Lots to Blog...

2 1/2 weeks old, already! The hair is still intact.
Mom Lund has been here this week helping me take care of things. She's been awesome! Abby has loved their exercises, and hopefully I can pick up where they left off soon!

Debbie and her family came over last night to meet Ethan and visit. This is Debbie and her friend, Keith. Thanks for coming!

The Kanipe Kids.

Abby loved Jenny's nails!

Thanks Janell for keeping Ethan happy for an hour or so.

He's getting more and more alert. He has two times during the day now that he's super awake.

Both grandmas spent a lot of time at the park with Abby. She sure loves the swings, and we appreciate grandmas standing in 100+ heat pushing her over and over.

Part of the morning routine.

I realized after the last post that we didn't have any pics of Ken. Sorry Love! Anyway, he is here and is super happy to be a dad of two. He helps a ton with both kids, and is a good sport during our middle-of-the-night feedings (especially when we end up having to change the sheets because Little Buddy has done a few numbers on them).

It is not easy getting a good picture with two little ones.

I just love his eyes. I'm pretty sure they're going to be blue.

Abby loves to ask where "Baby" is, and then she goes to find him. She was trying to climb the side of the bassinet, so we convinced her to get her stool to peek over the side.

He looks like this about 18 hours of the day.

Ethan is a little snuggler. Mom kept a close eye on him while I would take an afternoon nap. (I got a lot of sleep this week. It caught up to me, and it has been fantastic!)

I have caught him trying to suck his thumb, so the binkie (or dinkie as Abby calls it) is out in full force!

Abby has been playing lots of dress-up with grandma.

She loves grandma's hat and chapstick. The chapstick lasted about 2 days and it was gone.

I love this picture of Mom and Dad Lund with the kids! Thanks to all our parents for the help, love, and support the last month!

Love,

Ken, Alicia, Abby & Ethan

Lots of Company . . .

We have had a lot of company coming to meet the newest member of our family. We love our family and friends, and we really appreciate all of the love and support. Here are some pictures, and there are more to come of others that have visited too!

I can't help but love the hair. It just dried this way after his bath today.
My dad came down with my sister and nieces. Ethan loved cuddling and sleeping on Papa.
Julie, Kirsten, and Ethan. Sorry Kirsten, not the most flattering picture :)
Mom and Dad Lund, meeting an awake Ethan. Thanks Mom Lund for stopping in on your way home from Louisville, and Dad Lund for driving all the way from Reno and back in 24 hours.
All of our parents are super supportive.
Thanks!!!

Mom Allen has been a huge help to us this week. Thank you!
We look forward to having Mom Lund next week.

Abby's first meeting with Ethan!

A couple pics at a time...

Here are a couple more pics off of Grandma Allen's camera. I think Ken will add more later.

He has yellowed a little, so he spends a couple hours a day sunbathing. He loves it!

More on Ethan . . .

Alicia and I have been frequent visitors to the Summerlin Medical Center for the past several weeks. On Friday night, Alicia and I went on a date to labor and delivery at 1:00am and idled the night away in triage until 5:00am. But although Alicia was having terrible contractions, nothing else was happening, so after 3-4 hours of monitoring, we were sent home.

On Tuesday morning, I got to bed at about 1:00am after finishing a project for work. Alicia woke up at 2:00am with contractions that were even stronger and more frequent than her already strong and frequent contractions. I woke up at about 5:30 to get ready for work. At about 6:30, we were strongly considering visiting the hospital, despite having a doctor's appointment with her OB/GYN at 10:20am. Because it would have been Alicia's fourth visit to the hospital during the duration of her pregnancy, we were reticent to visit again. With C-Sections, however, it is important not to let labor progress to far.

Anyways, I drove to work and made arrangements to cancel appointments and to get someone to cover a couple of depositions for me (thanks Tom and Mike). Alicia was instructed by her doctor to report to the hospital. We reported at about 8:30. After several hours of monitoring, the doctor decided at 11:00 June 23 was going to be Ethan's birthday. Ethan was born an hour-and-a-half later.

P.S. . . . Happy Birthday to Steve!

Due to work-imposed time constraints, I haven't had a chance to say Happy Birthday to Steve since his birthday on June 20th! Happy 30th Birthday!

Welcome Ethan Richard Lund!

June 23, 2009

12:35 Pacific Time (40 minutes ago)

7 lbs, 12 oz.

19 inches

Welcome Cooper Lund Church!

Here is the newest addition to the Lund-side of our family. Ken's sister, Meagan, Todd, and Fisher welcomed Cooper Lund Church into their family on Friday, June 19 at 9:23 pm.
Congratulations!!!

Same or Different?

Abby Pregnancy- 35 1/2 Weeks

Ethan Pregnancy- 35 1/2 Weeks

Showered with Love

Our sweet families gave us a mail-in baby shower this weekend. We feel so blessed by all the love and support we received and continue to receive from family and friends. Thanks again to all who participated, and the thank you's are in the mail.
We love you too!!!

