As our first family tradition, we have decided to go for a hike each week. Jeff and linda gave us a parking pass to the OC parks for Christmas and we are so excited to go to them! Our first hike was at Irvine Regional, and our second at Peter’s Canyon.
Our little guy is two weeks old! Can you believe it?!
It’s been fun, scary, unbelievable and messy these past two weeks, and I have loved it. It’s still so hard for Josh and I to believe that he’s here, and that we are parents. He told me the other day that he was shocked to walk into the living room and see a baby in there! I can’t believe that just two weeks and a few hours ago, I looked like this:
And now, in case you were wondering, I look like this:
Most of my baby bump is gone, and most of the post-pregnancy swelling has gone down. It’s amazing how the extra fluid your body holds onto during the pregnancy will slowly evacuate through your skin and swells up your ankles and fingers. Josh started to call my hands “little smokies” (like the cocktail weiners)! Even though the baby weighed almost 8 pounds, when I got home from the hospital I only weighed 5 pounds less than when I’d gotten there! So weird. Also, you have to wait for your uterus to return to its normal size, and it goes from weighing 5-6 pounds after the baby is born to its normal size which is, get this: 2 ounces!!!!
How is Jacob?
Well he is just perfect (the pediatrician’s words!) He was born at 7 lb. 14 ounces, and when he got to the NICU, he weighed only 7 pounds. By last Friday (just out of the NICU) he weighed 7 lb. 10 ounces which was great progress. As of Friday the 30 he weighs 8 lb. 8 oz.!!! Can you believe it!? The nurse actually had me take him off the scale while she turned it off and then on again to make sure it was working correctly!
Here are some pictures from our little guy’s first two weeks.
It’s New Year’s Eve and I am sitting on the couch with my little boy, watching the two countdowns on tv…
First of all, who knew Carson Daly was still…famous? Poor Dick Clark looks really awful, and the crystal ball looks so SMALL! Why don’t they make a larger one? Times Squae is so busy that the ball looks kind of sad. Both of the shows are just awful. I was hoping to watch one of those looking back on 2011 shows, but I can’t seem to find one. Anyway, I can take my own look back.
In our personal lives, 2011 was full of beautiful events, like two of my close friends becoming mothers (and several others finding out that they would be…) Lindsay’s Tessa was born in May and my darling Lisa welcomed her beautiful Cassidy into her family in November. I have felt so fortunate to experience this journey alongside my friends who have babies as well, and especially to watch Lisa adopt and complete the journey toward parenthood has been so gratifying and humbling. My cousin Dylan broke his leg this summer during some extreme sports. I got my friend Niki back from NYC and cousin Bree back from Chicago. I was so thankful for the safe return of my brother’s best friend, Collin, from Afghanistan and to see the end of his tim with the Marines. My cousin Erinn got engaged to her boyfriend Andy which I’m so excited about!!
2011, for us, started beautifully. Josh had recovered from his accident and we were comfortably settled in our new house. We had a cruise to look forward to, and we were ready to enjoy ourselves with the hard work of the house behind us. Josh tuned 28… The cruise was fantastic… Josh again dominated Vision Quest… We found out we were expecting the most wonderful gift… I spent 16 weeks having horrible “morning” (all day) sickness… We traveled to Laughlin for the River Run… I turned 27… We found out our baby was a boy and tried to pick a name for him… We traveled to Big Bear… Josh went on a mountain biking trip in Colorado… Korey went to Palm Springs with her mom and grandmother… We renovated our kitchen and living room… We traveled to Colorado to see Josh’s cousin Justin marry the wonderful Michelle… Our little Jacob joined us, spent three days in the NICU, and then was thankfully returned to us in much better health… We celebrated Christmas and New Years at home to keep our little one safe, reflecting almost constantly on our many blessings this year.
Some notable “news” items in 2011:
Tonight, Josh, Jacob and I celebrated New Years’ Eve in our pajamas. We ate a nice dinner and watched a movie, and then toasted with sparkling cider. (Now Josh is sleeping of course! hehe). We have so much to reflect on and it’s so hard to really absorb the fact that we are parents. Weird!!
A lot has happened this year! It’s really hard for me not to look to the future with much hopeful anticipation while this little being squeaks and twitches in his sleep next to me. I have a mental list of “I can’t wait to’s” that is much too long to post!
Have a safe night, my friends, and I look forward to posting in 2012! Love to you al!!
A good link: the top photos of 2011
Josh and Korey 