Brendan Ball

It was a nice day, so Brendan and Daddy went outside to play for a while. We played some more with his ball and it was fun.

He is starting to catch on that the black shoes means that he will play outside (that is why we bought them). When we put them on him today, he got a big smile and started to get really excited.

Unfortunately, the ground was a little wet from the showers we had early in the morning. It was a little slippier and Brendan got a little bit of mud all over him. It translated into a bath when he went back inside.

One of the high points for the day was playing some more 'Brendan Ball'. This is where Daddy picks up Brendan and then swings his legs down at the ball. Whenever we do it, he gets excited and has a big smile on his face.

We put Luke down on his new blanket that we got at church. We're so proud of him because he can lift his head up once in a while and look around.

After we put the kids to bed, we had 'Date Night' (every Friday night we watch a movie or some other date-like-activity, children permitting). Tonight we started watching Babylon 5. I've forgotten how much I loved that show.

Luke is almost done with his bedtime snack, so Daddy will join them in going to bed.

Outside play time!

Brendan got to wear one of his new shirts from Grandma Standfest today. Luke has a matching shirt, but he has to grow a little more before he'll fit in it.

Brendan got to play outside today. It almost got up to 70 degrees today, so it was very nice. Mom took him out in the morning and Dad took him out in the afternoon before dinner. We played with one of his new 'outside' balls from Grandma Tupper. He kicked the ball and even picked it up and threw it. He also ran everywhere and had a real fun time.

Our friendly neighborhood bunny was outside for a little bit and we even got his picture.

All four of us now have belly buttons! The rest of Luke's cord finally fell off. He's got such a cute little belly button!

I'm off to bed. Hopefully, it will balance out with the lack of sleep at night.

An update on the boys

If anyone can figure this one out, please let me know. When I got Brendan up from his afternoon nap yesterday, his arm was sticking out of the neck on his shirt. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but it did. I don't understand that child sometimes, well, most times, but he's at least cute.

Luke is still being very easy. He eats, sleeps, soils diapers, and snuggles with anyone that will hold him (not necessarily in that order).

More pictures from Sunday

Here are a couple more pictures from yesterday...
Here we are with Luke and my parents (Robert and Lynn Standfest).

Here we are with Brendan, Luke, and Kira's parents (Steve and Heidi Tupper).

We also had some chaos back at our place after church, that way all the cousins could play together and Great-Grandpa could see all four of his great-grandchildren. It went pretty well and everyone seemed to enjoy the time. Great-Grandpa Standfest really enjoyed seeing all of them play together.

There are also a number of pictures in the web-album.

On a side note, the vestments and paraments from yesterday's service are not pink, they are a slightly faded rose. They are used for Gaudete (Advent III) and Laetare (Lent IV), which are both moments to rejoice amidst the somber reflection of the liturgical season.

Luke's Teddy

I mentioned Brendan's new teddy bear yesterday, but forgot to mention Luke's new teddy bear. Uncle Aaron and Aunt Becky got it for him. It's extremely soft and hopefully he'll like it as much as Brendan likes his teddy.

Luke's Baptism

Luke was baptized this morning. All went well. I have a ton of pictures to sort through, but wanted to at least post something in the mean time. Here is a picture of the Baptismal party (sponsors on the left: Aaron and Becky Richert, Pastor Douglas Punke, and parents on the right: Michael, Kira and Luke Standfest).

Here is one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther in the Large Catechism on Baptism:
"Thus we must regard Baptism and make it profitable to ourselves, that when our sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthen ourselves and take comfort and say: Nevertheless I am baptized!; but if I am baptized, it is promised me that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body. For that is the reason why these two things are done in Baptism namely, that the body, which can apprehend nothing but the water, is sprinkled, and, in addition, the word is spoken for the soul to apprehend. Now, since both, the water and the Word, are one Baptism, therefore body and soul must be saved and live forever: the soul through the Word which it believes, but the body because it is united with the soul and also apprehends Baptism as it is able to apprehend it. We have, therefore, no greater jewel in body and soul, for by it we are made holy and are saved, which no other kind of life, no work upon earth, can attain." LC 13.4.44-46

New Teddy Bear

Yesterday, Great-Grandpa Standfest brought a teddy bear for Brendan. We tried to give it to him before dinner, but when he saw Kira go towards the dinner table to get it ready, he ran off to his chair since he was hungry. It was really cute.

