12 Weeks

I'm super sick again, so I apologize if this update isn't exciting/funny/interesting.

A lot has actually happened in the last week. First--and this was so exciting to me, so bear with me--Sydney has fully discovered her hands and has figured out how they work together. It's adorable!! She was playing in my lap last Saturday, and I placed this little ball with holes in her lap and put both hands on it, and she suddenly grabbed it up with one hand and then the other and lifted it to her face. It was the cutest thing...it was like I literally saw the wheels turning in her little head as she realized she could hold it with both hands and move it where she wanted. She was focusing so hard on the little ball and her newly found discovery that she fell asleep in my lap mid-play (which she's never done before). Since her discovery she's been obsessed with the ball and all things she can easily grab with both hands. And since she's discovered her hands, everything is going straight to her mouth. And because I'm sick and she's sick, everything is getting washed and sanitized all. the. time.

This past week Sydney also met the Easter Bunny for the first time. I was on the fence about it (because I'll fully admit I was being lazy and would she really remember it?), but I felt it was our parental duties to bring her. So away we went, and of course Sydney fell asleep on the car ride to the mall -- now not only did I have to hand her over to some stranger in a "bunny" costume (WHY are they always so creepy looking??), but I also had to wake her up from her peaceful slumber. We walked up to the Easter Bunny setup (which was sub-par at best; I'm not sure you can call a man in a rabbit costume, a bench and a camera "The Easter Bunny Extravaganza Experience"), and I nearly keeled over when I saw the prices for pictures. Call me naive, but I was expecting to purchase one single photo for like $5.00. Park Meadows Mall put the kibosh on those dreams, though, as there was no single photo option at all - only packages of ridiculous quantities starting at $28.99. My child is 11 weeks old; do I really need 64 pictures with this thing??

Fifteen minutes and $29 later, we were done. And Sydney did SO well! Much better than her parents, who contemplated for a good 10 minutes whether Jordan should sit with the Easter Bunny (I sure as hell wasn't going near that thing) for the picture because that's how much we didn't want to hand her over. Why was that so hard? Did anyone else experience this??

We celebrated Sydney's first Easter with some friends by attending a new church and going out to brunch before Jordan had to leave for a business trip again. Side note: everyone in our town must be Catholic because the church was PACKED. We even decided to go to the 7:00 AM mass to avoid the 9:30 crowd, and the parking lot was already so full when we got there that while driving in a long line that wound around the parking lot looking for a space, people just started shutting off the their cars where they were stopped in line and 'parking' as is (entirely blocking every appropriately parked car in). It was a t o t a l gongshow. We had to stand in the entry way of the church the entire time during mass (the regular standing room was already full), so I really regretted my decision to wear 4-inch heels, but Sydney did so well and stole the hearts of everyone that saw her that morning. There were lots of young families and little kids, and we liked the church so much that we've decided to join and also have Sydney baptized there.

Happy Easter, everyone!

The other news of this week is that our little peanut is sick for the first time. :( I brought her into the pediatrician's office yesterday after noticing she had been coughing and sneezing more than normal, and it turns out she has an upper respiratory infection. The poor little thing! We've been taking a lot of steam baths lately (steaming up the shower and then taking a warm bath), which she likes and has been helping both of us. Speaking of, this is the second time in a row that I've been this sick (first time was when Jordan's dad and his wife came to meet Sydney a few weeks after she was born) - what is happening to me? My immune system is shot. I'm miserable, and I feel so bad for my baby because I can't really give her the mama snuggles she needs right now.

Here are some other pics from the week:

Loving her Blabla unicorn doll - thanks, Julia!

Original Easter dress...little too big

Where's the pool?? 

Snuggled up to Dad right when he got home from work...

And out like a light!

Can't get over her long, dainty eyelashes!

Not really into hugging quite yet

Easter brunch

Sick as shit, but happy as a clam

Please send some healthy and positive vibes our way -- Syd and I need them! (Jordan is of course totally fine and healthy as ever.) Can't believe our little peanut will be three months next week - eeek!!!

11 Weeks

Week 11 update!

The drive back to CO went really well, especially since Sydney decided to keep all her cookies down this time (thanks, little pal). When we finally arrived back home I was spent from the week and all the driving, so we spent the next couple of days lounging around in our pajamas at home.

No more car seats

Attempting to nap sans swaddle...this lasted maybe 10-15 minutes?

Picture cracks me up...look at her face! (Yes, we went back to the swaddle sack.)

The lounging didn't last too long, though, because we were getting more visitors that weekend! One of Jordan's brothers, his wife and their darling 8-month-old daughter came out for a long weekend, and it was so wonderful to spend some quality time with them and get to know our niece better. She is such a good baby!! I loved kissing those cheeks. This is the hard part about living so far away. :(

Kennedy meeting the Max monster...she loved him!

