kiss on the head

I've got LOTS more to write about and LOTS of pictures to show, so I'll get started. We're continuing to have a great time as a family of four! I thought I'd start with a picture of me grinning away because this is what both Jana and I have been doing since Kate was born. We're not as nervous and scared as we were with Drew, so this time we are just enjoying being parents! Last week my grandparents stopped by to see their great-grandchildren. Drew immediately plopped down for a story while my grandpa enjoyed some rare time holding Kate (great-grandma usually swoops in and grabs her great-granddaughter!).

Kate slept almost the whole time they visited. She continues to sleep pretty well and this week we've gotten her trained to fall asleep on her own. Jana worked hard at it, but it's so nice to be able to put her down and let her fall asleep without holding her!

Here is Kate doing her own version of the "Zoolander" face that Drew did for us after he was born. She just can't help it that she's really, really good looking.

Here is Kate's first video! Actually, it isn't that exciting because Kate does almost nothing in the way of tricks. At this point, Kate's greatest strength is how warm and snuggly she is to hold. She eats, she sleeps, she dirties her diaper, and occasionally she's awake and looking around. I can't wait for her to get a little older! :)

Whoa, this was a big yawn! We love Kate's baby yawns, sneezes, and hiccups. We forgot how much fun those things are with newborns!

Last week Kate got her first bath. Well, it wasn't really a full bath, but she did get sponged off. We're still waiting for Kate's cord to fall off and then we'll get her in the bath. In the mean time, Jana, Drew, and my mom got Kate all cleaned up.

Drew was so excited to be helping out! He got up on his stepstool and he was right in the middle of the action (getting in the way :)

Kate was so cute in her towel! It was hard not to grab her up and hold her. She's been getting more and more alert with each day, and it's fun to see her eyes. We can't tell what color they're going to be, but it's looking like she might have brown eyes.

Here is an action shot of the cleaning. You can't see Kate's face, but she didn't really enjoy the whole bathing process. She doesn't like being naked at all, now that I think about it. She screams whenever we take her clothes off for new clothes or whenever we change her diaper. Eventually she'll get used to it because it's not like we're going to stop doing either of those things!

A warm body and an arm to hold her . . . Kate's perfect recipe for another nap!

Jana was thrilled the other night when Drew came to sit with her and Kate. It's so much fun to have our two kids sitting with us. What a treat!!

Kate and I were sitting around on Sunday afternoon having a little chat. She can hear pretty well and will turn her head to the sound of a voice. The two of us like to sit there and look at each other.

As Kate was looking up at me I made sure that Jana got a picture of it. She was so alert and calm! Jana and I are both amazed at how tiny and easy to hold she is. We're so used to lugging Drew around that Kate seems like a feather in comparison.

Sunday night it was my turn to get both kids to sit with me! Drew ate his bedtime snack in my lap while Kate was over my shoulder sleeping. It was so much fun to have both of them sitting with me.

Another picture of Kate sleeping (and bringing her hands to midline). With Jana being the developmental specialist that she is, we take note of developmentally appropriate things like hands to midline. In case you were wondering, Kate is right on track developmentally for a one-week-old baby. Phew!! :)

Yes!! Last night my boy and my girl got in my lap again! Kate was wide awake for this picture and Drew grabbed my arm and put it around him. Drew has been affectionate ever since the birth of his sister and Jana and I are eating it up. We love to give him hugs and kisses!

Drew is still the most entertaining child in our house (for now), and he was excited the other day eating his muffins. He was so excited in fact that he started doing a muffin dance that I was able to capture on film. What fun!

Drew has been amazing around Kate and I can't brag enough about him! Jana and I are so proud of how he's handled being a big brother. This video is how almost every interaction is between Drew and Kate. I'm sure that won't always happen in the future, so we're enjoying it!!

Growing

I've got so many more pictures to post, but I'll have to start with just a couple. We've had MANY visitors over the past week. Thank you to all of you who have come to fawn over Kate! It's been fun to show her off!

Feeding Kate is getting better and better (at least that's what Jana tells me), so we expect that Kate is going to plump up very quickly. Health-wise, everything with Kate is perfect, so we're excited that she continues to be healthy. We're having a weigh-in this week with the nurse to confirm that Kate's weight gain is on track.

