A few moments with the little man...

Just wanted to share this precious little video. It captures his joy. I have a similar joy as we begin a new season in our journey as a family. I only have a few more days as a full time employee at HealthSouth before transitioning to full time mom. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve for the last 8 years in that place. I will take with me the impressions of so many amazing individuals I have met along the way and will continue to practice OT as a home health therapist. It will allow me the flexibility of staying at home most days with EJ! Yay!!!!

~Joanna

More fun!

EJ is enjoying himself!! He loves to eat his cereal and has two teeth coming in!

He loves his bath time and can splash the water all by himself!

And he wears such stylish big boy clothes when we go out.

EJ is so much fun and we love sharing a few highlights that we capture along the way!

Go Blues!

~Joanna

The first quarter...

EJ turned 4 months last week and his development over the past month has blown our minds! I can't believe what he can do now and how he is interacting with his world! EJ loves to play, loves to talk (in his language, of course), he loves to chew on his hands, and play with rattles, he sticks out his tongue, and he loves to smile and laugh at us! He notices when Champ is nearby and he loves looking outside. EJ is showing us so much more of who he is!

He loves his exersaucer.

We are so grateful to have such a healthy and happy boy!

~Joanna

HOWDY!

We have had so much fun this past month watching EJ change at a very rapid pace! He loves to talk and smile at us now and is outgrowing many of his 3 month clothes already!! Let's just say he is a good workout for the ole arms!

We are so blessed to have had the opportunity to baptize EJ on his 3 month birthday. His Lito (Grandpa) and Lita (Grandma) were here to celebrate from Grand Cayman! It was an incredible event and one of the best days of my life!

I returned to work a couple weeks ago and Edmund will soon be off for the summer. Lita has been able to stay with us and keep EJ and I think they are having lots of fun! I don't know what we would do without the amazing support of our families!

And I want to wish my husband a very Happy Father's Day! He is one of the most inspiring individuals I have ever known and an incredible father. I could not have imagined how touched I would be at the sight of my son with his daddy! Thank you for the gift of your amazing love, Edmund! We love you!

~Joanna

What a growing boy!

EJ has changed so much since we first met him 2 months ago, and his personality is blossoming! He is now batting at rattles hanging above him, he is holding his head up while on his tummy for a substantial amount of time, and he is full of smiles and melting his mom and dad's heart more every day! He weighed in at 12 lbs and 1/2 oz on Thursday and seems to be growing faster than the weeds in our yard!!

Last weekend we traveled to North Carolina to celebrate Mary's graduation from Duke University with an MHS (yay, Mary!!!!). EJ had his first trip in the plane! He did awesome, and showed us he travels well! He met his cousin, Isabella for the first time too. She sure was sweet to him!

I am so thankful to God for our healthy boy and for the best 2 months of my life!!

~Joanna

A few more cute ones

I couldn't resist sending out a few more pictures that we have taken during the week. He seems to be changing so quickly!!

~Joanna

Settling in...

EJ is 6 weeks old now, and we are enjoying many firsts! We witnessed his first adorable crooked smile, his first coo, and the infamous first "blow out"! He is a very active little guy and loves to move and groove! He's bigger now too as we have moved up in diaper size (we're in 1's!). Nothing can describle the ways this little guy has changed me and brought purpose to my life. And nothing can compare to the joy we share each day watching him grow! Here's a video of him doing what he does best...cute.

~Joanna

Happy 1 month, EJ!

Today, it's been one month since EJ joined us in the world outside of the womb. He is doing remarkably well considering all the exposure to new sights, sounds, smells and sniffs from Champ. And I continue to be amazed that I can function on such little sleep! Oh, but those early morning moments are still to be treasured. . . even if they are a bit of a blur.


Yesterday, EJ weighed in at 8 lbs 13 oz. He is a healthy, growing boy! We are having so much fun watching his spontaneous faces, forecasting his future, and finding new ways to tell him how much we love him. He brings us so much joy!





A moment to reflect. . .

~Joanna

We are growing!

I wonder how many hours a day I have stared at this beautiful child! I marvel at his perfection daily and don't miss any chances to snuggle or kiss little EJ!

We visited our pediatrician, Dr. Worsley, yesterday for our first check up. He said that EJ looked great and was putting on good weight. He is now 7 lb 1 oz and is 19 3/4" long. He is in the 48% for length and 30% for weight. He is long and lean and we're guessing he get's that from his Daddy!

We have encountered many firsts these past few weeks and our precious moments are endless! We seem to have an active baby who enjoys exploring how his body moves! He has found his thumb to suck and has endured his first thunderstorm with extreme bravery!

We are also so very grateful for the outpouring of support we have received! Both near and far, friends and family have given us amazing encouragement and love--THANK YOU!! We are very blessed to have the Kieschnick clan closeby and were blessed by a visit from the Augers last week!! Everyone's a little smitten by EJ!

Thank you for continuing to visit our blog and allowing us to brag on our beautiful son!

-Joanna

"How did EJ get his name?"

In short, the name belonged to his paternal great, great grandfather. My Dad has done some research and he traced the lineage back to Edmund G., who came to the U.S. from Canada in the late 1800's. He had a son named Edmund James, who lived in Keene, New Hampshire, and played minor league baseball for the White Sox in the 1910's. He had a son, Edmund David, who was an avid outdoorsman and WWII veteran. My Dad is Edmund David Jr., and I'm E.D. III.

Besides honoring the tradition on my side of the family, the middle name means alot to us because Joanna's uncle and godfather is named James.

When we were considering the name we noticed another interesting connection- when Joey and I first met in '98 we were on a mission trip to the Guatemalan towns of "Santiago Zamora" and "Santiago de los Caballeros." Santiago is Spanish for James. I don't think its a stretch to say that's more than a coincidence...

So our little guy has alot of significance behind his name, which is what we wanted. I'm sure he'll be glad we didn't go with the "let's pull a name out of a hat" idea. :)

-Edmund

Pics from EJ's first week at home

Human Burrito...

Is it time to eat yet?

Sleepytime...

Sunbathing with Mom...

Sweet Dreams...

EJ's room

Super nice 1500 dollar crib... bought on ebay for 100 bucks. Ebay rocks...

Home is where you hang yer hat...

We are thankful to Grandma K. for buying the curtain material and Janice for making the curtains, seat cushion and crib bumper... amazing artistry... and to John for fixing the antique toy chest... and to Grandpa and Grandma A. for the rocker and dresser set....

It's still a work in progress, but slowly coming together...

-Edmund

Edmund James arrives

At 4:29 pm on Saturday, March 14th, our boy EJ was born... At birth he weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces and measured 19 1/2 inches. His due date was this Friday (March 2oth), but he just couldn't wait to get here... Here's how it happened...

Joey started feeling labor pains at 11:30 pm on Friday night and by 2:00 am they were 4-5 minutes apart. Joey knew this was the real deal so we got our things together arrived at the hospital about 4 am. The labor seemed to be progressing normally at first. However, by around 12 noon the medical staff had become concerned that EJ's heartrate was dipping very low at times or that it stayed low for too long. Around 4 in the afternoon they decided to perform a Ceaserean section and shortly after he was born. Joey was amazingly strong through the whole process. We are very grateful for excellent medical staff who made sure Joey and EJ came through safely.

We all came home from the hospital yesterday night. Joey is recuperating and is feeling better each day. EJ is eating and sleeping pretty well and he seems to be settling in well to his new surroundings. We are ecstatic that our little cowboy finally rode into town and are looking forward to the days and years ahead with our little buckaroo.

-Edmund