Reading with Papa

More Christmas Pictures

Christmas 2008: 4 Months Old

Hanging At Home

Thanksgiving 2008/3 months old

Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Sorensons house. This is Auntie Effie and my counsin "L". I also got to meet Uncle Matt, Aunt Erin, Great Grandma Gert, and Great Aunt Shiela.

Apple Cup Victory

We are very happy to report that Alyse's first Apple Cup experience was a complete success. If you watch the video closely you can see the Cougs kicking the winning field goal. As you can imagine, Steve is overjoyed. As he has said all season, we can lose every game this year (and we did) but as long as we beat the Huskies we have had a successful season. Today, it is a very proud day to be a Coug.

12 Weeks Old

ok, last post for now........ Alyse is 12 weeks old today.

Marilyn and Gary Chapman

Marilyn and Gary came to visit last weekend. Marilyn and Gary used to watch me when I was Alyse's age. In fact, to this day I still watch Days of Our Lives...one of Marilyn's favorites.

Time for a Run

Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson bought this outfit for Alyse. They bought it with the idea that she could wear it this winter. Well....it barely fits now. I bet she won't be able to wear it much more than a couple more months. She is growing so fast.

Purple Bow

Last week Alyse and I went to visit Brenda and Ella when Steve and Eleni played volleyball. Brenda took one look at Alyse's long hair and insisted that she put a purple bow in it. (look closely at the upper right corner). I have to admit the bow is pretty cute, although I don't forsee myself putting many other bows in her hair. I will reserve that for Brenda.

Evidence of the Roll Over

Alyse is rolling over all of the time now. She seems to really like it. We have seen signs of her rolling over from back to front but nothing has materialized yet. Just the front to back. She is such a strong little girl.

I went back to work two weeks ago. I am so thankful that I work close enough to come home and see her every day at lunch. Makes me feel like I miss a little less.

Alyse and Eleni are doing great! They have a daily routine which seems to keep them both occupied and out of trouble. Generally Alyse sleeps until 10:00 am. Yes, 10:00 am (midnight to 10:00). She then gets up, eats and plays for about an hour. She then goes back down about 11:00 and sleeps for about 45 minutes. She then plays until 1:00 when I come home to feed her. She then sleeps again at about 2:00, then plays until about 5:00 when she takes another nap until Steve and I get home. This has been her schedule for about 2 weeks now. Impressive if you ask me.

Alyse and Eleni spend their days playing on the mat, running in the BOB, reading books, singing songs, playing patty cake, reading books and laughing. Eleni is doing an amazing job and we feel so blessed to have her here with us. The time she is spending with Alyse is priceless.

Too Cute!

Roll Over

So....I got a call from Aunt Eleni today. Ms. Alyse rolled over for the first time today. Who would have thought she would do this at 2 1/2 months? I guess she was doing tummy time and the next thing Eleni knew, Alyse was on her back. We thought it might be coming. She has been showing signs of rolling over lately....for instance, yesterday she took a nap on her side. Steve and I have now decided that it is time to invest in a video camera. Atleast if we have a video camera we won't have to miss all of these special moments.

First Shoes

Little Pumpkin

Mommy's Little Pumpkin

Playing with Auntie Eleni

Crib

So before we left for Hawaii little Alyse refused to sleep in the crib....she would close her eyes and be out for about 5 minutes and then wake up screaming. So..........Mom slept on the couch with her every night. Then in Hawaii, Alyse slept with Steve and I.....stilll refusing to sleep in the crib (which as Brenda pointed out looked a little like a jail cell). She did however sleep very well in BOB, which she had never really done before. Anyway, we returned from Hawaii and little Alyse has slept in her crib every night since we returned (of course she still wakes up to eat but otherwise sleeps). She even takes all of her naps in the crib. So I guess the moral of the story is if you are having a hard time getting your newborn to sleep alone in the crib, just take them to Hawaii for a week. Very strange.

Happy Halloween!

2 Months Old

Alyse turned 2 months old a couple of days ago. Can't believe it.

more :)

More pictures to enjoy.

Hawaii: Continued.....Extended Family

Not only did Grandpa and Uncle John accompany us to Hawaii but our extended family did too ( and then some). Yes, of course I am talking about Brenda, Andy and Ella. What would a trip to Maui with an 8 week old be without another 8 week old (actually she is 4 days younger)? Both girls were awesome. It sure made laying by the pool a lot more enjoyable and a lot less stressful when it came time to feed because there were two of us........we just laughed about it. Who would have thought? Strange how after only 8 weeks, I simply can not imagine a vacation without them being there!

Oh, and I have to mention that Ella's Grandma and Grandpa were also along for the trip. I think they had a great time, and enjoyed spending time with both girls....................and enjoyed giving them back when they got fussy. It was sure nice to have a couple extra hands around. Thanks Donna and Ray for the help.

Oh, and a special thanks to Jim, Leann and Megan for making the arrangements for the trip and for having the patience for all of us to join them on their vacation. I would guess that when they invited Ray, Donna, Brenda and Andy they didn't expect to get two babies and the entire Krauss and Sorenson gang.

Aunt Fritha

Aunt Fritha came to Maui from Kauai. This was Fritha's first time meeting Alyse. We went to the LGPA and went snorkeling when Fritha was with us. It was fun to see her. We only wish that Stephen had been able to come with her. Thanks for visiting Fritha.

