Chubs, Pop, and Daddy

the Princess and her Daddy - I don't know who's cuter

Less than a week old and look at those cheeks and chins

Hanging out with Pop before bedtime

Sleeping with Daddy and Dutch

Miss November

The night after Thanksgiving, we ventured up north to Craig Ranch for dinner with Benton's parents, my parents, and my Grandma Gladys. As usual, it was like private dining because there is never anyone there. Haven didn't do too bad, but it was challenging since she eats about every 3 hours and it takes about 45 minutes to get out there from our house. I'm not sure if each trip builds up our confidence in taking her out or makes us just want to stay home!

Haven and Grandma Gladys

So Thankful

We are so blessed and always have a lot to be thankful for, but this year was extra special with our healthy little addition. We are so thankful for our sweet baby girl and all the incredible friends and family that have helped us welcome her into the world.

We managed to get out of the house at a reasonable time in the morning and spent the day at my parents house with a good crowd of about 20 close friends and family and tons of food. Of course Haven slept most of the day, but did get passed around a little. It was a great first Thanksgiving as a family of four!

Bathing Beauty

Haven's umbilical cord fell off early and apparently without notice. On Tuesday (after she was born on Friday) I went upstairs to change her diaper and noticed the stump was gone. I yelled down to Benton to see if he knew that it had fallen off and he said he did not. Luckily, we found it on the floor right under the changing table. It would have been so disgusting if Dutch had found it first - yuck! So, with the stump gone, Haven got her first bath the night before Thanksgiving and she loved it and was adorable!

Little bunny

The 'Hood

One of our favorite family activities has become going for walks through the neighborhood (and often ending up at Starbucks), so we took Haven for her first walk the day before Thanksgiving. It was really nice for all of us (including Dutch) to get out of the house for awhile and we definitely LOVE the Bob (thank you Betsy, Eliza, and Sarah!). It makes for a much smoother ride through this old 'hood.

First Doctor Visit

Dr. Curtis saw Haven in the hospital and (of course) said she was perfect :) but we went to see her at her office for the first time on Tuesday, November 24 for her final jaundice check and to meet the lactation nurse. The lactation nurse was super nice and said everything looked and sounded good and Dr. Curtis said her coloring is great, so no jaundice.

all ready to go see Dr. Curtis

she was down to 6lbs 11oz when we left the hospital and lost another .5oz from Sunday to Tuesday

exhausted after her first trip out of the house

Home Sweet Home

I imagine that we had about as great of a hospital experience as you can have, however we were not sad to leave and were so ready to go home. It was so nice to sleep in our own comfy bed on Sunday night (even if it was only for very short intervals).

Benton so sweetly and carefully picked out Haven's entire going home outfit, but unfortunately she was too little for it so we had to go with a makeshift backup. I was finally wheeled out around noon-ish by a sweet lady with a mouthful of gold teeth. She was a big fan of Haven's outfit and thought the blanket my grandma made was Bur-Berry.

Haven was not a fan of her car seat at first, but luckily she did calm down pretty quickly. We feared it was going to be a very long 7 minute drive home.

Ready to load Haven into the car

Right before the total meltdown

with Daddy (mid-meltdown)

in the driveway read to go in the house

meeting Dutch for the first time

Both Benton and my mom brought Dutch a hat and a blanket that Haven had used in the hospital before we brought her home, but he reportedly wasn't very interested in either. He did growl at her twice (probably right after the above picture), but he got over it and now loves to lick her and is very concerned when she cries. He's turned out to be a much better dog than anyone expected!