M & M + JM

Halloween 09!

2009-11-01T09:56:00.001-05:00

I'm ready to go mom...hurry up! I need to get some candy ASAP!

I tested my new shoes by walking the entire cul-de-sac and up/down 5 driveways with mom and dad holding my hands

John Michael is 10 months old!

2009-10-21T20:28:00.001-04:00

Another big first happened this month...his first steps (without holding onto anything). He is still very timid about doing so, but when he doesn't think anyone is watching, he will take a couple of steps. In looking at his 10 month pictures, he looks more like a little boy to me and less like a baby. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I was hoping for later.

Another funny thing that he has started to do now is to point. He points at people, things and generally anything that catches his attention. He also knows how to wave bye-bye and hello but only does so when the spirit moves him.

I love my Mummy.

Toys!

2009-10-11T15:14:00.000-04:00

Cooper Family visit

2009-10-11T15:13:00.001-04:00

Great Aunt Hilda, John Michael and Gigi

Gigi feeding John Michael dinner in the den so he didn't miss a moment of the action

Patsy and Hilda entertaining John Michael with his new froggie stuffed toy

Norcross Arts Festival - Oct 2009

2009-10-11T15:11:00.000-04:00

9 Months!

2009-09-20T22:32:00.003-04:00

I've learned to clap my hands when anyone says 'Yeah!'

Harold's Birthday dinner

2009-09-20T11:58:00.002-04:00

Happy 80th Birthday Harold (very belated)!

John Michael is 8 months old!

2009-08-12T14:47:00.007-04:00

The 8 month pictures were extremely challenging. He is so interested in what I was doing that he kept trying to come to me and get the camera. I had to tape the sign to the back of the chair to keep it from being destroyed and distract him with a book and a remote control (his favorite thing...just like his daddy).

More fun with Great Papa

2009-08-03T21:25:00.000-04:00

With Nana in the garden

2009-08-03T21:23:00.000-04:00

In Nana's Garden

2009-08-03T21:22:00.000-04:00

Being goofy with Great Papa

2009-08-03T21:21:00.003-04:00

Having fun with the family at Orange Beach

2009-08-03T21:19:00.003-04:00

Gigi, ME, Aunt Amy and John Michael

John Michael loved playing with daddy's hat

Michael, John Michael and ME

Beach Weekend!

2009-08-03T21:16:00.000-04:00

He's on the move!!

2009-07-26T17:54:00.001-04:00

Lots of firsts in July!

2009-07-25T20:42:00.004-04:00

This month has been a month of firsts for John Michael!

He got his first 2 teeth on the bottom, and he has been practicing using them on us (ouch!).

Pretty soon we plan to introduce real food and not just this mushy stuff.

He also began sitting up and does so in an interesting way. He lays on his stomach and then pushes himself from the one side up...no stomach crunches for our little chunky bellied boy! :)

Last week we went to Orange Beach with Gigi and Aunt Amy, and John Michael loved playing in the sand and the ocean (another first). He especially enjoyed trying to drink the salt water. He is pretty fearless...all boy I guess!

And now, just this week, he has learned how to pull himself up and stand. In fact, we had to lower his mattress in his crib when we found him peering out over the side looking like he was going to jump. Somehow, he still is able to pull himself up to stand even with the lowered mattress and even though he is partially swaddled, but at least now it doesn't look like he can fall or jump out!

But now that he has figured out how to stand easily, he has to keep it interesting and try different tricks like letting one hand go and balancing or letting both hands go and plopping on his bottom.

Thankfully, he hasn't figured out how to crawl yet. Instead, he rolls and rotates around to get closer to something.

I imagine August will prove to be a very busy month with lots of baby-proofing of the house!

2009-07-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

Grrrrrrrrrr

Yes, sir!

At PDK, checking out the planes!

2009-07-10T21:27:00.001-04:00

Laugh, Laugh, Laugh

2009-07-10T21:08:00.002-04:00

If you are having a bad day, watch this...

John Michael is 7 months old!

2009-07-10T21:07:00.001-04:00

(this is my favorite)
(7 months w/ attitude)

Getting ready for the Peachtree Road Race

2009-07-02T14:17:00.001-04:00

The country's largest 10k is 2 days away.

Peachtree Road Race 10k
Find more Runs in Atlanta, Georgia

2009-06-14T17:58:00.003-04:00

All pictures can be found here

Italy 2009

Venice

2009-06-14T17:57:00.001-04:00

Lake Como

2009-06-14T17:55:00.000-04:00

Bellagio

2009-06-14T17:54:00.000-04:00

The Duomo and shopping - Part II

2009-06-14T17:53:00.000-04:00

The Duomo and shopping in Milan

2009-06-14T17:51:00.000-04:00

A day in the park in Milan

2009-06-14T17:50:00.000-04:00

Mae Ellen had to work today, so I took John Michael to the park.

