has become much more alert, likes to look around, is focusing on faces now and has smiled a few times. He is content to lay on the floor and "play" with Edith for 10-15 minutes, which she is very excited about. Unfortunately, he has also had an upset tummy with a lot of gassiness lately, so now we're trying to figure out what's causing that. He was baptized at 8 days, which went really well. So far he's slept through all the church services, making it easier for Mama to learn how to wrangle two kids in the pew. Other than that, we've been out a few times; taking a few walks, going to the library and to the Friendship Festival in town this past Saturday. Johannes has been very good at these. Mama is feeling pretty good now, after battling lower back pain, UTI and a cold. Milk supply has increased some, but he still needs supplements. Fammo and Faffa were here for his birth, and Auntee came for the baptism. Now we are waiting for Mommo and Moffa to come and celebrate Christmas with us. We are so thankful for this little boy and so excited to watch him grow and become more alert. 

Our Kitchen Renovation on House*Tweaking!!!

We've been holding onto this information for a while now, but today is the day! Our kitchen renovation has been featured on Dana Miller's blog, House*Tweaking, which has a running series on IKEA kitchens. This really is a huge honor, and we're very thankful for the kind words she wrote:

Edith and Johannes -- A Tale of Two Faces

Edith sings to Johannes

Baptized into Christ -- Johannes Odom

Today, Johannes was Baptized by the water and the Word, and made a child of God.

Here's mamma and chunky beforehand:

During the Baptism:

Thankful family:

Sam and DoRena Wirgau, along with Carina and Martin Ventin, are Johannes' baptismal sponsors. We're very thankful to have godly, pious friends and family to pray for and set examples for Johannes. Here's DoRena holding Johannes while all of the kids squiggle around:

All of us, all with the squiggles:

Johannes was baptized in the gown that Kristina, her siblings, and their children have all been baptized in! We'll send this back to Finland to await the baptism of the next Sundström, Lord willing.

Johannes Charles Odom

Our son Johannes Charles finally made his entrance into this world last Saturday, September 5th at 9.14 pm after a fairly easy delivery. He is a big boy, 8 lb 15 oz and 21.5 in long. After a few somewhat fussy days in the beginning, he's been very calm and is sleeping and eating most of days, making the transition into having a new baby in the house a little bit easier. We are so happy for this healthy little baby, and can't thank God enough for His beautiful gift to us.

Vår son Johannes Charles föddes äntligen - efter mycket lång väntan och flera veckor av sammandragningar - lördagen den 5 september kl. 21.14 i vecka 39+4 precis som Edith. Han vägde 4050 g och är 54,5 cm lång. Trots att han var över ett kg större än Edith gick förlossningen jättebra. Jag vaknade av värkar kl 03 på lördag morgon, och hade oregelbundna sammandragningar fram kl 13. Därefter började de komma tätare och blev mera smärtsamma. Kl 14.30 åkte vi till sjukhuset. Efter drygt 6 timmar på sjukhuset och endast 12-13 minuters krystande föddes han - en mycket lättare förlossning än Ediths. De första dagarna var han lite gnällig, men nu sover han och äter mest. Helt annorlunda än Edith, som inte sov mycket ens när hon var nyfödd. Det gör det också lite lättare att vänja oss vid att han en nyfödd i huset. Få se hur det går nästa vecka när fammo åker hem. Vi tackar Gud för Hans underbara gåva till oss!

First Day of School

Today is a very exciting day - Edith's first day of school. We are doing Classical Conversations homeschooling with one community day a week. A new adventure for us all!

Final kitchen showcase / bonanza!

We had the opportunity to provide some before and after photos of our kitchen and living room for a blog (links to come!), so we thought we'd provide them here for you all too!

PRE-RENOVATION SHOTS:

DURING THE RENOVATION:

FINAL RESULT (PLUS LIVING ROOM):