Daddy Daycare

Today is Wednesday.  For the past 5 (good lord, almost 6!) years of my working career, Wednesday has been known only as the day that comes after Tuesday and before Thursday.  Just another spoke in the work week wheel that is part of the normal routine we all endure in a race to the weekend.  Well, for the past 3 weeks, Wednesdays have a new roll!!  They are now known as Daddy Daycare days.  I am lucky enough to have a job with flexibility, a wife who understands and values family time, and a daycare that will take Emma part time that all allow me this privilege.  And let me tell you, it is a blessing.  I can hardly stand myself on Tuesday because I know that I get Emma all to myself the next day.  We do all sorts of fun things like read books, jog, play on her play mat, tummy time, sit in her Bumbo chair, listen to music, chat, and my favorite is to cuddle.  While Melissa was at home with Emma part of their daily routine was to nap from about 9-11 on the couch.  I am delighted to keep this tradition afloat; today Emma fell asleep on my chest at about 9 and didn't stir until until 11:30!  It. Is.  THE. BEST!!  Those cuddle sessions are, hands down, my favorite part of fatherhood.

There are other benefits to being home beside the selfish reasons of wanting to spend more time with my daughter.   It affords an extra day to run errands to Target or the grocery store, allows me to be present at Emma's Dr. appointments, and if Emma naps long enough it gives me a change to pick up around the house a little bit.  The way I see it, the more I can get done on Wednesdays, the less there is to do on the weekends which gives us more family time.  To be clear though, its the cuddles that keep me coming back :)  The extra time I get with Emma is irreplaceable and precious - I love every minute of it!! 

Emma is 3 months old!  How did that happen so fast!  She turned 3 months yesterday.  I brought some cookies home for the celebration which was more of a "thought that counts" gesture and not very practical since I'm the only one eating dairy.  Try going into a bakery and, with a straight face, ask if any of their goodies are dairy free.  To quote the gentleman behind the counter, "I think you're outta luck.  We use a lot of butter and a lot of cream."  So I grabbed a few cookies in case Melissa wanted to endulge and because I didn't want to show up empty handed (and because I really like cookies!).  So what is Emma up to these days?  Lots of smiling, cooing, talking, more smiles, holding herself up when she's on her tummy, sucking on her hands and fingers, and gaining better control of that big head of hers.  I think rolling over is still a ways off but she is starting to find her knees and feet and she is able to reach out for things and she is starting to grab toys.  I'm pretty sure it was an accident but yesterday she even held her own bottle!  She constantly amazes me at how quickly her motor skills are developing.  It's fun to think back to what she has learned in the past week and to wonder what she will be up to in the days ahead. 

Usually, I pride myself in my lawn and garden upkeep.  This year however, plants beware!!  A dry August and shifting priorities haven't boded well for the grass and plant life around our house.  I envy Erin Clanton, one of my best friend's wife (and the reason I started blogging), for her ability to grow lush and beautiful flowers and vegetables.  I'm jealous of the pictures of overabundant strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, yada yada blah blah.  I see those pictures then look out at the carnage in my own yard. 

I'm sure the plants look at me and see a black robe and scythe because I have brought them nothing but death.  So, to match Erin's epic botanical successes, above are a few photos of my massive failures.  The most impressive of which is this "8 dollar tomato".  I call it that because the plant cost 8 dollars and if the lone tomato left on the vine ripens and we are able to harvest it before the f-ing squirrels get to it, it will be the only fruit of our labor (what little of it there was anyway).  Next year...next year will be better for the greenery - perhaps for no other reason that it can't possibly be worse.

 

Baby pictures of Melissa and I are coming soon - promise.  My mom re-sent them to me so all I need to do is organize some thoughts. Then you can be the judge of who Emma looks like. 

With love,
Jason, Melissa and Emma

Back to Work

Well, I made it through my first week back at work after 12 wonderful weeks at home with our new babe. To say the return to work was easy would be a lie, and to say there weren't about a thousand tears shed (not by Emma, but rather by her mother) would be an even bigger lie. But we all made it through the week and are here to tell the story.

First Day Back to Work and to Day Care

I really like my job, I work with wonderful colleagues, and I knew I would be returning to exciting projects and good opportunities. All of that was little consolation, however, when I was faced with handing my sweet precious Emma over to complete strangers on Monday morning. I had decided weeks before that I was not going to agonize over my return to work so as not to spoil my remaining days at home with Emma. That was a great plan, UNTIL it hit me like a ton of bricks on Sunday night that the day had come. Gone were the days of mid-week play dates, late morning naps with Emma on the couch, afternoon jogs around the lake . . . gone were the days of spending nearly every minute with my girl.

