Scary...

Last week I had my first trip away from home... despite my concern, all went perfectly and the family has been reunited in one piece! It was actually so good to get away for a few days and catch up on some sleep and work! I went back to San Fran to work and it was just so nice to be back in the work mode! Now... don't get me wrong, I love working from home and hanging with my little monkey and by no means want to go back full time, BUT it was nice to get a few days in.

Amazing enough, I could work 7am-Midnight everyday and it is still far easier than motherhood! I did not know what I signed up for! 24 hours a day. Luckily, Dave is very helpful with feedings and snuggles and offers all the time to get up with her in the middle of the night. I do take him up on it from time to time- usually when I am about to lose control! The good news is one look at her little face can calm you right back down and make you sorry you were ever frustrated! Honestly though, although still so busy, it is getting easier and we are getting into more of a routine. She is settling herself down a lot better now so I can actually sit her down while she is still awake and she usually won't scream her head off!

The point of the post... when I was in San Fran, I met Dave's family for dinner. Susie brought a scrapbook with her that had pics of Dave when he was a baby. I immediately freaked out and could not believe I was staring at my daughter right there in December of 1980! Scary.... Can you tell them apart?

Model Material

Long story short- I received a free photo shoot at Janie and Jack, a precious children's clothing store. These are the proofs of the little angel (hence, the copyright logo in the middle). The basket they put her in was as tiny as she was- adorable. Enjoy!

One Month Old and Chubbier!

Last Wednesday, Taylor was 1 month old!!

Hard to believe that we have only gotten about 4-5 hours of sleep a night now for a month. It has been so fun- it has just flown by! :) No, the not sleeping is not fun, but life with her is so fun! Sleep is getting better and actually I am exaggerating. We have one night with about 7 hours and then the next sometimes 3, it goes back and forth but at least that makes the bad nights manageable!

At her doc check up she had gained 2 pounds and is almost up to 9 pounds! I feel like she really does grow everyday and become more and more alert. You can tell now that she can see specific things and that her eyes are engaging with certain objects which is so fun to be a part of. I love watching her learn and see and just wonder what she is thinking in that head of hers!

Here are some of our favorite pics from the last week- you can see how much bigger she is getting! Enjoy!

Some things about T

Favorite Artist: Dr. Dre because he shares her birthday, and he's old school and new school at the same time.
Favorite Song: Nothing but a T thing

Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Brown (today at least, but she's thinking about getting highlights next week)
Favorite Food: Nurple sauce
Favorite Sound: Thunder
*side note: we fall asleep every night now with the thunder playing. I don't know if I could sleep without it! Next time we stay at someone else's house, I hope they have a sound machine so we can sleep!

Favorite Peeps

So, who are T's favorite peeps?

Dad. Best looking man in my life, and he always says the funniest things. Gets a little crazy sometimes, but overall he's pretty solid. Gave me his good looks, and is teaching me some sweet moves for the dance floor. As soon as I can walk, I'll be dancin'!

Mommy - The only nurples I slurple. Broke her butt bringing me into the world, and has been busting her broken butt ever since making sure I'm always happy!

Gigi + Pops Taylor - They have cared for me, fed me, changed me, and have been a steady presence in my life. Gave me my nursery, which is big pimpin'.


Nana + Papa Haase - They bought a boatload of wine for me (OK, for Dad, but I love him so it counts). Nana was strong early with her 1.5 week visit during tax season! Made the hippos come to life...so I don't feel alone at night!


Zeta - We love to cuddle. Plus, she's got 8 nurples.



Uncle Craig and Aunt Masha - Although they mess with me to keep me awake, they seem pretty solid. They also made sure I've got Colts and IU gear galore so no one mistakes me for a Purdue or Patriots fan!








Aunt Holly - Came down from Madison to meet me, and gave me my pink blanky that I take with me everywhere. Leading the favorite Aunt race, although it is still early...

Julia - Despite her dad's heart transplant last week, I see her the most of all my mom's friends. Once her hands warm up, she's snuggle-riffic. Plus, she's made me the cutest blankets and

*I hear stories about my Aunt Amy and Aunt Megan, but haven't met them yet!

**I will love Aunt Masha more when she becomes a US citizen in May! She's my favorite Russian for sure right now for sure.

There are many other people who have been great to me thus far, and I feel very loved.


If I haven't met you, get over here and hang out! I've got my mom's heart and my dad's skillz. I bet you'll like me!
Like Xtina Aguilera said, "Come on over, come on over ba-by..."

The Godfather

OK, sorry for the extended absence, but we've had our hands full these past 2 weeks! So here are some of my thoughts on being a dad...