You may have noticed that pictures of Jana's parents have been missing so far from the blog posts, which is because they were on vacation in Florida when Kate was born. What was their first stop once they got into Michigan? A visit to Lansing to meet their granddaughter . . . of course!! Grandma Lynn and Grandpa John were thrilled to meet Kate, and I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot to take pictures (it must have been due to sleep deprivation). I do have pictures of other visitors to post soon, but sometimes I forget to document EVERY moment of Kate's young life!

Kate has been eating well and that nice full stomach has helped her take some great naps. Compared to her big brother, she's not that entertaining yet, but it's a lot of fun to have her warm little weight snuggled up in your arms.

Drew continues to be a great big brother. This morning Drew returned to daycare for the first time since Kate was born, and he was so happy to see all his friends. The second I opened the door and he looked up and saw all of the kids at daycare, his face broke into a huge grin. He brought with a picture of Kate, and I watched as he brought the picture from child to child and showed her off. For each child he said, "This is my baby sister. This is Kate." Immediately, the other children started saying Kate's name back to Drew and saying to each other, "Drew has a new sister. Her name is Kate." It was very cute to see Drew showing off his picture and it was also adorable to see all the children happy for Drew! I've never seen Drew that puffed up with pride before, and I was excited that it was in response to being a brother. Yay!

Jana and I were a little apprehensive about how going back to daycare (temporarily until Kate gets a little bigger) was going to go, but we are thrilled that Drew got off to such a great start. In the picture below, Drew was showing Kate how to play with her toys. He's still getting used to the idea that Kate can't actually play with him yet!Jana and I are starting to wonder if Drew's life is going to be one long growth spurt because that boy can eat! He's very slow and methodical while eating, but he often eats as much as Jana at a meal. His favorite meal is Kraft macaroni and cheese (he often eats about 1/2 a box), but Drew also loves to eat fruit. Currently, strawberries and pineapple are his favorites, but he also enjoys bananas and grapes. We've been enjoying wonderful food that people have been bringing us after Kate's birth, and Drew has eaten his fair share of it too!

I've got some video of Drew interacting with Kate and many more pictures of Kate while she's alert and looking around, which has been happening more frequently, so keep posted for more updates. Newborns change so quickly that there is a lot to capture on film!

home sweet home!

We are home and having a great week with Kate and Drew. I've got a lot more pictures to post of our little girl!

While still in the hospital we took this picture of Kate's feet. They are so tiny! Kate's feet are smaller than Drew's was, which is probably a good thing. Jana and I are fascinated by how delicate her features are compared to Drew. I'm sure some of the difference is in perception, but she actually seems more girl-like than Drew. Here is Kate in one of her hats knitted by Grandma Sue. As she's gotten older, some of the trauma of birth has subsided and her cute features are emerging. She still sleeps a lot, and it's fun to hold her (she's SO light!!).

Jana has been feeling pretty well, aside from being sleep deprived, and she's been up and about quite a bit for having just given birth on Monday.

By Tuesday evening we were ready to go home! With labor, delivery, and our stay after Kate's birth, we were in the hospital for only a little over 24 hours. Jana and I were so excited about going home with Kate. For those of you who watched us do this with Drew, you'll remember that we love to bundle our babies. Kate was fussing a little as we prepared to leave and swaddling her immediately calmed her down.

Jana and Kate got a ride to the front of the hospital where I was waiting with the car and Kate's little car seat. I was so excited to head home with my two ladies! Watch out Jana, there is another woman in my life now :)

Drew was excited to see all three of us when we got home. He immediately rushed over to greet his new sister. He loves to touch her and help us out with caring for her.

Jana needs something to do during those late-night feedings, so she takes pictures of Kate on the couch. She did this with Drew too! Feeding has been going very well with Kate. As with Drew, Jana is breast feeding Kate, and Kate is eating like a champ (unlike her big brother). We had a visit yesterday with the pediatrician, and Kate is doing wonderfully. Her weight is almost back up to her birth weight (she's at 6 lbs. 3 oz.) and her health is excellent. Her color is great and she doesn't have any jaundice.