Monday morning Jason and I rose early, only to find out we hadn't risen early enough! Trying to get ourselves ready before Emma wakes for the morning is a tricky adventure and one that we were only successful at a couple times last week. But we are starting to find our stride, and as long as Emma cooperates, it works pretty well.

I have tried to ease my way into the return by walking up to her day care in the afternoons to feed Emma and get in some hugs and kisses. Overall, Emma has appeared largely unaffected by this major transition, which is a huge relief. She is always happy to see us at the end of the day and just as cuddly as ever when we get home. The only real change we noticed is she is TIRED. All that playing at day care must really wear a girl out, because she has been sleeping like a champ all week!

We have been very happy with our day care. It didn't take long for Emma to win over all of her teachers with her big smiles and happy disposition. Emma spends her days playing with her new friends, trying to learn how to nap with all of the noise and activity around her, and (hopefully) looking forward to Mom and Dad's big hugs at the end of the day! After one of my afternoon trips to day care the teachers put Emma in a chair to try her hands at finger painting! It was a riot to see her little hands all covered in paint as she tried to figure out what to do . . . she eventually smeared her paint covered digits all over the page, making her very first masterpiece. I'm not sure we have a Monet on our hands just yet, as she appeared to bore with the project pretty quickly!

Jason is staying home with Emma on Wednesdays, and I found that even though I didn't get to see Emma on Wednesday afternoon, I found it much easier to be at work knowing Emma was home with her Daddy. I think they had a great day (but I'll let Jason fill you in on that!).

One last wipe of my eyes before I head back out to snuggle up Emma. Thanks to everyone for all of the well wishes and positive thoughts last week!

Who wouldn't want to spend all of their days with this adorable bug?

9/11/2001

Today is a very sad day.  Ten years ago the world as we know it was rocked when two planes flew into the Twin Towers in NYC, a plane flew into the Pentagon, and another that was headed for the Capitol crashed in a Pennsylvania field.  The events of that day are to my generation what the Kennedy assassination is to our parents and what Pearl Harbor is to their parents.  We watched some of the coverage on TV this morning and we remembered.  It would have been easy to change the channel and act as if it were a normal Sunday morning but I think it was good be reminded of what a terrible day that was.  I felt it was the least we could do to memorialize those who died that day.  So we watched, we remembered, we were inspired by stories of heroism, and we cried.  Having Emma around also brought in some new emotions.  I don't quite know how to describe it but perhaps it was a type of sadness; a sadness that one day she'll understand some of the terrible things that happen in this world which will take away a piece of her innocence.  I will say that I also felt a sense of patriotism and pride in the city of New York and the county for moving forward and rebuilding, perhaps even stronger.  It is a day we will never forget.

Tomorrow will also be a sad day but for a very, very different reason.  It's a day that we have tried not to think about for the past 12 weeks: Melissa's return to work :(  The silver lining is that Emma will only be 3 blocks away from Melissa's work so she will be able to go visit her and feed her when she gets lonely.  The other bright side is that Emma is so damn cute that all the day care ladies are going to love her and shower her with lots of attention.  Tomorrow would be a good day to send Melissa some good thoughts. 

I know we have lots of readers and followers in the state of Iowa.  On Saturday everyone's true colors came out for the football game between the Cyclones of Iowa State and the Iowa Hawkeyes.  I cheer for the cardinal and gold of Iowa State and Melissa is a die hard Hawkeye fan - we are a house divided!  Somewhere during the middle of the game I thought to myself that we should have made a bet that the winner of the game gets to put a picture of Emma on the blog with their teams colors.  It was a fantastic game, a triple overtime thriller.  Had we made that bet, this is what the payout would have looked like:

Emma says, "Go Cyclones!"

After the excitement of the Iowa State game we went Sarah, Dan, and John's house to celebrate Sarah's sister Mary's birthday.  The entire Baby Bunch (formerly known as Pregnancy Posse) was there and we have the pictures to prove it.  It was quite a site when we lined them all up on the couch for a photo shoot.  The babies went down and the camera's went off.  As you'll see from the picture below, these kids' lives are well documented.

