Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was a whirlwind of events, it was fun, but we are glad it's over. Between all the celebrations and our Christmas Flu we had a busy time. Here is a run down and a few pictures
Thursday December 23rd:
We had some friends over for our Monthly Couples dinner - we just did appetizers to make it light since we would be eating TONS for the next few days. It was a really good time! We had a rough night sleeping, but we made it through.

Friday December 24th: We hosted Christmas Eve at our place for the Flipp side of my family. We had an awesome time. My parents came over, as well as Claire & Don and Kim & Craig. Mike made his awesome Ham (City Ham on Food Network), it was truly wonderful. Everyone spoiled Gabby, way more than they should have. My Cousin Kim gave Gabby an old rocking chair that her and I used to use at my Grandmothers house. She even made a seat pad and back pad for it. Such a great gift! Thanks Kim!!

And the most exciting part is that Gabby rolled over for the first time!! (see previous post for the video). I was so excited! I yelled for Mike, who thought something was wrong..and she did it about 4 or so more times before getting frustrated with me.

Saturday December 25th - Christmas Day!
Mike and I have a tradition on Christmas Day, it's just for us (our immediate family) and we make Pancakes and open presents. This year was no different except that we had our little peanut pie to open presents with. Mike and I didn't have any gifts to open because we had bought our Dishwasher and a microwave, so those were our Christmas presents to each other.

We had another rough night of sleeping, so Gabby and I took a nap around 11 and then after we got up we drove to Mike's parents place for the Christmas evening celebration. We had another great celebration and Gabby got a lot of good stuff. Mike helped Barrett and Grandpa Dick put together the Trampoline that Alyssa got, she had a great time jumping on it!

Sunday, December 26th:

We had one last get together this weekend...With the Meyer side of the family. We have gotten so large that we had to have it at a Restaurant this year. It was a super good time. It was good to see all the family and Gabby did pretty well. By Sunday she was a little tired out and was refusing a bottle from Mike and I and only wanted to breastfeed. In fact the only time that she will take a bottle now is if I am not around. Which is fine with me.



 
Sunday night started our fun Christmas Flu however.Mike got super sick that night. We thought it was food poisoning. But when I got it on Tuesday we knew it wasn't food poisoning and that it was the Flu. I am better a day later, thank goodness and we are hoping and praying that Gabriella doesn't get it. She had a slight fever this morning (Wednesday Dec 29th), but it might be from teething at least that's what I am hoping it's from.

I rolled over!!

My Little Artist

Gabby has been a little artist at daycare lately! Miss Erika one of her teachers, has been leading these art projects and this last one they even took a picture of Gabriella doing the painting. Which I find just adorable. She is only 4 months old and I am already hanging stuff on my fridge from her :)

Gabby's little feet - This we got at her Christmas Party last week

Creating a masterpiece. a Snowman Card

4 Months

Happy 4 Months to my Gabby Girl!! Where did the time go??

Dear Gabriella - You are four months today and mommy can't believe it. I know I say that every month, but every month (week and day) that goes by you are growing up so fast. It's amazing how long I waited for you to come here and how long it seemed like it took and now that you are here time is going by so so fast.

You had your 4 month appointment on Monday and you are doing really well. You weighed 13lbs and 13oz (50th Percentile) and measured 25.5 inches long (90th Percentile) and your head was 16 1/4 inches (50th Percentile).

* You are starting to really show your personality. They are loving you at Daycare. In fact at the Christmas Party this week Erika carried you around for awhile and showed you off to her family.

*You are really holding your head up when on your tummy and you LOVE tummy time.

* We found a new game you like. You love it when Mom or Dad blow small puffs of air in your face. You get so excited and laugh.

* Lately you have been getting a bit distracted while eating. You tend to eat for a little bit, pull off and smile or gurgle at me and then go back to eating. You repeat this about 10 times before you get down to business and focus.

* You love people watching. At the Mall of America last night when Dad was trying to burp you all you wanted to do was look at the people walking by.

* You are getting closer to rolling over, but not quite there yet, I know it will be soon.

* You are chomping on your fingers and other things more and more lately as well as drooling. The dr thinks that you have a few teeth coming in soon. Mommy bought you a teething toy today.

