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Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Rylee meets the Kreider's!

Rylee got to meet the Kreider's this past weekend. They came down to visit us on Saturday and then left on Sunday. It was so great to see them again! We haven't seen them in 2 months and Maddy has grown up so much in that time. It was crazy to look at Rylee and Maddy together and realize how fast they grow in just 1 year. There is a huge difference! Maddy is still cute as ever! She is starting to look more like her mom rather than just looking like her dad. I think she enjoyed playing with Rylee for the little time that Rylee was awake. Give them another year and then they'll really have fun playing with each other. It'll be so great raising our families together! Brad and I really enjoyed spending time with Jac and Jason. We did a lot of relaxing and talking about parenting and baby stories. We also all went on a walk together. It was really nice here on Sunday - it was actually not 100 degrees out so we could take Rylee outside. We haven't had a chance to take her outside much because it has been so dang hot. It is supposed to cool off for Labor Day weekend so let's hope so. Jac and Jason also brought us lunch and dinner for Saturday which was so nice of them. Thanks again guys for everything! We look forward to the next time that we get to see each other!

Jac, Maddy, and Rylee - I unfortunately was taking advantage of having the time to shower so I wasn't around for this photo shoot. That's ok...there will be lots more.

Rylee giving Maddy a kiss

Maddy giving Rylee a kiss

The 2 girls all set for the walk


And we're off for our first real walk - our other attempt at going for a walk with Rylee didn't last very long cause it was too hot and her cheeks got red so we had to come home right away. This walk was a lot more enjoyable!

Monday, August 27, 2007

2 Week Update

2 weeks have already come and gone. In 2 weeks we feel like she's grown and changed so much. Our neighbors came home with their newborn Gracie this weekend and we couldn't believe how much bigger Rylee was then her. We still think of Rylee being so small (which she is) but she has grown a lot in 2 weeks and that was obvious to us when we saw how tiny Gracie is. We're still not sure who Rylee looks like more and we are thinking she is a pretty good mix between the two of us. We think she has my nose and lips and Brad's eyes. Her eyebrows and eyelashes are really light so she might even end up being a blonde. I think she has Brad's feet too because they are so long and skinny and mine are opposite of that. We just think she is so darn cute and can't stop kissing her soft cheeks.

This week Brad went back to work on Wednesday. Wednesday and Thursday she was a little fussy (due to gas, we think) so those days were a little harder for me. Brad gets to come home for lunch so that is really nice and helps break up the day. She had a few tough nights too this week (again, due to gas we think) but the past few nights she has been sleeping great. She goes about 3.5 hours between feedings and she has been going right back to sleep after she eats...which gives us more time to sleep! She continues to eat good too. She still likes to fall asleep while she eats but if I play with her cheeks and hands she'll start eating again. She has been spending more time awake now during the days too. When she is awake she is so alert and moves her head all around to look at things. Everyone keeps telling us that she has a really strong neck for being so young. On another note, Rylee lost her umbillical cord on day 10. There is still a little scab left but that is starting to fall off and heal as well. Now she can wear pants and have a real bath!

I also want to thank all of our friends who brought over dinner for us the past 2 weeks. It's been such a great help and we really appreciate it!

In the carseat again...thankfully she likes her carseat!

She still loves her baths, as long as she is not too hungry when we give her one. Then she's a little fussy.

All cuddled up in her blanket and dad's arms.

She loves to sleep on our chests...we love it too!

Rylee and Dad resting on the couch together.

She also loves to sleep in her swing.

Look at those lips...aren't they beautiful!

Wide awake and playing on the floor!

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Cul-de-sac Babies!

As of yesterday at 4:20 pm, all 3 cul-de-sac babies are here...and they are all girls!!! We are so excited for everyone and it will be so great to watch these 3 little girls grow up together. Rylee was the first one born and she started the Friday trend. The following Friday (August 17th) our neighbors Dana and Jeff had their baby girl, Macey (which was one of our top 3 names til they announced their name to everyone) Lynn. Macey was the exact same height and weight (7 lbs. 11 oz. and 20.5 in. long) as Rylee and they were both born 4 days early. What a coincidence! Then yesterday, (Friday August 24th) our neighbors Mindi and Ryan had their baby girl. They didn't know what they were going to have but they and everyone else thought it was going to be a boy, so it was a surprise that it was a girl. They named her Grace Ann and she was 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 19 in. long. We are going to go the hospital to meet her this weekend. It is going to be so fun for Rylee to have 2 little girlfriends to play with and grow up with, right here on our cul-de-sac.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Family Pictures

My family all left Sunday morning. It was very hard to say our good-byes. They didn't want to leave and we didn't want them to either but unfortunately we all knew they had to. They were so much help and we are thankful that they were able to be down here for the first week. They helped with everything! My mom even found out Rylee's favorite position when she is fussy. When her tummy is bothering her she loves to lay across your lap on her tummy and have you rub/pat her back. I am so glad my mom showed us that cause I don't think we would have thought of that. Like I said before, I am not sure what we would have done without them. Saturday night before they left Vanessa took family pictures. Here are some of the pics she took.
4 Generations