1. I am a very selfish person. When this little lady gets between me and sleep, or cries constantly (she's been GREAT overall, but we had a 48 hour period Thurs/Fri where I thought we weren't going to make it), I realize how little patience I really have!

2. When she's quiet, or sleeping, she's the cutest darn thing I've ever seen. Love those moments. She's sleeping on my chest as I write this, and it's just priceless.

3. Driving feels different with a kid in the back. No more running red lights or whipping turns in front of oncoming traffic. Sad.

4. Family is key. Last night grandma took T for the night, and we slept 8 hours. It was life-changing... seriously. We also went to a wedding, drank, and danced like fools. It was fun to live like we don't have a kid for one night! I don't know how parents survive without help.

5. Ash is a machine. She is so patient and dedicated. She gets up 2 times a night (at least) and feeds (an hour-long process). T takes 20-30 mins to go back down if we're lucky. She still makes me delicious snacks all the time, makes me coffee in the morning when I leave for work. Amazing.

She's also back to her hot-bodied self. Smokin'.

6. Changing poopy diapers is not that bad. Except when it leaks everywhere and you get it on your hands. That's not fun.

OK, that's what comes up for me after these first two weeks...more to come as we get adjusted!

Two weeks later- we're still alive!

So there is a word I would now use to describe the first few weeks of parenthood... survival!!

No... it is not that scary but Dave and I do find ourselves doing things we "never thought we would do" just to survive. :) We are learning day by day and it keeps getting a little easier. This week we encountered our first full fussy day where mom and baby were in tears all day and Dave was walking around for an hour and a half at midnight the other night trying to calm her down! Wow! All in all though it is fabulous and we are still holding strong. Here are some new pics for you! Our fave thing is her constant arms in the air surrender position. She is not big on being swaddled and loves to have her hands out and about!

Big update... we had our first night out last night! So great! She spent the night with Gigi (my mom) and we went to a wedding complete with drinks, dancing and a full night of sleep!! I feel so refreshed and like I am ready to conquer the world again!

More to come from Dave... xoxo

Daddy Dave

So, Dave and I have been together now for 11+ years and married for almost 6... I point this out because I never could have imagined the transition that would take place when he became a daddy. My once boisterous, crazy husband now calms instantly at the sight of his little lady. ;)

I first realized this would be the case immediately after delivery. Dave is not one for blood or hospital chaos but from the second she entered the world he was right over there with her as they gave her shots and bathed her, etc... He was already trying to calm her down and looking over her. She left our room at one point to have blood taken for her newborn tests and when she returned her eyes were all red and scratched. The nurse told us she got very upset and was sort of flailing her arms about. Dave was not happy that they continued to take her blood despite her discomfort.

Let's chat one second about the way Daddy Dave drives... cautiously!! Hold the phone here, boys... there is no speeding or turning in front of traffic! He is very in tune to other cars and seems to get angry when other drivers are being a little nuts. I love this, personally and am glad that she could slow him down a little bit!

Truly though, Dave has been amazing with her. He originally thought he would not want to be involved really until she could interact and play, but I do think he likes snuggling her way more than he thought! He is already trying to teach her "Daddy" and is brainwashing her to love him more than me. :) I often find him as above, with Zeta on one side and Taylor on the other. Whereas I once wanted him to get off the couch and help me with things, now, I hope he will stay on the couch and keep everyone quiet and happy! My how things change!

Life is Exhausting!

This is my new favorite picture... Taylor is exhausted from keeping us awake all night. I can see how she would need to take a nap in such a dramatic fashion- after all, she does do a ton of chores around the house!

Poor thing... she actually is a very good baby and although she does fuss and cause a little commotion, we feel very blessed. She sleeps very well, once she is asleep. She and I have a little party every night around 3am where we just look at each other for about an hour, sometimes longer! After she eats, she is always wide awake- I mean wide awake- barely even blinks her eyes! She truly is nocturnal! So, when I feed her in the middle of the night, sometimes I am up for 2 hours just trying to get her to go back to sleep because of course when I set her down, she gets a little upset to say the least. :) Last night she came back to bed but it was the endless hour struggle for the passy. She loves it and wants it but can't fully hold it in her mouth yet, so this process involved holding it in her mouth for her, but then I would fall asleep and it would drop and she would gurgle around until I woke up and we would start the cycle over again. People tell me that I won't remember these sleepless nights!

It is funny though how you wake up in the morning and take one look at her and your heart just melts and you forget the fussing. I keep reminding myself that she will only want to be held like this for such a short time. These first few months are such a mere fraction of her life.

