Linnea meets some friends!

This is our friends newborn Sophia...she came 5 weeks early but is doing great and she and Linnea will be just over a month apart so we are excited for them to grow up together and play! We went to visit them last night.

Along with a newborn they have quite a big dog. This is Linnea's third dog she has met. Pretty cute!

Look...they are already hanging out together!

These friends of ours are Abby and Claire. They are twins who turned 1 in January. They came over with their mom who I used to work with. We had a great time playing! Come on over again anytime!

Our First Overnight Trip!

I thought I would get caught up on this blog on this very snowy day! Linnea and I havent done much today. Mostly we have played on the floor, watched an Einstein DVD which was great and also we have watched a lot of Friends. Daddy is home but he isnt feeling well so we are letting him sleep.

Last weekend we took Linnea on her first overnight trip to a cabin about 2 hours away to spend some time with family and friends. We had a blast and she did pretty well!! She slept the whole way there which was nice! She really enjoyed being held by the grandparents and our family friends, the Potts'.

Her bouncy seat was also a lifesaver!
There is a fireplace behind us here which Linnea enjoyed laying by and kicking away! One of her new favorite things is to lay on her back and kick and kick! Its pretty cute! I will post a video soon.

Linnea is in her cute ducky jammies here! She decided to get up early at 5am to send the racers off. The racers being grandpa Keith and a friend of ours named Kari. They were both skiing in the Korteloppet in Hayward WI. We didnt go cheer but we were thinking of them all morning.

Here we are...mommy and daughter bonding in the wee hours of the morning. It was a very very fun weekend! I got to go skiing three times since there were so many people available to watch Linnea. We also played many games and mom and I even got to do some scrapbooking. Chris was able to finish his book and get some much needed rest! We hope to travel with her more since she seemed to do so well.

Here is our smily 2 month old!! She is now bigger than that elephant! We will get her exact size today at the 2 month appointment.

Okay, we are back from the appt and learned that Linnea weighs 9 lbs 15 oz and is 22 inches long which puts her in the 50 percentile. Her head is on the small side but the doctor wasn't concerned. However, the doc did think her pupils were different sizes so we get to see an eye doctor. Our doctor was 95% sure everything would be fine but to be on the safe side she wants us to get an eye doc's opinion. I wonder how they check babies eyes...

Linnea did very well with the three shots. She definitely let out a deafening scream but then calmed herself down and has pretty much been sleeping ever since. Waking to eat and cuddle a little and then back to dreamland. We have given her infant tylenol so that maybe adding to the long slumbers.

8 Weeks...2 Months...WOW!!

Linnea is 8 weeks old today or I guess we could say 2 months! She is so much fun!! She definitely smiles a lot and is making new little sounds everyday. I think she is setting up a pretty good schedule for us...she still wakes up about two times a night but we get up between 7 and 8 everyday, eat, play and then nap. So things are going well. She is napping now, but when she wakes up we will take her 2 month growth picture with the elephant and post it.

We have been quite busy in the last two weeks! Here is what we have been up to:

Linnea and mommy went to an infant massage class at the same place daddy and I had our childbirth classes. It went fairly well! She made it through a leg and a half before she cried out in hunger. So we just watched the rest of the massage. It was fun to see the other babies and hear them communicate (cry) with each other. But as the class went on the babies all calmed down. We hopefully will attend another class and make it through a little more of the massage. An hour of touch is a long time for a baby though!

Linnea and mommy have also continued to go to their new parent group and have also decided to do some mall walking with a few other ladies in the group. I was a little nervous about getting the car seat in the stroller on my own but after practicing with the Chris the night before we did just fine. So Monday mornings you can find Linnea and I at the Mall of America walking around and around! She napped through most of it but did wake at the end and seemed to enjoy looking around.

Linnea made went to her first church service at the Woodbury Health Care Center with great grandma Thomas this past Thursday. She did very well! All the people and the pastor loved having a baby in the congregation. Especially one that pretty much slept the whole way through...she did some sleep smiling though too which was very cute!

For Valentines Day we headed over to grandpa and grandpa Henjums house in Woodbury for a brunch with the family. Erik, Lisa, Brian, Chris and I went bowling after we were done eating. It was the first time we left Linnea and I guess she did great! She ate and looked around and played with her cousin Dylan.