John Michael and Ethan

2009-05-27T21:10:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T21:08:00.000-04:00

Aunt Amy, Gigi and Harold

2009-05-27T21:06:00.000-04:00

Future Tech grad

2009-05-27T21:05:00.000-04:00

Chatty John Michael

2009-05-24T10:14:00.005-04:00

What is he saying?

I'm 5 months old!

2009-05-12T07:15:00.001-04:00

Our little boy is 5 months old!!

Mommy's outfit

Daddy's outfit

Mmmmm squash!

2009-05-03T17:46:00.000-04:00

From

John MIchael has 'real' food!

2009-05-03T11:24:00.005-04:00

This morning John Michael experienced 'real' food (baby squash).

His face tells the whole story...

From

In the end we think he actually enjoyed it. The way he has been eating the past 5 months I don't think either of us were really surprised that liked 'real' food.

Next week we move on to sweet potatoes....

2009 Dogwood Festival

2009-04-19T18:43:00.000-04:00

What a day for the park. As usual the Dogwood festival was busy and crowded, but we think John Michael enjoyed being out on such a beautiful day.

Easter and Braves baseball

2009-04-12T18:29:00.001-04:00

More Easter and baseball pitures can be found here.

Family Dinner!

2009-03-29T11:47:00.000-04:00

How we fit 12 people in our house I have no idea, but it was fun!

Cookout at Jackies house

2009-03-29T11:45:00.000-04:00

Jackie and Kevin opened their home to a pile of kids last weekend.

Thanks guys!

Family Pictures

2009-03-25T10:38:00.002-04:00

We were lucky enough to have Jen from At First Sight Photography take some professional pictures this weekend. I've linked our blog to hers where she has posted some initial proofs:

At First Sight Photography

How time flies

2009-03-24T17:40:00.004-04:00

I can't believe that John Michael is already 3 1/2 months old. The time has really flown by quickly. He has changed so much during the last couple of months.
From his first smile around 2 months to what now we call his cackle, cat-like laughing sounds at 3 months. Ollie loves it :)
He is really getting strong too. He has been able to fully hold his head up on his own for the past few weeks, and now he tries to sit up (with the help of someone holding his hands, of course). He is grasping and holding onto things pretty well now too and has managed on occasion to put his paci back in his mouth when he has spit it out.
Most recently, he acts like he wants to roll over. Everyday it is something new.
We spend endless minutes just staring at him and laughing.
Who knew he would be such the little entertainer.
These exciting and fun times are balanced by some stressful ones as well.
It took us quite awhile to get comfortable with taking him out to dinner, and by no means are we anxiety-free during such outings.
Feedings and ensuring he is getting enough milk for a big, growing boy has been probably one of the biggest stresses. We finally think that we have gotten into a good feeding routine which was probably thanks mostly to my return to work.

Regardless of these challenges, we love our new life as parents and wouldn't change a thing.

Is that Patrick Dempsey?

2009-03-12T12:51:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Heather for the funny baby shirt!

Look at me I'm 3 months old!

2009-03-12T12:48:00.000-04:00

More pics here

Listen to this video!

2009-03-06T08:29:00.001-05:00

That's our little trumpetbutt!

Bath tIme!

2009-03-06T08:26:00.000-05:00

John Michael and Baby Einstein

2009-03-01T12:14:00.003-05:00

Baby Einstein ... he loves it! Not sure why, but its very trippy.

A bath in the sink in North Carolina

2009-03-01T11:50:00.003-05:00

When we were in North Carolina a couple weeks ago we needed to give John Michael a quick bath in the sink.

Will John Michael's eye color change?

2009-03-01T11:41:00.003-05:00

After 3 months John Michael still has blue eyes... so what are the odds?

New pictures with Grandma Gigi

2009-03-01T11:36:00.001-05:00

Gigi has been such a big help these past 2 weeks while Mae Ellen has been tele-working. Thank you!

Goin' for a run!

2009-03-01T11:34:00.000-05:00

Mae Ellen and John Michael are going for a run in the new InStep jogger. One month until the Pi Mile and 4 months until the Peachtree!

John Michael is 2 months old!

2009-02-15T16:02:00.000-05:00

New videos

2009-02-02T08:44:00.003-05:00

From January Videos

John Michael at 4-7 weeks old

2009-01-30T17:29:00.006-05:00

Here are some new pictures of John Michael

Sleep time!

2009-01-17T22:18:00.002-05:00

So peaceful...

Bath time!

2009-01-17T22:07:00.002-05:00

We're getting ready for bath time!

Video of John Michael playing

2009-01-17T21:57:00.002-05:00

We're having play time on the floor in the nursery.... check out his super cool new style: socks over pants, how stylin!

