Kyle and Krista Family Blog

Remembering Andrew

2012-01-10T22:27:00.010-05:00

One year ago today I gave birth to our son Andrew, who had passed away after just 19 weeks in the womb. The past few days I have been reflecting over all that has happened this past year. I wanted to share Andrew’s story and how he has changed my life. We have wanted a second child for as long as I can remember. When Ryne was 15 months old we got pregnant and lost that baby a few weeks later. We kept trying to get pregnant again, and after a year (and 3 rounds of fertility treatments) we got pregnant with Andrew in the fall of 2010. We were thrilled to get pregnant again and so excited that Ryne would finally have a sibling. Everything looked great for the first 3-4 months. At 16 ½ weeks I went in for an ultrasound, and my whole world turned upside down. We found out that our baby had a condition that he would not survive, and we would lose him soon. Two weeks later he was gone. After 19 weeks of being pregnant, I had to give birth to my son that I wanted so badly to keep. The day was filled with tears, sorrow, and joy, but we felt the peace of God with us and knew that Andrew was in a better place. The prayers from our family, friends, and amazing church were felt in such a powerful way that day.

A few days later we had a small memorial service with our families and our pastor Mark and his wife Sarah. I wanted to share some words that Mark said that meant so much to us:

“Today we grieve over the loss of your child:
□ whose eyes you never saw □ whose ears only knew sound from your womb, Krista □ whose lips could not speak □ whose smile you could not see
But I want you to imagine this in your minds: When Andrew opened his eyes for the first time, he saw the glory of God. When his ears heard outside of the womb for the first time, he heard angels rejoicing. When his lips opened for the first time, they sang out in praise to God. And the first person to ever see that little face smile was Jesus. His bearded face broke into a smile, His eyes brightened, and He said, “I know that face! This is Andrew Elias Hilgendorf.”

How incredible is that! When I think of heaven now, I imagine walking around holding the hand of my little boy who has only known happiness and the joy of living with Jesus. No tears, no hurt, and no sorrow! Amen!

Yesterday I went through my “Andrew Box” because I wanted to remember him. I looked at the few pictures that we have, held his blanket, and read every note, card, and email that our dear friends and family sent us. I was again overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the people that we had loving us and praying for us. Their words meant so much then and now.

I am a different person now than I was a year ago, and I am so thankful. I am closer to God now than I have ever been. In my sadness I clung to Him, His word, and His promises. I have spent so much time in prayer, in the word, and surrounding myself with Christian music. These are the things I know: I know that God loves me. I know that God has a plan for my family. I know that Andrew is in heaven and is held in Jesus’ arms. I know that God is my strength, comfort, peace, shelter, joy, and rock. There are so many Bible verses and songs that have brought me through this year; more than I can share here. I would love to share them with anyone who is interested, along with some great books that I have read.

Through all of this I have wanted to use Andrew’s story to help others. We have already had the opportunity to share our situation with several couples that are in similar situations. Helping others gives some purpose to our pain. We are still waiting to see what God has planned for our family, but I am so content now with all that I have. No matter what life brings we will continue to lean on God and each other and we are excited for the journey ahead!

~Krista

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Ryne's 3rd Birthday

2011-05-24T16:32:00.009-04:00

A few weeks ago we celebrated Ryne's 3rd birthday with a Disney Cars party. The kids made foam license plates for a craft. We had car races around our backyard with cardboard box race cars. The kids were able to do pit stops for gas and to fix their tires. Aunt Emily decorated Ryne's birthday cake (again) and it was awesome! After cake we had a Lightning McQueen pinata. After the guests left, Ryne got his big present from all of his grandparents...a Power Wheels jeep! Check out the videos and pictures below.

From Ryne's 3rd Birthday

Ryne's License Plate

From Ryne's 3rd Birthday

Kyle and I got Ryne a new bike, but he is afraid to ride it.

From Ryne's 3rd Birthday

Happy Birthday my sweet Ryne!

From Ryne's 3rd Birthday

Future Drummer?

2011-01-17T21:39:00.004-05:00

We were in the student room at our church yesterday and Ryne seemed really interested in the drum set. What do you think?

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T16:20:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas to all our wonderful friends and family! While Krista and I have received some really awful news in the past few days, we have thoroughly enjoyed spending quality time with Ryne and family. Below is a video montage of the last several days and some great pictures. Enjoy!

Santa @ the Children's Museum!

Ryne and Gma P made an awesome gingerbread train!

Ryne @ Gpa & Gma's church service, listening to the kid's message

Christmas Eve with dad!

Train table!

Buzz & Woody Christmas morning! Thanks Santa!

Tools from Gpa and Gma P! AWESOME!

Ryne's preschool Christmas program

2010-12-16T21:41:00.005-05:00

Ryne has been in a 2-year old preschool class at our church this year. He absolutely loves it and we have seen some amazing growth in him this year just by attending a few hours a week. Today the preschool put on their Christmas program. This meant that Ryne and his class got to sing a song in front of all the parents. Here is that performance. We were so proud of him today. The stellar camera work was done by Krista today in case anyone was wondering! ;)

Picture catch-up

2010-11-11T21:58:00.005-05:00

As promised, here are some pictures from this summer and fall to catch-up. If you haven't seen the post below, there is more text and videos. You can click on the slideshow if you want to see the pictures in larger quality.

We're back...at least for now

2010-11-11T20:46:00.005-05:00

Has it really been since June since we last posted? Yikes. We've been a bit busy, but no excuse for ceasing to share with all of you. Since June, we were living with Kyle's parents while our new home was being finished. Ryne started PreSchool two days a week at our church. We closed on our house in early September and it is hard to believe that it's been 2 months in our new house. It feels like home although we still have a lot of boxes in corners and decorating we'd like to get to. We're pacing ourselves.

Kyle has been traveling quite a bit lately. Since our last post he has been to San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas, Palo Alto and will be in Orlando and San Jose shortly. His job is quite busy and challenging but he is very much enjoying it. Krista is still loving being a stay at home mom and every day with Ryne is fun and challenging.

Ryne has become our little man. He is so grown up. His vocabulary is fantastic and he is 100% boy. Running everywhere and trying to throw everything. Dad is so proud! Here are some videos from the last few months. We'll get a post with fun pictures soon.

Ryne loved jumping into the lake this summer

Ryne performing some clumsy rolling in Clara's hospital room.