We are headed out to Woodbury again today to celebrate Grandma Thomas' 85th birthday.

This week we plan to go to our group again and do some mall walking and have some friends over to meet Linnea. Linnea also has to get her 2 month shots! YIKES! I have a feeling she will handle them better than mom will.

Speaking of handling things better than mom...its looking like she will be going to day care for the few months until summer while mommy goes back to work. I love the inhome place we found (thanks to our cousin Stefanie) and know she will be very well taken care of but it will still be very hard after being with her pretty much 24/7 for 12 weeks! So for the next 4 weeks we are going to just really cherish every moment together...even the screamfest moments which have been occurring anytime from 4-7pm!

Next weekend we are going on our first getaway! We will be staying in a cabin in Trego, WI while grandpa Keith skis the Korteloppet. Chris' parents and sister are coming to and so are some family friends! It should be a great time! Stay tuned for that post!

Happy Valentine's Day

Linnea would like to wish everyone a VERY Happy Valentine's Day!!! She hopes everyone enjoyed the day with loved ones as much as she did!

A message for Great Grandma!

We hope you had a very fun day and we cant wait to celebrate next Sunday! You are the best great grandma anyone could ask for!! We love you very much!

Pictures!

Linnea and I met grandpa Keith last Friday at the State Fairgrounds to look at some very neat snow sculptors! This is Mr. Potato Head...the snowman from Rudolph was also there, some trees with a canoe, a firetruck and many other items were also there!

I just really think this is a cute picture so I stuck it on here!

Mommy got a haircut on Saturday! This picture doesnt totally capture it but you can tell its shorter. Chris was so nice to watch his daughter so mom could get out of the house on her own for a bit.

THATS RIGHT...LINNEA IS SMILING REAL SMILES AT 5 WEEKS! HOW EXCITING!

And here is one proud great grandma! We had so much fun visiting her.

The past two weeks!

I can't believe its been almost 2 weeks since I last posted! Oops! The time is going by pretty fast and I am getting more and more comfortable going places with the little cutie pie so I don't have as much time to write. Linnea is also awake more now so I like to spend time with her watching her smile and show her some of her toys. So far she is still mostly interested in human faces, but will look at toys every now and then.

Last Sunday on her 5 week birthday we made the trip to Great Grandma Thomas's place in Woodbury. We had some KFC and all the grandparents and uncle Brian enjoyed holding her. I will put the pictures up when we find our battery charger for the camera.

Last Tuesday, Linnea and I went to a new parent group at Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury. It was very fun and helpful and we will try to go every Tuesday until I go back to work. It is nice to hear other parents tips on dealing with certain newborn issues and its nice to know other people are going through the same things we are right now. And who knows, maybe Linnea and mommy will make some new friends.

Wednesday we ventured out to River Falls to have a "playdate" turned into nap date with Lisa, Dylan and Erik. Us parents enjoyed lunch together and caught up! Next time maybe the kids will stay awake!

So along with smiling, the biggest news in Linnea's life is probably that she has already transitioned to the crib!! She seemed to want more room than the bassinet allowed so on Friday we thought, why not give it a try. And it went pretty well! She wakes up about every 3-4 hours to be fed. A few times she has slept 6 hrs which is heavenly! It is so weird that we haven't slept more than a 4 hour period at most in 6 weeks! CRAZY!

It does wear on a person...however it didn't wear on me enough to totally back out of the City of Lakes Loppet this past Sunday morning, a ski race I have done the past 4 years and always look forward to. I had originally signed up for the 33k, but since it has only been 6 weeks since delivery I opted for the 10k and that was perfect! It was such a nice day for skiing! I just took it very easy and enjoyed the trails! Mom, dad and I also skied in the Luminary Loppet Saturday night which is a candlelit 3K ski around Lake of the Isles. So pretty!

Tomorrow we have a big day of the new parent group and then my work is throwing me a baby shower so I better hit the hay, as I will more than likely be getting up at least twice before the day starts. We didn't get a work baby shower in before Linnea came so they are doing it tomorrow. That way all the teachers can hold her. It will be the longest period of time I am out with her on my own so wish me luck!

Stay tuned for pictures...