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.