I Met a Baby Over the Weekend. . .

I finally got to meet my newest nephew, Jack, this weekend. Justin and I went to South Dakota for his baptism. I also got to see Josh and Kelsey's house for the first time. Josh is Justin's step-brother and he and his wife Kelsey recently finished building a new house in Hendricks, MN, on Lake Hendricks. (The town of Hendricks is officially in MN but the lake straddles the border of MN and SD. Josh and Kelsey's house is located in SD. I think most people imagine that they might build a house just for them, with their own specifcations in mind at some point in their ideal life. I can't imagine doing such a thing in my 20's! It was fun to see their house finished. The last time I saw it, the house was a shell. It had walls and beams but that's about it! They have been living there for awhile but they finished their basement right before the weekend started! When we arrived on Saturday the finishing touches were still being worked on and dust was still settling from carpet installation (and being promptly cleaned up by Kelsey's attentive younger sisters!).

I finally got to see Jack. He is a cute, sturdy little guy who likes to go with the flow. He doesn't mind commotion and can sleep amidst the sounds of vacuum cleaners, the TV and the presence of alot of people.

Oh, look, he's with Aunt Maren. . .and he looks thrilled about that!


There he is with Uncle Justin! Sure, he gets to hold him when he's sleepy. . .check out those arm rolls! Adorable!




This is Cayson, Jacks slightly older cousin who was born in January. The last time I saw him was in mid-March when he was baptised. He has already changed alot and is now much more alert and muscular. When you hold him, he can squirm and wiggle, and he rolls over and the floor and can sit up on his own.

This is Jack with Kelsey, his mama!

Here is Cayson, rollin' and hangin' on the floor with his books and his turkey toy (that thing in his hands is a turkey). "Farm Kisses" was a great book! It is about how farm animals say goodnight to each other. Very cute.

Look at the big boy! Almost ready to get crawling and start exploring!

These next few shots detail the challenge of getting a group of kids to pose for a photo. It was pretty funny. I never got a "good" shot on my camera (who says what is good, anyway? They are all worth having!) but someone else might have.

Blake?


Blake!

The cousins together! On Saturday evening, right after Cayson and Jenny and Corey arrived, Jack was fussing and crying. Kelsey was holding Jack and I was holding Cayson and we put them in each other's vicinity and Cayson reached out and patted Jack and sort of held his hand! It was so cute.