Alexandra Swerczek is Here!

Proving that she laughs at plans, Alexandra arrived two days before her scheduled C-section and a whole 2 1/2 weeks early, but at a healthy 6 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 inches!
That's another little lady to add to Ernie's harem. We can't wait to meet her!

*UPDATE*
And meet her we did, on August 8 after we returned from Seattle, we stopped over in Blair to meet Alex. She's got such a welcoming household, I don't think her older siblings could be happier about her arrival. She's so tiny, we can't fathom Ernie being that small once! We wish we could have stayed longer, but Ern was still coming down from his no sleep/all fly day and Robbie's and Lorelai's enthusiasm was just little more than he could handle. But Mommy Kathleen looks fantastic, as the photo evidence shows:

Best News Ever!

What could this possibly be? Well, I'll tell you: Jeff and Natalie Erb are having a baby! They're due March 20, 2008. Ernie was due March 14, so Nat's growing little tum will be the perfect size and in just the right weather to borrow Amber's maternity clothes. Ernie can't wait to have a new buddy (that he can boss around because he's a whole year older) and another playmate for him and Johanna Walsh to run around with at backyard gatherings.
Congratulations, Erbs!

Ernie's Endorsement of the Week: Knocker Blockers!

We're trying to stay away from too much product placement on this blog, but Ernie feels this deserves a mention. Mom got a new knocker blocker, a.k.a. nursing cover, to help us out in all our recent and upcoming travels. This handy-dandy device allows us to nurse any-old-where without revealing anything, and still be able to look at each other thanks to the boning in the neck opening! It's also perfect for an easily distracted baby boy, or one who's emerging teeth make it more fun to play smiley "I'm gonna suck your nipple - no I'm gonna smile at you instead!" games instead of getting our job done. It's even fashionable for polite society, as illustrated here during a cocktail reception at the Cavanaugh/Brotzel wedding.

We're guessing Uncle Darren will also appreciate it when we travel to Seattle to meet him. He misses his sister Amber, but he doesn't want to see too much of her on the trip.

An event of Cavanaugh proportions

Ernie just completed a trip to his fourth wedding and fifth state. We were in Lake Geneva, Wisconsn for the wedding of Machaela Cavanaugh and Nick Brotzel. As some of you know, Mach is Jeremy's first wife (married since the third grade) and he couldn't be happier to pass her off onto Nick. They make a lovely couple.


It was also a chance to spend some more quality time with the Pates. We made a deal with Konen before we left that we'd see him again before Ernie is three years old.



Ernie's getting pretty good at these by now, and this time he was able to steal some stealthy naps on the fly and stay awake until 10:30 p.m. for the festivities. Here he is enjoying the cocktail reception at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. It had rained earlier in the day (good luck for the happy couple!) and the weather was perfect - not too sunny and just a fine dusting of mist over the lake.

We're counting this!

Ernie's been a big fan of standing for some time and if he's hungry enough, with Dad's help, he can walk over to Mom for his nighttime meal! Pretty cool new trick!
Most of his little walks have been quicker and more enthusiastic than this (he's quite proud of himself for propelling forward) but he always gets distracted when the camera comes out.

Ernie's Anti-Endorsement of the Week

Not that we expect any of our blog readers need the following information, but we wanted to anti-endorse (i.e. condemn) pooping your pants while lying on your stomach. This will reek pooey havoc on your surroundings such as you've never seen before, and that's coming from those who have seen some pooey havoc recently. Another tip: if you do happen to poop your pants while lying on your stomach, for golly gosh's sake, DO NOT roll back onto your back! There's only so much laundry a body can do in one day. Finally, if you do poop your pants while lying on your stomach, you may also find later in the day that you have poop on your feet. Don't ask us how.

Something a little fancy

Just thought we'd share this fancified picture from the Krems reunion of Grandpa Darrell and Ernie at the Krems farm.

Slow down, Champ!

Unfortunately, no pictures exist of the following events, but we thought it important to share some of Ernie's news from the weekend. He's become a roll-over champ in the last week, and Friday morning before we left for Big Springs, Ernie was enjoying floor time in the reading room while Mom & Dad at their breakfast in the kitchen. All of a sudden we both looked up from our cereal bowls and saw Ernie was on his tummy (he had previously been on his back). He continued to stare at us, and his gears seemed to be turning in the direction of "they're there, and I'm here, how do I fix that?" We looked away briefly once again, and barely looked up in time to see the little booger trying to CRAWL over to us, which actually resulted in his rolling back from tummy to back again.
When we got home late Sunday night, Ernie needed to get his wiggles out after the car ride. Plenty of floor time once again ensued, and rolling over was a big part of it. When Mom got up to sit in the rocker and prepare for nursing, Dad and Ernie were practicing standing. All of a sudden, his standing turns to stepping and Dad holds his upper half steady while Ernie takes about five steps toward Mom in the chair! He just stared at Mom with a wide open happy mouth seeming amazed! He was so proud of himself! Who knows when it will be repeated, but it worked to wear him out and he slept through the night. We're just hoping he's not practicing to walk so that he can run away at five months-old to a family that doesn't make a little baby travel so often.

