Thursday, January 28, 2016

day date.

Oh how we love our weekly Tuesday day dates!
This past week, we had brunch from Wild Eggs.
Ordered a passport for one sweet baby girl.
Saw the movie "JOY" & it made me so happy!
Had a family trip to the grocery.
& we ended the day with takeout from Dragon King's Daughter in the living room.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

maternity leave.

Maternity leave has been such a blur of the following things:: milk, cuddles, a crazy sleep schedule, listening to podcasts, watching tv, recording Zara's life so far with photos and journals, love and learning to navigate this new life. Each day has fallen right into the next at such speed.

For a while I was emotional and unsure about going back to work, but I found a daycare across from the funeral home (I can see it from there) and then everything was okay. Basically, I get to commute with my girl and go feed her at lunch and see her (as long as things aren't too crazy).

I am less than a week away from going back to work. I am very grateful for the time I have had off. I work for a wonderful man who has been so generous and kind through the whole thing. I also have a great community at work with lots of love and support. It is a great place to go back to!

Going back to work may be a scary thought but I feel happy. It sounds so cheesy, but keeping a good attitude and focusing on the seemingly small, obscure & beautiful parts of daily life really help. "I can do hard things"- a little mantra I will just keep repeating. Anyway, I do feel ready to get off the sidelines, have a schedule again and get this baby weight off :)


Tuesday, January 26, 2016

st. louis.

we took a mini family trip to st. louis. it was great to have a change of scenery and eat some yummy food, see some cool new places and hang out in the hotel together (all through the cold!)












Thursday, January 14, 2016

winter cuddles.

the first couple snows of the year didn't bring much but it will do!


Thursday, January 7, 2016

Z's first month.

We have had a great first month with our little babe. At her one month appointment, she weighed 9 pounds 7.5 ounces. Poor girl is still fighting the jaundice but she does not have to get checked anymore because it is improving (slowly).

Here are a few of the little moments:::

We spent 5 days in the hospital. We watched a lot of bad TV and starting learning how to navigate this new life together:::

She had to go under the lights and has had high bilirubin levels all month. She doesn't want to give anymore blood:::
 We were happy to bring her home, even though it was super late at night and was a bit more emotional than I thought it would be. Thanks to my dad for the sweet balloons, they are still going strong :) :::
I check to see if she is breathing alllll the time. I love having her in gowns and one piece outfits with the feet. It is so adorable:::

 She LOVES baths and I love a sweet little clean baby & that double chin. This is from her first one at home:::
 Sweet flowers that made me happy. I have had some major love and support:::
 The cat stays away from her, she is not a fan of her attention seeking cries. I am okay with her staying away for now:::

 I like to call her 'Tiny' :::
 Jonas named this her sandman hat. She always wears it to sleep. She sleeps in a bassinet but I love to have her in my bed when the morning comes:::
Naps with my baby & my katze:::
From her first Sunday at church for the Christmas program:::
 with Dad:::
We use the Moby wrap a lot.  I like that she can stare up at me easily and my arms don't ache from holding her! Baby wearing is just great:::

Her 1st Christmas:::
3 weeks old:::
We celebrated NYE with family and sweet Vega held her more than anyone else. I cannot wait until they can play together:::
This is one of my favorite photos of Zara. I think she looks so pretty:::
Wearing her jersey that Grandma Wolf sent her:::
I feel bad sometimes because I am selfish with Zara and don't let Jonas help much with her(but he helps in other ways)..I think it is just my instincts kicking in, it is hard to let anyone else do anything with her. I listened to a TED talk and they mentioned that this is normal and makes me feel better about it and that it does change...Nursing Zara started out rough & painful for me but I think we finally have it down, hopefully that doesn't change. Zara is eating much faster now than even a week ago. I started storing milk for when I go back to work and we tested the bottle a couple times- which was just fine. & I have been giving her a pacifier sometimes- that thing is miraculous. I just worry about her teeth down the road and her getting addicted to it. I also worried it would mess with her nursing, but she wasn't phased. Zara is a great sleeper most nights and I really appreciate it. Although, we still start our days very slowly. I love to hold her and look at her crazy faces. She laughed one day in her sleep and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and heard. She is getting more wiggly and tries to turn from side to side now. She loves to stare at our faces and stare at the ceiling and hold my finger with her tiny hand. We read to her but sometimes I wonder if what the point is, she really doesn't know we are(I guess?) This is silly but when we run errands(which we try to do very quickly) I miss seeing her and holding her even though she is with me or in the back seat. Zara really looks like her dad but I am starting to see little faces that resemble me. She definitely gets her eyes from me though. She is very calm- something I could tell even before she was born. I really didn't know what I was missing waiting to have a little one. I cannot wait for more amazing moments and for our love for each other to grow and grow!