Random Pictures

I've been told I'm not updating the blog enough, so here are some random pictures.....

This is our one month picture - we had to take a picture in the same outfit we wore coming home from the hospital - we fit it quite a bit better now!

Mommy was having a little fun - this is one of our Christmas pictures.....


Mom & Dad were working on Tyler's room setting up his changing table, so we gave him something to do - this is a toy we got from my boss Kendra (thanks Kendra!) and we thought we'd see if he likes it - he LOVED the music and colors. And yes, we've since taken it out of the box!

Does anyone remember the movie ET? Look familiar? Daddy thought we needed to play with ALL of our stuffed animals!

Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving for us was spent at Uncle Kyle's new house in West Des Moines with Andrew's family. Kyle was excited to to show of his place and turkey cooking ability, the Perkins were excited to FINALLY meet Tyler, and Andrew & Allison were excited that their first holiday w/ Tyler didn't involve packing and driving!

We decided to stay near home for the entire weekend. Friday Andrew worked a half day and we hung out at the house, Saturday we decided to head to Ames to finally celebrate our birthdays. We went out to a nice restaurant and to an ISU volleyball game. Sunday was our annual trip to get a Christmas tree. This year Andrew picked it out and cut it alone because it was pretty cold and windy out, and we met him at the barn to check it out and get one quick picture. We'll post pictures soon of the decorated tree!

Mom, Tyler, and Dad wanted to get a family picture, but we had to get at least one with the Turkey hat the Perkin's got for us!

Cousin Belle, Aunt Inky & Tyler, and Cousin Mason. I don't think these three put Tyler down for more than a few minutes. I don't think Uncle Matt or Grandpa John even got to hold him!


Mom & Tyler at the ISU volleyball game.



Mom, Tyler, and Dad at the tree farm. Yes, Tyler is in there somewhere!

A Look Back...

I thought I'd take a minute to go back and post a few pictures from our stay in the NICU. Just keep in mind that the pictures make it look worse that it actually was! We were in the NICU about mid-day November 3rd until we went home November 9th....

This is our first bed when we got to the NICU. The headband is just to keep him calm because he was getting himself worked up and pulling his oxygen out. They only had him on oxygen a day or so. Unfortunately, mom and dad weren't able to do more than touch him like I'm doing here. :(

This is a look of how good he is at holding in his own pacificer! He's mostly just hooked up to monitors hrere, but does have an IV in his right arm and a feeding tube. He was just TOO tired to eat early on.

Because he had jaundice, he had to be put on a lighted bed. This is him with his first set of shades. He actually didn't seem to mind being all unclothed and in the lights - but he didn't like the IV that you see in his head. :(

This is his second set of shades - it's almost like he's posing! Maybe he's just happy that the IV is gone!

This is his last bed before we went home. All he has at this point is monitors. The nurses made him a name tag, and at this point you can almost see under the blankets that he got to wear real clothes!

First Week Home

Since I've been bad a putting out pictures, I'm going to try to post a few each day - even some from the hospital stay b/c they were just too cute! But first - our first week home was spent getting organized with the help of some wonderful Grandparents!

Grandma Denise came Wednesday and stayed until Saturday evening. She helped me get everything in the house organized and answered all those first-time questions. We don't know how we would have done it with out you Grandma! Thank you!!!

Grandma Julie & Grandpa John came up Thursday day to visit because they just couldn't wait to hold him! Mom & Dad tend to forget that no one was able to hold him but them in the NICU!

Grandpa John has the touch!

So does Grandma Julie!

Tyler and Mom had to head out to the doctor on their first day home for a visit and blood test. We ended up going back both Wednesday & Thursday to check on some things (all is ok!) and we couldn't resist - this is this position we found him in while being checked out by the dr. - the right is him, and the left is his reflection in the mirror!

We're HOME!!!

Tyler got to come home Monday evening! Both Daddy & Mommy considered this all the birthday gift they needed!! Now that we're home we'll try to post a few pictures of what the little guy REALLY looks like w/o all the monitors, tubes, etc. :)

Tyler in his car seat, ready to get on the road!

Mom, Tyler, & Dad get one last picture in the NICU room before heading home!

Tyler's wiped out after a long day! Daddy's a good comfort on his first night at home.