Ernie Goes to Western Nebraska

This weekend Ernie traveled to Big Springs, Nebraska for the Krems Family Reunion. Big Springs was the settling place for the Mohr and the Krems families, who traveled to the United States together from Germany. Ernie's Great Grandpa Ernest and Great Great Uncle William both married Krems sisters (Leona and Eleanor, respectively) so Grandpa Darrell has the luxury of three double-cousins in Big Springs. Grandpa Darrell was happy to show off his new grandbaby to his relatives in Big Springs, and all were happy to welcome Ernie. Perhaps none as enthusiastically as his fourth (?) cousin Avery, who was very attuned to Ernie's diapering needs and general need to have all his limbs kissed at regular intervals.

Ernie also got to meet one of his Mohr relatives, his Great Great Aunt Frances, Great Grandpa Ernest's baby sister.

On Saturday evening, there was a picnic at the Krems family farm. The house and grounds are still beautiful and still occupied by Krems. After the meal we walked down the street to the local cemetary to visit several relatives' resting sites, and Ernie loved walking in the cool shady evening and seeing the fields and trees. The corn at the Krems farm was gorgeous.

During the drive home on Sunday, Ernie enjoyed the views from the back seat and we made a stop off at the Ash Hollow Museum. The Sandhills are more beautiful than the average Nebraskan gives them credit for. He had a lot to process on the long ride home and while he slept in his crib at home.

Ernie's Endorsement of the Week: Puppies!

Ernie never really got a chance to know his first puppy, Dottie. On his sixth day of life "on the outside" Dottie chose to retire from her body. But on Ernie's first day of life, he was given a little poodle lovie by friends Robbie and Becky, and he's just starting to become interested in some of these toys.

When Dottie found us, Jeremy and I had agreed that an older dog would be perfect for now since we wanted our eventual children to be able to select a pet of their choice when they were old enough to have such desires. I think the above image illustrates that Ernie's ready for his first poodle. Jeremy, what do you say?

Of course, he's also enjoying his time with his blue puppy lovie given by Natalie. The ears are easy to grasp and the puppy's size and weight are perfect for little Ern's tummy.

But, then again, maybe we should wait before committing to a puppy. Ally Cat has only recently recovered from her fits of vomiting after Ernie's arrival in the home. And so far he's shown significant interest in bears. We explained to him that only bears who wear clothes are trustworthy, but that hasn't lessened his love for Bob, the baseball cap-wearing bear who hangs from his car seat (thank you Shelley and Konen), nor the triplet bears in blue suspenders who hover over his bassinet, nor his little blue bedtime bear given by cousin Ashlee. I'm just hoping right now that he doesn't meet a real bear with a wardrobe and insist it meets our pet requirements. That would definitely set Ally's nose out of joint.

Ernie's Naming Date

Joseph Ernest Hall was officially welcomed by the Unitarian Universalist community on Sunday. We can't say enough about what a beautiful day this was for Ernie and his parents. We all affirmed that we will act as role models in Ernie's search for truth, justice, and peace, and extended our wishes that Ernie will take pride in his name and bring it honor. With such a wonderful and supportive family, I know all our hopes for him will be fulfilled.

A rose was given to Ernie after it blessed his head, lips, and hands so that his thoughts, words, and deeds would reflect the missions of our church. He's had limited exposure to real flowers, and he loved his beautiful rose.

Grandparents like videos

That's the main reason we're posting this. In this video I just got home from work and Ernie's ready to eat, but I play with him a bit before taking him out and feeding him. Jeremy is putting away noisey dishes in the background. It's kinda cute, but mostly it amazes me that my big boy is dwarfed by my GIGANTIC HANDS!

Ernie's Endorsement of the Week: Moms!

These milky bringers of life would have been one of the first endorsements had this forum been around at the time of birth (or if pictures suitable for a general audience were available then). They seem to have facial features much like mine; but unlike my features, pulling, pinching, or scratching these others evidently brings me no pain or discomfort. Much to the contrary, it elicits peals of laughter from her mouth, which I always find delight in. The relationship seems somewhat tenuious and I'm not sure where I'll stand on Moms around my teenage years, but until I can reasess at that time, I'm thrilled to endorse these wonderfully fun and loving creatures.

