Welcome Fenwick Mandle

Fenwick David Mandle joined us on July 30th, 2010. He was a solid 8lbs 4oz and very long (20 inches) with a full head of beautiful hair. As many of you know due to some last minute birthing complications we did have an emergency c-section to get him out. This saved his life. Due to some trauma in the womb the poor little guy was in the neonatal intensive care unit for the first 2 weeks of his life. It was a hard time, one of the most difficult either Rob, or Myself have ever experienced, but we grew closer together because of it, came to appreciate and understand what the truly important things in life are, and saw what a fighter our little guy was and is! With so many people praying for us and the help of loving family, we managed, blurry eyed to be at that hospital for Fen every day, sometimes two times a day!  

Although Fen had a rough start to life, he is doing more than fine now. He is growing every day and discovering new abilities. He is loved beyond measure. Below are a few pics chronicling the first two months of his life - Enjoy!

 Fen in the NICU

 Nana visits Fen!

 Grandpa visits Fen!

Special ear muffs and batman-visor

 First time Daddy held Fen!

 First time Mommy held Fen!

 Omi visits Fen

 Opi visits Fen

The first day we brought Fen home could not have been sweeter:

The rest of August flew by with plenty of cuddles and curiosities:

Baby Mandle

 A lot has happened since our Snowpocolypse post back in February of this year and we apologize for the hiatus. Believe me, it was not for lack of post material, but rather that we were too busy to post! By now most of you have heard that baby Mandle, affectionately referred to as the Little Guy, is imminently due. We have been busy bees this spring preparing for the Little Guy: entertaining, spending quality time with family and friends, nesting, planning events, designing, and so much more. In an effort to catch many up to date we would like to share some highlights that capture a little bit of what we have experienced and accomplished February - May.

Mom and Aunt Leslie visited us this winter - It was a cozy, chatty trip. Thanks Rob for putting up with us!

A visit home, to Orcas Island in March. Me with my Dad visiting one of the houses he built.

My Mom and I enjoying her garden and walk outside!

I surprised Rob for his birthday - A house full of people dressed for a Mad Men, or should I say Mad Mandle Night!

Party people, Mad Mandle style! 

More party goers

Part of the surprise birthday party was to have Rob's parents and little brother down for the weekend from CT - Thanks Mandles!

Dan, Catherine, Jackson, and Amelia visited us this April from MN - Jackson loved the Cherry Blossoms and hanging out in this tree!

In May I visited Lynnette and Clay in NC with Heather for a long weekend. It was so great to see the newly engaged couple and celebrate with them!

To wrap this series of spring highlights up, we will leave you with an image of our Little Guy. This ultrasound was taken in March.

Snowpacolypse coming to an end

We had our fun in the snow, but last weekend I had had enough! Fortunately the weather gods have heard my plea and DC is starting to warm.....slowly, but surely the giant snow mountains piled high around the city are starting to melt away making the walk from our house down to the Metro much easier.

As a farewell to this season I thought it only appropriate to post a few photos documenting our attempt at building a snow army along Rock Creek Church Road. We tried to recruit, but in the end we were an army of two. The snow men came out great though and we left that day feeling victorious in our efforts!

The makings of a snow army

Rob's lovely snowman

The artist at work

Rob leans in for a wet one

In appreciation of Rob's creation

Valentine's Day 2010

Does Valentine's Day inspire you to be crafty, or creative? For us - it does! Rob woke this morning (much earlier than I of course) to my paper heart treasure trail leading to various hidden German-made gummy bears wrapped in tissue. Additionally, he found a series of six handmade 2"x2" square Valentine's Day boxes also containing gummy bears on display in the dining room.

Not to be outdone, I awoke this morning to a curious, fuzzy, red object hanging above my side of the bed .... oh wait, I didn't have my glasses on yet. I soon discovered the fuzzy object to be a three dimensional hanging paper heart with a string attached to a love note from the wonderful Mr. Rob. I was indeed impressed!

We spent the rest of our Valentine's Day eating a late breakfast at Busboys and Poets, saw the movie Avatar, and wrapped everything up with a cozy evening reading our books here at the green house. Enjoy the photos!