Baptism Day!

Miles was baptized on June 2nd in front of family and friends! My parents, brother and future sister-in-law were able to come downstate for the baptism. In our church it is common practice for family and friends to come up and support us as Miles was baptized. We loved being surrounded by so much love!

Miles did a great job. He was sleeping but woke up just in time to be baptized before he went back to sleep. Miles didn’t cry or fuss as the water touched his head, heart and feet.
Someone from our church makes these banners for everyone that is baptized. It now hangs in Miles’ room.
We invited our family and friends to join us in the Ministry House next door for some hors d’oeuvres and fellowship. We did some light decorating but I didn’t want to spend too much. I bought a few tablecloths, some chocolate for the table and the plates, napkins, etc. I choose the colors off of the baptism plates I bought and the colors ended up being close to the colors we had at our wedding.

I made the cupcakes but they were frosted by Miles’ Auntie Tia. I added Miles’ name and put the cupcakes into a cross and called it done!
All the delicious food; Zapp Jello, Salad, chips, fruit, fruit pizza, veggies, BBQ meatballs and turkey roll ups.
I believe Miles’ Auntie Raena grabbed my camera and took a few pictures and then I snapped a few of our friends and family spending time with Miles and one another.
We also tried to get pictures with Miles and his family and friends! I realized a few weeks after his baptism that we never got one with just our little family.. oh well. Live and learn.

Miles and the DeRuischer family.
Eric had met Miles a few times but it was always right after work so he wasn’t comfortable holding him. He was nice and clean so he finally got a chance to hold Miles!
Miles tried on Uncle Justin’s tie. He looked so handsome!
Miles and his Great-Grandma.
To be continued!!!

Weekly Photo 5- 8

Here we go! All..well most of the Mondays in May!

Look how much Miles has grown in just a few short weeks!
And here are a few outtakes!
Miles punching his penguin!
1 week old Miles.
3 weeks old and getting some help from daddy!

Miles’ Monthly Photo – Month 2

June 1st, 2013

This month you weigh 11 pounds 14 ounces and are 24 inches long. You now sleep in your crib at night but usually sneak in some extra zzzz’s with Mommy after you wake up around 6:30am. You fall asleep around 11:30pm and sleep til about 6:30am then nap on and off until 10am. You wear cloth diapers and are in 0-3 month clothes. Your favorite toy is your hand, you still don’t like tummy time and you love listening to Mommy and Daddy sing to you. You have learned to put yourself to sleep at night and how to smile and giggle. You enjoy talking with anyone who will listen and you LOVE baths with Daddy.

One Month Stats

Height: 24 inches

Weight:11 lbs, 14 oz

Month 2

As April passed Ben and I grew braver and ventured out on a few more adventures with Miles. This month Miles starting smiling and even gave us a few giggles. He has a very laid back personality that seems to be sticking even as he gets older.

Miles and Mommy take a picture together. We don’t have many together so I am going to attempt to take some as he grows! Our friend said Miles looks like a hulu dancer.
Lauren and I took the kids to Spoonlickers one afternoon. We all enjoyed our cool treats filled with sugary goodies! I think Erin and Addison would have added everything to their frozen yogurt if they could and who could blame them with some many delicious options to add.
Miles did what he usually did when he left the house – slept!
James wasn’t too sure what to think about his treat and didn’t eat too much of it. Addison didn’t mind helping him out!
Miles started sleeping in his crib at 4 weeks old. It was quite a struggle for a few weeks. Ben and I spent hours trying to get him to fall asleep in his crib or at least in his room. Ben spent quite a few nights sleeping on the floor in Miles’ room and Miles spent quite a few nights sleeping in his swing before he finally adjusted to sleeping in his crib. Over the course of May, Miles went from eating every two hours to eating every three hours and sometimes four hours. He also learned to fall asleep in his crib on his own which was wonderful because I could lay him down while still awake. Miles tried out the stroller for the first time when we walked down to the Farmer’s Market where we picked up some tomato plants, a pepper plant and some basil plants. Miles looked so tiny in such a big stroller.
And as usual, our little Pirate eye made an appearance. Miles started wearing 0-3 month clothes in the middle of May and this was the first big boy outfit that he wore from Uncle Justin.
Miles got this outfit from Aunty Lisa. Ben and I took some fun pictures of Miles while wearing it. Miles’ bug eyes come out in full force when he sees the orange light from my camera that appears right before the photo is taken.And this is what happens when Daddy quickly moves Miles towards the camera and freaks him out!! This could be my favorite photo of Miles!
Miles is very laid back but there were some day/nights when Miles was fussy and I couldn’t get much done – enter the Moby! I love our Moby. Miles hung out in the Moby one evening while Daddy was gone. I was able to do dishes, clean up the house and hang out outside while Miles hung out in the Moby Wrap.
Miles had a play date with his little friend from church. Miles put on his best outfit for his first date but he slept through it. His date decided to play with all his toys instead!
The cute little face that greets me each morning. This is Miles half sleeping in the early morning hours.
Miles started smiling around 4 weeks old but it took me weeks to take a picture of his sweet smile. This is the closest I got!
One of the neighbors in my hometown bought this play mat for Miles. He wasn’t too sure what to think about laying on his back to play but he did enjoy swatting at the toys.
There you have it, Miles during the month of May!

