Jack is 3 weeks already....and I have been bad at blogging!

So I started this blog as a great way to stay in touch with everyone once Jack came along. Not sure how many people will be interested in my Mommy Days...I guess the blog is more of an outlet for me now that my days are mostly spent in my condo or the Rinker home. I figured I wouldn't be working and I will have so much free time that I could devote time to creating this really cool blog. Free time and new Mom does not go together! Nonetheless I have neglected my oh so ambitious blog since my little bear cub has entered my world. 


I PROMISE TO BE MORE CONSISTENT. They will be short and sweet but I will post:)


3 weeks has flown bye faster than I could have ever imagined. I just love my little man so much. Being a Mom is hard work though, my Mom wasn't lying when she said it is a 24 hour job. I am breastfeeding, which is wonderful but also very time consuming! I feel like a sit on the couch all the time, then I have an hour break to do the essentials (like shower, go to the bathroom, eat) and then it is back to the couch! I am on call all the time. But it is all worth it and everyone promises me it will only get better. New moms were all not lying when they said you are sleep deprived! Seriously! Last night my Mom stayed up with Jack and I got to sleep from 9pm until 1:45am....it was AMAZING! I feel like a whole new person after getting that long of a stretch. I love my Mom:) 

Jack is precious! He loves to be snuggled! Jack is starting to stay awake for longer periods of time which is so much fun. He looks around at everything with his big (we think blue) eyes, it is fun to see him "discover". The Christmas tree is going to have to come down this weekend and I don't know what we are going to do because he LOVES studying the tree. I am considering buying one on clearance and setting it up in the nursery! Ha. Jack has lots of facial expressions already, they crack us up. He is also a vocal little baby now, trying to talk to us already:)


I can't believe how much love I have for this little man that I just met 3 weeks ago. Being a Mom really is amazing! 


All of the emails, phone calls, facebook messages, texts have been so appreciated and I promise I will be getting back to everyone when I have more time to type:) Jack has had so many visitors and we all feel so loved by everyone! All the gifts, flowers, dinners have been crazy! Jack, Mike, and I are very spoiled! 


Alright I am being called so I must go and just "publish" this even though it isn't perfect it is posted! 


Stay warm everyone and enjoy the day! 

Happy Birthday Baby Jack Michael Postma!

Jack Michael Postma was born December 8th, 2009! He was 7'll and 19.5" inches long (the next day he was measured at 20.5" inches which sounds more like it)!


Jack took us all by suprise coming 17 days early! Mike and I had been housesitting for some family friends through the weekend, and had just gone to the doctor Monday evening at 6:30pm. The doctor said he "guessed" he would see us next week for my appointment. So on Tuesday morning I woke up at 6:30am and went downstairs determined to get on the Weidner's treadmill for a long walk to get things moving. Well I didn't even get that far! I started emptying the dishwashers and all of a sudden my water broke!


I called Mike and let him know he may want to wait to take the train into the city. I discretely tried to call my Mom and let her know what was happening because I didn't want to alarm the 2 high school boys! Of course they overheard me and I can only imagine what was going through their heads! They were so cute though about it all! Then I called the Doctor and asked him if he thought I could still make it to my hair appointment at 9am...he said NO. Ha.

Here are my 2 helpers! They were wonderful!!!

At 2:23pm Jack made his entrance into the world kicking and screaming!

Happy Birthday Baby Jack! We love you more than we could have ever expected. So happy to have you in our world! Life will never be the same....

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful weekend with the family! So much to be thankful for this year! The whole weekend I couldn't get over the fact that this was our last Thanksgiving as 2.5 (Mike and I and Dutch). Next year we will have an 11 month old at the dinner table, probably making things a little less relaxing! 


Wednesday night Mike & Ben went out downtown Palatine, sometimes I miss going out, but really I am thankful I have an excuse to curl up into my warm bed and not have to head out into the cold for the same beer that is in my fridge. Ha I sound like an old woman! 


Thursday morning the 5 of us headed up to Pine Lake in Wisconsin. It is such a beautiful place and some of my favorite people reside up there:) I treasure all of our time together always! We are a little family but we think we are all a lot of fun!