* You aren't sleeping well lately, but Mom is okay with that, you are only waking up when you need to eat, so I know you need to let me know.

*You are grabbing more and more things lately, especially when you are eating, you like to hold your blanket with you.

Daddy and I are so excited to spend Christmas with you. We have a lot of places to go, but it should be a great time!

Love Always
Mom and Dad

2010 in Review

I have seen a few other of my blog friends do this and I thought it was an awesome idea! Below are the 1st sentence of the first post for each of the 12 months.

January - Well it's 9 weeks....Hard to believe I think we are going to have the big reveal with everyone next week. 

February - Not much has changed in the past week, except the fact that I am now officially into my 2nd Trimester.

March - I can't believe that it's only two weeks until we find out if we are having a baby boy or a baby girl! 

April - My dad was lucky enough to get 4 tickets to one of the exhibition games for the Twins in the new stadium.

May - After a month of searching - which doesn't seem like that long now that I say it outloud, but it sure felt like it was - we decided on a day care.

June - On Friday (if you saw my earlier post) I found out from my Midwife that I have Gestational Diabetes.

July - That's right 5 weeks to go, give or take a few.I had a great appointment today with my Midwife.

August - Yep, you read that correctly, 39 weeks, that means 1 week until the due date and up to 3 weeks until the little one is here in our arms.

September - We have survived and reached 3 weeks!

October - You are 7 weeks today.

November - Well I did it, I made it through her first day at day care.

December - All throughout my life I always thought that I would be okay with working and having a family

Is this right?

I was thinking tonight as I as struggling to get Gabriella to sleep tonight, how do I know what I am doing is right? I realized that I am literally flying by the seat of my pants and have absolutely no clue what I am doing.

How do I know when to stop swaddling her, when I need to up the diaper size, when do I up the nipple size on her bottles. How do I know that I am providing her with the right environment, how do I know she has enough tummy time. I am feeling all this pressure to be the perfect parent. I know that she thinks I am an awesome parent. She "tells" me every time she smiles at me and giggles and talks to me. And I know that I need to relax a bit but I want to make sure that I give her the best life.

The joys of parenting.

My Talkative Little Girl

Staying at Home Vs. Working

I want to note before I get into this blog post that no matter what people choose to do it's what works for them, neither way is wrong/better etc.

All throughout my life I always thought that I would be okay with working and having a family. I grew up with a working mother and she showed me that it can be done. She went to school, worked, took care of her mother, myself and my dad and the house. I honestly don't know how she did it (Thanks mom! You were great!!), but she did it. She was a great role model. My grandmother also worked outside the home as well and raised 7 children. 

Throughout my college career I never thought that I would want to be a Stay at Home Mom. Why would I want to stay home with my kids when I could have a career as well. However now that I am in the actual place of having to decide if I want to be a SAHM (Stay at home mom) or a working mother, I am starting to resent the fact that I HAVE to work. I hate the fact that I have to drop her off at daycare and leave her in someone else's hands all day long. I hate the fact that they get to see her smile all day and all I have is pictures. I know that I truly couldn't be a full time SAHM, but I just wish I could do it part time. I know that daycare helps her socialize and learn some news skills that she wouldn't learn while home with me, however I really wish I could be with her.

How do women balance keeping up the house, taking care of their children, maintaining a healthy relationship with their partner and finding time for themselves. Something has to give and I have been finding that for me what's giving in is the time for myself and also the time with my husband. An example of that is Wednesday night we were both home. I was spending time with the little one, while trying to clean up the house, decorate the house (so I could put the xmas boxes away). Mike was also cleaning upstairs the entire time and we kept crossing paths. When we got her down to sleep we finally had time for each other, but by then we were both totally exhausted that we just crashed out on the couch and watched TV. 


Don't get me wrong I LOVE LOVE being a mother, but to balance all this is just crazy. It wouldn't be so bad if there were another 5 hours or so in the day, but to try to get a good nights sleep, and get all this other stuff done is so difficult. I applaud all the SAHM's and the Working Mom's because I know that each of them have their own set of challenges, they are just different challenges. and who knows maybe I would be feeling the same thing if I was a SAHM. They do say the grass is always greener on the other side - or at least that's our perception of things, when I know in reality it isn't that way.  I think I just need to get more efficient with the time that I do have, so that when Mike and I are alone together or I am with Gabby I can enjoy the time with them, rather than having to focus on other things.

