Witchcraft

I figured out that if there are two adults in the room (Mommy and Daddy) and it's daylight, it's a lot easier to get good pictures of Joey. Daddy can play with Joey while Mommy's taking the picture, which means it's a better chance of their being a smile. And the natural light means less fooling around with the red eye reduction flashes, so the picture actually takes a little faster. That doesn't mean there weren't a ton of bad pictures, but it did mean we got this cutie.

Hope everyone is recovering from Thanksgiving! Four more weeks 'til we'll all be in Pennsylvania!!

The Thanksgiving Song

Happy Thanksgiving from our Little Turkey!!

Sleeping Beauty(ies)

Happy Thanksgiving! Daddy and Joey decided to sleep in a little ... well, Daddy did, anyway. Joey slept extremely well last night. He fed at 7:30 and then once I put him down, slept until 12:30!! (OK, so he got up at 9:00 and was fussy, but he went right back to sleep after I picked him up to calm him down for a few minutes.) Then he slept until 4:00, and then until 7:00. So Mommy got some good sleep, too. All his other functions were also working extremely well, evidenced by the fact that we must've gone through about four different pajamas over that same twelve hours. At least I know he's getting enough food ;-)

Here Come the 'Hawks

Joey's "uncle" Paul and "aunt" Laura gave him this most excellent onesie, which Joey wore in honor of the 'Hawks win over Toronto in overtime after being down 3-0. (If the Flyers were broadcast on local TV, I'd know just as much about their season as I do the Blackhawks.)

We've been doing just fine, although for some reason Joey hasn't liked sleeping in his bassinet/pack 'n play the last few days. We're working on that now. As in right now. As in I just changed his diaper, tried to soothe him, and then put him back in the bassinet. We'll see how long it lasts. Last night I ended up holding him from about 2:30 to 4:00 on the couch (so we could both sleep), and I don't want to get him in the habit of either Daddy or I holding him while he sleeps. That's not going to work once he's bigger.

Family

On Saturday we finally got a picture of Joey with the "other" grandparents ;-) Grandpa still won't hold him, but at least he was willing to pose for this picture. And can you believe it - look at the smile on Joey's face!!! Not sure how that happened, but it just proves that anybody can get lucky when taking pictures.

Friends 'til the End

Our friends Joe and Angie stopped by today with their little girl Annabel. It was awesome. They brought beef for sandwiches and this fabulous hashbrown casserole - and then they left us the leftovers!! It was kind of weird because how often do people come over and do everything for you? But it was also really nice to not have to worry about food or prep or clean up.

Annabel was so cute once we brought Joey down. (He was sleeping for most of the time they came to visit, since he was up for about five hours this morning.) She wanted to check him out, and when Joe took him up for a diaper change, she kept standing at the bottom of the steps saying "Baby Joey, Baby Joey". We also got to see how Ginny would do with a toddler in the house. I have to say, aside from constantly trying to lick Annabel's fingers clean of the Goldfish residue (see Mom - there was a reason I told you not to let her lick your fingers!!), she did pretty well. She was extremely curious, and kept smelling everything, but that's all to be expected.

Picture Pages

So I think I figured it out. Either (1) I'm just not a good photographer or (2) I need a new camera. I'm going with #2. So if anyone needs any ideas about what to get me for Christmas ... seriously, I think when the red-eye reduction pre-flash goes off, that's what triggers Joey to move or make a different face. I guess I could open the curtains and turn on more lights and make it easier for the camera, but then I'd have to do even more planning. (Although admittedly this photo was staged, especially after how badly the pictures from yesterday turned out.)

And I'm pretty sure Joey's finally getting night and day straightened out. He was up from 7:30 to 12:30 with maybe two short thirty minutes naps in between. He then slept until 2:30 and was up until 5:30. I'm just praying this all means he'll sleep tonight. I'm not expecting him to sleep the night through or anything, but a couple three-hour naps would be nice.

Games People Play

This is my absolutely unsuccessful attempt to take some pictures of Joey today. I figured if I put him on his mat and got the music to play, maybe I could get a decent picture. But he, of course, takes after his dad, and would have none of it. Most of the pictures I got are of the side of his face - he even knew which side to turn to so that there was no way I could get decent pictures. I'm sure some of it had to do with the fact that we had just given him a bath and he was hungry and the last thing he wanted, I'm sure, was to be photographed. But his adoring public (Nana) requested additional photos, so I had to oblige. I'll see if I can't be more successful tomorrow.

Three Mile Smile

While we were out and about yesterday, we also stopped by to visit Grandma and Grandpa Araszewski. And let me tell you, I haven't seen a smile on Grandma's face that big in a long time. (I'm sure it's identical to the smile she has when she gets to see her other great-grandchild, Hannah.) I'm thinking once Hannah moves back from Carolina, and now that Joey's here, we're not going to get any push-back from Grandma about leaving the house on the holidays to visit with the family.

