Sleep Over

Grace had her first sleep over last night. We stayed the night at Mark's parents house. Grace did great only waking up once during the night. She did go through three pairs of pajamas but that's okay :) The following video was taken this morning. Grace was still a bit sleepy so she took a little nap in the Moses' Basket that her cousin Gabe loaned her--Thank you Gabe!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season. We have a healthy baby girl who in just two weeks has already brought us so much joy! And we have an amazing family and group of friends who have showed us so much love and support as we have welcomed little Grace. A big thank you to all of you!!!

Our little family

Grace's best buddy--we are so thankful that she has adjusted well to having a little sister!

This is how Grace spent Thanksgiving dinner. A big thank you to Aunt Susie, Uncle Bob and Katie for the adorable Thanksgiving outfit and to Anni and Joe for the bib!

We spent the day at Mark's parents and were joined by my mom & Mike and Amy & Greg. We typically spend Thanksgiving at Mark's grandparents in Sac City, Iowa but it is a little too early to make such a long trip with Grace and with me still healing from the c-section. It was hard not being out there with the Williams' clan but we had a great day with lots of good food and great company! We truly missed all the family that weren't with us today and hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving :-)

Too much turkey!

Hanging out at home

It's been one week since we brought Grace home from the hospital and what a great week it has been. Mark and I love hanging out with our little girl. Grace's typical day is eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat some more, sleep some more, eat, maybe some awake time, and then repeat. Of course there is also the intermittent diaper changes which she absolutely hates and leads to lots of screaming and crying. It's quite the life and Mark and I feel so blessed to be able to share it. Here are some of my favorite pics of Grace hanging out at home. You'll notice that she's really taken to nap time with Daddy!

Post eating--full belly makes baby sleepy!

Trying on a new outfit

First time in swing on Saturday

All worn out after a trip to Target--shopping is hard work!

Missing Grandma!

We have been very fortunate to have my mom here since Grace was born. She has been such a huge help with everything from housework to making meals for us and spending time with Grace so we could get a bit of sleep.


She left this morning and Grace was not very excited to say goodbye! Luckily she'll be back in a few days for Thanksgiving--Hurry back Grandma!!!

Meeting new friends

Grace has had several visitors since coming home. We haven't got pics of everyone but here are a few of her new friends.

There are sure to be many family vacations/camping trips with Grace's friend Noah and Noah's parents--Ryan and Jill.

Grace's friend Porter and his Mommy, Jenn. Jenn and I do lots of research projects together so Grace and Porter will get to spend lots of time in meetings with the two of us!

Andy, Abigail and Kristi

Raven thought I was so tiny!

Tummy Time

On Thursday we started doing daily tummy time with Grace. She really seems to like it. The video doesn't show her doing too much but she has started pushing her butt up when we put her on her belly. Overall I think she enjoys the tummy time!

Firsts

We are finding that with a baby there are so many firsts and each one is so exciting for us as parents. Here are some of Grace's firsts.

First time taking a nap in her pack and play on Monday, November 17.

First time in her bouncy seat--she loves the vibration!

First bath on Tuesday. Not her favorite thing. We'll see how she likes it when we move to the tub instead of just sponge baths!

First outing on Wednesday, November 18th. Grace came with Mark and I as we went to my doctor to have my staples removed. She slept the whole time. Look closely at her pink hat--Daddy loves it with the Hawkeye on it!

First trip to the pediatrician. This was on the same day as my doctor's appointment. Grace did really well. She had gained 2 ounces from leaving the hospital so she was up to 7 lb. 1 oz. She did make quite the first impression on the staff at Dr. Emery's office. Her temp was a bit low under her arm so the nurse decided to take the temp with the rectal thermometer--Bad idea! Explosive poo all over! On the wall, on the table, almost on the nurse! Mark and I couldn't help but laugh. I think our little Grace is going to get a reputation with the doctors in Lafayette. We were told by one of the doctors that was in the operating room that she actually bit the doctor that was trying to take her out during the c-section. She really didn't want to come out I guess!
It was certainly a tough day with two doctors appointments. She was worn out!

Bringing Baby Home

On Monday, November 17, Grace got to come home from the hospital. She had a special outfit that Mommy and Daddy had picked out -- little did we know how tiny she would be. Her pink sweater dress and white tights were a bit to big but she still looked really cute. As you can see she was a bit sad to leave the nurses at the hospital but once we got her in her car seat she was ready to go.

My teddy bear is almost as big as I am!

Yummy--I love to suck on fingers!

Sound asleep on my car ride home.

Once we got home we put the infant seat on the floor and then had Daisy come in the house. We video taped Daisy for about 5 minutes hoping to catch the minute that she realized there was another person in the house. She did not seem to care/notice though as she was too busy greeting us--so we gave up the taping. Finally Grace made a few squeaks and Daisy decided to head over to the infant seat and sniff her new little sister.

Hospital Time

Grace and I spent 3 1/2 days in the hospital. Although I'm not a huge fan of hospitals, I must say it was a very pleasant stay. The nurses at Home Hospital were amazing! They were so supportive and kind. Mark stayed in the hospital with us the first night. We sent Grace to the nursery so we could get some shut eye and they brought her back every few hours for a little midnight snack :-) My mom stayed the second night so Mark could get some much needed rest -- sleeping in a recliner is not very fun. And Mark was back for our final night in the hospital. It was such a special time of bonding for our little family. Each day we took walks in the hall, going a little bit farther everyday as I tried to get my strength back. They took my IV out on Saturday morning and released me to walk all the way to the door of my hospital room and look out the hall -- it sounds funny but you can't imagine how much work that seemed like at the time. But by Monday morning we were doing the complete hall -- being very careful not to get too close to the doors at the end of the hall because they had put a chip on a tag they had on Grace's cord that would set off an alarm if we went out the doors (isn't it crazy that they have to do that?!?!)

Peaceful naked baby

Okay, maybe I'm not so happy being a naked baby...

Daddy makes it all better!

Eyes wide open!

We had several very special visitors while we were at the hospital. Of course all of the grandparents came to see their little grandbaby, as did Aunt Amy and Uncle Greg, some of our friends from Purdue, and even one of my friends from St. Louis who happened to be in town for the weekend. We didn't get photos of everyone but here are a few.

Grandma Applebee

Grandpa Williams

Grandma Williams

Daddy and Aunt Amy

Grandpa Weber

Uncle Greg

More Grandma time

And some more :)

Kari

Vicki and Eileen