For all the BTDT (Been there, Done that) Mom's and Dad's out there reading this if you have any tips I would sure appreciate them.

My First Big Road Trip

I had my first big road trip with Mom and Dad this past week. You can read more in detail about it with Mom's blog post about it on her vacation blog. But I did really well. We left on Wednesday late at night so I was already sleeping. Mom fed me right before we left at G-Ma & G-Pa Epp's house. We were driving with them. I slept a good chunk of time until we stopped in Fargo around 2am and mom fed and changed me again. It was kind of neat to be eating in the car, definitely different. I only got a bit cranky around 9:30 when we reached Winnipeg because I hadn't eaten since like 5:30 in the morning and I had a wet diaper. So Dad pulled over in a strip mall and Mom fed me again.

We did a lot of running around and visiting relatives which was a lot of fun and then on Sunday we headed back. This time we left early in the morning around 10 and I was awake for about 1/2 the trip, so it was a little different. But I got to play with a lot of my fun toys and had a great time with Mom. She sang to me and G-Ma Epp kept me company too and even Dad did too! It was a great time and I can't wait to go back up there and play with the other kids when I get older.

Sleeping in my Crib

Mommy has been telling me for the past month or two that I need to start sleeping in my crib. I really don't see what the big deal is. She keeps telling me that it's where I am supposed to be sleeping and I keep trying to tell her that I like my swing and bouncer better. Well this past weekend we took a trip up to visit Daddy's relatives in Canada - it was a LONG drive in my car seat....While I had fun I don't want to spend all that time in my car seat again.

While we were up in Canada mom put me down for naps in my crib most of the time (At least if she could) and during the night. Well I guess it wasn't my crib, but it was my pack n play (which to me is the same thing). She was pretty happy with me that I was sleeping there instead of in my bouncer. I still don't understand why, but whatever makes her happy.

When we got home on Sunday night I slept in my big crib in my room. I still got up at 3:00 am to have a late night dinner. I totally like seeing mom in the middle of the night. But Mom was super happy this morning because I not only slept in my crib all night but when she put me down at 9:00 pm last night I slept in there without waking up until 6:00am. She was so excited for me! She smiled at me and was telling me how much of a big girl I was in the morning. I am going to try to do that again tonight, but I know she won't care too much if I get up for a snack again.

3 Months

Dear Gabby - you are 3 months today. Where did the time go. It seems like just yesterday you were being born and I was holding you in my arms for the first time. Things are going so much better than when you were first born. You are eating like a rock star now. You still eat a lot during the night and have stopped sleeping through the night, but I don't care because you need to grow big and strong.

• You are starting to get the idea that you can roll, you haven't figured it out yet, but you are kicking your one leg up and trying to roll from tummy to back when you are on your belly. It's really cute to watch you, but you do get frustrated. 
• You have figured out that you can pull on your purple elephant (Eddie) and he makes music. On Sunday you did this 6 or so times and now when you are in your bouncer, you do it all the time. You LOVE LOVE LOVE your bouncer and all the animals that you get to stare at.
• We put you in your jumperoo for the first time (for more than a second) last night and you just loved watching the toys on there. We are going to spend some more time in there
• You are sitting up in your Bumpo a lot better this month and holding your head up nice and strong! I can't believe how big you are getting.
• We have the breastfeeding thing down and are now able to comfortably breastfeed in public. In fact we did it last night at the Church during your Baptism Class. Mom and Dad were going to have G-ma and G-pa Epp watch you, but we forgot your bottle so you had to come with us.
• You are playing with your hands a lot more and grabbing onto anything and everything that you can. It's great to watch you. You are also sucking on your hands and pulling your nuk out of your mouth. The doctor thinks that your teeth might come in sooner rather than later.

I realized this past month just how fast time flies and how quickly you are growing up and becoming your own little person. You have such a great personality. It's so much fun watching you think about things and trying to figure them out. I find it amazing that you can be content at one moment and then all of a sudden you go into a full wail, usually it's your diaper. Now if we can just work on getting you sleeping through the night, at least 11 to 5 Mom and Dad would be really grateful

I'm 3 Months!

