First Camping Trip

At just under 3 weeks old (2 weeks and 6 days), Momma and Daddy decided to take you camping. We figured it couldn't be any harder camping with a newborn than it was to stay home and care for a newborn. We were right and we had a blast. You were very well-behaved and so easy to care for. You slept in the truck when we went out to see the sights. You didn't much like being out in the cold so we had some issues in the evening but Momma could not blame you. She was cold even if you weren't!

We watched movies at night and snuggled together. In the morning we would go out and explore again. Normally we would have gone to Truckee, our favorite place to camp, but it was closed for the season. Instead, we went to Yosemite and we stayed for several days. The morning we left, it was raining and the trailer roof was leaking bad. We left super early because Momma couldn't handle the leaky roof anymore. As Daddy emptied the toilet, there was thunder and lightning. He got soaking wet.

Daddy discovered that if he blew on your face you made funny faces. For the record, Momma tried to stop him.


Daddy's favorite place to take pictures, in front of Half-Dome.


You had no trouble sleeping in the trailer.


Momma's favorite picture, in front of Bridalveil Falls.


This is one of our favorite pictures of you. It looks like you're getting ready to perform a trick. This is also the outfit we brought you home from the hospital in.


This picture was taken because Momma has a picture of her and Grandpa in front of a tent when they went camping for the first time. Of course, we did ours inside the trailer because it was raining and cold and dark.

Camping is going to be a regular part of your childhood, we figured we would kick it off early!

Finally Home!

On the way home, Momma rode in the back with you. She was worried you were going to cry and she wouldn't be there. She was worried too that you might feel alone. The car engine put you straight to sleep though. Momma only rode in the back with you for a few car rides then she knew you would just go to sleep.

Can you say beautiful?


G-ma always claimed she hated kids and babies. But then she met you and she at least likes you.


You were so little that you only fit into newborn clothing. Daddy would put you on his belly and you would curl your legs all the way up into your pajamas. Like a turtle.


This was after your first bath. And shortly after putting that adorable onesie on...you blew out a diaper. After that, Momma could only use that one with pants.


In case you ever doubted, your Daddy is fascinated by you.


And Momma is fascinated by your itty bitty feet.

Your first appointment with the pediatrician went well. You went in on January 11th and got weighed. You were born 7lbs 5oz and at the appointment you weighed 7lbs 9oz. You were born 19in and at the appointment you were 20in. The doctor was satisfied. She told us to start tummy time and showed us how. She was very impressed by your ability to push yourself up already.

We did tummy time at home that night.

You tolerated tummy time for a little while and you managed to get yourself all the way across the blanket but you didn't like it. It wasn't long before you started crying and fussing and we had to stop. Unfortunately, you haven't liked tummy time much since then either. It's been a challenge but one Nanny has been very good about working on.

We had family coming to visit on a fairly regular basis. It took a couple weeks but finally Grandpa and Grandma made it out along with your Aunt Kimberlee.

You looked so little next to Grandpa.

I don't think Aunt Kim knew what to do with you.

Momma spent a lot of time sleeping and recovering when you came home. She didn't get to nap as much as she probably should have. Instead she had to try to get homework done or pay bills or any number of other things. Or doing what she's doing now, writing posts and letting people see how adorable you are!

Our hospital stay

Our stay in the hospital was a whole three days. It's typical for a c-section birth. You were so determined to escape that you had managed to push your foot out before they got me on the table. As a result, they had to pull you back up in order to get you out. Additionally, they got started so quickly that I didn't get the full effect of the epidural so I actually felt a bunch of pain that I shouldn't have. It was worth it, as well as the few hours of labor I experienced.

One of your first pictures. You were and are still so cute!

Your first bath in the hospital. We didn't get to give you a bath until we got home. I wasn't anywhere near you at this time, I was still in surgery being closed up!

You were jaundiced at birth so they had to take blood from you every day. I didn't realize that this wasn't as simple a process for you as it is for an adult. Instead of sticking a needle in your arm, they poked your heel! They kept having to squeeze it to get more blood. Your dad was ready to take out the lab technician for making you cry so much! We hated when it kept coming back and they needed to do it again and again. It was horrible to watch.

Look how yellow you were!

While we were in the hospital, you got to start meeting family members. It took me awhile to get out of surgery so I only got to see you for a minute before they took you to the nursery with your dad. They made him worry so because I was taking a long time to get out and he wasn't getting updated!

I finally got to hold you when I was in recovery.

I was so happy to see you. I wanted to keep you forever but I was also completely exhausted. So I had to give you up to dad, Nanny, and Grampy to watch you so I could get a little rest.

They weren't at all inconvenienced to watch you.

Because you were a c-section, you had a perfect head. Your dad was so happy for that. He really didn't want you to have a cone head. In case he tries to tell you otherwise, he had a very bad cone head as a baby. Ask Nanny all about it.

Unfortunately, it seemed every baby hat was made for cone-heads so yours always fell off!


Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Lavachek came to visit you. They couldn't wait to meet you.


And your godmother Dorothy was busting down the doors. Everyone loved you from the start!

And here's G-ma with you. She only got to stay around 24 hours and she had to change her flight plans because you came early. She was originally going to come up when we had your c-section scheduled. I don't think she minded so much after she met you.

And you will see a lot of picture with you and your mittens. Just like in my tummy, you were fascinated by touching your face. You always gave yourself terrible scratches!

Momma's best friend Kortnie couldn't wait to come either. She's the one who got the 5am text that you were on your way and she's the one who made all the phone calls and texts to let everyone know you had arrived!

Momma and Daddy stayed with you the whole time. The only time Daddy left was to get dinner from the hospital or to get Momma more water. He couldn't stand to be away from you or me. He worried so much about both of us that he almost never slept. Momma was exhausted enough that she slept a lot to heal. You slept a lot too which was a great blessing. You would eat then sleep but you actually spent a lot of time awake, alert, and aware during the day. Everyone was surprised.

Finally, after three days, we get to go home. It was chilly outside so we had you bundled up tight. Notice how jaundiced you were?

Numbers 11 & 12

11) Time. It's always changing and waits for no one. The one thing you can do to show respect for someone is to be on time. Respect other people's time. The biggest disrespect for other people is to be late. It says to others that you do not care about their time, do not care what they have to do for the day, and think you're the center of the universe. Don't waste your time waiting always for others and don't make others waste their time waiting for you.

12) You have a lot of aunts and uncles in your life already. They aren't blood relatives but they have been there for you before you were even born. Be blessed little one to have a lot of family already.

Need to knows 8-10

8) "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" - Mary Anne Radmacher
I saw this quote the other day and it made me stop and think about you. You're never going to be perfect, you will fall, you will get hurt, and you will hurt others. It's not the failure you should remember, it's the lesson you should remember. Get up, try again. Don't let fear rule your life, ever.

9) There's a beautiful song written by John Mark Mcmillan called "How He Loves". We sang it this morning at church and you were dancing along with it, I think you rather enjoyed it. Anyway, the song talks about how Gos is jealous for us, he values most of all our love and devotion. He is jealous for our hearts. Nothing more than Him should be first priority in our hearts. He loves us desperately and without end. Even now, before your birth, he loves you and is jealous for you. Before your very conception he thought of you and started to form in you for a heart devoted to him.

10) You're going to be an extraordinarily lucky girl. This house is full of animals and is a practical petting zoo. In this sense, you are going to be spoiled. It is my hope that you never take this for granted. That you always appreciate what you have and with all that you have, give so much more to those with less than you.