Lazy weekends

We had a nice relaxing weekend .We went out to dinner on Friday night & were anxious to see how Elizabeth 'behaved' - She did wonderful by just sleeping & looking around from her stroller! Andy & I were able to enjoy a nice dinner out & a few cocktails- which was very nice. Other than that...our weekend consisted of shopping, a few walks & just relaxing on the couch. Next week the weather is cooling off but we are still going to try to get out everyday and enjoy the fall weather. Daddy is going to the game today & Lizzie & I will just watch it on tv - unless they start losing! We will try to stay optimistic. Who Dey!!!!

3 weeks

Elizabeth is already 3 weeks old and she is growing rapidly! She is so much more alert during the day & night (unfortunately). She has already outgrown a few newborn onesies - which seems so crazy to me! She pretty much spends her days eating, going on walks, napping, baths and then her favorite part of the day - relaxing with her daddy on the couch. We were able to meet Adrienne and Lucy for a playdate at starbucks on Wednesday which was fun. They were in town all the way from Seattle so it was wonderful to see them. Lucy just turned 1 and is sooo adorable - gave me an insight to what my life will be like next year. She is a really cute girl with a personality to match. Here are some pictures of that day....Elizabeth was sound asleep in her stroller while Lucy played by herself at the table.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Darts. Chris & Jodi got married on Saturday & it was a nice night out for Mommy & Daddy Ruwe. I will post some pictures of the wedding when I get them. It was such a great time & it helped to know that we left our little girl in good hands. Thursday night was the rehersal dinner and Elizabeth got to spend a few hours w/ the Roedings. They were wonderful to watch her for us and did a great job of keeping her happy. Saturday night, my sister in law Jo came down to our house to babysit for us. It was so nice that she came to us because we were only right down the street at the reception. Thanks to all of our babysitters this weekend.... we really enjoyed our time with our friends. It made leaving our daughter easier knowing she was with great friends & family. Thanks again Lisa, Adam, Eli, & Jo!!!!! Love, Erin & Andy

Clean baby

All of that working out left Elizabeth sweaty so she needed another bath. She is starting to enjoy them more and she loves when her head / hair is getting washed. It still takes Andy & I to give her a bath - I have not been brave enough to try it by myself. I love the bath pictures and all the cute towels we get to wrap her in.

Fit babes! ....& mommies

The weather has been so perfect to get Elizabeth out for some walks. We have been walking with aunt Valerie & cousin Audrey in the mornings. We went to Lunken today which was nice & the girls just slept in their strollers and loved every minute of it. It is good for the babies to get fresh air and good for us to walk off all those pregnancy ice cream runs! I picked a great time of year to have a baby. We are looking forward to the leaves changing & pumpkins b/c fall is just around the corner.

Black out babies 2008

Elizabeth is 2 two weeks old & she has been having such a great time. I think she has already grown & I am sure she has put on some weight. We don't go to the doctors for a few more weeks but I am sure she is over 8lbs. now. During the black out her aunt Valerie & cousin Audrey came over because their power was out. We didn't mind at all & the company was great to have. I think the girls had fun ... but I am not sure they even noticed the other one was around.

Daddy has gone back to work and we are having fun mommy / daughter time!! Andy really misses Elizabeth and calls several times a day to see what she is doing. My report is usually the same: " sleeping" or " Eating".

I have my doctor appointment tomorrow to make sure that I am recovering from my C-section ok. I am not in any pain anymore and haven't even needed to take motrin. I am ready to get the ok from my doctor to increase my walks just in time for some great fall weather.

Who Dey!!!

Who Dey! Who Dey!

Elizabeth & her Daddy had the same reaction to the game on Sunday afternoon. Luckily, Matt & Katie stopped over & kept us all company since the game was NOT entertaining.

Thanks to Matt & Katie for the wonderful presents....our little girl is going to be the best dressed baby on the block.

Elizabeth meets the Darts!

Last night Elizabeth had more visitors and she was VERY good which made Mommy & Daddy happy. She got to meet the Darts' for the first time ever! Next weekend they are getting married but this weekend they were nice to enough to bring us dinner and another great baby gift. We love Halloween in our house & Elizabeth is going to be ready w/ all of her great Halloween outfits. Thanks He & She Darts we really appreciated it!! Good luck next weekend!!!

After the guest left we went into our normal routine of trying to figure out where we were going to sleep....as you can tell by the picture -Elizabeth won that battle & got to sleep on me! Actually, after midnight she ended up giving us about 5 hours of continuous sleep - which was SO GREAT! She is getting used to her bassinet. She got up in the wee hours to feed but Andy has been doing those since after Monday I will be in charge of all those since he will be going back to work. Over all, we are getting much more sleep than last week. Today we are going to get her out of the house and enjoy the weekend. I think she likes shopping so maybe we will do that -only because The BABY likes it...not me at all!! hahaha.....

Daddy time

We can not believe how time is flying....Andy is going back to work on Monday and we are trying to soak up as much 'daddy time' as we can. Today the weather was amazing and we took full advantage of it. We took a nice walk and hung out down by riverside drive to sit & soak up some sunshine. It was nice to get out of the house & get some fresh air...we are hoping tomorrow is nice so we can do something like that again.