I'm 1 month old!

2009-01-11T16:31:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday buddy!

His outfit says "I love Hugs"... he also loves Mommy, Daddy, eating and pooping.

Christmas Slide Show

2008-12-29T18:41:00.000-05:00

Great Grand Papa

2008-12-20T18:39:00.002-05:00

Here is the proud Great Grand Papa of the family.

Papa had the magic touch (and years of experience) and calmed a cranky John Michael.

Then they both took a nap.

The Modern Mom

2008-12-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

Yep. I actually caught Mae Ellen talking on the phone, surfing the internet and rocking the baby. The Modern Mom at work!

John Michael and Ethan

2008-12-20T18:34:00.000-05:00

Amy and Ethan stopped over this week to say hi and meet John Michael. Ethan is getting big and was full of laughs, we couldn't believe how big he's grown in just the past month.

Thanks for the lasagna Amy!

Portraits

2008-12-14T22:38:00.001-05:00

6 hours of sleep at 4 days old.

2008-12-11T15:27:00.004-05:00

John Michael slept a full 6 hours last night... can you believe it? He is eating like a champ and sleeping like bear. He also had his first bath today... it was much needed because he has been blowing up some diapers. He had two back-to-back mega poops last night... That's our little Trumpetbutt.

Our first day home

2008-12-10T17:00:00.003-05:00

Last night was our first night home. It was great to be in our own beds, but without the nurses to help it was, let's just say, a little different. Thankfully Nana was there and cooked up lots of food and was a big help.

Mae Ellen and I are getting used to this new life and to a lot less sleep. We are fascinated just looking at John Michael and could probably do it for hours if it wasn't for the feeding and pooping.

Slide Show

2008-12-08T18:11:00.003-05:00

Here is a slide show of the past 24 hours.

His first video

2008-12-07T17:05:00.001-05:00

First pictures!

2008-12-07T13:47:00.001-05:00

There he is! John Michael Sengbusch arrived at 8:13am this morning... all 9 lbs 3 oz and 22" of him (you should see this kids foot prints!)Mae Ellen and John Michael are doing great! We'll post more pictures throughout the day.

Big baby boy!!

2008-12-07T10:34:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update... John Michael was born at 8:13am after 16 hours of labor.

More details to follow, everyone is doing great!

6am update

2008-12-07T06:06:00.001-05:00

Getting pretty close to delivery here. I'm thinkin we have a baby within the next hour or so. Mae Ellen is doing great, we both were able to sleep for an hour or so thanks to the epidural, its going to be a busy Sunday!

1:30am update

2008-12-07T01:39:00.001-05:00

Mae Ellen is resting now after a much needed epidural. The nurses have been great and are taking great care of her. I'm on another cup of coffee in the labor room, the fam is hanging out in the lobby. That's all for now

We are at the hospital...

2008-12-06T23:18:00.001-05:00

So far so good!

Mae Ellen has been in labor for 3 hours now and she is doing great!

Hopefully Dec 3rd

2008-12-01T08:22:00.003-05:00

Still no baby yet... I think he must be content with his current living conditions.
I am beginning to wonder if he knows how to get out.

I'm still hoping that the December 3rd (original estimated due date) is correct now.
I wish the doctors had never changed the date, since for the past couple of weeks it has messed with our heads thinking that any day now he could be here. I guess this is our first parenting lesson in patience.

We will keep everyone posted when anything happens.

38 or 39 weeks

2008-11-21T08:37:00.001-05:00

Depending on who you ask we are either 38 or 39 weeks along now. I know Mae Ellen is hoping its 39 weeks. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said: "To get this baby out!"

RNC - Baby Shower

2008-11-20T08:18:00.007-05:00

Work was kinda enough to throw us a baby shower. Pizza, Cake and Presents! Whoo hoo! Sue and Karen went above and beyond, and we are very appreciative. Check out the pics:

More pics here

Falcons game

2008-11-10T22:33:00.001-05:00

Here is the gang at the Falcons game... Mae Ellen is almost 9 months pregnant, I'm impressed she made it through an entire day of tailgating and football, isn't she the best? (Falcons 34, Saints 20)

Halloween 2008 - Juno

2008-11-10T22:29:00.000-05:00

Here we are doing our best Juno impressions for Halloween... not bad huh?

The nursey is complete

2008-11-10T22:23:00.000-05:00

All done... except it's missing one very important piece.

3D -Ultrasound pics

2008-11-06T21:32:00.002-05:00

Ultrasound rescheduled

2008-11-05T11:09:00.002-05:00

Well little John Michael was not very cooperative for his photo shoot on Saturday, and we couldn't get any pictures of his face only the back of his head and his hand.
He had his hand held up in front of his face.
We are going to try again on Thursday, and hopefully we will get a better picture.
They suggested drinking orange juice or something very sugary right before the ultrasound to get him to move around.
Typically, he moves alot, but he was content to sleep this past Saturday morning.

