Some Pictures

Here are some recent pics and one of Alaina's new cousin, Evie.

We Have a Sleeper...And Other Exciting News

I am very pleased to say that little miss Alaina is a good sleeper. About a week and a half ago she started sleeping through the night. She has been sleeping anywhere from 7 to eleven hours in a row! What a good girl...now Mom gets some good sleep too. We feel very fortunate that she goes to bed so well. She will be eleven weeks old this Saturday.

The past couple of weekends, Aaron and I have been able to leave Alaina with our folks and go out for the evening. She has received a good report from all grandparents! - Although, I am sure they would still give her a good report if she was difficult - :)

A couple of pieces of exciting news in our family this week. First, Aaron has officially turned in his resignation at work and will be staying home with Alaina and going to school. He will be taking classes towards a degree in Elementary Physical Education. This will take at least 5 years and will allow him to be with Alaina during the day. Yippee! Second, we are an Auntie and Uncle again! My sister Mary and her husband Justin are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl - Evie Leilani. She was born today (12/16) and was 7lbs 9oz and 20 inches long. My parents are heading to Hawaii to meet her tomorrow! We are so happy for them and thankful that everyone is healthy (I might also mention that today is the one year anniversary of my grandmother's passing).

We are getting ready to celebrate Christmas with Aaron's family. All of his sisters and their families are coming into town and Alaina will get to meet many of them for the first time!

I have some new pictures to post soon.

Lots of Love - Renee

In Thanksgiving

Well this Thanksgiving we had a tragedy at our house. Last Monday we lost our dog Jake. It was about 9PM and Aaron had just let the dogs out. They ran into the front yard and apparently Jake ran into the street. Bad timing I suppose, but Jake was hit by a car right in front of our driveway. Aaron was out there right away and held him, but he was already gone. It was fortunate that he died right away and didn't suffer. We sure miss the little guy around our house...which is now much quieter...as he was our 'noisy' dog. He was so lively and always cracking us up. We just loved him to pieces. We are thankful for the 7 years we had him.

The rest of our family is doing well. Alaina is really finding her voice these days and it is fun to see her experimenting with her new sounds. We had Thanksgiving Wednesday night with my family. My brother, Steve, came in town and we chatted with Mary and Justin on the webcam. We spent Thursday with Aaron's family and also got to see his sister Danielle and her family this week. It is fun to see our niece, Jordan, who is about 20 months old. interact with Alaina. She always wants to hold her and gives her kisses.

Time Flies!

I truly cannot believe this week is Thanksgiving already. The time has just gotten away from me!

Alaina was baptized last Sunday. It was very special. My Dad performed the baptism during the 10:30 mass. We had lots of family there and also the families of our 3 godchildren. We felt so loved an supported - Thank you! Aaron's Dad is Aliana's godfather and my sister, Mary, is her godmother. As many of you know, my sister is expecting a child very soon (Dec 11 - WooHoo!), so our good friend Tarah stood in for my sister as a witness. I have some pictures of the day below.

Our family is doing well. Alaina is really growing - we are guessing she is up to about 10 lbs now. She is 7 weeks old and is starting to coo and is smiling a lot. She seems to be really interested in the books we read to her and it is fun to see her smiling and recognizing our faces. We also seem to be getting fortunate in the sleep category. 3 times this past week she has slept 6 consecutive hours...we'll see if that continues!

I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Photo Shoot...ooo la la

My good friend Cece agreed to take some newborn photos of Alaina. Here are some of my favorites. These were taken at 2 weeks. THANK YOU CECE!

We are all doing well. Today we went to the baptism of Rebecca Joy, daughter of our good friends Tarah and Matt. Aaron is Rebecca's godfather and she is just 4 weeks older than Alaina. It was a nice mass and gathering after. This marks Alaina's first trip out of town. Tarah and Matt live about an hour away....she traveled wonderfully (although a longer trip may be another story :)).

I have been able to store up some milk, so Alaina has now taken a bottle a couple of times when Mom was away. She seems to be getting the hang of it, although drinking very quickly. I have yet to witness it myself, but this is what Dad and Grandma have told me. Anyway, this new step gave Aaron and I the chance to go out for dinner (second time since she's arrived!) without having to feel like we need to rush back within 2 hours.

I continue to stay very busy at home during the day, but yet never seem to get anything done. Ahh motherhood! :)

One Month!

Aaron and I can't believe Alaina is one month old already. The time sure goes by quickly. We are all doing well. Alaina continues to eat well and is gaining weight. She is awake more often now and is starting to get the nighttime thing down. She slept from 12pm to 5am last night! Let's just hope that continues. She is beginning to interact more and is giving us lots of big grins...it is so fun!

Here are some more pics.

A Growing Girl

We had a dr appointment this past Monday and Alaina is doing well. She was 7 lbs 5 oz (she gained just over a pound in the past 2 weeks!) and was 20.5 inches long (.5 inches since her birth). She has been a pretty relaxed baby and Aaron and I have really been enjoying having her around. She is still sleeping a lot, but is just begining to have more periods of alertness. She is even starting to show a bit of a personality. We have had several outings which have gone very well. We have taken her to church, the mall, both grandmas' and grandpas' homes, the grocery store and a couple of workplaces. Aaron went back to work this week, so it has been just Alaina and me for the past few days. Dad sure is excited to get home in the evening and we are excited for him to get here.

