The hog has arrived!

For those of you who don't know, a family in the congregation has been generous enough to donate a whole hog to us. It has been butchered and we purchased a deep freeze to store the meat. We have been eagerly anticipating its arrival and here it is - our hog! We have already tried some bacon, ground pork in the form of tacos, and bar-b-que pulled pork, all of which were very good. Next on the list - pork chops!

Five months old and a trip to St. Louis...

It is hard to believe that the boys are already 5 months old! Where has the time gone? Thanksgiving is almost here and Christmas is just around the corner! Alison's sister, Erin, had planned a trip to St. Louis with her husband Brian and their daughter Micaiah. Micaiah is 4 months older than the boys and we still had not had an opportunity to see her. SO... off went Alison and the boys to St. Louis! Russell was not able to come along, so Alison braved the 6 hour drive by herself with the boys. All in all it went well as she only had to stop one time each direction. Alison and the boys had a great time visiting with family. Russell was very glad to have them back when they returned! Here are some pictures of their time there - enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!!

Today is Halloween as all of you know and we had the pleasure of "trick or treating" at the doctor's office today! Today was our first visit with Dr. Duff here in Manhattan and we had a great visit! The boys continue to be growing well and are healthy as can be. Here are their official 4 month statistics:

Caleb: 25 1/4 inches long, 12 lbs 14 1/2 oz
Joshua: 25 1/4 inches long, 13 lbs 12 1/4 oz

As you can see, Joshua has been very busy eating as much as possible (up to 9 ounces in one sitting) and has surpassed his brother in weight. They continue to be equal in length and are progressing well with their milestones. It wouldn't surprise me if they started rolling over soon... the days of mobility are just around the corner! We went on a hike with the dogs and the boys today and just had a great time. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Four months old...

It is has been a very busy month this past month with moving and starting life in Manhattan, KS! We are still working on getting settled into our new home and Russ is really enjoying his new job. The people here have all been very friendly and I (Alison) even went on a play date with the boys! Of course, the boys continue to grow and change all the time. They are smiling more and sleeping through the night better now (we can expect them to go for 10 hours minus one wake up call to reswaddle them.) I am really enjoying being at home with boys and am so thankful I have the opportunity to do so. Our 4 month check up is later this month, so we're not quite sure how big they are, but I wanted to get some new pictures up for all of you! Hope you enjoy!!!

Baby Andrysczyk has arrived!

We have all been waiting for quite some time for Russell's sister Becky to have her little boy. Well the wait is over! Ayden Michael Andrysczyk has finally arrived!!! He was born late October 17th and is 8 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long. We are so happy to have a new member of the family!!! You can check out pictures as they are posted on their blog (see Blogs we visit in the right hand column and click on "Kyle Becky and Ayden"). Welcome Ayden!!!

Three months old

Here we are at three months old already! The boys are growing and changing all the time... They are now talking and laughing up a storm and like to be awake and play after they eat. They have found their fists and love to suck on them - sometimes at the expense of their bottle! They are working at lifting their heads up off the floor and they even roll over from their stomachs to their backs from time to time. It continues to be tons of fun to watch them. We are looking forward to getting into our new home soon so we can all be together again! In the meantime, we're having a great time in St. Louis hanging out with my family.

The Fabulous Five

We have shared a special bond with the Ballards because of Russell and Jeff's seminary experience, Alison and Kristen's work together in the physical therapy department at Lake Forest Hospital, and of course the unique journey of a pregnancy with multiples. Of course we couldn't leave Chicago without a trip to meet Benjamin, Luke, and Abigail and see their parents one last time! It was hard for Russell and I to believe that our boys were that small when they came home from the hospital! How time does fly... Here are some pictures of all FIVE kids...