Cole was the corner stone of the picture

Cole in the back, Colin on the left, John in front and Emma on the right



 

 

The paparazzi

I know I teased this post with promises of baby pictures of Melissa and I.  Standby, the email with my baby pictures has been misplaced.  The pictures will be posted and comparisons made as soon as they are located. 


With love,
The Minneapolis Burgarts

The Education of Emma

One of the challenges of raising a child is to make sure that they are put in an environment that stimulates and encourages them to learn.  This becomes especially important as she is becoming more alert and responsive.  The concern is that if they are not read to, talked to, touched or played with they won't develop as quickly or completely as other children, putting them at a disadvantage as they get older.  Now, I don't want to sound like one of those crazy parents that is going to pressure Emma to be a Rhodes Scholar - I just want to make sure that we are providing her with what she needs.   

If Melissa has anything to do with it, Emma is going to be a motor mouth as soon as she starts talking.  Melissa is constantly talking to Emma and telling her all about what's going on, from cooking lessons (tonight it was chocolate chip cookie bars!), to bath time, to explaining why the Twins have had such a terrible year, and even the rules of golf!  I like to eaves drop on their conversations, which makes me chuckle sometimes.  Just the other day on the car ride home from Reinbeck, Melissa was explaining golf to Emma.  This lesson went on for several miles while I was driving and she was in the back seat entertaining the kid with lessons about the different clubs and what they do, how the course is laid out, what birdies and bogeys are, etc.  At one point I caught this little snippet, "...and by this point you should be on the green.  What's the green you ask?"  Ha :)  After 11 weeks at home with Emma, Melissa has mastered the art of a one way conversation.  She's pretty clever :) 

We also like to read to Emma.  We have all kinds of books.  Some of our favorites include: Yummy Yucky, Barnyard Dance, Put Me in the Zoo, and so many more.  If Emma is in the right mood she will sit and follow along by looking at colors and pictures on the pages and sometimes "helps" turn the page.  It's not only books that we read to Emma.  This morning I came into the livingroom to find Melissa reading a newspaper article on Chad Greenway - who is 1 of Melissa's 2 favorite athletes, the other...Peyton Manning.  If I had to guess, I would say Chad is also on the top of Emma's list.

 

We also sing a lot to Emma - I think she finds it soothing.  If she's lucky we'll even sing her an actual song.  Most of the time I work on my freestyle lyrics and just make stuff up.  I'm not sure she knows the difference.  One of my favorite "actual" songs to sing her is also her anatomy lesson.  Through song she now knows all about her head, shoulders, knees, and toes (knees and toes :) )

I have no doubt that Emma is going to be just as bright and successful, if not more so, than her mommy and daddy.  I often wonder what she will grow up to be and do and look forward to her journey through life.  It will also be fun to see what forks there are in her road and what will help to shape her life.  There is one thing for certain, Melissa and I will be there with all the love and support that she needs.

Hugs and kisses from Jason, Melissa, and Emma

p.s. A teaser for the next post: the truth will be known - who does Emma look like?  The proof is in the baby photos :)

Labor Day reflections

Every time I look at this picture I'm reminded that I'm the luckiest guy on the face of this earth.  Emma is the sweetest baby and sometimes it takes me by surprise when I realize how much joy she brings into our lives.  She pretty much melts my heart on a daily basis and has daddy completely wrapped around her tiny little finger. 


Emma's birth announcement.


So, this past weekend we went back to Iowa for a wedding. Melissa's second cousin Liz (Hoy) Pekarek, who also happened to be the bride, told me how she is an avid reader of this blog and has been checking almost daily for new posts.  Well, anyone who would rather read my ramblings than plan their own wedding is a blog VIP in my book so, Liz, this one is for you!  Despite the apparent distractions, their wedding was beautiful and brought back some fond memories.  The reception was at the Pipac Center in Cedar Falls, which was the same place Melissa and I partied after our wedding.  Some of you who were there probably remember what a beautiful venue it is, and I'm guessing some of you who were there don't remember much from that night ;)  We stayed in Reinbeck for the weekend which afforded another opportunity for Grandma and Grandpa Stull to enjoy Emma (read: spoil her rotten with love and affection).  CAM (Crazy Aunt Megan), Uncle Kevin and cousin Ella were also in attendance.  Ella made Emma the sweetest book out of colored paper bags.  She's a crafty one! 

Grandma Roz doing a puppet show for Emma.  Ella would later get in on the fun.

