This has been a full month for us. Between people coming and going to work on the basement, Daddy being away for a week for work and traveling to Cincinnati for Christmas, we’ve been a bit all over the place. I wish I could bottle up your energy because I am tired! That could be because I’m growing your little brother or sister inside of me, too. Which, by the way, we think you’re excited about. When we ask you where the baby is, you try to lift Mama’s shirt up to see my belly and often offer a kiss. You are going to be a very sweet big sister.

While Daddy was away, I whisked you away to do something very fun and exciting…

your first haircut! { Please, contain the joy. }

Really, though, you did great, babe.

You probably enjoyed our trip to the mall play area with your friend, A, the day before more. You had so much fun running around, climbing, sliding, hiding…it was a fun day for you.

You love your puppy dog! Parker makes you giggle out of no where. You love retrieving his toys when they get stuck somewhere and he usually has a very willing little person to throw his toys for him to fetch. He’s very appreciative that you now know his name, too!

You stay on guard when there’s food involved, though. Smart girl.

Christmas in Cincinnati was a treat for you. You woke up ready for whatever the day held and greeted everyone by name each morning.

We ate a lot of good food all week long and decorated Nana and Poppa’s Christmas tree.

You went to the grocery store with Nana where you put a smile on everyone’s face when you greeted them up and down the aisles.

You went to the bookstore with Poppa where you “organized” the shelves.

We slowly unwrapped gifts throughout the day so you could enjoy what you had been gifted.

Thank you, Uncle Erik, for the colored bubble launcher. It’s bound to be a favorite. However, it’s hiding until summer.

On our last full day, we went to see the trains at the Museum Center…

…made a gingerbread man with Nana…

…and in the evening took a drive with Nana to see the lights at Sharon Woods in our pj’s. What a fun and festive day that was!

When we returned home, we took advantage of having no plans and hung out with Daddy for the rest of the week. We wore our pj’s a lot. You played with all of your new toys quite contentedly. Some days you entertain yourself so well.

Other days require a project like painting { so focused! } or playing with water at the sink { messier than you may think }.

But you still love to color in your coloring books and are even trying to color specific areas instead of just all over the page. Nana would be proud.

In fact, most evenings before bed, this is what you’re doing:

Butt up. Tongue out.

Love you, Analiese!
Mama & Daddy

• I think the best part of the whole trip was just spending time with each other. There was literally zero stress and it was awesome. Katie and I first met during our freshmen year of high school. We’ve been best friends for 15 years! Ross and I know Jed from IU before he and Katie even met. Over the years, and now with our kids, we’ve established a comfortable, lifelong friendship that we will always treasure.

• Observing our kids loving life at the mall play area.
• Really good home cooked meals and REALLY good homemade wine. :)
• Sharing ice cream with Baby Girl.

• Witnessing Joah’s first steps.
• Analiese holding Joah’s hand to make him feel better in the car (so cute!) and to help him walk (that didn’t really work…)

•  Going to a DC United game. Wish Jed wasn’t injured so he could have played. Wish they had won. Still really fun.
• Analiese’s first face hand painting!

•  A hayride to see llamas, bbq lunch, hot donuts, pumpkins and everything else that makes Fall so great.

•  An entire aisle of sprinkles at a Pennsylvania Dutch Market. Seriously, every store should have one of these.
• My first ever trip to a Paper Source store. Ahhmazing.
• Girl’s night: dinner and raspberry martini’s at Cheesecake Factory.
• A walking tour of Washington DC and seeing the new MLK Jr. Memorial.
• Walking along the inner harbor of Baltimore with my aunt.
• My uncle showing Analiese how to blow bubbles in her drink. Thank you for that! :)

• Receiving an e-mail from our friends who were watching Parker while we were away. He went to work with Mike and, apparently, did this all day long:

Thank you to everyone for hosting us! We had such a great time!

Happy seven months to you, Baby Girl (a little belated)!

You are sitting up all on your own now. It’s so fun to see your little body balancing itself  so that you can play independently. You’ve always been a little doll baby, but now you’re actually DOING so much! It’s crazy to think back to the first few weeks of your life when you were a little loaf of bread who didn’t do much of anything. When our days and nights were spent meeting your needs to eat and sleep. That was it.

