Estes Park, CO - 2009 Visit

Estes Park, CO is my favorite place in the whole wide world. :) My grandmother owns a house there that they bought just before I was born, so we've been visiting for a long time. This year we got to go for extra long as Robbie just started his paternity leave (aka bonding leave), so we were there for almost 2 weeks!

Robbie's parents were able to join us for the first four days or so. It was great to show them this awesome place. We took them to our traditional hangs - the Baldpate Inn for dinner, a drive up Trail Ridge Road, walking around Lake Estes, shopping in downtown Estes, and lunch at the Stanley hotel.

Making it even more special is that both grandfathers were there with their brand new granddaughter and one of their grandsons for Father's Day. On Sunday we celebrated not only all three dads for Father's Day, but also hit Bob's birthday (just before), Mom's birthday (next day), and Owen's birthday (July 9th). So there was much present opening.

We spent the rest of the time having tons of fun - although no bighorn sheep sighting for me. Mom and Dad got to see some though. Robbie and I got in 2 dates - which was wonderful. Got in a few hikes and walks. Managed a picnic. Took Owen to a play land place with mini-golf and go-cars. Had a visit from Grandmother and introduced her to her new great-granddaughter. Also had a lunch with the whole CO family - it was great to see every one! Unfortunately, Grandmother fell and broke her ankle in three places. She is now at a rehab hospital and recovering. Prayers for a quick and easy recovery would be very appreciated!

While in CO Abby started sleeping longer through the night - not needing help to stay asleep until around 4:30 or 5am and sleeping until 7 or 8am. Awesome, awesome, awesome! Owen continues to be his adorable self and loved seeing all the animals, hiking with Dad, and playing with my cousins Kyle and Cullin.

We had a wonderful time! Especially since it was in the 70's while Sacramento was 105! Can't wait to go back next year!!!

Abby is 2 Months Old!

This first two months has flown by! Abby is doing great. At her well-baby check up Abby is 11 lbs 5 oz (50%), 24 3/4 in. tall (95%), and head size of 15 1/4 in. (25%). So far she is very tall, skinny, with a small head. As an interesting comparison Owen at his 2month check up was 11 lbs 14 oz (50%), 23 3/4 in. tall (75%) and head size of 16" (50%).

At 7 weeks she started smiling more. She especially loves to smile at Gramp (my dad), at her star (which Owen loved at that age too), and at the fan. Although in general she seems like a fairly serious baby. She is generally a very easy going baby. Cries only when she's really hungry or overtired. Both are very easy to fix - feed her or rock her.

Her cries can be very, very loud - boy does she have lungs. But she very rarely breaks out the full-on cry like I said. She talks a LOT - but her talking is very soft and sweet. She especially talks with her star. You can tell that she's trying to learn to creat actual sounds. Really playing with forming her mouth to make the sounds. Mostly she sounds like a little cat.

She's holding up her head pretty well. And she's rolled from her tummy to her back a few times. Usually she's been on a slant of some sort to give her a little help. But you can tell she's trying to roll. And she prefers to be held sitting up and looking out at the world. Very intersted in seeing what's going on.

We think she's going to be a thumb or finger sucker. She really tries to get those hands in the mouth - just needs to figure out how to open up her hands which still stay in fists quite a bit.

We think she looks more and more like Owen as a baby. She's starting to get his lashes (which is awesome - he has beautiful lashes). Her face is starting to shape more like his (previously she had much, much bigger cheeks than he'd had at that age).

Per previous posts, she's sleeping through the night. We had a milestone just last night (7/8). She didn't need help staying asleep until about 5:30am, and never needed to be pulled into bed with us in her snuggle nest. 1st time she's stayed in her bassinett all night long!!! From around 10pm to around 7am. She needs a little pacifier help to stay down starting around 5am, but only for about 30-60 minutes and then she's out again.

Owen is doing better and better with her. He's loved her from the beginning and still loves to hold her and give her kisses. He tells her he loves her every night unprompted. He loves to show her things and tell her what they are. But now he's also doing better about sharing her with Abby. In CO we had a breakthrew. He and Robbie were holding Abby and Owen got up and walked away to play, leaving Robbie to hold Abby alone! We're so proud of him! Now he won't completely freak out when he sees Robbie holding her. Depending on the mood he's in he'll either immediately ask Robbie to hold him instead (but usually patiently and not screaming) or he'll just keep playing. Great steps!!

She is a little sweetheart and we love her more every day! Can't wait to see what's next!

Abby Weeks 3 thru 6 / Mimi and Gramps Visit

We were very blessed to have my dad come stay with us for 3 weeks and my Mom for 1.5 weeks during these weeks. Dad is the baby whisperer and so it was great to have his help with Abby. Mom is also awesome with babies as well as very helpful around the house. It really does take 4 adults to handle one newborn. :)




Abby is doing great. At 6 weeks she started sleeping through the night. She goes down between 9-11pm and then starting around 2am, needs some help staying asleep until about 6am when she gets up to feed. Never waking up hungry. This is a good 6 weeks earlier than Owen who was eating every three hours through the night until about 3 months. It's awesome! She prefers to be held through all naps. It's almost impossible to get her down in the crib for a nap, though we try. We figure the night sleep is a blessing, we'll take the holding her through naps thing for now. :)




While my parents were here we did a few day trips with them. We visited Amador which is sometimes called the "Little Napa." It's a small wine growing area with tasting room only about 30 minutes away from our house. It's still all free for the tasting rooms though, unlike Napa. Dad had an awesome time buying wine.



We also took Mom to San Francisco. We spent some time in the Exploratorium (I keep wanting to call it the Imaginarium). Owen loved it - tons of stuff for kids to explore and touch and play with. We also showed him the seal lions at Fisherman's Warf and had lunch there. Another really fun time!