A couple of weeks ago my mom came to visit and brought her mother with.  My Grandma Marge, who goes by GG rather than Great Grandma (she doesn't want to be reminded that she is old enough to be a great grandmother), got to meet Emma for the first time.  They were pals from the get go.  Emma snuggled right in and according to GG, "she's a keeper."  It was great having them up for a few days during the week while Melissa was still home.  They were able to watch Emma while Melissa got out and ran some errands.  They also watched her for an evening while Melissa and I went for a dinner date. 

GG and Emma

Emma also made a couple of other new friends this past week.  The Birkenholz's, Matt, Kelly, and their 4 month old Kya stopped by for a quick visit.  Melissa and I graduated from Luther College with Matt and Kelly.  Their daughter, Kya, is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!  She has the cutest baby big blue eyes I've seen in a long time.  Matt and I reconnected in the cities a couple years ago as golfing buddies and we both look forward to raising our daughters out on the course. 


Matt and Kelly with Emma



Emma's newest playmate, Kya Birkenholz

Emma isn't quite ready for golf yet (although our neighbor Pat, who is a professional caddie has suggested that I need to get a club in her hands so she can start working on her grip) but she has been working on her hand eye coordination and is finding her voice.  Here is a picture and a couple videos of her working on her new skills.  Its so much fun to watch her learn and develop.  I'm amazed at her weekly, and seemly daily, progress. 


Just today Emma started grabbing this toy that was sitting beside her.  She has to concentrate so hard to open her hand and reach out to grab it.  Its so fun to watch her process everything - she is already a very determined little girl!



Be sure to have your volume turned on to hear Emma talk :)



And finally; FINALLY the nursery is beginning see its finishing touches.  The curtains that Melissa ordered 8 weeks before Emma was born have been completed.  After 3 months and many frustrated phone calls with a local boutique baby shop in town who we had ordered them through, we finally canceled our order and bought the fabric online.  We then handed it over to Melissa's grandma who went to work and had them ready within a couple weeks.  They have been hung and look great!  It is amazing how much the curtains transform the room and make it feel cozy and warm.  We also framed a couple of pictures from Emma's newborn photo session and hung them above her changing table.  The last piece of the nursery puzzle rests in the hands of my wood working father.  He is working on making an E, two Ms and an A that will hang above Emma's crib.  Once we get those I think we'll finally have things the way we want.

I hope everyone had a wonderful long Labor Day weekend.  As always, I'll leave you with some random cute photos of our Emma-Bee :)

  





Ever studious, Emma is hard at work learning about The Very Hungry Caterpillar



In the Bronze glove outside Target Field at Emma's second Twin's game.







With love,

Jason, Melissa, and Emma

So much to say

My very talented cousin, Katie Nelson, made this.

This post is long overdue.  I've had so many ideas swimming in my head for my next update but I haven't had the time to sit and write.  Currently, my mom and grandma are here lending a hand so I've got a free minute.  I had planned on 4 seperate posts but I think I'll just break this up into 4 segments.  We are going to talk about Emma's poo problems or as we like to call them, "pooblems" (turns out it's even funnier to look at in print than it is to say :), her trip to New Hampton to meet the Burgarts, her 2 month check up, and her first Twins game! 

1) Pooblems: Melissa did a great job in the last post outlining all the wonderful things we love about Emma.  But, like all parents, there are also a lot of things that scare the crap out of us.  I think I'd mentioned previously that when Emma was about 3 weeks old, we noticed a little bit of blood in her stool.  This happened in 2 or 3 of her poopy diapers over the course of a day or two so we took her to the pediatrician and were informed that Emma likely has a dairy allergy.  Apparently some babies have a difficult time breaking down lactose, the protein in dairy, which then irritates their stomach and bowel lining thus causing a trace amount of blood in her stool.  Because Melissa is nursing, the fix is for Melissa to cut dairy out of her diet.  That means, amoung many things, no ice cream!!!!  Melissa did a great job reading labels and making sacrifices and Emma seemed to be doing better until her second trip to Okoboji.  After a feeding on a Saturday morning, Emma spit up, which in itself is unlike Emma, but what was more unusual and alarming was that there was a significant amount of blood in the spit up.  As she was being packed up for a trip to the hospital she did it again which got people moving a little faster.  The trip to the ER was fairly uneventful with the exception of a blood draw - they stick her little heel and squeeze it until they get enough blood - which nearly broke mommy and daddy's hearts.  Her blood results came back normal and it was suggested that perhaps the allergy had flared up and that we should switch to formula for a couple days until we could see our pediatrician back in Minneapolis.  Reluctantly we did as instructed until we started to notice more blood in her stools; so it was back to nursing.  We were referred by our pediatrician to see a pediatric GI and nutrition specialist which brought good news and some not so good news.  The good news is that the irritation to her bowel and tummy from the allergy will not cause any long term damage.  The not so good news is that he informed us that 40% of babies with a dairy allergy also have an allergy to soy.  UGH!  That means a closer look at labels.  It's amazing how much stuff has soy in it.  Currently it is more of an inconvienience than anything else.  The bottom line is that Emma is thriving and is a happy, healthy baby gaining plenty of weight and growing like a weed.  If it weren't for this I would be much more concerned about this allergy business.  I, however, can eat ice cream.  So, like Melissa pointed out, there are so many things to love about Emma and so many things that terrify us.  I think all parents have felt that helpless feeling where you just want to crawl out of your skin to make sure and KNOW that they are going to be okay.  It's not fun but I guess it is part of the territory.  I am happy to report that it has been 2 weeks now and we haven't had any more pooblems :)

