So many firsts!

Well, needless to say, having a baby definitely consumes all of your time. Sorry the blog hasn't been updated in a while...but, here we are! Lilijana has had an exciting first eight weeks of life. It's hard to believe she is going to be 2 months this coming Monday on Serbian Christmas. It feels like Alex and I were just bringing her home yesterday.

Lilijana is such a good baby! I know I'm bias, but seriously. She is incredibly mellow, smiles all the time, sleeps well at night, and is even starting to nap in her crib like a big girl (this has been a bit of an adjustment for Mommy because I selfishly enjoy holding her while she naps!).

Here are some pictures that represent many of Lilijana's firsts...

Lilijana's first Madrigal Feast!!! Mommy loved showing her off to all of her students. Lilijana even watched Mommy direct her choirs for the first time! :)

First time she had her feet painted! This was hysterical - obviously, look at her face!

This was the result! Mistletoe plates for all of the grandparents.

Lilijana held her rattle for the first time. She seems pretty content; and Bear is never too far from his new best friend.

First time we cheered on the Steelers ... too bad they lost. Boo!

First Sveti Nikola! Lilijana got her first book from Mommy and Daddy - "Goodnight Moon"

First Christmas tree!! Daddy and Lilijana like to look at the lights!

First American Christmas! It was a crazy two days, but little miss Lili was a trooper!

Update!

Lilijana is only six days old and it seems like she has been a part of our family forever! Just a quick update for everyone: While in the hospital, a professional photographer came in and snapped some shots of Lilijana -- they are absolutely beautiful! If you would like to check them out you can visit:

http://chicago.bellababyphotography.com/

Go to "View Pictures" and type in the guest password: mwil1107buck

 

Lili had another weight check today because she had lost some weight after coming home from the hospital. After losing 9 ounces, I can proudly say she has gained all of that weight back over the weekend and is back to her birth weight -- woohoo!!! The doctor joked and said I could stop feeding her the power bars now :)

Teti Senija took this picture and it just makes my heart melt!

Tough life! Loves the car rides!

 

First days of life

From Daddy's point of view:

Turns out this baby thing is gonna be a breeze....as long as you have a wonderful little one like we have.

I can't decide if Lilijana looks like me. It would be best if she looked just like her beautiful mother.

I was able to claim some firsts: Lili held my hand first, I also started her first ever bad habit - binkie!

She is so much more than I ever imagined.

 

 

 

And Brother Bear!!! He's done such a great job being gentle with her.  He gives Lilijana tons of wet kisses - I'm not sure if she understands quite yet but they are going to be so close.

 



 

From Mommy's perspective:

I love Lilijana so stinkin' much! It truly is incredible -- the love you instantly feel once your baby is born. Lili has been such a good baby the past 2 1/2 days - she loves to breastfeed (yay! a huge sigh of relief for Mommy) and she is such a great sleeper. When she's awake, I love staring into her eyes - they might be the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. I couldn't ask for a better Daddy for little miss Lilijana its seriously heart warming to see him with her.

 

 



Introducing our sweet little blessing, Lilijana!

Lilijana Rose Buck was born on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 5:17am.

She weighs 7lbs 3oz and measures 20.5" long.

Mommy and Daddy could not be happier.

 



Update!

37 weeks -- this baby is officially full term!! We had our appointment today and although my cervix is still posterior, I am dilated 1 cm and effaced 60%! This was great news to me because it means the discomfort that I'm feeling is working :) I know our little girl will be here when she's ready, but Mommy and Daddy sure do hope she chooses to make her grand appearance sooner rather than later!

 

I have not posted in a while, so I'm including our latest ultrasound pic. We went in for a 34 week growth ultrasound and our technician surprised us with a 4D shot of little Miss ************. She's still hiding her face, staying a surprise until we meet her in person, but you can make out her profile pretty well. The doctor is predicting final birth weight to be around 7 1/2 to 8 lbs.

 

 

 

 

 



Maternity Photos

Senija took some awesome maternity photos on the day of my baby shower. I wanted to share a few of my favorite in case some of you have not seen them yet.

 

Nursery in Progress

Here are some pictures of our nursery in progress! We obviously have a bit of work to do, but I feel like everything is moving along nicely!

Alex, or I guess I should say Daddy, likes to have discussions with Bear in the baby's room about all of the changes coming up. Poor Bear is completely oblivious -- or at least leads us to believe he is.

The curtains are pink -- it's difficult to see with the light coming through.

DIY/Craft Day! I made a bunch of these embroidery hoop circles in different shapes to hang on the wall. This is kind of where the color scheme for the room is going.

Dresser with all of her cute stuffed animals from Baba (what the baby will call my mom)!



Belly Bump!

Hello family and friends! It's been a while since I've updated the blog, so I figured now is a good time to start. I'm at 29 weeks right now and we just finished a doctors appointment. (It seems like we have very few left!!) I can't believe we are less than three months away from our due date. The time has flown by -- we are so anxious to meet our little girl :)

Some people have asked to see belly pictures so they can see how I've grown over the past few months, so I've finally decided to show you all. I apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures - they were taken on my iPhone and I used a dirty mirror -- I guess I never thought to clean off the smudge marks. Oops!

Let's start at the beginning! 4 weeks

8 weeks

12 weeks

16 weeks

20 weeks

24 weeks -- I must really like blue shirts...

28 weeks

I've really gone through a growth spurt in the last three weeks, which my doctor is pleased about! If I think I'm uncomfortable now... ha, just imagine me in four weeks!

It's a Girl!!!

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and it was absolutely incredible. All of the measurements appeared to be right on track. The baby's head was measuring 19 weeks and 6 days, so a few days behind the rest of her body. The doctor assured us that was definitely normal. It was neat to see all of the little limbs and the pictures they took of the stomach region. Who would have thought you could see the bladder and kidneys! And of course, we found out we are having a girl! Here are some pictures from the ultrasound.

There is her little foot - all 5 toes!!

We got a kick out of her strong arm. Alex and I said she's fist pumping, Elena got excited and shouted, "Jersey Shore- She's a guido!"

Her face is smashed up against the placenta so we didn't get a great view. Hopefully next time!

There is her profile - head is to the right and body is at the left.

In all HER glory.... :)



Welcome to our blog!

We are so excited to share all of the special moments that are about to happen in our lives with all of you! Whether we live right next door or across the country, we want you to know about the happenings in our life -- especially with a new addition to the Buck family right around the corner!