1st Christmas

Sara's first Christmas was a successful one! She slept through the majority of her day, shared a lot of her smiles, and was a pretty content little girl. We started our holiday off at our house on Christmas Eve night with Grammie, Grampie, and Aunt Kelli coming over and exchanging gifts. On Christmas morning we went to Grandma and Pop-pop's house for breakfast and exchanged gifts there with Aunt Jill, Uncle Scott, and Great-Grandpa Al (otherwise refered to as "GG") In the afternoon we made it over to Aunt Sue and Uncle Bob's to visit with everyone there. Overall the day was very relaxing and pleasant...Dave and I really enjoyed ourselves. Sara now has even more things than we could've possibly imagined. It was definately nice of the family to buy her clothes because she is running through them so quickly these days. She is already wearing the size 3 months or in certain outfits 3-6 months. I can not believe how quickly she is growing...it is amazing! The day was not complete without Sara's share of toys. However most of them will have to remain in the attic or closet for alittle while longer...she still can't quite play with things. Dave and I also had an awesome day with the family. We got a bunch of great things from everyone...we especially love the Super Mario Bros Wii game. I think it will be our new addiction for a while...or until Dave gets so frustrated that he can't master it that it gets thrown out the window...hahaha!

Right before Christmas Sara had her 2 month check-up at the doctors. Our new vitals are 12lbs 4 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. She is still in the average percentiles for her weight, head circumference, and length. I keep thinking that she is gaining too much weight already but the doctor keeps assuring me that it is normal. Sara got two more vaccine shots and an oral vaccine. The first time she got shots it seemed like a piece of cake. I mean she cried when she got it (don't get me wrong) but this time she definately felt the effects of getting 2 shots. I had to actually give her tylenol after the doctor's appointments. That was probably the hardest day so far because she just looked so unhappy and uncomfortable..and of course I had to go to work...so I felt terrible. I told Dave it was almost as if she was very clingy to me that afternoon and wanted to be held...aww so heartbreaking! However she is doing great now so there are no worries! I kept with the tradition and took Sara's picture in the same rocker chair for this month to notice the progression. She does look so adorable if I do say so myself... :)

Family Visits, Christmas Shopping, etc.

Well it has been a while since we last updated so there is a lot to tell. About two weekends ago my Aunt Karen and Uncle Bob came to visit from Florida. It was very nice to get to see them and for them to meet Sara. She is getting bigger by the minute so lucky for them they got to see her before she was able to stand or walk even...haha. It is always fun to catch up with the family and see what has been going on.
Besides visiting with family we have been keeping ourselves busy getting ready for the holidays. I know that it is Sara's first Christmas but Dave and I decided that we were not going to get her anything because between our two parents and all the other family members and friends Sara has enough to last her til she is 5 it feels like....however she does grow through her clothes so quickly so we do appreciate everyone's sentiment to get her all these things. However we have been doing a lot of shopping for all the other gifts we need to get. Sara has been out occassionally shopping with us. She is such a great girl when we go out. She has never cried yet while we were out so we have been extremely lucky in that scenario. We decided that we were going to take Sara to see Santa this year. We planned out days when we could take her with Dave's parents and with my parents. We already went with Dave's mom and Sara slept the entire time that Santa held her. She was very good. As soon as I can figure out how to upload the pictures that we purchased her Santa pictures will be up to see.
Sara is now two months old. I can hardly believe that time has gone by that quickly. We are heading to her doctor later on this week so I will have to update again when we get her new statistics. From what we can see she is still eating very well and sleeping well...so I am sure that her weight has increased. Dave and I are also keeping track of her height on her own growth chart in her room and it seems that she has grown since last month so we will have to wait and see.
Other than that we are having the best time with Sara. She has become more interactive on a daily basis. We started laying her on her back on the activity mat and she has now started to realize what is above her and she goes reaching for the toys that are hanging. It is so exciting to watch and experience her growing up and learning new things. I love being a mommy!

Bath Time

Some quality bath time! She has really started to love taking baths. Just thought I would share these memorable moments! I am sure she will hate me for it when she is older that I posted these to the website but oh well...look at how cute she is!

Thanksgiving

Sara's first Thanksgiving was relaxing and enjoyable. Sara was a perfect girl as usual and was very comfortable with the family no matter who was holding her. We spent the afternoon at Aunt Sue and Uncle Bobby's. Dinner was wonderful and there was plenty of food both before the turkey and after the turkey to keep everyone full to the brim. This was Sara as we arrived to Thanksgiving...as you could tell very content! Since we were having dinner at Aunt Sue's house it was only customary that Sara wear one of her Aunt Sue outfits. A bright pink turtle neck with a navy and polka dot jumper dress. She looked absolutely adorable!


