6 weeks

Griffin is 6 weeks old! Things seem to be settling down. He's still sleeping with me at night, it makes breastfeeding so much easier and I'm pretty well rested. We still don't have a "regular" schedule- Griffin gets to eat when he's hungry and sleep when he's tired...whenever that happens to be! I read a book that talked about the first 3 months as the fourth trimester and encouraged parents to allow their baby to continue to grow and develop outside the womb. This made a lot of sense to me...Griffin may still remember being fed and held and rocked 24 hours a day, so these first few weeks and months are really all about him easing into the "real world" and learning how things work gradually. I'm sure before I even know it he'll be headed to college!

We had our first "blowout" on Friday...not a real blowout, I know we'll end up getting worse. This one just came out one leg...all the way down to the sock, but nothing up the back!

Griffin's dedication outfit...the next day, since he promptly wet through his diaper after dedication and we didn't get a picture!

Ryan's coworkers threw us a baby shower and Griffin got his Johnny Jump Up! I'm sure this will end up being a well used favorite of ours!

Griffin sleeps really well...sometimes!

All smiles in our Christmas outfit...its a size SIX month and only a little big!

When he sleeps...he sleeps hard!!

We're smiling more frequently!

Our (future) slugger outfit, complete with baseball slippers!


Six weeks old...and sleeping some more!
(It's hard work to grow so much so fast!)

5 weeks- Dedication

Griffin is 5 weeks old now...and dare I say it BUT I think I might see a pattern starting to emerge in our day. I know, now that I've said it, we're jinxed and everything will change! Griffin has started smiling, A LOT. And in response to tickles, kisses, and even requests (said in the right sing-song tone of course). On Sunday, Griffin was dedicated at our church along with Pax, Reagan, Bella, and Carson. We're so blessed to have such an amazing church family and so many other young parents to raise Griffin with. He already has lots of friends! After church we headed over to Grandpa and Grandma Barci's for the Seahawks game...which turned out to be a waste of a game. The Seahawks lost terribly to the 49ers...but mommy and Griffin didn't mind, we took a killer nap during the second half:)

SMILES
Griffin looks good in bright colors!

Chilling in our swing...a real life saver!

Jessica dedicating Pax Adam

The whole gang: Ryan, Sarah and Griffin Barci; Greg, Jenny and Reagan Lincoln; JT, Jamie and Isabella Williamson; Anthony (didn't fit in the picture), Shannon and Carson Curtis.

We were so blessed to have SO much family show up too...failed to get a picture but Great Grandma Imholt, Grandpa and Grandma Imholt, Grandma Barci, Great Uncle Chuck and Great Aunt Theresa, Great Uncle Lynus, Great Aunt JoAnn, and Uncle Matt and Aunt Janae all made it!

3 down...1 to go:)!! Beka is due in 3 weeks...

Grandpa and Grandma Barci

week 4...one month

We've made it a whole month! Exhaustion (for mommy) has reached a whole new level and I'm often in bed with Griffin around 6pm. He sleeps fairly well during the night but wakes about every 2-3 hours to eat. I'm now a member of the club that thinks 4-5 hours of solid sleep is luxurious:) Daddy has gone back to work and we miss his help during the day... A LOT! We visited the midwife on Wednesday and Griffin now weighs 11lbs 2oz! That's over 2lbs in less than a month. The midwife also recommended starting Griffin on an occasional bottle if I ever want him to be willing to take one, so I used our breastpump and Ryan fed Griffin his first bottle. I thought it would be a fabulous thing and I'd finally be able to get some sleep- but it made me cry and I had to leave the room. It just felt so wrong watching someone else feed Griffin. We'll see how things go...we're going to try doing a bottle or two on the weekends to start. Hopefully it will get easier on both of us! On Saturday, we enjoyed watching the Huskies win the Apple Cup with Grandpa and Grandma Imholt and Uncle Matt and Aunt Janae. It was a close game and now the Huskies get to go to a bowl game. Go Dawgs!

Bailey keeping watch over Griffin...or...

just waiting for the boppy!

The "Sleep Sheep"- a miraculous tool of white noise!

Cuddle time with Daddy!

Go DAWGS!

Ready for the Apple Cup at Grandpa and Grandma's.

