Go Pack Go!

What the heck is up with the Packers? Do not even point to the Favre saga as an excuse. Seriously if they keep losing like this I am going to have to make Grady watch them in another room or something. He is 6 days old and they are 0-2 in his lifetime.

Mom snapped this one of us before the game.

Some day he will be taller than his name.

He hates it when I take the remote with me to the bathroom!

Past and Future Badgers

Today Grady had an appointment near campus. All good news on the health front. Since we were down there we decided to check out his Mom's old school and possibly his in 18 years. Mom is pulling for an Academic Scholarship, Dad is pulling for an Athletic Scholarship. They both agree that either way would be perfectly fine.


Mama and her little Badger!


Since this visit's focus was academic, I think his next will have to be athletic...hmm Hockey or Hoops? Check out the Poll Question.

TGIF

Hmmm....didn't want people to think we didn't care enough to keep you posted. But as you can imagine we have been a tad busy. Grady is adapting to his new home, dog and single lifestyle.
Today he had his first Doc trip and then he went grocery shopping. Tomorrow he is thinking about either applying to college or traveling the world. And as always a couple of pictures.

Grandma Lobe holds Grady while cousin Luke leans in to give him a kiss.

Another kiss but this time from Brooks.

Grady the most awake we have seen him since he came home.

Dad and Grady after a meal. Notice his burp rag?

Hey Mom, I'm Home!

We made it home. Currently Grady and Mom are resting. Brooks came home and met Grady. After smelling him a little bit he licked his head and face. So far so good.

Happy Birthday Hillary!
Love Grady, Brooks and Ryan

Visiting Time

The past 48 hours have been a whirlwind. Hillary is such an amazing person! I have no idea how she did what she did. But if Grady grows up to be half of the person his Mom is, he is going to be pretty fantastic.

Grandma and Grandpa Lobe meet Grady.

Grady meets his "Big Brother" Byron with his Mom, Natalie.

Grady meets his neighbor and new best friend Caleb, along with his parents Phil and Emily.
A special thanks to the Witkiewics family for watching Brooks for us.


Grandpa and Grandma Phelps stopped in to say goodnight.

Grady say's Peace Out to everyone he has met the past 2 days. He is going home on Wednesday (Hillary's Birthday) and also wants to thank all the nurses and staff at Watertown Memorial Hospital.
And to all of our friends, family and co-workers who have stopped in and I didn't post a picture, or who have called, emailed or texted us Thank You! He looks forward to seeing you soon.
He also wanted everyone to remember that Christmas is 1 month from today. He asked for Sopranos complete series DVD box set on Blu-Ray. He noted that he hasn't seen any of it and had heard it was must watch TV. Oh, yeah and he mumbled something about toy car.

Little G Man

Grady after his first bath!

8lbs 9oz / 21 inches

Grady takes a nap before the Packer game.

Grady takes a nap during the Packer game.

GRADY JAY LOBENSTEIN

He finally came out around 5:30pm weighing 8lbs 9oz. He was 21 inches long. Baby and Momma are doing just fine! We can't wait for everyone to meet him.

Hillary, Ryan and Grady

I know this won't fit him for a few months but here is his first Brewers shirt.

Grady's first day was wrapped up by watching the Packer game with Dad.

Almost There

1:50pm
Ok, Hillary and the Baby are doing fine. He has yet to come out. It was getting super painful for awhile so Hillary got an Epidural about 20 minutes ago and is feeling fine. It seems the little guy is being a sheister and is turned slightly making it hard for a delivery. At last check it seems like he is starting to play along and we should be meeting him soon.

*On a side note he supposedly has a lot of hair. According to nurse Deb. Get your jokes out early! We want to both thank everyone that has helped us since we arrived. Everyone has been amazing!

10:30am
Here is a quick update. On Sunday 11/23/08 around 6:30am Hillary began having some pretty serious contractions. They were sporadic most of the day and began to get stronger and closer together. Here we are shortly after checking into Watertown Hospital around 12:30am on 11/24/08.

