2018

Your First Few Weeks

We brought you home, and life changed forever.  Lucky for us you were a seemingly pretty easy going baby, although we had nothing to compare to.  The first weeks were a blur of feeding you, changing your diaper, hosting family members, and trying to find some semblance of normalcy in our new life.  You lost quite a bit of weight at first as you figured out how to feed, but oh boy, once you DID figure it out you were like a ravenous little beast!  You are lucky that Mom is a natural.  Dad always said that you would survive your first year of life because of her, which has turned to definitely be true of your first few weeks!   However, Dad quickly learned how to change your diapers, dress you, give you a bottle, and wrap you in your sleep sack for the night.  Many times the best part of the day with you is when Mom and Dad put you in between them in bed to kiss you, cuddle you, and watch you smile.

Meeting the Important People in Your Life

You were a pretty popular girl, you meet the whole family pretty quickly!  For some, just holding you was a first-time adventure, and for others you brought back memories of poopy diapers from 30 years ago.  Either way, joy and happiness followed you into the arms of whomever held you....and it gave Mom and Dad a little break!

Your Many Firsts

 At the time of this writing you are nearly 6 months old!  Your half birthday is next week!  Your Mom and Dad have come to realize that little babies are amazing; they learn so many new things so quickly.  You have already learned so much, and done many things for the first time.  At each milestone our love for you grew (as if that was even possible!) as you started to become your own little person with unique likes, dislikes, preferences, moods, and personality.  Some of your firsts so far include:

• Voluntary Smile - Febuary 5th, 2018

  • • Mom was sitting with you at home when you gave her your first big toothless grin.  You were naked!

• Going to daycare - March 27th, 2018

  • • Mom and Dad both dropped you off on your first day.....Mom cried....all the way to work.

• Experiencing sickness - March 30th, 2018

  • • Oh wow, talk about an exhausting time for all parties involved.  This wasn't just any ordinary cold, this was a Class A, Primetime, Daycare plague.  It knocked all of us on our ass for almost a week.

• Sleeping through the night (11+ hours) - May 20th, 2018

  • • You have always been a good sleeper, let's hope you keep it up!

• Riding on a boat - May 27th, 2018

  • • We got you the smallest life jacket available, which was still way to big.  You also had to get your bum washed in the lake after a giant poo.

• Sitting on your own - June 6th, 2018

  • • You moved from the Bumbo, to the Boppi, to nothing within a few weeks!  You love playing with your toys on your playmat.

• Holding your own bottle - June 11th, 2018

  • • It looks somewhat strange to see such little hands holding up such a large bottle!

• Eating solid food - June 19th, 2018

  • • Feeding you the first time was one of the most fun things we have done with you yet.   Judging by the faces you made you were not quite sure how you felt about the transition.

• Sleeping in your own room - June 24th, 2018

  • • Mom was sad.  Dad was somewhat relieved.  Your night time kicking was now confined to a different area of the house.

Mom and Dad's Wedding

You're legitimate!  We tied the knot on August 18th, 2018 at one of the most gorgeous places to have a wedding, Riverside Receptions in Centerville Michigan.  Both Mom and Dad were super busy leading up to the wedding trying to make sure everyone had a good time and the day went smoothly.  You truly do not appreciate what goes into planning a large wedding until you do so yourself.  The day finally arrived and 180 guests from all over the country showed up to celebrate the day with us.  We had typical Michigan mid-August weather (if Michigan even has typical weather) - hot, sunny and humid.  During the ceremony your Dad was in the sun and dripping with sweat, Mom had to wipe his brow a couple times, most people probably thought it was tears!

The day started with setting up in the morning, with lots of help from friends and family.  Mom and Dad almost accidentally saw each other while driving in between the venue and the hotel, disaster was narrowly averted.  Then, after everything was ready, and everyone was seated, the ceremony began.  Your Mom had never looked so beautiful in her dress, and your Dad looked dashing in his boat shoes.  The ceremony was moderately short (30 minutes), and was presided over by one of our good friends, Georgianna.  She did an AMAZING job, mixing in touches of humor with sentiment and seriousness.  

After sealing the deal with a kiss we were ready to get the party started....but its never quite like that for the newlyweds.  While our guests ambled off to enjoy cocktail hours we took pictures with family.  After making our grand entrance to Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" spun by DJ Scott "The Hurricane" Harriman we ate a quick dinner, said some hellos, and were again rushed off for more pictures.  Finally after finishing pictures, toasts, and first dances it was truly time to start having some REAL fun.  We drank, danced, and partied with friends until the end of the night, and then collapsed on our bed, sweaty and exhausted from an incredible day!

A few interesting facts about our wedding:

• Mom and Dad wrote their own vows.

• We released butterflies at the end of our ceremony to signify our union.

• We (along with Georgeianna) wrote our own wedding ceremony script.

• Mom's wedding party:  Liz (Maid of Honor), Aunt Nicole, Lindsey, Melissa, Elle

• Dad's wedding party:  Uncle Shawn (Best Man), Garrett, Brett, Connor, Tom, Uncle Chadd

• Ushers:  Nick and Brandon

Halloween and Pumpkins

What a great time this was!  We went to the a couple of pumpkin patches and you got to help carve your own pumpkin!  Just as predicted one of the first things you did when you encountered pumpkin guts was to promptly put them in your mouth.  You explored the pumpkin patches with your typical scowl, taking everything in and learning every second.  You helped to choose your pumpkin, picked some apples, pet a goat, and explored a corn maze. 

Trick-or Treating was also a blast!  We dressed you up like a little dragon and found a neighborhood with lots of kids....like, LOTS of kids.  Mom and Dad do not even remember ever seeing that many trick-or-treaters when they were growing up.  You made out pretty good for your first Halloween filling about half of your bucket with all sorts of candy.  You seemed to like holding Twizzlers the best.

Disney Vacation with the Schurrs

You got to see Mickey way sooner than most kids, lucky you!  Not only did you get to experience all that Disney World has to offer, you also flew on a plane for your first time, AND you met your cousin Colton for the first time!  Colton made you happy every time you saw him, Mom and Dad predicted that in a couple of years you would be following him around 24/7.  Dad rated your behavior a 5/10 on the flight down, but a 10/10 on the way back!  Let's just say the flight to Florida involved a somewhat fussy and awake baby for most the flight, a full bloody mary cocktail, and a change of clothes for Mom.  

We went to the Magic Kingdom for two days and saw a fantasy parade with lots of popular characters, went on several rides (Its actually quite amazing the type of ride that Disney lets little babies go on.  We took you on the "Dumbo" ride which goes quite fast and high, we just held on to you tight!), looked at all the colorful sights, and dined in the Beast's castle.  Its a Small World was easily your favorite of everything, you were entranced the entire ride (so was Dad).  After Disney we hung out at Nana and Papa's condo in Florida for a couple of days of relaxation before heading back home.

Christmas!!!

Mom's favorite holiday came around very quickly after our return from Florida.  Unfortunately, your first Christmas was VERY hectic for Mom and Dad.  We had to move out of our old apartment and into a rental house in Parchment while we looked for a home to purchase in the weeks leading up to Christmas AND your Mom was getting ready to start a new job just after the new year.  We also had your first birthday to get ready for!  Even during all of that we found a way to make your first Christmas special, with a little (a lot) of help from all of your grandparents.  Mom made sure that the tree was up and the house was decorated in time for all of the festivities, and even insisted that we all get matching jammies!