Annika's first sitter

So, I've been teaching in Burlington Tuesdays and Thursdays. For a week and a half, Stephen and Annika came to the office with me, waiting for me while I taught. That was not going to work for anyone for the entire semester so we had to look for a babysitter to stay in the house with Annika while Stephen worked in the other room - more a "father's helper" than a babysitter. We interviewed a few Middlebury students and found one with whom we both felt comfortable. Today was the first day with her.

I, of course, was the nervous mom (though I'm sure much less because I knew Stephen would be in the other room). In the end, there was no reason to be nervous. Though A. had mini-meltdowns a couple times, she was sleeping soundly on CJ's (our father's helper) shoulder when I came home. We clearly chose the right girl :)

It had to happen sometime . . .

Every morning after Annika wakes up, she smiles. She's definitely a morning person. However, she also takes that time to work on some gas that, I'm assuming, she has collected overnight. This morning it also sounded like she was working on some poo so I gave her a little extra time to get it all out before I changed her diaper. When I opened it up, much to my surprise there was nothing there! I took off her diaper and started to clean her cute little tushie when she started grunting again and, before I knew it, projectile poo hit me in the arm. My daughter just pooed on me from 6 inches away (and then smiled about it)!!

At least she has good aim - it only got on me, nothing else!

Looking over the last couple weeks

So, my posts have been pretty picture light and, really, I know you're coming here to get a glimpse at the turklet. Well, here you go:

A little cold Vermont weather doesn't deter us! A has her own snowsuit and falls asleep almost before we get outside:

After a hard day sleeping and eating,

it's nice to have in-house entertainment:

Finally, when anything needs to get done, turklet becomes a kangaroo :)

Holy cow! 2 months already?!?!

The turklet is already 2 months old!!! We had the 2-month appointment with the wonderful Dr. Kate and A had her first round of immunizations :( Why can't they make an infant sized needle rather than use one that is half the size of her leg!? It was all I could do to keep from crying when she screamed a scream of pain - one that I'd never heard because, well, I don't make it a practice to hurt my daughter. After several minutes of the most pitiful crying you've ever heard - and as much comforting and assuring her that I had nothing to do with this - she finally calmed down and fell promptly to sleep.

And this kid isn't fooling around. At 8 weeks, she's weighing in at 13 lbs. 7 oz. and measuring 24 inches!!! It's the incredible growing baby!!! (pictures to follow)

I love being a mom

Stephen said the other day that there is no love like the love you feel for your child. I always believed that abstractly but having Annika here has made me realize it intensely. I'm still on modified bedrest (that is, I can have a life but can't really do anything too physical) so I spend a lot of time holding the babe. A few people have said, "That must be hard/boring/tiring - always having to be with/hold the baby." Not really. I'm constantly fascinated by how no matter how tired or frustrated I get, I smile as soon as I look at my lovely daughter. I really do love being a mom.

Christmas and update

I can't believe Annika's 1 month old already! She's growing so quickly (9 lbs. 9 oz and 22 inches at her 2-week visit!) and becoming more and more beautiful by the day. We feel so lucky - she's such an easy-going baby, smiley and only cries when she's REALLY upset. Otherwise she's sleeping, eating or staring intently with her beautiful grey (for now) eyes. I mean look at this face!

We had our first trip down to Marlboro for Christmas. Imagine the back seat of our little Jetta with Annika in her car seat in the middle and a dog on either side. Everyone seemed happy enough - Annika even slept for the entire 2.5 hour trip.

Christmas with the Whitemans was low-key - we ate great food, relaxed, read and participated in a Turklet lovefest! We couldn't resist pictures with Annika in the Xmas outfit Yaya got for her - here are a few:

Yes, we're definitely turning into photo happy parents. We can't help it - she's just do damn cute! Look at what I mean:

 Thanks to Michael, Margery and Eliza for the fun times. It was great for Annika to meet her Aunt Zaza and to have more time with grandparents. Our next big trip - Cincinnati in the spring! Annika's first plane trip!

Turklet (aka Annika Maeve) has arrived

After a long wait, our beautiful daughter has arrived. Born December 1 at 1:49 am, Annika is perfect. She let us know of her arrival with the most beautiful sound in the world, a loud, bright cry! Weighing in at 8 lb 11.3 oz and measuring 21.5 inches, she's no lightweight but you'd be surprised at how skinny she is! Check her out:

We are happier than we can describe and look at her in wonder everyday.

Due to some complications with the birth, I'm on bed rest for another week. This means that Stephen has had to do EVERYTHING! I can't believe how lucky I am that I have someone who takes care of me completely. He has stepped up in a way that I don't think many people could - in addition to his own work, he's cooking, cleaning, and generally taking care of his family and household and still takes the time to come and hang out with us in bed. Annika absolutely adores her daddy - and he adores her. She stares at him and responds immediately to his voice and (for those of you who have had the pleasure of hearing them) his nonsense songs (Stephen loves to takes familiar tunes and assign his own words - and by his own words I mean words you won't find anywhere but in his head).

This is without a doubt one of the most wondrous times in our lives and we're relishing every moment. Annika is a joy and brings us immeasurable happiness. We look forward to introducing her to all of the people that mean the most to us.