More birthday pictures!

Shane attended his first party! Happy 3rd Birthday, Liam!

This was a big weekend for Shane - he attended his cousin Liam's 3rd birthday! While he was there, he was able to meet his cousins Joey and Danny! He also met Jamie who gave him his first DePaul shirt (where his daddy went to school!) His cousin Jack and Colleen provided him plenty of love - so did his Uncle John! Liam gave him plenty of kisses, but did not want to pose for a picture with him so the picture is blurry. Pictures of him with everyone are included in the next few posts! Shane wore his going home from the hospital outfit to the party. It is probably the last time he will fit into it. :-( After all, our little man will be 3 weeks old tomorrow!
Regarding sleep, we have taken several leaps backwards! Our little Shane has again decided that sleep works best in mommy's arms - not in the bassinet! I am exhausted so this post is going to be short and will be followed by pictures from the party and some pictures of the little guy in his outfit and bundled up to leave for the party!

Cutest Baby in the World!

We love our little boy! He is such an adorable baby and we are madly in love with him!
Shane is sleeping for several stretches in his bassinet and that makes for a much happier mommy! His daddy has been wonderful about sacrificing a few hours of his sleep so I can sleep before he goes to bed so I am doing OK. Shane is eating like a horse and hating burping, but other than that he is a really content baby!
Yesterday Aunt Geri came over and took us to my OB appointment where all of the receptionists commented on his perfect features! Geri is awesome because she sat with Shane so I could pump and nap! I love her!!!!!!!
Here are some pictures of Shane with Aunt Geri and some pictures I took of the little guy this morning!

Sleep!!!!

We have successful sleep! Shane actually slept for 3 hours straight in his bassinet last night! That meant that I slept for 3 hours on the couch and it felt great! Dan let me sleep from 7:30-10:30 last night and then Shane went in the bassinet from 1:30-4:20 so I almost slept 6 combined hours!
In other news, Shane spent Tuesday with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Irwin. As proud grandparents they swore he could hold his own pacifier and smile. I thought they were crazy, but Dan and I also noticed that he holds his own pacifier! Grandma Carolyn, who was here yesterday, also swears he smiles. Dan says he does too, but I am still sticking with the smiles being gas. Dan and I do think Shane is on the advanced track - he is holding his head up like a pro, he tries to "crawl" during tummy time on our chest, he removes his hands from the newborn sleeves of his pj's, and he is trying to roll over! We are so proud of our brilliant boy!
Today Aunt Geri is coming over to drive me to my OB appointment and hang out with her adorable nephew! I feel so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life and in our beautiful son's life!
Here are some pictures of Shane with Grandma Judy & Grandpa Irwin, and a close up I took of his face that I love!

We are family Part 2

I had to do this entry in two parts because each entry can only have five photos. I have way more than that to share!
Yesterday was Grandma Carolyn's day with Shane as Dan went back to work. It was great as I was able to sleep for an hour and a half and she got Shane to sleep in the bassinet! That did carry over some to last night. He slept in his bassinet from 3-4 and from 5:15-7!!!! Whoo Hoo!!!! I also attribute some of Shane's ability to sleep in his bassinet to my conversation with his Aunt Jeanne who gave me some great tips that I used last night! Thanks Jeanne!!!!
Last night Shane's cousins Colleen and Jack came by. Shane met Jack for the first time and Colleen brought over plenty of Liam's 0-6 month clothes for Shane to borrow! THANK YOU COLLEEN, BILL & LIAM!!!! Shane now officially has a MASSIVE wardrobe!!!!! I don't know how he will ever wear all of his 0-3 month clothing! Meanwhile, he is quickly growing and will probably be out of his newborn clothes by next week! Yay!!! We have very few newborn clothes, but INSANE amounts of 0-3!
I am including photo of Shane with Colleen, Jack & Grandma Carolyn! I am also including a picture of our little family of three that Sarah took on Sunday. I swear, in that picture Shane looks just like his daddy! What do you think?
The other picture is just a cute photo of our little guy!
Well, I am off to get ready for Grandpa Irwin and Grandma Judy who are coming to help out today!

We are family!

