Four weeks old already!

Well, yesterday was Mayzie's one month birthday, and she decided to celebrate by not wanting to sleep last night! So, Daddy (that would be me) stayed up with her until she decided she was tired enough to sleep in her crib... then I proceeded to sleep on the floor using her Boppy as my pillow. Fun times indeed.

Other than that, everything is going absolutely AWESOME! Our little family is really doing well. Mayzie gaining weight, starting to follow our faces, and is about as cute as they come. Lincoln is starting to settle in to his role as big brother, but we think he's still a little bit jealous.

Most importantly, Lacey is the most awesome Mom ever. She's so at ease with being a Mom, and it is so fun to watch her and Mayzie bond.

Anyway, here's a couple pictures!

One of my MANY adorable newborn photos!

 Sleeping a couple weeks ago

 

Cuddling with Mommy

 Hanging out with my Auntie Denise

 

So happy to meet my Auntie Christina

 

Sleeping with Grandma (this happened a lot while Grandma was here)

 One month old! (and still sleepy)

Don't forget about Lincoln

Mayzie is one week old today!

Well, despite my doubts, we made it through our first week as a new family of four. Lacey and I are tired, Lincoln is VERY curious and wants to lick Mayzie's little face off, and Mayzie seems to be taking it all in stride.

Hmmm... what are the updates? There is so much going on in her first week of life that it is hard to keep track.

Monday night was Mayzie's first bath at home and let's just say that she was not a huge fan. She smelled so good afterwards, though, that I think we'll probably keep it up. :)

Tuesday was Mayzie's first outing (to the pediatrician) so we got her all dressed up and ventured out. The pediatrician loves her... but then again, what's not to love? She is doing very well, gaining weight, and is healthy. While we were all dressed up we decided to take our first family photo.

On Thursday we got her dressed up again, but this time we put her I heart MN shirt on that she got from her Auntie Brooke. It was very cute, but that darn thing shrunk so much when we washed it that I doubt she'll ever be able to wear it again. :(

Of course we had to take more pictures today for the big one week birthday! Mayzie got all cuddled up with Grandma, posed on her blanket, and got very upset when Mommy tried to move her headband.

Overall, the first week has been AWESOME! Now if we could just get her days and nights straightened out. :)

Day 2 at home

So we made it home safely from the hospital yesterday, mostly because I decided that it was probably best to drive 10-15 mph below the speed limit and take an unnecessary amount of time at each intersection to make sure it was safe. BABY ON BOARD!!! I know it is probably not true, but I would like to think that Christina, Denise, Jimmy and I were the reason my Dad started driving like a 70 year old and never looked back. :)

Anyway, our first night at home went okay. Little Mayzie was a bit backed up (if you know what I mean) and that made her pretty fussy overnight, but she seems to be doing pretty well now. As we speak she is cuddled up on the living room chair with her Grandma, Lacey is taking a much deserved shower, and I am "working."

Anyway, I took a couple pictures of a few of my favorite things of the day and I thought I would share them.

 Mayzie and her Mommy

 Mayzie cuddling with Grandma

 I had to throw in a picture of Lincoln! Especially this one, maybe the best picture I've taken of him

And finally, a view of the back yard from where I'm working. I know it doesn't look pretty now, but I can't wait for spring to break so we can sit on our deck and enjoy it!

Look what we made!

Our lives changed for the (WAY) better today when our little lady was born at 11:28 am (EST). Mayzie Ann Smieja (7 lbs 2 oz, 18.5 inches tall) waited one day past her due date so that her Grandma Bonnie could be there with us to enjoy it. Her Mommy's water broke at 2:15 am, we got to the hospital at 3:10, the contractions got all kinds of painful at about 5:00, the epidural kicked in at about 7:00, and Mayzie made her grand entrance only 4 1/2 hours later.

Everyone is doing great, but some of us are pretty tired... well, pretty much all of us except Mayzie. I've already had my first foray into changing a newborn diaper, trying to put that silly shirt thing that looks like a karategi on her, and then attempting to wrap her like a burrito in a blanket that didn't seem quite big enough.

Anyway, without further adieu, check out the pictures of our little peanut!

Oh yeah, and one of these weeks/months I'm going to get around to posting more pictures of our house too. I really dropped the ball on that one.