Update on life... Dave and I ran errands yesterday with the little one and all went very well. She is taking a bottle too so we were able to just feed her out and about- in the car, in Best Buy, etc... :) We are on the hunt for new kitchen appliances. For those of you who haven't been to our home- our fridge and stove, mainly, are so old I am not even sure how to describe them. The stove top looks like a record player and makes a funny smell when you cook. :) The microwave does not work properly at all and the fridge is just not offering the compartmentalized organization I crave! :) So... Dave has been such a dear with his immense research of various stores and I do believe we have found the best deal and will be updating said appliances! Yeah!!

I would also like to respond to Dave's previous post... first off, thank you my love- you are so sweet to me. I did wear my normal jeans BUT they are my stretchy ones. I have not touched a scale so we are not sure of the weight. :) All in all, I do feel blessed and seemed to shrink back down. Do not be fooled- there is work to do and I ended up with one lone range stretch mark, which I can't decide if it is better or worse than having several. It is almost worse because I had none and then it appeared 2 days before birth right on my stomach!! The doc thinks it might go away once my hernia surgery happens, so we shall see. Oh well- the joys of what child-rearing does to your body! I never would have called myself vain but when things start to change, you realize that is not true! On a positive note though, I do love my new milk machines and am just thinking about at least pumping for the rest of my life to keep them up. :)

Thanks for your comments and calls- we love reading them!! Hugs and love.

Denim and Diapers...

Another weekend is upon us, and the fun continues...T wouldn't sleep last night until 2am! Once she fell asleep, she slept 5.5 hours, which was awesome. She gets more active by the day, which is a little scary because she only knows how to communicate via crying!

*additional weird note: she seems to be nocturnal, much like the owl, hedgehog, or fox. She doesn't cry all night, but just sits there with her eyes wide open. All day she sleeps, and she's most active at night. Why?!

Now the point of my post. Ladies stop reading here. Ash wore her pre-preggo jeans to dinner last night. She's back to pre-preggo weight and shape (but she leaks milk now). I had to give her a "hottest mom post baby" shout-out on the blog for looking so hot! Eat that, Angelina!

Pics from the weekend

Well, things are going very well thus far!! Taylor is just precious and I can't get enough of kissing her little cheeks. :)

We are now adopting the "Co-sleeping" method, while she is so small and let me tell you, it is the best thing ever! Taylor, Dave, and I sleep all night long with just one feeding in the middle of the night. We will eventually transition her to her own bed, but for now we are all snuggling and sleeping and just enjoying her first few weeks in the world. Thank you to Colin Clark (Chandler's brother) for his thoughts and research on Co-Sleeping! You can see a pic above as to how peaceful both she and I are!

This weekend was crazy, but fun with a whirlwind of visitors that seemed to never stop! So many friends and family have been so supportive and caring in wanting to come be a part of her first few days. For that, we are so grateful. It will be nice to just be our little family, while sad at the same time when it goes back to being so quiet again! Not to mention, I will have to start cooking and doing my own laundry at some point! Living up the help right now though!

I wanted to upload some new pics for your perusal. Dave will be on later with some funny stories and commentary!

More snores

After a restless night (1-7 am was awake time!!!) we were rewarded with some lovely moments this morning. Here's a video of her snoring.

Why is it that she sleeps ALL day and not at night? Oh well...

*side note: I spent 5-7 am last night putting the paci back in her mouth every 10 seconds or so while she was wide awake and staring at me. Very cute (and kind of weird, since babies at night look like aliens because their eyes are so big). This is all good and fun, but when I have to go back to work Monday and wake up at 6:30 this may not be entertaining!

*Additional side note: we were laughing last night about how quickly things change. My wife is wearing a diaper around the house, milk is coming out of her boobs, and I watch someone else slurple on her nurples all day. We talk about poop all the time...when did she last poop? What color was it? How much was there? Was that a fart or a hershey squirt? 6 months ago I was traveling around the world tasting the finest wine, having intimate moments with a woman who wore grown up underpants!




Additionally, I would like to report that early signs indicate she will like her dad more than her mom. Despite the huge advantage of having T sucking on mom's boobs for 4-6 hours a day, T is always looking for her daddy. I have also been telling her that I love her more than her mom does, and that she can dress goth if she wants to (though her mom would be very upset)! So, odds right now are 4:3 in favor of dad.

Snortopotamus

Our little lady has developed a delightful little habit...snorting! Here's a video.

More pics

Ask and ye shall receive...

Baby Pics!

Here are some more photos... and here is a recap. Ash only had to push for about 20 minutes, and never broke a sweat or felt any pain (today is worse than yesterday, and they won't give her another epidural despite her requests)... like I said we are very blessed.

Baby Taylor is doing great. 5 poops in 20 hours, and she rarely wants to wake up so we have to pester her to make her feed. She is beautiful. Her head is normally shaped, her eyes dark blue, and her skin was only grey for the first few minutes after birth.

