Rose meets her cousins!

This weekend Aunt Laura and and cousins: Marla, Harold, Regan, and Payton came to meet Rose!

Here are some pics :)

 Regan and Rose

 Payton and Rose

 Marla and Rose

Justin and I are really looking forward to spending time with my sister AND getting some things done now that we have a live in babysitter (at least for the weekend!).

1 month (and 1 to go...)

Today our Easter flower is one month old! Really I think it is more important to note that Justin and I have survived one month :) But in all honesty, it has been an incredible month of wonderful experiences!
It all started months ago (almost a year) when we weren't even {trying} to have a baby... We kept Rose a secret for the first few weeks until telling our parents and everyone else a bit later. Both our mom's were sooo surprised and of course cried!
The next 40 weeks went by pretty uneventfully as she grew and we prepared for her arrival. Then it happened and we had a terrific birth and Rose made us a family and has forever changed our lives!
This month we have learned to change diapers, survive on few hours of sleep, and no longer have any control of our lives! But it is all worth it when she flashes that smile at us complete with dimples :.)
Daddy and mommy love you, Rose, and are so excited to see what you do this next month!

In the title I also mentioned one month to go... That is because on June 24 we will be celebrating 5 years of marriage!! I am super excited for this anniversary, although with a then 2 month old we don't have any exciting plans ;) While 5 years ago I would have never imagined this is where we would be, I could not be any more blessed!

Week 4

Another week and LOTS of business!! I don't have pictures for *everything* I need to take more :) but here is the short version of Rose's week...

Having Rose has helped me reconnect with some friends from high school and on Monday Rita and her three adorable children came to meet Rose and brought Justin and I dinner (which was delicious). THANKS RITA! It has been really helpful to talk with other moms and just know what we are going through is normal and to see children a bit older than Rose and all the exciting things she will be doing in the near future.

Tuesday Rose and I had our first non appointment trip out of the house when we went down to Grandpa and Grandma Stillinger's house. It was a nice change of scenery for us and Grandma made a wonderful dinner for all of us complete with dessert :)

Wednesday we had another visitor when my college friend, Andrea, came with lunch. Again it was so great to chat with another recent mom and have some adult company!!

Later that afternoon Rose and I read a book, she seems to be a fan of Dr. Seuss!

Thursday was my first *true* day home alone with Rose. We kept busy and I even gave Rose a bath :)

That brings us to Friday...Justin and I had our first DATE!! I was a bit nervous all day and there were some tears; Grandpa and Grandma Stillinger gave us a gift card to Red Robin and offered to babysit so Justin and I could have some couple time. It went great and Justin and I really enjoyed the couple hours out of the house together :)

Saturday morning was very busy as we ran all over Berks County...below is a picture of Glacier who finally had his much needed groomer's appointment.

After dropping him off we went to the Boyertown Farmer's Market, Butter Valley Harvest, and Longacre's. Then Justin took Rose and I home and went to pick Glacier up and finished up the grocery shopping at Christman's Meat Market and Reppert's.

Saturday night I cooked a non crock pot meal for the first time since having Rose. We enjoyed fresh asparagus from the farmer's marker and other veggies from our weekly box. Looks like I haven't lost the ability to cook! 

Daddy and Rose needed to rest after all the excitement on Saturday.

So did mommy and Rose!

But after all that rest Rose was ready for her workout! Look at that great head lifting, we are sooo impressed by her amazing head control and how strong she is already.

 We ended the week by going to Grandpa and Nanna Bechtel's home for dinner. Nanna was so happy to rock Rose while we all ate a wonderful meal.

Nanna also had a special present for Rose...her own Fiestaware place setting!

And just for fun another pic of Rose and her mommy!

Whew...what a busy week!! This coming week is going to be busy too; Rose has her one month check-up (on Tuesday she will be 1 month!!) and my sister and her children will be coming to meet Rose during the holiday weekend...so I am sure there will be lots more to share next week :)

Baby Rose

This is my first ever post right from my iPhone, Rose is sleeping so nicely in my arms, I just cannot put her down! So I may post a bit later, but in the meantime go to Jennifer Breton's blog: http://www.jenniferbretonphotography.com/blog/
to see some of the amazing baby pictures of Rose :) We are meeting with her Saturday to see them all and order the pics we want, although I'm sure we will want them all!!!

