Happy Birthday to Dad!

We Are...

N.D.!



Congratulations to our cousin Ben who was just accepted to Notre Dame for undergrad!


Ben is the epitome of a Notre Dame man-- hardworking, family centered, responsible, athletic, smart, fun, gentle and generous. We are so proud of him! Its these sort of decisions that renew your faith in admissions offices... they DO get it right sometimes!



Just for good measure. (Thanks to Mrs. Sullivan for the hat!)


Congratulations to Ben from the whole family!

A Rich Man

If you measure a man's wealth by his friends, Sean is indeed a very rich man. Along with Mr. St. Francis, his best friends are Pup-pup (left) and Oliphant (right), who keep him in good company!

I'll Have the Duck

I know when you start baby on solids you are supposed to start with boring things like rice cereal, but Sean insisted on duck for his first real meal...


eyeing his prey...


making his move...


this is going to be so good!

success!

All done!

Milestones

This morning Cody said, "Sean..." and sean looked at him. Cody said it again, "Sean?" and Sean looked at him. Cody stood behind the baby and said "Sean..." and Sean turned his head all the way around to find dad. He knows his name!

Food, please!

Sean is making his case to try solid food...

First Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving marked Sean's first and Cody and my first time hosting, and it was a great experience. As I remarked to cody the other night-- life can be tough, trying to balance work, marriage, diapers, feedings, family- but at the end of the day, I love our little way of life and I am so thankful for it. That being said, here is a small tour of just some of the things that brought joy to our holiday of Thanksgiving this year:



The day started as Denise, Monkey boy and I accompanied Cody downtown to watch him compete in the 31st Annual Turkey Day Run. My boss is the race director for the whole event, so it was fun to see the whole thing come together after months of preparation. Cody did great, even after 2 weeks of travelling sans training. He's awesome.

Monkey Boy Sean cheers as dad is about to cross the finish line!

After we returned from the race Cody turned right around to go to the airport to pick up my mom and Pete. While he was there he picked up a surprise guest-- Eva!! We were so excited to have Eva around this weekend-- she added so much life to the party. We watched movies, she babysat Sean, conducted a cross-word contest (I won) and was just a pleasure to be around. I can't believe how much she is growing.

Meanwhile, dinner preparations were underway in the kitchen. Recognizing the craziness of our last two weeks and our relative inexperience at making thanksgiving dinner, especially while in survival mode, Cody made an executive decision for our family and bought a pre-made turkey. As the spriritual head of our household, this was a phenomenal decision.

We did cook everything else on the table! And, we got to use our beautiful yet neglected china :). A beautiful meal and a beautiful family!


Mmmm....wine.

Remembering Jack

Jack taught us so many things in very subtle ways. He taught us how simple things can multiply in value when you add love, sincerity and family. He taught us by example-- for instance, Knobby Knoll was a priority for Jack every summer since he graduated from Notre Dame in 1947. Knobby Knoll is simple, rustic, difficult at times (well-water, no phones, limited sleeping arrangements, etc), nothing fancy. While it is a beautiful and peaceful place, it was not the lake or cottages that he loved so much about the Knoll, but that it was a central place for all family to gather, and gather we did, because of his example to keep that time for family a priority. Jack and Emmy spent every summer at the knoll, with Jack's first cousins Mary Clare and Beth (all over 80 years old), who would religiously come up to the White Cottage for a "visit" at 10:00 pm every night, just to talk about the day's happenings. Although their cottage was small, everyone was always welcome for dinner, a night, or a week at Emmy and Jack's. Food and beds would magically appear to accomodate everyone because hospitality was a priority in their lives. And no matter the time of your arrival, Jack would always greet you with his knee socks, a hot pizza in the oven and his signature offer: "Hey, wanna frosty?"


Jack loved babies! I remember the day we told him and emmy we were pregnant with Sean Brendan. They were both on the phone and could tell i had something important to say. Oh the joy when I told them of their second great grandchild! This summer Jack reminisced with me about newborn/postpartum days in their house. When I asked how they ever managed seven children he just simply responded, "well, they don't come all at once!" The quiet and sometimes hidden depth of his love for his babies was somewhat exposed this summer as he remembered to me the miscarriage they experienced over fifty years ago. He still remembered the day clearly, sat still and stared off out the window as he told me about the baby they lost. Knowing that it had been one year since we lost our first baby, I think he knew that conversation was therapeutic for both of us.


I LOVE this picture! It reflects 56 years of partnership, hardwork and laughter between Emmy and Jack. Not to mention their first-born right next to them who has been with them through 55 of those years! Look at the joy between the two of them, even as they both knew they were nearing the end of Jack's illness.

Ever the Irish fan (and sometimes mascot!), here Jack and Emmy are, proud as Peacocks to be with their youngest son and two of their grandsons on a special tour of the Notre Dame Lockerroom last fall. Being a Notre Dame graduate was one of Jack's proudest accomplishments, but leaving a love for Notre Dame as a legacy with his children and grandchildren I think made him even prouder. He loved seeing us on campus enjoying our lives at N.D. or just enjoying a weekend visit. And it all started with Jack's journey from Watertown, NY to South Bend in the fall of 1943. Amazing.