Ryne running through a maze over and over at a pumpkin patch

Ryne in a bounce house at Oktoberfest

Ryne loves playgrounds and it quite coordinated at the slide dismount

Everyday is a new adventure for Ryne

Ryne has fun with cousins

2010-06-25T19:42:00.004-04:00

Ryne's cousins Titus and Addison are home from Germany for the summer. He has had a blast with them and here are a few videos so far this week:

Ryne and Titus took turns playing Tee Ball. Ryne is getting pretty good at this.

Uncle Ken and Aunt Linda brought the 3 kids some really fun light toys. They had a blast playing with them in the dark basement.

As much fun as it is to color on the easel, it's even more fun to play in the "box".

Fantastic Weekend

2010-05-09T16:25:00.009-04:00

It's been quite an amazing weekend on several fronts. The weekend started Friday night when Kyle's cousin Jim came down from Chicago and the two of us went to the Pearl Jam show at Verizon. We both agreed that it was not the best Pearl Jam show we've seen, but it was very good nonetheless. It was very stormy and windy just prior to the show starting and we were afraid it might get cancelled. But the rain held off and the show was great.

Saturday was Ryne's 2nd Birthday party. Everyday leading up to his party was 75 degrees or warmer, but Saturday morning brought 50 degree temperatures and high winds. We cancelled our park reservation and held it at Kyle's parents house instead. Our house had a showing that afternoon and therefore we couldn't host it at our house. Here is a link to several pictures from his birthday, or you can see a few below. Check out the awesome cake Aunt Emily made! I've also put together a few video clips of Ryne and his tee ball set. He loves it! Thanks Dee and Greg! If you watch the video closely, he leaves all of you a present at the end!

Speaking of the house showing, we received an offer on the house in the afternoon and by Saturday night, counter offers having gone back and forth, we settled on a sale! So that is a big relief and we are really excited to have it sold. Since the tax credit ended on April 30, our realtor told us the market has gone dead silent, so we are really pumped this worked out. If all continues to go well, we'll be moved out of our house by June 18 and need to live at my parents for a couple of months while our new house is being finished. All in all, the house was only on the market for 3 weeks.

This weekend also brought some great Purdue Basketball news as both E'twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson decided to NOT enter the NBA draft. This means Purdue (barring injury) will be a fantastic team next year and should compete to be an elite team all season. All those groans you hear are coming from IU fans around the state. Sorry guys.

Finally, we're enjoying a great Mother's Day and Ryne's Birthday today. Ryne bought mommy a little figurine that she will be able to display for many years. Happy Mother's Day Krista!

Aunt Emily made an AWESOME Handy Manny cake for Ryne! Thanks Em!

Always the daredevil!

HOMERUN!

Updates

2010-05-02T15:18:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since we've last posted. Things have been really busy. A couple of weeks ago we decided to build a new house. Our current house is now on the market and our new one should be done by late September. We're still living in the same general area just a little bit further east than we are right now. We are very excited. While our house will look different from a brick and color perspective, here is an artist rendition of what the outside will look like.

Ryne is full of fun. He will turn 2 next weekend and we have a fun birthday party at the park planned for him and his little friends. We're hoping for great weather. He is 100% boy. He has learned that he enjoys jumping off of everything and throwing everything he can find. The below video montage shows him throwing a ball and some of his magnetic letters. Enjoy!

Easter

2010-04-08T22:03:00.004-04:00

We had a blast last weekend for Easter. On Saturday we took Ryne to our church for an Easter Egg hunt. He had a lot of fun. Then on Sunday we had another hunt at Grandpa and Grandmas. Below is a video from Sunday.

Mom's 60th Birthday!

2010-03-07T14:57:00.008-05:00

My mom had her 60th birthday this past week. I was lucky to get to spend most of the day with her. My mom and I took Ryne to Monkey Joe's in the morning. He had a great time playing with Grandma and Mommy, going down the slides, and bouncing! After we played the 3 of us went out to lunch. While we were at lunch, Ryne somehow texted a picture of himself to my mom's friend...4 times! His first picture text! Haha! Here are some pictures from our day:

From March 2010

Ryne giving a birthday card to Grandma.

That night my mom, dad, Kyle, and I went out to dinner to celebrate my mom's B-day. I gave my mom a scrapbook filled with pictures and letters from her family members and closest friends. Thanks to all of you who contributed to this special book! It was a great day and I feel so blessed to have such a great mom. Happy Birthday Mom!

From March 2010

Mom's Scrapbook

From March 2010

Ryne counts to 10

2010-02-20T20:08:00.002-05:00

Ryne has been counting to 10 since about Christmas...we decided we better get it on video. He's obviously quite distracted in this video, but that is classic Ryne!

Ryne's First Sledding!

2010-02-10T20:19:00.005-05:00

After the snow on Friday, we were able to take Ryne outside at Gma and Gpa H's and sled down the hill in the front yard. Ryne was his usual daredevil self and loved it thoroughly. Lots of squealing and laughing. After we came to a stop at the bottom, it was mere seconds before he started yelling "Again, Again!". Here is a video of a few of the runs and some of our favorite pictures. Thanks to Gpa for snapping the great moments!

Mom really sprayed snow in his face!

Germany Trip Highlights

2010-01-24T20:50:00.003-05:00

We realize its been quite a while since we've posted an update. It seems just like yesterday that we were getting back from Germany. Hard to imagine its been 3 weeks. I put together a slideshow of pictures and video clips from our trip. It's mostly silent except for the audio that comes through during the few clips. We had a blast visiting Greg, Danielle, Titus, and Addison and Ryne really enjoyed hanging out with his cousins for an extended period. He also did great in the traveling. We hope you enjoy the video.

2009 Christmas Letter

2009-12-08T19:00:00.016-05:00

We decided to post our Christmas Letter on our blog this year. I've put some links in the letter to take you to older posts from the year. Simply click on one of them to read more about that event. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas from the Hilgendorf’s!

Kyle-This year Kyle turned 30! His gifts included tickets to the US Senior Open in Carmel, and he finally got to go on a tour of Wrigley Field. He loved seeing the Cubs press box, clubhouse, dugout, and stepping onto the field. Kyle is still working at Eli Lilly after 8 years there and things are going pretty well. Right now Kyle is trying to heal from a broken foot that he got from playing football with the high schoolers!

Krista-I am very much enjoying being a stay-at-home mom with Ryne. I love getting to spend each day with him and seeing how he is learning and growing. I am also involved with some women’s programs at my church during the week. Kyle and I continue to work with the youth group at our church and have been able to go on a few trips with them this year.