So this week I didn't get to write about someone I am VERY thankful for! My Amazing Dad! I love him more than he will ever know! He is such an example of a God Loving man who cherishes his family. He has always made us feel loved and safe growing up. Yes he spoiled us, but at the same time always taught us what is most important in life, Family and Faith. Now that I am an adult I have learned more about him as a person rather than a "parent" and the respect I have for him only grows. So excited that Jack will be blessed with him as his Gpa!

How cute is my Postdaddy (I know I am embarrassing him now)! There isn't anyone else I want to spend life with! He is the greatest, I mean don't get my wrong we argue, but I am happy he is the one I get to argue with! If you know me at all you know that I am a sucker for Family Time and Holidays....love traditions and celebrating! Very thankful that Mike puts up with it and joins in fun!

Tradition is we always spend 2 nights up in Wisconsin. On Friday we sleep in and the girls go out for shopping and the boys go out and do their shopping as well as top of their day with a few games of competitive bowling.

Dinner is at Kurt's a Super Club in Delafield, yes most people eat light the day after Thanksgiving but not the Pranke/Rinker/Postma group.

Curious about the cork? Me too? It's Ben what can ya say.

It was another wonderful weekend "making memories" with the family!

Dutchie Doodle my Yorkie Poodle

Very Thankful today for my little snuggle buddy.

Thankful that he always finds a way to make us smile and lets us laugh at him. 

Thankful that he tries to watch out for all of us. 

Thankful that he let us practice our doggie parenting on him to get ready for the big time!

35 Weeks

I can't believe that I am typing out the sentence....I am 35 weeks! Part of me feels like this pregnancy has lasted forever and the other part of me can't believe that in 31 days I could be holding our baby boy!

What the Baby is up to at 35 weeks:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Still feeling pretty good but I can tell I am now more tired than I was just 3 weeks ago. I think it may have to deal with the fact I have to get up and go to the washroom like 3-5 times a night...I guess my body is just preparing me for life with a newborn:) Sleeping is also tricky because this cute bump is becoming a heavy belly! Jack loves moving around at night too which makes getting into a comfy position a tad more difficult! Also, I feel like I am getting forgetful and clumsy. I drop things or knock over things (i.e. Christmas displays) ALL THE TIME! My mom is embarrassed to go shopping with me. Ha! Like today I needed some sugar so I pulled out the large newly filled container and....

...obviously Dutch did not mind helping me clean up. The change of seasons have made dressing cute a bit hard. I had my rotation of maternity outfits until today, now the bitter cold and dampness has put a dent in my stylishness:) Don't get me wrong there are TONS of cute maternity clothes out there (GAP had so many and sale items are an additional 40% off for any of you GAP lovers), but the fact that I am no longer working outside the home and that I have only 4.5 weeks to go, makes it hard to keep investing in the bump wardrobe. I am saving up my beans for shopping once I am back to fighting weight:) So I am now getting "creative". Leggings and old school ski sweaters (thanks to my Dad) will now be my staple. Just a warning when you see me sporting this gear do not make fun because I am also now more emotional! 

Mike and I have been enjoying out childbirth classes. We have 1 more class left next Monday. They are very informative and I thankful that Mike is learning how to give me better massages (yes that is part of the class). I learned the lovely statistic that first time mothers have labor lasting an average of 16-18 hours. Please start praying for me now! I am excited because you can bring in your own music to the hospital to listen to as you are "laboring". I told Mike I want to listen to Christmas music! 

Well I better end this post and get to making my cranberry relish for Thanksgiving! I hope you are all having THANKFUL weeks. Today I am incredibly grateful for my Mom! She is the greatest Mom and best friend. Always there to help with anything and cheer me up! I tell ya I just love that MarBear and I don't know what I would do without her! She is going to be such an amazing Grandma (we are still figuring out a cute nickname...send your suggestions). You should see her nursery and closet this baby is one spoiled boy! 

And to leave you here is a funny quote a friend sent me today:

"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.  They are consumed in twelve minutes.  Half-times take twelve minutes.  This is not coincidence."  ~Erma Bombeck

BabyMoon

Mike and I were given the advice from veteran parents to take a vacation, just the two of us, before Baby Postma arrives. So Mike and I decided to spend a long weekend in one of our favorite places...Naples! 

We combined the BabyMoon with our 3 year anniversary. I can't believe how fast time flies bye! 

The vacation was perfect and relaxing. 80 and sunny EVERYDAY! I want to live in Florida! 