Go Irish!

Here we are at Sean's first Notre Dame game!


Watching the Irish take on Navy in Raven's Stadium


Here is SB with his baby friend Catherine, who was born just two weeks before Sean! how cute are these two together with their Notre Dame gear and curious wide eyes!?


But Baby Catherine is only part of the Notre Dame Law School Baby Factory, pictured above, although missing some key members. Oh how we miss our community in South Bend and all the loving parents and babies all around us! We miss our little toddler neighbors toddling over for a banana, lovingly chanting "Co, Co, Co, Co?" We miss our Sunday brunches that always provided a warm and hospitable break from studying or a warm conversation with friends you haven't seen all week, and we miss the wonderful example of simple living and family-centered lives our friends provided at ND! It was great to catch another glimpse of this Shire-like life, if only for a few hours at a tailgate.

Just because its so cute!

Back Home...

Well, where to start!? November has been a very hectic month for our little family-- a month of firsts and a month of hellos and goodbyes. We are finally back home and settled in after a car trip to Baltimore, a plane trip to Albany and hosting my family for our first Thanksgiving at home, all within 2 weeks! I will make posts about each event in a bit, but here is a summary of our adventures:

Our crazy two weeks started off with Sean's first Notre Dame game... a moment we've been looking forward to since we found out I was pregnant exactly one year ago! The three of us piled in our car with more baby stuff than you could imagine, and drove to Baltimore for the Notre Dame-Navy game. Along the way we stopped in Richmond and stayed with our dear newlywed friends Luke and Andrea in their beautiful new home, and stopped in to see friends from law school in Gasperini-ville--- a small town in Richmond. We arrived in Baltimore at the ever-hospitable Tom and Colleen Galloways and had a wonderful weekend. Sean met his cousins Ben, Brendan and Kacie for the first time, met a ton of our NDLS friends and baby friends at the game and saw ND march onward to victory against Navy! It was a wonderful weekend full of firsts for our little Irish fan and he did AWESOME staying on his napping/eating/being happy schedule. We were so proud of how well he travelled.

However, it was with sadness we returned home to find out only the next day that my grandfather Jack passed away after 8 months of battling cancer. Almost immediately after we left Baltimore my dad and his six siblings were summoned to Albany to say goodbye to their father. Jack lived well and died well, taking his last breath as his wife of 56 years finished the last Hail Mary of the rosary by his side. Sean is Jack's second great-grandchild (Eva is the first), and we are so so thankful for the intense week of bonding Jack and Sean experienced up at Knobby Knoll this summer. Emmy and Jack accomplished so many things in their life and with their family, and the last few months were no exception. When Jack was diagnosed back in March Emmy and Jack made it their goal to spend one last summer at the Knoll and meet Sean Brendan, and they did! As we all gathered together in Albany last weekend it was amazing to see the life Emmy and Jack built together. It inspired Cody and I and the goals we have for our little family and gave us much to talk about and be thankful for.

Two days after we returned from Albany we welcomed my sister, mom and Pete and a surprise guest to host our first Thanksgiving. Little did I know that my mom arranged for Eva to come to SC for thanksgiving! what a wonderful and unexpected surprise! This week has been great-- relaxing, low key, full of bonding for the first cousins and Mama Peggy with SB and a wonderful thanksgiving meal :).

Stay tuned for illustrative posts about each event to come ....

Update

Mom and Dad were up no less than 5 times with an angry baby last night. We "took his hands away" by putting hand socks on Sean last night before bed so he couldn't get to his thumb. Unfortunately, every time he realized he couldn't get to his thumb he let us know. One of us would go in, re-set the paci and stumble back to bed. finally, at 5:00 a.m., with one precious hour left to sleep, I gave in, hastily pulled of the socks and let Sean at his covetted thumbs. He was happy as can be when I went in an hour later.

Any ideas to help our thumb/paci/crying situation?

What's the Daughter-In-Law of a Dentist to do?

There's no two ways around it: Sean has become a thumb-sucker. We are informed that this is not a good habit for the development of his little mouth, teeth, and nasal passages, but I dont know how to stop it!

What you don't see in this picture is his discarded paci, spit out in disgust in favor of the familiar thumb.

We have been trying (inconsistently) hand socks for bed time, but I think that has been the source of some of the middle of the night crying -- SB can't find his thumb to put himself back to sleep.

How are we to teach Sean how to soothe himself back to sleep while trying to break this little habit early on? Any ideas?

A New Friend

Sean is just starting to discover toys. Tonight at dinner Sean showed us his new Elephant Friend. It was the cutest scene ever.

First Dental Appointment

Doctor Jamie, also known as Grandpa in these parts, gave Sean his first dental exam this weekend... in our living room.