Ryne-On to our sweet Ryne James…As I looked back over pictures and blogs from the last year, I am amazed at how much Ryne has changed. He started out the year just beginning to crawl. In June he started taking his first steps and now runs everywhere. He also has a very extensive vocabulary. Ryne LOVES his grandparents and can’t get enough of his “Papas and Mamas”. In May we celebrated Ryne’s 1st birthday with a Sesame Street party. Little did we know how much he would grow to love Elmo! In June, Ryne got to attend his first Cubs game (although it was in Cincinnati). Ryne made it until the 9th inning and stayed up until almost 10:30 that night!

Dogs-This year we unfortunately had to get rid of one of our dogs, Sammy. She was having lots of trouble getting along with our other dog Chloe. Fortunately, Sammy has been adopted by another family and we pray that she is enjoying her new home.

Family-This January we welcomed our newest niece, Penelope, into the family. She and Ryne are becoming great friends. We now have 4 nieces and nephews: Titus, Ellie, Addison, and Penny. This past August my sister and her family moved to Germany to do mission work at a school. They are dorm parents for 25 high school boys who are children of missionaries. Kyle, Ryne, and I will be going to visit them for Christmas. It will be Ryne’s 1st plane ride and should be an adventure!

We always love this time of year to receive pictures and letters in the mail from our friends that we have not seen or spoken to in quite some time. May God bless you and your families this holiday season and into 2010. We love you all.

Kyle, Krista, and Ryne

Ryne and Ellie High 5, Hug, Kiss

2009-11-27T10:49:00.001-05:00

Cousins Ryne and Ellie have been hanging out this weekend for Thanksgiving. It's been awhile since they have been together but they have become great friends. Here is a fun video snapped during some playtime.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T11:01:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends! We are so thankful for all of you. God has been incredibly good to us and our family. Last night the 3 of us took some time to build a thankful tree. We each took turns writing down what we were thankful for and tying them to the tree. Ryne didn't quite understand what was going on, but he was thankful for Papas, Mamas, and "George/Thomas/Elmo". Here are a couple of pictures.

Family Time at the ZooBoo

2009-10-31T15:35:00.002-04:00

The Indianapolis Zoo has their "ZooBoo" event every year leading up to Halloween. We went as a family and also were joined by Kyle's sister Emily and our niece Penny. Here are some pictures and a video from the day.

Kyle and Emily with Ryne and Penny

From Oct. 2009

In front of the sea lions

From Oct. 2009

Shark Petting!

From Oct. 2009

Ryne and Penny

From Oct. 2009

One of his new favorite words, "Pumpkins!"

From Oct. 2009

Giraffes

From Oct. 2009

Ryne didn't quite know what to think.

From Oct. 2009

Getting candy from one of the trick or treat stations around the zoo.

From Oct. 2009

The highlight of his day, the Hay Maze. Video follows with clips from the maze and his time on the playground.

From Oct. 2009

Trunk or Treat

2009-10-27T20:00:00.003-04:00

Sunday we went to the annual "Trunk or Treat" at our church. This involves several of the high school and junior high students decorating the trunks of their cars and handing out candy to the little kids. Here are some videos and pictures of Ryne's experience. After about 3 cars he got the hang of it and literally became a candy snatching machine.

From Oct. 2009

Getting the hang of it!

From Oct. 2009

Sharing with cousin Penny.

From Oct. 2009

At home with his stuffed Tigger.

Ryne and Jackson Piano Time

2009-10-24T08:07:00.001-04:00

Last weekend we went to Cincinnati to celebrate Jenny's 30th birthday. Their son Jackson and Ryne get along great and had a lot of fun together, especially practicing the piano!

Fall is Here!

2009-10-20T14:29:00.010-04:00

Fall is my (Krista) favorite season. We have had a chance to enjoy the weather and do some fun fall activities. Here are a few pictures of the season so far:

From Oct. 2009

Stuckey Farms with Grandma and Grandpa P.

From Oct. 2009

Ryne loves the tractors!

From Oct. 2009

First wagon ride.

From Oct. 2009

Picking pumpkins at Bales Farm.

From Oct. 2009

First hayride!

From Oct. 2009

Church friends at Bales Farm.

From Oct. 2009

Ryne, Elmo, Walmart

2009-10-04T21:45:00.001-04:00

We had to make a run to Walmart this weekend and decided to kill some time in the toy aisle before dinner. We are continuosly amazed about how obsessed Ryne is with "melmo" since we don't really watch Sesame Street much. But he does have several Elmo books.

Ryne during professional pictures

2009-09-26T12:04:00.001-04:00

Ryne and his cousins got professional pictures taken outside today. I captured this between shots while Ryne took a break. Don't worry, he was fine after his stumble.

September So Far...

2009-09-24T18:51:00.009-04:00

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks:

This is the awesome rocking horse that Krista's Uncle John made for Ryne. It even has a blond streak to match Ryne's.

From Sept.2009

This bib was made for Ryne:

From Sept.2009

Banana is his favorite word and his favorite thing. We cannot go to the grocery store without buying bananas, and he likes to hold the bananas the whole time he is in the cart.

From Sept.2009

I know Ryne is 16 months already, but we had to take his picture next to the 1 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

From Labor Day 2009

Another picture from the IMA:

From Labor Day 2009

Here are a few pictures from Labor Day at Grandpa and Grandma H's house:

From Labor Day 2009

Zoo Day

2009-09-24T15:01:00.001-04:00

Ryne and I went with my mom to the Indianapolis Zoo a few weeks ago. Ryne liked the dolphin show and loved all of the animals that he could see up close (like the ones behind glass). But, I think one of his favorite things was sharing Dip n Dots with his Mommy at the end of the day!

From August2009

Ryne loves the slide!

From August2009

He hates goats!

Ryne at the State Fair

2009-09-16T14:12:00.003-04:00

We're way behind on updates, so here come several in the next few days. Krista took Ryne to the State Fair one day a while back. Kyle is not a fan of the fair, but even he admits these pictures look quite fun.

From August2009

How does this thing work?

From August2009

Now we're moving!

From August2009

Excuse me sir, do you have any apples?

From August2009

I found an apple, but this apron is ENORMOUS!

From August2009

This is much smaller than the other tractors!

From August2009

My daddy from the "city" might not approve of this.

Life without Sammy

2009-09-16T13:54:00.002-04:00

Well unfortunately we never could find Sammy a new home. We tried several avenues over the past 6 weeks. We even tried to reintroduce Sammy and Chloe to each other at my parents house over Labor Day weekend and that did not go so well. Luckily we were able to avoid any stitches this time. So unfortunately we had to do the really tough thing of surrendering Sammy to the Hamilton County Humane Society last night. It was extremely sad especially for me (Kyle). I am man enough to admit that I was crying quite a lot.

