Yesterday we went to Kristin’s paternal grandparents’ condo in Fitchburg for a family get-together. All of her dad’s siblings and their kids were there (shout out to Marcie, Gretchen, Katie, Andrew, Rachel, Erin, Bryce and Taylor, plus spouses Josh, Todd and Scott). In addition, Gretchen and Todd brought their 10-month-old, Bennett, and Katie is 74 days away from her expected due date.

We just can’t believe how all of us “kids” have grown up. When Brian was invited to go with Kristin’s family to their cabin in 1999, some of her cousins were infants and some were still in high school. Now two of us have our own kids with another on the way. Thanksgiving will be decidely different this year.

In this picture is Kristin’s dad, Chip, and her grandfather, William.

Journal family, four generations

Last Saturday we went to Kristin’s maternal grandparents’ condo so that Braden could visit his great-grandparents. As we always do, we waited until he was hungry (almost all the time anyway), fed him, then zipped over to Monona.

With the snowfall, the roads were a bit slippery, and en route we encountered a two car fender-bender and a car that lost control on the on-ramp. Brian joked that he wanted Kristin to take her car and drive ahead as the “scout car.”

Amazingly, Braden slept the entire time we were there (or, at least 90 percent unconscious). All in all, it was quite the moment for four generations to be together at once.

Journal family, four generations

Th new episode of “Brian and Kristin Plus One” is the sequel to episode 4. In it, we wrap up our hospital stay.

Video bath, family, hospital

On Feb. 14, 2008, Brian had a dentist appointment, then went to see Bill Clinton at the UW Stock Pavilion, then got a haircut, then had dinner with Kristin at the Admiralty (inside the Edgewater Hotel).

This year, we “slept in” until 8 a.m., watched ESPN Game Day live from the Kohl Center, had family and a coworker visit us, ordered a heart-shaped pizza from Rocky Rococo, then watched the Badger basketball game on TV. Neither of us left the house the entire day. We did have two different parties we were invited to, but obviously we didn’t go to either one.

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Brian did begin brewing beer (an Amber) Saturday night. It should be ready in about two weeks!

Journal family, home brew

After another feeding and a bath for Braden, we packed up and left shortly after noon. Kristin did NOT have to be carted out in a wheelchair–she is one tough cookie.

Brian, as always, had road rage on the short drive home (1.4 miles according to MapQuest), only this time it was even more severe as his protective tendencies came to play. But we made it home safely, and Braden already has been fed.

It’s 2:15 p.m. and we’re just relaxing (well, Brian is doing some work and then running errands for Kristin) before we have family over.

Check out the new pics (Day 4).

Journal, Pictures family, home, hospital

Thank you to everyone who has called, e-mailed, texted and/or Facebook-messaged us today! Your well wishes really, really mean a lot to us.

We’ve had a parade of people come in today–the overnight nurse, the day nurse, the resident OB, Kristin’s baby doctor, our pediatrician, the nurse’s assistant and Meriter’s volunteer welcome person. And of course, our parents came this morning and stayed a few hours. Finally, Kristin’s sister Marcie stopped for a while this afternoon. 

Before Marcie came, we asked our nurse (Carol–she’s outstanding) if we could have some privacy to sleep. So we got a DO NOT DISTURB sign and then napped for an hour–we really needed it.

We’ve been feeding Braden every two hours or so. He smacks his lips and sticks his tongue way out when he’s hungry (it’s so damn cute!). He’s been sleeping a lot, and he hardly cries.

It’s funny, Braden loves keeping his arms by his head (like he was in the womb).

As mentioned, we didn’t expect to be in the hospital this long. Brian already is out of clothes, so he may just wear a gown the rest of the week. Thank goodness we brought Brian’s laptop to stay connected to the world.

It’s about 4:45 p.m. and we’re just relaxing until the next feeding. Kristin is disconnected from her PCA [meds] so she can move around as needed (she’s still sore, though).

Did you see the pics of Braden?

Journal family, hospital