Those hands. We think you’re so excited to be holding on to something that you don’t realize it’s your own hands!

You have a contagious laugh that make us want to play with you and hold you all the time. Sometimes it’s the anticipation of a sound or game like “peek-a-boo” that gets your giggles going. You have the ability to make us laugh, too. You recently started to scrunch up your face and sniff really loud. You must remember our first reaction to this new quirk and now you love to do it to make us laugh.

They say big things come in small packages. We think your petite frame contains a world of wonder, love and laughter.

We did quite a bit of traveling this month – to visit grandparents and friends. You’re a hit wherever you go.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of headbands. Now that you’re getting a little more hair, though, I decided to try it out. You’re adorable. No matter what. And there are so many amazing headbands out there for babies these days. Time for Mama to get creative and make you some worthy accessories. The one you have on here is a brown ribbon adorned with a crocheted flower made by your great-grandma, Baba.

Everything continues to go into your mouth – your way of discovering the world around you. You’re very curious to know what’s going on – new sounds and sights always make you turn your head. Keep exploring, Analiese…there’s lots to see and do!

We recently started feeding you dinner at the table when we eat. It’s so fun to have a family meal together and you seem to eat even better when the bites are spread out as we eat our own meal, too. One of my favorite parts about this time is when we hold hands to pray. There’s something about Daddy’s prayer that makes you stop whatever you’re doing (usually trying to drink water out of your cup) and smile  - so big! We pray that God continues to bring you true joy…someday, in Him.

Love, Mama and Daddy

P.s. I almost forgot…you have two little teeth starting to show through! We’ve hardly noticed a chance in your behavior because of this new development. We’ve heard it can be a painful process, but so far you’ve been a trooper!

When I lived in New York, the rest of my extended family was within a very short driving distance. Family get togethers were frequent. Those are some of my favorite memories as a kid. Now that we have a daughter of our own, it’s time to start making some of those memories with her. She may not remember them yet, but we might as well get some practice in. We’re lucky enough have two sets of very willing parents to help us out.

We enjoyed the company, the conversations, the food and the many opportunities to have our hands free since there were eight others awaiting their turn. Of course, we were never far. With all of her giggles and smiles these days, we were always within camera distance to capture this special time of Analiese with her loving Grandma, Grandpa, Nana and Poppa.

1. The look Analiese is giving Poppa pretty much sums up how she feels about him. His booming, deep voice throws her off a bit, but eventually piques her curiosity and grabs her attention. 2. Grandma and Grandpa just love seeing and holding their granddaughter. 3. SO HAPPY! 4. Mama and baby girl. 5. Nana and Grandma have a lot in common…including their white v-necks and how much they love their grandbaby. 6. What IS this thing you’ve put on me? Can’t you see it doesn’t fit? 7. Pretty girl. :) 8. Daddy is so proud of his little swim baby. (Check out that hand gesture!)

Can’t wait for the next opportunity to have everyone together again!

This has been quite a month of growth for you! I occasionally skim through “What to Expect the First Year” to see what sort of things we can expect to see from you at each age. They call this the “golden age of babyhood” and I can’t disagree. You sleep well, you eat well, and are overall a happy and content little baby. You’re making our lives as a Mama and Daddy pretty easy for now.

Your biggest discovery has been your mouth. Everything goes in your mouth…and we know it’s just the beginning of that phase. You started out with your hands. When it wasn’t both fists together, you’d manage to get your thumb and index finger in there pretty well. You’ve had a few moments where you’ve really gotten your thumb in there by itself and went to town. Most recently, you grab a hold of your bib and stick it in there. This works with any of your soft toys, too. We’re going through bibs like crazy these days.

Everyone who meets you always comments on how strong you are. You’ve been able to hold your head up for a while now, but you’ve begun to sit up with our help (or in the Bumbo) and you love to “stand”. Since you were starting to get a little big for (and slightly bored with) the bassinet, we decided to try out the stroller seat for the first time this past week. You just love taking walks now! So much to see and hear!

You also made your first visit to Lake of the Woods this month! Being away from your usual surroundings didn’t seem to bother you too much. However, you weren’t a big fan of being on a boat. The movement on the water made you a little nervous. You sure had a lot of fun with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Angie!