Ryan feeding Griffin his very first bottle.

Griffin looked at his daddy so adoringly and mommy was shocked that it upset her so much.

Week 3

Week 3...more of the same...lots of sleeping, eating, and pooping:) We are definitely out of newborn clothes and even wearing some 3 month outfits! Griffin doesn't like his bathtub yet but does like taking a big bath with mommy. He just lays back and floats (with a little help of course). But baths are what made us both happy during pregnancy so this doesn't surprise me. Griffin also got to enjoy his first snow! We got 5-6 inches on Monday evening and it stuck around until Thanksgiving evening when it warmed up and started raining. It was pretty much all gone by Friday morning:( We celebrated Thanksgiving on Wednesday with the Imholts/DeLongs and one Schueler and one Walloth! Then on Thursday we celebrated with the Barcis and Eatons. Early (3am) on Friday morning Griffin and mommy went Black Friday shopping! Griffin did great but is looking forward to sleeping in next year with Daddy:). But hey, we were awake anyway, might as well get all the great deals and finish the Christmas shopping before everyone else even wakes up. Griffin did great, he only cried once (of course when I was in the check out at Kohl's). Otherwise he slept or was happy. We were able to feed twice in the car too. And when we got home, we both slept for a couple hours!

I just had to get a picture in this onesie...one of my favorites that Griffin quickly outgrew.

Griffin's first bath in his tub...he likes baths with mommy better!

Our first snow day outfit!

On the porch in the first snow...hopefully it snows again when the snowsuit fits a little better!

Our first attempt at cloth diapers...

we learned that the newborn inserts are not absorbent enough for Griffin!

There's a turkey on the butt too:)

Thanksgiving (last day) with Great Grandma Ruth.

Thanksgiving (last day) with cousin Marilee.

Aunt Janae

The Eatons!! Cousins Kelly, Jim, Evan and Christine

(Evan and Christine are the two goofballs on the left:)

Four generations of Petersens: Great Grandpa Jerry, Grandma Susie, Daddy and Griffin.

Uncle Steve...and a very unhappy Griffin:)

Too much turkey mom!

week 2

Week two included Griffin meeting Grandpa Joe for the first time, our first checkup with the midwife, cousin Marilee arriving for a visit and our first bath. Griffin continues to grow like a weed, weighing in at 10lbs 3oz at 11 days!! We're still enjoying daddy being home, he takes such good care of us! He fills my water bottle and gets me food (and everything else I need) while I'm feeding Griffin. We're going to miss him when he goes back to work! Life is still pretty easy right now since we have no real requirements. We sleep when we can and are just taking it easy, knowing that this can't last forever.

Ready for some Monday night football with Daddy!

All ready to meet Grandpa Joe! He was on his annual Elk hunting trip at Mt. Adams with Uncle Lynus and Uncle Chuck when Griffin arrived. We sure missed him during labor and delivery but are looking forward to Griffin's first hunting trip with Grandpa:)

It was an emotional meeting, followed by lots of cuddles.
Bailey missed Grandpa too:)

We still love watching Griffin sleep and laugh at his squished face!

Griffin is starting to stretch out more...so bittersweet watching him change so quickly.

Griffin's sad face makes us smile, sometimes giggle, and of course try everything we can think of to make him happy again.

Sip and See

We hosted an open house (Sip and See) for people to meet Griffin who hadn't had the chance already...or wouldn't have another easy opportunity. It was a great day with a slow but constant trickle of visitors, exactly what we had hoped for. No one (Griffin, mommy or daddy) was overwhelmed and Griffin got to meet lots of important friends and family! And we (the adults) actually got to sit and visit quite a bit!

Matt, Amy and Baby Girl Staudenraus (due March 2011)
Ryan's teaching partner and husband (also a Burlington teacher)

Mike and Pat Terry
Long time friends of the Imholt family and very special people in Sarah's life!

Russ and Sherry Fairlamb
We used to dog/house sit for them and Grandma Susie plays Bunco with Sherry!

Chris and Michelle Killingstad
Long time friends and fellow race junkies:) (triathlons, marathons, bike rides, etc)

Mike and Lourea Garka
Long time Barci family friends, Ryan grew up with their son Greg.

Great Aunt JoAnn (and Bailey).