Target shopper

I am so happy to share with you that we have a Target supporter on our hands....yay! Luke took his first trip to Target with me tonight and he was the BEST! He was such a good boy, just content as could be while mama shopped. I went there with the intention of buying diapers and baby wipes...shopping like a true 'new mom'. Because Luke was being such a good boy, I took a gander over to the clothing section to check out what was new. If you are a Target shopper, I encourage you to go check it out...they just put out all their new Fall stuff and they have some adorable sweaters. I always find the best things when I am not looking. I bought three new sweaters, two of which are the argyle pattern and one stripped cardigan sweater. Oh yeah...and I found a dress for Luke's baptism! It was a great trip, thanks to my very cooperative little boy!

Little Grunter

We have a grunter on our hands! Luke has given up cooing for a hefty grunt! It is absolutely adorable, he is becoming more and more vocal these days! Luke is starting to enjoy his swing and loves sucking on his entire hand! He and Gunner enjoy tummy time together and hanging out on the floor.

Luke has spent a little time in his crib! Now that I am getting around much better we moved our rocker upstairs to the nursery so I have started spending more time up there and introduced him to his crib...he hasn't figured out yet that it is for napping!

suppose to be napping!

This weekend we had some friends over to cheer on the Hawks big victory over Penn State! It was fun evening of great company and good football!

Sunday we had our first showing on our house...which led to a crazy Sunday morning. We were really looking forward to a relaxing, lazy Sunday of watching football and hanging out. That changed in a hurry. The realtor called at eleven and we had to get our house put together for a showing in just a couple of hours. Thank goodness for our great friends, the Jankovic's for inviting us over for a late lunch and NFL Sunday!

This is Sean's last official week of working in marketing before he begins his new role as the Stryker Orthopaedics Sales Manager. He is very eager to meet his new team! His work is having a joint going away party for Sean and another fellow marketing manager this Friday evening. Again, we are very excited about all the changes taking place but sad to say good-bye to West Michigan. I am really having a hard time with it these past few days. The "for sale" sign in our front yard has definitely made the move 'real' and makes me sad thinking about our final month here:(

Today has been a very rainy, dreary day...which has been perfect for cuddling with my little Luke and vegin' out! I always feel so guilty when it is nice outside and not enjoying it, so the weather today gave us a great opportunity to be lazy and take lots of naps!

Luke hanging out today in his "daddy's cute recruit football pj's"

Due Date

Today is my official due date! It seems so surreal to me that I could still be pregnant and for the past several months September 24th was the day etched for us to expect our "Baby Love". We feel so blessed to have already shared 20 wonderful days with our sweet little Luke! Many of my friends have little children and I know how much they all adore their sweet little kids, but nobody could have ever prepared me for the love that I have for our little boy and just how much Sean and I adore him with all our hearts. Sean spent the morning with us and it just melts my heart to see Sean and Luke together, Luke loves his daddy's voice! He will lay and stare at Sean forever listening to him talk.

Our Family 9.04.09

I just love Luke's mouth here...this is what I get from him a lot!

Luke all cozy and warm showing off his big blue eyes

He is becoming our little chunky monkey!

Growing Boy!

We had Luke's two week appointment this morning and were pleasantly surprised to see he is almost 7 lbs....6 lbs 15.5 oz. They want babies back to their birth weight...Luke surpassed that goal plus 10 more ounces! Do we have a linebacker on our hands?!?!? Daddy hopes so!
Luke is going through what the doctor called a growth spurt/feeding frenzy these last couple of days...wanting to eat every couple of hours. They said we can expect this for a few more days and then he will likely fall back into his 3-3 1/2 hour schedule we were doing so well with, and hopeful for some more 4 hour stretches at night.
We continue to go for our nightly walks, trying to go a little bit further each day. I am still a little sore, but am feeling great for the most part.
We officially put our house on the market today:( What's the frown for???? I love our house, love our subdivision, and love our neighbors! I am excited for our move and all that is to come, but I am really going to miss our home and our great friends here. It really hit me today when I walked outside and saw the "for sale" sign!

2 weeks!

Little Sweet Luke has been hanging out in this world for two weeks plus a day and we are loving every minute!

What's been going on in Luke's life??? He had his Grandma and Grandpa Einck visiting this week, who he loves hanging out with. Luke loves it when Grandma reads to him and snuggling on Grandpa's chest. He loves to be talked to, read books, enjoys his tummy time play mat, doesn't like his swing just yet or his cozy seat! Mr. Luke is eating about every three hours during the day and giving us 3-4 hour stretches at night!!!! He even gave his mama a five hour stretch Thursday night while his daddy was in Denver for work. Luke loves going for walks with Gunner and being outside. The past few nights we have met up with our friends The Rozewicz, Mike, Deb, Melina, and their dog Luna, and go for walks with them. Luke doesn't like it so much when mama changes his diaper, but doesn't shed a tear or peep when daddy does.

Today we had some more wonderful friends visit us, The Steiners from Dubuque and The Foley's from Chicago. We had a great afternoon with them, grilled hamburgers and Luke got lots of loving from Rachel and Liz. Not to mention, the most adorable little outfits...they spoiled him!

