Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Fall Fun


Okay, before I say anything else, first let me do this.  I came across Dave's baby photo, which I assume was taken in the hospital right after he was born.  I compared it to one of Will.  Does anyone else see a resemblance?!  I love it!
William Joel, 1 day old

 
David Joel, 1980


Fall Fun

Alright, now that I got that out of my system, I wanted to share more photos of what we have been doing this fall.  I don't think we could have asked for a nicer October in Pennsylvania!  The weather has been fabulous--very little rain, lots of clear skies, comfortable temperatures, and perfect hiking weather!  On the weekends we definitely try to get out and explore.  It doesn't take long before we reach the tree-covered rolling hills.  The color was not quite as vibrant as we were hoping, but it has still been beautiful.  There were lots of yellows, oranges and browns, but very little red.  Still, it has been a great fall so far with lots of opportunities for us to explore Pennsylvania.



Hellgrammites

I LOVE the weekends when Dave can be home with Will and me, and they are even better when Jonah is with us, too!  The last time he was home Dave took him to find hellgrammites.  Yes, hellgrammites.  What are they, you ask?  Really cool aquatic macroinvertebrates.  Thanks to Nana's obsession with GVSU's Barter Board, Jonah has a new pair of waders and could get right in the water, just like Daddy!  I would have loved to join them, but Mama had to stay home with the baby.

Still, I'm glad the boys had fun.  Jonah was super pumped to show everyone what he found!  Those two are something else.  I wonder if Will will be as into creepy crawlies as his big brother.  I hope so!

One of my favorite pictures of Jonah: ready for the stream!
A beautiful hellgrammite








Buttermilk Falls

Last weekend Dave and I went to a place nearby called Buttermilk Falls.  It is the tallest waterfall in Indiana County--about 48 feet high.  It's located on the property of the old summer residence of Fred Rogers' (of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) grandfather.  Turns out his grandfather's last name was McFeely!  Apparently Mr. McFeely's name on the show wasn't all that weird/creepy after all.

Anyway, the water was really low so we were able to get close, as you can see!  I had Will strapped to my chest so even we could get off the beaten path.  I would have liked a longer hike, but the falls were fun to explore.  This could definitely be a nice spot to take visitors when they come to visit.  (Hint hint, folks!)



Buttermilk Falls

Dave at the top of the falls



We tried out the front pack for the first time.  Will liked it!

And by "liked it," I mean "slept the whole time." 




Looking for a bird that I never did spot. 
At the top of the falls

Seriously, could this kid be any cuter?!?  Our little peanut.


Little Mahoning Creek

We also went to "scout" potential spots for Dave to conduct research.  I think he really just wanted an excuse to fish.  Dave loves to pull up Google Maps and basically guess where the cool spots are, and he usually finds some great places!  We checked out Little Mahoning Creek, which was even more beautiful that I anticipated.  In Michigan the rivers are mostly sandy-bottomed, but here there are lots of big rocks and boulders.  If you can find a river that hasn't been devastatingly polluted as a result of past coal mining (there are lots of those, unfortunately), then the water is often nice and clear.


Pretty great spot to feed the baby!




Dave fly fishing 

Forget sound machines: my baby gets the real thing!

Will Turns 1 Month

Will has been growing like a weed.  Next Monday he will already be six weeks old!  In many ways the time has flown, but being in the hospital seems like forever ago.  I have found that with babies as soon as they arrive it feels as though they were always there.  Like they were always a part of your family, even if they weren't born yet.  I love that. :)









So this little fishy vest is one that Joyce, Dave's mom, made for Dave when he was just a baby.  Will looks absolutely adorable in it!  Dave has pictures of Jonah wearing it, too.  Super cute!

David and Joyce, 1980
Jonah, 2 months


Will, 5 weeks











 Just for fun, here are a couple of bath time pictures.  This isn't technically Will's first bath, but it is one of the first ones where he didn't scream the whole time!



Halloween Fun

And lastly, Happy Halloween!  Jonah is spending this Halloween with his mom, so unfortunately I won't have any pictures of him in a costume this year.  He originally wanted to wear the creepy mask from Scream.  I have no idea how he even found out about it, but there is no way I would ever let him wear it!  Way too adult, and way too creepy.  It's interesting how Jonah is drawn to all things creepy and scary.  The funny thing is, he is very easily scared!  He often won't even go to his bedroom by himself!  I think he is intrigued by scary things, and as long as they are within his control he is okay and really likes them.  For instance, he absolutely loves Halloween, and most of his drawings are filled with fangs, creepy red eyes, and even sometimes blood.  He also has gotten really into scary stories, some of which are even too scary for me!  (I hate scary things.)  Anyway, I think he ended up going with a Werewolf costume instead of the Scream mask.  That I can handle.  At our house, we went with something a bit more cutesy.  Isn't Will cute in this Halloween onesie?!  We had to try it out before Halloween!