Weekly Photos 1-4

My friend Lauren has taken a weekly photo of each of her three children until they reach their first birthday. Each of her children received a Beanie Babies Bear that sits next to the child each week. Aunt Lauren bought Miles a Beanie Babies Penguin for his weekly photo!

I am attempting to do weekly photos but I’ve already missed Week 2 and 7. Oh well!

Newborn Essentials

After our first month with Miles Ben and I had a discussion of our must have newborn  items. The items listed below are things we couldn’t live without or things that made our lives so much easier during those first weeks. I won’t include the obvious; diaper, clothes, wipes, etc. We tried to come up with things we bought and didn’t need but couldn’t think of anything.

Essentials during the first few weeks!

(click on the product name to go to their webpage)

1. SwaddleMe: We loved this for the first two weeks of Miles’ life. Basically it is a cross between a sleeping bag and a blanket. Miles loved being bundled up like he was in the womb but his legs were free to kick around as well. When Miles was really fussy we would swaddle him and he would calm down and in most situations, fall asleep. This saved us big time during the first nights as a family.

2. Boppy: This was (and still is) a must have for nursing. Miles would nurse for an hour then nurse an hour after that. I was literally spending half of my day nursing and holding up my 8 1/2 pound little monster and my arms were killing me unless I used my Boppy. Even now at 11 weeks, I can nurse without the Boppy but we are both so much more comfortable with it.

We also used the Boppy to hold Miles, he liked sitting up right in it when he was alert and enjoyed sleeping in it because I believe it felt like he was being held. Miles has also been burped while hanging over the Boppy and has done tummy time on the Boppy. As he grows, the Boppy will function as an extra support as he learns to sit up by himself.

3. Pack and Play: We bought this Pack and Play super cheap around Christmastime and we couldn’t have lived without it during the first two weeks. The Pack and Play has wheels so during the day it would stay in the Living Room and at night we would wheel it to our bedroom. We used the Pack and Play as a changing table and as Miles’ bed. We had wipes, diapers, extra outfits, extra blankets, SwaddleMe and mitts in the Pack and Play. It was so nice to not have to go back and forth to his bedroom when I was recovering and in the middle of the night. Miles slept in his Pack and Play and our bed until he was four weeks old when he was moved to his crib.

4. Bouncer: My parents bought one for Miles when he was a week old. We use it EVERY day! Sometimes I wouldn’t get anything done in a day if it wasn’t for the bouncer. Miles loves to be bounced in it and enjoys swatting at the toys. He also enjoys being close to us so with the bouncer I can work on blog posts, thank you cards, do housework and craft. He often wants to be bounced in it so I’m working on getting some killer calf muscles from always bouncing this kid. For the days when all he wanted to do was be held I could put him in the bouncer and he would be content and sleep away the day.

5. Swing: My parents also bought Miles a swing when he was one week old. At first he didn’t really care for it but now he enjoys it. It was a lifesaver when we were trying to get Miles to sleep in his own crib. Miles hated sleeping in his crib. We think the transition was hard for a few reasons; the crib mattress was much harder than ours, he couldn’t smell us anymore, and it was much cooler since he wasn’t snuggled up next to us.\ Most nights Miles slept in his swing for half of the night. It was a lifesaver! Without the swing it may have taken Miles even longer to get accustomed to sleeping away from us. Now Miles will sit in his swing while I clean up his room or do laundry or he may nap in the swing a few times a week.

We hang Miles lights near him while he is in the swing and he will sit there for quite awhile watching them change colors.

6. Pacifier: Miles probably wouldn’t leave my breast if it wasn’t for a pacifier. He would eat and then just chill but cry when I pulled him away. After he finished eating he wanted his pacifier. He loves it! We introduced one just shy of four weeks. Now Miles sleeps with it most nights. If he is fussy in his crib usually his pacifier will put him to sleep. We love how much Miles loves it!

