Sunday's Activities

Last Sunday Miss Cambrie had a few visitors, including her second Auntie M, Meredith. We enjoyed a nice sunny afternoon chatting together. Meredith also brought Cambrie a pink penguin in honor of our high school girlfriends 'penguin' group.

Then my parents came over, since my dad was in Oregon fishing for almost a week. He missed his newest gal.

Then, we packed up and headed up to the top of the hill. Cambrie enjoyed her first ride in Damon's truck and her first of many dinners at the Morelli household. She also enjoyed some cuddle time with her Papa Loren.

After a fabulous Thanksgiving-style dinner in January, Cambrie enjoyed having her older cousin read her a few books and sing her a few songs.

Even though I feel like I have been posting almost everyday, I am still one week behind! This little one is just giving me so many pictures to post :)

Cambrie's First Restaurant Dinner

After our photo session last Saturday we headed over to Alicia and Geoff's house for a little while before heading out to dinner. I was soooo excited to go out to eat. Being home so much has been a little hard on me, especially since the weather was so nice and sunny. I am used to being out and about and social everyday, and even though we have ventured out to visit people, it just wasn't the same.

Avery just loves loves loves seeing her 'baby' cousin. When you ask her what a baby says, she says 'waaaawaaaawaaaa' and makes a crying sound. Too cute.

We went to Applebee's and had a nice big booth for the seven of us. Cambrie was comfy cozy in her Baby k'Tan wrap and didn't make a peep the entire dinner.

I was also happy because it happened to be happy hour and I ordered a beer. First beer since April! It was an extremely happy day for me :)

The girls do have a few matching outfits...

It is so funny how darn big Avery looks now with Cambrie around for a size comparison. The girls are about 10 pounds different in size, it is amazing what a different 10 pounds makes on their little bodies.

Thursday and Friday Activities

On Friday morning, January 21st, we headed back to Kaiser to get yet another jaundice test. It is so heartbreaking to see your daughter scream in pain. Thankfully as soon as the blood collection was done she stopped crying. I don't think that I could have handled any more of her tears.

In the afternoon, Damon took Shasta hunting and my grandparents came over for a visit with their second great-granddaughter. It is so great to see them all giddy with excitement over Cambrie.

Cambrie is a very expressive little girl, constantly moving her hands and making goofy faces. Our favorite is when she is awake - she is super alert and just takes in the world around her.

Snoozing on the couch with daddy...

On Friday night we also gave pumpkin her first bath to get her all nice and clean for the photo session on Saturday afternoon. We were all prepared for tears and crying, but she was a curious little angel. She seems to love the bath and her infant massage afterwards :)

She was mesmerized by the camo pattern on Damon's shirt - I think that we have a future huntress on our hands :)

Cambrie also loves clasping her hands together (especially when she is eating which just melts my heart). I am looking forward to holding those little hands during future outings with her.

Here are some random pictures from Cambrie's first Thursday...helping me edit her newborn photos.

I was trying to recreate Damon's newborn photo...it is still shocking how much the two of them look alike.

Reflections of Motherhood

My friend Martine sent me the link to this video and I wanted to share it here. There are some very good words of advice, I hope I can remember them during the sleepness nights :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taDqKWWPDAY

Newborn Photo Session

Last Saturday was Cambrie's one week birthday and our 4 1/2 year wedding anniversary...what a better way to celebrate than have some photos taken :)

Obviously having portraits taken is important to me and I just couldn't handle not being a part of my little ones first session. So, we decided to hire someone that I have admired for quite some time to take our pictures. Jeneanne has a very different style than my own photography and I really liked her 'studio' aspect for newborns. It will probably be the only time that we ever have 'studio' portraits taken and I think that they just fit Miss Cambrie perfectly.

We were at her studio for 3 hours which included a ton of feedings, diaper changes, bathroom 'accidents' and, subsequently, a lot of laughter.

I found myself crying off and on during the session, especially during the time when Damon was holding her and when he was a 'hand model.' I am just still is disbelief that this precious girl is ours.

This photo is almost identical to one that I took of Alicia, Geoff and Avery when she was two weeks old. Love it.

The photographer's blog post is here: http://jeneanne.blogspot.com/2011/01/newborn-c-santa-rosa-newborn.html

Wednesday's Activities

My little sweet pea enjoying the morning light on Wednesday morning...

and enjoying some tummy time with her daddy.

After another blood draw at Kaiser, we headed to Sebastopol to introduce Cambrie to her great-grandma Gerhke (Kris's mom). She was so excited to meet another one of her great-grandchildren.

Damon and I have always talked about what great families we have, but having Cambrie has brought our appreciation of our families to a higher level. It is so exciting to share our daughter with the ones that we love.

This is how our family eats dinner now (Shasta is sitting in between Damon and I, but she couldn't make it in the photo). Cambrie loves chillin' on the table :)

Tuesday's Adventures

On Tuesday morning we had to take Cambrie on her second car trip to the hospital lab and then her first doctor's appointment. She did not like the lab tech drawing her blood to test her jaundice levels, my heart was breaking for her as she screamed her little lungs out. But, she sure did look cute in her car seat...

After the lab work, we headed to the doctor's appointment and had to wait for about 45 minutes. She was a little angel in the waiting room and then decided to unleash it all on us as we walked back to the room. She needed to eat. She needed her diaper changed. So, she decided to go to the bathroom all over the nurse as she was examining her, all the while crying out in hunger. It was quite hilarious...Damon was trying his best to soothe her, I was grabbing additional wipes and supplies for the nurse. Ahhh, new parenthood in all its finest glory. Despite the rough start, her appointment went great. She weighed 8 pounds and 5 ounces, which the nurse was really happy about. (Usually babies loose 7% of their birth weight by their second day of life, and Cambrie was above the 7% limit.) And, the feeding is going great as well, plus, we were able to demonstrate that all of her 'systems' worked as well. :)

After the appointment we headed over to my grandparents house for a nice long visit. It is so lovely to see my daughter with my grandparents.

Here are a few pictures of Cambrie getting all swaddled and ready for bed...

The evening isn't complete without kisses from Shasta...

Monday's Visitors

On Monday the three (four) of us slept in late and enjoyed time as a family from the comfort of our bed. Our energy level matched the dreay weather outside and it was a perfect first full morning at home.

My parents and the Hildebrandt's came over again for dinner, this time grilled veggies and steaks.

Little miss Avery just loves her 'baby' cousin...

My sweet baby blowing bubbless...

Avery now loves to point at the deer as soon as she walks into our house, she even knows which one is the 'big' one and points to it. She is also a big fan of our stairs and walking around the chairs while we are enjoying dinner.

Both of my girls are ready for bed after another successful day...