Mark celebrates his 9-week birthday today--yay! Sorry we haven't written much at all. I've barely found time to upload photos to FlickR these past few weeks. I guess I owe a brief overview of the past 9 weeks.
We had some nursing struggles the first few weeks but with the help of excellent lactation consultants and the support of good friends from church, at around 4 weeks Mark started nursing correctly with some assistance. Now at 9 weeks we're doing much better. He is on a 3-3.5 hour schedule more or less--eat, wake time, diaper change, and naptime. Mommy often naps with him. He is sleeping 7-8 hours straight at night which is a MARVELOUS blessing. He has his 2-month checkup tomorrow and will start getting his vaccines (ouch).
Mark is now starting to smile back at you when you smile at him (and are about 6-8 inches from his face!). This is HUGE to us first-time parents. He also coos and makes "talking" sounds. I swear he even laughs/gurgles a bit when he's excited that you're excited that he's smiling. His most fun time is right after feeding--he moves into a "quiet alert" state where he smiles, coos, and is in a great mood. He also fills his diaper during that time!
Daddy went back to work after 4 weeks of paid paternity leave (yay for Microsoft!). Although that is an amazingly long leave in the corporate world, the time went too fast. And unfortunately some fires sprang up at work that caused a lack of progress on the next deadline, so when he came back no one had been able to do his work for him. Needless to say work has been a little hectic with trying to cram too much work into too little time. But Mark is always glad to see Daddy come home so he has someone new to smile at!
Well Mark just woke up from his nap and he sounds unhappy. I will try to write more again sometime soon!
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
A brief break in guests...
After a whirlwind of wonderful family visits, Matt and I get a short break until Minnesota friends arrive May 3. It has been great to have help with the household tasks, shopping, meals, and baby care. Matt and I got to go on a date to see a Shane & Shane (Christian acoustic guitar group that is awesome!!) concert while Auntie Abby babysitted!
Mark continues to grow and change--he's now 6.5 weeks old! Last week he weighed 9lbs 6oz and was 21" long. I swear he's starting to smile on purpose (not just when he has gas) and can bat his hands at hanging toys. His quiet alert awake times are so much fun--I was even able to give him a bath today without him crying!
I uploaded photos to FlickR from Matt's parents' (Joe & Ellen) visit and my sister Abby's visit. That will have to do for now until I find more time. :)
Mark continues to grow and change--he's now 6.5 weeks old! Last week he weighed 9lbs 6oz and was 21" long. I swear he's starting to smile on purpose (not just when he has gas) and can bat his hands at hanging toys. His quiet alert awake times are so much fun--I was even able to give him a bath today without him crying!
I uploaded photos to FlickR from Matt's parents' (Joe & Ellen) visit and my sister Abby's visit. That will have to do for now until I find more time. :)
Friday, March 31, 2006
I've fallen in love with a burrito... and I think you will too :)
I finally decided on a photo hosting service, sorry for taking so long. I know many of you were ready to hop on a plane just to get a peek at the little guy.
This collection is from Mark's first two weeks. We just wrapped up week 3 today, which I hope to post tomorrow. Isn't he cute!
Oh! You can order prints using flickr, but I believe you need to signup for an account before you *see* the order prints option.
This collection is from Mark's first two weeks. We just wrapped up week 3 today, which I hope to post tomorrow. Isn't he cute!
Oh! You can order prints using flickr, but I believe you need to signup for an account before you *see* the order prints option.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Finally home :)
Mark came home yesterday for the first time, home sweet home.
I've now had a taste of caring for the little guy for entire day and I'm starting to understand the meaning of sleep deprivation! :)
Here are some more pics of the little guy.
Day 3 - Sleeping boys.
Sleeping while being burped.
Sleeping at home, how adorable.
Day 2
Mommy holding Mark for the first time.
I've now had a taste of caring for the little guy for entire day and I'm starting to understand the meaning of sleep deprivation! :)
Here are some more pics of the little guy.
Day 3 - Sleeping boys.
Sleeping while being burped.
Sleeping at home, how adorable.
Day 2
Mommy holding Mark for the first time.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Baby Young has arrived!
I am pleased to announce the arrival of the newest addition to the
Young family! At 4:05 am Thursday 3/9/06 Mark Andrew entered the world weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches of pure boy!
Young family! At 4:05 am Thursday 3/9/06 Mark Andrew entered the world weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches of pure boy!
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Post-Christmas update
Sorry it’s been so long since we’ve written. Christmas is always a busy time of year so I guess now that it’s February I don’t have any excuse! I’m sorry if you’ve heard some of this before, but I’m writing to a diverse audience so please bear with me!
