Zoey is 3 months old today! She took these pictures last Friday. I think she likes the camera.

Just sitting around. . .

Tummy Time!

Hi!

Tyler and I went to his 10 year reunion Saturday night--leaving Zoey in Grandma and Grandpa Nyhlen's care.

The tradition this summer has been for Zoey and Grandma and Grandpa Nyhlen to walk to the Dairy Queen for a Moolatte. Mmmmmm!

A New Bundle of Joy. . .coming soon!

(I thought that may catch your attention.) Zoey gets to welcome her first cousin into the world. Congratulations Rob and Nicole. They had their first doctor's appointment yesterday and everything went great. They even got an ultrasound--the lucky ducks. (I almost didn't get one at all when I was pregnant.) The new bundle of joy will be here around March 22nd. For those of you who are interested, they have started a blog of their own to document this journey.

www.babynyhlen.blogspot.com

Daddy's Little Girl (Argh!)

So. . .since we switched completely to bottle feedings, I realized that Tyler and I could share the responsiblilty of getting up to feed Zoey in the wee hours of the morning. Last night before we went to bed, I made sure that Tyler knew he would get a swift kick on the shins if he didn't wake up at 3 am to feed her. Guess what the little stinker (Zoey, not Tyler) did? SHE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! Nine and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep for all of us. And although I am thrilled that she slept that long, woke up happy, and ate well, I am a little bit disappointed that Tyler was not able to experience what I have been doing for the last 12 weeks--every night! So I am creating a new house rule:

It is your turn to feed the baby in the middle of the night until she actually wakes and needs to be fed!

Two Somogyis, a Nyhlen, and two Livingstons sitting on a couch make another great four generation photo. Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Somogyi visited this weekend, driving all the way up from Florida, stopping at our house to meet their second great-grandchild, and continuing on to the Nyhlen cabin. It was great to see them.

Just the girls.

Is she the daughter of a Reading Teacher or what?

We had our last "Tuesday at 10" on August 16th at my school. Zoey came all decked out to help. Tuesdays at 10 is when kids from my school come to check out books. It was a big success again this summer!

Zoey also completed her Infant Massage class. She is one pampered baby!

Zoey is relaxed after her feeding and massage. She is finally getting used to the swing--at least she doesn't cry everytime she is in it.

Hey Grandpa Nyhlen! Do you recognize this outfit?

Zoey couldn't stop staring at all the glitter at Grandma's ballroom competition. It was Zoey's first 'cultural' outing.

Here is Grandma Livingston with her dance partner Greg at the National Ballroom Dancing competition. They did a great job dancing--the whole family had fun cheering them on.

Zoey got ready to go to the park with Mom. She did not have a good time. I guess we will have to work up to the park.

One of those moments.

I had 'one of those moments' today. No, not the kind where I accidentally stop listening during the middle of a conversation, nor the kind where I forget to take the very thing I need with me when I leave the house.

It was a father moment. Maybe a baby moment. A father/daughter moment? No title seems appropriate for the quirky little sensation in my heart as Zoey does something brand new.

Today was Zoey's first official laugh. Judy and I have breathed, sighed and spoke, "I love you, Zoey" far too many times for any official count.

Zoey was enjoying some playtime on her Baby Einstein mat, and I had just returned from a run. While I was only gone an hour (ahem...ok...only 25mins), I missed her. I picked Zoey up, looked at Judy and told them, "I'm going to do a stereotypical dad thing now."

I sat Zoey on my right thigh, facing her toward me. If we hold her under her arms, pushing her shoulders up slightly, she's pretty able to hold her head -- at least as well as a bobble-head doll. I started to bounce Zoey on my knee, repeating a rhythmic, "A-rumba-rumba-rumba, rumb" as she stared in my eyes.

I couldn't tell if she liked this activity or not. I'd take a short break here and there, and she'd make her cooing noise. One time when we paused, her breathy coo turned into a voiced cough.

"A-rumba-rumba-rumba, rumb." Sneaky daddy smile, trying to engage Zoey.

Two distinct cough sounds followed by a quick gasp, the sound one makes when they suck air in quickly.

"A-rumba-rumba-rumba, rumb." More coy smiles. Head bent closer to hear her noises.

Zoey answers with her sounds that I only now begin to recognize as a chuckle, her first laugh.


This didn't last long, as she quickly tired of our little game, but both Judy and I were there to witness it.

I had 'one of those moments' today. They come and go so quickly. God Bless the moments.

Hope you had a wonderful day!

Maybe if Zoey starts watching the Twins more--they will start winning. GO TWINS!!!

Zoey enjoys a bedtime story with daddy.

Grandpa Livingston just can't take his eyes off of Zoey.

Zoey's Baptism--July 31st, 2005

Zoey was baptised a week ago, surrounded by many friends and family. It was an eventful weekend. Let's start out with Saturday. By this day our house was full of the Nyhlen family--grandma and grandpa, Uncle Rob and Aunt Nicole, and the two dogs Gracie and Misty--there was action everywhere you looked. If you remember it was quite a muggy day (as they all have been this summer) and even with the air conditioning on everyone was hot. So it seemed very strange that by 9pm that evening I was chilled and couldn't have enough blankets on me to keep me warm. I was promptly sent to bed. By 11pm, I still was chilled and very achy. Tyler, my hero, called the nurse's line and was told to take me to Urgent Care. Fortunately, we had four babysitters available in the house--it was Grandma who got the call. Tyler and I went to Mercy Hospital and waited around. When the nurse finally took my vitals, I had a temperature of 102.4 degrees--as I had suspected I had a case of Mastitis (blocked ducts in the breast due to breast feeding/weaning). The doctor was very nice and started my antibotics by IV that early morning and gave me pain medication. So by 3am my fever had gone away and I was feeling better. We went back home to try to get some sleep so that we could enjoy Zoey's big day.

Sunday morning came and we dressed Zoey in her baptism dress--the same dress that I wore when I was baptised almost 30 years ago. She looked so cute! The baptism was beautiful and Zoey was so good--as always. Then all our family came back to our house to enjoy some food and conversation. All in all it was a wonderful day--my only wish is that I would have been feeling better. It took about a day or so for me to start feeling like myself again.

Thank you to all our family who came to Zoey's baptism--it was so nice to see everyone. It meant so much to us that you were there.

Zoey with Mom and Dad on her Baptism Day!

Grandpa and Grandma Livingston

The Godparents--David Asp and Lisa Derr

Grandma and Grandpa Nyhlen