The Hamilton County Humane Society is a great place. They are a no-kill shelter, no matter how full they get. Last night the place was packed and in just the short 20 minutes we were there I saw a couple of adoptions in progress. So hopefully a nice family without other dogs will come through and see how great Sammy really is. She's beautiful, has a great personality, and loves every person she's been around. If you know of anyone interested, please send them there and have them ask about Sammy.

Thankfully we are allowed to call periodically to see if she has been adopted or not. We are praying that it happens soon. Before we took her there last night, we took some pictures. We also tried to make her last few days in our house memorable.

From Sept.2009

Touring Wrigley Field

2009-08-12T20:48:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we went to Chicago with our friends Rob and Kristen to tour Wrigley Field. This is something that we've wanted to do for oh so long, but its difficult because tours don't happen often when the team is in town. There were still some parts of the field and stadium that Kyle wishes they would have let him see, but all in all it was very memorable. We have all the pictures in our August 2009 album to the right. Here are just a few.

From August2009

From right field bleachers - there was a HS All American game going on.

From August2009

In the press box

From August2009

The famous Wrigley organ!

From August2009

Inside the Cubs clubhouse. Wrigley is very old so the clubhouses are extremely small. Unfortunately plastic had been put up because the Iowa Cubs (AAA) were coming in town the next day to play a AAA game and they didn't want the minor league players messing with the big boys stuff. Nonetheless it was great just picturing the guys in my mind sitting around before a game and I remember the video footage of the champaign celebration last year in there when the clinched the division.

From August2009

Ryno's Hall of Fame frame in the hallway on the way down to the dugout.

From August2009

In the dugout. Much smaller than I ever imagined. Very easy to hit your head on the ceiling.

From August2009

The greatest scoreboard in sports, a view from the field.

From August2009

From the field view. Normally packed with 40,000+

From August2009

Behind home plate

From August2009

The brick backstop.

We had a great time and it was well worth the trip!

July Recap

2009-08-12T15:10:00.004-04:00

Here is a recap of our July. We have been lazy in getting pictures up, but please enjoy this slideshow recapping our month. You will see pictures from the 4th of July, swim class, our buddy Jackson's 1st birthday, lake day with church friends, The Children's Museum with cousins Ellie and Penny, Ryne mowing the lawn with Daddy, George Strait concert, Cubs game, and our last weekend in Morton saying goodbye to family! For even more pictures, check out our July and August picture links to the left.

The copycat age

2009-08-07T11:26:00.003-04:00

Ryne is hitting what we are calling the copycat age. He is starting to try and do whatever mom and dad are doing. It really keeps us on our toes to make sure we are not passing on any unhealthy habits. Here are two recent examples of something that Ryne has started copying

From July 2009

By the way, we are still looking for a home for Sammy, read the below post for more information.

The sad time has come...Sammy needs a home

2009-07-29T11:39:00.005-04:00

3+ years ago friends of ours found a beautiful dog on their front porch. She had obviously been abandoned. We were looking for a second dog at that time and this one seemed like a great fit. She was beautiful, well groomed, and well behaved. She seemed mostly house trained and she got along with our other dog Chloe.

Over the 3 years Sammy and Chloe have gotten into a few of fights. Most of them have not been too bad, but a few have been worse than others. Any time it had happened we had to keep them separated for a few days but they would eventually start acting like best friends again. A recent fight has convinced us that our two dogs are not compatible and that they both need to be in a single dog family.

It is such a sad time for us. Sammy has been such a big part of our family. She is absolutely incredible with people and even more so with our son who is now 15 months old. He climbs on her, pulls her hair, and can do anything he wants to her. And she just smiles. Sammy loves attention and will need some from a new owner. She is about 45 pounds but thinks she is a lap dog. Kyle loves laying on the floor or couch with her.

We are not exactly sure how old Sammy is but the vet estimates about 4 years old. She has a beautiful coat and we suspect she has Golden Retriever, Shepherd, and some type of smaller breed in her.

She is up to date on shots, is spayed, and has no issues outside of not being able to get along occassionally with our other dog. They are both alpha females unfortunately.

We are looking for a nice family for her. We'd recommend that the family not have any other dogs. She is easy to care for and house trained. A fence would be highly recommended as she is used to having one. Please contact us if you are interested by leaving us a comment. Attached is a slideshow of her.

Ryne playing with his Pooh lamp

2009-07-13T19:59:00.001-04:00

What a goof ball!

Videos, Videos, Videos

2009-07-06T09:57:00.002-04:00

Yes, Kyle got a new iPhone 3GS over the weekend and quickly snapped several fun videos. Here are just a few of them.

Ryne and Ellie spending time together...

Ryne in his 4th of July outfit, and answering a phone call, "hello".

Godzilla Ryne! Notice at the end how he has to knock off every last block.

Updates

2009-07-02T13:00:00.002-04:00

Ryne has really been a blast the past several weeks. We are amazed everyday about how great he is doing with walking, even to the point in which he'll start into a run at times. He is quite sneaky too. We have a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. When either mom or dad open the gate to head upstairs, we have to be careful. He'll sprint to that gate in no time just to get the opportunity to climb the stairs. He loves it and has been doing it for a couple of months now.

Ryne also loves to knock towers down that mommy builds. Here is a picture just prior to him acting like Godzilla.

He has also really started to try to repeat words that we say. He clearly tries to say Duck, Keys, Cheese, Dog, among other words. He also has just recently started using his sign language for More and All Done as well as Yes and Please.

One final picture I snapped with my phone the other day was just too cute not to display.

GO CUBS!

Children's Museum

2009-06-28T13:39:00.003-04:00

On Friday Ryne had his first trip to The Children's Museum. Grandma P, Titus, and Addison joined us for this fun day. Check out what we did!

Grandma P. playing house with the kids.

Is Ryne wearing a Snuggie?

On the carousel with Mommy.

Addison's Birthday Weekend

2009-06-28T13:23:00.002-04:00

We travelled to Morton a few weeks ago to help celebrate Addison's 1st birthday. It was a fun weekend with the cousins! Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Ryne with his Aunt Danielle

To see more great pictures from the weekend, check out the Storrs Family blog link to the right.

Ryne Begins Walking

2009-06-20T22:15:00.001-04:00

Ryne started walking this week while mom and dad were away. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma for getting him over that hurdle. Here are some videos we took today once we got back. He'll be running in 5-7 days!

