Christmas Parties

Friday we went to Jason's work for a short visit before going to Dad and Brenda Fox's church Christmas party. Brenda had Joanna scooped up and showed off to many folks (she's very proud); I couldn't count how many people held her. I fed her in the church's nursery a couple of times through the evening. We were there from about 6:30 to just before 10p.m. Joanna was pretty geared up when we got home. We had to swaddle her to get her calm enough to sleep. She was looking around and very happy, but not at all tired.

Shopping for a dress

We went to Dillard's and didn't find anything, but I tried on about 10 dresses, nursed Joanna, and changed her diaper in the dressing room.
We went to JC Penney and did the same thing but found a nice dress. Joanna did really well. I wore her in a carrier for the most part. Folks looked and smiled as we passed. Babies are great; I think seeing babies invokes happy memories for a lot of people. There's just something special about a little baby.

Happy One-Month Birthday, Joanna!

Joanna is one month old today. She's happy and growing. It is so neat to see her grow. I'm a proud momma. Jon and Barbara, Jason's brother and wife, came down from Kentucky to visit this weekend and see the baby for the first time. They just love her.

Jason's mom came over today, too. She came in and scooped up the baby and then went off and changed her diaper. It was weird (but good) that someone else took care of her. Jason and I just looked at each other and I said, "Okay." Also, on this Joanna's one-month birthday, I went to the grocery store and left her at home. It was weird getting out without her.

My friend Meg sent Joanna a bunch of great books for us to get started reading her. She sent a variety of books including, "I Love You Forever," "Chonicles of Narnia," and "Anne of Green Gables." That was a great gift. We are so happy to start reading together.

Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Jason's birthday was yesterday and I cooked dinner for the first time since Joanna was born. We are really grateful to everyone who brought us meals and to the fast food industry. I made spaghetti. I started it early in the day to make sure it got done and I didn't burn it! I put it in a casserole dish and then heated it up before everyone arrived.

Rachel, Chris, and Tracy came over for dinner. Everyone arrived just about the time Jason got home from work. Rachel brought hot fudge cake. I fed Jason his as he held Joanna. Then, she ate her dinner and I had my cake after that...yummy.

Learning to burp better

Learned how to burp Joanna in a way that works. Before, I was doing the shoulder burp, but usually got nothing and Joanna would be miserable until I tried again after realizing she still needed to burp. Now, I put her on my knee and bounce her and pat her on her back while holding her by her chest with the other hand.

Lori, Ashey, and Adrienne came to visit today. They brought a basket with goodies and a balloon.

Jason and I bathed Joanna's bottom because she pooped a LOT. Jason figured out that blowing in her face startles her into not crying for a moment during a diaper change. :-)

Jason is a sweetie and he ran to the store for me. He is so good to me.

Joanna's Birth

Joanna was born on Oct 10, 2007 at 3:10 a.m. She weighed 8lbs 1.4oz and was 19.5 inches long! She is beautiful and so sweet.


Don't laugh at the cow.
Jason bought her for me for my birthday when we started dating. I only thought it was appropriate for the cow to be present at our baby's birth!v

Niagara Falls

Jason and I stole away to Niagara Falls, the Canadian side, this weekend.
We stayed at the Radisson on Fallsview Blvd and did all of the touristy stuff.

We flew into Buffalo at about 11:30. We took the metro bus system into Niagara Falls, NY. From there, we walked into Canada over the Rainbow Bridge. Then, we walked along Rover Road through a nice garden area. It was probably about a mile of walking and we rested along the way and we got rained on, but it was fun.

The hotel didn't want to take the Visa debit card like a credit card. They insisted that Jason go get a "prepaid" credit card with $25 credit on it so that they could have it for any incidentals we charged to the room. Jason went on the journey for the card which was hard since they gave him the wrong directions. I waited there at the hotel with the luggage. Once we got checked in, we showered and then ate at TGI Friday's which was right near the hotel.

We had a view of Horseshoe Falls in our room. They shoot fireworks over the American Falls on Friday and Sunday night; we couldn't see them, but it was still super nice to look at the falls from our room. They light them up with colored lights at night.

Saturday, we ate breakfast at TGI Friday's and went touring the Falls area. We bought a tour package that included an up-close tour of the falls called "Journey Behind the Falls", a really up-close on the water with the "Maid of the Mist" boat tour, and visited the Butterfly Conservatory. There was also included a pass for the "White Water Walk" that gave a up-close view of the rapids. We ate dinner at the Casino because it was fairly cheap, $38 total instead of the $102 we spent at Friday's on Friday night. We walked looking for a drugstore and never found it. We took a taxi back to the room.

Sunday, we relaxed. We ate breakfast at Tony Roma's and went back to the room. Jason walked to the drug store. I sat on the bed and looked out over the falls. That evening we went to the Cirque Niagara Avaida (sp) and ate dinner at Mama Mia's, a very nice restaurant in the food court of a mall-like casino complex.

We took a limo service back to Buffalo and barely made the connecting flight in Michigan. Our luggage didn't make the flight, but it was put on the next one and someone from Northwestern delivered it to our house about 10:30 that night.

We really enjoyed ourselves, spending time together, virtually uninterrupted. Since neither of us had cell phone chargers, we kept them turned off!

America is better than Canada.