It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Hey everyone,

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the Nienstedt house. The trees are both up, presents are being wrapped, and I've begun muttering "Bah, Humbug!" all around the house.

Santa made an appearance this evening. Jack and Grant both wished for something, but we're not sure what it was (from the looks of the pictures, they might have been wishing to be off of Santa's lap ASAP).

We also took our family Christmas shot tonight. This is one of the rejects, but it's still pretty good.


Kim and I have both been counting down the days until Christmas break. (Sidebar: How is it already December? Seems like yesterday it was July 30th, and the boys were being born. Time flies!)

As you can see, the boys have been growing quite a bit. They have gained almost ten pounds from their birth weights!









I included the last couple of pictures here for those of you who wonder if the boys ever cry! The first picture is about as perfect a shot as we could take, but the last picture is the visual proof that our two little men do indeed throw the occasional tantrum!

Pre-Thanksgiving Update

Hey,

I haven't updated the blog in a while, so I thought I'd do so before Thanksgiving. As you can see from the picture below, the boys are very excited for Thanksgiving. The got to hang out with the Grandma and Grandpa Nienstedt this weekend, while Mommy went to Emporia, so they can't wait to go to Ottawa later this week!

Also, a couple of weeks ago we took a trip to see Clint and Heather in Haviland. The boys really enjoyed that trip as well!

Lazy Days

After a weekend of traveling to State Cross Country, Kansas City, and Wichita, the Nienstedt family spent a relaxing weekend at home.

We dragged the Bumbo out this weekend, and the boys seem to really like it!

The boys took a nap on Dad this morning while he watched an episode of Smallville.

And, finally, we took a group picture, to show that not all Sooner and Jayhawk fans hate each other!

Message for Mom + Happy Halloween!!!

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY...

Check out the boys as KU fans. You won't see this for long friends, because I already know that they are smarter than to continue this indecent behavior.

Here at the Nienstedt household I teach my little thugs to be Sooner fans only!!!!



In other news: I got a truck about two weeks ago, and we said goodbye to Kim's Hyundai. However, we won't have to go far to see the old girl... we sold her to Rita.












My buddies Vince and Shonda came to Fredonia a couple of weeks ago too. I would have bet you a hundred bucks that Vince wouldn't have held the boys, but we managed to get him not only to hold the boys, but to have it recorded for all time by Kim's digital camera.

(What Vince won't tell you is that we had a Natty Light held above the camera, hence the big smile on his face!)

Finally, here's a picture of Farmer Jack, showing his Cummings blood, and a video of Grant.

Big Update

I haven't posted in a while, and I know everyone is getting restless.

The boys have been doing very well. They still eat and sleep, eat and sleep, eat and sleep... but they are starting to wake up a little bit more. Grant has been up almost as much as Kim and me during the day for the past couple of days!

Kim and I have been trying our hardest to raise good children.






We believe we might have future presidential candidates for the Democratic party.

We've also been trying to impose our love of the Chiefs on the boys as well. I've been trying to explain to them that even though the Chiefs are 0-2, they shouldn't be falling asleep during the games!



However, I'm not sure how well all this training is going. As you can see, all the time at home with mom has made them act a little "goofy" at times. (Kim seemed to see the humor in this picture, I promised the boys that I would make sure to destroy all copies of it!)





In other exciting news, the boys have been enjoying some alone time with their parents this week.


On Monday, Jack went to cross country practice with me (we also snuck away to the golf course... he he he), while Grant went with Kim to the doctor.

Then, on Thursday, Grant went to his first poker game, while Jack stayed home and watched the tube with Mom.

Last weekend, Jack and Grant got to meet their cousin Alexis for the first time. She looks like monster compared to our boys, but they are doing their best to try and catch up.





Needless to say, it has been a long week. I'm sure that the boys will deny it, but I think we're all ready for a good long nap this weekend!

Stop!

Our little bundles of joy, Jack and Grant are really starting to grow. Both boys are now over seven pounds, and Jack has begun to beat Grant in the bottle eating contests that we hold every four hours.


As you can see in this picture, Grant has now problem telling big brother how it is going to be!

Kim is planning on returning to work in about three weeks. She is sooooooooooo excited!