And so it begins...

2009-06-16T14:32:00.003-04:00

Last weekend Ryne attended his first Cubs game ever! Yep, he's officially a Cubs fan now. Unfortunately it was not at Wrigley Field as we went to Cincinnati to watch them play the Reds. I am waiting until Ryne is older for his first Wrigley experience. Great American Ballpark is a really accomodating stadium and it worked out well for him. We were nervous the game didn't start until 7pm when he normally goes to bed at 7:30pm, but he was a champ. It wasn't until about 9pm that he started getting a little restless, and dad was able to put him in the stroller and walk around the concourse with him. He was having a blast watching all the people. The game went to extra innings where the Cubs eventually lost, but we left after 9 innings at 10pm to get him to the hotel and asleep. Here are some great pictures.

From June 2009

GO CUBS!

From June 2009

Dad giving Ryne instructions about how to cheer for the Cubs!

From June 2009

Perhaps my favorite picture.

From June 2009

Ryne in the ballpark. He really did a great job. He turned into quite a flirt also, flirting and playing peek-a-boo with the girl behind us. Ryne even clapped at several times during the game, although some of those times were when Reds fans where cheering/clapping. But hey, he's only 1-year old...clapping for any baseball is fine by me!

The next day we went with the family to the Cincinatti Zoo. Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Aunt's, Uncles, and Cousin Penny were all there with us. It was a great time and here are some of our favorite pictures.

From June 2009

Outside the Zoo with mom!

From June 2009

Ryne and Penny ready to go in!

From June 2009

Fun with Grandma

From June 2009

Krista and Emily are weird

From June 2009

Mid day nap. Sometimes we call him Ryne the Lion...he decided to nap along with the Lion in the background.

From June 2009

Train ride, he thought it was so fun.

From June 2009

Playing in the ropes in the kid's zoo

From June 2009

The goat really came out of nowhere and startled him at the petting zoo. After the initial shock, he was all giggles.

Memorial Day 2009

2009-06-13T18:49:00.002-04:00

We are going to be trying to catch up on lost time over the next few days on posts. So to get that process started, here are some photos from Memorial Day weekend....I know, almost a month ago. Here is a link to the full album and there are some videos to watch there also.

From MemorialWknd2009

Pushing cousin Ellie around in the Cozy Coupe. They had a blast taking turns.

From MemorialWknd2009

Boat Rides!

From MemorialWknd2009

Playing in the pool....Sammy had fun too apparently.

From MemorialWknd2009

Bath time with Ellie....blackmail for teen-age years!

From MemorialWknd2009

Ryne's first pool experience. He must have spent over an hour playing in the pool!

From MemorialWknd2009

A bloodline picture.

Happy First Birthday!

2009-05-10T20:05:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Ryne's first birthday on Saturday. It's hard to believe that 1 year has flown by so quickly. We couldn't be happier or more proud of our son. Here is a link to a picture album from his party and a few select pictures:

Ryne's Birthday Album

Boxes are more fun than toys

Well maybe not. Thanks Mom & Dad!

Waiting for friends to arrive!

My cake!

With two of my cousins

Do I get to eat that?

YEP! Yummy!

I am obsessed with my Cozy Coupe!

Ryne's One Year Recap Video

2009-05-10T20:03:00.005-04:00

Kyle put together a video of Ryne's first year. It's about 13 minutes in length so make sure you have time before you begin it.

Walking with assistance

2009-03-28T09:40:00.005-04:00

We grabbed this video just this morning. About 1-2 weeks ago Ryne was starting to pull himself up a few times a day. We opened up a truck of his and put it together, but he had been completely disinterested in it. That is until dad put him behind it this morning. Watch out he is on his way. I wonder how much longer until he chucks that truck aside and ventures out on his own.

This is the 3rd posting we've put up today, so make sure you scroll down for other videos and pictures.

Ryne's first words?

2009-03-28T09:35:00.004-04:00

This video is about a month old but we've got something interesting for Ryne's baby book. What do you suppose his first words were? Mommy? Daddy? Nope, try again. Ryne likes to looks at pictures on the fridge, himself in the mirror, or daddy/mommy and say, "Who's That?" Don't believe us? Watch the video. He says it even more clearly now.

Catching up in March

2009-03-28T09:14:00.004-04:00

Has it really been Valentine's Day since we last posted? Time is going by so fast. We are long overdue, so we have lot's of fun things to put here. Check out the March 2009 album on the right for all the month's pictures so far.

Yep, he's going to be a baseball fan, but more importantly a CUBS fan!

One of Ryne's favorite things is to open the tupperware cabinet and pull out all the fun stuff inside. Mommy has to clean the kitchen quite often due to tupperware all over the floor.

Ryne is such a good little Purdue fan. Here he is all decked out for the first round games. He wore Purdue gear for all 3 tourney games. Unfortunately they came up short against UCONN, a team seemingly twice their size. But that's ok, UCONN is under investigation for serious recruiting violations. We all knew it!

Krista with Ryne and our awesome niece Penny.

My First Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T22:28:00.003-05:00

Hi everybody...Ryne here. I wanted to show you all my first Valentine's Day Card. It came in the mail from my Grandpa and Grandma P. I love it and look at it all the time.

I also really love playing with doors. Open, Close, Open, Close. Is there anything better?

From February 2009

Picture Update

2009-02-02T14:49:00.002-05:00

Ryne wearing cousin Titus's coat and hat.

Ryne's "Little King" jammies. Before he was born we looked up what his name meant, and it means Little King.

Ryne meets Katie and Will Heidelman

Ryne with his cousins, Ellie and Penny

Ryne meets Abe...Kyle's Cabbage Patch Doll

Ryne and Daddy at our Super Bowl Party

Ryne's church buddies came over to watch the Super Bowl.

Ryne and Jaycie (one of his girlfriends)

Ryne and Penny

2009-01-30T08:15:00.002-05:00

Ryne got to "hold" his cousin Penny the other day. Ryne loves hanging out with his new cousin and always wants to touch and poke her. He smiles whenever he sees her. You can check out more pictures on Josh and Emily's blog (link to the right).

Ryne's First Snow Day!

2009-01-29T21:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we had over 12 inches of snow so I (Kyle) worked from home. We thought it would be a good opportunity to expose Ryne to snow for the first time. It had been a boring, cold winter with practically no snow, so we had a fun time and Ryne really enjoyed just looking out the patio door at all the crazy white stuff. Here are some fun pictures. More can be seen in the January web album.