After dinner, he got his new bear and liked it. When Great-Grandpa took it out of the bag, Brendan had a big smile and said "Hi!" to it, like he does with most people. He then took it and ran around the room. Although it won't replace Teddy, this new bear is certianly loved. I'm still convinced that Brendan will take Teddy with him to college someday.

Uncle Aaron and Aunt Becky

"Uncle" Aaron and "Aunt" Becky stopped by last night for a quick visit and to check in on the kids. I'm not sure who adores who more, whether the Richerts adore the children or if the children adore the Richerts more.


Luke enjoyed being held by both of them. I think he's catching on that the Richerts are pretty cool too. He is also starting to get the same crush on "Aunt" Becky that Brendan has.


"Aunt" Becky is due in early July with a baby girl.

Unfortunately, Brendan didn't sleep well last night (that is why I didn't post last night). He had a minor reaction to a food allergy (we think?!) to something that he had earlier in the week. He has also had a hard time adjusting to having Luke around. He hasn't been quite as happy as he normally is. Once you put both of those together, it adds up to a rough week. He woke up around 9:30pm and didn't really settle down back to sleep until around 1am. I took him out to the living room and he watched one of his "Baby Einstein" DVD's. It helped distract him from everything else that was bothering him. I felt so awful for him, but like most children when they get upset, it's hard to calm them down. He eventually got to sleep in the bedroom and went down to bed very easily tonight. Hopefully that will still be the case during the rest of the night.

Both Grandpa's and Grandma's and one Great-Grandfather are in town right now. They are here for Luke's Baptism tomorrow. I have some pictures from their visit today that I put in the web album, but will have to post on them tomorrow. It's getting late and I didn't sleep well last night.

An Update from Me...

Figured I ought to actually post here again since it's been quite awhile. I'm doing well, recovering quickly and very much enjoying both my babies. It's amazing how different Brendan and Luke are. Not only do they look completely different, their personalities are almost opposites. It was difficult to get Brendan to sleep in the beginning (still is some days), Luke falls asleep the moment he's done eating almost every time. He's starting to stay awake for a little while after one or two feedings each day. Brendan would squirm and wriggle all the time, Luke is content to curl up in a ball in my arms and stay there all day. Thank goodness for the sling my in-laws bought for my birthday! He loves it and it frees my hands up to take care of Brendan. Anyway, it's rather late and I need some sleep. My parents are coming down tomorrow and I'm looking forward to being able to nap (almost) whenever I want to.

Luke's Baptism

Luke Timothy Standfest will be baptized at 9am at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2313 Hanna St., Fort Wayne, IN 46803, (260)744-1389. All are welcome to attend.

Aaron and Becky Richert will be Luke's baptismal sponsors, just as they are to Brendan.

Computer fun, friends, and baths

Today, we got Brendan started on his keyboarding skills.



I'm pretty sure that isn't where the mouse goes.
If you want to, you can download and view these movies to see how it all went:
Keyboard01.mov Keyboard02.mov Keyboard03.mov
They are each about 4 megs and require Quicktime or VLC.



His friend Eleanor stopped by to play. They had fun together.
(Rachel, did I spell her name correct?)



We gave both children baths tonight. Brendan was quite upset during most of it. Usually, he loves baths. Luke survived his bath and cuddled with Daddy afterwards.


Sleep well little child.

New clothes

Here are two of Luke's new outfits from yesterday's trip.


It's nice to have clothes that fit him. His preemie clothes should last another two or three weeks, then we'll upgrade to newborn clothes. Thankfully, in the next few months or weeks, Luke will be able to wear a lot of clothes that were given to Brendan that were simply too small.




Our "big boy" Brendan is still doing well. He's just as cute as ever.

He's adapting to Luke, sometimes he's fascinated and other times he's jealous of him being held and getting too much attention, but Brendan is only an infant too.

If Luke gets really upset and cries, so does Brendan, so good luck to mommy in the coming weeks!

Overall, he's doing very well with it all, especially since he gets some special "mommy time" when daddy is home.

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On a side note, if you click on the Family Pictures link on the side or just go to http://standfest.org/pictures, you can see far more pictures than what appear on the blog. The web album is updated more often than the pictures on the blog.

Still going well

Mama and Luke are still doing well. Luke loves curling up with Mama.


We made sure to allow some "Mama and Brendan"-time this evening. They were playing with his new block shape sorter from Babies R Us.