With a Little Help from My Friends

Sorry for the delinquent post; we had another busy day yesterday! Joey met his new best friends Kennedy and Kristopher Riley at their christening party yesterday. The twins are exactly five weeks older than Joey, but since they were premie, they're not much bigger than he is! Of course, the one time we don't mind if Joey's up, and he sleeps for four straight hours. But I'm sure they'll have lots of play dates in the future to get acquainted.

Quiet Warrior

Babcia (pronounced idiomatically as boo-sha) came over tonight to visit with Joey and convinced us to let him use a pacifier. The idea is that he'll get more hungry and then hopefully not go through any more two-hour feedings. We'll see how it works.

Delicious!

Today was a big day. First, Joey let Mommy sleep for almost 4 straight hours this morning. Then his umbilical cord fell off this afternoon. Then we took a bath. Then Daddy gave Joey his very first bottle! Of course Joey wanted more than the 3 ounces we had for him, so Mommy had to top him off (which, with all his fussing, took more than an hour). The bottle definitely seemed easier than the whole breast-feeding thing. And a lot less messy. Maybe something to look into on a slightly larger scale.

I can't believe it's only been 11 days with the little guy. He seems to be growing and changing so quickly! Good thing my sister got me into blogging; I'll have a record of everything.

Enter Sandman

Yes. Most of little Joey's day is spent sleeping. And eating and pooping, but mostly sleeping. For the most part I try to put him down in his bassinet/pack 'n play, but the last day my parents were here, I figured I'd just let them hold him as much as possible. So my mom was holding him, and I guess her arm got tired, or she was worried about holding his neck in a weird position, or something, so she put a pillow under his head and held his body on her lap. He looked like a little prince. It was so cute.

And I still can't get over how blonde he is. I mean, I knew both Joe and I were blonde when we were little, but you can't even see his eyebrows and eyelashes, they're so light! Nothing like his big cousin Shae, who has the longest darkest eyelashes I've ever seen. Can't wait to see his hair grow in and see if he has his daddy's curls.

Heaven Isn't Too Far Away

Joey was up from 1 until 5, or at least that's what it felt like. So when he finally fell asleep at 5:30, I didn't want to put him down, afraid he'd just wake up 10 minutes later. After holding him for almost two and a half hours, I finally made (or should I say let?) Joe get in on the action. I hope the little one wakes up eventually. He is sleeping on one of my favorite pillows, though, so I can't blame him if he doesn't.

Dr. Feelgood

Joey had his first doctor's appointment today, and was such a good boy! He's a healthy baby, and put back on all the weight he lost those first couple days in the hospital. (He's now 7 lbs 15 oz, so even put on a couple extra ounces.) And he hardly cried at all, thanks to daddy's nervous twitch, which rocked the car seat at the perfect frequency to keep him happy. OK, so a little cry came out when he got his Hepatitis B shot, but even big boys cry when they get shots. Mom and Dad are very relieved that so far everything looks good!

Night and Day

Since I always YELL at my sister that she doesn't post enough pictures of Cupcake, I figured I'd better get on the ball posting pictures of Joey. Here he is, 5 days old, enjoying the sound of Nana's voice. (I'm sure I'll lose count of days soon enough, but until then, you'll just have to deal.) This was during his 4-hour "I'm awake" episode, which fortunately started at 5pm yesterday, and not his normal 1am. Which meant he slept in four 3-hour shifts last night, giving Mommy lots of rest. YIPPEE! 

Happily Ever After (Now and Then)

My parents flew in on Friday, hoping that they'd be able to get to spend some time with the little guy. Little did they know they'd get in before I went into labor, so they'd get to see everything. (OK, not everything, but they didn't miss a minute with Joey.) Here they are holding the little guy at the house. Day 5 of this crazy ride they call parenthood.

And yes, that is a Jimmy Buffet title. Could I use anything else for the blog title about my parents?

Daddy

My husband will kill me for posting his picture, but I can't help it. Look at that smile. It's been glued to his face since I started pushing. I had to actually tell him to shut up at one point. I mean, how many times does someone need to be told they're doing a good job when they can tell the baby's just not coming out? OK, so it was only about 45 minutes of pushing, but seriously, you can feel the fact that you are pushing something out of you that just doesn't seem like it should fit. But he was just trying to be supportive. And he was great the whole time.

He's been fabulous since, too. Changing the poopie diapers, putting up with my parents, bringing me water and tissues and clean onesies. And realizing the world isn't big enough for all the love he has for his son.

The Sweetest Thing

Joseph Michael was born October 31st at 10:45 pm. He was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches long. He is the sweetest thing.