Growing, Growing, Growing!

A few weeks ago we took a picture of Palesa next to a Time magazine to show some perspective of her size.  Today we put her next to a phone book.  I wish I could weigh and measure her myself to see how big she is, but our little baby is definitely getting bigger!  Then, we propped her up on the phone book for some tummy time, and again, she happily held it for a few minutes.  That's our little girl!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I felt a little guilty that Osei's birthday wasn't going to be very special.  We are in Colorado for a month living out of suitcases (which is definitely special), but Osei and I have been together almost every minute.  So no chance for surprise plans or gifts or anything like that.  And, it is not like you can completely avoid new parental responsibilities just because it is your birthday (though I changed the big ones!).  So, we had to improvise a little to make the day special!

Thursday morning we met with my old high school cross country coach, Joanne, for coffee at the Laughing Goat in Boulder.  We enjoyed catching up with Joanne, and I have a feeling she made a quick expert assessment that our little girl has some athletic potential (wishful thinking that she'll follow our footsteps and fall in love with running?)

Then Osei and I went to Beau Jo's pizza for lunch.  We weren't that impressed, but were pleasantly surprised when Grandma Nancy stopped by to say hello.  Yay us for making a plan and sticking to it!

Afterwards, we took a drive around the neighborhoods of Denver to explore a little.  As we plan our move to Colorado later this winter, we can definitely both see ourselves ending up in Denver!

Then we met up with a high school friend of mine (and fellow Fairview cross country runner) for happy hour.  We enjoyed meeting her new husband, Nadav, and spending time with both of them.

As if we couldn't pack more activities into our busy day, then we met Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Ralph at BJ's for dinner.  The pizza here exceeded our expectations, even though it meant a two-pizza kind of day!  I carried Palesa in the ring sling the whole evening, and she did wonderfully.  In fact, as we walked along Pearl Street to meet Beth, I even nursed Palesa in the sling (while walking).  We had a few strategically placed blankets for warmth, but otherwise, it was all pretty natural and normal!

Overall, I felt extremely blessed to spend another birthday with my dear husband, Osei.  Happy Birthday, love!

Rise and Shine my Little Angel!

On Thursday, Osei's birthday, Palesa woke up in such a beautiful mood.  We held her and played, and our little girl was all smiles.  One of my favorite things when she first wakes up is to lay her on my chest and we snooze and converse and just hang out until Osei wakes up.  She tends to push off of my belly and scooch up my chest until her beautiful fine hair tickles my chin.  I absolutely love it when her hair tickles my chin!  It is so silky, soft, and perfect!

She is our happy little baby... what a wonderful birthday present for her Daddy!

Palesa does her Party Tricks

On Wednesday, Osei, Palesa and I had dinner with Cyndi and Ron at their house.  The meal was delicious (no surprise there), the conversation wonderful, and all enjoyed getting to know Palesa.  Cyndi was astonished at the developmental progress Palesa had made in a few short weeks!  We put the blanket on the table and propped her up on her belly, and she was happy, smiling, and drooling the entire time.  She held her head and neck up for at least 3 minutes, though none of us bothered to time it as we encouraged her and made funny faces to keep her smiling.  This was especially fun for all of us because she maintained such good eye contact.

Yes, we make her work very hard to hold up her head and neck all by herself, but it is definitely paying off- Palesa is one strong little baby!

Babe in Arms

It is so challenging to take a successful picture while holding Palesa.  I can't get my arm far enough away to take the picture, I can't see her through the screen lens, and the angle is usually funny.  But this one turned out okay!  Palesa is now 6 weeks old.

I remember when she was about 10 days old taking a walk to the Post Office with Osei in Jamaica Plain.  We saw a mother with a 6 week old baby.  I remember looking at Palesa and the little boy, and I could hardly imagine that Palesa would ever be that big and that old.  But I guess as is to be expected, time moves forward, and Palesa hit 6 weeks!

Playing Piano with Grandpa Larry

On Monday, we went to visit Grandpa Larry.  He introduced her to his Baby Grand piano.  (Palesa got a kick out of the "Baby" part of it, but there is nothing small about that piano!)  Grandpa Larry noticed that she responded to the sounds, but didn't really look at the keys and didn't connect where the sound was coming from.  Then again, she's only 6 weeks old- she has plenty of time to figure that out!

