Grandma and Grandpa Brimley

Grandma and Grandpa Brimley came and visited us this week. This was our year to be up in Utah for Christmas, but we cancelled because we didn't think it was smart to make the trip with a 2-week old baby. So they came down to see us instead.

We had a good old time hanging out with them this week. We ate out at several of our favorite restaurants (mostly seafood, since you can't get much fresh seafood in Utah), did some shopping (thank you for the diapers and wipes!!!), spent time with the family, and wasted time hanging out at home. There aren't a whole lot of things you can do with a newborn with a cold. They headed back north today. We'll miss them, and the free babysitting. ;)

Grandma Brimley mentioned that she thought Alyssa wasn't doing all the things a 3-week old baby should do, like not holding up her head enough. She should know about these things, considering she raised 3 kids and Alyssa's her 12th grandkid (#13 is due this spring). So Grandma checked out the month-by-month section of "What to Expect the First Year" and it turns out Alyssa is ahead of the curve! She's doing things a 4-week old can do, and some things a 2-month old can do! So now we're not as worried as we were before. She's a really good baby.

Grandma Brimley and Alyssa

Grandpa Brimley and Alyssa

Grandma and Grandpa Brimley and Alyssa

Daddy, Grandma Brimley, and Alyssa

Baby's First Christmas and Baby's First Cold

Alyssa's first Christmas was a raging success. The family loved her and she hit the jackpot in the gift department. I don't think we'll have to buy much for several weeks. Thank you so much to family and friends!

We had my family over for the majority of the day, which was a lot of fun. My aunt and uncle, down from Pasadena, met Alyssa for the first time and thought she was the best. My grandma, parents, sister, and nephew all had to take their turns holding the baby. It seemed like we only got to hold her when she was cranky or had a dirty diaper. But we were expecting that.

Because there was so much going on, Alyssa was awake the majority of the day and was super cranky. We think it was just too much hub bub for her. As soon as everyone left and we settled down into our normal quiet lifestyle, she ate a whole bottle and slept like a rock. She seems to like our homebody ways, and we definitely appreciate that. She's fitting right into our family.

Mike's parents will be here in a couple of hours, coming down from Utah since we couldn't come up this year. We didn't think travelling to the freezing cold, 12 hours 1-way, was the best thing to do with a 2-week old baby. They'll be here until New Year's, so we'll put them to work, probably babysitting so we can sleep. They'll love that.

None of us are feeling particularly well, and Alyssa's got the cold we've been fighting the last week. She was up ALL NIGHT last night because she couldn't breathe lying down, so we're completely exhausted today. We've been taking turns with napping, but naps don't quite cut it when you're this tired. I think I actually fell asleep standing up at one point. Mike woke me up this morning saying he was going to take her to the ER, but I talked him out of it. She's acting normally, except for the congestion, so all's well unless she gets a fever or gets worse. Here's to healthy immune systems!

Baby Torture

We decided to give a baby picture to many in our families as Christmas presents, so today we had our second home-made photo session. Mommy first tortured Alyssa by putting her in a cute little outfit: dress, tights, shoes, headband, the works. It was way more than she had ever worn before and she obviously didn't appreciate it. Then mommy tried a few different poses and only got a few good pictures. Here are some of the bloopers, and the final picture we chose.

I do NOT want my picture taken!

What the heck are you doing?

Are we done yet?

Bath #4 FAIL

With bath #3, I thought we had it down: Alyssa barely cried and she did so well. But bath #4 tonight proved to be a complete and utter failure. Our first screw-up was not having the water warm enough. So she screamed. Then she had a diaperless blow-out in the bath water. So she continued to scream. We didn't get her dry fast enough. So she screamed more. Then I had to put lotion on her. So she screamed even more. And I had to get her dressed. Even more screaming. At one point, I just sat back and laughed because it was so ridiculous. I tried using a binky, but she was screaming so hard she wouldn't keep it in her mouth. I wish I would have gotten it videotaped for AFV - we could have won $10k.

Vacation and Some Much-Needed Baby Time

We are loving Christmas vacation. Christmas means so much more when you have a little one to share it with. The magic is back.

Alyssa's growing like a weed. She's just over 2 weeks old and is already mostly filling out her 3-6 month outfits. I noticed yesterday that she's starting to hold her bottle during feedings. Until yesterday, she only cried when she was hungry, but she's starting to fuss when she needs to be changed too. She's getting better at being either awake or asleep, not the comatose half wake, half sleep stuff she was doing at first. And she's getting on a schedule! She's learning and growing fast.