7. Receiving Blankets: We received quite a few receiving blankets before Miles was born and one day I came home with more. Ben questioned why we needed so many but after two weeks Ben made a comment about how thankful he was for them. We used these receiving blankets as a crib sheet when Miles peed on the only one we had, as burp cloths, to cover the car seat to protect Miles from the rain, and of course to keep him warm. Now at 11 weeks, we don’t use them as often but are grateful to have as many as we do.

8. Camera: The days after Miles’ was born are a huge blur to us. Thankfully we have photos to help us figure out what happened on what day. And of course it is just nice to have so many photos of Miles. Pictures are such a great way to capture all the “firsts”; first time meeting family, first bath, first family photo, first time at the park, etc. My camera is amazing and takes great pictures and videos. I’d be lost without it!

9. Baby Book: I choose this baby book after reading about it in a blog. The author also made a Pregnancy Book, a Birthday Book and Grandparent book. I love them all and wish I did the pregnancy book. This book is a good mix of fill in the blank and a scrapbook. I spent some time filling out the book every few days when Miles was first born.

10. Family! Both of our families helped so much! Between taking out the trash, doing dishes, making meals, bringing treats, picking up groceries, etc. – we couldn’t have lived without them! Our church family also helped make the transition as a family of three a lot smoother! Our church provided dinner for a week, made phone calls to check to see how we were doing and to pray with us and we also received a few gifts from our church family. The saying, “it takes a village to raise a child,” well that same village also helps new parents survive the first few weeks!

Miles Monthly Photo – Month 1

Happy 1 Month Baby Boy!

May 1, 2013

This month you have grown so much! In a few days we will see just how much you have grown when we visit your Dr. You have learned to swat at your toys, you mimic faces Mommy and Daddy make, you learned how to drink from a bottle and take a pacifier, and you have outgrown your love of being swaddled. You typically sleep in between Mommy and Daddy at night and if we don’t lay you down just right you wiggle and roll until you are snuggled up right next to us. You dislike being on your tummy and will always roll onto your side but you do have fantastic control of your neck and find other ways to keep improving those neck muscles.

We love you so much little man!

One Month Stats

Height:22 3/4 inches

Weight: 9 lbs, 1/2 oz

A comparison of Miles at two hours old and again at one month.

And of course, I wasn’t able to get a perfect picture right away. Here are a few pictures that I took before getting the perfect shot!

Meeting Family and Friends

Miles met a lot of family over the first few weeks of his life. Some drove quite a distance in order to meet Miles. His great aunt Addi drove three hours from Ohio, the Mathy’s drove an hour from Holland and cousin Noah sat in a car for about eight hours in order to meet Miles.

I didn’t get a picture with everyone but I did snap a photo of a lot of family and friends when they met Miles for the first time.

My cousin Noah came downstate for the first time. He rode with my parents and met Miles when he was one week old.

Noah also used FaceTime on his phone so Miles could “meet” his cousins Logan and Jonah and their mom Mandy, great Aunty Wendy and Great Grandma and Grandpa Kloida.  Sometimes I really love technology. I was so thankful everyone was able to “see” Miles and to talk with him.

(click on the photos to enlarge them)
Ben’s Aunt and Uncle and their kids came to visit Miles a few days after he was born. Everyone held Miles, even though Jeremiah, the oldest boy, was reluctant at first. He did a great job trying out the football hold!
Aunti Addi came from Chicago to spend a few hours with Mr. Miles! Miles even opened his eyes for his Aunt and was awake for a bit!
My cousins, the Mathy’s, also came to visit that first week. Then my Aunty Sandy and Uncle Tom (bottom photos) came to visit the next week. I forgot to get a picture with cousin Sandy holding Miles but I will get one this weekend when we see her again! 
I also forgot to take pictures of some friends when they first met Miles but I did get a few pictures of some of our friends who visited. Starting at the top left and going clockwise; Addison (Lauren’s daughter), Alyssa (college friend and neighbor), Jordan and Lindsey (my friends from high school) and Lauren (Ben’s friend from high school). 

Month 1

In my attempt to catch up quickly I am going to do a few massive posts filled with lovely pictures of my little man. We have a big summer ahead of us and I know I will have lots to blog about! I have even managed to fit in some crafting since little man arrived so I want to show what I’ve been up to!

But before we can do that, here is a glimpse at Miles and his first month of life! He met lots of family members, had a lot of “firsts” and laid around looking cute. We were smitten with him (still are) so we take lots of pictures of him just laying around looking cute. Bear with me.

