Happy New Year!

Happy 2008!

It's amazing how quickly 2007 flew by!

I spent my New Year's Eve with friends in Cedar Rapids. Adam and I drove to Jason's on the 30th to watch the Packers game (GO, PACKERS!!! Way to finish the season 13-3!!!). Then, I stayed with Angela and Dan as Adam had to return to Pella to work and gig on the 31st.

The 31st, the 'girls' came over (with their husbands and kids...) and we had a nice evening together. Tomorra is learning how to do face painting, so we had a smashing good time having our faces painted like butterflies! Dan even got in on the fun...!





Thank you for a wonderful time, Angela and Dan! Lots of fun! :) (And as always, lots of good food!)

I hope you all have a blessed New Year! :)

Erin

Christmas in Wisconsin (aka, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas)

Hello!

We celebrated Christmas with our family in Wisconsin. This was going to be our first trip with Julia farther than an hour away... I was really nervous!

We left the 21st (of December) and drove to Houston, MN, where my aunt & uncle (and wonderful cousins!) live. The drive was very foggy and we even opted to take a longer way to my family's home so that we could avoid twisty and curvy roads. Julia was a champ in the car and we only ended up stopping once to feed her and then another time to feed ourselves.

After a fun evening and following morning with the Rischette family in Houston (YUM, I loved those cranberry walnut muffins!), we drove to Tomah. When we left Houston, the rain / snow was already starting to come down, and by the time we hit Tomah, we could tell that a storm had set in. We celebrated Christmas with my mom and dad that night at their house, and we had a good time eating, drinking, and opening presents. And, Auntie Lissy enjoyed her new niece while they both took a snooze.

When I was up in the middle of the night with Julia, I could tell that the weather was bad outside, even though I couldn't see it. So, I wasn't surprised to wake up Sunday morning (the 23rd) to a WHOLE BUNCH of snow. And, it was still snowing! We had planned to drive to Mauston (Grandma Schroeder's) that day and spend the day with the Schroeder family, but everyone was quickly cancelling because of the road conditions. Adam and I were expected to drive up to Spencer later that day, so we decided to head to Mauston anyway. While on the way, we received a phone call from Adam's mom telling us that she had cancelled Christmas for the night and that we should stay in Mauston. We celebrated Christmas in Mauston with Grandma and Grandpa, Lis brought KFC so we wouldn't starve, and we watched a VERY sad loss to the Bears (Packers game). We stayed in Mauston that night and then proceeded to head to Spencer on the 24th.

On the 24th, we celebrated Christmas with Adam's family in Spencer. We had missed his brother Brian due the weather the day before, but we were able to see his parents, sister Claire (and brother-in-law Dan), and brother Alex. Julia was 'new' to Auntie Claire and Uncle Alex. And, Julia was also ONE MONTH OLD on the 24th! Wow! That happened fast! And, we enjoyed a visit from Deacon Keith, a friend of ours from college who was staying with his parents over Christmas.

The 25th was a whirlwind of a day. We had Christmas at Adam's aunt Theresa's in Marshfield. HOWEVER, before we wanted to do two things.

First, we wanted to see Adam's grandparents... so we drove to their house, and I visited with Grandma while Adam and Grandpa played with the concertina (Adam wanted to record Grandpa playing his concertina). And, then we were to drive to Adam's sister's to assemble the picnic table that we had brought with us all the way from Pella as a Christmas gift. Adam had built his sister (and brother-in-law) a picnic table for Christmas, disassembled it, strapped it to the hood of our car, and then we drove it to Wisconsin. Although we had wanted it to be a surprise setup of the table, because of the weather, our plans were thwarted. However, we had printed out a picture of Adam sitting at the table and wrapped it as Claire & Dan's 'gift'. How fun to see their faces when they opened that box! :)

We had a lovely lunch and gift exchange with the Bannach side of Adam's family. Adam played Santa this year to all of the small children, and handed out gifts accordingly. At 5 PM, we knew we needed to get going, as we were supposed to stop in Tomah yet that night and then drive back to Pella.

We left for Tomah, and Julia was able to meet her cousins (Laila and Hannah). We stayed in Tomah until 8 PM, and then began the long trek back to Pella. I'll spare the details, but we rolled into our garage at 3 AM on December 26th... what a drive that turned out to be! We loved visiting our family and seeing everyone for Christmas, but we couldn't help but think that we were also glad to be home. I nursed Julia and Adam dragged all of the stuff in from our car... and then we all crashed!

Here are pictures from our weekend:

Leaving Pella:


Happy In the Car:


Meeting Auntie Claire:


Meeting Uncle Alex:


I'm ONE MONTH OLD!