As she gets adjusted to the world, Kate has been opening her eyes more and more to see what is going on around her. We can't decide yet what color her eyes are going to be. Sometimes they appear dark blue and other times they look more brown. Either way, we love to see her alert and looking around at us!

Look at how little Kate is! She got such a tiny little body! Don't those newborn socks look huge on her?!! Jana strips her down like this for feedings because Kate is still a little sleepy at times, so she likes to fall asleep while eating. If she's nice and cold, then she stays alert and on task with her eating.

This is still what Kate does most of the time . . . sleep and work on being cute!

I'll try to post more pictures from home soon. Our family is doing very well and we're well on the way to getting accustomed to having Kate around. Drew has been an amazing big brother and has handled the addition of Kate very well. He is so helpful! Despite some sleep deprivation, Jana and I are doing much better this time with having a newborn baby around. Kate lets us sleep a little more and she's eating better than Drew did, which has made a huge difference. We are VERY excited about our little girl!!

Katherine Lynn Aupperlee is born!!!!

Baby Kate has arrived!! Now that you know the ending to the story, I'll tell you how it happened and what we're doing right now. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. God has now blessed us with a beautiful little girl and we've already been blessed with a wonderful little boy. We are so grateful!!

This past weekend we had numerous indications that Kate was going to come soon. She dropped much lower, Jana started having some intermittent strong contractions, and Jana even experienced a burst of energy on Sunday night. Yesterday morning we were pretty sure it was going to be the big day that Jana gave birth to Kate, but not much was happening in the way of contractions.

I ended up going to work in the morning to tie up some loose ends, while keeping a careful watch on my phone! As I was on my way home to check on Jana, I got a call from her saying her water broke. It was time to go to the hospital!

Jana was in the kitchen doing some dishes when her water broke and she happened to get on the floor briefly to comfort Drew. Jana joked with Drew that mom peed in her pants and they had a good laugh. Then Jana asked Drew to go to the bathroom and get a blue towel to help mom clean up. Drew left and took a while in the bathroom. Jana called out to him, "Drew is everything all right? Are you coming with a towel?" Drew yelled back, "Soon!" When Drew walked back into the kitchen he was carrying a HUGE wad of toilet paper! Just the thing to clean up pee! :)

Jana and I proceeded to the hospital, and after showing that Jana was indeed in labor because her water broke, we were moved immediately to labor and delivery. Jana's water broke aroun 11:15 a.m., and we were in our labor and delivery room by noon. However, there we few contractions and they weren't very strong. Below is a picture of Jana during labor. She was in pretty good spirits for most of the labor and delivery! At around 2:30 p.m. our doctor decided to give Jana a small amount of pitocin to get things moving. Jana started to have some stronger contractions by about 3:30 and by 3:40 she was ready to start pushing. After four intense contractions and pushes, Kate emerged into the world at 4:04 p.m.!! To remind you, her full name is Katherine Lynn Aupperlee, but we're going to call her Kate. Jana did an amazing job giving birth to Kate and everything went perfectly. Jana is a total trooper and she did the entire delivery naturally with no pain medication. In process Jana officially confirmed that she's way tougher than I will ever be!! I got to cut Kate's umbilical cord, and then I followed her over to the warming lights to help get her cleaned off. After a little bit of oxygen was administered, she pinked right up and wailed away. She calmed down though when her little hand grabbed mine! She was covered in gunk and squalling away, but I loved it when my daughter grabbed my hand with an incredibly strong grib.

As I started talking to her, Kate even opened her eyes and took a peek at me! I was holding onto her with one hand and snapping pictures left and right with my free hand. Kate measured 19 inches long and weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz. She is a petite little thing!

As with Drew, our doctor, Dr. Maurer, did a great job delivering Kate. He worked well with Jana and everyone was safe and healthy after the birth. We are very grateful for his assistance!

After Jana and Kate got cleaned up a little bit, it was time for them to bond! Jana is going to breastfeed, so we immediately worked on getting Kate started with that.

When Kate's footprints were taken for her hospital birth certificate, I got the chance to have her footprints inked on my arm. Just like with Drew, I couldn't wait to show off my baby's footprints!

Once everyone left and we got a little time with just the three of us, I was able to get Jana to take a picture of me and Kate. We enjoyed some time in the labor and delivery room with just the three of us.