On our third morning with Miles I let Daddy sleep while Miles and I snuggled in the living room and caught up on some laundry and Facebook.

This was Miles’ bedroom for the first week. Pretty much everything he needed was within reach.

Miles loved the swaddle for just under two weeks. When we swaddled him he would instantly calm down and would sleep well. Then all of a sudden he hated it, but for two weeks it was wonderful!
It wasn’t until day three that we finally remembered to take a family photo. I wish we would have remembered on the day he was born but live and learn. 
Miles was showered with gifts during his first month of life. This adorable personalized gift came from our downstairs neighbor and college friend, Alyssa. She made the monogram and then painted it on the little box. The box was filled with diapering goodies that were quickly used! The box now holds some of Miles’ infant toys. 
Miles did a lot of sleeping during those first few days of life. Ben and I were actually pretty rested for the first few nights but that ended pretty quickly. We ended up being in bed from about 9pm – 11am for the first few weeks but only getting a few hours of sleep during that time.

Miles slept with us for the first month so we were able to catch quite a few pictures like the ones below!

We lived in our bed for so much of the day/night that it often looked like this by mid afternoon. I used a ton of pillows just to get comfortable during the many hours I was nursing Miles and by morning there were random burp cloths and blankets in bed with us too. Many meals were had here too and most of the meals Ben fed me. Miles had an uncanny way of knowing when I was about to eat and demanding he eat first! 
When Ben found out he was going to be a father he instantly dreamed of playing video games with his child in his lap. Ben was able to live out his dream when Miles was a few days old. Coffee, video games and Miles – life was good! 
I had a hard time resisting snapping photos of Miles when he was sleeping. He was so peaceful and so beautiful! 
Miles was jaundice for the five weeks or so. We were advised to put him in the sun as much as we could so there was a lot of sunbathing happening during the first few weeks of his life. April was especially cold this spring so Ben made sure Miles stayed warm while having his nakey time. Miles was laying on a heating pad and a space heater was blowing in his general direction. Gramma helped make sure he wasn’t too warm but was warm enough! 
I soaked up every little detail of my sons’ body during those first few weeks. I snapped a few pictures of those little body parts that I knew wouldn’t be little for too long! 
Welcome to the gun show! 
Gramma and Grampa watching over Miles has he sunbathed! 
Daddy getting nakey snuggles with his boy! Those little wrinkles are to die for! 
Grampa and Gramma soaked up every moment with Miles during the week they were with us! They spent the week in Kalamazoo and came to our house every day around noon. 
Uncle Casey came to visit Miles too! He earned extra points for bringing me more cookie dough! 
I was pretty concerned about Miles’ weight since I was breastfeeding so we used the scale that was belonged to Miles’ great-great grandma’s cousin, Betty. We continue to use the scale and love watching Miles grow! 
Miles got his first package from the Tramp family! It included clothes for Miles and chocolate for us, including chocolate cigars! 
As the days went on Miles became more alert and he tried out new faces. This is one of my favorite photos of his new expressions! 
Miles would get extra floppy after he filled his belly and sometimes he would fall asleep in the funniest poses and places. Daddy is especially proud of this photo that captures Miles sleeping like a man with his hand in a silly place. 
I still can’t get over those pinchable kissable cheeks! 
Gramma and Grampa visited for a week then went home for a week then came back for an extended weekend. Miles had already grown so much in one week! Everyone enjoyed snuggling with him. 
Miles lost his umbilical cord when he was around one week old. It didn’t last long but man I was glad when it was gone. It got quite stinky right before it fell off. It took awhile to heal up but his belly button looks fantastic now! 
Justin and Tia came as often as they could to see Miles. They were moving back home within a month of Miles being born so they made sure to be with Miles often. Sometimes Justin came by himself because Tia was finishing up her bachelor’s degree.

During one visit we decided to take Miles to the park and for me to actually get out of the house and go for a little walk. It was still quite chilly and windy so we bundled up Miles and headed out side. 
Our first time outside as a family!
Miles’ first time at a park! 
Miles goes down the slide for the first time! Just kidding, but it did make for a fun picture! 
Parenthood rocks, but it wasn’t an easy transition. We often got distracted and didn’t finish tasks. Laundry would sit in the dryer for a few days, we would forget to eat food we cooked and in this case forget the faucet was running to fill up the sink to do dishes!