We went there to get some preemie clothes for Luke since he is swimming in all 0-3 month and newborn clothes. The only problem was that they are good at carrying cute things which trick you into spending more. Between that and we haven't recovered from our "baby fever" which causes us to enjoy babies and not think straight, we went around picking out all sorts of things. We stopped ourselves before we went overboard. We got Luke about 5 sets of clothes and some booties. We also got the block shape sorter for Brendan ...


and matching tie-dye shirts for the boys. We had some money left over from Christmas money for the boys and enjoyed spending the last bit on the shirts and the toy for Brendan. He was soooo well behaved and has been adapting well to Luke. Both Grandpas and Grandmas will be in town this weekend and hopefully we'll be able to get a couple more of the matching tie-dye shirts. They are so cool! and we are apparently hippies.

In other news, I went back to school today for choir and history. It was nice to be back for a bit. Kira will have help tomorrow so I can go to all of my classes, but I will miss being at home.

Brendan and Daddy did a 'big boy' run to Sam's Club today for batteries for the baby swing and for some extra baby wipes (we seem to be going through more of them lately, not sure why). He enjoyed it. Wednesday morning, I will take him for another quick field trip as I have to be somewhere in the morning.

Good night one and all!

We're still alive, just tired...

Here is our send-off picture from Dupont Hospital.


We're doing pretty good at home. Brendan seems to be taking things ok. He is slowing learning that he needs to share Mama's lap...


Thankfully, he has found room on Mama's lap for sucking his thumb on Teddy while she still holds his brother Luke.

In other news, we had some friends stop by today and helped clean up around here. It was nice to get the help. The house is looking better, but not perfect (but with two boys, plus a daddy, will it ever get or stay clean?!).

I was able to take Brendan with me to church this morning. I sat with another family who took over taking care of Brendan while I was fighting falling asleep.

Kira and Luke stayed at home from church with a friend to make sure they could get around at home. They'll be back next Sunday for Luke's Baptism at Zion (2313 Hanna St, Fort Wayne) @ 9am.

I've opened up commenting on our blog. Now ANYONE can comment with or without a Blogger account. When I start getting comment spam, I'll have to lock it down again. (Spam is annoying in my inbox, but when people do that on a family website about our children, that is low. ) I'm sure that I'll eventually have to go back to requiring a Blogger account for comments. It is a free account and they don't send you spam. You can just go through the account creation and skip creating a blog altogether. (If you decide to stick with anonymous comments, please at least mention your name so we know who you are.)

Beyond that, we're tired and need to get to sleep. Luke finished his snack, so Daddy will join them by going to bed.

Sleep well!



Thanks again for everything Dupont.

Home Sweet Home!

We're all home now safe and sound. Brendan did pretty good with Luke coming home. He even "helped" by taking Luke's shoes off.

We got our hero Mandi today. It was great to have her again and she remembered us. She was our last nurse who helped us pack up and go home. It was a nice end to our stay at Dupont.

Thanks for all the comments, I haven't gotten to read them yet, but I will tomorrow. It's really nice to know someone reads this.

We're all doing well, just sleepy. Good night! ... zzz ... zzz ... zzz ...

Tired update ... zzz ... zzz ...

I'm going to try to write some more here, but I'm very tired and it will show ...

Luke is a cutey pie. He is so small and adorable. He loves being held by Mommy.

I think the Baptism will be next Sunday at 9am at Zion Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN. There are a few last details to work out, but I will post about that when I find out more.

We have had a wonderful time here at the hospital. The nurses truly make the 'difference' here at this hospital. They have all been wonderful. We owe a big thanks to all our nurses as they have made all the difference in the world. Ana was great in helping to get us checked in, started, etc. Maryellen did a great job on Thursday by helping us through most of labor. She was wonderful and I felt awful that she couldn't stick around the extra couple hour(s) until Luke was born. We hadn't started pushing yet, and it was past the shift change so she had to go. :-( Staci took over after her and was absolutely wonderful (she was the best reliever for Maryellen). When she first took over, she asked if we wanted anything and I asked for her to get the baby to come out and sure enough we started pushing and got to hold the baby within an hour or three. She also was helping with our recover afterwards and did a great job. Renee also helped us out with Luke with some of the cleaning up and such and she was nice but we didn't see her very much. When we got to postpartum, Candice took over during the night and was great. We had her again last night. Niki was our nurse during the day yesterday and she was also very good. But we owe a HUGE thanks to our wonderful nurses who have made the difference.

I think that we might get Mandi today, she was one of our nurses with Brendan and did a wonderful job.