Yep you read that correctly I will be 3 months on Tuesday, at least that's what mommy tells me. She says it's a big deal, must be for her because it seems like any other day to me. We didn't do anything differently today and I bet it will be the same way on Tuesday.

The new thing is that daddy is now dropping me off at daycare and picking me up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I heard mommy telling him that she was appreciative of him doing that. I am excited because while I love mommy, it means I get to spend a little more time with dad. PLUS I get to ride in his big truck which means I can see a lot more than in mom's car. AND he is also going to be getting up with me in the middle of the night a few times a week, so that will be nice. Mommy likes her sleep I guess.

While I like to sleep I like to eat a lot more, so lately since I have been growing so much (because I am 3 months now), I have been waking up one or two times in the middle of the night. Mommy says that I need to sleep all the way through, but I just get so hungry that I let them know it's time to eat. I don't know how they make it all night without eating. I mean really?

On Sunday Mom put my favorite toy on the bar to my bouncer. It's my purple Elephant. His name is Eddie and he plays three different songs. I learned that if I pull on one of his legs, or on the red ring in his trunk that he plays those songs! It was a fascinating discovery and I pulled on him like 6 times in a 1/2 hour. Mommy got all excited with me and called me a big girl! Who knew something so small would make her so excited. I can't wait to see how excited she gets when I get this rolling thing figured out.

My first snow fall

Mom was telling me about their friends son who was younger than me and had his own blog so I thought I would write some entries on Moms blog every once in awhile. Especially since she is so busy taking care of me all the time.

This past week I finished my 2nd week at daycare. I have a lot of fun there. My teacher Megan is my favorite. She works in the morning and plays with me a lot. I really like the teachers in the afternoon too. In the morning the boys crawl around me and play and I live to watch them. They are pretty entertaining and there are so many toys there. I can't wait until I am older and can play with the toys too.

Early this week Mom thought I had an ear infection. I tried to tell her it was just my cold and I was just crabby but she took me to the doctor who told her the same thing. I can't wait until mom and dad can hear me when I talk. I cry now and most of the time they know what I want.

Saturday mommy woke me up and showed me the outside. It sure looked different. It used to be this color green(at least that's what moms calls it) and now she says it's white. She says it's too cold for me to go outside in it unless she bundles me up. I like being warm so I would rather just look at it through the window. Dad was excited because he apparently LOVES this white stuff. He was telling me about his skiing(whatever that is) and how he can't wait to teach me. He says it's fun and I will like it too. But apparently mommy doesn't so I will have to take his word for it.

Mommy says I am going through a growth spurt. It must be hard work because I am eating a lot more than I niry do and I am getting up in the middle of the night. I love seeing
mommys face at night but she looks so tired. After this spurt thing I am going to try let her sleep again.

Well that's all I have to go nap!!

Back to Work

I knew that going back to work would be difficult but I guess I never realized how difficult it would. Years ago (before I started in my current career) I thought it would be great for me to be a stay at home mom (SAHM), I didn't think I would make enough money where it would be worth going to work instead of staying home with the little one(s).

But now I am a lot farther in my career than I ever thought I would be when I was first out of college and I actually really like what I am doing and with the money that I make it doesn't make sense for me to stay home, nor can I be a full time SAHM. I am in week 2 currently of full time work with Gabriella in daycare and it's almost harder this week than last week.


I am glad she is doing so well at Daycare and I know I am having much more of a problem with it than she is, but it's super hard to drop her off every morning and knowing that someone else is going to see her all day long. They are going to see her smile and have her coo at them and it's not me. I only get a few hours with her at night and as she gets older she will be going to sleep a little earlier and it will be even less time.

I am feeling guilty that I am having her in daycare and that she isn't home with Mike or myself. I keep wondering if I am doing the right thing. Logically I know I am because I was a daycare kid (along with others that I know) and I know how good it is for them. It's good for them to build the social skills at a young age, it helps in their development and I am not a great teacher (School stuff anyway) so she will learn SO SO much more at daycare then she will if I try to teach her. But in my heart it's hard to let it go.

I do know that I am enjoying the time I have with her a lot more than I think I did when I was on maternity leave with her. Since I know it's limited I enjoy all the cuddles, coos, smiles and even the cries and the poopy diapers. I know it will get better with time, but I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving break and the week and a half I am taking off at Christmas!