What a busy weekend Shane had! he was able to meet his cousin Melissa (He still can't wait to meet Melissa's Jason!) and his Uncle Bob, Aunt Jeanne, cousin Sarah, and Cousin Megan (We can't wait for Shane to meet his cousins Bobby and Tommy)! Dan and I feel so blessed to have so many people looking out for our little man! Cousin Melissa brought a snuggly receiving blanket that we LOVE and though Aunt Jeanne & Uncle Bob have already spoiled Shane rotten with a terrific car seat cover, formula, and diapers, they also brought more emergency supplies (THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!) and a Notre Dame Sleeper!!!! Dan is a huge ND fan so the sleeper will be Shane's first ND outfit that will fit him! He should be able to fit into it by this summer!!!! Thank you all! Here are some photos from the weekend!

Sleep? Who needs sleep?

Well our little guy continues to bring us non-stop joy! The non-stop being the key word in the sentence. One of us is with him 24 hours a day. OK, I did get him in he bassinet for an hour last night, but only once. He is really only happy in our arms. It has been OK for now since Dan was home for a week, but he goes back to work tomorrow and that leaves me here. Last night Dan was up with him from 9-1:30 while I slept and then I took over from 1:30-8:30 with a wonderful one hour nap in the middle. Anyone have any suggestions? I should clarify, Shane sleeps in the middle of the night, it is his parents that don't sleep because he will only sleep in our arms. Please don't tell me I am spoiling him because every book I read says that newborns can not be spoiled or manipulate their parents and that they only cry out of need. Well, I am open to suggestions so lets here them! Thankfully I will have some help during the day next week, so I can maybe nap a bit. Shane will get to see both sets of his grandparents on alternating days. I am sure they will not mind holding him non-stop at all so that should help!

In other news Dan and I took the final yesterday for our last class! We are done with all of the classes for our Master's Degree in Educational Leadership. Of course, we were both exhausted yesterday and this is a difficult class (Research) so who knows how we did on the final. It would be a shame to blow our perfect grade point average in the last class, but I am just thrilled to be done!

Here are some more pictures of the cutest little man EVER! Dan says the black and white close up that I took is blurry, but I still think it is precious! Even when he keeps us up all night, we just look at that face and we are in love! 

Happy first day of spring!!!!

Today is the first day of spring, though for us, Spring came 10 days ago! Today is also Shane's golden day birthday! He is such a great baby. We do not sleep at night because Shane is only happy in his parents arms so Dan and I have been taking turns. I am not sure what I am going to do when Dan goes back to work... 

Shane lost his umbilical cord yesterday! Whoo hoo! However, we still need the area to heal up before he gets a real bath. 

In other news, Shane got his first piece of mail yesterday - a St. Patrick's Day card (Thanks, Aunt Geri & Uncle John)! We are saving the envelope and card!

I am going to include many more pictures because our little guy is so darn cute!!!! You can see that we are taking pictures of him in the many outfits you have all sent our way! 

Dan is so in love with his son, as you can tell in the photos, that he wears his spit up like a badge of honor! I asked him if he wanted to change this morning and he refused! It is so cute! He really is loving parenthood! I am too. I just look at Shane and I want to cry! His skin is so soft and his features so perfect, it seems impossible to believe that he is ours! We are so lucky!!!!

Please come meet the little man soon if you have not already! He is really adorable!

Living Proof

Here are some more photos of Shane! I know, I keep posting them, but he is too darn cute! He truly is our living proof that miracles can happen. Shane's favorite song, "Living Proof" brings a tear to both of our eyes so I thought I would include some lyrics from it along with the pictures of our little guy! 

" Well now on a summer night in a dusky room come a little piece of the lord's undying light crying like he swallowed the fiery moon. In his mother's arms it was all the beauty I could take, like the missing words to some prayer that I could never make. In a world so hot and dirty so fouled and confused, Searching for a little bit of G-d's mercy, I found living proof.... It's been a long, long draught baby, now the rain is pouring down on our roof. Looking for a little bit of G-d's mercy, I found living proof." 

Shane is a total daddy's boy and Dan is so awesome with him! It amazes me that my hot-headed hubby is way more patient and tolerant of Shane than even I am. Dan loves to lay on the floor and the couch with his buddy and does not even complain about the lack of sleep. We have both waited so long for this little guy!

