May 2011

What a great month! Of course there have been some stressful moments of “what do we do now” and “why is she crying again,” but the majority of the month has gone well and most of that praise needs to go do Deb! I do what I can on the weekends, but there is a part of me that just imagines doing this routine each day while getting interrupted sleep and I don’t really know how Deb does it! I guess sneaking in a morning and afternoon nap doesn’t hurt! But all joking aside, the original thoughts was for me to take an additional week off in the month of May and it ended up being unnecessary, so I saved those vacation days for down the road, when visitors may not be as frequent and Nana (Deb’s Mom) may not be able to come for an entire week (as she did this month)! We were introduced to parenthood when we spent our 5-year anniversary a little different than we normally do. Typically, we enjoy a steak dinner from one of the several places here in town. This year, we had some leftovers and watched the NBA playoffs. It is an adjustment, but one we were excited to undertake. It is hard to believe it has been one month since she was born…as she seems to have been part of us for a long time. I’m sure the 9 month pregnancy does that to you.

Allison hanging out on the couch...
Deb and I were also blessed to have a nephew born on May 22nd. Pete and Laura welcomed their son, Jacob Robert Vandervaart, on that Sunday evening. As he was nearly 5 weeks early, he is spending some time in the NICU. From what I understand, he is doing great and will be leaving soon. I’ve copied their blog to this post as several people have asked about them recently (Laura was in the hospital for nearly 3 weeks due to pregnancy complications). And, they will post a lot more pictures than we will of Jake! Blog - http://www.vandervaartfamily.blogspot.com/

As Deb mentioned on a previous post, Nana came to visit the last full week of May and it was a great visit. I’m sure she enjoyed herself, but Deb really enjoyed not only having her mom around to enjoy this time in her life, but also to simply have someone to talk to during the day! They went shoe shopping for Allison, went to breakfast in Broad Ripple, did some shopping at Kohl’s and Babies R Us (big surprise!) and seemed to be out and about whenever they remembered to call me!

Deb has been able to get out of the house on a few occasions. She and Allison take morning walks on the Monon as long as it isn't raining and we go as a family at night as often as possible. Deb is back to working out at the gym which she has missed doing and was also able to go out for a "girls' night" and had a blast.

Things have started to sink in with my Dad not being here to enjoy the 2 newest grandchildren. The ironic thing I have thought about recently was that it felt like we were holding him together the last 3 years, but it really seems like he was the one keeping us together. Now, everyone is doing just fine, but it just seems like even in his toughest moments, he always had the right thing to say to all of us, and now his voice isn’t here when we sometimes need it.

Allison had her 1 month check up appointment and her pediatrician says "she is the perfect 1 month old"!! She now weighs 8lbs 8oz and is 22 inches long and finally fits into her newborn clothes. She received the 2nd shot in the Hep B vaccine series which was difficult to watch and next month starts the true series of immunizations which we hear is even worse!

A few more items from this month:

*Mom has decided she needed a fresh start at a new place, so she is selling our house on Rowin Road and moving to a condo. Safety, less maintenance, and no yard-work are all excellent reasons to move and we all support her. Nevertheless, having your childhood home sold is emotional.

*We enjoyed a cookout at the Frederick’s house over Memorial Day weekend, where we got a chance to see 2 of my fraternity brothers that I haven’t seen in years, Dave Crews and Nick Flesher (the Watkins and Miles were also there).

*Chris Wahman (my cousin) graduated from high school this month. I was able to attend the graduation and all 3 of us went to the open house over Memorial Day weekend.

1 month old

Can you believe it!?!? Allison is already 1 month old. We have been terrible at sharing pictures- we are still amazed at how fast the days go. But, here are some of our favorites.....

Daddy and Allison enjoy some couch time Allison has a big decision to make... (thanks for the socks Nana!)

Mommy and Allison

Nana came to spend the week

Nana took Allison Allison shoe shopping Allison hanging out

Sleepy Allison

Mommy, Allison, Max and Sam Foulke

Our first family picture

Aunt Beth came to visit

Aunt Julie came to visit too...

Mommy and Allison

Mommy, Allison and Ella Watkins (Ella said- "hers so small")

Allison hated her first bath but we think it is because we were afraid to make the water too warm

April 2011

Well, as you can tell from our previous posts and hopefully you have received a text, email or phone call, Allison Catherine was born Wednesday, April 27th at 7:59PM. She weighed in at 6lbs and 12ozs and was 21 inches long. Deb went into labor in the early morning on Wednesday and she was content with her epidural by 1PM. After waiting for awhile and then a few more hours for the doctor, she pushed for 1 hour and baby Allison arrived! Randy and Anna were able to make it from West Virginia and my mom was there most of the day. Aunt Laura came in the evening and stuck around until she was born. It helps having connections at the hospital (Mom and Laura both work there), so we were able to score a suite which helped us accommodate our visitors and for us to get acquainted with little Allison. Aunt Julie purchased a wonderful “going-home” outfit (as you can see from the previous post) and Aunt Laura (with cousins Claire & Grace) decorated the door to our condo (also previously posted.) Aunt Beth (a pediatrician) has been a frequent sounding board for our first-time parent questions and also sent us a cookie bouquet!

We took our first walk on the MononWe were sent home on Friday evening and it has been much quieter at home. She was eating and sleeping most of the day, which made everything seem pretty easy! Naïve as we are she has started to wake up more and needing her diaper changed all the time. I don’t blame her, as it would be hard to sleep with a dirty diaper! Deb has been doing fantastic and I am sure it will continue as I am heading back to work tomorrow. For those who thought Deb required all the sleep in the world, she is doing very well with her numerous cat naps while Allison is sleeping. I am going to tentatively work a shorter day than usual the remainder of this week so I can get home and try to help Deb get in a nap or do stuff around the house…or just hang out with Allison!

We are off to our first doctor appointment today. It is quite an undertaking to schedule the feedings, work in our lunches, and really just praying she doesn’t melt down at the office. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time a kid cried in a pediatric office! And that is OK; it isn’t like we will be going to church or anything today!

All dressed up for the first doctor's appointment...Daddy with Allison at the doctor's officeWe celebrated Easter with the Carroll family by going to church and having a nice brunch. In the afternoon we were able to attend Chris Wahman's (Keith's cousin)18th birthday party.

Not much else is going to be posted this month as we did a lot of waiting for Allison during the month of April. As she becomes more alert, we will continue to learn what makes her happy and what makes her upset. It would be a lot easier of she just came with an instruction manual!

A few more items from this month:

*Deb was thrown baby showers at both Hurco and Methodist Sports Medicine (our employers). We received some great stuff and have already put most of it to use!

*We had some friends from Cincinnati (Depps) and Chicago (Ragos) visit earlier in the month. It was good to see those guys and we sat around and watched the Final Four…which Butler made another surprising run to the championship. Did we already mention Deb beat Keith in the NCAA bracket challenge, again.... 3rd year in a row!!!