Seven Weeks Old

Jude at seven weeks old as of December 26.

Christmas 2011

 Ready for Christmas Eve Service...

 Laurel was so excited that Santa brought the princess castle...and he brought a tractor for Jude.

 Christmas morning wore Jude out...but Laurel was still going strong.

 Christmas at Mimi's house.

 Christmas at Nana's house.

Imaginary play at its best!

Six weeks

Jude continues to grow...six weeks old on December 19.

5 weeks

5 weeks old

Christmas Cookies!

Last  week, I took a break from unpacking and tried to give Laurel some special time. We made Christmas cookies from scratch. She had fun stirring and tasting, and especially eating her creations! It took an entire day to go through the process. We made the dough in the morning. I baked the cookies while she napped and she decorated after she napped. We are still enjoying these yummy creations.

In the picture below, she made the "star" for me. The "snowman" for Daddy and the "flower" aka snowflake for herself. She knows that Jude can't eat yet, so she couldn't make one for him.

One Month Old

Today Jude is one month old! It is hard to believe a month has already passed! 

He is doing so well developing his own schedule, he is waking only once in the middle of the night already. Keep in mind he also has a late night feeding and an early morning feeding, but I am getting sleep:) He does end up sleeping with me most nights, but he has already spent a couple of nights in his bed.

During "tummy time", he is lifting his head and starting to push up. He loves to just look around seemingly taking everything in. He is a true joy and our very little Christmas blessing!

3 Weeks

Jude is already growing! This is his 3 week picture. He got weighed on Monday and was 9 pounds and 9 ounces. This is great news for sure. He is also starting to sleep longer stretches at night and really only cries when he's hungry or dirty. He is such a good baby!

**MANY NEW POSTS BELOW**

Sweet cousins

Cousins...trying to get a picture in the coordinating Christmas outfits!

Ready to be Parents?

Grace and Corbett with Laurel and Jude...Jude is the only calm one in this picture!

Big and Lil'

Sibling shots of Laurel and Jude. Are they not the cutest?

Not the Christmas Card...

This is not the Christmas Card picture for my parents....stay tuned for the real one.

Thanksgiving 2011

Rachel's side of the family...

 Jude's first Thanksgiving!

 Jude rolled from belly to back for the first time on Thanksgiving day, less than 3 weeks old!

 The whole group

Jay's side

This Thanksgiving was very special. We celebrated with both sides of our family at Mimi and Pop-Pop's house. Dinner was super yummy as Thanksgiving should be. It was great to have everyone together!

2 weeks

Jude is two weeks old, November 21.

Closing!

We have a home. A real home. It's ours!

We closed on our home the afternoon of November 18. I am so excited that I'll be able to spread out and unpack for good. This home has room to grow and has the charm of an older home. There will be more to come on this front as we have lots of plans for this house. 

We now feel pressed to get our other house sold so we can have some money to do what we want to this one.

Moving on...

We were lucky to only spend one night back in the hospital. Unfortunately, the bililight followed us home for a few more days. On November 16 we got to take Jude off the light. We finally got the "all clear" from the doctor the morning of the 18th...and it was just in time!

Back to the Hospital

Being at the hospital was just plain awful. I got no sleep and Jude was not real happy about the light. Thankfully it was just one night. By the next morning his Bili Levels had fallen to 17. We were released but instructed to continue phototherapy at home.

Sunday we had a follow-up appointment and his levels were still 17. We were told to continue for at least another 24 hours. This morning the nurse came by and got more blood. We found out later that his levels today were 16.3...so the phototherapy continues.

Our sweet little man is a week old now and we can only take him off the light for feeding. It just kills me that we can't play and cuddle him more. Hopefully we'll get better news tomorrow...

On the bright side, today he weghed 8lbs and 6oz whereas he weighed 8lbs even yesterday. So maybe his weight is starting to pick back up?

**Several new posts below**

First Doctor's Appointment

We had our first doctor's appointment on Friday. Weight was down to 8lbs and 5 oz. Everything looked good initially. Then they did the Bili Rubin Test and his levels came back at 24. Due to this, we had to go back to the hospital immediately. I was surprsingly calm about this prospect. We went straight to the hospital and checked in.

Jude...Going home...

We were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday. Jude wore the traditional "going home outfit" that his daddy, Uncle Jeff, Sister Laurel, and cousin Jacob have all worn. We were thrilled to go home and so ready!

Halloween 2011

Laurel with all her loot this Halloween. She was a Purple Princess Cinderella.

Pumpkin Carving

Shortly before Halloween, Laurel got to help carve a pumpkin for the first time with Daddy. You would think we would have done this before, but Mommy doesn't like to get messy, so I actually have a plastic/light up one (in storage). Laurel was nothing like Mommy...she loved getting gooey and messy...

He's Here!

Jude arrived yesterday at 11:45 AM. He was 9 lbs and 21 inches long. He is just perfect! We are all thrilled to welcome him into the world and our family!

Hey Jude!

So I'm 3cm....I was 3cm for 3 weeks with Laurel. I'm also measuring 38 and 1/2 weeks when I'm just under 36 and 1/2 weeks. So, does this mean he's coming tomorrow? Maybe, but I doubt it. We are tentatively scheduling an induction for November 7. I was induced with Laurel and had a great experience so that doesn't worry me. They said he is 7lbs and 10oz. I know they get this wrong all the time, but even if they are off, I know he'll be big. I really want to avoid a c-section if at all possible...so please pray! I'll add the u/s picture when I can get blogger to let me!

Mad Skills!

Laurel started soccer this past weekend. It is actually a 6 week or so soccer clinic. She had a great time. We feel like this is a great way for her to get accustomed to what soccer is all about. The kids rotate through station and parent participation is mandatory. He favorite part was running across the gym and the obstacle course you see in the top picture.

We finally got Laurel her birthday present this weekend; a princess bike. She tried it out for the first time on Sunday and did a great job for her first time!

We also checked out a great park in Madison on Sunday. we went because it had a dog park for Bozeman, but Laurel really loved the playground. She declared that this yellow car was her favorite memory of her busy weekend.