Week 1 – January 28 – 31, 2016

This goes without saying, but this week has been the most amazing of our lives. On January 28, 2016 at 1:25 AM, we welcomed you into this world. I will never forget the moment I laid eyes on you for the first time and got to tell your mom “It’s a girl!!” We stayed in the hospital for 1.5 days and came home on Friday, January 29.  Our first thought was “Now what?!?” We were home and had NO idea what we were supposed to do with you! We had read some books and gone to the classes, which all were very informational, but really didn’t teach you how to be a parent! The first night was scary and exciting all wrapped in one very uncertain night. We didn’t know what to expect, but we figured it out! The first thing we did was bring you in to the living room and set the car seat down so the cats could smell you and try to figure out what you are. They sniffed a couple times and then just went on about their normal business. You cried quite a bit the first night, but I think you were just getting used to being in a new environment. Another battle was getting you to breastfeed. While we were in the hospital, the nurses would come by and help your mom when it was feeding time. But now we were all alone at home! It was a learning process for both you and your mom. You both had never done this before, but did a great job figuring out what you were supposed to do. We called you a little “whack-a-mole” because you would bob your head up and down when you got hungry. You would also tense up your shoulders and neck which made it hard for you to relax and latch on. But practice makes perfect, and you have started to get the hang of things. You are starting to gain weight and getting all the nutrients you need!  You are doing a great job of sleeping at night, and we really thank you! You will typically sleep 3-4 hours at a time and then wake up because of a wet/dirty diaper and because you are hungry. You are still sleeping on one of chests on the couch, but we hope in the next few days that you fall asleep in your bassinet in our room. Fingers crossed!

Here are a few highlights from this week:

• Grandma Patti came to town and it is great! She loves you so much!
• We gave you your first bath at home!
• 3-5 minutes of Tummy Time each day!
• You love your MommaRoo swing!

Here are some photos from Week 1:

Week 2 – February 1 – 7, 2016

First of all, I want you to know that your mom loves you so much and she is doing an amazing job with you. Neither one of us know what the heck we are doing, but she is acting like a pro as if she has done this before! She stays patient with you when you get fussy (which is not very often,) and she is doing great with feeding you! It was nice having Grandma Patti here for the week as I had to go work at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. This was our first year for my company to have a suite at the golf tournament and it was important for me to be up there a little to help entertain our clients. By the time you read this, I have no idea what the status will be of my company but I hope it is flourishing and has allowed me to provide a good life for you and your mom. If this company doesn’t work out, I am sure I will be doing something that will help give you the wonderful life you deserve. Bottom line is that your mom was great about me leaving for 4-5 hours while her and Grandma Pattie took care of you.

The last part of this week was the first time that we had you all alone without any help. Grandma Patti left us and we had you all to ourselves! It was great and scary all at the same time. It’s amazing that we have had you for almost a couple of weeks now, especially considering that your due date was technically on Feb. 7! You are starting to be more “awake” during the day and showing a little more emotion. You are making all kinds of cute baby noises and might be getting on somewhat of a “schedule”.

Here are a few highlights from the week:

• You passed your weight test!! For the first 18 hours of your life you didn’t eat at all, so you lost some weight the first couple of days. This is normal for newborns, but we had to go back to the doctor twice so they could check your weight. All is good now and you are eating like a growing baby!
• You still aren’t sleeping in your bassinet or crib, but it’s ok! According to other stories we hear, you are doing a great job of sleeping. Your mom and i usually take turns on the early (11pm-4am) shift and the late (4am-9am) shift. We will sleep with you on the couch and you love it! We love it too! There is not a better feeling than having you snuggle up on our chest and sleep! You don’t like sleeping on your back right now, so it’s tough to get you down in the bassinet or crib. We plan to start using your bassinet and Rocking Crib this next week. Keep our fingers crossed!
• You had your second newborn screen test this week. They pricked your foot and took blood droplets for testing. You barely even cried and did amazing!
• You still hate having your diaper changed! You scream bloody murder! We bought a wipe warmer so we will see if that works!
• Went from black “tar” poop to a more solid brownish yellowish poop.

Here are some pics from the week!

