2 MONTHS

Here are some 2 month photos like I had promised in the last post. The first one is one that Michael took on Saturday when she actually turned 2 months, and the two with the sign are ones I took today (exactly 9 weeks). As you can see, she is increasingly happy and smiley for us. We are definitely enjoying that and hope that it continues! :)

Glorious Morning!

As some of you know, I tried to stay active throughout my pregnancy. I continued running until about halfway and then continued going to the gym until about 38 weeks and then continued walking a lot until Michaela was born. Since Michaela was born, exercise for me has consisted of doing squats while holding her (mostly to appease her), doing segments of workout videos while holding her, doing push-ups and abs while entertaining her in her playgym or tummy time, and walking around the neighborhood. I have had the desire to go running since she was about 2 weeks old, but TODAY (at 2 months old), I FINALLY had the MOTIVATION, ENERGY, and a PLAN. Michael went for a quick run while I fed Michaela, and then I got changed and left as soon as he came back. I did my first half of pregnancy route (about 3 miles), and although it was slow going, I was just so excited to be jogging without stopping for the first time in 6 months! As I was jogging up to our building, it started drizzling, which proved the nice timing of the plan. And the cherry on top...
I entered the apartment to a sweet babe sleeping and a sweet man cooking brunch, so I even got to do uninterrupted abs, push-ups, and eating with my husband before said sweet baby awoke. GLORIOUS! I think this plan will have to be re-enacted many times in the future!!

P.S. Baby is 2 months today, and more pictures of her are coming soon. :)

Shots!!

Michaela had her 2 month appt. today and it went MUCH better than the last doctor's appt. She practically slept through the whole thing. She weighed in at 11 lb (about 75th percentile) and 22.4 inches (50th %). Her head is just over 75th percentile at 15.35 inches. She also got her first vaccinations. Even though she got 3 shots at separate occasions (I was hoping they would do both legs at once or let me do one at the same time), she did pretty well. She cried for a minute as she was getting them, but stopped crying as soon as I picked her up. She then proceeded to sleep almost the entire day. When she awoke and was getting her diaper changed, I snapped a couple pics to show her band-aids and smiles. (The red mark on her left thigh is a strawberry hemangioma that she was born with.)

Michaela and Daddy

Here's one more of my favorites (taken by Grandma a few weeks ago) that I forgot to add to the Michaela and Daddy montage below. Hope you might enjoy it like me! :)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy 1st Father's Day to Michael and Happy Father's Day to all the fathers reading this blog, especially Tom and Niels! :) Michaela and I are very blessed to have a man in our lives who has emerged as a "natural" when it comes to fathering. He has thoroughly impressed me and exceeded my expectations in the past 8 weeks! And I'm sure this will continue as Michaela becomes more interactive since he has been saying things to her since week one like, "ok, michaela, now push your arm through, " as he is dressing her. Thank you for everything you do for us. WE LOVE YOU! Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Daddy with his girl...

7th time the charm

Praise the Lord I made it through an entire church service today! Michaela will be turning 7 weeks tomorrow (or later today since it is now midnight), it was our 7th time going to church with her, and I heard the entire sermon for the first time in her life. She usually naps at 10am everyday, and since our service starts at 10, she normally falls asleep on the drive to church. Being the musical child that she is, she usually sleeps through all of the music at the beginning of the service and then wakes up as soon as it stops. This week, she stayed awake until the music began, and then fell asleep while we swayed/rocked and stayed asleep until long after the service was over and we had run most of our errands. Of course, I stood in the back swaying for most of the sermon, as well (just for good measure), but it was a new feat for us, and we are grateful! This pic is especially for Grandma Cookey and Great-Grandma Smith in Lititz. We got lots of compliments in the adorable outfit you picked out! This was post-long nap when she was very happy...I missed a huge smile by one second!

Our First Second

We have been in Germany for over a year now, and this weekend was the first time we went to annual event for the second time. The spring fest in Wiesbaden got even bigger this year. Like last year, we walked to the event. Some differences from last year were an additional family member, better weather, furniture in our apartment, and enjoying the fest with friends (thanks jbarts!).

Future Aviator?

Michaela started reaching for the toys that hang down from her play gym earlier in the week, and Gramps said, "sounds like she's ready for a mobile". And he was right! We've been putting her in the crib every once in awhile (she doesn't sleep in it yet) just to watch her airplanes flying, and she loves it! Michael was able to capture a few pics of her enjoying it today, and the smile in this one was tops. Yes, the cloth diaper makes her hips look twice the size they are...she really has tiny little hips, not junk in the trunk! ;)

Our Sleeping Beauty

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

We think Michaela is especially angelic when she is sleeping, so I decided to share one from every week of her life so far. And occasionally her canine sister gets jealous of all her photo ops in the boppy and tries to get in on the action as well.

2 week check-up (3 weeks ago)

So, this is what Michaela looked like for her entire first doctor's appointment. She screamed more in that 30 min. than she had in the prior 2 weeks of life. Here is how it went down...
I undressed her (including diaper) in order to get weighed and measured. As soon as the air hit her bottom, she urinated all over the scale. The huge puddle of urine surrounded her (all the way up her back). I scooped her up and started patting her back with paper towels while my mother and the tech cleaned the scale. I held paper towels under her bottom while they were finishing up so we could try again. Before that was possible, I started feeling warmth in my hand. I held her away from my body (as to protect my own clothing), and a large puddle of poop accumulated on the floor. After all that, she was able to get weighed and measured. As you can see, she really enjoyed it. ;)

The doctor was happy to hear that all the plumbing was working but was not happy that the screaming continued while she was trying to listen to her heart and lungs. She had grown an inch and a half and gained over a pound since birth. We haven't gotten her weighed again since then, but we tried on the scale last night, and we think she is somewhere right around 10 lb. now. We will update you more after the next appointment.

3 Generations...

In Trier

In Heidelberg (yes, that is Michaela in the sling...it's not just a sash!)

And in Rudesheim.