Of course I was there w/ my camera so I got some shots. Elizabeth pretty much stayed asleep for the whole day but I think the fresh air did her good b/c she was sound asleep when we got home.

She had some guest in the afternoon and got some great presents!!! Thanks to Chad, Kara & Allison - the visit & gifts are much appreciated.

Meeting the Ruwe Cousins

Elizabeth was able to meet her cousins on the Ruwe side & I am finally posting the pictures. Even though she was asleep the whole time...I think she loved her visit and I know her cousins had fun holding her. We are looking forward to lots of fun times with all of them. She still hasn't met some of them but hopefully she will soon.

Bath time

Elizabeth has only been getting sponge baths up to this point because we are waiting for her umbilical cord to fall off....She doesn't really like them but we think she will like regular 'baby' baths much better! So far both of us do it -Daddy usually has to hold her & I wash her. She loves when we rinse her hair with water. Here are a few pics. of yet another ' adventure' in our house.

1 week appointment

Today Elizabeth had her one week doctor appointment & it went very well. I was worried she was going to get shots but those do not come till her 2 mo. visit. Andy & I really like the pediatrician and she had great tips for us first time parents. Elizabeth received a clean bill of health & is already back to her birth weight. It felt good to hear that we are doing everything right for our little girl. We are still working on this slide show for the blog but it is not as easy as it looks. You would think between the two of us that we could figure it out but we keep getting distracted by diapers, feedings and of course naps. We have a lot of cute pictures of Elizabeth visiting with her Grandma's, aunts, uncles and all her cousins. Andy jokes that I take the camera everywhere I take the baby- you just never know when a cute picture will present itself. I wanted to take some at the doctor's office but didn't really think the doctor would appreciate a crazy mom snapping pics. of every little thing. In a week's time Elizabeth has mastered many things that we are very proud of.... She does smile at us but they are random little smiles ...some may say it is just gas but hey, a smile is a smile. Managed to nap throughout the day and stay up at night... Wear so many cute outfits....Not since the Sex & the City movie have their been so many great costume changes. Eat A LOT!!! Most importantly, Elizabeth has managed to steal the heart of her mommy & daddy...we are so in love w/ her and thankful she is here!! We are having a blast and cherishing every moment with her. All three of us are going down for our nap now....the doctor's visit wore us all out!

Night time issues....

Elizabeth seems to have her days & nights confused causing two very sleepy parents. Other than that she is doing very well!! We have just been trying to get a lot of visiting done which has been fun - everyone is excited to see her. My family has been having fun w/ two new little girls. Today we are going to visit the Ruwe's which should be great b/c we know all the other grand kids are looking forward to meeting her. Right now she is sound asleep on her Daddy which is one of her favorite spots to sleep ( Along w/ on her mommy) Here are two pictures that show why she is in fact crying every night when we put her in the bassinet.

BFF's

Today Elizabeth & Audrey finally got to meet for the first time. I don't think they knew what was going on but their mommies thought it was pretty cute.

Coffee please!!!

We are on our first morning at home and it is very different than being in the hospital. I didn't have people in & out of our room all night which was a plus but Elizabeth still seems to have her days /nights confused. Last night was not as bad and Andy & I took turns sleeping....so overall I think we are doing pretty good. We are typical first time parents and freaking out over every little thing! In a hospital the nurses kept checking her temp. along w/ everything else we had questions on - Now we are on our own! Why were we in such a hurry to leave the hospital is a mystery to me now - we had it made! I will post more this week along w/ more pictures that I still need to download off my computer. Today we are just going to enjoy this rainy day and relax w/ our little girl - well, maybe not relax - I am sure Elizabeth has other plans for us. We are hoping to see Audrey this weekend b/c it has been hard not to see her yet! We love you little Audrey. Our Saint Elizabeth website pictures are up on the hospital website....They turned out 'ok' but it was after she had a bunch of test and she was NOT in a good mood. Have a great day & thanks for all your comments on the blog - we love looking at them. Love, the Ruwe's

Elizabeth Ryan has arrived......

Elizabeth Ryan Ruwe

9/2/08 8:06am

7lbs. 15,9oz

Sorry for taking longer to post but I have been VERY busy w/ our new little addition. I haven't been able to take my eyes off her long enough to blog. We went in for our scheduled c-section on Tue. morning at 6:45am...the morning was kind of a blur..... We went into surgery at 7:45 & at 8:06 Elizabeth was born! It was the most surreal thing I have ever been through .... We were sooo happy to hear that she was healthy & screaming. The first night was interesting...I was in bed & could not really help b/c I had a catheter & an IV in. Andy was AMAZING and took care of both of us all night. Our parents have visited along w/ other people so we are very tired and looking forward to going home & sleeping in our own beds. I will give more details later...but here are some pictures of our big day.

At 3:30am we got a call from my cousin Valerie telling us she gave birth to a little girl as well...not even 24 hours apart. We are very excited to see meet baby Audrey!!!!

Love, Andy, Erin & Elizabeth

Not much longer now......

In 12 hours Andy & I will be holding our little girl & we are both excited and nervous. Andy will be taking over our blog TEMPORARILY b/c I will be a little busy. He will be posting pictures and updates following our big day.....stay tuned & keep us in your prayers. Love, Erin & Andy