Camouflage

There must be a baby in there somewhere!!

The doctor is in

Today I had a 2 week follow up appointment with my doctor.  She not only was the one that managed the pregnancy, but she also performed the c-section and delivered Jonathan!

When he was born and cried his head off, she noted that he was NOT very happy with her!  Today was another story and she was delighted to hold him during our entire visit :)

Two week check up

Jonathan had his 2-week old exam today with his pediatrician (also Emma's doctor!), and everything looked great!  I don't have any pictures from today, but he weighed in at 7 pounds even!

Time to snack, baby!

Emma has mastered the art of snacking while baby holding!!

Christmas Day

Our little (big) elf and the tiniest of presents!

Clearly it was a lot to handle for the little guy :)

Christmas Eve

This morning we were finally able to give Jonathan his first full bath because his umbilical cord fell off last night!  He didn't seem to mind it, though I kept it quick.  Daddy snuggled him up in a cozy towel and he was pretty relaxed when we got him dressed!

Now he was ready to meet Nana, Woody and Dwayne and Aunt Janice and the cousins!

 Looking too cool in these sunglasses from Nana!

We went to the Christmas Eve service at church tonight, and had our friend DG take a family photo in front of one of the beautiful trees.  Jonathan went to the nursery but he slept the whole time, so instead of waking him up for a photo - Ed just held up the car seat!

Santa baby

Today we braved the mall and went to get a photo with Santa.  Normally I would make a reservation for Santa pictures, but this year I wasn't sure if we were going to feel up to doing it, so by the time I checked the time slots were all full!

I waited in line with the stroller while Jonathan slept.  Ed and Emma went walking/shopping, even running into her former principal!  When we got to the Santa Village part of the experience, Jonathan started waking up.  I fed him a bottle while we made our way through Santa's house - there was even a couch to sit on!  He fell back asleep just in time to see the big guy.

 Naughty or nice list?!!

We were able to get pictures of each kiddo with just Santa, and then the two of them together!  I'm not sure if Emma will want to get pictures next year, but I thought it would be special to have one this year.  Jonathan was wearing a "My First Christmas" outfit with Santa on the rear and Santa socks!

One week old

I had the last minute thought tonight that I needed to get a one week old picture!  It was bedtime, but the little peanut was still awake for the photo :)

The first morning home

Well, Jonathan's crying woke Emma up once last night, but she quickly forgave him as they snuggled on the couch this morning! 

Thankfully it's winter break so we have a couple of weeks to get used to a waking baby at night!

Emma also kept snatching my phone to take pictures of Jonathan.  Here are some of her pics:

The trip home

We headed home from the hospital this afternoon!  Jonathan was in charge of carrying the "Happy Birthday" balloon that Emma had brought him on Tuesday, but unfortunately as we loaded into the car, the balloon broke free from the ribbon and floated up, up and away!

Thankfully the snow from Wednesday had been cleared from the roads, so the drive was uneventful.  In fact, Jonathan just slept the entire trip!

It feels great to be home!  Big sis was waiting with open arms :)

The last two days were snow days off of school!  Emma made a "Welcome Jonathan" message in the snow with food coloring!

Newborn photos and day three

Today the hospital photographer stopped by to take pictures of Jonathan.  We got him dressed in one of the outfits we had brought to the hospital.  This was the first time he wore clothes - there hadn't been a need other than a diaper and the blankets they provide!

Just a shout out to the nurses who can swaddle like no other!  We have tried to wrap him as tight, but they really have a gift.

I took this picture while holding Jonathan tonight.  I thought it looked like he had his hands folded and was praying!  "Dear God, thank you for keeping me and mommy healthy!"

This was Jonathan during the Seahawks game on Thursday Night Football.  I felt the same way and unfortunately slept through most of it!

Day two!

Last night was hard, because Jonathan loves to be held and would not sleep when we put him in his crib!  That made it really difficult for us to catch any sleep, because we would find ourselves getting too sleepy while holding him and we had to put him down so we wouldn't fall asleep and drop him, etc.  Then he would promptly wake back up and WAH!!!

So, this morning we were really tired.  I got my phone out to text my mom and say "Come hold the baby so we can take a nap!"  Except there was a text from her that said Emma was going to stay home from school as she had an earache and a headache.  Oh no!  I figured if I were home I would have sent her to school, but since they were there I didn't care if she missed a day or not.

They all came to the hospital around lunchtime so Emma got to hold baby brother again!  Emma was feeling and sounding fine by the time they arrived.  They also brought the koala Mel, who was Emma's first little stuffed animal given to her by the NICU.  We thought it'd be fun to compare the size of the two of them!

Mel was a bit bigger compared to Emma!





























A sleepy, snuggly selfie at the end of the day :)

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Today we welcomed Jonathan Monroe to our family!!  He was born via C-section at 10:07 a.m., weighing in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces and 20.5" long.  He greeted the doctor with a LOUD cry as she commented that he wasn't very happy with her for disturbing him!!

After about an hour in the operating room, they wheeled me into the recovery room right across the hall.  We were in there for two hours while they monitored my and Jonathan's vitals, and we were able to notify everyone and get to know our new babe!

Big sis got to meet her new little brother after school!  Although she had already seen a picture - I had e-mailed her teacher a picture of Jonathan so that she got to see him during school, and then proudly show it to her whole class!

 

Our first family of four photo :)

Papa and Grammy are staying at the house with Emma and Zoe, so they got to come see him when Emma got out of school!

A bright eyed photo at the end of the day!


Everything went as well as it could have, we feel very blessed!