From January 2009

Serious Crawling at 8 months

2009-01-16T20:17:00.004-05:00

In just the past few days Ryne has graduated from his "head crawling" to a very solid crawl. No longer can we turn our back on him for even a second. We are very surprised at how quickly he gets across the room now. If you listen closely you can hear him taunting his female cousins to try to keep up with him! Good luck with that Ellie, Addison, and Penny!

Head Crawling

2009-01-10T11:33:00.004-05:00

Life won't be the same from here on out. Ryne has started "head crawling" as of a few weeks ago. We took these videos around New Years and are just now getting to posting them. He does think his head is a 3rd arm right now, but I am sure it is only a matter of time before he is across the room in a couple of seconds.

Penelope Grace

2009-01-05T19:43:00.002-05:00

We have a new niece born today. Her name is Penelope Grace. You can view a few pictures from our web album to the right or wait for Dad to post 1000 pictures later.

New York City

2008-12-22T14:27:00.002-05:00

Krista and I took a little trip to NYC last week. We had a great time and it was a well needed vacation. Here are some pics from the trip. You can click on the sublinks of any of the pictures to view the entire album.

New York Stock Exchange at Night
From NYC-2008

Central Park (we walked it all, North to South!)
From NYC-2008

Top of the Rock
From NYC-2008

Rockefeller Center, yes we Ice Skated
From NYC-2008

Krista's favorite Hershey Bar
From NYC-2008

Macy's Herald Square - the largest store IMAGINABLE!
From NYC-2008

Fun Ornaments across from Radio City Music Hall
From NYC-2008

Christmas Spectacular!
From NYC-2008

The Today Show....we got 10 sec of air time
From NYC-2008

David Letterman! We were seated in the front row for Wednesday's taping with
Jennifer Aniston and got 1 sec of air time!
From NYC-2008

Picture Updates

2008-12-21T21:14:00.002-05:00

We haven't posted a blog in awhile, so here are just a few pictures from the past month. Stay tuned for pictures from our trip to NYC, Christmas pictures, and hopefully a video of Ryne attempting to crawl (or inch forward)...

Dad's 60th Birthday

Our Christmas Card picture...

With Cousin Ellie

Wanted for Christmas: New Carpet

2008-11-26T16:46:00.003-05:00

So Ryne's favorite thing to do is spend time is his walker that goes around and around. Up until just yesterday he mostly stood still with the exception of a few very small movements. But all of a sudden yesterday, he just started busting into a full-out walk. And he was so proud of himself. Now Mom and Dad just have to be careful that he doesn't wear out the carpet!

Playful at 6 months old

2008-11-26T16:32:00.003-05:00

Ryne was extremely playful after his bath a few nights ago. Luckily the video camera was charged up and ready to record. He is at such a fun age!

The Future Happy Couple?

2008-11-24T22:40:00.004-05:00

We had friends over for dinner on Friday night and were able to capture some great pictures of Sarah and Ryne. Who knows, perhaps we'll be snapping similar pictures like this in 16 years for prom? Sarah is a little aggressive as you will see. Check them all out in our November Album to the right.

Mirrors and Sinks

2008-11-22T09:34:00.002-05:00

The little guy is getting to be so big! One of his favorite things to do is look at himself in the mirror. I can't really blame him with as cute as he is.

Ryne's Dedication at Church

2008-11-06T12:41:00.005-05:00

On Sunday Ryne had his baby dedication at church. We were blessed to have so many family members there to help us celebrate the event. After church we went back to our house for lunch. It was a fun day!

All of the excitement made Ryne sleepy.

Grandma and Grandpa H. gave Ryne this special blanket.

What a cutie!

Halloween and Trunk-or-Treat

2008-11-05T15:31:00.003-05:00

On the Sunday before Halloween we went to the Trunk-or-Treat at our church. It was pretty cold but Ryne was able to snuggle up with some of his favorite babysitters at church.

On Halloween we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's house. Danielle, Titus, and Addison were there too. The kids went trick-or-treating to about 5 houses.

I Love This Picture...

2008-11-05T15:29:00.002-05:00

Stuckey Farm

2008-10-23T10:54:00.003-04:00

Ryne, my mom, and I went to Stuckey Farm yesterday. We got some apples to make apple pies. Ryne got his first little pumpkin to take home. We decided to take some pictures before we left. Here are just a few...

Ryne and Grandma

Ryne blowing "raspberries".

Weekend in Elmhurst

2008-10-08T14:33:00.002-04:00

My mom, sister (and Addison), Ryne, and I went up to Elmhurst this past weekend to go shopping for my sister's birthday (Happy Birthday Dee!), and to celebrate my friend Susan's baby shower. Susan is having a twin boy and girl very soon and we are so excited for her and her wonderful family. The shower was at Susan's gorgeous new house. We also got to spend time with my friend Jenny and her son Jackson. Here are a few pictures from the shower including pictures of Ryne and Jackson in their matching outfits!

Krista, Susan, and Jenny

Grandma, Danielle, Ryne, and Addison

We love the matching outfits!

My precious niece Addison!

Cowboy Ryne

2008-10-06T10:51:00.002-04:00

I went shopping with my mom and sister this past weekend and bought Ryne his first cowboy hat! When we got back to the hotel we did a little photo shoot. Check out my sweet boy...

Maybe Next Year

2008-10-05T14:17:00.002-04:00

Ryne's face says it all...

Fall Fun

2008-09-28T20:40:00.004-04:00

This weekend we decided to have some "Fall Fun" and go to Tuttle Orchards. We had lunch there and took some fun pictures. We picked apples and bought some fun items at their country store.

The day was cut a little short, because Ryne did not react well to the sunscreen that I put on him. His face started to break out and he got pretty cranky (poor guy!). We also almost lost his little silky blanket (which I was super sad about), but Kyle was our hero of the day and found it in the orchard.

All in all it wasn't our best fall trip, but we got some fun pictures. We are excited to take Ryne there next year when he is a big boy and can help pick out his own pumpkin and apples!

When two great things come together

2008-09-19T10:10:00.006-04:00

Pearl Jam and the Chicago Cubs...what a beautiful thing when two of my favorite things come together.

This was apparently sung at the Vic Theatre. Eddie Vedder is a known long term Cubs fan, and this is just marvelous!

Go Cubs Go....and now All The Way!

Ryne's New Moves

2008-09-17T15:03:00.008-04:00

Ryne can now officially roll from his back to his front, and from his front to his back. He has done the full roll twice now and ended up half way across the room. Now that he is more mobile he has some new interesting sleeping positions...