The Doc confirmed the buckets of drool, uncharacteristic late-night wakings and attempts at eating his own hands all point toward one thing--- Sean is starting to teeth.

He finished the appointment by trying to feed Sean cherry pie. I hope Dr. Jamie doesn't pass on his sweettooth to his grandson!

Long and Lean

Today at Sean's 4 month appointment he had the following measurements:

Weight: 15 lb, 11oz
Height: 26.5 inches.

This puts him in 50th percentile for weight and 90th for height!

Happy All Saints (and All Souls) Day!

Yesterday was Sean's first All Saints Day. Naturally, he asked that we dress him up as St. Francis for the parish Parade of the Saints (which we missed b/c we were late for mass!). Here are some pics of Baby St. Francis making his debut...

The Making of St. Francis... Mom and Dad figured out the secret to the Franciscan habit about 15 minutes before mass-- a brown pillow case, and ....

Super Glue! (Dad's idea).

Even St. Francis got grumpy and needy his paci once in a while.

Contemplating poverty, chastity and obedience.

All the Church Ladies loved St. Francis yesterday.

Today we go to Mass on All Soul's Day. We woke up early this morning (love daylight savings time!) and talked to Sean about Uncle Sean and brother Oliver whom we will offer our mass for this morning. Without Oliver our sweet baby Sean Brendan wouldn't be here. We lost baby Oliver on July 1, 2007 and we met baby Sean (ex utero) on July 2, 2008. As we were praying for baby Oliver on his anniversary I was having contractions with baby Sean. God is so good! As I repeated to myself many times over the course of that eventful year, He knows the desires of my heart and He is faithful!

We contemplated dressing baby Sean up like Uncle Sean for All Souls Day (in his Grateful Dead onesie!)-- maybe after church :). I tell baby Sean about his Uncle in heaven and I hope that our sweet baby will show some of Sean Peter's strong traits-- leadership, authenticity, honesty, a genuine search for God and Truth. We also hope that one day baby Sean will be the wonderful big brother that Sean Peter was to me and Denise-- always kind, fun, protective, honest, inclusive, challenging and loving. Sean Peter was so influential on me and Denise -- I am grateful for the 17 years I knew him and loved him and received his love in return. I am even more grateful to know that I will meet him in the communion of Saints today in the Eucharist and one day in Heaven.

Other prayers for All Souls Day: Nanna Groeber, Grandma Martha, Grandma Joyce, Uncle Philip and Uncle Joe, Aunt Alice, Mame and Pete.

Happy Halloween!

We dressed Sean up this morning for Halloween in the monkey suit that his Godfather gave him. He loves it, and as you will see, Sean was indeed HAPPY it is Halloween.

Complete with Monkey Growl at the end!

What a Morning!

This morning Cody and I both had to be in Court at 9:00 a.m. Funny enough, before the same judge, but on totally unrelated matters, and my matter took much longer than expected which completely derailed Cody and his colleagues from getting in their pleas. Sorry!

With a very busy morning for both of us, we asked Valerie the Nanny to come over a few minutes early so we could get out the door and court-ready in time. About 15 minutes before we need to leave I (in my law-suit) go to change baby and I am not exaggerating when I say he had poop up to his hair. and somehow on his arms. and then his feet. He thought the whole affair was hilarious. So, recognizing that no baby-wipe in the world will fix this mess, I put a bathrobe on over my law-suit, dunked Sean in an emergency bath, dried him off and diapered him up while Cody made our eggs and sandwiches, and off to court we went!

Not Amused.

Mom, what are you doing to me?

Come On In!

When we were home in Anderson this past weekend we visited our friends Allen and Jill and their one-year-old Eddie. In the barage of new-mom questions Jill asked "What does Sean's room look like?" I thought that was a great question, and tonight before bed Sean was willing to give everyone a little tour...

This is my big chair and Notre Dame pillow. I'm just learning how to sit. My library is in the background.

This is what we see when we walk in my room. Mom and Dad painted the whole room and the furniture about 3 days before I came!

Here I am with Mom looking in my mirror standing in front of my table of religious items. In the background you can see my crib and part of my changing table. I am only wearing a diaper here.

Time for bed -- saying goodnight to St. Francis and my mobile animals. Thanks for coming on my tour!

T.G.I.Wednesday!

A baby, a coffee and some responsive pleadings... I love work-from-home wednesdays!

I Have Some New Shoes to Show You...

Thanks to Groeber Cousins Kristen, Tony, Frankie and Colin for the sweet shoes!

Help! Is this Normal?

Sean suffers from the condition known as flat-head-due-to-back-sleeping. I know pediatricians have just started recommending back sleeping in the last few years and we all slept on our fronts and had nice round heads to show for it. All the mothers in my life who had front-sleeping babies can't stand Sean's head! And this is a C-Section head!

Other new moms out there-- do your babies have flat heads like this too? Am I to take solace knowing that there will be at least one generation of flat-headed babies and Sean will have classmates with similar headshape? Does it get round again at some point? Or is Sean in a football-head league of his own? Help!