Can't believe how fast this time is going. :)

Lamaze Mommie's Baby Shower

3 more of the 6 Lamaze Mommies are pregnant. I just had Abby of course. Jaime is having a girl in July (she has a boy - Dominic - so one of each for them too!). Garian is having a boy (she already has one boy - Bryson - so best buddy brothers!). And Karen is due in December - we don't know the gender yet. We had a baby shower for Garian and Jaime. We had lunch at a tea place (which was lovely - I love tea). Several of the girls brought the kiddos. Owen was in day care and he doesn't go back in the middle of the day well, so I attended with just Abby. It was so great to catch up and to get to hear about Garian and Jaime's pregnancies and babies. They're sharing names, but I'll wait to post until the babies are born. Good luck with the delivery girls and can't wait to meet the new additions!!!

P.S. Ariel and Susan - you're next! :)

Abby Weeks 1-2 & Owen 22 Months

I can't believe it's already been two weeks since Abby was born. So far, in general she is a very laid back baby. Only cries when she's very hungry. But sleeps so well she'll sleep through feeding time - she's giving us 4-5 hour stretches at night. Has a decent amount of awake time where she just looks around at the world happily. Robbie's mom went home on Saturday. Dottie and Bob were so great. I don't think I would have made it through the first two weeks without their help. Robbie is taking the first of his paternity leave weeks this week. The big project - making the birth announcement. My dad arrives this coming Sunday. We're looking forward to more help!

Our only hiccup so far with Abby has been feeding her. Starting the Friday after we were home from the hospital, Abby developed major poo issues - diarreah (sp?) 3-4 times an hour. She was pooing out everything faster than she could take it in. So she started losing weight. The doc thought it was likely an allergy to the formula that we were supplementing the breastfeeding with. So we tried soy formula for a few days - which did nothing to fix the issue and almost seemd to make it worse. Because of the constant pooing she developed diaper rash that turned into full on sores. Poor baby. So we had some rather sleepless nights for a few days there. Then we went on breastmilk only starting last Thursday. The good news is that this put stop to the diarreah and the sores cleared up. However, we had another doc appt. today, and while she's no longer losing weight, she's not gaining either. So now we're back to supplementing with formula - this time trying a hypoallergenic one. Cross your fingers that it not only does NOT cause diarreah again, but that she starts gaining weight.

Owen turned 22 months late last week. I can't believe he's already almost two years old. This 2nd year with him has flown by. He is now counting to 10 all on his own which is new. He also has developed a fear of suds in the bath tub (like when you rinse out his hair). Bathtime has become a bit of a struggle consequently. Any suggestions on dealing with an irrational fear of suds in the bathtub? His latest favorite thing to do is play t-ball. Nana and Pawpaw (Robbie's parents) brought him a toddler t-ball set as a gift for becoming a big brother. He LOVES to hit the ball off the T. Owen is doing awesome as a big brother. His teachers at daycare inform us that he talks about Abby and how much he loves her all the time. He can't wait to get home in the afternoon to give Abby a kiss. He is so sweet and gentle with her so far. Couldn't be more proud of our little guy.

So after the first two weeks with our darling daughter our little family is tired but happy. Week 3 here we come!

Announcing Abigail Jaelyn Gehbauer - Born April 27, 2009

We are thrilled to announce the birth of our baby girl, Abigail Jaelyn Gehbauer (Abby for short).

Born: April 27, 2009

Time: 8:08am

Weight: 9lbs 5.4oz

Height: 20"

Mom and baby are doing great. The c-section went very smoothly and a big difference in feeling better faster when there's not 30 hours of labor preceeding a c-section like there was with Owen. The time in the hospital was appreciated. Abby is already eating and sleeping like a champ (although we'll see how much that changes soon). She can do 4-5 hours at night at the moment (Owen was only going 2 hours at the point). We think she is beautiful, of course, and so far she has been so sweet and generally very happy.

We couldn't be more proud of how Owen has handled this. He loves to give the baby kisses and try to share his toys with her. He likes to point out all her features and what she's doing... "baby nose" "baby binkie" "baby sleep" etc. He has no problem with me holding her, but so far won't let Robbie anywhere near her (Daddy's boy to the core). Trying to gradually introduce that concept. Any tips?

Arrived home Thursday late afternoon. Our friends the Tribbles surprised us with "baby girl" balloons and decorations outside the house. So sweet of them. First night home went very well - got a 4 1/2 hour sleep in which is awesome.

I can't believe she's finally here. Love her so much already. Our little family is complete!

Pregnancy #2 - 38 Weeks

One more week to the scheduled c-section. Part of me - the part that is ready to be done being pregnant and hold my little girl - almost hopes she comes early. The other practical part hopes she holds off till the scheduled c-section date so that we will have help with Owen while we're still in the hospital. Robbie's parents get here the Saturday before the delivery date, so she can feel free to come two days early but that's it. :)

I do feel good that her room is all finished. See other blog on that one. I've been on maternity leave for a little over 2 weeks now. I have been able to get a lot done in between all the resting I'm supposed to be doing - cleaning, packing for the hospital, buying last minute items, organizing, and general nesting. I'm even already set for Mother's Day stuff - ready to be mailed right on time.

The baby probably weighs a little under 7 pounds and likely measures a bit over 19 1/2 inches. I can't wait to see what she looks like. Adorable of course. :) Owen was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It will be interesting to see the differences between Abby and Owen. Looking forward to meeting her.

Pregnancy #2 - 38 Weeks

Picture coming soon.

Pregnancy #1 - 37 Weeks

Pregnancy #1 - 38 Weeks