They aren't for everybody

We have more than one friend who isn't fond of children. Pictured at right is Zac, who blew through town last week and visited Ernie for the second time in his short life. The first time he excused himself from holding Ernie on account of his being so new and bendy. This time, he was very clear that he would poke our child once, which elicited smiles from Ern, but Zac was not to be won over. He then asked when he would be eating or sleeping next. I think he can relate to babies while engaged in those types of activities, rather than just sitting there acting like they're part of the conversation.
I'm never offended by our friends who don't want much to do with our progeny. If anything, it gives me another excuse to torment them. But I also don't quite understand it. I remember when I used to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation and Capt. Picard didn't like kids. This was the one quality about the Cap'n that I didn't like. Being a kid myself, I was bothered that he thought there was something about me that should be offensive. I mean, he was a kid once, so why so squeamish? Then I decided that he viewed children as a strange alien race and feared what powers they might posses over him. I wonder if Zac feels the same way.

Hitting the high notes

I'm not sure if Hugh Jackman's performance in Oklahoma was influencing Ernie (that's the noise in the background) or if this is how Jeremy and I sound to him, but he sure has a high range. I'm guessing there are decibels I can't even hear.
This is my first attempt at an embedded video, so I hope it works for you all!

He's got his problems, too

Ernie's been experiencing some occasional "milestone fussiness" which leads to spotty crankiness during the day, restlessness, an inability to nap for long, and extra wakings at night. I'm trying to appreciate that it's not going to last forever, and that it's twice as hard on him as it is on me or Jeremy. Yesterday was a trying day, and the night before he had me up three times with my longest stretch of sleep reaching two hours.
After we sent him off to bed for the evening we watched the next installment of Rome from our Netflix. Julius Ceasar had just met Pompeii's army in battle where he was outnumbered five to one. When he returned to his tent, he asked his slave to send a message to Rome that "Ceasar was victorious," and laid his tired body down on his bed. My first thought was, "Gosh, it'd be so nice to lay down with no possibility of baby waking you up."

The Milestone Master conquering tummy time.

Ernie's Endorsement of the Week: FEET!

Feet! Who knew there was something as exciting as hands?!? Now while we're sure feet will never replace hands, they do have a number of features that make them a nice accompaniment: they are cute, they accommodate nicknames such as "piggies," and their interaction with hands is delightful. Not sure if any other practical use will be discovered, but we look forward to learning their full potential!

Little Firecracker

Ernie experienced his first Fourth of July yesterday. Mohrs and Halls alike headed to Avoca, Iowa for the best parade in town (the only one in town, natch). There was plenty of shade and a nice breeze outside Great-Grandpa Ernest's old town house (currently in the remodeling phase) so everyone was comfortable. Grandpa Darrell grilled up a feast, with salads contributed by Grandma Chris and Grand Marshall of the Parade herself, Carolyn Spencer (here's Ernie being held by his first Grand Marshall ever):

Ernie seems to love the holiday already, as he was more than willing to put up with severely modified naps to enjoy it all. Grandpa Darrell hopes to fix up the Oliver 88 tractor passed down by Great-Grandpa Ernest so Ernie can drive it in the parade. He's got plenty of time to work on the tractor. Here's Ernie and Aunt Laura viewing a similar tractor in the parade:
Ern also got to try swimming in a real public pool this time. He wasn't so into that. It was cooler and busier than his other swim adventures, but Aunt Laura was granted her fondest wish of dunking him.
After this invigorating day he enjoyed his bath back at home and was washed clean of sweat, sunscreen, chlorine, and glitter, and happily went to bed. Even the fireworks set off by the neighbors were no match for how tired he was.

Water Baby and Other Weekend Adventures

Ernie had lots to keep him busy at the end of the week and through the weekend. Jeremy decided that Ern needed to work out his legs more, so Amber came home one day and all of a sudden Ern can push himself up to standing (with support). Here he is practicing the new skill with Aunt Laura on Thursday:

And Friday Ernie enjoyed an evening in Omaha eating at Fernando's with Grandma Bonnie (Grandpa Denie was able to drop by the table as well) and then enjoyed the opening of a new art gallery on Saddle Creek: Glass Harmony Gallery. Check it out if you're in Omaha, Gang! REALLY beautiful (and reasonably priced) glass vessels. Here's Ern with Grandma Bonnie wearing his The Lion Sleeps Tonight onesie and lion's head slippers. The song was stuck in our heads all day, but he did sleep well that night!

The next morning we had breakfast with Grandpa Denie and then Ernie went swimming in the backyard.

And on Saturday Ernie got to play with the Mohrs and while Mom & Dad enjoyed Shakespeare on the Green with Terence and Sabrina.

He had a great weekend, but he was glad to get home!