Finally in to our new home

Lacey and I finally got possession of our new home and we're working on getting settled. The house is great so far, our neighbors are incredibly nice, and it feels really good to know that there is no one living above or below us. We can't wait to have everyone come and visit us in Grand Rapids, MI now that we have all this extra space.

I won't show you any pictures of the inside because it's a disaster, but enjoy some pictures of the outside!

 

The front... I really need to trim those bushes on the side of the house!

 

The back of the house, can't wait to hang out on our deck, mow our lawn, and shoot some hoops!

 The orange flowers waited to bloom until we were moving in

 

Who likes lavender?

 

A (little more than) a year later

Unbelievably it has been more than a year since we drove away from Brooke and Ryan's place with them dancing and singing outside our car, got our last Bronx pizza, and headed out of San Diego on our epic journey across the Western U.S.

Looking back now it is clear to us that the trip was one of the best decisions we ever made. It taught us so much about ourselves, our relationship, and what we need to be happy in this world. Lacey and I are forever grateful to our friends that let us crash at their houses along the way, the national parks system for sharing some of the most beautiful sights we've ever seen, and (maybe most importantly) our parents and my sister Denise for letting us invade their lives for almost five months while I looked for a job.

A lot has changed since we arrived in Minnesota last August at the end of our trip. First of all, I got a job at Steelcase as an Environmental Chemist working to eliminate chemicals of concern from the office furniture products we sell worldwide. It has been great so far (in my first four months) and I'm really happy that I found a job where I can actually do some real and measurable good in the world. Along with that job we moved to Grand Rapids, MI. Grand Rapids is not necessarily where we saw ourselves landing, but we have been pleasantly surprised by the selection of food, the great farmer's markets, the excellent beer, and the incredibly welcoming people. That, of course, is not where the huge changes in our lives end. We just recently bought our first house and will move in in June. We spent some time looking... well, by we, I really mean Lacey, and found a great 90 year old house with beautiful original wood floors, awesome French doors, a great front porch, a deck in the back, and a perfect sized yard for the puppy we hope to get once we move. I'll post pictures soon... so stay tuned.

So, I think it is safe to say that the last year has been a whirlwind for us, and despite missing our time on the road, we are incredibly happy to be in a place where we can start the next chapter of our lives together. Please come visit us in Grand Rapids, we have plenty of extra space now with our new house and would love to host some guests!

Until next time...  

Finally, A Road Trip Summary

So the road trip is long gone, but as I look back at the stress-free days on the road I thought it would be cool to post some cool panoramic pictures and give you all some stats from our trip.

First, here are the stats...

Days on the road:
78

States visited:
11 (California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota)

Countries visited:
2 (Yeah, only two, not that impressive)

Miles driven:
9,660 

National Parks Visited:
23 (Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Sequoia, King's Canyon, Yosemite, Redwoods, Crater Lake, Mt. Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Wind Cave, and Badlands)

Miles Hiked:
201

Nights in the tent:
50 or 51 (not so sure) 

Pictures taken:
This is a ridiculous number, but I don't know what it is (>5,000?)

Other cool places visited:
Sedona, Flagstaff, Denver, Moab, Las Vegas, Big Sur, San Francisco, Napa and Sonoma, Drive Thru Tree Park, Oregon Caves National Monument, Corvallis, Eugene, the Oregon Coast, Portland, Mt. St. Helens, Forks, WA (Twilight anyone?), Seattle, Vancouver, Spokane, Bozeman, MT, Casper, WY, and Wall, SD

Games of Yahtzee played:
I can't count that high, sorry

Money saved by our National Parks Pass:
> $265 (Thanks Christina and Denise!)

Boxes of Mac and Cheese consumed:
40 (actually, I have no idea, but there were quite a few)

Blog page views:
>2,000

Anyway, those are the stats I can think of right now. The trip was awesome and, as far as I know, we have no regrets. The last few weeks in Minnesota have been great, and I'll keep you updated on where we land next!

Odessa Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

 A cool arch, don't remember which one

The Yosemite Valley, what an awesome place

Crater Lake, maybe the most beautiful place on Earth

See Mt. St. Helens in this picture?

Mt. Rainier

Just one of the amazing views at North Cascades

Wall Drug is not a cool place, but the sign is pretty cool

Thanks so much for following the blog during our travels! I hope everyone had a great summer, I know we did!