I figured cute pictures of Emma would be more appreciated than the pictures of poopy diapers I have stored on my phone for the pediatrician.

                           

 2) Two Month Check-up: Might as well stick with the medical stuff for the next subject.  Emma had her 2 month check up on Aug. 16th and we were told that she is doing great.  She weighed in at 12lb 2 oz with a length of 23.5 inches, and a HUGE head!  All of these measurements were in the 90th percentile for babies her age.  At 2 months, she has outgrown all of her newborn and 0-3 month clothes because she has gotten too long for them.  We might have had to make the switch anyway because most of the 3-6 month clothes have an extra button or snap to allow then to go over her head.  It was getting pretty tough to get those newborn onsies over her monster mellon :)  Bottom line, Emma is happy and healthy.

3) Burgart Frenzy:  Emma got a special treat a couple weekends ago and met her Burgart kin.  The purpose of the gathering was two-fold:  my Grandmother Francella Burgart's 80th birthday and a baby shower for Emma.  The Burgart clan is your typical Catholic Farm family - my dad has 5 brothers and sisters who gave me 14 cousins to play with growing up.  Needless to say, our gatherings are always a little crazy but always a lot of fun.  The party was a success, everyone loved Emma and Emma loved everyone.  The highlight was having her meet her Great Gandpa Vincent and Great Grandma Francella.  She also met her uncle Justin and her uncle and aunt Jon and Amy and their daughters - Emma's cousins - Aubrey and Annabelle. She also met all of her great aunts and uncles, most of her second cousins, and even some cousins once removed. There is no doubt Emma is blessed with lots of family who love her.  Here are some photos of the big event! 



From left to right: Uncle Justin, Dad, Mom, Emma, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Becky, Cousin Aubrey, Uncle Jon, Aunt Amy, and Cousin Annie (who is apparently not paying attention to the camera)




Great Grandpa Vincent (a.k.a. Timmy) - he's 90 years old in this photo



My cousins and their kids. Michael and Alyssa with Matilda on the far left and Phillip and Jana with Sam next to us.

Emma's cousins Annabelle and Aubrey.  Grandpa's a lucky guy :)

Uncle Jon and Emma bean.

 On the left are my cousins Amber and Katie and on the right is my cousin Jennifer.

4) Twins Game: On August 20th, Emma made it to her first ever Twins game :)  Not only did she get to see her first Twins game, but she is their good luck charm and got to see her first Twins win!!  To make it sweeter, the win came against the hated Yankees.  In attendance for the game were Aunt Megan, Kyle Orris (a Luther College friend), Melissa and I, and her Great Uncle Larry.  Emma did pretty well - she mostly slept, but woke up a couple times when it got noisy.  I think if you were to ask Emma, she would tell you she had a great time and Go Twins! 

Well, that's probably enough for now.  One last thing I'd like share - it's pretty much the best part of my day.  In the mornings when Emma wakes up I usually go get her out of her swaddle while Melissa gathers her things to nurse her.  Lately, since she has started smiling, as soon as I peak over her crib she looks at me with her big doey eyes and gives me the biggest heart melting smile.  Then she goes into an olympic caliber stretching routine.  Here is a little video I shot the other day.  Enjoy!

With love from Minneapolis,
Jason, Melissa, and Emma