Let's Play Pass the Cold!

So the cold season is here and in full force already. I hate colds! Not that most people like them, but I truly loathe them. I would rather get the stomach flu (Okay maybe not) than a cold with a runny nose. I am one of those lucky people that when I get sick, I usually only get a little sick (minor aches, minor sore throat and a full blown runny nose) but I am sick for about a week or 2. But I am not so sick that I can't function on a day to day basis. My husband on the other hand is truly blessed with when he gets sick, he gets really sick and has to take a day off of work, but after 24 or 48 hours he is in perfect health again.

Well now that we have a little one we are playing the game "Pass the Cold". The end of September, both Mike and I got colds and we stayed home from work (I wasn't working, but he was) and as much as we tried Little Peanut got it too. Her first cold ever. Stuffy nose and congestion, she was over it in a week, I had it for 2, and the cough for 3. Now here it is again. Her first week in daycare and she gets a cold from one of the kids or workers, I should have expected it, but didn't think it would happen so fast. And try as I might, after her sneezing on me all weekend long I am now run down with the cold.

Luckily it's just a sore throat, a little feeling of being run down and a headache and that's it. She is now over her cold already (so I think she is more like her father than me, thank goodness) but I have it. So I am HOPING and praying that I don't give it to Mike, or pass it back to Gabby and play this game all over again. Not a game I want to keep playing.

Halloween 2010

Click here to view these pictures larger

1st Day at Day Care

Well I did it, I made it through her first day at day care. Okay, so the day isn't over yet, but it's almost there and I am doing just fine. I know I know what you are thinking....she is fine, you just need to let go. But for those that know me, you know it's hard for me to let go. I made it through the hurdle of listening to her dad take care of her and letting go of the fact that he doesn't do things the same way and I know it's just another step to letting her daycare take care of her to.

I got up at 5:00 am this morning - yes you read that right - and again for those that know me, you know I don't like getting up at 5:00am. but surprisingly it wasn't that bad, ask me at 9 tonight when I am falling asleep on the couch, but right now I am not feeling tired at all. I am sure I will get used to getting up so early. I took care of my morning stuff - pumping, showering etc. Had a nice breakfast with the puppy while the rest of the house was quiet. Woke peanut up around 6:30 or so - (She peed through her diaper, so we will be doing laundry tonight, apparently we can't use luvs diapers overnight). Fed the little one, Mike watched her while I finished packing up all her stuff and mine - I felt like I was going for a long stay with all the bags. and off to daycare we went and I was to work by 7:30 or so. not too bad for our first day!!

We were the first to arrive at her daycare in her room. It looks like there are 6 kids total, maybe 7, I am going to ask when I go back tonight. I was too overwhelmed this morning. She has her own crib with her name above it, and her own little cubby on the wall. I ended up having to go there at lunch today to drop off some forms and the payment for the first week. and saw her sleeping away in her crib in her swaddle blanket.  So I know they are handling her okay, doing better than I could, as I could never get her to sleep in her crib during the day. Makes me feel a little foolish, since I told her teacher that she might not sleep in her crib ;) I can't wait for these next few hours to fly by so I can go pick up my little peanut pie!

End of my Leave

So today is the day....the last day of my maternity leave. I can't believe that 10 weeks went by so fast! I mean seriously where did the time go. A note to all those soon-to-be mothers out there....Don't think you will get all this stuff done when on leave, because you won't. I thought, well it won't be me, I will be able to get x, y and z done, but you won't be able to.

With that being said my maternity leave was great. I am super sad that it's over tomorrow. It's sort of strange, about a month ago I couldn't wait to go back, but these past 2 or 3 weeks I haven't wanted to start working again and I would LOVE to be a stay at home mom. It's just not in the cards for us right now. Maybe down the road.

Gabby 2 days old

Our little girl is 10 weeks old today and has grown so much! Above is a picture we took when she was just 2 days old and on our way home from the hospital.

Gabby at 10 weeks!

 I have enjoyed my time off with her so much, and it's really hitting me hard that I have to go back to work tomorrow. I think last week it didn't hurt so bad because I knew I would have another week off with her, but now I won't have a day off with her until Thanksgiving, and then we will be driving to Canada. I will be taking a week off in December because of a mess up with my PTO and FMLA leave (See story below). But that's a few months off. I wish I could take it now. I know she will have a great time with her dad the next three days. and I know on Monday she will have a great time at Daycare with the teachers and with the other babies.