Tonight Luke got his first FULL bath since his cord and circumcision fell off. I was certain he would scream bloody murder because he didn't like his sponge bath, but much to my surprise, he LOVED it!

Luke enjoying Tummy Time

Nice and cozy on Grandpa's chest!

One more picture with Grandpa & Grandma Einck before they leave

SO Cute!

Liz & Rachel with Luke

Fresh & Clean...after Luke's first FULL bath! He was such a good boy!

Mommy & Luke all ready for the day...unfortunately this outfit lasted about 1 hour before he had a blow out...which is becoming a daily occurrence!

where have I been?

I can't believe how fast a day can go by. We have had quite a few visitors, taken lots of walks outside, and been lovin on our little boy Luke!

Last Friday my great friend Molly, her husband Jarrod, and sweet little Nora stopped in for a visit. It was so great to see them and introduce Nora to her buddy Luke.

Me & Luke with Molly

Luke's buddy Nora...are those not the most beautiful eyes?!?!?

Last weekend was definitely a lot different than what Sean and I are use to. A day of watching college football with his little boy Luke doesn't get any better for Sean!

Sean and Luke enjoying the first of many Saturdays watching college football

Sean went back to work on Monday, we missed him so much! Today he left for Denver, CO and will return tomorrow, he has been texting like crazy...I don't think he realized just how much he would miss his little guy...and his wife (of course) My parents came back last night to help this week while Sean is gone. They are even babysitting tomorrow so I can go get my hair highlighted! I had it planned to get my hair done today thinking Luke would be arriving tomorrow via a scheduled c-section. I guess you can't plan everyday of your life!

Sean couldn't get home from work fast enough to hold his little boy!

Luke and Grandpa enjoying some "awake" time

It is so hard to believe that we would be going in tomorrow morning for a scheduled c-section and we have already had 12 precious days with our little guy!


Luke discovered his fingers today!

...and we can't forget about our precious boy Gunner!

Gunner has been such a good boy with Luke. I think he is still trying to figure out what is going on and why he isn't getting all of our attention, but we sure try to give him extra lovin!

I want to also take this opportunity to again Thank everyone for all the phone calls, emails, cards, and gifts sent our way. We are so blessed by so many great friends and wonderful family.

ONE week old...already

Luke is One week old today!

This past week has been an amazingly, wonderful experience for Sean and I, words can not describe the joy that fills our hearts when we look at our precious little Luke. Truly a gift from God!
Sean has been home with us all week and it has been so wonderful sharing this family time together. Not to mention that Sean has been an AMAZING help around the house, I am so thankful for all he has done helping me get around and he is a natural when it comes to being Luke's daddy. He is absolutely adorable to watch with Luke and the pride he takes in being Luke's dad!

Today we find ourselves going through every minute we experienced last Friday, "a week ago now we just got to the hospital, a week ago now they just finished the aversion, a week ago now Dr. P came to us and said we were having a baby today, a week ago now I entered the OR". It overwhelms me with complete emotions (hormones might add to the emotions:)!

I can't post this without mentioning how great our boy Gunner has taken to his "lil brother". We are trying to give him extra attention, and call him over to us when we are holding Luke. As you can see from the pictures below, he doesn't let Luke too far out of his sight...who needs a babysitter when we have Gunner looking after him!?!?!

Gunner watching out for Luke while he has some "tummy time"

Gunner's always looking out for his "lil brother"

Getting ready to go on our first walk...just a few blocks, mom's gotta take it slow! But it felt so good to get out and enjoy the gorgeous weather.

Grandma Einck made Luke a "Birth Day" cake, so we enjoyed this on our homecoming!

Maternity Pictures

Here is a sneak peek at our maternity pictures. We had a photo session last Monday evening, August 31st, just in time before Luke made his arrival. We haven't seen all the proofs yet, but our photographer dedicated her blog to us!

http://theopenshutterphoto.com/blog!

Enjoy!

Luke Michael Merrick

Introducing Luke Michael Merrick

Born Friday, September 4th 2009

2:18 p.m.

