Go, Go, Go

My family from Canada are here visiting Ethnie over the next two weeks. So far it has been all go, go. go. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit over the next couple of days so I can get a half decent post together. We're having a ton of fun and I don't think Ethnie has been put down once since they've arrived. Lucky little girl. *Sigh* Oh boy..... I need a nap. :)

Counting Down the Days

I had to capture a quick picture of Jakob in his brand new shirt. Yup... it says ALUMNI! Only a month and a half until dear Jakob graduates!! We are so excited I can't even begin to describe. I'm so proud of all of the hard work Jakob puts into everything he does every single day. He works full time and attends classes and then he still comes home with a smile on his face (most days ;) ) and plays with his little girl. Gosh darn it I love him.

In other news the other day Ethnie wore both pants and shoes for the first time. Aren't those little skinny jeans just precious? (Thanks Aunt Janet!)

I swear her first word will be shoes. Okay, perhaps that is simply wishful thinking. She will probably be like Pocahontas and run around bare foot.

One Month Old

I can hardly believe that our precious little girl is a month old already!! On one hand I feel as though she's been a part of our family forever. On the other hand I feel as though it was just yesterday that I held her for the first time. I cannot imagine our lives without her. I mean seriously what did I do before I had this little one to capture all of my time?? Here are a few fun facts about Ethnie and her first month of life.

• Weight: approximately 9 lbs. (It's hard to tell when you don't have an accurate scale :) )
• Height: 22 inches
• Nicknames: Peanut, Mini Muffins, Pumpkin, Ethers

• She now grunts a lot. It sounds like we have a little dinosaur instead of a baby.
• When she's hungry (which is all of the time, she totally has a Tobler appetite) she throws her head back and squawks like a little bird and makes the "boob face" (Big eyes and a round mouth)
• She still sleeps like a gem, only waking up twice a night to be fed and watered.
• Nursing is still going great, I just need to work on her feeding schedule :). Drinking water SUCKS though!
• She now burps after eating. She had her first spit up this week which spewed out her nose. It was a mess. :)
• She loves to be held, I'm trying not to spoil her but it's just so dang hard. Thankfully she loves her swing. As long as she can't see me she's content but as soon as she realizes there are arms there to hold her all of a sudden she acts as if she's in pain.
• She loves listening to classical music. We'll put it on while she naps. If Pandora stops she starts squawking until we turn it on again.
• She's finding her voice. She still doesn't cry much but when she wants something she'll let you know. :)
• She likes to be sung to and she LOVES rocking in the glider.
• Still zero nipple confusion which is WONDERFUL! She loves her soother and will take a bottle no problem.
• She enjoys bath time, drying off not so much but being in the nice and warm water really floats her boat. I think we may have a future fish on our hands.
• She can't stand being swaddled. Her hands have to be free or else you'll hear about it. Lately she doesn't even like having her feet rapped up. A huge thank you to Mom Tobler for providing her baby sack. It's perfect! All we do is place her inside and she can kick and stretch to her hearts content without throwing her blankets off and freezing at night.
• A girl after her father heart; she's not a fan of having her neck kissed.
• Her car seat is a hit or miss. She doesn't mind being strapped in and usually falls asleep while we're in the car.
• She's really working that neck and can hold her head up for several seconds before it flops down again.

Of course here's a silly picture. Further evidence of her cross eyed tendencies. Seriously, she had more pictures with her eyes crossed than straight. Silly girl.

A Father's Love

I know most of my followers follow Mom Tobler's blog as well. So you would have already seen some failed attempts at capturing some newborn shots. At 15 days old Ethnie was having no part of our photo shoot. After Mom Tobler left, Ethnie and I had some cuddle time and we were lucky enough to get her asleep and get some hand shots with Daddy.

I found a cute little poem about Daughter's and their Daddy's:
You are a princess in my heart,
and I care for you so much.
I love the fondness in you eyes and your tender little touch.

I looked at you when you were born,
and knew then straight away,
that I would be forever here
to watch you grow and play.

You bring to me a heart of joy,
and memories so great,
and a powerful sense of fatherhood that no one can debate.

I watch you sleep and dream of things that I can only wonder.
That innocent look upon your face just makes my heart grow fonder.

And so my little princess before you go to sleep,
Remember I am your daddy and I am yours to keep.

Our First Family Pictures

Jenna came by to take our first set of family photos. I never knew how difficult it was to coordinate three bodies. It's a good thing Jenna has a good eye because we were not cooperating. Thanks Jenna! Here are a few of our favorites.

Of course we have to share our favorite blooper. This was inspired by Ethnie and her cross eyed pictures. I wonder where she gets it from?? :) Love it!! Once again, thank you Jenna!!!

Welcome to the World

After the Scorpion run we hosted a Welcome to the World party for Ethnie all St. Patrick's day themed. It was rather nice not to work with pink ;).

Friday was our prep day and some how it just disappeared before our eyes. Here I am at 7:30 at night with our first attempts at flood icing. I wish we would have gotten pictures of the actual flooding (it was trial and error) but Grandpa had Ethnie and Mom and I were up to our elbows in icing which left no one to operate the camera. :)

The finished product. We tried to keep it as simple as possible. After all, originally this was just supposed to be a pizza party with no decorations but I couldn't resist. I did draw a line when it came to cookie and cupcake decor.

Pots of gold and a bag full of kisses.

The food. Obviously the most important part of the party :). We had cupcakes, cookies,chocolate covered popcorn, guacamole, salsa, green grapes and a sandwich bar. It was sooo good but we had a ton of food left over (perfect for Sunday dinner the next day.)

Have a mentioned before how much I love Pinterest? (I know I have.) They had so many adorable ideas and free printables! It made everything so much easier!

James and Jenna got Ethnie a little St. Patty's day outfit. I just loved the little shamrock bottom. So stinking cute!

A family photo.

The guests.

This picture isn't from that night but I wanted to include it regardless. David bought Jakob chocolate cigars that said "It's a Girl" on them. They we delicious! Thank you to everyone who came to welcome our little girl into the world. It was a wonderful evening.

Mudder Trucker

Disclaimer: Since this post is about Jakob I let him pick the post title.

On Saturday morning Jakob, Duke and David ran the Scorpion Run. It was a 2.5 mile run with obstacles and mud at the end of it.

Here the boys are before the run all fresh and clean. Of course it was cold and super windy but despite the weather the boys ran on.

Dad's stopping traffic. I know, I wish I had got the cars too but telephoto lenses are not so great for shots any closer than 15 feet :)

And they're off!! I'm so glad Jakob decided to wear bright yellow! He was rather easy to pick out in the mass sea of green :)

Time for some obstacles. At this point in time David had twisted his ankle and was no longer with Duke and Jakob.

And then came the mud! Yummy!

Whoohoo! They finished a little out of breath, chilly and rather muddy. Not that he was competing but it's always fun to see some stats. :). Overall, Jakob finished 217 of 883 with a time of 22:50.

Notice anything missing?? I'll give you a hint... it should reside on his left hand... yeah, Jakob totally lost his wedding ring. It's somewhere in the mud pit. Thank heavens it was only $35 on eBay, but still it's his wedding ring. Jakob says he feels naked but he's viewing it as a fresh start. :)

It was a fun event to watch. Next year I may even participate.

Cuddle Time

In our home there has been lots of this:

I swear she does sleep in her own bed. :)

Not only does she get lots of cuddle time at our house, she gets even more at Grandma and Grandpa's. What a lucky little girl.