This Christmas...

Jake and I are headed to Idaho next week for Christmas and we have so much to be thankful for. I think when a child has their first Christmas any parent is thankful but, considering the incident at Molly's daycare this August, we are even more so. Unfortunately, the family of the woman at the wheel is facing a difficult holiday season. Though I am displeased with the driver and her decision making on that day, I feel deeply for her family as she was arrested yesterday and they may face Christmas without her.

Jake and I will be squeezing Molly tight this holiday and thankful for the fact that her and her friends made it through the accident to spend their first Christmas with their families.

Happy Holidays!
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/red/news/79551812.html

Belated Halloween Pics

Here is Molly in the flower costume I am pretty sure she will hate me for later in life... but it was CUTE!

The Ins and Outs...

Molly has been at her new daycare for a couple weeks now though it is just part time. So far it seems that she is adjusting well and enjoying the new atmosphere. Though we miss the people at the original daycare the ease of the logistics has really helped around the house. Jessica, Jake's sister, is here visiting so she has been picking Molly up mid-day since she started there and is enjoying her time with Molly. Yesterday Molly gave Jessica quite a scare, as she was standing up near the coffee table she took a bit of a tumble on hit her head on the lower portion of the coffee table and got a bit of goose egg. This morning the head bump looks quite a bit better then it did yesterday.

Around the house Molly is really on the move which has been a bit of challenge. Molly is VERY difficult to change now as she has better things to do :). She has two teeth now and is eating a couple servings of solid foods a day and some finger foods which is so much fun.

Friday we will be dressing Molly up and taking her to daycare and into the office (hopfully mine and Jake's) which should be fun. Molly has a very cute costume and I am so excited to show her off (pictures to come). Saturday she gets to dress up and go to Kindermusik and we are having our friends the Raffo's over for dinner so we are getting our monies worth out of this costume... Look for photos on Sunday!

Good Morning

Good morning, here are a few pictures of Molly from this past weekend.

Molly loves her rocking horse...

It has gotten kind cold here in the morning so we are getting use out of the sweaters that Molly received. This one was made for her by Mary Dinning and goes well with the onesie that Bronwyn tie dyed for her.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy birthday daddy! This morning Molly helped Jake open his birthday gifts. I think Molly was as much of a gift as anything he unwrapped.


Last weekend Molly had her first real bath in the tub all by herself. Grandma Cindy was in town because mom had to work the weekend. Molly got some quality Grandma time and even got to stay home from daycare on Monday which she really enjoyed. Here is a photo from Molly's first bath!

Next Friday Aunt Jessica will arrive and stay for awhile. It should work out quite nicely as Molly will be switching daycare, we are putting her closer to home, so having Jess take her a couple days or part days will be a good transition.

House Painting

Here is a picture, though not so good, of the house with the first coat of paint on it...

Full on Crawling...

Here is Molly in action...

My oh my..

Well this has been a big week for Miss Molly, she has gone from scooting to crawl, started to cut her first tooth and pulled herself up to standing for the first time. It is crazy how fast the time has flown by!

Here is a clip of her with the giggles...

Molly Progress Report

Molly is growing like a weed, last Tuesday she had her six month checkup. Her stats are as follows:

weight - 16 lbs. 50th percentile

height - 26 inches 75th percentile

At the appointment the doctor asked if Molly had been fussy in the last few days and we said no not at all. Molly had a double ear infection but we had NO idea, the doctor was even amazed at how happy she was considering. We have Molly on some antibiotics and she seems to be as happy as ever. Recently, Molly has begun sitting really well on her own and this past weekend the crawling really ramped up! I was hanging out in the living room with her and she made her way over to the stereo and started messing with the buttons and knobs.

Thankful

So today was a pretty scary day at the Venard house. I was in my office at about 4:45 or so when a colleague came in and said that another colleague, whose child is in the same infant room as Molly, was going to get her daughter because she was "hit". I decided that, rather than chance it, I would go pick Molly up a bit early. The daycare is only about five minutes from my office and when I got outside I noticed there were a few news helicopters above, kinda odd. Once I pulled into the apartment complex where the daycare is located I knew this "hit" was not just an accidental hit by another child or even a physical hit by one of the care providers. I had to park some distance away and then, upon seeing multiple fire engines and ambulances, I RAN to the daycare. There was a small SUV that was IN the infant room! Somebody had driven in to the room where there eight babies (including Molly) spend their days away from home! I was then greeted by a fireman who took my information and then confirmed with the daycare director that I was a parent. The fireman led me through the caution tape and to the room where infants were. Molly was there and pretty shaken up but she was uninjured. One of the care providers had been feeding her a short distance from the accident. I cannot describe the panic I felt when I arrived or the relief at seeing Molly! Once we got home we heard that all the injured babies (3 of them) were fine but were still in the hospital under observation. Thank God the babies are alright it is such a blessing! So, tonight I will check Molly a million extra times and tomorrow Jake and I will hug her tighter and treasure every moment even more.