Daddy Caught a Good One!

I'm not sure how (or why) Osei thought to wrap and carry Palesa like this, but it certainly stopped her fussing, despite her expression here.

More visits with Grandpa

On Sunday, Grandma Nancy, Grandpa Ralph and Great-Grandpa Dave came up to Windsor (at Suz and Bryan's house) to visit.  Palesa seemed pleased that the Broncos won, and enjoyed being held by her Great-Grandpa and hearing his stories.  He enjoyed watching her look around and make eye contact with her, and took extra delight when she smiled.  

This is what happens when Daddy falls asleep

I could not resit.

A few of the Grownups too...

Everywhere we go, people see us and excalim, "Palesa!!" and then say hello to us.  We figured it was time to take a picture of us parents.  Palesa was making faces, and finally, outright protesting!

Like Father, Like Daughter

I woke up Saturday morning and noticed that Osei and Palesa were in almost identical positions as they slept.  Of course I had to take a picture.

Just some more cute Palesa Pictures

Palesa meets her Great-Grandpa!

Thursday night my grandpa, Dave McCusker arrived in Colorado for a visit.  He lives in Pittsburgh and will be 86 years old on December 10th.  We loved seeing him hold his great-granddaughter.  And Palesa enjoyed looking at the new face!

Leaky Diapers

On Thursday, Palesa, Osei and I went to visit Treehouse Learning (my mom's Early Childhood Education Center in Lafayette, Colorado).  Osei and I are still figuring out the cloth diaper system, and we're learning by fire... It just occurred to us that when we overstuff the diapers (logically in order to make them MORE absorbent), they are more likely to leak.  We learned this lesson dramatically yesterday when we arrived at Treehouse Learning and I discovered that not only had Palesa's diaper leaked all over her pants and onesie, but I was also covered in baby poop from carrying her in from the car.

So, we changed her on a conference table, dressed Palesa in the spare outfit we keep in the diaper bag, and got cleaned up.  Less than an hour later, we left Treehouse to visit an old friend of mine (since Elementary school).  Julia has a 17 month old daughter, Zena, and is expecting her second daughter in the next few weeks.

We arrived at Julia's house and discovered blowout #2.  Another pair of pants and onesie too dirty to keep wearing.  Luckily, Julia has a closet full of baby clothes, and generously lent us an adorable little outfit. 

Zena is very excited to be a big sister and really enjoyed getting to meet Palesa, and we enjoyed our visit with Julia.

Squeaky Clean Baby!

I firmly maintain that babies do not get dirty.  Though her neck may smell like sour milk sometimes and well, she's not yet 100% potty trained or anything, babies just don't get dirty.  I don't think babies should be bathed very often.  Maybe once a week, maximum.  Or as necessary due to extreme diaper blowouts.  So, when we do bathe her, it is an exciting event in the May household.  We heat up the bathroom nice and steamy, and then I take her with me in the shower and wash her.  Afterwards, we dry her off and make her smile laying on the bathmat of the bathroom floor.  And then we dress her in a cute little outfit and she sleeps. 

Drunken Milk Face

After Palesa nurses, she makes this face of pure milked-out bliss.  She is either completely asleep or incredibly dozy, and her signature drunken milk face makes me laugh every time.

Cute outfit from Grandma!

Osei and I have been very blessed by the generosity of friends and other parents around us who have given us baby clothes.  One good friend (and neighbor) has given us a steady supply of gender-neutral clothes that her twin babies have outgrown.  We just dress Palesa in whatever we see first, and can think of no reason why a newborn shouldn't spend her days in pajamas. 

My mom got us this sweet little outfit, which lasted intact for a few hours before we had to change the shirt (blowout), and remove the pants (too much effort to continue changing diapers for said blowouts), and dress (too much spitup eventually leaves a funky smell). 

Smiling baby!

Palesa woke up laughing and smiling and "telling stories". There is no better way to start a day.