3 Weeks

Today Rose is 3 weeks old!!! Justin and I are amazed at all the things our little girl is doing and new skills she has mastered. This was a busy week (as I think they all really will be from now on...) for Rose and her parents. Rose had some firsts: she took a bottle, she went on a house call, and she gave her parents a few 6 hour sleeping shifts in bed with us but not being held! Rose is also spending more time on her tummy and is working on head control, tracking items, and building muscle tone.
As far as her parents go...we are surviving :) Babies are NOT for wimps and raising  a child really is the hardest, most wonderful job! We really appreciate our family's and friends who have supported us with meals, folding laundry, and kind words. It has been so different for me to be home all day and I really enjoy just having other people over to talk. This week Rose and I may venture out to the grandparent's homes, so that will also be a nice change of scenery.

Here are some pictures from this week:

 We are HUGE fans of swaddling...it really helps Rose feel more calm!

 Rose snuggling with daddy!

 Rose also loves to suck on daddy's pinky and here was even holding it herself!

 Rose is able to hold her head up!

 Tahnee and Rose both taking a break :)

Uncle Josh met Rose

Happy Mother's Day!

Tomorrow we are celebrating our first Mother’s Day due to the arrival of Rose two weeks ago :) It is so hard to even remember what life was like before she was born...
I have discovered in these two weeks that while I gave birth to Rose she does not belong to us, rather we belong to her! Every moment of every day since she came into our lives, not a moment has passed that we are not consumed with caring for her. Honestly, there are only a few moments in the day when we are not holding her! All the advice on sleeping when your baby sleeps, I get that now :) Meeting Rose’s needs consumes our day, being a stay at home mom (even temporarily) I can say is definitely one of the toughest jobs and I have a new appreciation for mom’s who do it all the time and have multiple kids! Here is a picture of our days...we get up between 5:30 and 6am depending on Rose’s last feeding. Justin and I shower (I insist on showering every day to wake up! and have a routine for myself. Justin is home with us until around 7:45am and makes sure I get some breakfast and coffee :) Throughout the day I am on a regular schedule with Rose: feed, change diaper, amuse/interact with her, and help her stay calm and sleep. Rose is usually more sleepy in the morning and will fall asleep after a feeding. In the afternoons, she is staying awake longer and longer and seems so alert! I put her in the Ergo and try to take her for walks around the house and outside. Usually in this she will fall asleep or at least be content. We are still getting to know our child and understand what she wants...but she is a really good little flower. She gives out cries when she needs something and we go through our list of possible things and then go through the list again and again! So far she has not cried for more than a few minutes before we are able to calm her. This is important to us as Rose is too young to be manipulative or spoiled and will only cry because she needs something, so for now at least, Rose gets what Rose wants as fast as possible! Justin gets home around 7 pm (this is due to his working in Allentown and I really hate that he gone soooo long!) we have dinner and continue with our routine. Justin changes all the diapers and holds Rose in the evenings to give me some free time. Justin and I head to bed anytime after 9 pm when Rose has a feeding and is sleeping. Right now we are allowed to let her sleep about 4 hours during the night, but she doesn’t sleep more than that right now anyway. So we get up at least once maybe twice during the night for feedings. I will admit this is the hardest part for me. I have NEVER been a night person. In college I was that nerd who was still in bed by midnight on the weekends :) The only consolation is that this gives Justin and I a little more time together as we talk or watch Netflix on the iPhone. Then we start the day over again...

So with that as background I totally think of this quote as my motto:
Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit.
-- Bill Cosby

 We refer to Rose as 'Baby Burrito' when we swaddle her :)

 Here is one of the few times we have been able to put her down for a few moments.

 She usually likes being in the Ergo and I have been able to vaccum and get some chores done!

 Wide awake and ready to play!