Wedding Bells

The happy couple!
Caleb snuggling with Amy!
Me and Amy!! (Love that girl!)

I even ran into our neighbors from college!!
The beautiful bride and myself!

On Saturday one my good friends, Nikki tied the knot to a wonderful guy Mike! Nikki is one of my best friends (Amy's) sister. It was a great time and it was nice to see all of the family- who I love!! We are so happy for you guys!!

It is about time....

We finally took a family picture! We had not taken one since Caleb was born and since we were all dressed up for a wedding (congrates Nikki and Mike!!), we thought that it would be the perfect time:)

Strawberry Picking

couple days ago Ethan, Caleb, and our entire playgroup went strawberry picking at a farm near Kalamazoo. We picked 7.5 pounds and Ethan found that it was more fun to eat the strawberries than pick them!:)

Looking for the strawberries!

Future Dr. Jastifer ???

For Ethan's birthday, his Aunt Keri gave him a toy medical kit and he has been having a blast taking people's heartbeat, checking their ears, taking blood pressure, and putting band aids on boo-boos- just like his daddy! You would think that he was a perfect angel at the doctor's office when they did this to him (yeah right!).Dr. Jastifer checking out Caleb's head. (yes, that spit-up on my shoulder)Checking himself out!

Thanks "nama" Jastifer!

Last week grandma ("nama") as Ethan calls his grandma's, came to stay and help us out. Grandma and Ethan became real buddies and everything had to involve nama, it was really cute. She was a huge help and we are so glad that she was able to spend some time with us and only be an hour away instead of eight! Thanks again nama Jastifer!!

2 Year Check-up Stats...

Ethan had his 2 year check-up today and he is healthy as can be! He screamed from the minute he entered the doctors office until we left, thank goodness he did not have to get any shots or it would have taken four nurses to hold him down!!

Weight- 32 pounds (86th percentile)

Height - 37.5 inches (97th percentile)

He is a BIG boy for sure!!:)

An Elmo Birthday Party!!

On Saturday Ethan celebrated his 2nd birthday with an Elmo birthday party! We kept it on the small side, but he had a great time! He is in love with Elmo and of course was spoiled with great presents that have definitely kept him busy over the last couple of days! Thanks to everyone!! One of his favorite presents from his birthday was the sandbox that daddy built, he plays in it ALL the time! Hard to believe that we have a two year old!

Opening presents!

Blowing out his birthday candles!:)

Tryng out the new digger for the sandbox!

Sweet Little Caleb

Our little man Caleb or"de-ub" as his big brother calls him is doing great! he has a few gassy days where it bothers him, but he is for the most part a very content little boy. We have grandma Jastifer here this week to help us out and both of the boys are loving that!

First Bath!

This cow was born the same day as Caleb...had to get a picture!

Grandma Jastifer and Caleb:)

CONGRATES AUNT KERI!!!

A couple weeks ago Aunt Keri (Jim's Sister) graduated from GVSU with her B.S. in clinical laboratory science. We are very excited and proud of her. There was a nice graduation ceremony downtown that Jim and Ethan were able to attend. Mom and Caleb unfortunately were not able to go, since Caleb was only a few days old at the time, but were thinking of her! Congrates Aunt Keri...let the job search begin!

The "foot" picture

As most of you know, Jim likes taking pictures of feet?? Especially when his sons are in the picture with his. We have taken a foot picture with Ethan since he was born every year on his birthday. Of course, have to do the same with Caleb

Daddy and Ethan @ 2 years old.

Caleb and Daddy

All the boys!

Two week check up stats

Height: 22 inches
Weight: 9 pounds! - He is eating well apparently!
Number of times peeing on the nurses and doctors: only twice!:)

Had to do it

Both boys at 2 weeks old

Caleb

Ethan

Posted by Jim

A trip to the zoo

Ethan is in love with animals, so we are trying to make it a tradition to take him to the zoo for his birthday. Yesterday was such a nice day, dad was home on vacation, and mom and Caleb were ready to get out of the house, so we headed to Binder Park Zoo and had a great time! We walked around looking at all the animals, petted some animals, rode the "train", had a picnic lunch, and even fed the giraffes! Ethan had a great time and it was not long after we left the zoo that he was fast asleep from the busy day. Caleb was real impressed by the animals too ;)

The Sandbox.....