Coffee, and date night, anyone?

On Sunday, Osei and I took Palesa to a church in Denver.  After the service, I held Palesa in my arms rather than put her back in the Moby wrap, because we were headed to the car.  A woman came up to me to admire the Moby wrap.  She said nothing about the adorable baby in my arms, but asked where I'd bought the wrap, and went on about how stylish it was.  And then she exclaimed, "and the great thing about it is that you don't even need a baby to wear in the wrap!  You can just wear it out and about!"  Hmmm, I don't know about that, but I'm glad that we can both agree that the Moby wrap rocks!

Afterwards, we went out to lunch at Noodles and Company.  I'm proud to report that despite eating with chopsticks (while wearing Palesa in the Moby), I didn't drop any food on her head this time!

Later in the afternoon, we met up with a Smithie (and Fairview) friend of mine, Makenna, for coffee.  We enjoyed hearing about her adventures around the globe, and all of the inspiring things she is doing!

Finally, Sunday night Osei and I had our first "adults-only" date while Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Ralph watched Palesa.  It was mostly a dinner date.  Except we drove to Whole Foods to pick up prepared food, which we brought back to my mom's house to all eat together.  We were maybe gone 40 minutes, but it was the first time we've both been away from her!

Our First Football Game!

On Saturday, we all went to the Windsor High School playoff football game.  Suz led the Pep Band, Bryan filled in to play trumpet, Palesa slept pretty much the whole time, Osei encouraged the team to try some passing plays rather than running the option play each time, and my dad and I just watched and cheered.

Windsor beat Frederick 13-0, which means they'll head to the State Championship next.  It was a cool day, but we stayed bundled up in jackets and blankets.  

Jazzercise, running, and cookies, oh my!

Osei thought this outfit looked like a Jazzercise housewife.  I think it is cute.  She is smiling and holding her head up all over the place.

Friday was a great day for all of us. In the morning, Bryan and I went running (!).  This was my second run post-Palesa.  I'm also testing a Nike + Sportwatch with GPS (this one), which tracks my pace, distance, calories burned, and elapsed time.  It is great for tracking my progress for getting back into shape.  I also am excited to do another product test for Nike.  My first run was on Tuesday, and Friday's run was also 3 miles, but my pace was about 1 1/2 minutes per mile faster!  It also helps that I got to run with Bryan, an excellent running partner!

Friday we also went to visit dear friends, Kevin and Becca at their house in Longmont.  They were so excited to finally meet little Palesa!  We really enjoyed our visit, getting to see them again, and the delicious cookies Becca made for us!

One month old... and even more to be thankful for!

Asleep at one month

Asleep at just a few hours old

Wow, a month old already! I am truly amazed at how fast this first month has flown by!  I can still hardly believe that I'm not pregnant anymore (I actually really miss being pregnant, though I still wouldn't trade that for Palesa for anything!)

We had our second Thanksgiving at Suz and Bryan's house with my dad.  Osei and Bryan brined the turkey and did all of the cooking.  In addition to normal stuffing, Osei made some experimental stuffing using the leftover grains from the beer home brew session the other day.  They were almost chocolaty.  Osei also made two more pies- one pure pumpkin, and one pure sweet-potato.  Again, we all preferred the sweet potato.  Palesa spent the day being held and making cute faces.

Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

We had two Thanksgivings this year.  The first was at my mom's house, and we enjoyed a pot roast, mashed potatoes, other delicious things I have since forgotten, and of course, pie.  Osei made a plain pumpkin pie, and then got creative and made a pumpkin-sweet potato mix.  Overall, we all seemed to prefer the pie with sweet potato.  We enjoyed the time with family.  Palesa was the centerpiece, and we all took turns holding her.  Also during the evening, we video chatted with Osei's parents.  They were very impressed to see how big Palesa was, and agreed that she is simply growing more precious and adorable by the day.

We have so much to be thankful for!  Having baby Palesa has been the biggest blessing we could imagine, and we are thankful to be able to spend this time in Colorado with family.  We are thankful for how well my mom is doing during chemotherapy, and we are faithful as we continue praying for her complete recovery from breast cancer.