We spent our days reading and relaxing by the pool. Actually I spent them in the pool! Like 5 hours each day just floating away:) I was really soaking in just "relaxing" thinking about the years ahead of me and how pool time may not be so relaxing once Baby Jack is running around. Being 8 months and floating in the pool is the GREATEST thing ever. I wish I knew someone back here with an indoor pool! It would look weird I know but it wouldn't stop me! 

One night we met with Michelle & Cheese at legendary Doc's. You can always count on the gorgeous ocean view, cheap pitchers of beer, greasy good pizza, and waitresses with attitudes. One of our favorite places of all time! It was so great to see them! I miss them so much and just want to move to Florida so we can see them all the time! Very mad at myself because I had Meesch send me pics of our night and now I can't find them...hmm ditzy pregnancy brain. Michelle was the greatest friend and drove almost 3 hours from Tampa just to see us! We love you!

It was a wonderful BabyMoon and Anniversary trip with the man I love more and more each step of our journey! I am sure that traveling won't be quite as relaxing anymore with the stroller, carseat, diaper bag, toys, and bottles....but I can't wait to have another little gentlemen in my life! I hope he is just like his Dad! 

As we were packing up and leaving the Naples house it was strange and exciting to think that the next time we travel down there we will be a family of 3! 

Thursday Night with the Boys

Tonight was one of those perfectly quiet and peaceful nights at home. Mom and Dad are in Naples (very jealous) so Ben joined Mike and I for dinner. One of my goals while staying home before the baby comes is to learn how to cook lots of healthy dinners....that Mike likes:) The little gentlemen were at my feet all afternoon!

Tonight I made a pot roast but "fancied" it up for Mike with red wine vinegar, diced tomatoes, rosemary, and thyme. I added in the carrots, potatoes, and celery later on in the cooking process which made for better texture. So, if you have a recipe that you think I need to try PLEASE send them my way!


I got an email challenging me to think of something I am something everyday that I am thankful for in anticipation of Thanksgiving. Today I am so thankful my brother and the wonderful friendship we have. I am so blessed that he is such a big part of my life, Mike's life, and soon to be Baby Jack's. It is such a blessing to have him only 5 miles away, and I know that things can change one day, so I am cherishing all of this time we have together.

This challenge is pretty cool I think, and I challenge you all to think of something new you are thankful for everyday! Let me know how it goes:) One of my favorite quotes is:

"Count you blessings one by one, and you will be amazed at what the Lord has done".

Mike and I have started organizing all of the wonderful and incredibly generous baby gifts we have received at our showers ( I will post pics soon). Today we got out the Baby Bjorn. Dutch LOVED it! He didn't want to get out, the dog would be totally content hanging out in there all day! Just another thing for him to be jealous of when Baby Jack comes along:(

Welcome to my World of Blogging!

So after months of creating a blog and never posting anything I have decided to bite the bullet and start! I LOVE reading blogs....and figured that this would be a wonderful way to stay in touch with family and friends. Why would you want to stay in touch with us you may ask? Well our life is going to start to get a lot more interesting! Mike and I are expecting our first baby on Christmas Day 2009! Yes Baby Jack Michael Postma will be making his way into this world.

Here are some pictures of my pregnancy so far!

15 weeks, 20 weeks, 26 weeks, 30 weeks

Today starts my 34th week!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

I have a feeling that with a 5'11 mom and 6'6 dad this baby may be on the high end of the charts and a little ahead of the game:) His cute little "kicks" now feel like a punch to my ribs sometimes! But I don't want to complain because that is one of my FAVORITE things, feeling him move around, I think I will miss that feeling once he makes his way into this world. At 34 weeks I am feeling great~ well pretty tired the majority of the time but what can you do!

Last week started my new career as the manager of the Postma household...I am now staying at home:) I absolutely LOVE it and I am so thankful that my hubby has made it possible. My days are now full of organizing, cleaning, cooking, walking Dutchie, and running errands with MarBear. Mike is back at the Marmon Group, but thankfully won't be traveling much until the New Year, so we still have 6 more weeks left of just the two of us!

Well I think that this is a long enough for my very first post!

Thank you for reading and I hope that this turns out to be a great way to stay in touch!

Love,

Jenny, Mike, Dutch...and soon to be Baby Jack!