Week #36

2008-10-31T19:18:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow we are going to have a 3-D ultrasound since we aren't going to have any more ultrasounds at the doctor's office. Hopefully, we will get a little insight into what little John Michael looks like and how he is positioned.

Paris in the Fall...

2008-10-15T14:33:00.004-04:00

A collage of our last long weekend before John Michael arrives...

More pictures can be found here.

Baby Shower Slide Show

2008-10-13T13:32:00.002-04:00

33 1/2 weeks

2008-10-10T21:19:00.002-04:00

Just when you think you can't possibly get bigger...and still 6 1/2 more weeks to go.

Little John Michael has been very active these last few weeks. He rolls around and kicks and moves from one side to the other side. It is such a strange feeling, but it is also somewhat comforting knowing that he is still doing ok in there.

We really wanted to have another ultrasound to see him again and just make sure all was ok, but unfortunately, at our last doctor's visit they told us that they wouldn't do another ultrasound unless there was a medical reason to do so. I guess we are fortunate that everything seems to be going pretty well so it isn't necessary, but we were a bit disappointed since we wanted another glimpse at him. I guess we will just have to be patient.

We started our birthing classes this week, and so far it is proving to be very interesting and informative. It was a bit overwhelming to watch the video on the first day, but I guess that is preparing us. I couldn't help but to think what other options do I have for getting him out...

More Paris pictures...

2008-10-09T09:09:00.005-04:00

All of the pictures can be found here.

Look at this baby store, we bought a music box for John Michael here
The gelato was scooped and sculpted into a rose... You don't get that at Baskin Robbins!

In Paris...

2008-10-09T08:49:00.003-04:00

We had a beautiful Fall day in Paris, not a cloud in the sky.

Mae Ellen in front of Notre Dame

Michael in the Luxembourg Gardens

More baby shower pics

2008-10-08T19:51:00.001-04:00

You can find all of the pics here.

The grandma's...

Baby Shower Pics

2008-10-08T19:43:00.004-04:00

Mae Ellen with Ethan... getting some practice.

At Uncle Larry's house...
Look at that tool belt full of baby supplies!

Birthing classes

2008-10-08T19:37:00.001-04:00

We started birthing classes... we saw a video... it was informative to say the least.

Belly Update #5

2008-09-30T17:21:00.001-04:00

Its been a few weeks since a belly update... 36.5" and growing. T-minus 8 weeks

Painting the baby's room

2008-09-16T07:47:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Mom and Dad (Nana and Papa) for the help!

1 year Anniversary Dinner

2008-09-16T07:36:00.004-04:00

Our 1st Anniversary Dinner

A family picture

2008-09-16T07:28:00.002-04:00

Mae Ellen, Michael, Oliver and John Michael on the way

28/29 weeks

2008-09-12T12:15:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I'm a bit confused exactly how far along I am now.

When the doctor moved my due date from December 3rd to November 26th, I updated the calendars on the baby websites I visit which now tell me that I am in week #29.
However, at my most recent doctor's appointment (last week), they told me I was in week #27, so this would be week #28.

Whatever the case, my belly is quite large now, and I can't imagine that I have another 11-12 weeks of growth to go. Depending upon which week count you go with, the baby is the size of either a Chinese cabbage or a butternut squash and weighs somewhere close to 2 1/2 pounds.

Also, some good news, I had my glucose and anemia tests last week and got the results back this week, and all is normal, which is one less thing to worry about.

The baby belly at 6 months (27 weeks)

2008-08-27T08:40:00.012-04:00

Here are a few shots of Mae Ellen at 27 weeks.

Starting the baby's room...

2008-08-25T08:34:00.011-04:00

As you can see, this room is slowly transforming into the baby's room. Mae Ellen bought some nice wood frames for the animal pictures that we bought at the Park Ave Festival in Rochester. (If you look at the photo section you'll see the pictures from our Family Picnic in Rochester from earlier this month).

The paint has also been picked out. It's a light green which should go well with the Jungle-themed room .

Cedar toy chest

2008-08-25T08:26:00.014-04:00

This has been my weekend project for the past month. It is almost done, it needs a top, hardware and stain. The legs will be trimmed to about 2". This is made from poplar wood and has a cedar bottom. There are no nails or screws, just joints and glue.

Glider Rocker

2008-08-20T18:01:00.002-04:00

And here is the glider rocker!

Bedding

2008-08-20T18:00:00.003-04:00

Here is the bedding at the store.

The crib.

2008-08-20T17:59:00.004-04:00

This is the actual crib in the store.