Week 3 – February 8 – 14, 2016

This was just a fun week of just being home alone just the three of us. It has been great having different people visit, but it is also nice just being at home trying to get you into some sort of routine. With that being said, you are on your own schedule and we are perfectly ok with that!  We took you on Thursday to get your second newborn screen and you did great! I think it was harder on me and mom to see them prick you in the foot and draw blood but you didn’t cry one bit. The rest of your umbilical cord fell off this week which means we can finally completely put you in the bathtub for your baths. You love the baths now because you stay warm! You still get cold when we take you out of the bathtub and put you on the towel, but it doesn’t last too long. You also really love our walks to the mailbox and around the neighborhood. You are fussy for a couple seconds right when we put you in the car seat, but then you love it! We are still trying to get you to sleep by yourself in the rock and play but still not there. It’s ok, we love snuggling with you on the couch 🙂

We took you to do newborn pictures! We haven’t seen them yet, but i’m sure they will be amazing! You did such a great job at this ladies house as she was putting you in crazy poses on her floor. The next day we took you to the mall for one more photo shoot. Aunt Jan and Grandpa Steve bought us this session at your baby shower. We knew it was going to be interesting as it was at the mall and you had just spent the entire previous day at the doctor and a photo shoot. But you “blew” our expectations out of the water! JUST ASK YOUR MOM ABOUT THIS ONE! Short story: you pooped all over her face and arms. It was awesome!

Get excited, Aunt Celina comes next week!

Here are some cool photos from this week:

Week 4 – February 15 – 21, 2016

On Thursday you got to meet Aunt Celina for the first time! She drove down from Los Angeles for the weekend just to meet you. I don’t think she cares about seeing me or your mom. I was golfing (you might hear that alot) when she arrived, but she was so happy to meet you. She didn’t want to give you up to us and pretty much hogged you the whole weekend! She did a fun photo with you outside the front door (photos below.) It took forever because she had to get the “perfect” shot.  Celina also enjoyed singing to you while sitting on the couch.

Dad Fail – You were acting really fussy for a couple of days and we couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized that we changed your brand of diapers. I tried to save a few dollars on a box of diapers ($7 to be exact) and it was a big mistake. But i went out at 9 that night and bought you Pampers and you were just fine. So, I’m sorry, but dad did fix it! 🙂

You are doing a much better job sleeping by yourself in the rock and play! Keep up the great work!

I know I have said this before and will continue to say this alot, but your mom is amazing. She gets up every couple of hours to feed you in the middle of the night and change your diapers. She lays with you on the couch at 3 in the morning to get you settled before trying to put you in the rock and play. She loves you so much! We are both extremely lucky to have her in our lives.

Here are some cool photos from this week:

Week 5 – February 22 – 28, 2016

You turned 1-month old this week!!!

Grandma Carol comes this weekend to meet you for the first time!

This was one of the saddest weeks to-date for me. I am currently in Florida for a business trip and will be gone for 3.5 days. This was the first time I had to leave you and mom alone and it was hard. I cried when leaving you! I hate traveling and leaving you, but I am doing this to build the business and provide a good life for you and mom. I feel like you will be so grown up by the time i get back.

You got to spend the whole week with Grandma Carol this week! She loves you so much and wanted to cuddle with you as much as possible. We took you on a walk in the stroller everyday and one day we even took you to the nursery down the road. We were still very cautious about taking you out, but the doctor said it’s ok as long as we don’t do it during busy times and we stay outside on the patio of places. You enjoyed your trip to the nursery! We also spent alot of time sitting out on the patio and enjoying the nice weather this time of year!

Highlights from this week:

• You are 1 month old!
• You got to meet Grandma Carol!
• You took a bath in your bathtub with the new sponge that Grandma Carol got you.
• You took your first trip to a plant nursery.

Here are some cool photos from this week:

Week 6- February 29 – March 6, 2016

We took you to your 1-month checkup on Monday, March 1. First of all, we are still getting over the fact that you are 1-month old already. 2 weeks ago you weighed 6 lbs 12 oz so me and your mom were trying to guess how much you weighed. I guessed 7 lbs 12 oz and your mom guessed 7 lbs 8 oz. We were both wayyyyy off! You were obviously getting your fair share of milk from mom because you weighed 8 lbs 9 oz!! The doctor was very happy with your weight gain and everything else looked healthy! You had a very small umbilical cord hernia which is pretty common and not painful to you. It will go away soon!

We also took you to your very first Happy Hour! We went to La Hacienda at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess for a Happy Hour on Friday night. The Fairmont is very special to us as we got engaged at La Hacienda and got married at the Lagoon Lawn so we wanted to take you to your first outing at The Fairmont. This was a big step for us as we were very cautious about taking you out in public because you haven’t had your shots yet and the flu is very bad in Phoenix right now. Your mom was so nervous that her stomach hurt all day long. But she was put at ease when you were so well behaved the whole night. We met our friend Amanda and Jack and Shea Miller at the patio of La Hacienda and enjoyed a few margaritas and some chips and guac. This is one of our favorite places to go and glad we got to share it with you.