Here is a link to the news site which has a TV clip on the incident:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/56411292.html

a few more pics...

A late May close up. Now most of her cradle cap and "baby hair" are gone and she is a baldy.

Taking in a Mariners game with Grandpa and Grandma. Molly slept on Grandpa's lap for a big part of the game.

Molly loves Oscar and he loves her. Oscar sometimes loves Molly a bit too much and we have to watch constantly to be sure he does not lick her too much.

This picture compared to the earlier one of Molly in the carseat at the beach really shows how much she has grown.

She loves her puppy blanket, that and her Manhattan toys keep her from screaming in the car.

Long Awaited Update

So it has been awhile, between Molly, work and company Jake and I have been VERY busy.

Molly is now over 14 pounds and 24+ inches long. She is rolling over like a trooper and even scooting a bit! Recently, we noticed she can sit up very well if she has a bit of assistance from a boppy pillow or a person. I am sure that before we know it she will be roaming around the house and we will have to get all childproofed. We bought Molly a bouncy seat play station and she LOVES it.

This summer has treated us well so far, though the last week or so has been pretty hot. We made it back to Idaho for the fourth of July and had a great time. In just a couple weeks Molly will be on her first plane flight with Mom and Aunt Jeanne to grandma and grandpa's house for a few days.

As I mentioned, we have had company fairly frequently this summer which has been a lot of fun. At the end of May we had Jake's Uncle Wally and Aunt Gerry as well as his grandma Evelyn here to visit. It was nice to see them and have them spend some time with Molly. In June our friends Ben and Shannon came for a weekend and we had a great time. Shannon and Ben are expecting their first child (a girl) in October so we look forward to meeting their new addition soon! We also spent about three weeks with Jake's sister Jessica and her husband Dan. Jessica is also pregnant and due in early December. In a couple short weeks we will find the gender of their little one, we are very excited. I am sure the new addition will make the time we spend with them each year even more exciting! Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Paul have also visited a couple times this summer and taken Molly to a couple Mariners games. It is nice to have them visit so they can see Miss Molly as she grows.

Jake and I are doing well. Jake has been staying busy with work and has not gotten as much biking in as he would like. It was nice that he could get some riding in while Dan and Jessica were in town since I know he enjoys riding with him. With some help from Uncle Wally, we took out a few trees in our front yard and now just have some general upkeep and a bit of brick work to finish in the back. We are also trying to pick out new house colors so that we can get it painted this summer. I made it through my first year end at Microsoft as a mom! It was a bit challenging to handle the year end and still keep up with Molly. I managed to make it to daycare pretty much everyday at lunchtime but Jake had to lend a hand with the drop off and pick ups on a few days. I am thinking of training for a late September triathlon to get me motivated to get back in shape... we will see how that goes. I think we will be heading to Mexico in late October for some R&R.

Despite the heat Molly continues to sleep pretty well (knock on wood).

Ben and Molly at chow time.

Bouncing around

Look How Big Molly Is...

This is Molly with her bear on March 15th...

and this is them now. It is amazing how quickly they grow and change!

First Part of Oregon Trip

To start our trip we attended a family friend's wedding reception in Troutdale, Oregon.
The next day, on our way to the beach, we stopped for a visit with great grandma Inez. Molly sat happily with her for quite sometime and many of the residents stopped to admire grandma and her granddaughter.

Molly enjoyed the beach at Ecola State Park even though she slept through most of the visit.

Greetings from Lincoln City

We are in Lincoln City and the sun is out this evening! From the table in our hotel room we can see a few seals playing in the ocean and we have a great view of Mo's restaurant. Molly had a rough day in the car today and cried much of the trip from Tillamook to Lincoln City. In the last few days, Molly has discovered her hands and she is frequently sucking on them. Molly has also become quite interested in the television and loves any shows with a lot of action. Tomorrow we plan to explore Newport for the day and then we head to Portland again on Thursday and home on Friday to hang out with the family for the weekend.

Update - 9 weeks

Molly is now 9 weeks old and she is more alert everyday. Recently Molly has started making more baby sounds and her cry sounds less like a newborn. Here is a picture of Molly in my doll cradle.

I am going back to work in less than a month and we are working on the bottle. So far, Molly is adverse to the bottle but I think we are making some progress. Luckily, I work only a short distance from the daycare and will be able to go there at lunch to feed her just in case the bottle thing does not work out.

Molly Update

Molly is growing like a weed and weighs upwards of 12 pounds! We are very thankful that, the last couple nights, she has been sleeping in six hour chunks. This past weekend she attended her first Mariners game with Grandpa and Grandma and had a great time despite the fact that they lost. There is nothing like a newborn to make the days fly by, I only have a few weeks left in my leave and we are trying to make every moment count. Each day Molly and I get out of the house at least once; Monday and Thursday we have yoga and Wednesday is our "Snugglers" group at the hospital. On Tuesday and Friday we get out for coffee and hopefully find something to do outside the house for a couple hours.