Here are our pumpkins, mostly done by Dave. And he says he isn't creative!



Ha!  Will's face is funny in this one.


 Happy Fall and Happy Halloween, everyone!


Monday, October 20, 2014

Baby Will

I realize that it has been over a month since my last post, but when you have a newborn it is somewhat difficult to get a whole lot done!  Talk about an obvious statement.  But seriously, look at this sweet face!  Even when he is content and/or sleeping it's hard not to scoop him up and hold him just because he is so darn cute!


Baby Will- October 19, 2014

William Joel was born on September 22, 2014, one day after his due date (and the day after Dave's and my 1 year wedding anniversary!).  I felt my first labor pains at 4:50 that morning, and Will was finally born at 11:10 that night.  Talk about a long day!  When I first went into labor, despite the early hour, Dave and I got up and to pass the time we played a few games of Settlers of Catan.  This is one of our favorite games, and with contractions being bearable at this point it was a great way to distract myself.  I wonder if any other moms out there have ever decided to go through labor in the same way?

Contractions, by the way, feel a heck of a lot different than I imagined.   For me, they were just pain.  It felt like terrible, aching cramps that came in waves.  Pain.  I thought they would feel like muscles contracting, or that I would feel more downward pressure.  Nope.  Just pain.

I definitely did not go the all natural route.  In fact, my doctor made me wait far longer to get my epidural than I would have liked!  We decided to go to the hospital around 12:30 in the afternoon, and I didn't get the epidural until I was dilated to 5.5 cm, which was around 2:30 p.m. How women go for hours on end without an epidural, I know not.  I was practically begging for it!    We had a bit of a scare when my blood pressure dropped suddenly and significantly, but thankfully the doctor and nurses were able to stabilize me relatively quickly and Will wasn't bothered by it one bit!

Since Will was "sunny side up" (facing my belly instead of my back) things progressed pretty slowly after that.  However, the time finally came to push, as we knew it inevitably would, and before I knew it I had a beautiful, crying, cone-headed baby boy in my arms!  Weighing 7 lbs 6 oz and measuring 19 inches, Dave and I became the proud parents of our beautiful son.



What a surreal experience.  I still can't believe I did it.  It was certainly the most difficult and rewarding thing I have ever done.  Dave was absolutely fantastic.  He took such great care of me, both physically and emotionally.  What a trouper!  He ended up watching the entire birth, in all its glory, and cutting the umbilical cord.  I'm not sure who was more excited/relieved when the baby finally arrived--Dave or me!  We'll call it a tie.  What an amazing bonding experience to share with my husband.  I feel so, so lucky.  I already knew what a great father Dave is because of how great he is with Jonah, but that doesn't make it any less fun to watch him with Will.  These boys are so lucky to have such a loving daddy!

Speaking of Jonah, Jonah sure was excited to meet his baby brother!  He frequently asks to hold Will, and I have been pleasantly surprised that Jonah seems very willing to help if I need him to run upstairs to get a diaper or something like that.  I can't wait to see how their relationship develops.  I hope Jonah will teach Will everything he knows about bugs and all things creepy crawly!


We have had lots of visitors in the past month.  The weekend after Will was born my parents and the Smith family came to visit for a few days.  If only they lived closer!  I think Cammie is a great babysitter-in-the-making!  I was basically out of commission during their visit because my recovery was pretty tough, but I was so incredibly thankful for all of their help with Jonah and around the house.  It was great having them around!  I just wish I would/could have been more mobile.






A couple weeks later Sarah and Katy came to visit.  Nana and Papa came, too, mostly because Nana couldn't resist another opportunity to see Baby Will!  Again, it was great having the company and the help around the house!





Grandma and Grandpa Janetski will be coming to visit in a couple of weeks, which we are very much looking forward to!  I wish the whole Janetski/Nelson family could come visit our new home with our new baby, but it's just too hard with them living so far away.  Hopefully it won't be too long before we can take a trip back out to Washington so Will can meet his other aunts, uncles and cousins.

As for me, I am LOVING being up and around again.  Every day I can I take Will out for a walk.  We often go visit Daddy at work, and we try to get plenty of outdoors time on these beautiful fall days.  Thankfully Will really seems to enjoy being outside! 


  At the moment I am struggling to get Will to take any sort of decent nap...all the kid wants to do is eat!  I guess he is his father's son!  Still, we are having lots of fun and keep falling more and more in love with our beautiful baby boy.  We love you, Will!












P.S.  I have more photos to add, but that will have to come next time!