Highlights from this week:

• You put on almost 2 pounds in 2 weeks at your 1 month checkup.
• We took you to your first happy hour at La Hacienda.

Here are some cool photos from this week:

Week 7- March 7 – 13, 2016

I enjoy working out pretty much everyday but i hate leaving you and mom at home. Well, your mom came up with a great idea that yall would ride to the gym with me. I went to workout at the gym and you and your mom went to walk the golf course. We used to live on this golf course and your mom and grandma patti loved walking the golf course. I love going to the gym and I love that you and mom come with me some times. We also went with mom to her 6 week Doctor visit so she could get her checkup and get cleared to work out again. She has really enjoyed pregnancy, but I know she really misses working out. All went well at the doctor and she is good to go! Dr. Schwartz also got to see you for the 1st time since the time she pulled you out into this world.

We took you with us to one of our favorite spots in town, Blue 32! We try to go out for date nights once a week and Friday usually works best! Since it is lent, we try not to eat meat on Fridays and Blue 32 has great shrimp! As with last week at La Hacienda, you did great! You’re too young to understand, but we really appreciate you being so well behaved while we enjoy our dinner.

Saturday morning me and you got up early and went for a walk so mom could sleep in a little. This was our first of hopefully many “Saturday Morning” trips. We walked around the neighborhood hoping to find a few garage sales but it was pretty lame. We went walking for about 2 hours and it was wonderful! On the outside it wasn’t that big of a thing, but it meant alot to me to just be able to hang out with you. I hope we can make this a tradition and one day you really like going to Garage Sales with me on Saturday mornings. We thought we were going to just hang out Saturday night, but Shea Miller invited us to a last minute BBQ they were having at their house at the Fairmont. You got to meet Gena and Tim Kohner as well as the Ummels. Overall, you were extremely well behaved and everyone loved you! But you did have a nice little blow out in your diaper! Poop went everywhere! The funny part about it was that mom was so worried about getting poop all over the Miller’s nice white bed spreads.  Everyone loved meeting you and we had a great time! Thank you again for being so well behaved.

It was a sad week as you finally outgrew your newborn diapers 🙁

Here are some cool photos from this week:

Week 8- March 14 – 20, 2016

You rolled over from your stomach to back! I stepped outside for a second and of course you did it while I was gone, but mom get it on tape. I included a little clip below. It is amazing how advanced some of your motor skills are compared to kids your age and even older than you.

We had a big meeting for our business this Wednesday and I think it went great! We have an amazing opportunity to work with a foundation called “Smiles of Christmas” who provides a beautiful Christmas for underprivileged kids who would otherwise not have a Christmas. This is one of those opportunities that comes around once in a lifetime, so hopefully they want us to help run their foundation and events.

Well, I guess the meeting went well because Tom and the Smiles of Christmas Foundation wants to retain us for 3 years to run their foundation events. I can’t really explain how much this means to our business and most importantly to our family! This is a significant chunk of money and will allow us to continue to run our business for the foreseeable future and be able to take some pressure off my money concerns to provide for you and mom. They say everything happens for a reason and this is definitely one of those moments! I don’t want to get too excited yet, but we should have the signed contract by middle of next week.

We went to Blue 32 on Friday and Granda Steve got to see you again. He was getting over a cold so he didn’t want to touch any of us, but he was so happy to see you and kept saying how much you have grown up. You did such a great job again at dinner!

We did have big plans on Saturday to go across the street to the big Triple Crown Community Garage Sale. It was going to be awesome! But your mother had other plans! One of her Pure Barre friends was having some of the new moms over to visit. I was happy that you were able to go with mom and visit her friends, but we missed a great garage sale i’m sure. It’s ok, there will be other times!

We took you to our favorite brunch place on Sunday morning, PERK! They have the most amazing pancakes and we will have to take you there as soon as you can eat that kind of food. We also went to Bye Bye Baby to get you a bottle warmer so we can begin to bottle feed you every once in a while. Our last stop was to Carter’s where mom went kind of crazy buying you a bunch of clothes. It’s all so cute though so i don’t blame her! You are outgrowing all of your newborn clothes so we had to buy you bigger pajamas and we also bought you your first swimsuits and sunglasses! Can’t wait for Summer time so we can take you to the pool!