Jake enjoys his evenings and weekends with Miss Molly and tries to keep the yard in order at the same time. So far Jake has managed to fit in some biking and running but no races so far. I plan to attempt a duathlon before the end of the season and am on the hunt for a used jogging stroller so Molly and I can start training.

Here is a video of Molly from this afternoon:

Molly on the Move

One Month Old

Can you believe to Molly is now ONE MONTH OLD? Jake and I took Molly to her one month pediatrician appointment last Thursday and she weighed in at 9 lbs. 14.5 ounces! Molly is a good eater and sleeps well once she is off to sleep. However, Molly seems to be a bit of night owl and it takes awhile to get her to nod off. There have a been a few nights when we have passed Molly around and she did not get to nap much, on these nights she has been pretty fussy. My best friend James was here recently and he bonded with both Molly and Oscar.

On the pediatrician's suggestion we are trying to get Molly some "tummy time" everyday and for the most part she enjoys just falling asleep! She is tracking toys now, is very interested in the ceiling fan and is building her neck strength. Recently, Molly and I started a yoga class for new moms and she slept through the whole first session. Hopefully she will get to interact with some of the other newborns (at least as much as newborns are capable of interacting) at some of the classes.

The jury is still as to what color Molly's hair will be. In some places it appears brown, in others it is more blonde and her eyebrows may even have a slight hint of strawberry blonde in it. As of now, her eyes are a gray/blue but we won't know their final color for some time.

We have gotten so many great gifts and Molly is now growing into some of the cute clothing that we have received! Thank you all for the lovely gifts and well wishes they mean so much to Jake, Molly and I! I am working on the birth announcements and, with Molly's cooperation, I hope to have them out by the end of the week.

Molly - Day Five

Believe it or not Molly is now five days old and today was my due date! Molly is doing just great. Yesterday we had a check up with the postpartum nurse and both Molly and I received a clean bill of health. Other then checking our vitals etc... the focus was on how the feeding was going and let me tell you in the first couple days that was rough. Fortunately, things have really improved for Molly and I as far as feeding is concerned. It is funny how something so natural is so challenging.

One Day Old

Molly turned 1 day old today at 2:58 pm. Had a long night of trading off napping and holding her with Trina. I think we managed to link up about 5 hrs of sleep each. She's eating real well and I've changed 3 full diapers.

Both she and mommy are doing great. Hopefully we will be given the okay to go home this evening.

This really raises the bar on what one can rate as a "10" in life.

it's a girl!!!

We would like to introduce Molly Claire Venard. 8 lbs 8 oz.

Still Waiting ...

So I am now 39 weeks pregnant and waiting for some sign that labor is starting. I am working from the office part-time and then from home in the afternoons to allow me some time off my feet. Tomorrow is my doctor's appointment and hopefully we will get some news of progress (at last check I was a little dilated and 80% effaced) to indicate that we will meet our little one soon.

Jake took this picture of Oscar recently, he is so cute.

Recently, both dogs have been following me around like my shadow so they must know something is up. It will be interesting and exciting to see how they react to the kiddo, there is always a concern since the amount of attention they get will decrease but I am sure we will figure it out.

Jake has recently started ramping up his training for the season since he plans to race. Last year he spent the whole season in our backyard ripping it apart and recreating it. The yard looks MUCH better and so far (knock on wood) we have made it through the wet season without any flooding issues so mission accomplished. This year I will do my best to make sure Jake gets his fair share of training and racing in despite the challenges of having a newborn. Below is a picture of him in his new kit:We are looking forward to posting big news in the coming days and hope to see many of you in the weeks following.

TWO WEEKS

March 3rd is just around the corner and I think we are ready for the baby to arrive. Last Tuesday I went in for an appointment and was put on bed rest for Wednesday and Thursday with a follow-up appointment on Friday. On Friday my blood pressure was in the normal range so I have been able to return to work as long as I agree to take it easy. So, until the kiddo arrives I am working part-time from the office and part-time from home. Jake and I made a final key run to babies'r'us on Sunday to get a swing which is now all assembled and in the family room. I have been feeling tired and have had increasing hips soreness so we are in the homestrech!

This is the latest belly pick:

Hopefully our next post will include news of our new, healthy baby!

8 weeks and counting

We have hit the 32 week mark which means only 8 weeks remaining until the little one arrives. Jake and I both survived birthing classes despite the fact that it meant 5 hours a day two Saturdays in a row in a room with no windows. We have two classes left to take and I am starting prenatal yoga this week to help keep things working as best I can. I have to say that the hardest part of the pregnancy has been not being able to be active. When you are packing on the pounds and cannot be too active it is pretty rough even though you know why the pounds just keep coming.

Jake and I went home for Christmas and had a great time with the family. It snowed quite a bit while we were in town and for awhile I was concerned that we may not make it home due to the pass conditions. We left a bit earlier then planned and stayed a night at the Brattebo B&B, hosted by Shannon and Ben, but we made it there and back safely.