Justin Mark Zischke

We are proud to announce the arrival of Justin Mark . . .

He was born on June 1st at 12:04 pm.  Justin weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and was 21 inches long.
Everything went well at the hospital and we are enjoying having Justin home.  Owen has really taken to his little brother and is very sweet with him.  Here's a few photos from our first week as a family of 4

Let's Play Catch-Up!

Two months without a blog post!  Unthinkable!!  Turns out chasing after an almost 3-year old & being in your 3rd trimester is a little exhausting.  Basic house cleaning & naps have become the priority with little time for much else!
However, Owen deserves a few more posts before the blog is taken over by the baby!
Here's what he's been up to . . .

Playing with Play-doh

Doing crossword puzzles with Dad (such serious concentration!)

Finding all the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid . . .

. . . then devouring the candy in record time

Coloring with markers, not always on the paper!

Going to Greenfield Village to see Thomas the train!

Playing trains at home . . . trains have become valuable prizes for going #2 on the potty!

Hanging out at the Brighton fire station with REAL firemen, so cool!

Owen loves going outside and playing.  He'll be getting a swingset in the backyard soon, his birthday present from Mommy & Daddy.  We had an "early" party to celebrate his birthday before the baby comes.  It was a fun time & I think he really enjoyed it.  Owen's been doing really well with going potty & we're very proud of him.  It took a while but I think he's really getting it now.  That's the news for now, 11 more days until Owen's a big brother!

A Little Bit Obsessive Compulsive

I realize that when both your parents are engineers you may be pre-disposed to some analytical tendencies.
Lately, Owen has been a little obsessive compulsive with his books.

- ALL the books must be in a pile before we start reading.  By all, I mean ALL, every book we own.  He collects them from upstairs & downstairs for the pile.
- After we read one it goes in a separate pile.
- Knocking over the pile can cause a meltdown
- Owen will straighten the piles if they aren't just right
- Several times a day all the books are taken either upstairs or downstairs depending on where he wants to read.

I would never discourage Owen from reading, I think it's great that he loves it so much.  But seriously we've had enough of these piles and the constant moving of books!  I'm sure both sets of grandparents are laughing and thinking the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  Like I said, when both your parents are engineers . . . it's really not your fault! 

Future Coffee Lover

Owen has enjoyed a few glasses of hot chocolate this winter.  He really likes drinking out of Mommy & Daddy's coffee cups.  He looks like a natural with a mug in his hand!

Elmo & Bob the Builder

Owen's been busy playing with his favorite characters!  We went to see Sesame Street Live last week & visited the Bob the Builder exhibit at the Ann Arbor hands-on museum the week before.
Owen absolutely loved both!  He was mesmorized by the Sesame Street characters and behaved great for his first theater experience.  The Bob the Builder exhibit is great for the 2-4 year olds.  I would definitely recommend it.  There are so many hands-on things for the kids to do & all the tractors you can climb on and take pictures.  I think it's at the museum until mid-March.

Family Portrait

Owen drew a family portrait on his chalk board.  Jon is the large potato shape on the left, notice how his face is in the middle of his body.  I'm on the right with a baby (many straight lines) in my belly.  Owen is actually the small fish/bird looking object in the upper left corner.  Of course I praised this masterpiece to no end and he was 100% really proud of it!!!

It's a Boy!

Ultrasound today confirmed that Baby #2 is a boy!  Here are a few pictures of the little guy.  Everything looked great and he was being very active for the camera.

There are two different pictures on each screen shot . . . there are NOT two babies!!

He had his hands up near his face most of the time.

The ultrasound tech got some neat pictures of his hands.  The baby was showing off a little and gave us the "thumbs up" sign.