Week 9- March 21 – 27, 2016

You get to meet your Great Granny Patsy this week! Some of my fondest childhood memories are with my Granny. It seems like we spent every day together when I was little. It is tough because we don’t live close to her in Texas, but that makes her visits to Arizona extra special.

We fed you from a bottle for the first time early Monday morning. We weren’t sure how it was going to go, but you did great! You had no problem drinking from the bottle, which made us so happy! Some times babies have trouble switching back and forth from a bottle to boob, but you did it immediately without a hitch!

We took you out to eat Wednesday night at Oreganos. Auntie Jan came back in town and couldn’t wait to see you!  You did great once again! You only had one dirty diaper that I changed for you. Auntie Jan and Grandpa Steve love you so much! You are lucky to have so many people that love you! They also brought you some cool gifts from their trip to Ohio State a few weeks ago. At this point, mom was way more excited than you!

Granny is here!! She was so happy to meet you and wanted to hold you all night long. And she did! I’m so happy that you get to share this time with your Great Grandma! Not many people get the opportunity to do that. It’s going to be a fun week with her!

Granny is loving you so much and she is stealing all of our snuggles, which is ok! It has been really amazing having Granny here. I am so happy you get to experience her love because there is no love like Granny love! She has a great touch that I think only Granny has. We went to Blue 32 on Friday night to eat Shrimp for Lent and we also went to PERK on Saturday morning for Brunch. You did great again!

It was a rough couple of days towards the end of the week because you were constipated. You went about 3.5 days without pooping and we were getting a little worried. You were grunting alot and we could tell that you were trying to push it out but it wouldn’t come out! This is pretty normal for newborns but it still worried us a little. The doctor recommended some Karo Syrup so we tried that. Finally on Friday morning were heard that wonderful sound of your pooping! Your mom and I were so happy to clean up that poop. It still seems like you are a little constipated but we will ask the doctor on Monday if there is anything we can do to help you out.

Happy 1st Easter! You looked so adorable in your Easter Pajamas I can’t even stand it!  The Easter Bunny also made a visit on your 1st Easter and brought you an Easter Basket with toys and clothes. There were actually 2 baskets for you, but I think one was from Granny! You are spoiled! We had a great Easter Dinner with Granny and are blessed to have her spending this week with us.

Your mom and I keep talking about how much you are growing and it is all happening so fast. We talked about how we hope to never forget:

• All the sounds you make when you’re sleeping. We like to joke that you will never win the quiet award.
• How you squirm your way up to our heads or down to our laps when you’re sleeping.
• If you are sleeping on one of us and we need to transfer you to the other person, you always keep your arms and legs in the same position. It’s the cutest thing ever!
• Your crazy hair from sleeping and sweeting!
• How you always keep your hands clinched together.
• You always stick out your tongue.

Pictures from the week:

Week 10- March 28 – April 3, 2016

Happy 2 months old! It’s hard to believe you are already 2 months old. It seems like yesterday we were just bringing you home from the hospital and had no idea what we were doing. We are still learning and I am sure that never stops. You had your 2 month checkup at the doctor today and everything was great! Dr. Horlick continues to be amazed with your strength and how much you are moving around. You are doing things that usually 4 month olds are doing. You get your advanced motor skills from your dad :). You had to get 2 shots at the doctor and you were not happy about it! But, you did do so much better than your first shots during your 1 month visit. These are important shots because it helps you fight off diseases and allows us to take you out more and be around people more. You did such a great job at the doctor, that Granny took you to Babies R Us afterwards to buy you a nice lounge chair and a super cool Excersaucer bouncer thing! She has been spoiling you just as she did with me when I was younger. You are starting to make alot more noises in the past couple of days. I know you aren’t close to talking yet, but it looks like you are trying so hard!

You also had your first taste of a pool today. We went over to Granpa Steve’s house to hang out with them and you got your feet wet in the pool and Steve took you for a little spin!

Here are some things you like and dislike in your first 2 months:

Like

• Car Rides
• Stroller Rides
• Bath time
• Getting in your Jam Jams
• Being outside in the fresh air
• Laying in the diaper changing area
• Watching the fan and lights
• Rocking in your room
• Story time
• Mom’s singing
• Taking your Vitamins
• Laughing!
• Sticking out your tongue
• Going through diapers like it’s your job!

Dislikes

• Having your diaper changed, especially at night
• Sitting still for too long
• Shots
• Going more than 3 hours without food.