I am going to miss cuddling with her in the morning after her 2nd morning feeding, I will miss taking walks with her in the morning sunshine. Rocking in the chair with her in the afternoons and having her fall asleep on my chest. I am going to miss her smiles all through the day. But I know that she will have saved them up for mom when I get home from work. I know that I have to do this now to provide for her and for her future, just wish I could work from home with her.

My PTO/FMLA got all screwed up...The plan had been was to take the first week of leave as PTO, then 5 weeks Short Term Disability (at 80% pay) and then 3 weeks of PTO, and then 2 part time weeks of PTO. Well when Mike and I were doing the bills last week and noticed that my paycheck for the 2 weeks following my Short Term Disability weeks was not what it should be, in fact it was only a few hundred dollars. So I called up HR the next day and found out that I forgot to fill out one form...ONE STINKING FORM! I couldn't believe it. I saw the form in my files, I even remember reading the form, but I thought it was just a form to supplement my Short Term Disability with my PTO, not to use my PTO. So because I didn't get that form in, I am not getting paid for 2 maybe 3 weeks of my 10 weeks of leave. I am pretty bummed out. I am hoping for a miracle.

We have figured out that Gabriella probably has Acid Reflux. As the past few weeks, she has been getting fussier and fussier around mealtime. She screams sometimes when we feed her, whether it's from her bottle or my breast. So for the past week she has been on some liquid meds twice a day 1ml each time. She doesn't like it, but it seems to be helping her. We will see how things go in the next few weeks.

It's been a great 10 weeks, and I am super sad it's over, but it is what it is and I have to go back. :(

2 Month Checkup

Gabby had her 2 month checkup on the 18th of October.  Here are her stats:

Height: 24 1/4 inches
Weight: 11lbs 5oz

She is in the 95th percentile for her height and in the 75th percentile for her weight! She is growing like crazy. I don't remember what her head size was, but I remember that it's only in the 50th percentile :)

She got 4 shots (poor baby) and one oral vaccine, but Mike said she did great! He said she started to whimper a little with the first one, and it got a little louder with each shot, but then a minute or two after she was better.

Video fo the Week

Here is the video of the week...and taken with our new video camera. I have to get much better with the moving of the camera while recording.

Breastfeeding

Well my little peanut is now almost 9 weeks old -where the heck did time go. Tomorrow she will be 2 months! I mean seriously....However in those 9 weeks I have gone from HATING breastfeeding to LOVING it! The first 2 weeks or so were pure H-E-L-L! I wanted to quit so many times but luckily I have an awesome husband who supported me through it.

I mean come on, between having my nipples crack and bleed. Having it hurt like h-e-l-l whenever she latched on, it made my toes curl it hurt so bad. The engorgement I had all the time because my milk supply wasn't regulated yet. She couldn't latch on because my nipples were so flat, which makes it hard to feed your little one. Gabby also had such bad gas because I had so much milk, it got better once I figured out that I needed to feed her one side only and one side more than once (Block feeding). Once we did that she got the fattier milk instead of the foremilk and that decreased her gas. We also from the advice from a LC (Lactation Consultant) to let her latch on and then after a bit pull her off and catch the milk spray into a towel. Because believe me there is always a milk spray. The LC was our savior! I don't think I could have made it through. Plus all the advice I got from my online girls on Ivillage message boards. They helped a lot as well.


Now that we have passed all the hurdles of the first couple of weeks and gotten much better hang at things (even though it's not always smooth) I really enjoy breastfeeding. It really makes me happy that I have that time with her. I cherish every moment of it, because I know soon she won't be this small for long. I love the way that she grabs onto my shirt, or grabs onto my breast like she is trying to get more out. The way that she looks at me with her big eyes while feeding. Its one of the moments I will never forget as a mother


I have been thinking about this a lot these past few days as I am about to return to work on Monday. for the next two weeks it will be part time, 2 days working 5 days off 3 days working then back to work full time Nov 1st. I am a little excited to go back to see my co-workers, have more adult interaction and challenge my brain a bit more. But I am apprehensive about leaving her at Daycare (the next couple of weeks Mike is taking some PTO, so that's great!) and about having to pump during the day and not be able to breastfeed her. It will only be in the morning, and night, and the occasional time during the day if I can stop over, but with my schedule at work I doubt I will be able to do that. 


