8 months old!!

The last few months have been interesting, to say the least. In June, we were in Norway for Pete's lobster conference in Bergen. Gabby and Denise came along for the week before the conference and we all had a splendid time walking (Mommy and Daddy) and riding (Gabby) in the land of the Vikings. Gabby found out that she generally approves of air travel, likes the fishies and crabbies in the aquarium, and is largely indifferent to the scenery (fjords and such). Mommy and Daddy took plenty of pictures so she could appreciate it later (photos: Norway 2011). Gabby was also kind enough to save up all her poopy diapers for mommy when they got back to Germany, which she then released in a kind of "Poopagedden." Her Daddy was not upset to miss this as he stayed behind in Norway to finish his conference and explore north of the Arctic Circle. Gabby, now unburdened by the weight of her accumulated meals from Norway, decided that the sedentary horizontal life was not for her and started to crawl and sit up.

A few days after Pete got back from Norway, Denise's brother Joe and his family (Jen, Tyler, and Hannah) came for a visit. We had a wonderful time traveling throughout Germany and around Jena (photos: Akob Visit 2011). Unsatisfied with just crawling, Gabby insisted on learning to pull herself up to standing and moving laterally while her aunt, uncle, and cousins were here. Vocally, she was stuck on "na na na na" and the closely related "a na na na na" for a week or so. Now she has also learned to morph this into the word Momma, which she uses all the time, since that is the only person she wants right now (teething). Denise is creeping around the apartment like a kind of Mommy Ninja to avoid Gabby seeing her and changing the na nas to mommas and any associated crying.

If we have learned anything over the last month, it is that Gabby is probably a bit impatient (I want to be born NOW, I want to crawl NOW, I want to stand up NOW), like her Daddy, and likes to talk a lot, like her Mommy. The next few months should be interesting!!

Gabby is 6 months!!

Gabby is now six months old, which feels like somewhat of a milestone, particularly when we think back to when this all started at 3 am on November 17^th. Regardless, it seems like a good time to post another update.

Our lives are not boring. Dee is busy feeding Gabby, still every 2-3 hours, day and night. Fortunately, all of that food is paying off, and Gabby is growing like a weed (a pink, chubby weed). She is getting more interactive every day and is now starting to do some physical tricks too, like eating her feet, rolling over, eating mushed-up orange-colored food (carrots, squash, other gross things), getting all that food all over her face, onesie, pants, and chair, and then spitting it up again on things that shouldn't be spit up on. She smiles at everything and anything that moves—including the cat (Karl), Mommy and Daddy, random humans, some non-moving objects, and the baby in the mirror! One of her best tricks is laughing out loud, which is infectious for us. Our little girl is a certified water rat! She loves, loves “swimming” in the pool, which entails lots of splashing mixed, attempting to drink the pool water, and did we mention splashing?

We had our first trip on the train to Amsterdam where Gabby became a master of blowing out her diaper in public places. Consequently, we became masters of changing diapers in restaurants, on canal boats, and on public sidewalks. Gabby loved the tour and enjoyed trying to eat tulips during our trip to a botanical garden.

All in all, we have a wonderful, happy, smiley little girl and couldn't be having more fun at the moment. Each day is a great adventure and we are so happy that we can be home with her to be a part of it.

As always, we have lots of new photos on our Flickr site and new videos of her tricks. Gabby’s photo collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniseakob/collections/72157625415804596/. Other photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniseakob/collections/72157626184293871/.

We that you are enjoying a great spring!

Gabby is 4 months old!

Now that Gabby is 4 months old (3/17/11), we can say that we have settled into parenthood as much as one can with an infant—we almost know what day of the week it is, if you ask us! We are truly enjoying the time at home with her and feel like the German parental leave is a real gift. Denise will be home until August 1st and then Pete will remain at home with Gabby.

Gabby is doing great; she no longer has a breathing monitor at night and now weighs ~ 12 lbs (5.5 kg) and is 22.5 inches (57 cm) long. She has been learning new tricks every week and now smiles at us all the time and “talks” more than you can imagine. We put videos up on our Flickr site of her cooing and babbling away. She is also starting to learn to sit, although only with help from Mom and Dad.

In big news, Gabby is now an official US citizen and a legal German resident. The photo attached shows our big girl with her very own US passport! We are looking forward to her first stamp in it.

Lots of new photos have been posted on our Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniseakob/collections/72157625415804596/. Note that we are updating Flickr more often than our blog.

Gabriele, 2 weeks old

Now that Gabriele is 2 weeks old (December 1st), we wanted to send an update on her progress. Gabby spent the first 10 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit although she improved rapidly in the first 3 days and was out of the incubator by day 5. Since then, Mom and Dad have enjoyed holding and feeding her as much as possible. On day 11 she was transferred to intermediate care at the Children’s hospital. She is doing well at the new ward and as of today, she weighs 2280 g (5.03 lbs)! Hopefully now that she is gaining weight she will come home soon.

Denise came home from the hospital last Friday after 9 days and was shocked to find that winter had come to Jena (today we have ~16 inches of snow!). Overall, Mom and Dad are doing well and spend as much time at the hospital visiting Gabby as they can. Although, we are a bit frustrated going back and forth from the hospital to spend time with our little one. We just can’t wait until she is home! Mom is requiring a bit more rest these days in preparation for Gabriele to come home and so will be limiting her email and phone calls.

Thank you all again for you love and support and please keep checking our Flickr site for new photos and updates: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniseakob/collections/72157625415804596/. Since our time is limited we will be posting most of our updates to Flickr so please check there for new info!

Gabriele Alice Bouwma

Happy Family, originally uploaded by deniseakob.

Well, we never expected to post this already, but we have a birth announcement for you all:

Gabrielle Alice Bouwma was born November 17, 2010 at 4:05 PM (10:05 AM Eastern in the US). She was 6 weeks early and was therefore a little small at 2.2 Kg (4.85 lbs) and 46 cm long (18 inches). Since she was pre-term, she will be hanging out in the Neonatal unit at the hospital for a little while as her lungs develop a bit more. Denise is recovering well and we are both happy and exhausted. Photos are regularly posted on our flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniseakob/.

We will try to post an update as soon as we can!

Love,

Pete and Denise