Is it a bad sign that I'm not only starting to recognize nurses from last time with Brendan, but also the administrative, cleaning and room service staff? At least they are all really nice.

Kira's doctor was able to make it for delivery and everything went better than expected. Luke was small enough to make it pretty easy on Kira.

When he was born, he was so quiet. They were trying to get him to cry but he was too busy being content. That has held true the rest of the time that we have been here. Brendan was a noisy sleeper. Every few minutes he would make some noise, even while asleep so it was difficult for us to sleep but we could always here that he was doing ok. Luke on the other hand has been quiet, a little too quiet. Every so often while he is asleep we have to poke at his fingers just to see them wiggle around, because you can't even hear him breathing. He's doing great though. He's been very quiet and happy. He has been eating very well and sleeping very well.

We're getting released tonight at 11:30pm, grrr.... I'm sure that we will survive, but I'm not looking forward to leaving (or even being awake) at that time.

Brendan has been absolutely wonderful. The Richerts have been watching him. They are his God-parents. Apparently, he has been having a great time, laughing and running around. He has visited each day and seems to be doing ok with it. Yesterday, he got to stop by the 'treasure chest' in postpartum. He grabbed the first thing that he saw, some kinda of light up pen. I showed him some other stuff that was in there, but he was too fascinated with the lights on the pen. Our nurse also let us know that we could take him down to the gift shop to get a 'Big Brother' gift bag. He got it and it had a small plastic fighter jet in it. He didn't even look inside of it, but was thrilled that the paperbag made noises when he was shaking it.

Our doctor will be coming back to checkup on us anytime now, so I should get going.

I'll post some more pictures tomorrow (I hope). I'm using dial-up here in the hospital and it's painful to use, much less transfer some pictures.

Leave us a comment to let us know if you stopped by.

... zzz ... zzz

IT'S A BOY!!!

Luke Timothy Standfest - born on 3/16/06 @ 10:18pm
6lbs 11oz - 21 inches







Mom and baby are doing well. We've had a wonderful experience at the hospital. The nurses have been excellent! We're all very tired. I'll post some more pictures and write some more about it when we get home. We should be discharged tomorrow (Saturday) night.

There are some more pictures at http://standfest.org/brendan. Our picture album will probably change over to http://standfest.org/pictures, but I will post more details when that comes along. I was going to do some major work on the website this weekend, but I don't think that I'll get to it any time soon. I wonder why?!

Super Brendan!

Here is the first issue (and probably the last issue) of the comic book 'Super Brendan!'

It's in .pdf format and is approx 1.9 megs. It's extremely cute and worth the 30 second read. Enjoy!

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03/15/06 @ 4:14PM - Update: Some people have not been able to view the comic. I updated the links above so you can click on the image, 'Here is the first issue', or '.pdf format and is approx 1.9 megs' in the above post and you will be able to download the issue and view it.
Depending on your computer, you may have the easiest time viewing it by right clicking on one of the links and selecting 'Save Target As'.
If anyone has any further difficulties, please either drop me an email or leave a comment on this post and I will work to resolve it. - michael

Two New Wishlists!

In case you wanted to spend some money on two adorable children, we have two new wishlists posted in the links on the side. We have an Amazon Wishlist and a Children's Wishlist (with all the stuff that's not on Amazon).

Feel free to browse them and buy large quantities of suggested toys. Our children will smile and our pocketbook will thank you!

P.S. I would still like a Mac Mini and an iPod. Those always make great gifts and the children would benefit with a happy Daddy.

"Beh! Beh!"

I think it means "bird"...
Brendan was babbling at our parakeet Pearl this morning and when I asked him, "Are you talking to the bird?", he looked at me and said, "Beh! Beh!". So I'm going to assume that he was trying to say bird.

36 1/2 Weeks!

I had a doctor's appointment today - everything is looking great. She checked the baby's position. He's definitely head down. Thank goodness! Even though I thought he was, I really needed to hear that from the doctor. He's dropped quite a bit, so hopefully he'll come on time. Dr. Tallon said that if he hasn't come by 41 weeks, she'd like to schedule a C-Section, so I'd appreciate any and all early/on-time prayers for this little one.
Poor Brendan, he got sooo upset when I got up on the examining table! I'm not sure what he thought was going to happen, but it must have been something terrible...
On a happier Brendan note, he stacked two of his Peek-A-Blocks today for the first time! He's been trying for a little while and today he got it. He was so delighted to have figured it out. He did it over and over again, looking up at me each time with this thrilled expression on his face.