Abby had a great time helping open all of the packages. She has taken one of the blankets that Mom Lund made and sleeps with it. She still calls it Ethan's though.

Good Riddance

As many of you know, Alicia and I spent two great years in Winnemucca, Nevada in northern Nevada prior to moving to Las Vegas. During the first year-and-a-half, we lived in an apartment across the street from the courthouse, where I worked. It was fantastic. We had a great landlord (my boss), my office was 400 yards from my front door, it was spacious, and it was in close to everything in town. We loved it.

Until the tattoo parlor opened up across the street. It started with a strobe light which shined directly into our living room window such that when we turned off our lights, our living room resembled a Vegas nightclub (as if I knew what Vegas nightclubs were like). Increasingly, our across-the-street neighbor became a gathering place for Winnemucca's finest until the wee hours of the morning. When I approached the owner about the possibility of not shining a strobe light into my window, he ranted about trying to run a business (to his credit, he swapped out a super bright strobe light for a slightly less bright strobe light, so our living room flickered like a slightly more subdued nightclub). The less bright the strobe light got, however, the louder and more belligerent the patrons across the street became.

What were Alicia and I to do? It was apparent our neighborhood was going to pot. We did what most Americans do under similar circumstances: we moved to the edge of town. Thus, when Chad Backus offered us the chance for us to live in and run his parent's storage facility about four miles outside of town for our final six months in Winnemucca, we gladly accepted.

In the meantime, it appears the owner of the tattoo parlor diversified his business (read the second story down). Hopefully, the new tenants in our former abode can now enjoy a peaceful night in their living room with out feeling like they're on Fremont Street and without having to listen to the enlightened vocabulary of Winnemucca's drug culture at 1am. Good riddance.

UPDATE: The article is no longer available.

We're Grateful for Those Who Have Served . . .

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia





Old North Bridge, Minute Man National Historical Park, (U.S. Revolutionary War), Concord, Massachusetts



Site of the Battle of Saratoga (U.S. Revolutionary War), Saratoga National Historical Park, New York



Site of the Battle of Yorktown (U.S. Revolutionary War), Yorktown Battlefield, Colonial National Historic Park, Yorktown, Virginia



Site of the Battle of Stoney Creek (War of 1812), Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada



Site of the Battle of Queenston Heights (War of 1812), near Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.



Remember the Alamo (Texas Revolution), San Antonio, Texas



Site of the Battle of the First and Second Battles of Manassas (Bull Run) (U.S. Civil War), Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, Virginia.





Site of the Battle of Antietam, Antietam National Battlefield (U.S. Civil War), Sharpsburg, Maryland



Site of the Battle of Fredericksburg (U.S. Civil War), Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial, Fredericksburg, Virginia



Fredericksburg National Cemetery, Fredericksburg, Virginia



Little Round Top, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania



Confederate High Water Mark, Battle of Gettysburg, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania



Gettysburg National Cemetery, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania



Site of the Battle of the Wilderness (U.S. Civil War), Spotsylvania County, Virginia



Site of the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse (U.S. Civil War), Spotsylvania County, Virginia



Site of the Battle of Cold Harbor (U.S. Civil War), Richmond National Battlefield Park, near Richmond, Virginia. Steve just told me that our ancestors were likely there, shooting at Union soldiers.



Site of the Battle of the Crater, Siege of Petersburg, Petersburg National Battlefield, Petersburg, Virginia





Site of the USS Arizona, sunk at Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial, Hawaii





World War II Memorial, Washington, DC







Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington, DC







Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, DC

JensandJewels Free Giveaway in May

Hey Friends and Family-

My sister is having a Free Giveaway in May on her Etsy site, JensandJewels. You could win $20 of free merchandise. Just click here to view her website. She makes and sells really cute and fun accessories for our little ones.

Good Luck!

Swine Flu?

It's been awhile. We've been under-the-weather the past couple weeks. Abby started it all when she decided to go to nursery and pick up the nasty respiratory infection that 10 out of the 14 kids got. Nice. They all came down with it as the swine flu broke out. Even nicer! Anyway, she's better, but passed it on to her parents. We didn't get it as bad, but the congestion was miserable.

We've also begun the 3rd Trimester Woes!!! Unfortunately, I have gestational diabetes, so we've had a few extra visits to doctors and such. There are two good things that have come from this: It is looking like our little guy will come a couple weeks early, and we've gotten to see him a lot as they keep doing ultrasounds. Yea! Bad news: I'm on a strict diet, and will begin testing my sugars 4 times a day next week. Ouch! Otherwise, baby is doing great, and I'm feeling better today.

Happy Birthday, Robbie!

Today is Robbie's 25th birthday. Happy Birthday, Robbie!