First, a baby update. I am now 36 weeks along and my due date is March 9. My belly is getting bigger but my weight and size are on track for a “typical” pregnancy so that’s reassuring. The doctor said yesterday “this is going to be a March baby” and isn’t concerned about me going into labor early unless my water breaks unexpectedly. We are having a boy (yay!) and are so excited. I recently set up the Pack ‘N Play with bassinet where our son will sleep the first few months—just looking at it every day is a serious reality check! And no, we’re not entirely sure on the name, but the list is down to 2-3 now. We’re just going to have to meet him to decide. My family held a baby shower while in Wisconsin over Christmas (thanks Mom and Abby!) and we received many needed things. Then 2 weeks ago our church threw us a surprise baby shower with everyone from the church—we thought we were having dinner with one family, but everyone was there to celebrate with us! We were incredibly blessed and I now feel satisfied we have the essential starting gear for our son.
Our church, Crossings Community (www.crossingscommunity.com), is simply amazing. It’s small, about 50-75 people. Their generosity towards others and commitment to love and community is authentic. They really believe the Bible is truth and that we need to constantly apply it to our lives, changing our ways where they don’t match up with God’s. Each Sunday we are treated to an exegetical teaching (currently from Ephesians) by one of the leaders in the church. They are committed to building strong families and individuals first, then building the church into maturity. Currently 3 of the leaders are in process to be sent out from our body for training in church planting (in Iowa, of all places!). We are partnering with another church there that is aligned with our values and has been training up leaders for many years. Our 3 leaders are training up several other men to lead our body. Everyone is encouraged to serve the body and reach out to non-believers using the gifts God has given them, and there is much mentoring and accountability.
Speaking of serving the body, Matt is starting to get involved on the worship team at Crossings. He’s played drums and guitar a few times. It’s been great to get the drums out of storage, haul them to church, set them up, hear Matt play them, then tear them down and take them home (often I wonder why I married a musician who has to bring 8 “instruments” with him in order to play!). Just this past week Matt figured out how to fit all the drums in the car with the baby seat (and me) so we’re covered in that regard—I was a bit concerned about the baby fitting. J I’ve volunteered to edit a core doctrinal document written by one of the leaders (the it’s and its were driving me nuts) so it looks like I may serve as the grammar editor for future writings. We also started attending a Friday night Bible Study called First Principles covering the foundational beliefs of our faith. We just finished a study on marriage, the family, and roles of men and women, and are thankful Crossings is dedicated to teaching the basics before trying to actively incorporate new people into the church. There is a lot more unity and really knowing each other when you wrestle through and agree on core beliefs and practices in a small group. And we are VERY thankful for the equipping Maranatha gave us in these same areas!
Sorry to talk so much about Crossings but it is a huge part of our lives here and we love it! God is so good.
Matt’s job at Microsoft is a mixture of satisfying technical challenges and frustrating corporate bureaucracy. He is dedicated to writing quality software that people can use and that makes his company money. Thankfully his team has the same outlook and methodologies for achieving that goal—he works with wonderful people who recognize his skills and encourage him to make things better. Mostly we’re learning to let the frustrating things slide and learn from the experience. It’s really confirming that some day we’d like to run our own business, though we recognize the benefits of working for a large company. For example, my pregnancy has cost us $0 for medical care and Matt gets 4 weeks of PAID paternity leave when I go into labor. It’s an amazing blessing!
Matt still does Guys’ Night Out on Thursdays (after a 3-week break to attend Childbirth Prep classes with me—what a great husband!) with Rob and several other friends. Sunday mornings he has breakfast with the Crossings men. In the evenings he plays his guitar, dreams of buying a guitar amp, and escorts me on walks around the neighborhood. He takes excellent care of his pregnant wife, often offering foot rubs when I’ve had a tiring day. :) My days are full of housewifey things like cleaning and laundry, running errands, getting new tires on the car, working freelance on websites, sleeping, reading, shopping Goodwill/Salvation Army for baby bargains, going for walks, and trying to eat healthy. We spend a lot of weekend time together, savoring the freedom of “no baby yet”.
Last but not least, for all you folks with snow still, our weather. This past week it has been 75 degrees every day, and the crab apple type trees are laden with blossoms. So I guess we went straight from fall to spring here… still so strange to us.
I’m attaching some photos: my baby belly at 34 weeks, the crazy daddy-to-be breaking the rules as usual and both of us at Yosemite in December (this is a redwood tree that fell over—you’re looking at the roots). We miss you all very much and hope to return to the Midwest in June for 10 days or so. Hope all is well with you, and when you have a minute we’d love to hear an update on your life!