Thankfully when the sink overflowed it flowed into the other empty sink so no harm was done! 
Uncle Justin on another visit got to visit with Miles who was alert. Uncle Justin sang and danced with Miles! 
Daddy caught Miles and I sleeping one morning. There is nothing better than newborn snuggles! 
We were too nervous to cut Miles’ nails so Ben attempted to dull his claws with a baby emery board, that too was nerve wracking!
FLOPPY BABY! 
More sunbathing! 
Miles’ first car ride was to the Dr when he was two weeks old. He looked extra tiny in the car seat. At 2 months his feet hang off the edge! 
Miles’ great grandpa Bosch was in the hospital with heart problems during the first month of Miles’ life so Grandma and Grandpa would stop by on their way to/from the hospital to get some snuggles with Miles. 
Miles slept through most of the day and was alert more in the evenings. On this evening in particular Ben went grocery shopping for the first time and Miles and I were home alone for the longest time we had been alone. He did great! 
Here is another gift Miles received. This hat was given to us by Miles’ great-great grandma’s neighbor. Her sister made it for Miles! 
On another visit with my parents we made sure to take a few pictures as a family. Miles was not thrilled and cried through them. 
My parents wanted to buy Miles a swing so the boys went to Target and bought one with the features that they liked. This swing had all the features they wanted but they didn’t pay attention to the design. The swing was pink and flowery. Whoops! That one went back and they bought a gender neutral one instead! My parents also bought Miles a bouncer. 
Grampa worked hard to put the bouncer together for Mr. Miles.
While Miles tried out his new bouncer his dad and uncle put together his swing. 
He loved it so much that Miles gave us his first spit bubbles in appreciation. 
Miles couldn’t have a real bath for awhile due to his umbilical cord and then circumsicion so he had a few washcloth baths. We discovered that Miles’ hair gets curly when wet – swoon!
After Miles was nice and clean Daddy teased him by making him lick his toes. 
Miles quickly learned how to swat at his toys that hang over him in his bouncer. 
Finally a few weeks after he was born Miles was able to take a real bath. His first bath was in a roasting pan and he was NOT thrilled! 
We wanted to make sure Miles was comfortable taking a bottle so around three weeks he has his first bottle and loved it! It only took a few minutes to eat his bottle compared to 40 minutes with mommy! 
Miles also had his first exposure to the Moby during his first month of life too. He didn’t always care for it but loves it now! 
Miles got extra snuggly with Uncle Justin during one of his visits. 
I bought a few little things before our baby was born and this was one. But by the time Miles wore this owl hat, it was already too small! Still made for a cute picture though! 
Miles learned how to use a pacifier when he was three and a half weeks old, the night before Aunty Tia graduated from Honors College. He loved it instantly!
Miles was able to watch Auntie Tia graduate from Honors College and get her Bachelors Degree from Western Michigan University. He did a wonderful job with all the chaos! 
We took some silly pictures with Miles while we waited for the graduation ceremony to start. 
Miles looking dashing after a bath with daddy. 
Before our baby was born I knew I wanted to do a birth announcement so I had made address labels for the people I knew I would send a birth announcement to and I also made boy and girl address labels so I was prepared either way!

Below are the two birth announcements that I made to send to our family and friends.
There you have it! Miles’ first month of life! Next is a post where Miles met his family and friends before we move onto month two!

Miles Day 2

On our first morning with Miles we woke up feeling fairly rested. Still tired after a long day the day before but we got a fair amount of sleep since Miles slept most of the night. Miles had his first real awake session that first morning while Daddy made breakfast. 
My view that first morning was Miles and a delicious plate of food! 
Ben made homemade hashbrowns and warmed up ham from Easter Sunday. 
We had a fairly chill day with only a couple visitors. My mom and dad came by around noon and helped us out by doing some dishes. Our midwife Yolanda came around the same time and checked on Miles and I.

It was at this time she checked pricked Miles’ foot and took a few blood samples to make sure he didn’t have any serious issues (he doesn’t!). She said we were both doing well! I was in some pretty intense pain near my tail bone and she figured out it was my muscles and not tail bone that was giving me trouble. A little biofreeze went a long way and I felt a ton better!

Miles snuggling with Mommy. This is Miles milk drunk. He would get extra floppy after nursing and his eyes would roll back.

Miles sunbathing! He surprised us all and enjoyed it!
After some sunbathing Miles got a little sponge bath from Mommy and Daddy while he was already nakey.
Sweet naked snuggles with Daddy
After Miles was cleaned up a bit he had more snuggle time with Gramma and Grampa before they left around 7pm.
Miles was most alert at night at the end of his second day. Daddy caught this photo with both of his eyes open. Miles would peek one eye open frequently throughout the day, we called it his pirate eye, but it was rare that both eyes would be open.
Goodnight baby.