I also thought that these pictures were cute...he looks so tiny in that big chair!

Cubs Fans

2008-09-11T16:30:00.004-04:00

ESPN.com is currently running a front page headline story on Cubs fans. Here is a link to a nice video in the article:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cubs100

There are hundreds of user discussion comments regarding the video and story. The thread at one point was criticizing the parents who named their son Wrigley Fields. In response to that was the following comment by user vweaver69. I couldn't have said it any better:

Beautiful piece. My youngest son is named Ryne. It doesn't matter that 95% of everyone we introduce him to calls him Ryan... those who are Cubs fans...they get it. There's no one we've met who knows who Sandberg is, that thinks we're crazy for naming our son Ryne. I'm sure it's the same for Wrigley's parents. Maybe every Cub's fan wouldn't name their kid Wrigley, but they get it. They're not crazy. We're not crazy. We're Cubs fans.

It is such a great comment regarding Sandberg that ESPN.com has it currently on the front page as the featured quote. I am not sure how much longer it will be the featured comment so here is a screenshot:

GO CUBS GO!

Recent Video Clips

2008-09-06T10:32:00.006-04:00

Ryne just started rolling over on his own this week. Mom and Dad aren't sure we're ready for this, but here is a montage of clips over the past 4-6 weeks, ending with a recent rollover.

Labor Day Pictures

2008-09-06T08:56:00.004-04:00

We had a blast on Labor Day weekend, celebrating Saturday at Kyle's parents house with Grandpa and Grandma and uncle Brian and Aunt Cathie. The little cousins had a photo shoot as you'll see from some of the pictures below and Ryne also got his first ever boat ride!

On Sunday, we spent the day with Krista's parents. It was a lot of relaxing and a chance for Mom and Dad Peterson to spend some great time with their grandson.

Catching Up

2008-09-01T08:54:00.003-04:00

Well it's been a few weeks since we've posted anything new here, but meeting Ryne Sandberg was such a fun event, we wanted to leave those pictures at the top of the blog for as long as possible. Since that fun weekend however, we've been having a lot of fun. Last weekend we celebrated Grandpa and Grandma's 60th Wedding Anniversary! Congratulations go to them for such faithfulness and for raising an amazing family, which of course now includes their Great Grandchildren. Here are a couple of fun pictures:

Then mommy had fun one day taking pictures of Ryne playing on his blanket.

Stay tuned for Labor Day weekend pictures shortly!

Ryne meets Ryne!

2008-08-15T23:10:00.003-04:00

We took Ryne over to Peoria this weekend to visit Uncle Greg and Aunt Danielle along with cousin Titus and Addison. There was however an ulterior motive for the trip. We wanted to take Ryne to meet the man we named him after, Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg is the coach of the Peoria Chiefs, Single A affiliate of the Cubs. Here are some great pictures from the evening. We got some good video we hope to share too and a personalized picture autograph for Ryne to enjoy as he grows up. We arrived as early as you can, and there was a line ahead of us. We were fortunate enough to be one of the last people to get to him before the game started.

Yeah, I'm cute

2008-08-13T11:33:00.000-04:00

Jim and Kate's Wedding in Chicago

2008-08-03T19:27:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we all made the trek up to Chicago for Kyle's cousin Jim's wedding. Kyle was honored to be the best man in the wedding, but as you will see from some of these pictures, little Ryne tried to steal the show again. He is such a cute kid!

The happy family on the rehearsal dinner boat cruise.

Aunt Emily with her favorite nephew!

Mom and Ryne hanging out before the
ceremony. Mom's a hottie!

Close friends Kristen (and Rob in background).
Getting to meet Ryne for the first time.
Rob...you're in trouble!

Sharp looking family.

Ryne in Cincinatti and Chicago

2008-07-28T14:24:00.002-04:00

Ryne has become quite the little traveller lately. Last week we went to Cincinatti to meet Jackson Graves, the new son of our friends Jenny and David. The boys didn't interact a whole lot, but we know that they will be good friends when they get a little older!

From Ryne-July

This past weekend we went to Chicago for Kyle's cousin Jim's wedding. We had a great time being with the family. Here are just a few pictures from the weekend...there will be more to come soon!

Oxy Moron?

2008-07-13T22:41:00.002-04:00

How can a Zambrano jersey be this small? Needless to say, we had to buy one for little Ryne!

Ryne Slept Through the Night

2008-07-08T10:53:00.001-04:00

Went to bed around 11pm...Krista had to wake him up around 6:30am! Hallelujah!

July 4 Weekend

2008-07-07T19:37:00.003-04:00

Ryne experienced his first Independence Day weekend. Even though the weather was not ideal, we captured many memorable moments with family. Here are just a few. For all the pictures, check out our July album to the right for more pictures.

Cousins Ryne and Ellison hanging out

Kyle and nephew Titus driving the pontoon with proud grandpa in the background.

Ryne with cousins Titus and Addison (only Addison was cooperating)

The happy family spending some time at the pool

Mom and Ryne taking their first trip to the big kids pool!

Another Cousin for Ryne!

2008-07-01T12:32:00.003-04:00

This past week saw the birth of yet another cousin for Ryne. Addison is the newest member of our extended family. She was born on June 26th. Here are some fun pictures from the weekend when Ryne got to meet her and hang out with Uncle Greg and Aunt Danielle and older cousin Titus some more.

Fun times with family members

2008-06-25T22:11:00.002-04:00

We've been able to take some great pictures with family members the last few days. First Grandma Hilgendorf got an awesome smile out of the little guy. Then Great Grandpa and Grandma Riggs came over to spend some time with Ryne and he simply adored looking at and listening to both of them...especially Great Grandpa...maybe its because they share a common name?

Is this the year?

2008-06-23T11:16:00.001-04:00

If you didn't catch the ESPN coverage of this last night...its too hard to ignore! Is this a sign? Ryne seems to have brought some good luck to the Cubs this year...and now God is smiling on Wrigley too!

GO CUBS GO!

Celebrating our First Father's Day!

2008-06-18T12:35:00.006-04:00

We got to start out our Father's Day with taking Ryne to church for the first time on a Sunday morning. Somehow we all got up and made it to church in time for the first service at 8:00.

Thanks to cousin Titus for the cute outfit that Ryne got to wear that day.

The rest of the day Kyle and Ryne got to spend together watching the Cubs game and the US Open. Ryne's new favorite place to rest is next to Daddy. Ryne thinks that he has the best Daddy in the world!