Cheers to all!

Top Ten List

Top Ten Successes of a new baby

10. Able to make any outing an event
9. Able to produce massive amounts of laundry in a few days
8. Become a poop machine
7. Can spit up at the most inconvenient times
6. Become a master at eating in just a few days
5. Seems to grow inches overnight
4. Can make anyone's heart melt by just being in the room
3. Masters a wide range of faces and noises in her sleep
2. Can sleep like a champ under almost any condition
1. Can pretty much get Mom and Dad to do anything she wants

We are home! We have successfully completed our first 24 hours at home and I must say it is really nice. Alaina and I are getting the feeding thing down. We have been spending most of our time feeding Alaina and mom. Dad is the expert burper. Alaina has her first doctor visit tomorrow morning. And now to what everyone is most interested in....some pictures!

Love to all

She's FINALLY Here!

Thank you Jesus! We finally welcomed Alaina Agnella into the world at 2:40 this afternoon. She is 6lbs 10.5 oz and 20 inches long.

We all wrestled with about 60 hours of pre-labor and labor...so needless to say everyone is a little tired this evening, but everyone is doing well and everything went VERY smoothly. We had no problems or complications what-so-ever! Thank you for all the prayers.

Love Renee, Aaron and Alaina

Here are the first pictures!

Getting There

I have been having fairly regular contracts since Thursday at 1am, but we are still at home. The contractions are getting stronger, but not any closer together. They have been fluctuating between 8 and 12 minutes. I was able to get some good sleep last night and am actually feeling pretty good this morning.

We had a non-stress test yesterday afternoon where the baby was monitored for about an hour. She is doing very well....Now let's just pray she comes out soon! Although I am thinking this may take awhile!

That's all for now.

Officially Due

Well, today is my 'official' due date. I had a doctor appointment yesterday. I am 1cm dilated...hardly, if at all, effaced. She said we should talk about a date for inducing. I asked what she was thinking. She said Friday. I said "THIS FRIDAY!?" And was able to talk her into Monday.

Please pray that this little girl comes before then. Although I am very anxious to get this show on the road, I would rather not be induced.

In the meantime, I am doing everything I can to encourage her to get moving. Aaron and I walked about 2 miles yesterday and hope to do so again today.

Thursday I will go in to the hospital for a non-stress test where they will monitor the baby for about an hour or so, just to make sure she is still doing well.

That's all to report for now.

Love,
Renee

The Milk Is Gone....

...and I am still pregnant! Not much else to say :)

We are waiting...some more patiently than others....

Love to all.

Slowly...but eventually

I had a doctor appointment today. I am 39 weeks and everything is still looking good. I am about 1/2 a centimeter dilated....I wish it was more! Aaron and I are both really ready for her arrival. She seems to ignore us though, as we have asked her several times to go ahead and come out! Her heartbeat sounded good - 145 bpm - and she is getting lower.

I am feeling good. I am getting the normal late pregnancy discomforts: heaviness, swollen feet and ankles, trouble sleeping etc, but it is a small price to pay. And while I generally feel free to share my complaints, I really shouldn't because this has been a very good pregnancy and I really haven't been too uncomfortable up until the last week or so.

Hopefully we will be able to share the news of her arrival soon! We are getting anxious to meet her and have her meet all of you!

Before the Milk Goes Bad!?

Well, I bought some milk this evening and the expiration date is 9/30....our due date! I told Aaron you know it is getting close when our little girl could be here before the milk goes bad!

Sorry I have not updated everyone recently. My uncle, John Devine, (my Mom's brother-in-law) passed away suddenly from a heart arrhythmia last week and we went to Watertown, SD for the funeral. We are all so sad to see John go. He will be missed by many.

Fortunately, the baby did not come during our trip up to SD. I did ask the doctor before we went and she said it was ok as I am not yet dilated or effaced. I will get an update on the progress tomorrow.

SHOWERS!!!!

I have not yet had a chance to write about the overwhelming generosity of so many! We have been so blessed to have had several showers...each of which were so special to me.

The first was given by Aaron's sister, Lauren, with help from his Mom and sister Sarah. His Aunt, Kim, was the co-host. Sarah surprised us and came out for the shower from Denver. Many of Aaron's family and a few close friends attended. They had me crying right off the bat! I really had to work to regain my composure. I think that is when it really hit me that we were actually going to have this little one that we had waited for for so long.

The second was given by my sister, Mary with help from my Mom. My parents' long-time neighbor and friend, Alma co-hosted. This also was very special. I couldn't believe that my sister came all the way from Hawaii! Many of my aunts and cousins attended, as well as close friends of the family. We had such a wonderful time.

Then, my co-workers had shower luncheon during the work day. They all pitched in a got us a glider and ottoman for the baby's room! We couldn't believe it...AND it matches perfectly.

A few weeks ago, my dear friends, Libby, Amy and Christine threw yet another shower. Several of our close friends attended. We played some fun games and had quite a few good laughs!

Aaron and I are both simply overwhelmed with all the nice gifts, but especially with the joy everyone has shared with us. I really don't have the words to do justice to how I feel about all the people in our lives. I thank God for each of you and can't wait to introduce our little one to all of our wonderful family and friends!!!

Here are a few shots from the showers. As I was looking through the pictures, I realized there were many people I don't have a picture of!