Sara has been doing very well otherwise as well. She still is sleeping for about 4 to 4 1/2 hours at a time and in her cradle which makes sleeping for us as the parents very easy. She is still breastfeeding and appears to be getting enough because she seems to be growing everyday.


Thanksgiving consisted of the usual chit chat. many many laughs, and newly formed memories. That was in part to the decision this year to not have a "kids table" and allowing everyone to sit together, in combination with 3 out of 5 of the previous "kids" now being able to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. Everyone was also eager to have the opportunity to hold Sara, so this holiday was pretty simple for Mommy and Daddy!

Sara ended the night in her traditional "1st Thanksgiving" onsie (thanks to Erica) The whole day was a lot for her, as you can see, and by the end of the night it became very hard for her to keep her eyes open. (Sleeping most of the day must have taken it out of her...haha)

One Month In and We Are Doing Awesome!!

Well we have made it through our first month. I am still in shock to say and think that Sara is one month old already. It seems like just the other day she was kicking around in my belly and giving me unbelievable amounts of heartburn...and now she sits here fast asleep in her bouncy seat like a little angel!! She had her first well visit/check-up. Here are her updates:

*weight....10 lbs

*length.....21 inches

*head circumference.....38 centimeters

She is in the 75th percentile for her weight and head circumference and in the 50th percentile for her length. The doctor said everything looks great...she is progressing normally with no concerns in any areas. Her infection that use to be on her foot(the bracelet from the hospital) has completely diminished as if nothing was ever there. She got a shot as well today..the second round of the hepatitis vaccine. Surprisingly she did wonderful...she cried for a second and then was too interested in observing the doctors office that she quickly soothed herself. Her next visit is on the 22nd of December and she will have to get 2 shots and 1 oral vaccine...but hopefully everything else will remain positive!

It is funny how different she looks in such a short period of time. Within the past week Sara has really started to show her personality. She is observing her surroundings a bit more, watching and recognizing both Dave and myself when we are in the room or talking to her. It is amazing to watch and be a part of. Last night I got a great idea to try and get her hand and foot prints in her memory book. Well that was an adventure to say the least. I borrowed child safe paint from the school that I use to teach at( that way I knew it would not hurt Sara to be on her skin) and within 5 minutes of beginning the process, Sara looked like she got in a paint ball fight. She managed to swing her legs everywhere, spreading the purple paint on her feet all over her legs, took the paint on her hands and grabbed her hair so she had a purple head. The prints barely look like anything in the book with the mess that it became but it was definately a memory I will not soon forget.

One of my other ideas (that I got from Uncle Ray's sister) was to take Sara's picture in the same spot in the house every month. This way we could really see the progress she was making over the months. It helps to take these pictures and then look at them because I am already looking at pictures from the hospital and she looks so tiny and so different from now, so hopefully this will give an interesting insight to how much she is growing! Here is her one month picture:

Our Little October Baby!

We love being new parents!

Well Sara has been home for about two weeks now (even though she is three weeks old) and we love having her here! She is eager to explore her world and watch everyone around her with her big beautiful eyes. Sata spends a lot of her days with her Mommy while Daddy goes to work but next week Mom is starting to substitute teach again so Daddy will get his turn to spend some quality time with his daughter. Sara continues to grow right before our very eyes. At her last doctors visit Sara weighed in at 8lbs 12 oz. Her next appointment is on the 16th of November so we will see what kind of progress she made...she definately is eating well and she has mastered the art of pooping so I think her progress will be positive.

I have decided to breastfeed. Not only did it appeal to me because it helps to burn calories, but there were many other reasons as well. The time spent breastfeeding is a quality time that Sara and I bond. I have also read so many positive things about the nutrients and benefits of breastmilk for babies, that even though sometimes I wish that I could wake David up at 3 AM to feed her with a formula bottle, I would not trade the time I spend with her for anything.

We have begun to master what Sara does and does not prefer. She loves her walks. I will usually take her on a long walk during the day, which most of the time puts her to sleep, and Dave loves to take her for a walk when he gets home from work at night. Sara also loves the sound of the shower running. When I take a shower I pull the bouncy seat into the edge of the bathroom and no matter what Sara immediately calms down while the water is running and sometimes even falls asleep (if I shower long enough)

Sara has also had a few adventures outside of the home already. She has gone for visits to both grandparents homes for different occassions. We also took Sara for a trip to the Christmas Tree Shoppe in Freehold with Dave, Grammie, and Grampie. She did pretty well. Dave and I understand that she is young and that there are lots of germs out there but we have never taken her anywhere for an extended period of time with strangers and we always have her covered up so that people can't get too close. But I felt as though if I did not get out of the house I was going to go nuts so every once and awhile a little trip to the store to save our sanity works for us.

In the upcoming week Aunt Barbara, Uncle Dick, cousin Mellie, and Aunt Claris will be coming to visit. We look forward to the company!!