Santa Fail

Scarlett went to see Santa a few weekends ago (it was the same day Max and I came home from the hospital, so we stayed behind). Despite reports from those that took her that Santa sent Scarlett into a spiral of terror (and I would note that Santa doesn't look exactly thrilled himself), Scarlett announced upon her return home that Santa was fun and told her "ho, ho, ho" and has been talking about him daily. We'll see Santa again this weekend at the neighborhood tree lighting, so we'll see if things go better next time.

Thankful

This Thanksgiving Chris and I are so thankful for the birth of little brother Max and the good health of big sister Scarlett.

Max is thankful for warm snuggles and being too little to be embarrassed that his Mom dressed him as a turkey.





Scarlett is thankful for cupcakes and friends who are willing to share.

Fun Max Facts

Some interesting facts about Max and his birth:

1. Max was born on a Thursday following a delicious Wednesday night pork chop dinner prepared by Chris. Coincidentally, the same thing happened with Scarlett -- I had her on a Thursday after I went into labor on a Wednesday night following Chris's pork chop dinner. Conclusion: Chris's pork chops have magical powers. Or my babies like to be born on Thursdays. Or my babies like pork chops. Or something like that.

2. After several very difficult hours of labor early Thursday morning, they tried to send me home because I wasn't progressing quickly, the Labor & Delivery rooms were full, and there were a number of scheduled c-sections and inductions that day and they needed more room. Thankfully they let me stay, because when Max was ready to arrive, he came really fast. Dana (who works at Medical City) saw my doctor running from his building toward the Labor & Delivery building at 12:08 p.m. and Max was born at 12:14 p.m. just moments after Dr. Ruk raced into the room.

3. Scarlett outweighed Max at birth by 10 ounces, but Max was 3/4 of an inch taller than Scarlett was when she was born.

4. Max has a full head of dark hair, much more than Scarlett did at birth. Hers was also dark but turned blond by around three months, so it will be interesting to see if Max's hair gets lighter or stays dark.

5. Max has dark blue eyes, just like Scarlett did when she was born. Her eyes have turned lighter blue with time, and my guess is that Max's will as well.

6. Today is Max's due date -- 11/22/11. He was born five days before his due date. By comparison, Scarlett was born two days before her due date.

7. Max was born on Mimi and Papa Tig's 27th wedding anniversary.

8. Max's middle name -- William -- is in honor of his grandfathers and one of his great-grandfathers, William John Schwegmann ("Grandpa", aka"Paw"), William Telford Barnhouse III ("Papa Tig", aka "Pie"), and William Telford Barnhouse II ("Pockets").

9. The name Maxwell doesn't come from anywhere in particular, we just like it. We also like that it ends with a double "L", Scarlett ends with a double "T", and of course Schwegmann ends in a double "N."

Here are some photos of Max meeting his loving grandparents for the first time.

"Happy Anniversary, Mimi and Papa Tig!"



"Hi there, Paw!"



"Howdy, BB!"



"So happy to meet you, Grandma!"

Welcome, Max!

Chris, Scarlett, and I are thrilled to announce the arrival of Maxwell William Schwegmann, who made his grand entrance on November 17, 2011 at 12:14 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Scarlett has been fantastic with him. She calls him "baby brother Max" and loves to kiss and hug him and pat him on the head. I'll share more about Max's birth and first few days of life later, but in the meantime, here are some photos of the newest member of our family.

Our precious boy.



Scarlett can't get enough of her baby brother.



Our first photo as a family of four (with Scarlett too busy inspecting Max's feet to pose for the camera)!

Fall Photo Shoot

The weekend after Scarlett came home from Our Children's House, we had a mini fall photo session where we got some fun pictures to document our last few weeks as a family of three. Enjoy!

Fall Adventures

Given Scarlett's hospitalization and recovery, we lost quite a bit of fall and had some catching up to do. A trip to a neighborhood fall carnival with Mimi and Papa Tig and a visit to the zoo with BB were just what the doctor ordered!

Hanging out at the Kessler Park fall carnival with Mimi and Papa Tig.



Our little pumpkin among the pumpkins.



Saying hi to the bear, who apparently sells State Farm insurance.



BB and Scarlett posing with a giant pumpkin and kitty cat.



Posing with the regular-sized pumpkins.



"Hello there, giraffe." "Why hello, Scarlett."



Checking out the penguins.



Scarlett's favorite at the zoo was the "cheeee-tah", but he was elusive and we couldn't get a good photo. She still talks about him, and since we saw him through a glass pane, she looks for him through the windows at our house. If we looked outside and actually saw a cheetah in our yard, I think Scarlett would be the only one who wasn't surprised. I'm happy to stick with squirrel sightings.

The "Buzz" on Halloween

Scarlett was a bee for Halloween. Here's a shot of our "bee-utiful" little girl.



The whole family got in on the bee-themed action. I was the queen bee, Chris was a bee keeper, and even poor mistreated Winnie was a bee, too. (Is it embarrassing to admit that Winnie actually already owned a bee costume? It is? Forget I just said that.) Here's the whole hive (with one bee trying to escape and another looking the other direction in shame).



The queen bee and her little bees.



Stopping to smell the flowers, as any respectable bee would do.



The bee is not amused. No more pictures -- let's go trick or treating already!