Finally Pictures

Just wanted to FINALLY put some pictures online! Tyler's doing pretty good - he's got a little jaundice so he is under the lights. They make him super tired, so eating has become a challenge. I'll type more later, but I want to post a few pictures..

Daddy is good at getting Tyler to open his eyes and play!

We finally got a shot of his eyes open!

Mom finally got a chance to hold him!

Tyler loves his Cyclone teddy!

Doing Good!

Just wanted to drop a note that Tyler is doing well. He was taken off oxygen this morning and we got to feed him for the first time and he did great! He is pretty calm for the most part until you change his diaper - then he throws a fit! Grandma & Grandpa Hallquist, Grandma & Grandpa Newman, and Uncle Kyle all came to visit last night and we all appreciate seeing them! Thanks for all the well wishes!

We'll hopefully post more pictures later - the computer is not cooperating, but we have some good one's of Dad's first chance to hold him last night, and Mom today.

Early Arrival! It's a BOY!!!

It's a Boy! Tyler John Newman was born at 3:02 AM today - November 3rd. He weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce and was 19 3/4 inches long. He was born just about a month early (Due date was Dec. 6th), but apparently he didn't care! He really wanted that early November birthday like Mom and Dad! We are doing well, and Tyler is up in the NICU getting some extra care just to be sure he's ok, but is doing great.

Pumpkin Carving Contest 2009

This year, the 2nd Annual Hallquist Pumpkin Carving Contest is online as we were all unable to make it to Stanton to compete. Andrew and I had a lot of fun with our idea and carving night....

Andrew had to compare our 'baby' pumpkin with the real baby...I think Baby Newman is just a little bit bigger!
Here's the finished product.....

All lit up!

Stanton Baby Shower

It's been awhile so I thought it was about time to get my updates on here! On October 10th, my sisters and sister-in-law held a baby shower in Stanton with the theme "We're Growing a Pumpkin!" It was a lot of fun and great to see everyone! We want to thank everyone again for all the great gifts. We're still working on unpacking!

Me reading the 'Halloween advice' from the shower attendees while the two future Grandma's and Aunt Carrie watch on.

Grandma Denise, Mommy-to-be, Grandma Julie

Aunt Carrie, Mommy-to-be, & Aunt Ingrid. Unfortunately, Aunt Val couldn't make it to the shower. Chase came down with viral menengitis and spent a few days in the hospital, so they had to postpone their trip home. Hopefully we'll get to see them all, healthy, in November.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Wednesday was our 3rd Anniversary - boy has it gone by fast! I thought we were doing nothing more than maybe going out for supper - but apparently I was wrong! My wonderful husband suprised me with these beautiful flowers at work, then a pedicure appointment at the spa, and then supper at our favorite restaurant, Ohana's. I don't know why he is so nice after putting up with crazy me lately!

Baby Bump & ISU

Ok, so I keep getting asked by those that don't live around here to see what I look like pregnant - so here's a picture. We were getting ready to go to a tailgate party for the ISU vs Iowa football game, so we had to get out what we have thus far for ISU outfits and see how they looked. :) Just wish the game had turned out a little better. Maybe next year!

We have a Crib!!!

We got a crib this week and got it all set up - it's starting to feel a little more real!

New Nephew!

Welcome to the family Chase Aiden Hensley! He was born on August 27th and we made the trip south to visit, and surprise Mommy! We had a lot of fun visiting Val & Zach, playing with Emma, and of course holding little Chase!

Andrew looks like a natural - practicing for December? :)

We took Emma to a park near the hospital after visiting Mom & Dad and Brother Chase. She had fun and is NOT afraid of the ducks, that's for sure!

And of course - we couldn't pass through St. Louis without a quick stop at Busch Stadium! We enjoyed a great game where Pujos hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th. Go Cardinals!

Shopping for a Crib.....

So - we keep hitting furniture stores in search of a crib and baby room furniture. And, we keep coming home with every other piece of furniture that has ever been our wish list! :)

This is our new dining room hutch - looks so nice w/ Andrew's Grandma's Swedish Dishes!

And our desk...

And most recently, our new recliners in the living room!

Our First Post!

We thought it was about time we set up our own blog since we love to follow our family and friends on theirs! We are expecting our first baby in early December and we wanted to be able to share everything with those that want to know! So far, we're slowly starting to get prepared. We started with painting the baby room with the help of Grandma Denise and Grandpa Knute. Thank you!!!!!