Visit with Great-Grandpa & -Grandma Draeger


Julia and cousin Laila:


Julia and Grandpa and Grandma Rischette:


Erin

The Christmas Holiday

Hello, everyone!

Well... it's almost Christmas. And my Christmas cards are still in a box and not sent (they arrived on Tuesday), there are still a few gifts to buy and wrap, and generally, I wish there were a few more weeks before we dove head-long into the Christmas and New Year's week.

However, when I start to think on all of the things I do not have done yet, I remember that this holiday isn't really about gifts and food and cards anyway... it's about Christ! In the end, the rest of it doesn't really matter... just that one thing.

I think about baby Jesus a lot these days, what with having Julia in our lives. She is so small, so precious... totally dependent on Adam and me for food, shelter, and warmth (even if she does rule the roost...!). Four weeks ago she was still on the 'inside'... not quite real to me, even though I could feel her move around. And now she is here, and I cannot imagine my life without her. She is everything I dreamed and hoped she could be; I thank God every day for her. How must Mary have felt to know she was giving birth and gave birth to the one people would call Savior?

I don't tend to get too 'preachy' on my blog... but I had to share these thoughts. After all... 'tis the season. And, I know so many of us could use a reminder (myself included) that this holiday we call Christmas is not meant to be a time to be stressed out, overspent, and running ragged. It is a time of celebration of the one called Jesus, a sweet baby who became the Savior of the world. What could be more important than that....?

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hugs!
Erin

ps. I hope to have new pictures of Julia up soon. We have been spending a lot of time getting to know each other... but I often forget to take pictures of her! :)

Mommy & Buscha play Baby Photographers!

Okay...

Who wants to take a baby to have professional pictures taken when you have no idea if they are going to be awake and happy versus asleep and crying?

After a few days of waiting for a good 'awake and happy' time that also coincided with Julia getting a fresh bath, her grandma (Buscha Draeger) and I played 'photographer' and snapped some pictures of Julia... and we love how they turned out! We hope you like them too!













Erin

December 11th...

Okay... WHERE has December gone?

It feels as though only yesterday I was putting up the tree and going to the hospital, and today Julia is 17 days old! WOW!

We are having a 'wintery' sort of day today... it is Adam's last day home before going back to work, and the weather has been less than stellar. We were planning to drive to Cedar Rapids today for my holiday party for work (Donatech), but the weather kept us home and watching tree branches / limbs fall instead (here's a view off of our deck looking over at the neighbors... all I can say is that having our trees 'cleaned out' and 'topped' two years ago was definitely worth it!).



Sunday Adam's parents left and headed back to Wisconsin... but not before we had a few more pictures...







We had a wonderful time with them here and were sad to see them go. :( Julia was definitely loved on while they were here, though! :) No doubt about that!

Today Julia had a bath and did a wonderful job of letting me clean her up and wash her hair without her crying. However, as soon as I laid her down to put a diaper back on her and dress her, she pooped and peed everywhere. I couldn't help but laugh. :) Nothing like having to give a baby a second bath because of THAT mess! She seemed pretty happy, though. I think she was laughing too. :) Good thing we keep a 'miniature' changing pad on top of the regular one... makes for an easy clean up.

To think that a week ago that would have made me cry... I'm finally getting into the swing of things with this 'mothering' business.

Lesson 1: Laugh, even when you think you should cry. (Ha, that has certainly be helpful and probably the best thing I can remember to do when things aren't going so well. :) It certainly makes me feel better, at any rate!)

Otherwise... now just to finish the shopping, write the Christmas letter that goes with our Christmas picture, pack up my maternity clothes and find things in my non-maternity clothes to wear to church and the like (ha, ha, the maternity shirt is NOT cutting it anymore!!!)... and you know, figure out how to do 'regular life' stuff with a baby. :) Should be a fun time!

Hugs to you all!
Erin

Buscha and Grandpa visit!

Hello!

Buscha and Grandpa Draeger have arrived and are LOVING their new grandbaby! :) And... Jules loves the cuddles and love they are so willing to proffer up!

Buscha (BTW... Buscha is the Polish word for Grandma) and Grandpa arrive and see Jules for the first time.


Three generations... Adam looks on as Grandpa Ron and Julia have a little chat.


Buscha and Grandpa play with Julia on her changing table.


Julia sports the new hat that Auntie Claire made for her (THANK YOU, Auntie Claire! The hat is SOOOOOO cute!).


Mommy's friend Racheal visits. (Rach is expecting in March and we're SOOOO excited for her baby too!)


Mommy and Alecia's GEMS class surprises Erin with a visit during caroling Wednesday night. (I was crying like a baby when I saw that they were all outside of our door... it was AWESOME!)