The Anderson girls

The 3 of us

Saturday, August 18, 2007

1 Week Old!

Rylee Dawn is 1 Week old already! I can't believe how fast that week went...it was all kind of a whirl wind. She is doing great! She is such a happy baby - we are so lucky! For only being a week old she is so alert too. She loves to lift her head up when you are holding her and look around and loves to look at you when you talk to her. She acts like she is listening so intently to every single word you say. I love to tell her stories. I sing to her too and I am a terrible singer and she doesn't even seem to mind. She is a very good eater too. Although she does fall asleep a lot while I am feeding her so I just have to keep playing with her cheeks or her hands. She wakes up to eat during the night every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. I've actually had to wake her up a few times to feed her but now the Dr. said I can let her sleep til around 4 hours and then wake her up if she hasn't woke up on her own. As she gets bigger she might want to eat more often but right now it is a pretty decent schedule. My body is just starting to adjust to only getting a little over 2 hours of sleep at a time. Oh and another good thing is that she sleeps right through all the noise and commotion in the house. That's nice so we don't have to tippy toe around her while she is sleeping. Overall, she is just so precious and all I want to do is keep kissing her!
She had her 1 week Dr.'s appointment yesterday. Here's her stats from the check-up:
Weight: 8lbs (50th percentile)
Height: 20 5/8 in. (75th percentile)
Head: 35.5 cm. (50th percentile)

We were so glad to see that her weight went up past her birth weight already. Sometimes that takes around 2 weeks. Because her weight is good the Dr. said she doesn't have to come back until her 1 month check-up. She also said her bruise on her head has went down a little. She thinks it will take 4-5 weeks to go down but the more gradual the better. Her Dr. also wanted her to get blood work done to check for jaundice. This was her 3rd time getting her blood taken and I feel so bad for her when they do it. She was sleeping yesterday and when they pricked her she let out a scream of pain (Brad and I felt terrible) but when they stopped she went right back to sleep. The results from the blood test were great and her billiruben levels have went down even more so she's still not jaundice so we don't have to worry about taking her for any treatments. Yeah!

I also wanted to mention a little something about why we chose her name. We knew we wanted to name our first child after my Grandpa Don so if we were to have a boy his middle name would have been Donald but since it was a girl we went with Dawn as her middle name. My mom and Vanessa are also named after my Grandpa and their middle name is Dawn too. We had loved the name Rylee from the start and we decided to spell it this way because mine and my dad's middle name is Lee so that is after us as well. A lot of you already knew all the family history behind her name but I thought I would fill everyone in because it was important to us when choosing her name.

My family is all leaving tomorrow to go home. That makes me sad. It has been so great having them down here and I don't know what we would have done without them. They have helped with everything: Rylee, dinners, shopping, cleaning, pictures, baths, etc. It is going to be another huge adjustment for us once they leave and we don't have all of that help. It's going to be so hard for them to leave too. They keep saying that they want to take Rylee with them so we better watch out. This is when it is really hard living 10 hours away from home. Hopefully someday we will be closer. Brad took Monday and Tuesday off of work last week and then is also taking this coming Monday and Tuesday off. That way after my family leaves he will be around to help for the first few days. Then after that it is just Rylee and I. And we'll make it okay it is just going to be different without everyone else around. We have a lot of family coming back down for Labor Day weekend because Northern plays University of Indy for their first game. That works out perfect that we'll get to see them again so soon! Brad's parents are also coming down Labor Day weekend so they'll get to meet her for the first time then.

So that's the 1 week update. Here's more pics of our babe. After Vanessa leaves I won't have nearly as many pictures to post so I figured I would post a lot now. To us she seems like she is changing daily so it is good to have a lot of pictures now.

Bath Time!

We gave Rylee her first sponge bath the other day. She absolutley loved it! She didn't even cry at all. The nurses at the hospital told us that she had loved it there too, especially when you scrubbed her head - and they were right. She is so content when we wash her hair, even when we dump the water over her head. It will be a nice bed time routine to get into because after her bath she is so relaxed. Hopefully she will continue to love bath time!


Rylee Meets Beau

Our friends Ryan, Abby, and Beau came over the other night and Rylee got to meet her boyfriend Beau for the first time. It was so cute to see them together. He is only 3 months old but as you can see 3 months makes a big difference in size, plus Beau is pretty big for his age. They will have so much fun playing together as they grow up.


Friday, August 17, 2007

First Few Days Home

Vanessa has been taking hundreds of pictures these first few days and I thought I would share some of them with everyone. I don't know what I am going to do when my in home photographer leaves us.


What a doll - I can't stop kissing those soft cheeks!


So far she loves being in her carseat and traveling in the car - let's hope that lasts!


Auntie Ness took this one and I thought it was adorable


She looks so tiny in her play yard


I layed her down on her back and when I checked on her she had rolled over to her side for the first time...now she loves to lay on her side.

All curled up and cozy on Grandma

Sleeping in Auntie Nessa's arms

She loves to look at you in the eyes when you talk to her. It is so special and one of my favorite things to do with her.

Wide awake and looking around

Her little toesies