Shane went for his first walk yesterday and had some play time on his new quilt with his daddy and doggy brother Thunder! How beautiful is that quilt? It was handmade by a friend of ours, Gloria, who works with Dan! I am amazed at the generosity and love that so many people have sent Shane's way! 

Shane is one week old!!!!!!!!

Happy 1st St Patrick's Day Shane! Happy 1 week birthday Shane!!!! Daddy just said that you are his pot of gold! That is so true!!!

I am happy to report that Shane was born at 7:56 AM one week ago this morning! He weighed in at 7 pounds and 4 ounces and was 19 inches long! As you can see by his beautiful photo, he is absolutely perfect! Dan and I could not be happier to have our little boy here and healthy! The OB who assisted my Doctor (Dr. Kagen) said it was the most emotional delivery that she had ever been in! That is the truth! There was not a dry eye in the place! We know that Shane's big sister Madeleine was looking down from heaven to make sure her little brother got here safe! Shane's birth makes us extra thankful for Madeleine. Without her, Shane would not be here and we can't imagine life without him!

Shane was greeted at the hospital by both sets of his grandparents! Grandma Greenfield made him a beautiful blanket, hat, and booties that we love! Grandpa Shneider could not get over his luck - finally a boy in the family! Both Daddy and Grandpa Shneider are hoping that Shane learns how to throw left handed! Mommy just hopes he becomes a good democrat! In the afternoon, Shane's Aunt Jorie and Jason came to visit.  Thanks to Jason, you are reading this blog! He set up the adorable template and added that precious photo to the top! Aunt Jorie immediately promised to spoil Shane rotten!  We got home from the hospital to find an activity center from Aunt Jorie so she is making good on her promise! In the evening, he met his Aunt Geri, Uncle John, and cousin Colleen! They have already decided to spoil him rotten and he was able to go home with some more new clothes from his adoring aunt, uncle, and cousin! I think Aunt Geri may be responsible for half of his clothing collection! Shane already has way more clothing than his mommy and he is probably close to having as much as his daddy! Shane is looking forward to meeting his Uncle Bob and Aunt Jeanne who came over before his birth to drop off all kinds of goodies! We are so thankful to Aunt Jeanne for all of the emergency formula which it looks like we will be needing to use... More on that later! However, our favorite present from Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Bob was the car seat cover(s) which we love! They brought over two and we were supposed to choose one, but daddy couldn't decide so they left us with both! Daddy especially loves how easy it goes over the car seat and comments on it every time we leave the house! Shane has so many cousins still to meet, not to mention all his great aunts and uncles and his adopted aunts and uncles (mommy and daddy's friends!) So far he has met his aunt Kristine who came by with more presents for Shane! Thanks to aunt Kristine, Shane has a whole wardrobe of hand me down clothes and toys from his buddy Connor! Kristine has also spoiled Shane rotten with new clothing and toys! He is lucky to have her! If Shane hasn't met you yet, please stop by and meet the cutest baby EVER!

Other than looking adorable, we have discovered that Shane really is his dad's son, guess what his favorite song is? Yes, if you guessed it is by Bruce Springsteen, you would be correct! We made Shane a cd of songs that represented our feelings about his upcoming birth while I was pregnant. One song on the cd is "Living Proof" by Bruce. It is a song he wrote about the birth of his first son and the words are very powerful. As I would drive around and listen to the cd during my pregnancy, I noticed Shane moving around a lot whenever that song came on. I figured he either loved it or hated it! Well, the night he was born, the nurse brought him to me to feed in the middle of the night. I could not get him to latch on and realized the nurse had moved my call button. Since I had a c-section, I was hooked up to an IV, circulation boots, and a catheter - I could not move! I kept hoping the nurse would come in and check on me, but no one came and Shane became very restless! He was screaming and I felt helpless and desperate! So what did I do, I started to sing to him (poor baby!!!!) Anyway, as soon as I started singing "Living Proof" he quieted down. I had to sing for an hour before the nurse came! I have also been singing away at home, so has daddy! We make quite the music! Hopefully Shane gets some musical ability from some of you, because we have no talent!

Anyways, we will post some pictures of Shane on his first St. Patrick's Day later on! Please feel free to comment and sign up to follow this blog and then you will get a notice whenever I put up a new post!