The biggest surprise we had this month is that you started to roll over from your back to your tummy! Every once in a while you’re able to go back the other way, but not too often just yet. It’s so much fun to see you move about on your own.

You’ll have your four month appointment in a few days so we know how much you weigh and how long you are. It’s no doubt, though, that you’re  a growing baby girl, Analiese, and we fall more in love with you every day.

Love, Mama and Daddy

This past weekend we were hosts to a slew of family and friends who were in town to celebrate Analiese’s dedication at church. Not only was Analiese dedicated to God for His service, but we, as her parents, were dedicated before God and His church that we will commit to bring Analiese up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. We understand the responsibility to raise her in a home where the love of God is demonstrated and taught. We believe that this ceremony does not assure that Analiese will go to heaven. Rather, the decision to accept and follow Jesus Christ as Savior is hers to make when she is at an age to clearly understand God’s plan of salvation. Therefore, her dedication does not take the place of baptism. Instead, she will be baptized when she’s ready to make a public declaration of her own personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We pray that this is God’s plan for her and we’ll do our best to teach her God’s word, love and promises.

We are so thankful to everyone who made this a special occasion for us. Thank you for the miles driven and flown, and the love and support shared with us and Analiese.

Two weeks old! In some ways, time seems to be flying by. For the most part, though, all of us are definitely still adjusting to our new life. Analiese is really a good baby, though – we’re truly blessed.

A friend of mine, who also recently became a mom, shared with me her nursing experience over the first few weeks and months. It was comforting to know that hers had been much like mine is now – challenging. Others have told me the same thing, but for some reason it was different coming from someone who was just there and is now, three and a half months later, feeling more comfortable nursing. As much as I love the bonding time I get to have with my daughter so many hours during the day (and night!), it does feel like a burden right now. I keep reminding myself that this is what I’m supposed to be doing right now.

Grandma (Ross’s mom) was here for a few days earlier in the week. It was really nice to have company as Ross returned to work and I settled into being at home with Analiese. Thanks, Bev!

Nana (my mom) is visiting for a few days and had the opportunity to accompany us to a “nursing cafe” in Ann Arbor this morning. I really enjoyed being around other nursing mamas and having the opportunity to ask questions and hear about others’ experiences with their own babies. Analiese ate really well while we were there, and then slept for a few hours. So, we took advantage of the opportunity of her just being fed and went to the mall for a bit. It felt nice to get out, but I was a little anxious the whole time. Analiese didn’t have a care in the world! She did great.

Both her weight and jaundice seem to be improving. As we walked around in the natural light, I noticed that her face is really losing the yellow color and it’s really just left in the whites of her eyes slightly. She also seems to be getting enough food from me, despite her imperfect latch. She’s still so young…she’ll learn, as will I, what works for both of us.

We are so blessed to have a comfortable, relaxing and welcoming retreat less than three hours away during the summer. We always look forward to our weekends at the Chasey’s lake cottage in Hudson, Indiana. Mini-vacations any time we want. It had been a while, though, since we had planned an extended vacation away. Leave it to my family to plan a reunion in Florida in June. Yes, it was really hot.

Hot…and also really great to be together. Being somewhat distanced from immediate family, I’ve begun to really treasure the moments we get to reunite. This particular reunion consisted of members of my mom’s side of the family. Florida, Ohio, Georgia, New York, North Carolina and Michigan were represented at Smuggler’s Cove.

My grandparent’s used to own a condo at Smuggler’s Cove, so it was only appropriate to go there. My earliest memory of Smuggler’s Cove is when I almost drowned in the pool at the ripe old age of 2. (Yes, I remember it.) I was so preoccupied with having to go to the bathroom, I forgot to put my “swimmies” back on before I jumped into the deep end. Oops.

Thankfully, there were no traumatic events that took place during this particular trip. In fact, the week was just great. All of it.

The whole crew…minus Erin and Jaxon :(

Nana celebrated her birthday during the week. She got an iPod Nano…Nana’s Nano :)

The way Ross and my cousin, Harrison, got along was adorable.

Jaxon is my cousin’s son (still not sure what that makes me…second cousin? first cousin once removed?). This is what he did every time a ball was thrown in his direction.

The Rosenstock women on the pontoon my Uncle Mike rented for the day.

Couldn’t resist sunset pictures on the last night.

Us. :)