Hello, cousin!

Kennedy testing out Syd's lobster chair

Attempting to get a cousin picture

I die. Look at Syd's facial expression!

Finally!

Brothers and babies

Thank you for coming out here, Kyle, Kort & Kennedy! We had such a great time with you guys and are so appreciative of your visit. Miss you guys already!

9 + 10 Weeks

As my maternity leave (too quickly) winds down to an end, I find I'm spending nearly every waking moment with Sydney because I know this transition isn't going to be easy on me. I can't help the pity party -- she's just such a sweet baby, my little partner-in-crime.

Weeks 9 and 10 of our little love's life was filled with excitement, and she had a jam-packed schedule meeting a LOT of people - in Minnesota! Kind of on a whim/kind of planned, I decided to drive back so that Sydney could meet some family and friends. Why? Because evidently my idea of fun is driving 35 hours in a car with a newborn. That, and the first time we would have been back in MN is at the end of May for our friends' wedding in Brainerd, MN, and due to our hectic work schedules the trip is going to be very short, which would've meant no one would've been able to meet her. So, Syd and I packed up and away we went.

The drive actually went really well - once we were past Sterling, CO. The plan was to stop every three hours to feed Sydney (and get gas, go to the bathroom, get food, etc.), and on my very first stop, after getting gas and feeding Sydney, I was just putting her down on her Boppy Lounger when she suddenly threw up. Everywhere. All over herself, all over me, all over the backseat (of our relatively new car, mind you), all over everything. Of course that would happen. There was a good minute or two (or 10) that I thought of tapping out and going home, but instead I just cleaned her off, cleaned out the car, took her inside an unsavory McDonald's bathroom and cleaned her off more, changed her, changed myself and continued on.

The normally 13 hour drive took me nearly 17 hours.

Blurry moment after Barf Gate 2014

Look at her -- she was so happy. It's hard to be upset when you have a face like that looking back at you!!

But like I said, the drive overall went really well, and Sydney was such a champ. She played in her car seat until she fell asleep, and when she awoke she never fussed (thank goodness!) and instead just looked out the window and watched flat Nebraska slowly pass her by.

(No, Mom, I did not take this while driving.)

We finally arrived at my parents' house around 11:30 PM, and I. was. exhausted. So what better way to cap off a full day of driving than to crawl into bed and pass out, right? Wrong. No, I had to give Sydney her one last feeding for the night and then put together her Pack 'N Play, which lead me to my Major Mom Meltdown #2. It was a complete shitshow, and it didn't help that we had never taken it out of the box it came in, let alone attempt to put it together, so everything was stiff and packed very tightly. To say I was frustrated is an understatement; I was downright seeing red -- thank goodness Sydney can't understand curse words. In fact, Sydney got so bored waiting for me to put it together, she fell asleep right on the bed.

When I finally got the thing set up (around 1:30 AM), I was baffled. Graco, are you people serious? Not only do I feel the 'crib' (if you can even call it that) is completely unstable, but WHAT THE SHIT. Whoever configured the pieces of that thing should be fired immediately, and the person who wrote the directions on how to assemble should pack up their shit right along with them. And anniesprklz from Amazon reviews - you and I have vastly different ideas of what is "easy to set up, easy to pack up, very sturdy and/or very light" because I literally have the complete opposite opinion than you.

Sydney, however, remained unfazed by her Fischer Price doll crib and slept like the sweet baby she is for the entire week.

The rest of the week was fantastic, and Sydney was able to meet so many family members and friends on such short notice -- thank you all!! I was very happy I made the trek back because now we won't feel terrible running in and out of MN at the end of May.

Here are the pictures from the week (warning - there are many, many, MANY pics). Enjoy!

Babies meeting babies

An awkward hug from Grandpa Bill

Watching the snow monkeys at the Minnesota Zoo!

My dad is a volunteer at the MN Zoo, which is one of my favorite places in the world, and clearly we had to go visit him while he was working. Sydney loved the zoo! #justlikemama

Grandpa & Grandma Kraft

I love this picture. My dad is absolutely the best man I know, and I'm so blessed to have him as a father!

Meeting Auntie Kortney!

And Uncle Kyle

And adorable cousin Kennedy!

Hanging out with Grandpa Greg

I cannot stand the cuteness that is our niece. KK, your Auntie Sarah loves you SO MUCH!

Meeting Great Grandma June & Great Grandpa Glenn

Fun with Grandma Diane

Hello, Uncle Paul!

Mommy, can we go home now? I'm tired.