During the last couple of weeks Ethan and daddy have been working very hard on building a sandbox! Since Jim has been on vacation this week, the sand is in and now it is complete! Ethan LOVES his sandbox and is looking forward to sharing it with his little brother!:) Ethan "helping" daddy build the sandbox!

The finished product!

Thanks Grandma!

Thanks mom (Grandma Sowerwine) for all your help last week while you were here. We really appreciated it!!

Caleb's Birth Story

Friday May 8th, 2009 – 39 weeks & 1 day
IT'S A BOY!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB ROBERT JASTIFER!
7 lbs 13 oz

21.5 inches long Birth Story
Well, I was right, it was not going to be long before you came out. I went to bed that night as normal and was feeling fine. I woke up at 1 am to use the bathroom and was still feeling like I had been all day, a little crampy. Then at 3:30am I woke up with a big stomach ache and thought that maybe I was laying in a weird position. Then the contractions started coming on, the ones where I had to breathe and could not talk when they were occurring and I knew that today was going to be your birthday! Letting dad sleep a little longer I started to time them and they were about 10 minutes apart. Within 15 minutes they were five minutes apart and knew then that I had to wake dad, call Uncle Mark to come and stay with your brother, and head to the hospital pronto! When we actually got in the car to head to the hospital, the contractions were 3 minutes apart and getting stronger. All I could think about was, “I hope that I can get an epidural in time!” When we arrived at the hospital at about 4:30am, I was already 6-7 cm dilated and my contractions were not slowing down. I immediately asked for an epidural, knowing that my window was getting smaller. I pushed for so long with your brother, I knew that I could not do that again without help. Once they got the fluids pouring in me (which took four pokes to start an IV) and my blood sent to the lab, I was already 9 cm dilated and I had missed my opportunity to get the epidural. Very nervous and in a lot of pain, I broke down and said that I needed something. The doctor promised that it would only be 10 more minutes and you would be delivered, so I decided to endure the pain a little longer. I had waited 9 months, what was 10 more minutes? Well 10 minutes went by and I was still sitting at 9.5 cm and one contraction on top of the other and the doctor decided that I could get an interthecal to help with the pain so that I had the energy to push when the time came. As most of my friends and family know, that is what I had with Ethan, and it wore off and did not actually help me, so I was a little hesitant, until the next contraction came. After receiving my interthecal (which blocks the pain but you still feel the pressure) I was complete and ready to push! After 20 minutes of pushing, at 7:05 am a beautiful little boy entered the world with a head full of dark hair. We named him Caleb Robert Jastifer and you could not have been more perfect!! You looked a lot like your brother with a few features that were different. We could not wait to tell everyone that we had another boy…one more for dad’s soccer team!!

Brotherly Love :)

These pictures just melt my heart....

Ethan is one proud big brother!!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!

Ethan - May 13th, 2009

Ethan turns TWO today!!! Happy birthday buddy! It seems like not too long ago I was bringing him home from the hospital:) It is amazing how much they grow in just two years. We are so proud of him and he has taken on the role of "big brother" better than we could have ever hoped for!! Love you!Ethan - May 13th, 2007

We are home!!

Mom and her boys on Mothers Day!
Sweet Caleb!

We finally came home from the hospital yesterday and we were welcomed with loving arms by big brother Ethan who could not wait to hold Caleb! Ethan has learned in the last couple of days to adore his little brother and enjoys giving him kisses, hugs, and especially loves holding him. Here are a few photos from the last couple of days! Welcome home Caleb Robert Jastifer!!

Caleb and mommy right after he arrived!

Baby Update

No pictures of Ethan+Caleb because Ethan wants nothing to do with his brother yet.

Caleb Jastifer

7lbs 13oz, born at 7:05am
Mom and Caleb are doing fine...pictures with big brother to come

"Baby"

Here is Ethan and his "baby"....

The Waiting Game....

No baby yet! Tomorrow I have a doctors appointment and I should know more then. We are anxiously awaiting and can not wait to meet this little person!!! Ethan is also getting excited and is so cute about wanting to put diapers on his bears and putting them down for naps. He is going to be a great big brother for sure! He also loves sticking is little animals up his shirt and calling them his baby:) So no news yet, but we will post as soon as there is some!

Just to clear things up:

1. We do not know the sex.
2. We do not have names picked out.
3. We do not know when it is coming!

We know nothing....so not me!!! But it is exciting at the same time!:)