Vondre the Giant flexes his muscles

We knew he was powerful. Now he'll prove it.

Vondre started flexing on his own, but we can now coax it out of him.

It's funny every time, unless he has you in his grip when he's flexing.

This little boy has brought us so much joy. He's a gift from God, as are all children.

mr. MONK and the GIANT

The Giant can be soothed by one of the best TV theme songs ever written - Randy Newman's It's a Jungle Out There from the hit series Monk.

When he's hanging out with GrandPa (me - Wes Fahlenkamp), Vondre will occasionally catch a Monk rerun or two. The Giant's usually playing while I enjoy one of the best shows EVER. But as soon as the song comes on, he's hooked, and he's perfectly calm for 59 seconds. Then he's back to doing what giants do - tearing the place down!

One time (according to his Mother), when Vondre was on the teat "angrily eating" while facing away from the TV, the song came on. He whacked his Mom in the face while nearly breaking his neck to watch his favorite Defective Detective move to the catchy tune.

No other song has the same effect on the Giant. We've tested it.  

The Giant lives large

"So I'm addicted to lactose? Sue me."

Vondre knows how to get free meals.

Yes, he's a mini master mooch. He just yells a little bit ... maybe a tear or two ... and BOOM!, he's at the trough.

And he's not one bit worried about his waistline. Why should he be? He eats whenever he wants to, and the ladies still can't help but fawn over him.

He's got it made. Yes, the Gaint is livin' large.

The fall of the Giant

Is it OK to use a child for your own amusement? Sure it is! As long as they're safe.

Vondre brings us so much joy, no matter what he's doing. He's even adorable when he falls face first. But Granny's there to catch him. No harm done. But lots of laughs.

Feeding the Giant

Like every giant, Vondre likes to eat. He's currently learning how to eat more than Mama's milk, and it's quite entertaining.

The impatient Giant

"Ladies, ladies! I'm not even a day old!"

God and Vondre didn't care about anyone's schedule. He came almost 6 weeks early and didn't ask anybody if that was OK.

There are usually concerns with preemies due to underdevelopment. Because Vondre was a preemie, he was moved into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for exactly two weeks for monitoring and to get up to speed with eating and pooping before he got to go home. Vondre did have slight jaundice in the NICU, but nothing severe.

Thankfully, the only other issue Vondre had in the NICU was all the attention he was getting from the ladies. The nurses couldn't get over him. Not a single nurse entered his room without mentioning how cute he was. And they really meant it. They said if a kid wasn't cute, they'd say something like, "Oh, that hair!"

We're all so thankful for this little Giant. He's already brought us so much joy - and all he's accomplished in life is eating, puking, pooping, sleeping and lots of toothless smiles... with a bit of crying mixed in.

What's life gonna be like when he really gets going?