Mommy and daddy are learning fast too. We've made it through 3 baths, and she barely cried during number 3. We've figured out that it works best for everyone when daddy gets up with Alyssa at night and lets mommy sleep, and then mommy gets up with her early in the morning and lets daddy sleep; daddy's a night owl who likes to sleep in and mommy's an early-to-bed type that needs a good night's sleep. We make a good team. Overall, it's going very well and we're thoroughly enjoying her.

Grandma and Grandpa Maier live close by, so they get to see Alyssa all the time. Grandma and Grandpa Brimley and coming down from Utah to meet her right after Christmas. It's our year to go to Utah for Christmas, but we didn't think a 1-way, 12-hour drive was the best thing to do with a 2-week old baby. So Grandma and Grandma decided to come down and then we'll head up to Utah for spring break, which should be much more manageable.

Our Best Christmas Present Ever

This is definitely going to be the best Christmas ever. We have been given the best present and she's all wrapped up in her cute Christmas outfit. I love it!

She's Home!!!

Baby Alyssa came home with us last night. We got home around 9:30 and worked on figuring out how to get everyone to bed. We fed and changed her and got her in the bassinet. An hour later, we woke up to crying. Big surprise, I know. We spent the next few hours figuring out that Alyssa doesn't like the bassinet and just wants to be held while she sleeps. Another big surprise, I know. About 3:00 I finally got her to sleep by putting her on my chest as I slept, and we got a good 4 hours of sleep like that. I woke up and changed her (she was still sleeping), got some work done on the computer (she was still sleeping), and went on with my day. She didn't wake up until 8:15! I didn't even need a nap today. Alyssa is a great baby. She's only cried once in the 24 hours we've had her. She's very easy-going and loves to look around when she's awake. She especially likes bright colors. We're quickly learning how to be parents and ironing out the wrinkles in our system.

We'll work on getting some more pictures posted in the next few days, so stay tuned.

Slight Delay in Becoming Parents

My sister and the baby were released from the hospital late yesterday. Eveyone's doing fine and trying to catch up on their sleep. My sister's going to keep the baby for a couple of days to get ready for the transition and then we can go pick her up! So hopefully we'll have her by the weekend!

We've been busy getting things together and ready. We're lucky that Mike can take [pa]ternity leave to take care of the baby for a while. Since I just started my new job, I can't really take time off already. It looks like he's going to be able to take the rest of work off until Christmas break, and then we have two whole weeks of non-working bliss (to try to catch up on our sleep). Then I guess it's off to daycare for Alyssa while we're working. We have baby stuff all over our house, thanks to many generous friends. We'll be going shopping at some point to pick up the other things we'll need. We really appreciate how much everyone is helping, especially with no notice. We have great friends and family!

Alyssa's Story

Baby Alyssa will be coming home with us this Wednesday and we're so excited. She is our little surprise bundle of joy. But we have a whole lot to do to get ready for her. Here's how we arrived where we are now...

My sister, Pam, has been pregnant for a while. Because of other circumstances in the family, she wasn't acknowledging the pregnancy and had decided to give the baby up for adoption. Mike and I got a call Saturday morning saying she had gone into labor. We were surprised and shocked, because we didn't think she was that far along. We went to the hospital that night to visit her and the baby and got the whole scoop on why everything had happened the way it had. By no means were we even considering adopting a baby at that point. Even the first hour or so we were in the hospital room, Pam was holding the baby and the thought never crossed my mind. But I got the chance to hold her and was hooked. After a LOT of fasting, praying, crying, fighting, pleading, etc., we made the decision on Sunday night to take her home with us when she's released from the hospital on Wednesday and start the adoption process.

Alyssa was born at 2:45pm on Saturday, December 5, and weighed 7 pounds. She's half white and half black and has a ton of hair. She has a mark over her right eye - they're not sure if it's a bruise or a birth mark, but we'll find out in the next couple of weeks. She's already ahead of the curve - she's a nursing natural and latched on her first try. She's an active and wiggly baby and loves to wiggle right out of her too-big clothes. She's already attached to her binky and gets very upset if things don't go her way. Yep, she'll fit right in at our house (we're all very stubborn). We're so excited to have her as a new addition to our family.