Iron Gets Wings!

Earlier this month, Tam and Iron took to the
friendly skies to travel home for Grandma Rosie's
90th birthday party in Moline, Ill. Not able to find
an acceptable itinerary in and out of Moline, Tam
and Iron flew in and out of Louisville (where Aunt
Deeky lives) and drove home with the Lagerblade
brood to Moline for the party.

Iron did very well--better than expected--on
the flights. Mama was so proud of him! Following
are a variety of shots taken of the Louisville/Moline
adventure.

Not surprisingly, the first to get her hands on Iron
was Aunt Deeky. Look how in love she is! (By the
way, those of you who watch "Private Practice" may
have noticed this outfit sported by Violet's baby in
last week's episode!)


Of course Uncle Ross wanted to meet his
newest nephew as well. What a wonderful lap!


It wasn't until we got to Moline that Cousins
Reece and Rex decided they wanted to hold
Iron, too.




And finally Iron got to meet his other
Uncle Dave!


While in Moline, we visited the Shady Knoll Farm
pumpkin patch. Following are various shots from
that outing, starting with Iron and Aunt Deeky in
the Bunny Village. Iron's not too sure about that
bunny, but look at those cheeks!


Uncle Dave held Iron near the scarecrow, but there
was no scaring possible while in those protective arms!


Reece and Rex decided to see how they
measure up these days...


And Iron thought he'd do the same.


The Lagerblade family...


Children of the corn???


The twins and their boys (minus Benton!).


Aunt Deeky calls this an Iron sandwich!


Has anyone seen Iron?


Before we left the patch, the boys picked out their
pumpkins. Mama also picked out hers...


Later during our trip to Moline, we saw Iron
smile for the first time.


We also saw him make faces like this one...


We ended our time in Moline with Grandma Rosie's
90th birthday party. Here she is surrounded by her
three kids and many of their offspring.


And here's a gorgeous table displaying a tribute to
Grandma through the years.


After all this travel, Iron got a bit disoriented
from time to time...


What?!! Are you laughing at me?!!


All in all it was a great (but tiring) trip! Here Iron
is dreaming of seeing big brother Benton again...

Willa You Marry Me?

Some of you know Tamara's dear friend Sara also
has a newborn baby. Her name is Willa Joy Woods,
and she was born September 16. Like Iron, she
weighed in at 7 lb, 14 oz at birth, and Iron stretched
just a quarter inch more in length. We've already
decided they'll marry someday. Doesn't Willa Hills
have a nice ring to it? ;-)

Here's an adorable photo of the two lovebirds' first
photo shoot together. Okay, okay...so we won't
arrange their marriage, but we're pretty sure they'll
be best buddies!

Iron's Birth Announcement

Paper + adhesive + ink + creativity + cute newborn
baby parts = Iron's birth announcement!

See below for a digital shot of the announcements
Aunt Deeky made for Iron. She and Grandma Wedra
staged the photo shoot when they were visiting us for
Iron's birth. It was really surprising to us to see the
similarities between Iron and Benton as a newborn.

Thanks, Aunt Deeky, for making these announcements
for us!

It's already been 1 month!

Hello, friends and family (and any other strangers who
may be peeking into our lives). Iron turned 1 month
yesterday -- can you believe it?!! We're still trying to
settle into a smooth groove with two, but it's coming.
While we hunt for more sleep and control over the
schedule, it looks like the boys are developing some
brotherly love. A few days ago we put Iron in Benton's
bed, and both zonked out. Cute spooners!


And here they are enjoying a morning rock. (Well, at
least Benton's enjoying it...not so sure about Iron!)


The big event of the past week is that Grandpa Larry
has been visiting from Iowa. Iron seems intrigued by
the new face in the house.


He also discovered Grandpa Larry provides a
comfy nap environment.


Speaking of napping, Iron went on his first stroller
walk yesterday...a great jaunt around Green Lake
with Mama's friend Sara and her new baby girl Willa.
Iron slept the whole way! Willa did as well. As soon
as they both wake up and start their courting (they're
going to fall in love, get married, and live happily ever
after), we'll snap and share some photos of the two cuties!


Speaking of cuties, look at this great smile on
Benton! He's experimenting with a new therapy
"toy" that arrived yesterday. Many people have
suggested hippotherapy (horse riding therapy) for
Benton, but it's very expensive and not covered
yet by insurance. So in the meantime, we thought we'd
give this inflatable, knobby "horse" a try. It'll help
Benton develop trunk strength and balance--just like
hippotherapy.


It'll also (hopefully) help him develop arm strength.
Here he's demonstrating putting his hands down
to help with body balance.


What a smile!


And here he is in action...


Here's an adorable shot of Dennis getting some kisses
from Iron. I guess we have yet to teach him how to
smooch with eyes closed!


I've heard of throwing the baby out with the bath
water, but what about throwing the baby out with
the dirty laundry? Just kidding...Iron was just
taking a ride for a few minutes.


It's hard to believe it's finally October. Here Dennis
is working on a creative Halloween costume concept.


Another shot of the Hills foursome. :-)