6 lbs 4 oz 19 inches long

We are so blessed to share the arrival of our Sweet Little One, Luke Michael. Luke just didn't want to wait any longer to make his appearance. Sean and I went in on Friday morning to Labor and Delivery triage for our scheduled aversion. Thursday evening, Sean asked if we should pack any bags just in case, my response "no, we will be home by noon". We both took Friday off and were planning on hanging out Friday afternoon just the "two" of us...little did we know, Luke had another plan in mind! Friday morning we arrived at 9:15 to register and get set up on the fetal monitor, they wanted to monitor the baby for at least an hour prior to the aversion to make sure everything was good. Baby's heart rate was consistently ranging between 140-148 during the hour long monitor. We proceeded with the aversion, however without success. He was able to move his butt right up, but had no luck getting his head to move. After 10-15 minutes of trying we all agreed it was time to stop. Dr. P had explained we would go ahead and schedule a c-section for 39 weeks when I came in for my 38 week appt this week (today actually). They once again put me on the monitor to make sure baby was fine, this is routine to monitor for 30-45 minutes after an aversion attempt. Unfortunately when they got me hooked back up, baby's heart rate was around 102, which was not comforting to any of us. They had a look of concerned and had me lay on my side. Once I laid on my side, the heart rate accelerated to 120, but then decelled a few time to the low 100's. They kept me on the monitor for a good hour, Sean commented we were going to be there all afternoon because they just weren't comfortable with the highs and lows. I had asked them if I could sit up because my back was getting sore from the way I was laying. When I sat him baby's heart rate plummeted to 56 (a number I will never forget). They immediately got me back on my side and it shot up to 115. Within a few minutes Dr. P came around the corner and said "you are going to have a baby today!" I can only imagine the look on our faces. The emotions ran over me...at first I laughed, like "you have got to be kidding me", then I got excited thinking we are going to get to meet our Sweet Little One today, then I got scared. Within a few minutes we were prepping and getting ready for a c-section and shortly after our Precious Little Luke made his grand entrance to the world kicking and screaming letting us know he was as healthy as ever! We feel so blessed by his presence and are so thankful for Dr. P and the medical staff that was taking care of us, for their decisiveness in proceeding quickly with the c-section and keeping us all in such great care. We are couldn't be happier with the care and concern we received by Dr. P and the entire staff that we worked with. Luke has been such an amazing gift from God, and we are over joyed by his presence. I don't think anyone could have prepared Sean and I for the amount of joy, love, and awe we have for our little Luke and the entire experience of bringing a child into this world. We find ourselves just standing and watching over him daily, God is so good!

As you can tell by my lack of blogging, I have been a little preoccupied (rightfully so). I will try to update as much as possible with the daily happenings at the Merrick household with the wonderful addition of Luke Michael, but since his wonderful addition to my life, it takes on a whole new meaning.

One last note...THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us out over the last week...my parents for staying with us over the weekend and welcoming us home Monday, cleaning our house, organizing all Luke's things, running errands, getting all the last minute things we hadn't gotten yet, cooking countless meals, etc...we can not thank you enough for all you have done for us! To our great friends, Brett & Carrie Eliuk, Carrie rushed our camera to the hospital and made it at 2:15 pm, just a few minutes before Luke's arrival, so we could capture the most memorable moments of our lives, thank you for taking care of Gunner, bringing over food, and lending us your video camera. (on the list of things to purchase that hadn't been purchased yet). Our friends the Rozewicz and Adloffs for bringing over meals...very much appreciated and SO delicious. To all of you have called, left messages, sent flowers, stopped by the hospital and house, and the many gifts...we are so blessed by each and everyone of you!

3 more weeks!

BUMP TRACKER: 37 WEEKS

Gone Fishing

Sean showing off their prized Salmon!

Sean and Brian had a great time King Salmon fishing...nothing like fresh Salmon!

Looks like we will be eating Salmon, Salmon, and more Salmon

Sean and his buddy Brian Adloff went out fishing on Lake Michigan last night and had a blast! Sean dropped his cell phone in the lake while he and Brian reeled in some big ones. They were so excited and proud to show off their big catch of the day, he woke me up when they got home around 11:00 last night and demanded some pictures be taken...I have to admit, I was pretty impressed, I have never seen a fish this size in real life...or should I say in my garage! Needless to say, we have a Salmon delivery to make to the Adloff household, and I am sure we will be enjoying some fresh Salmon this weekend!

Iowa bound...home is where the heart is

It is with great excitement, and many mixed emotions that I write we will be moving back to Iowa! We are so thrilled to be moving closer to our family and so many great friends, but it is also a very bittersweet move for Sean and I. While we have greatly enjoyed our short time in West Michigan, making our first home together "home", meeting SO many wonderful friends we will cherish forever, and learning so much about ourselves and each other, we will now venture on to a new chapter in our lives. It isn't coincidence that both Sean and I received job promotions within our same organizations, both back in Iowa...we feel it is a true blessing! For all of you who know us...we are not new to Change...change is probably the best word to describe the life that Sean and I have lived together. Shortly before we were married, Sean was approached about his current job in Kalamazoo. Within a few months of being married, we were selling a house and planning our move to Michigan, buying our first home together, and me finding a job...as all things do...everything fell into place, maybe not on our clock, but things worked themselves out! Enjoying our first year of marriage, one of many changes, we thought certainly year #2 will be much less "exciting"...not exactly! We got to share our exciting news of Baby Merrick's existence! As we prepare for our Sweet Little One's arrival, why not throw in a few job interviews, selling a house, moving, etc. A few weeks ago Sean accepted a position with Stryker to manage the Stryker Orthopaedics Branch in Iowa, and I have recently accepted a management position in the Midwest with Medtronic covering Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. I have already started my new position working from home, trying to get as acclimated to my new team as much as possible, before taking maternity leave. Sean will officially begin his new role October 1st.

We are very excited about this new chapter and all the great changes about to take place in our lives these next few months, but not without being saddened. We have been so greatly blessed by the people we have met here in Michigan, our neighborhood friends and friends we met through work, have been an absolute godsend and have made our time here so memorable, we will miss everyone so much!