Robbie and Alicia at Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho, on a road trip to Boise, Idaho for my Aunt Linda's funeral. He drove from Rexburg; we drove from Salt Lake; we met in Rupert to drive together.



Alicia and Robbie in St. George just few months after Robbie got off his mission.



Steve and Robbie in a high-stakes wrestling match in Canyonlands National Park. Robbie's lucky it was just for show: Steve would have won. Robbie was the only one smart enough in our family (of the brothers, at least) to take a pass on high school wrestling in favor of skiing and bowling. Smart move. One time, Robbie lapped me while we were skiing (i.e., he got done with the run, rode the lift, and got down the hill again before I finished. Robbie doesn't carve, he just picks the fastest line from top to bottom and follows it).



Robbie at Mt. Rose.



Robbie on the banks of the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park.



Robbie, Erin, and an elk.



Robbie and Erin in Jackson, Wyoming.



Robbie, Erin, Alicia, Abby, and I visiting BYU-Idaho while Robbie and Erin were living in Rexburg. We enjoyed visiting Robbie and Erin while they lived in Rexburg. We are even more excited, however, to visit them now that they live in Seattle.



Robbie and Erin's wedding at the Columbia River Temple in Kennewick, Washington.



Steve, Robbie, Gordon, and I at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park.



Happy Birthday, Robbie!

Evening With Trisha and Steve

Last week, Alicia, Abby, and I had the privilege to go out to dinner with Alicia's Aunt Trisha and Uncle Steve, who were in Las Vegas on vacation.


What more scenic place to take photos than the alley between Paris and Bally's?

Thanks for the bear! Love, Abby.



It was past Abby's bedtime when this photo was taken.

Re: Abby's Favorites

In yesterday's post about Abby's favorite things to watch, I intentionally did not mention her favorite thing to watch on YouTube: He Who Shall Not Be Named

What's New With Abby?

Yesterday was Abby's 27th month birthday. She's got a lot of things going on in her life. Sorry, no pictures, but we are working on it.

+ Abby loves YouTube. Although she doesn't know it as YouTube. She just knows the computer plays "MacDonald," "Twinkle Twinkle," and "Einstein." But Baby MacDonald is her favorite.

+ Lately, because I have gotten bored with these three (whereas Abby never gets bored of them), I've been searching out vintage Sesame Street clips from my childhood. Abby has really gotten into some of them. Now, she routinely asks for "Batty-Bat," while I happily oblige, because the Count is awesome. You can't go wrong with "C is for Cookie." Since Abby has been somewhat obsessed with ladybugs lately, she often sings "Ladybugs' Picnic."

+ Some of the Sesame Street bits are as wacky as I remember them. For instance, what 25 to 35-year-old person doesn't have this coma-inducing counting-maharajah tune embedded in their subconscious. In English and Spanish? And how much LSD was being passed around the Childrens' Television Workshop when this pinball classic was created? (I'm scarred for life from that one). But as far as reliving childhood trauma, nothing tops "I'm Sure Going to Miss You, Mr. Hooper!" I venture to guess that probably 50% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 35 learned about death from the untimely demise of Mr. Hooper.

Why? Just because.

+ Abby is still a Beatles fan. She loves "Let it Be" (she seems to favor Paul over John). (Keeping with the gratuitous Sesame Street posts, of course I played her "Letter B" by "The Beetles."). We are trying to get better video of her on the mike.

+ Abby is pedaling her tricycle by herself now. She won't let me touch the push-handle anymore. Even though she can't ride uphill, if she can't, she will get off the bike and push it herself. She's very independent that way.

+ Strawberries are Abby's favorite food. If we have strawberries, Abby will finish hers, and before she touches anything else on her plate, she will leave her chair and walk around the table, begging everyone individually for their strawberries (if we would let her).

+ Abby loves to read. She can't read, but she loves pretending she knows how. This has been wonderful at church. She will sit with the Friend magazine for 10 minutes at a time pretending to read.

+ Abby loves to sing. She sings with us at church now. She makes up the words, but stays within a few keys of the melody.

+ Abby loves nursery now. Where she used to cry when we would take her there, now, as soon as sacrament meeting is over, she shouts "Nursery. Dad. Nursery!"; grabs my hand, and pulls me to nursery.

+ Abby loves her sandbox.

+ She "likes" everything now. "I like pink." "I like Cheerios." "I like shoes."

+ She is still the dawn-patrol. She either runs into our bedroom in the morning yelling "I wet!" or she just dives into bed with one or both of us. She is a pillow hog. She will not share a pillow. After a few minutes, she gets bored and orders: "Cheerios." "Mom. Cheerios." She's the little general.

+ Alicia could kill me for teaching Abby how to climb the rock wall (with my help) at one of the nearby parks (it's about 8 feet high). Now she tries to climb it by herself.

+ She does the potty thing from time to time, but she's still pretty content to go in her diaper.

OK. 24's on. Gotta go.