Welcome to the Kleinsasser Crew

Hello from the Kleinsasser Crew and welcome to our blog!  We've joined the wonderful world of blogging so that our family and friends can see what's happening in our little corner of the world.  We really wish we lived closer to so many of you, but we hope that our blog gives you a chance to see how our family is growing (and, who are we kidding -- it gives us a chance to show off Charlie!). 

Our Summer in Review

This is Zack at the keyboard (with Michelle at my right hand).  As you can imagine, we've had a full summer.  So we thought our first entry would recap the last few months.  This will probably be our longest post ever, but we think you'll enjoy it!  So grab a cup of coffee and happy scrolling!

June

 Zachary Charles Kleinsasser, Jr. (we call him Charlie) was born on June 8, 2009 at 5:09 p.m.  He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, was 20 1/2 inches long, and was the cutest baby ever born at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.  This is Charlie in his first few hours of life.

I had no idea what I was doing when the nurse handed me our newborn, but I learned quickly.

We had so many people visit Charlie in the hospital -- Nanny, Grandpa V, Gram, Melissa, our friends Cindy, Glen, Sophia and Tiffany Comiso, our friend Rachel, and others.  We have so many pictures we'd love to share, but this is one priceless -- Grandpa V with Charlie for the first time.

One person in the list above deserves special attention.  Melissa is probably the most amazing sister in the world.  She is a kindergarten teacher and was in the middle of her last week of school when she got the call that Michelle was in labor.  She raced to the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, hopped on a plane, and was in the hospital with Shells and I within 4 hours of Charlie being born.  It was such a blessing to have here there!  

The proud father carrying Charlie into our house for the first time. 

Charlie, sleeping soundly at home!

When Charlie was a week old, my parents flew in from Minnesota and my sister, Allison, flew in from California.  They stayed for a week and got tons of bonding time with Charlie and cousin Noelle.  The highlights included building a raised garden, strolls through the Public Garden in Boston, checking out our new church, making daily trips to Starbucks (Michelle and I were sleep deprived; Allison is just obsessed with Starbucks), and watching about 25 episodes of Gilmore Girls.

Grandpa K had the magic touch!

My mom (Grandma K) came ready to play.  Armed with recipes and shopping lists, she cooked and cleaned for 7 straight days while we learned how to take care of Charlie.  We really appreciated her help!

And Cali Alli, already one of Charlie's favorite aunts.

Allison and our cousin Noelle hanging with Charlie. 

Father's Day 2009 was really special.  Not only was it my first father's day, but it was the first father's day I've spent with my Dad in a long time.

Some tummy time with Mommy.  Charlie is three weeks old in these pictures.  

What's he lookin' at?  And that brings us to the end of June...

July

On the Fourth of July, we went to Michelle's Aunt Lisa and Uncle Will's house for a BBQ.  Michelle's parents were there, Nana made an appearance, and Melissa and "special friend" Christopher Klotz were in the house.  It was a beautiful day, the food was amazing, and Charlie loved dressing up for it.

Charlie with Great-Nana, Michelle's grandma who celebrated her 91st 4th of July!

Charlie with Grandpa and Nanny.

Now that was a long day!

The rest of the July 4th weekend was a ton of fun because we got to spend some time with Chris.  He was great with Charlie and gave Charlie his first soccer ball!

One of Charlie's first smiles!  He was probably 5 weeks old here.

Melissa stayed in Boston for 2 weeks which was a ton of fun.  She and Charlie had some great bonding time and she really jumped in and helped out with diaper duty, among many other things.  She's a natural!  

And we have to give a shout out to Charlie's AMAZING mom, who is up all hours of the night and constantly on milk duty, but does all of it with a smile.

We spent a few days visiting Gram in Falmouth, Massachusetts, which is on Cape Cod.  Aunt Anne also lives in Falmouth, so were able to spend time with her as well.  Gram hosted quite a crew at her house: Michelle, Charlie and I; Michelle's parents; Melissa; and Mike, Beth, Jake and Josh. 

Charlie loves his Great-Gram! 

Charlie and his cousins, ready for a trip to the beach.

Nanny with her grandsons -- Charlie, Josh and Jake.

Family of three!

Aunt Anne helping Charlie fall asleep for the night.

Josh had some good training learning how to be a soon-to-be big brother.

Giving Charlie a bath in Falmouth.  He actually loves baths so its a lot of fun.

At the end of July we went to Minnesota for some Kleinsasser family time at the lake.  The weather was great but the fellowship was even better.  Charlie loved meeting all of his aunts, uncles and...

cousins!  Alexis, on the right, is 4 weeks older than Charlie.  Sasha is the leader of the pack -- she's 2.5 years.

Could Sasha be any sweeter?

Everyone, stretch!

Cousin Krissy got to meet Charlie.

Uncle Joel, Aunt Lora, Aunt Allison and Charlie taking a cat nap together.    

Charlie and Lora.

Finally, back to Boston!

Whew...all that traveling wiped me out!

August

Cousin Kendra and our godson Braylon came back to Boston the first week in August.  I only got to spend a night with them (including cousin Mike) before I went to a wedding in Detroit, but Michelle got some great time with Kendra and Braylon.  

Kendra loved cuddling with Charlie...and was practicing for the next little Peterson who is on the way!  

The second weekend in August we traveled to Fire Island in New York.  It was a really special weekend for a lot of reasons, but one of our favorite parts was the time we spent remembering Michelle's Grampa Carl (who was called "Charlie" when he was a kid by his Italian relatives!). One highlight was going to the annual poetry festival on the island, which Grampa and his wife Lucy started 30 years ago.

Charlie on his first ferry ride -- from Long Island to Fire Island.

Settling in with Aunt Melissa.

Getting cleaned up after a big trip to the island.

One of Charlie's favorite parts about Fire Island was meeting and spending time with Uncle Dan and Aunt Campbell, who just got back from Africa.  Not seen in picture: Baby Vogel, due this Christmas.

At the poetry festival.

The whole crew at the famous Vogel tree.

What better way to end our first post than with some pictures of the cutest 9 week-old on the planet...

This has been such a wonderful summer!  Not only has Charlie been an incredible blessing, but we feel so thankful for all the wonderful people in our lives who have supported us in this new adventure, showering us with meals, gifts, prayers, cards, visits, phone calls and love.  We wish we could acknowledge each of you individually, but you know who you are, so thank you!

See you soon!

Love, 

The Kleinsasser Crew