Little Fingers

These Eyes

Melt my heart.

Captured on Camera

Susanna Cate's smile!

I also really like this one:

On the way to church wearing the dress that BeBe made:

On the way to church wearing the dress from Mrs. Allison and Mr. Thomas:

Allergies, Reflux, and Vaccines--Oh My!

We had an exciting morning at the doctor today for Susanna Cate's two month well visit.  (Actually we have had lots of exciting times at the doctor's office in the past two months, since this was Susanna Cate's eighth visit!)  Despite the number of trips to and fro we are so thankful that Susanna Cate is generally healthy.  She is happy and is growing and gaining weight very well.

Weight: 10 lbs 14 oz (50-55%)

Length: 24" (over 95%)

Head Circumference: 15.5" (75%)

Our poor little girl has both food allergies and reflux.  We discovered the food allergies about a month ago, so I cut dairy and peanuts from my diet.  Then two weeks ago I cut out the rest of the most common allergens--soy, wheat, corn, tree nuts, and shellfish.  However, nothing has improved to indicate she is tolerating my diet any better.  The doctor is not too concerned because she is gaining weight, but it is quite disconcerting to me that Susanna Cate has blood in her stools and we don't know why.  An extreme elimination diet usually fixes the problem, but there is nothing left for me to cut from my diet.  We are praying that a little more time will help heal her little tummy and digestive tract.

Susanna Cate's reflux seems to be worse lately as well, so today the doctor prescribed medicine to treat it.  We're going to watch it for a few more days and try a different feeding/burping routine, then possibly start her on the medicine.  

Lastly, Susanna Cate got her first full dose of vaccines (including an oral one which she promptly threw up!) and a blood test via toe prick.  Three needles at the doctor's office was rough on all of us.  Susanna Cate has been completely tuckered out and sleeping all day!

Susanna Cate at Two Months

Susanna Cate turned two months old yesterday.  As I told my mom, "You'll laugh at this--but two months sounds so old!"  Time is just flying by with our little sweetheart.  We love every minute with her, and we can't believe how quickly she is growing and changing.  She is already growing up too fast!  

This is such a sweet time with her.  Of course every little "stage" of her life so far has been sweet--but at first I was pretty overwhelmed by life with a baby--learning how to take care of her, recovering from labor, and not getting tons of sleep.  (Plus the hormones.  I can't believe how hormonal I was after giving birth.  Seriously.) Now that I am better adjusted I wish I could freeze time to soak in every moment, every little smile, every coo and gurgle, and every sparkle in her eyes.  She won't be a newborn much longer, but two months is still newborn in my book and I am going to treasure every second.

At two months old Susanna Cate is quite a smiley little girl.  I have tried to get pictures of her smiling but it's very hard to capture.  She smiles with her whole face--opens her mouth really wide, her eyes light up, and she even gets little smile wrinkles around her eyes sometimes.  And sometimes her smile looks very bashful.  Mommy bias alert--it's about the cutest thing ever.  She started smiling around six weeks old.  She also makes sweet coos, grunts, and gurgles.  No real laughs yet, but some sounds that are almost laughter.  She isn't even close to rolling over yet because she is so happy playing on her back.  Generally she does pretty well with tummy time too.

Susanna Cate's favorite things in the world are her daddy, getting her diapers changed, and getting her clothes changed.  (She also loves eating but it only makes #4 on her list.)  This girl is definitely a daddy's girl. She just lights up around Mark--which Mama adores.  And sometimes if she is fussy she will stop crying if we lay her down on her changing table--weird.  She likes bathtime and her white noise machine.  Mama and Daddy like her white noise machine too since it helps her sleep!  She will sleep for usually 7-8 hours at night (thank you, Lord!!) though she wants bedtime to be about 1-2 am.  Oh well.  We'll take it for now!

