Annabel's Birthday!

Today is Annabel's one-month birthday! We celebrated by taking her to the pediatrician and letting her get poked and prodded (she loved it). Later, Nate and I had brownie sundaes in her honor. She watched, and again, I think she really enjoyed it. :)

At the doctor's office we found out that Annabel has gained 1 inch and about 2.5 lbs in her first month. That puts her in the 75th percentile for both height and weight - she's above average already! The doctor said she is doing great, and she assured us that she's not eating too much, although I was sure she was. I mean really, how many one-month olds do you know who can put away 35 oz of formula in a 24 hour period? But the doctor said it's fine, so we're done counting and our new mantra is "the more chins the better."

Annabel and my first week at home alone was pretty smooth for the most part. Her sleeping has improved a lot (with the exception of last night, which was AWFUL), and we have had fun taking walks and watching daytime television. The Ellen Show is Annabel's favorite. There were two big accomplishments for the week - 1) we made it to our first scheduled lunch date ON TIME... I was very proud of us; and 2) Annabel grew out of her newborn diapers (is it weird that I almost cried?). We also toured both KPMG and the INDOT offices, showing off Annabel to all of mommy and daddy's friends. She slept through the whole thing, of course, but we had fun! The week was capped off with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday, and that pretty much brings us up to date! Oh, I almost forgot one last thing - Annabel watched her first NFL draft this weekend as well. She was really surprised at how late Chad Henne and Brian Brohm were drafted...

Here are some pics from the week. Enjoy!

This is my stubborn face.

Stubborn profile


Annabel & Grandpa

Family Pic

I Love my Daddy

Curly Sue

Chilling after bath time...

Gazing at Daddy

I'm working on something big here...

A Post From Mom

Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog debut, and a recap of week three of life with Annabel. It's hard to believe that she's three weeks old already! She continues to change so much every day... as you can see from the picture, she is much more alert these days, which is adorable in the daytime, and trying at night. But, even in the wee hours of the morning, she continues to be such a joy for us!



Here is a list of some of Annabel's 'firsts' for the week:

• First trip to the mall
• First earthquake (yes - that's for real - a 5.2!)
• First volunary smile (nobody believes me, but I swear that it was intentional - so far it's only been once)
• She follows people and objects with her eyes now

Nate went back to work this week, which was very tough on him. He misses her a lot when he's away, but he makes up for it when he gets home. They nap together and Annabel gets a lot of Daddy time every night. We miss him, but someone has to bring home the bacon! :)



My mom came to visit this week... we had a very great week, and it was SO helpful to have her here. She was a life saver in getting us through the long nights, and also served as an extra set of hands when we went shopping and stopped by my office for a visit. Annabel and Grandma got to know eachother really well this week, and I know it will be hard on Grandma now that she's gone! We'll come visit soon, we promise. Now this week I'm on my own, so we'll see how I do!

We've had several visitors since the last post, many of which are shown below. I've also included some of my favorite pics out of the 100 we've taken in the last week. Thank god for digital cameras! Does anybody remember how we got by without them?

Tummy time is hard work...

Annabel & Uncle Jerry

A rare photo with Mom (she took a shower today!)

Look at me - I'm advanced for my age!

STRETCH!

Annabel & Cousin Abby

Annabel & Cousin Hannah

Annabel & Aunt Gretchen

Annabel & Grandma

Annabel & Aunt Sarah

An additional note - Many of you know my friends Jamie and Mark... She was due 11 days after me, and gave birth on Thursday. His name is Austin Bryan, and he weighs 9 lbs 14 oz... yes, that's right... he is a big boy! Jamie was a champ and had him naturally - way to go girl! Mom and Austin are both doing well... I visited them today, and he is super cute. Here's a pic:

That's all for now! More to come next week....

Week 2

Annabel is 2 weeks old today and Jen and I have experienced another week at home. Things are going good here even though sleep is optional. We went to the Dr. and Pediatrician and Jen and Annabel are doing good. Annabel weighs 8lb. 1oz. (gained 8oz. in 8 days!!) and Jen weighs....just kidding Jen!

Annabel has shown us in the last week that she shows tendencies towards the following disorders:

Narcolepsy - falls asleep at the breast frequently, even during a fussing fit.
Bipolar - screams and stops and screams and stops during breastfeeding.
Dreaming& Reacting - seems to smile and tense up a lot when sleeping. Makes you wonder what she is dreaming about.
Basophobia - Inability to stand. Fear of walking or falling. C'mon Annabel, you're 2 weeks old already.
Nudophobia- Fear of nudity. She does not like to be changed or bathed!

Lets hope she grows out of these. Enjoy these photos from last week!

Welcome to the World!

Jen and I have been celebrating the coming of our first child ever since we found out she was coming around April 2nd. Jen had a relatively unremarkable pregnancy with few hitches, although I would argue that she was a little "hormonal" during the first trimester. :) We prepared as best as we could, I redid the guest room to make the nursery and we stocked up on all of the essentials. We were ready!

After being 3 cm. + for 2 weeks, the Dr. agreed that labor would be induced on Friday, March 28th. Jen and I arrived at the hospital at about 5:30 am on friday, and Jen started to labor at about 8:00am with an Epidural to follow at 10:00am. At 3:30pm Jen was 10cm. and the Dr. and Nurses were there to help us start to push. Two hours later, we were told Annabel's head wasn't progressing and the Dr. recommended a C-section. Though it was a scary decision, it turned out to be the right one.

Annabel Riley entered the world on March 28, 2008 at 5:50 pm weighing 7 lb. 14 oz. and measuring 21 inches. Jen and I cried like crazy when we first heard her cry and when we got to see her for the first time. Since Jen was still getting sewn up, Jen's first image of of Annabel was from our camera! I think it is safe to say that we are in Love!

Here are some more pictures of our first days together! Enjoy!