Kate settled right in enjoying my warmth and the feel of my finger, which she kept tightly grasped. She managed to get one hand in her mouth and used the other one to give me a dirty gesture.

While we were at the hospital, our friend Amy watched Drew for a while. THANK YOU Amy!! My mom also came from Grand Rapids, and she took over watching Drew when she arrived. THANK YOU Mom! It was a huge relief for Jana and I to focus on Kate and know that Drew was being well taken care of.

Last night, Drew came to the hospital with Grandma Sue and with Aunt Christina for his first visit with Kate. Here he is climbing up for his first look at her. Jana was in the process of breastfeeding, and Drew was fascinated by it!

Upon hearing that Kate was born, Jana's sister, Christina, made the drive from Grand Rapids here to Lansing to see Kate and us. My mom, Drew, and Christina all got to see Kate when she was just two hours old!

Here is our first family picture with the four of us! Wow, it sounds weird to say "the four of us." That is going to take some getting used to! Drew was trying to wiggle away and Jana and I were trying to model big smiles for him. Kate was too busy resting to be bothered with the photo shoot. Welcome to family pictures with two little kids! :)Drew was very excited about his baby sister and he was also excited to see me and Jana. He knew something was going on when we left for the hospital, so I think he was glad to see that everything was all right. He's been very affectionate and I'm sure we'll see some more of that as he fights for his share of our attention.

Drew was fascinated by Kate, and said "That's baby Kate. That's baby Kate."

We had a lot of fun watching how Drew would interact with Kate, and so far it has been wonderful. Drew loves being a big brother. On the way home from the hospital he sang to Grandma in the car, "I'm a big brother. Woo-hoo! I'm a big brother. Woo-hoo!" He also said, "Baby Kate is here. Baby Kate is here."

Last night our friends Jeremy and Kristin came by to visit as well. Everyone is excited to take a turn holding Kate. In the picture below Jeremy is taking a turn with her.

Next, Kristin grabbed Kate for some baby time. We were totally surprised when our friend Jayme (Jeremy's brother), who lives in Traverse City, walked into our hospital room. Kristin had helped Jayme plan a surprise visit to Lansing to see me and Jeremy, but Kate surprised us all by deciding to be born!

Without Drew to distract us, Jana and I were able to pose for a good picture with Kate. We are so happy to have her in our family!

As the evening progressed, you could see Kate's face begin to take on a less "smushed" appearance. Sadly for her, she's a dead ringer for her dad. She's got my nose, she's got my lips, and she's got my tall head. Maybe she'll grow out of it! :) Jana and I agree that Kate looks cute like an old man, which is a back-handed compliment for a little girl. We also agree that she is looking more lady-like by the hour and that she is very cute!!

I'm not sure if this picture captures it, but Jana sees a strong resemblance between my profile and Kate's profile.

We took MANY pictures of Kate and lots of her face, so here is another one. Just like with her big brother, we're giving our camera a workout with Kate. So far we've got over 100 pictures and counting!

This morning Jana was perky and ready to have some time with her new baby. We were also excited by the news of getting to go home! After spending several days in the hospital for Drew, we were very excited to go home 24 hours after giving birth.

This morning Grandpa Bill got to see his granddaughter for the first time. She settled right in and was sound asleep while he held her. Last night Grandpa Bill and Grandma Sue stayed at our house with Drew, so that I was able to be at the hospital with Jana and Kate.

Here is the card that marks Kate's crib in the hospital. It also gives you a reminder of the numbers associated with her birth.

Uncle Todd got done with his firefighting shift in Battle Creek, and he also made his way to Lansing for a visit. Kate has already had lots of visitors, and we are very proud to be able to show her off!

Here is one last picture of Kate sleeping. As I'm writing this we are getting ready to go home. Kate has been doing a wonderful job of breastfeeding, Jana is feeling great, and we're excited to get back to our house. It's going to be an adventure to integrate Kate into our family and to have a new baby in the house. Jana and I are excited about being parents to TWO great children!!

One final note: I've been quickly typing this up, and as you might imagine, sleep has been somewhat precious, so please bear with me as I make grammatical and punctuation errors. They'll probably annoy me and I'll go back and fix them later, but for now I wanted to get pictures and information out! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.