Love,
Erin, Matt, and Baby
First, a baby update. I am now 36 weeks along and my due date is March 9. My belly is getting bigger but my weight and size are on track for a “typical” pregnancy so that’s reassuring. The doctor said yesterday “this is going to be a March baby” and isn’t concerned about me going into labor early unless my water breaks unexpectedly. We are having a boy (yay!) and are so excited. I recently set up the Pack ‘N Play with bassinet where our son will sleep the first few months—just looking at it every day is a serious reality check! And no, we’re not entirely sure on the name, but the list is down to 2-3 now. We’re just going to have to meet him to decide. My family held a baby shower while in Wisconsin over Christmas (thanks Mom and Abby!) and we received many needed things. Then 2 weeks ago our church threw us a surprise baby shower with everyone from the church—we thought we were having dinner with one family, but everyone was there to celebrate with us! We were incredibly blessed and I now feel satisfied we have the essential starting gear for our son.
Our church, Crossings Community (www.crossingscommunity.com), is simply amazing. It’s small, about 50-75 people. Their generosity towards others and commitment to love and community is authentic. They really believe the Bible is truth and that we need to constantly apply it to our lives, changing our ways where they don’t match up with God’s. Each Sunday we are treated to an exegetical teaching (currently from Ephesians) by one of the leaders in the church. They are committed to building strong families and individuals first, then building the church into maturity. Currently 3 of the leaders are in process to be sent out from our body for training in church planting (in Iowa, of all places!). We are partnering with another church there that is aligned with our values and has been training up leaders for many years. Our 3 leaders are training up several other men to lead our body. Everyone is encouraged to serve the body and reach out to non-believers using the gifts God has given them, and there is much mentoring and accountability.
Speaking of serving the body, Matt is starting to get involved on the worship team at Crossings. He’s played drums and guitar a few times. It’s been great to get the drums out of storage, haul them to church, set them up, hear Matt play them, then tear them down and take them home (often I wonder why I married a musician who has to bring 8 “instruments” with him in order to play!). Just this past week Matt figured out how to fit all the drums in the car with the baby seat (and me) so we’re covered in that regard—I was a bit concerned about the baby fitting. J I’ve volunteered to edit a core doctrinal document written by one of the leaders (the it’s and its were driving me nuts) so it looks like I may serve as the grammar editor for future writings. We also started attending a Friday night Bible Study called First Principles covering the foundational beliefs of our faith. We just finished a study on marriage, the family, and roles of men and women, and are thankful Crossings is dedicated to teaching the basics before trying to actively incorporate new people into the church. There is a lot more unity and really knowing each other when you wrestle through and agree on core beliefs and practices in a small group. And we are VERY thankful for the equipping Maranatha gave us in these same areas!
Sorry to talk so much about Crossings but it is a huge part of our lives here and we love it! God is so good.
Matt’s job at Microsoft is a mixture of satisfying technical challenges and frustrating corporate bureaucracy. He is dedicated to writing quality software that people can use and that makes his company money. Thankfully his team has the same outlook and methodologies for achieving that goal—he works with wonderful people who recognize his skills and encourage him to make things better. Mostly we’re learning to let the frustrating things slide and learn from the experience. It’s really confirming that some day we’d like to run our own business, though we recognize the benefits of working for a large company. For example, my pregnancy has cost us $0 for medical care and Matt gets 4 weeks of PAID paternity leave when I go into labor. It’s an amazing blessing!
Matt still does Guys’ Night Out on Thursdays (after a 3-week break to attend Childbirth Prep classes with me—what a great husband!) with Rob and several other friends. Sunday mornings he has breakfast with the Crossings men. In the evenings he plays his guitar, dreams of buying a guitar amp, and escorts me on walks around the neighborhood. He takes excellent care of his pregnant wife, often offering foot rubs when I’ve had a tiring day. :) My days are full of housewifey things like cleaning and laundry, running errands, getting new tires on the car, working freelance on websites, sleeping, reading, shopping Goodwill/Salvation Army for baby bargains, going for walks, and trying to eat healthy. We spend a lot of weekend time together, savoring the freedom of “no baby yet”.
Last but not least, for all you folks with snow still, our weather. This past week it has been 75 degrees every day, and the crab apple type trees are laden with blossoms. So I guess we went straight from fall to spring here… still so strange to us.
I’m attaching some photos: my baby belly at 34 weeks, the crazy daddy-to-be breaking the rules as usual and both of us at Yosemite in December (this is a redwood tree that fell over—you’re looking at the roots). We miss you all very much and hope to return to the Midwest in June for 10 days or so. Hope all is well with you, and when you have a minute we’d love to hear an update on your life!
Love,
Erin, Matt, and Baby
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