Baby Lobe has a pretty strong heartbeat. This machines moniters it and the strength of the contractions.

Shortly after we arrived in began snowing...and didn't stop until after 8am.

More to come...

Stay tuned for the name!

Christmas 2008

Ryan's Christmas tree in his "Man Cave"
A close-up of Ryan's Christmas tree. He has all of his Badger, Packers, and Brewers ornaments on his tree.
Our tree upstairs. We're just waiting to put photos of our baby in the "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments.
Our deck in icicle lights.
The front of our house.

I would like to thank my wonderful husband, Ryan, for staying home on opening weekend of deer season just in case I went into labor. He spent the day decorating our house for Christmas!

Paging Doctor Joe...

Just in case I happened to go into labor in school, my friend and custodian--"Dr." Joe Meyers--was ready with his "medical" gloves. He also informed me that he used these gloves to clean the toilets. This provided a much needed laugh for the final week(s) of my pregnancy. Thank you Joe!

"Nothing" in the thesaurus

Main Entry: nothing
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: emptiness
Synonyms:annihilation, aught, bagatelle, blank, cipher, crumb, diddly, duck egg, extinction, fly speck, goose egg, insignificancy, naught, nihility, nix, no thing, nobody, nonbeing, nonentity, nonexistence, not anything, nothingness, nought, nullity, obliteration, oblivion, scratch, shutout, trifle, void, wind, zero, zilch, zip, zippo, zot
Antonyms: something

We're still waiting and learning to be patient.

Nothing Yet

I'm still pregnant. Last night, I had about two hours of Braxton Hicks contractions mixed with some painful contractions. Then, they stopped once I went to bed. I haven't felt anything since last night.

We've cleaned the house this morning, and we're going to Target for some fun this afternoon. Does life get any better than this? I know some of you are thinking that by cleaning this house this morning--I was nesting. Maybe, maybe not.

Brooks just got into trouble upstairs. I heard Ryan say, "That's the baby's!" I haven't investigated what Brooks got into and/or destroyed. And now I hear music to my ears, the dishes are being put away by Ryan. I'll have to write on the blog more often.

Nope, still Pregnant!

I promise we will post the news ASAP. At 6pm Tuesday November 11th, we are still waiting. Of course, he isn't due until the 19th which means we could be waiting a few more weeks.
Thank you to everyone who keeps calling and asking. But again I promise we will let you know. Of course, the Grandparents will probably play a big role in that department too. Until then, here is another picture of his room.We are curious to see how many people have been checking in with our blog. Let us know by commenting and leaving a name suggestion. No name is too silly. Basically, we are just wondering how many people actually read this. We hope it is as fun to read for you as it is as fun to write for us.

Brooks for Obama

Brooks participated in the neighborhood "Bark for Obama" event on Election Day. He also professed his joy in the election of Barack Obama. Brooks was most impressed by this part of Obama's Acceptance Speech:

Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the new White House.

A New Day in America

Today is a beautiful new day for America. Barack Obama was elected president. Tears came to my eyes when I was listening to President Elect Obama's speech. I am proud to be a citizen of the United States. I am proud that Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States. I am proud that our nation took a step to overcome its past filled with racism and prejudice.

Most of all, I am proud that our son will be born into a nation filled with such immense hope.

A Part of Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech (November 4, 2008)

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States

Who gets your vote?

Rogers or Favre?

It looks like the voters have spoken...

Rogers rides away with the people's choice!

Halloween Part 2

We went to a party last Saturday night...
Our neighbors Trent and Trena held a costume party for both adults and kids. It was a lot of fun.

Hillary is due in 18 days from this picture.

Hillary was Grammar Girl! Must be a English Teacher thing...

I decided to do something easy so I wore my Brewers stuff.

Trick or Treat

Halloween has come and gone. Hillary was quite busy handing out candy. We estimated over 100 kids stopped by. Here are a couple of my favorite photos from Halloween.

Hillary and Brooks waiting for the trick or treaters.

Our Nephew Luke ready to go.

Even Brooks got dressed up.

This kid walked by our tailgate the week before, Great Costume!