I'm hoping that I can breastfeed her for at least a year if not a bit longer. We will let her decide that, I won't go past 16 months (and who knows after 12 months of breastfeeding I might want to be done, or my supply might decide that I am done). We are talking about doing Baby-Led Weaning and when you do that, they decide on their own when it's time to stop breastfeeding...so we will see.

Video of the Week

I am going to start a video of the week since I can't post more than 10 videos on her Shutterfly account, I might as well just do it here. This week I am uploading 4...I just can't help it.

Talking to Mom

This is how she is after she eats, almost every time.

Waking up after a nap

Play Time

2 Months!

A note to the reader, I am stealing this idea from my online friend Ella, I have read how she does these for her daughter and I thought it was a great idea. Hope you don't mind Ella.

Gabriella - You are 2 months! I can't believe it.

• You are the light of my life. I am so glad that you are in my life. I truly can't imagine life without you in it anymore, I don't remember what our life was like before you entered it.
• You are smiling more and more every day. Especially when you see and hear me talk to you. Your entire face just lights up and makes my day. I know that when I return to work, even if I have had the worst day, the minute I see your smile it will all disappear.
• You are growing so much! and so fast. When we weighed you and measured you last you were just about 11lbs and 23 inches long. I can't believe you are that big. You are growing like crazy. We will find out on Monday the 18th how accurate our at home measurements are when you go in for your 2 month checkup.
• You are getting so close to a full on laugh. I can see it when we play in the afternoons or when I am changing your diaper - which you love by the way. You get so smiley most of the time when it's time to change your diaper. You truly HATE wet diapers though...You could sit in a soiled diaper for a long time, but the minute you pee in it, all bets are off & mom or dad better change it quick! You will be sitting in your swing, or in our laps peaceful,cute or sleeping and all of a sudden you get into this full on wail!
• You are starting to grab things now a lot more than before. Especially when breastfeeding. You grab onto my fingers, or grab onto my shirt or necklace.I LOVE watching you eat, you are sometimes fussy when you eat, but most of the time you are pretty peaceful and it's a great time with you and I. Now that we have gotten the hang of breastfeeding I truly love the experience and I am SO SO glad that I stuck it out. I can't believe we have been doing it for 8 weeks now. That's one of the things I am going to miss when I go to work, I will only be able to breast feed you a few times a day. Especially if Dad gives you a bottle in the morning for those first few weeks.
• You love your puppy Mac, except when she barks right by you. If that happens you usually get startled and then cry if she keeps barking.
• You are also sleeping a lot longer at one time and in your crib. We started swaddling you about a week ago and since then you have been sleeping 5 to 7 hours at night. We have started a bedtime routine and I think that helps you know that it's nighttime.

You light up our life and we are so glad you are in our life. Your dad loves you so much, I can see it every time he looks at you. Happy 2 months!

Save the TaTa's

 It's breast cancer awareness month and this is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. My grandmother lost her battle to this awful cancer about 28 years ago. I was only two at the time so I didn't know her very well, and really only know her by what my Mother, Aunts & Uncles tell me. but I do know she was an amazing woman!
 

Lorraine Meyer

Grandma and me!

Grandma and me

Every year my family does the Race for the Cure on Mothers day! I can't wait to bring Gabriella to have her join in the fun. I have my friend Melissa to thank for getting me involved in this wonderful event. She lost her mother to breast cancer 7 years ago, right when I met her. I never had the joy of meeting her mother, but I know how much Melissa cared for her and how strong Melissa is, I know her mother was a strong woman as well! After doing the walk with Melissa and seeing her family do the walk, I wanted to get our family to do it as well. So we started the team Rainie's Bugs - name for my grandmother who they called Rainie Bug when she was little (It only seemed fitting).