Father's Day Weekend Pictures

2008-06-17T09:12:00.003-04:00

We had a great father's day weekend as Great Grandpa and Grandma Hilgendorf came into town with Uncle Brian and Aunt Cathie. It was the first time they had met Ellison. Uncle Brian and Dad got some great pictures and I've posted some of the best here. More of them can be found in our June album to the right or at this link below:

Father's Day Album

Such a great smile!

Hanging with Aunt Abbie!

1 month doctor update

2008-06-13T10:54:00.003-04:00

Ryne went to the doctor yesterday for his 1-month checkup. He is 100% healthy and has the following characteristics:

Weight: 10 lbs, 3 oz
Length: 22 5/8 inches

Pictures with Grandpa and Grandma Peterson

2008-06-10T21:02:00.002-04:00

Such proud grandparents!

Hanging out at Grandpa and Grandma's!

Ryne shares a birthday with...

2008-06-10T15:17:00.002-04:00

According to BaseballReference.com, Ryne shares a birthday of May 9th with 3 very note worthy baseball players. One hall of famer and 2 current All Stars.

Tony Gwynn
Brandon Webb
Prince Fielder

Perhaps Ryne will be a 300 lb HR hitter (Fielder) have a career batting average of .338 and challenge for a .400 season (Gwynn), and have one of the nastiest sinker balls in the game (Webb). Sounds like a great retirement plan for dad!

Picture Albums Redesigned

2008-06-10T15:09:00.002-04:00

It's been a little hard dumping all the pictures into one web album and it was getting really big. Therefore I am attempting to have one album per month as Ryne grows up. I'll keep the links up to date on the right side of this blog. As of today, I broke the May pictures into Hospital Pictures and then the remaining May pictures. The June album will have the most recent pictures.

We hope you are enjoying keeping up with this. We love our little guy. He is so precious.

Catching up on Pics

2008-06-09T13:41:00.003-04:00

All of these pics are in the photo album to the right, but figured I would take a few minutes and log them here.

Play time!

Wild Hair!

Momma all dressed up with Ryne!

With new cousin Ellison, look how much bigger he is!

Bath Time

2008-06-02T11:10:00.003-04:00

Ryne has really been enjoying his baths lately so I figured I would post a couple of fun pictures here.

Ryne has a new cousin!

2008-05-28T22:01:00.003-04:00

Ryne is the proud new cousin of Ellison Rose Hilgendorf (aka Ellie). He couldn't be more excited to have this new addition to our extended family! She was even bigger than Ryne at 9lbs, 3oz and 21.75 inches long!

Four Generations of Hilgendorf Men

2008-05-27T08:28:00.004-04:00

I thought these pictures deserved their own post. It's not too often that a family is able to capture a photo with 4 generations of men or women. We are lucky enough to have the health and blessing to take the picture below. Great Grandpa Hilgendorf with his son, grandson, and great grandson. What a joy!

Catching up!

2008-05-27T08:13:00.002-04:00

I can't believe how fast time flies. It's been over a week since our last post and with as quickly as young Ryne is growing, that's an eternity. So here is my best attempt at dumping as many updates as I can in one posting.

First, Ryne had his second pediatrician visit last Wednesday to make sure his weight was gaining back. It was as he had exceeded his birth weight and came in at 8lbs, 14ozs. That has almost been a week ago already so I wouldn't be surprised if he has just passed 9lbs.

Wide awake and loving life!

Getting some tummy time.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend with the extended Hilgendorf Family. Great Grandpa and Grandma came to town along with all of Ryne's great uncles, aunts, and cousins. Ryne definitely was spoiled as he always had someone that wanted to hold him. Here are just a few pictures from the weekend. Make sure you check out the photo album for all of them.

Meeting Great Grandpa and Grandma Hilgendorf
for the first time!

Asleep with Uncle Joel in the middle of a busy day

Great Grandma with her son, grandson, and
great grandson!

Grandpa Time

2008-05-18T21:17:00.001-04:00

First Outdoor Walk!

2008-05-18T21:14:00.001-04:00

We took Ryne for his first walk this weekend. He slept the entire way, but we enjoyed it!

Great Grandma Loves Me, Daddy is my bud, and Mommy is Nuts about me!

2008-05-16T11:44:00.004-04:00

Great Grandma brought over her handmade quilt for Ryne the other day and its so awesome we have to show it off here along with a couple of other great pictures.

Daddy is my buddy!

Mommy is NUTS ABOUT ME!

Better Nights and First Bath

2008-05-14T16:45:00.002-04:00

Well the last two nights have been much better. Both mom and dad are more adjusted to what caring for a new born takes, and Ryne seems to be more comfortable in his room, crib, and surroundings. We have also started settling into a nice routine. The last two days he likes to be awake from about 9pm-11pm. That gives us the chance to sleep until about 2am and then again until 5 or 6am. It's probably easier on dad than it is on mom due to the nursing time commitment, but both of us are just so thrilled to have this awesome guy as our son. The web album has been updated but here are a couple of new pictures.

Grandma Hilgendorf burping Ryne after a good feeding. Also a good shot of his blonde higlights.

Ryne's first bath time!

Online Nursery Picture

2008-05-14T11:46:00.002-04:00

Click the link below to view Ryne's online nursery picture from the hospital:

http://www.cradlememories.com/nursery_announce.php?orderid=76317663

Heading Home and First Night

2008-05-12T11:25:00.002-04:00

Well our little guy is completely healthy and we were able to head home after our mandatory 48 hour stay in the hospital. This is one of my favorite pictures so far as we put him into his car seat to take him home. He looks ready to take on the world...or maybe just mom and dad.

Our first night was a little rough. Ryne seems to have his days and nights mixed up and he was very unwilling to sleep last night. It might have been a combination of that and getting used to his new crib. He finally fell asleep around 4am and didn't feed again until about 7am and then was asleep again until 10:30am. He is once again sleeping, so we are trying to find creative ways to keep him up during the day so that we don't have the midnight - 4am fun that we had on the first night. Admist all the relestness last night, I was able to grab this priceless picture.

We've updated the web album slideshow, so feel free to check it out.

Welcome to the world!

2008-05-09T21:29:00.010-04:00

We are so blessed to have our new little guy in our lives. Here are just a couple of pictures for our friends and family to see. We can't wait for you to meet him! Krista and Ryne are doing great as is proud dad! He is very big and very healthy.

Click on the slideshow to the right to see all the pictures or click here.