Happy New Year!

Kelly has come up from Portland to help celebrate the new year!  She came up here yesterday, and we've run around Federal Way & Tacoma today.  Tonight, Eric is stopping by a party and Kelly & I are watching an old favorite:  When Harry Met Sally.  We may or may not stay up until midnight, but either way it's been a great way to round out the year!

Happy Birthday!!!

And today is Josie's birthday, my dear four-year-old niece.  I'm remembering a time when I was in PA in September.  This was at a music & motion program, and the kids got to play with toys.  Josie rolled up to me in her little car, and when I asked if I could take her picture, she said, "I can't!! I'm moving too fast!!'  Haha - I love that kid.  Happy birthday, sweet Josephine!

And, I couldn't let another day go by without mentioning my fabulous sister-in-law.  Melissa's birthday was yesterday, and I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to her, too.  Melissa has been living with us this fall and we have greatly enjoyed getting to spend time with her, and watching her & Susan bond.  Happy birthday, dear Melissa!  We love you!!

Christmas Afternoon

After church on Sunday, we came home to have brunch and open presents!

We opened presents with Bob, Robyn, Melissa & Billy.  Here is a very sweet picture of Susan and her aunt:

We rounded out our evening with dinner with Robyn's family.  We had 12 people, plus the baby for our ham dinner.  It included a visit from Eric's cousin Jim, the marine!!!  I didn't take any pictures, because I was pretty busy buzzing around getting dinner prepared... but it was great to have them over to celebrate.

Christmas Morning

To kick off the morning, we opened our stockings.  (Well, to kick off the morning we had a diaper change and a bottle, but you know what I mean...)  Now we will head out to church, and come home to dive into the presents under the tree.  Eric's folks and his sister & her fiance will join us, and then we'll have some more of Robyn's family over for Christmas dinner at 3 this afternoon.

Merry Christmas to all, from the Palmquists!  We hope you experience true joy from the gift of Jesus Christ.

One Year Birthday!

Susan is one year old!

Here are some observations about our little girl:

1.  There is lots of vocalizing going on in the Palmquist house!  Susan loves to babble, coo, and shriek exclamations.  She also has the sweetest sounding exhale when she sees something that she's interested in.  Like, if you walk over to the Christmas tree she will reach out to it and say, "ahhhhh," while reaching for a shiny ornament.  Precious!

2.  The crib is no longer a sad place for Susan.  When we put her down for her nap or bed time, she (most of the time) willingly goes in and lies on her belly and sucks her thumb, and falls asleep.  Most mornings we wake up listening to her sing to herself.

3.  Susan has gotten two new teeth in the last month, so that brings the grand total to six teeth in that little mouth!  There are four on top and two on bottom.

4.  When Mom or Dad leaves, Susan will let you know that she's upset about it!  Whenever we drop her off at the church nursery, she gets very sad.  We're told that she settles down after 5 minutes or so, but it's still hard to hear her wailing from down the hall!

5.  Books are a big part of our day!  When Susan wakes up, before she goes down for naps & for bed, and at several points in between, Susan will sit with us and read.  If you hold up two books, she'll pick which book she wants to read and hand it to you.  And... it will likely be "Moo, Baa, La La La" by Sandra Boynton.

6.  We have her 1-year appointment on Dec 27.  Stay tuned for weight & height stats!

7.  I'm sure I have more things to share, but I'll keep this brief because I know Aunt Marge is waiting for me to post these pictures!

Happy ONE YEAR birthday, little girl.  Words cannot express how much we love you.  

Thank you for letting us take care of you!

One Year Ago...

On December 21, 2010, I was admitted into the hospital to have Susan!  We registered at 1:45pm and by 1:49am, Susan had made her appearance into the world.  I've been nostalgic all day, remembering the smallest details.

We had my 39-week appointment, and my doc decided to induce labor.  We got to come home, grab lunch, and meet her at the hospital.  What I thought would be a rushed, painful, chaotic experience was surprisingly calm.  We left the clinic, went to Panera, came home and packed & cleaned & prayed, and then headed out to Tacoma General.  Mere hours later, our baby arrived!

We didn't know what we would call her, but within 30 minutes of her birth, she was named 'Susan Joyce' and I had a sandwich.  And life was good.

Yes, we had a few days in the NICU while we got her billirubin count up and her respiratory rate stable... and while those days were stressful and uncertain, we were fortunate to get out of the NICU by Christmas night.

What a year it has been!  There were:  many hours spent awake in the middle of the night, nursing or soothing Susan back to sleep.  Many cloth diapers washed & dried & stuffed & reused.  Many giggles and many tears.  Many silly songs sung.  Many panicked moments, and many moments when I thought, "I was afraid of this? Fearful of her?"  There were moments of pride, disappointment, uncertainty, and joy.

"Goodnight," I told Susan tonight.  "When you wake up, you'll be one!"

Kisses or Hot dogs?

Of all of the babies surveyed in the Palmquist house, 100% of them agreed that the word 'kiss' is funnier than the word 'hot dog.' (...and there were the CUTEST giggles!)

Baby Trumpet

Picture Day!

Today, our family went down to Tacoma to have some pictures taken!  (We had the opportunity to work a friend from church, who is a photographer.)  Official pictures will be given to us later, but I snapped this picture of Eric & Susan while we were waiting at one point:

I have beautiful people in my life :)

We Love You, Blockhead!

Musical Meal

Susan started playing with a toy mallet just before she moved to her high chair for dinner... so when I did move her to her chair, she didn't want to let go of it!  She ate with the mallet passing from hand to hand.

Blocks

We have these great 'Melissa & Doug' blocks, and Susan loves them!  There are about ten blocks that all nest in each other, and Susan loves to pull out the smallest two and tote them around with her.  Like every other mother, I think my baby is the smartest baby ever, and she really proves it when she can fit the little box into the bigger box.