I am starting the donating early this year and if you would like to donate or join our team please go to the following link and donate/sign up http://www.active.com/donate/komentc11/rainiesbugs

This is dedicated to all those that have left this world or are fighting on.
In Memory of:
Lorraine Meyer
Cindy Schultz

4 Generations

Almost 31 years ago my mom had me and had this picture taken with my Grandmother and Great-Grandma. Since my grandmother isn't around we took the picture with Gabby and her Great-Grandfather. Gabriella is named after her Great-Grandmother Lorraine. I only knew her for a few years, don't remember her at all, just the memories that I had of her when I was younger, the stories that were told to me and the pictures that we had. I know she is smiling up at all of the kids in the family. So I though I would post the pictures that my mom took and the one that we took this past weekend with Grandpa.

31 years ago - 4 Generations

A new set of 4 Generations

Hanging around with Mom

Making silly faces at Mama

Smiley Baby!

Helping mom with the laundry

Play time!

Nicole & Brent's Wedding

 My cousin Nicole got married on Saturday and we had a great time at the wedding. It was wonderful to see her so happy. She was a beautiful bride. Our little peanut has been to two weddings before she was even 8 weeks old. She had a blast at both weddings! This one was a bit longer of a day. We had to be at the church around 12:30 since I was an usher in the wedding and we didn't get home until after 11:00. But good times where had by all!

Gabriella sleeping through the ceremony.

My Aunt Cindy with my Cousin Alison & Mike and Gabby eating after the ceremony.

Grandpa  Meyer with the baby girls.

A family picture

Dancing to the music. She slept through a few songs on the dance floor.

Mike dancing with his baby girl to Butterfly Kisses

The Bride and myself with the two new babies

The dollar dance with baby Gabby

You can't hold me in...

This is how I found her after her nap yesterday....

New Pictures

Click here to view these pictures larger

7 weeks

You are 7 weeks today. I really can't believe it.

You are starting to smile more and more often and are awake more and more often then you used to be.

You are sleeping longer at night even though I still can't get you to sleep long amounts in your crib.

You are starting to grow out of your 3 month clothes because you are getting too long for them.

You are recognizing mom and dads voice and are smiling when you see and hear us.

You are the love of our lives and we are so lucky to have you.

Gabriella and the puppy

6 Weeks

I have been a bad blogger and haven't updated in awhile. Its been getting more difficult to get on the computer for any length of time. We have had a fun two weeks. She has been getting more and more active during the day and smiling now - Yes most of the time it's gas, but not all the time.

In the past two weeks she has been gaining weight, she is over 10lb now and doing well. She is much more awake during the day and is starting to sleep more at night. She is also getting on more of a schedule. We can usually get her to sleep between 10 and 11 and she sleeps until 3 or 4 am. Up for about a 1/2 hour or an hour and then back to bed until 7 or so.

Gabby's 5 Week Picture

Gabby's 6 Week Picture

I can't believe how big she is getting and how much she is growing up. Her eyes are starting to turn brownish green. I hope they stay that way, they will be like Mike's then and I LOVE his eyes. We made a trip up to the lake a few weeks ago and her cousin and her had a great time, even though it was chilly outside.

Gabby all bundled up. We put socks on her hands to keep them warm.

Mike and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary this past Saturday. It was a great day, my cousin Kim and her Fiance Craig got married on Saturday, so we got to spend the entire weekend with family. It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary. 

Cousin Kim & Gabby

 Mike, Gabby & I at the Gardens where Kim got married

1 Month!

My little Peanut is 1 month! Hard to believe that much time has gone by. Mike has gone back to work and Gabriella and I are on our own during the day. Tomorrow I am going to make up a plan for the next month for activities we can do on a day to day basis and what our plans are going to be to make the most of the next 4 weeks.

Today we went to visit my Aunt and my new cousin Alison Lorraine. Gabby's first play date! It was great to see my Aunt and my new little cousin. Who is such a cutie pie! and has a TON of hair. I have a feeling that these two are going to be close when they get older. I can't wait to see them grow up together.

Gabriella is getting so big and each day I am noticing changes in her. Her eyes are starting to turn brown (or at least I think they are) and she is getting more fat in her legs which is good because they were skinny little chicken legs. I have also figured out that we are going to have to buy separates for clothing rather than outfits - at least for now. Currently she has grown out of her newborn and 3 month onesies but the pants are HUGE on her.

Here are some pictures from her play date today and a video of her and my cousin.

Gabby & My Cousin and Goddaughter Rachel