Over Labor Day weekend we traveled to Grandma and Grandpa Moore's house. This picture is of the boys with all of seven of their cousins!


Finally, you may or may not know that Fredonia started their own cross country program about a week ago, and installed Marshall as head coach. He had intended to take this year off, but couldn't pass up the opportunity!

Hello, World! This is Us!

Sorry I haven't updated this blog in a while. After five full days in the hospital, we were sent home on Monday, August 4th.

Jack and Grant are adjusting to their new home very well. Grandma Moore stayed for almost two weeks to help us out. We can't thank her enough. The boys were very happy to have her around too!

With the exception of a few nights, the boys are very sound sleepers. They must get this from their mom. (I gave them my good looks, so I figure they can't get all of my traits.)


As you can see, they already enjoy spending time together. Most times they just sleep...

... but today they decided to try out their lungs together for the first time!

Below is my first attempt at a video post. This is Grant using his bouncy seat for the first time.

Oh, Brother...

Thanks to everyone for all of the calls, visits, prayers and thoughts this week. Hopefully we will be coming home from the Hospital on Monday.

Jack was taken off of all of the heart and oxygen monitors on Saturday morning. The IV (antibiotics) were ceased last night. He is doing great!

Both of the boys are great little guys. As you can see, they are very happy to be together too!

Jack Fights Back!

Just thought everybody would like a little update on the boys...

Grant is still doing really well. He is such a great baby!

Also, Jack was diagnosed with a blood infection this morning. He will be in the hospital until Thursday. Fortunately, our doctor had already started him on antibiotics before we knew exactly what was wrong with him. So, after giving Mom and Dad a little scare, he's going to be just fine.

He's making such good progress that today he was allowed to come to our room for the first time!

Thanks to everyone for all the calls and visits.

UPDATE -- As I was writing this post, Kim informed me that Jack is going back on oxygen, because he can't keep his heart rate up. I've got to run, but we'll keep you updated.

Love,
Marshall and Kim

Our Big Day --- Major Update!

Hey everybody,

For those of you that don't know, although I'm sure there can't be many of you left, Jack and Grant were born today at 5:40 and 5:41 p.m.

Jack, seen below, was born first. He weighed in at 5 lbs. and 5.6 oz. He is still having some trouble breathing, so he is currently residing in the nursery full-time.



Grant weighed in at 4 lbs. and 12 oz. He has been with us since the delivery, and he is a great baby!

Anyway, we just wanted to get everyone updated. Hope you enjoyed the news as much as we did!

Our House

Hey,

As many of you know, Kim and I bought our first house this summer. I know that many of you have been to the house, but for those of you who haven't yet, here are a few pictures:

Stir Loses His Fur!!!

For those of you who don't know (although I can't imagine there are many of you), Stir is our cat. Stir is three years old, and we call him our "special needs" kitty--very PC of us, I know.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I had Stir before Kim and I were married. However, because of his constant shedding, Kim and Stir have never seen eye-to-eye. This hatred had only increased with the impending arrival of Jack and Grant. I had begun to think that we might actually have to get rid of Stir.

So, in one final attempt to keep my precious cat, I let Kim get him shaved (by the vet).

The results:

A smashing success.


In fact, Kim and Stir have already begun mending the fences of three brutal years of enmity.

Somewhere, Hollis is smiling.

I Know This Isn't News Anymore...

I know this isn't news anymore, but I wanted to get some pictures up here before Meghann flew to Kansas and physically hurt me! So, here are a couple of the new shots. I would have put a bunch more on here, but the school scanner wasn't cooperating with me this afternoon.

The first picture is of both boys. Their names, you ask?

Baby A. Nienstedt
Baby B. Nienstedt

Just joking! Their real names are:

Jack Upton (Baby A)
Grant William (Baby B)

The second picture is visual confirmation that Jack is in fact a boy. As I said before, I have a bunch more pictures, but the school scanner and I aren't always on the best of terms.

Big News (Times Two)

So, we decided that this blog would be an easy way to keep all of you up to date on Baby Nienstedt.

Now for the shocker: After our doctor's visit on Thursday there are TWO Baby Nienstedts.

Yes, that's right, we're having twins!