Christmas Pictures!

We enjoyed the Christmas and New Years holidays with John's family in New Hampshire. We had a lovely time- cousins were together, good food, a little bit of snow, and the opportunity to get out of New York City and enjoy family. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera handy as much as I would have liked, but at least you get to see how Miriam is growing.

Hunter and Miriam (both are looking good!)

Miriam is 5 weeks old today!

Here are some pictures!

(sleeping soundly! Actually, Miriam has had a few nights of 6-7 hours of sleep. I wake up and dance with her when that happens!)


I think it's sweet how relaxed she is.


Helping Dad read and study!


Miriam at one month. Taken December 15!























This is the first outfit she has officially grown out of! Thankfully, the hat still fits. It's super cute with pooh ears!
The outfit was a valentine's onesie with sweetheart candies printed on it. It's very cute! Too bad it's nearly too small now!










This is an outfit that Miriam's Aunt Sara bought for her. Miriam looks great in yellow and pink!

Until next time!

It's a baby burrito!

This is called the "cris-cross" swaddle, one of the nurses taught it to me while I was in the hospital. It's great because it's somewhat hard for babies to kick themselves out of it. Plus, it's really cute! It makes them look like a burrito or like they are in a sack!

Here's how you do it. It's best if you use a 30x40 recieving blanket (or one that is rectantular, esp. as baby grows!

Lay the recieving blanket so that the rectangle is vertical.
Place the baby in the center of the blanket, with the edge of the receiving blanket right at the base of their neck.

(Miriam sort of protested about having to be the model!)

Bring the left and right corners across their body.


Fold the bottom (the slack) and bring it up to their neck.
Tuck the "wings" under either side of the baby.


There you have it!

Horray for tickers! I hope this will keep me honest in terms of how fast time will fly. That's not so good because Miriam is still so small-- I hope to enjoy her as much as possible while she is so little!

Here are some more pictures!
These pictures go from latest to most recent. Miriam has grown significantly since she came home from the hospital. This is unofficial "Mommy measurements". I think she's close to 9lbs and near 23 inches. That means growth of over 3 inches and over 1.5 lbs! She's wasting no time!!

The outfit she wore leaving the hospital no longer fits. The pants barely fit and the sweater's sleeves are 3/4 length (stylish! But the sweater itself is tight so...maybe not!)

I also included a close up of her eyes- I tried to capture how long her eyelashes are! But the picture doesn't do it justice. Oh well. At least you have an idea.

Enjoy the pictures!

John and I are happy to introduce....

Miriam Frances Welsh
Born on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at 12:51PM
7lbs 12oz; 19.75 inches long
Very sweet temperment.

I was feeling sort of under the weather on Monday/Tuesday..some cold symptoms and mild flu issues. I hadn't been able to hold food down for about 36 hours, which, even though I dealt with nausea/vomiting the entire pregnancy, I knew this was not quite par for the course. I was also on a preeclampsia watch from my Dr. When I called the Dr. on Tuesday, she encouraged me to go and get it checked out. It might be nothing, it might be something...so I went to the hospital triage on Tuesday afternoon.

They took one look at me and listened to my symptoms and figured that it might be good to induce labor. I wanted to go home and come back on Wednesday, but by the time the decision was made, it was not possible for me to leave. So the induction drugs started around 7PM. Labor continued overnight. John was super amazing. I can't say enough about how much I love him and appreciate everything he's done for me. I continue to be touched and amazed! I can't imagine God's love for us as I experience John's love and now experiencing love for Miriam. Sorry about the sentimentality.... back to the story...around 11AM, I was ready to go; and at 12:51, she was in our arms!

She has super long eyelashes and a full head of hair. She also has long fingers. The birth left her vitrtually unmarked or blemished.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!















Stay tuned for more pictures; I know we'll have plenty! This little girl is a sight to behold!

Much love,
Mary, John and little Miriam

Shower time again!

Here are some great pictures of from the shower with a few tid-bits of commentary. I had a lovely time. John decided to go to a movie, so he's not in any of these pictures!

We are 2 weeks away from the Arrival Day!



The Group of Coordinators. Judy, Martha, and Jessica. They really brought out a tasty spread of food!


Martha coordinated many people together for two large items: A stroller and a car seat. We are so thankful-- sorry we don't have a picture of the stroller. It's still in the box anyways.


Something was clearly cracking me up...


This is such a sweet, handmade outfit. It might even work as the "coming home from the hospital" outfit. Look, it's just the right size!

We also received additional clothes, a diaper bag, and other baby-related but highly useful items.

Judy made a wonderful cake. Thank you, Judy! What a nice gift! It was a peanut butter cake with raspberry filling. Just right, not too sweet, and decorated so beautifully! (as a plug for Judy, check out her website, www.silkcakes.com- she's quite the professional cake maker, and her cake repertoire is growing!)



Jessica coordinated the activity- decorating Onsies and bibs. Everybody was very creative:



(Right after John's heart:)


The shower was a really lovely time. Special thanks to Martha, Judy and Jessica. Thank you also to those who made the treck to the Bronx and the lovely gifts. Keep your eyes out on the mail, Baby, John and I really appreciate your good wishes and kindness.

Two weeks has passed since the shower, and I've grown even more. The baby is continuing to grow, but I don't have any stats to share with you this time around. I can tell you from personal experience that it's gettin' a little cramped in my belly!

John and I went to a beautiful wedding in Connecticut. Congratulations, Rob and Noel! Everything about the wedding was quite amazing. It was truly a dream wedding!


The leaves were really at their peak color for fall, as you'll see by the background of this picture. (My smooth attempt to distract you from the people in the picture)


Now, as of today, there's one month to A-Day. All symptoms look like a go for an on-time (or late, as is typical with first babies) arrival. Deep breaths, the days of just John and I are numbered!

Baby Shower Time!

Hello again! My work, MidAmerica generously threw me a baby shower! Here is a picture of me being surprised...



I was promptly "Pinned" with a "MOM TO BE" Ribbon:



The cake was amazing- awesome design and very tasty. It was a chocolate cake but it wasn't too rich or too much. JUST RIGHT! And what pregnant lady and an office full of people with nothing better to do on a Friday afternoon doesn't appreciate CHOCOLATE CAKE?






Yum!


With Meredith...


With Kendal, a conspirator of the baby shower...


The Office got together and decided that they would each chip in for a Babies R Us gift certificate and/or pick their favorite children's book as a gift for Baby, John and me. Little did they know, I really enjoy children's books, so it is an equal treat for me as it is for this little baby!

I really like the Hungry Caterpillar!

So, the party was over after everyone had cake and laughed with me a bit over my delight with the children's books. Time to get back to work!

As you can see by the profile, I still look pretty small. Don't be deceived! Guess what, folks? The baby was almost 5 lbs and probably a little more than 12 inches (head to butt). We had just been to an ultrasound that week. About 8 weeks left 'till the big "A-Day" (Arrival Day!)