Visiting Grandma

After almost three years, our family finally visited the beach where Grandma Krauss was laid to rest. For those of you who don't know, Mom's ashes were spread over the waters of Maui shortly after her death. Maui was a very special place for my parents and mom requested that her ashes be spread over the waters to symbolize how much she loved the time they spent their together. As my Dad would tell you (and I know my mom would agree), their last trip to Maui was the best 10 days of his life.

So....... together as a family we visited the beach where Mom's ashes were spread and together tossed flowers into the Ocean in her memory.

Our trip to the beach was bitter sweet because although we were saddened by the loss of mom, we rejoiced in the opportunity to introduce Rebecca Alyse to her Grandmother. Meeting Alyse would have been one of my mothers greatest joys. Funny how life had now come full circle. What a wonderful story to someday tell our daughter.

Maui will always hold a special place in all of our hearts and there is no doubt that we will visit it again someday.

HAWAII 2008

Maui, Hawaii

We just returned from our first family vacation (Grandpa and Uncle John went too). Alyse did amazing. To our surprise, she slept the entire plane ride......didn't make a peep. No blow outs on the plane either.....which was a relief.

During the day we enjoyed the shaded pool (yes, the pool). This is a little different than our normal trips to the pacific ocean (pre-baby).........when we laid on the beach, soaked up rays and had cocktails. This, of course, was only one of the many changes we had to make to our vacationing lifestyle.

Another change we made was that we stayed at the resort and the same beach the entire 10 days. Our usual course of action would have been to visit various beaches and embark on a couple of excursions. This is a bit more difficult with a little one...and in the afternoon when the wind blows, impossible, so.......... we improvised and went to the beach in the morning during her nap. She slept in the BOB and we swam in the ocean.

We did go to Kapalua Golf Course and watched the LGPA...........This was a great idea until we were watching the ladies tee off and they held up the "QUIET PLEASE" sign and Alyse started to fuss. We watched all the other holes from a distance. It was a beautiful course though and fun to see a professional event in action. And yes, we watched Anika whats her name play. Over rated if you ask me.

t

It was fun to watch Ella and Alyse put their feet in the sand for the first time. Their Daddy's also put their little feet in the ocean (I have a picture somewhere, if I find it I will post it.) Neither one of them knew what to think.

Alyse in Ella's hat. There was a lot of concern about keeping the little one's out of the sunshine and keeping their skin from burning. The hats normally didn't last long but they were cute for pictures.

Grandpa took this picture. He was the master photographer of the trip. This is a picture of Alyse laying on her dad's legs. She loved to lay down and feel the warm Maui breeze. She also loved to just hang with Dad.

Alyse in her swimsuit.

7 Weeks Old Today

Alyse got her first set of shots on Friday. She was 6 1/2 weeks old. She weighed 11.08 pounds and was 22 1/2 inches long. Big change from 7 pounds, 6 oz and a huge weight loss in the first week. Doc said "guess we aren't having problems feeding anymore huh?" She is in the 75% percentile for her weight and height. She has been a little fussy the last couple of days but no fever or other adverse reactions. We are so glad.

Rob, Shelly, Cade and Callie came over this weekend to watch the Cougar/Beaver game. Too bad it didn't work out so hot for the Cougs. We had a great time anyway. This was the second visit for the Brandes Family.

Aunt Eleni

Today Aunt Eleni arrived. Eleni will be living with us for the next 6 months and will spend the weekdays with Alyse when Debbie goes back to work. We feel very blessed to have her in our home. Having her here is priceless. No only will she get to establish a special bond with her niece but she and Steve will also be able to get to know each other better (they are 10 years apart in age.)

Eleni's arrival rounds off a very busy busy 4 days. We are looking forward to a couple of days of R and R to recover.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Sheeler

Great Grandma Donna And Great Grandpa Jack came to visit from Everett, Washington. We are so glad that were able to stay for a couple of days and enjoy our little girl.

Day 3 of Jen's Visit

Another adventure.....wine tasting. Steve was a great sport and watched the girls. They slept through every winery except for the last two. Kate was happy so long as she had a cork in her mouth and Alyse was happy so long as she was being held by Steve or the carseat was moving. They were both a hit with the other wine patrons.

Day 2 of Jen's visit

Jen and I took the girls to Medford to have their pictures professionally taken. When we got there we were joined by Brenda, Ella and Brenda's sister Michelle. All of the girls smiled pretty for their pictures. Boy, was it a lot of work to get Alyse all dressed up, get the pictures taken and then wait for the proofs to come out. Good thing she is so cute, the pictures turned out great. Stay tuned for a posting of the photos later.

Jen and I then went to dinner without the girls and Steve stayed home and babysat. He did wonderful.

Jen & Kate

Jen and Kate came to visit for 4 days from Bellingham, Washington. It was Kate's first airplane ride and Jen says she did great. It was a big adventure for Jen and Kate as they left the three boys behind for a girls get away (Thank you Thank you Kevin. You are a champ in our eyes.)

Kate is almost 6 months. Jen took the bottom picture to show the size difference between the two of them. Amazing what can happen in 4+ months.

Aunt Hannah

Alyse has had a very busy 4 days. It all started on Thursday when Steve's sister Hannah came to visit. Hannah was the first aunt to visit Alyse. Alyse loved her (of course!).

Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast. We spent last weekend at a beach house in Gold Beach, Oregon. It was Steve, Alyse, Brenda, Andy, Ella and I. We had a great time. This was the first real adventure out for both girls and they did very well. It was also the first time that we were able to get pictures of them together, as there were plenty of times that they were not otherwise occupied. :)

We loved being able to share our favorite place with Alyse. We hope she will learn to love it as much as we do.