Daddy plays with Julia before bedtime.


Last night we took a family picture for our Christmas card... that might go out later than normal, but we'll be working on it in the next week.

Buscha and Grandpa will be here until Sunday... we're so excited that they are here visiting! I will probably update with more pictures throughout the weekend.

We hope you enjoy the blog and the pictures! We're looking forward to more visitors (but are enjoying a nice day at home in the snow today), so feel free to stop by (we'd appreciate a call first). Take care and lots of hugs to you!

Erin

Auntie Lissy and Great-Grandpa John come to visit!

On Tuesday my sister and grandpa came to visit and stayed until Wednesday afternoon. Auntie is in love with her new niece and it was fun to see Julia and her Great-Grandpa John together. (Note: Julia is named after Grandpa John's mom, my Great-Grandma.)

Here are a few pictures from their visit:








Have a great Thursday (afternoon)!

Erin

Update...

Hi, all!

It's been a few days or so since I've updated, but we have great visitors now (helpful in-laws) who love to hold Julia all day, so I have time to do 'normal' life stuff like laundry and ironing and updating the blog. (Oh, yeah. And sleep. My husband is a SAINT and got up with Jules at 8 AM this morning and I slept till 11 AM. Ha, think all you want that I just sleep all the time... we were up till 1 AM and then up from 4 AM to 7 AM. I am SOOOO thankful Adam has FMLA and has off of work until next Wednesday when he goes back.)

Have I mentioned that I love my daughter to pieces and that I DO love being a mom? God certainly knows what he's doing when a baby is born... I was infused with such a great amount of love and patience... more than I ever knew could possibly exist... and even though I am sleep-deprived, forget to eat, and basically forget to take care of myself in general (although, ha, I HAVE to take a shower every day... that is a NECESSITY!)... I have all of the time in the world to make sure my daughter is healthy and happy... she's SUCH a blessing!

We had our well-baby checkup yesterday with Jules' doctor, and she has gained a 1/2 lb since we came home!!! :) How wonderful! That means she is eating and gaining well! She was 7 lbs 3.5 oz when she was born, 7 lbs 4 oz when she came home from Blank, and yesterday she checked in at 7 lbs 12 oz. WOOHOO! I was so happy! She's such a content baby... she doesn't cry or fuss much unless she's seriously hungry (or thinks she is) or when she needs a good cuddle. But otherwise, she's just happy sleeping or being a wake... it's just good stuff, this baby business!

At the well-baby checkup, I asked my nurse to weigh me... and WOOHOO! I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight! NO JOKING! How cool / fun is that? :) Of course, like I said, I have to be reminded to eat meals (even though I'm starving all of the time, it seems), and I'm sure the lack of sleep is not helping either! But, ha, I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. And back in my pre-preggo jeans. They bother the C-section incision a little bit, but at least they are not falling off every time I move (i.e., the maternity jeans). So I'm finally giving up the maternity jeans. But, ha, not my gray pants. I love those pants too much. I will wear those for a while yet, regardless of the big wide band at the top. ;)

Well... just wanted to say "HI!" to you all! I have a few more posts to put up! Hugs to you all and thanks for the emails and comments... one of these days I'll 'get back to you'! I promise!!! :)

Erin

Shave and a haircut... oh, wait...

... haircut and a SHAVE.

Before with Julia...and AFTER... Saturday afternoon. :)





No joking... Adam shaved his head yesterday (well, I helped... I buzzed it with the clippers and he shaved it with a razor).

Home again! :)

Hello, all!

We are finally home! Well... we have been home since 6 PM last night, but... well, for those of you that have kids, just remember your first few days at home with your very first child, and you'll completely understand that our world has gone topsy-turvy and all of the time in the hospital in Des Moines could not prepare us for being home with a newborn! :)

However... we've made it through the day, and after Julia eats next, both mommy and Julia are going to bed... here's hoping we can make it to church tomorrow! Yet another new experience... figuring out how to get all three of us cleaned up, dressed, and fed, and THEN make it to church on time. Should be fun!

Here are a few pictures from last night...

Woohoo! I'm finally going home!


Proud and happy parents! (This was in front of our hospital room at Blank)


Mommy & Julia in Julia's bedroom for the first time. (Although, for now, she sleeps in a bassinet in our room.)


Daddy & Julia by the Christmas tree (Julia was completely entranced by the lights... it was so neat to see!)


We hope you all are doing well! "Stay tuned" for more pictures and updates. :) We are all happy to be home finally, and with time, we'll fall into a new routine. Thankfully Adam will be home through the 11th, and we have more family coming to visit this next week as well.

HUGS!
Erin