Willem went swimming

Willem went swimming for the first time yesterday! We weren't sure how he would react to the water since he's just starting to take baths with any amount of water in them, but he was okay with it. The water was a little chilly but he didn't seem to mind. He hung out in the pool for a good hour. At first he hung out with Mom and Dad and observed his older friends playing nearby. After awhile, that grew old and he decided to take a nap in the calming waters. All and all, it was a great afternoon! We will definitely go swimming again soon.

Check out the video on You Tube:

Willem Laughed!!

Willem has been interacting more and more and he is getting stronger each day.

He loves to smile and coo at us. He seems to have a lot of stories to tell! (check out this video we took earlier this week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIN37BOX8bs)

We think he had a growth spurt this week as he has been eating a lot and I swear his head and stomach grew quite a bit from yesterday to today.

Then on Thursday he laughed for the 1st time. We have worked quite hard for the past few days to crack him up but to no avail. So far he is holding back his laugh.

The One With The First Laugh

We witnessed Willem's first laugh today. It was in the morning which is usually his most cheerful and active time. Willem was cooing with Sarah and suddenly laughed. It was only once, but was quite entertaining. He has been trying to laugh for the last few days and his practice finally paid off.

Christina Visits Iowa

This weekend in review via pictures (from top to bottom): Christina visited this weekend and met Willem for the 1st time, Jason introduced Willem to video game playing (again with the multi-tasking), and we went to dinner at Verde in Iowa City (Willem slept most of dinner but did hang out with us for awhile)

Flood of 2008

For the past 2 weeks Cedar Rapids, Coralville and Iowa City have been hit hard by flooding. On June 11th my office in downtown Cedar Rapids was evacuated, but we didn't think the water would actually get that high. The next day we saw that the water was taking over the town. Downtown businsses have still not reopened. The city is working hard to repair damage to city infrastructure and clean up the area. It's truly amazing how organized the city government has been throughout this situation. This past weekend (10 days or so into the flooding), we went down to Iowa City to see what the town looked like. The school campus looked very good to the point that it was hard to tell at times where the water had been. What is still taking a hit is the city part as well as some of the roads along the river that are lined with student housing. Captions (From top to bottom): First two pictures are of Dubuque Street which is one of two main roads into Iowa City from the 80, A view of the city park, a view of the Iowa River by the old power plant

Willem's 9th week

This was our first week home together as a family since Willem was born and we quickly fell into our family routine as though this is the way life had always been in our house. It was perfect timing to get home because Willem is starting to really engage with his toys and books. He especially loves his Jungle Playmat. He lays there throughout the day talking to Wes the White Tiger and Toucan Charlie. He bats at the Tiger and sets off the music which he loves. As you can see in the pictures, he's now able to lift his shoulders off the ground during Tummy time. He can also scoot and slither around on the ground so he ends up in the funniest positions. He also took a bath in the tub and seemed to really enjoy it. He especially loved the plate on the wall. (He pretty much enjoys anything that's on the right side of his body as his head doesn't turn to the left much.

Check out the latest videos of Willem on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RclbNf5Y-AA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO0dthYBOdc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s9SNTp8EcU

The Baby Bjorn Finally Arrived!

(Pictures from the week of June 16th)

After months of intense ebay bidding, Jason finally won the Baby Bjorn Synergy. He and Willem quickly made good use of the carrier and Willem has a whole new viewpoint of the world. Plus it helps Jason get more game playing time in while hanging with Willem. Who knew Jason could be such a multitasker?

Willem is 2 Months Old!!

This week Willem turned two months old! He is more alert than ever. He loves laying on his playmat and staring at the fan and the toys above him. He's also cooing a lot and smiling up a storm.

I went to work for a few days this week so Jason and Willem had lots of bonding time. Jason is making sure Willem is schooled on European futbol and Lakers basketball. They did a lot of bonding over sports while I was out.

Willem had his 2 month check up yesterday and is up to 11 lbs 5 oz and he's 24.5 inches long. He did well as he only got one vaccine yesterday and it was adminstered orally. (He'll get his first shot next week which we aren't looking forward to)

We got home from our whirlwind adventure this past Monday and have been settling into our new routine. It's been relatively quiet at the house but outside there has been a lot of activity--storms and flooding throughout Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. We are blessed as our home is not affected. My office in Cedar Rapids was evacuated on Wednesday and the 1st floor of the building is taking on water. They are hoping people will be able to start going back to work in a week or so but from the footage on TV it looks like a pretty dire situation down there.

The Beginning...

Our good friend, Angie Nesper, inspired us to start this blog. We realized that time is flying by--Willem is already 8 weeks old-- and we wanted a way to record everything from the mundane everyday moments to our family milestones. This seemed like the perfect forum! We hope it provides some entertainment and a way to see what's going on in our world even when we can't be geographically close.

Jason, Sarah and Willem

The beginning

I have wanted to write a blog for a long time. Finally, seeing Angie's blog has motivated me start. We have wanted to record our experiences with Willem and hopefully this blog will help.

Willem has been becoming more alert everyday. He follows us with his eyes and is starting to coo. Willem's arms are flailing about since he can't control them yet. That is hilarious to watch.

Today I edited some video I had taken of Willem's early days. They are too big to email to family which is disappointing. I'm looking for a solution to that currently.