We slept pretty well last night, from 11:30-2:30, 3:30-5:30, and 7-8ish. Funny how that qualifies for a good night's sleep!!! Eat one all you childless people out there. You may sleep more than us but our daughter will never do chores for you! Wait until Gerber signs her to a multi-million dollar contract, suckers.

Ash had a little tearing, but is recovering well. We'll keep the ice and vicodin coming. Daddy will just eat cupcakes.

Sorry for the scattered thoughts, but we are having fun and loving parenthood.

Taylor Addison Haase

She's here!!! After a relatively-easy delivery (what's all the fuss?), Ash gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl! 7 lbs, 2 oz., born at 2:43, and 20 in long (why is it always about the length?), she is just about perfect.

Her name is Taylor Addison Haase.

We are incredibly blessed. What a miracle.

I'm going to spend some time with my daughter. It's time to talk chores!!!

The Haase's Day at the Dentist

Today was a big day...

Dave started his day with a 7:30am dentist appointment, much to his dismay, might I add. He chipped a tooth in China trying to operate his new watch and has to have it fixed as well as several other things done. Dave would seriously rather go to any doctor than the dentist, so this was a little dramatic.

Then at 8:00am, I dropped Zeta off for her very first teeth cleaning. Poor thing. She was not happy to be left there and just cried and cried. When I picked her up, she could barely walk she is so sedated and even pooped on PetsMart's floor!! I was slightly embarrassed but figured it was just her way of telling them how she felt about them messing with her all day.

Now we are home snuggled by the fire and Zeta is nestled in the corner completely zonked out. Ironically enough, after our big day, Holly (my youngest sis) just sent the funniest video ever. She has no idea that we had such a dentist-filled day. Watch this and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs

Baby Haase

Well, the scariest thing about it being February is that we can officially say "We are having a baby this month!" Although exciting, it is a little terrifying. All is ready for her and we are just waiting now for the excitement of waking with contractions and a rush out the door! I must say, I am looking forward to it.

I have "acquired" a few hernias (3 to be exact) during my pregnancy and since I have to have surgery for them 2-3 weeks after birth, my doctor asked if I would rather do a C-section and take care of it all at once. The discussion made me realize that I am actually quite excited for the unknown and can't imagine now scheduling a baby! The type A part of me is shocked but I think there will be something so fun and memorable about not knowing when it will all happen!

We are keeping you up to date with pics and posts and name, eventually... at

www.BabyHaase.com

Turn up the volume and enjoy the song, too! Hugs to all....

Baby Haase is Almost Here!

Hello friends! We have been very busy getting the nursery ready, settling into the house and trying to get lots of work done before the baby comes! Check out the nursery...

www.babyhaasesnursery.shutterfly.com

Holiday Excursion Update

Happy 2009!!

Our holiday adventure has been wonderful, to say the least.

We began our trip with a weekend rendevouz in Minneapolis! Although freezing cold, we had a few great days with Tim and Chan and Andy and Meg (Cali friends) to celebrate Dave's birthday. We were so nicely invited to the Murphy's Christmas gathering and had a night out on the town complete with plenty of stories for Dave's 28th. An elevator shot of all us (minus Andy) is above at the night's end. Dave was laying in the street making snow angles just moments prior to this pic. :) Quick trip but so wonderful to spend good time with such great friends!

After that, we were off to San Francisco for Christmas with the Haases! We were blessed to have the whole family there this year and just enjoyed time together baking cookies, putzing around and talking. So good to just hang out and all be in the same room together. We met Brian's family (Holly's boyfriend), which was so much fun and took some always gorgeous walks along the coast. The most exciting news we were able to confirm in person is that Megan (Dave's oldest sis) is pregnant!! This is super fun for us because there will now be cousins almost the same age! She is due at the end of July and Hannah and Haley are more than excited. I will load some pics from Cali once I steal them from my family, but for now, here is a shot of Dave and I with the Incredibles clan! We got to take a tour of Pixar, as Brian works there. What an awesome place!!

On the 26th, we left San Fran and headed for some skiing/ relaxing for Ash, in Vail, Colorado. The snow has been amazing- as everyone tells me. Here is Dave working his way through fresh powder and then another shot of me, Dad and Zeta when we went and met everyone for lunch. I am so sad to not ski, but have enjoyed a spa day with mom (although I almost passed out during my massage and had to stop!!) and just getting caught up on work and rest at the house everyday.

Last night was New Year's Eve and we brought in 2009 with some great family friends, the Creightons! Here is a belly shot with Dave and I ready to have some fun! We had a great dinner and played some games before toasting the New Year!

We are looking forward to all 2009 will bring and are so blessed to get to share it with all of you! Hugs to all- XOXO.