Baby Antics

Looking back over the last few posts, I realize that this blog has become quite depressing. I will try to remedy that. It shouldn't be too hard, as Espen keeps us laughing all the time. He is developing quite the personality! Every day he is growing more aware of his surroundings and wanting to play more. And he is *this close* to rolling over. Once he figures out how to tuck his elbows, he'll be on a roll. (Ha Ha Ha - terrible pun.) Here are some recent antics:

He is growing by leaps and bounds! Espen says, "Mom! This outfit is too small! WAH!"



He is such a silly boy! Here he is with Inky the Octopus on his head. :) Inky was a present from Aunt Katy.





He really likes Inky, and, like everything else, Inky goes in his mouth. :)





This is one of the toys on his swing. Espen doesn't mind the giraffe, but he's not too sure about the zebra. He likes to nap in his swing, but only when the zebra is put away. Jason says it's because hockey fans are natually distrustful of anything in black and white stripes (ie. a referee).

A Light in the Dark

This has been a dark patch for the Little family. Seeing parents lose an infant fills me with profound saddness, sharpened because we know and care about the family. Not too long ago, Jason's cousin Greg lost his baby girl who was born too early, and now Sydney. I look at Espen and want to kiss every inch of him. I have thanked God for the opportunity to be his mom more times than I can count, and marvel at how insanely lucky I am that he is healthy. I just keep thinking about what a gamble it all is, and how none of us have any clue about God's plans for us. Why did he take these babies so soon? And the kicker is that we'll never know why He does what He does. If I am reeling, I really can't imagine what Greg and Ron and Stacy are going through.

We lost another loved one this past week. My great-uncle Ronnie lost his battle with lung cancer. Ronnie was such a fun guy. We loved him a lot and will miss him, but he had been sick for a long time, and is finally at peace now.

One bright spot in all of this saddness is the glad news that Jason's cousin Clayton and his wife Cheri are expecting thier first child. We are tremendously excited for them! We can't wait to see if we'll be welcoming a little boy or a little girl to the family. Congrats to the Greens!

More Prayers

Sydney Wisdom passed away yesterday morning.

We are heartbroken by this loss. I can't begin to fathom the depths of her parents' grief. We ask you to continue to keep them and the whole Wisdom family in your prayers as they try to make sense of this tragedy.

Prayers

Last night we got word that our friends Ron & Stacy had given birth to thier second little girl, Sydney. This happy news is overshadowed by the development of some complications. She is suffering from meconium aspiration, water on the brain, and has had at least one seizure. She has had trouble breathing on her own since she was born but her breathing is improving. We're all hoping that she keeps fighting. We ask you to keep them in your prayers.

Social Butterfly

This weekend, Espen was quite the social butterfly! (He wants me to note that he was a very masculine, non-girly-type butterfly.) On Saturday, we finally were able to catch up with our friends from Texas. It was really nice to see you guys! I'm glad we didn't miss you! After we bid adieu to Jessica and Rodney, we headed up to Hannibal to visit more friends. It was Espen's longest car ride yet, and he did great! We stayed with Megan and Ryan and thier baby girl, Elyse. It was nice to stay in such a baby-friendly place. :) Espen had a great time with Elyse's toys, and Jason and I had a great time catching up with good friends.

Espen and Elyse were so cute together. Elyse held Espen's hand and gave him a kiss. A budding romance?

On Sunday, we went over to visit another set of friends who live in Hannibal, Karessa, Patrick, and thier new baby boy, Pierce. He is such a cutie! Here are all of us with our bundles of joy.

We can't wait until they are all old enough to play together!

Splish Splash

Espen went swimming for the first time yesterday! Grandma and Grandpa Vogel were staying at Ameristar Casino for thier annivesary and invited us over to use the pool. I was very nervous about Espen being near the water, (I am such a worry wart!) but he loved it! After seeing how much he liked dipping his feet in, and how intrigued he was with the water, we got him into a swim diaper and he had a blast! Here are some pictures.

We also ate at 42 Port Street Grill, and Espen enjoyed holding a fork and sticking his hand in the horseradish sauce. :) What a goof!

Patriotic Baby

Wow! We had a BUSY weekend. And yet, it was oddly relaxing. :) We spent almost the entire weekend running from event to event, but it was a lot of fun! Espen had his first run-in with fireworks, and I think he is going to be a big fan. He was mesmerized by all of them except the screechy ones. They made him cry. But other than that, he was fascinated.

We spent the 3rd at our good friends Brad and Laura's house, and they sure know how to do the fourth (or in this case, the third) right! We had lots of pretty fireworks, good food, and great company. Here are a couple of shots of the fireworks. There are more pictures in the "Little Family Photo Album" link to the left.

Espen was so worn out by the fireworks that he sacked out when we got to Jason's parents' house (where we were staying) and slept for 7 hours straight! YAY! He woke up, ate, and when right back to sleep for another 3 hours! WOW! It was nice to sleep in a little. Grandma and Grandpa Little were great hosts! They fed us 3 actual meals (something that has been a rarity since Espen's been born) and mom got to take a nice long bubble bath while grandma watched Espen. The Little Bed, Breakfast, and Spa gets two thumbs WAY up! :)

On the Fourth, Jason and I went to O'Fallon's festival and saw the Gin Blossoms and the fireworks while Espen stayed with grandma and grandpa. (They said that he watched the fieworks on TV and was really into them.) It was great until Jason's camp chair just fell apart. It was a gift from the Blues, so go figure. It was actually pretty funny seeing Jason try to sit in half of a chair.

Saturday, mom and dad did some shopping and then the whole family went out to Great-grandma and Great-grandpa Vogel's house for a BBQ and family time. Espen "played" with his second cousins Chloe and Isabelle. (And by played, I mean he stared at them while they waved at him and talked to him.) Espen got a new chair, thanks to Heather and Brian! The Bumbo seat is pink, but I don't think he'll care. So if you see pictures of Espen in a pink chair, don't question. :)

We were supposed to meet up with some friends from Texas Saturday night, but I messed it all up (although I blame a good chunk of it on my stupid cell phone), so we missed them. I am peeved about that because I was really looking forward to it. Jessica and Rodney, I hope we get to catch you before you go back home!

This morning we went to the Wentzville Flea Market, and Espen enjoyed walking around in the sunshine. Mom managed to forget the diaper bag (Man, I'm really beginning to sound like an idiot! ), so we had to keep the trip short. Jason went to the ball game this afternoon and watched the Cardinals get smoked by the Cubs (BOOO!!!!). Espen and I stayed home and tried to rest up.

So that was our super-busy weekend. Whew! Check out all our new photos from our adventures last week and this week. (Count your blessings that my camera battery died on Friday, or there would be a bunch more!)