The biggest adventures with Susanna Cate so far are her diaper changes.  (If you are reading this years from now, please forgive me for publishing such details on the internet, little one...)  Let's just say she has *ahem* impeccable timing, or completely horrible timing, depending on how you look at it.  It's not unusual to go through multiple diapers or waterproof changing pads in one change, or to spend ten minutes after a change cleaning her room.  (Yes, cleaning her room, not just the changing table--her room.) It is certainly true, even in bizarre crazy ways, that the Lord gives us grace to handle the tasks He has for us.  I am after all the person who ruined my cell phone by liberally dousing it with Lysol while I was pregnant since I thought it was dirty.  Oh how I have changed--or at least, am changing.  Maybe someday in the imagined future Susanna Cate will eat dirt and I will be able to say nonchalantly, "She'll be fine," instead of calling Poison Control.  Maybe.  I have a long way to go yet.  

Meeting Family and Friends

Susanna Cate is very loved by our family and friends!  BeBe and PopPop (my parents--as named by Lydda Grace) were able to meet her right after she was born (they drove to Atlanta in the middle of the night when I called to say I was in labor!). Grandpa and Grandma (Mark's parents) and Uncle Wyn came to meet her when she was three days old.  It was wonderful they were able to meet her when she was so young since they live so far away.  Susanna Cate had both sets of her grandparents with her to celebrate her first Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving indeed--we are so thankful for her and for all of our family and friends!

 PopPop and Susanna Cate

 Uncle Wyn, Grandpa, and Susanna Cate

 Susanna Cate's first walk, on Thanksgiving Day

 with BeBe and PopPop

 with Uncle Wyn, Grandma, and Grandpa

A HUGE "thank you" to our family, especially BeBe and Grandma, for taking such good care of us during our first week at home!  BeBe and Grandma cooked and cleaned all week, and even cooked a great Thanksgiving feast for us.  Thank you!!

Rebekah, Javier, and Isaac were in South Carolina for a wedding the day after Susanna Cate was born, so they were able to meet her the day we came home from the hospital.  I was so grateful for Rebekah's encouragement--as a new mom herself she knew my worries and insecurities with a brand new baby and had exactly the right words to lift me up.

 Meeting Isaac.  Someday Isaac and Susanna Cate will be great friends and have tons of fun together.  But right now, he looks SO much bigger than her.  What a difference six months makes!

 Isaac and his littlest cousin

Susanna Cate met Aunt Emily, Uncle Jon, Lydda Grace and Wade, and Uncle Joel and Sean, via Skype.  We can't wait to introduce her to Uncle Joel, Aunt Monica, and Sean in person in January!  Then she will have to wait until the summer to meet Aunt Emily, Uncle Jon, LG and Wade.  We will have many Skype visits before then--so thankful for the internet!

Susanna Cate has also met many of our friends.  We are thankful for the encouragement and community of our friends in Atlanta!

Meeting Aaron and Caroline Swiger.  Susanna Cate is hiding behind the Clemson onesie they brought her.  It was a little big for her to wear for the Clemson vs. NC State game but she will wear it soon!  :)

Meeting Laura and Michael Patterson

Meeting Abi and Mark Spears

Welcome Susanna Cate!

We are thrilled to introduce:

Susanna Cate Boerckel

Born on November 16, 2012, at 7:13 am

7 lb 10 oz and 20 inches long

We really can't believe what a precious gift Susanna Cate is to us.  We feel blessed beyond words to be her parents.  She is the sweetest, most precious little baby.  (Of course, we're not biased at all, right?!)  We love her so very much and fall more in love with her every day!

Susanna Cate is named after my mom, sisters, and grandmother, as Susan, Anne, Catherine, and Cathey are all family names.  These names also stem from even further back in my family (a great-great grandmother and great-grandmother.)  We are still trying to decide whether to call her "Susanna" or "Susanna Cate"--right now we call her both of them.  :)  Opinions are welcome, as we can't seem to make up our minds!  It seems like both names fit her very well.  

It's hard to believe that Susanna Cate is already over two weeks old.  Time has flown by and our little girl is growing so quickly!  She already looks very different from when she was born.  We think she looks like both of us--I think she looks more like Mark and he thinks she looks more like me.  

Here are some more pictures, starting with the day she was born:

 Just a few minutes old

First picture as a family of three

 Susanna Cate looks so tiny when Daddy burps her!

 Ready to go home from the hospital

On the way home!

 Ready to go to the pediatrician for the first time

Susanna Cate's first Thanksgiving at 6 days old

 Cheering on the Tigers

 She loves tummy time!

She always stretches her arms over her head when she wakes up.

 Bath time!