The Daintys

Merry Christmas! We've had a great Christmas season so far. We stayed in South Bend since we aren't quite up for traveling with Leah just yet, but we were able to see both of our families which was wonderful. Here are some highlights from our Christmas! We finally got our Christmas tree last Monday - 2 whole days before Christmas! Ryan found the perfect tree despite a lot full of Charlie Brown leftovers. This week, Leah really seemed to have discover d that nighttime is mostly for sleeping! She is sleeping in longer stretches at night - a perfect Christmas gift. (But we still need our nap time!) One of Leah's 1st Christmas outfits. (Complete with yet another hat!) The Dainty family Pinnochle tradition continued. Leah was able to be spoiled by all her grandparents! Hope you all have had a blessed Christmas season as well. We have been thinking of those of you we weren't able to see and hope to see you soon! Merry Christmas!

Yesterday Leah was one month! We cannot believe that a month has gone by already; time passes strangely with a newborn. (At the same time, we can't believe it's ONLY been a month!) Her cheeks are a little less chubby and her eyes are a bit bluer than the day we brought her home from the hospital. Here she is in one of her holiday outfits, complete with goofy hat that only babies can get away with wearing!

Leah's Grandpa Rutecki came to visit us this weekend. Lucy was very excited as he always brings her special treats! Leah slept almost the entire time, but she opened her eyes briefly for one picture! Leah is starting to spend more time awake, alert, and content which is a lot of fun! She loves looking at the singing light up puppy that is attached to her play mat while her real puppy maintains a (somewhat) respectable distance and guards her from... any mailman that might knock at the door.

I admit that while I was pregnant, I too balanced my food on top of Leah as we vegged in front of the TV and snacked; Ryan called it my belly plate. However, Ryan has taken this to a whole new level now that Leah no longer resides in the womb. (Don't worry, he knows he's not allowed to do this with spaghetti...)

Dear Family and Friends, Our new daughter Leah, though only 10 days old, has many things she is thankful for.  She is very thankful for all those family and friends who prayed for her healthy arrival and recovery in the NICU.  She is thankful for grandparents who have stayed with her mom and dad, selflessly volunteering their time helping around the house, changing diapers, and holding her so her mom and dad could rest.  She is thankful for dad's awesome construction skills in creating her nursery room and for his ability to rock her to sleep.  She is perhaps most thankful for mom's awesome ability to feed her... without end :)  Finally, she is thankful that we can pass this holiday message on to you all: Happy Thanksgiving ... from ... our !!!!!!! Love, Ryan, Nikki, Leah, and Lucy

Leah is almost 10 days old, and this week has been a week of many firsts. We had our first night in our home as a family, our first trip out of the house to go see the doctor, our first walk as a family (thanks to the beautiful weather we had today!), Ryan's first day back at work, the first time we went through 4 diapers in one diaper changing session... So here are a few more pictures of our little peanut's first week. (That's right, more pictures! I'm sure we'll be taking lots of them since we still find everything from stinky diapers to spit bubbles to be absolutely adorable...) This hat is especially precious to me because it was the first baby item I bought for Leah! I got it for 25 cents at the Children's Place outlet store way back in June... Here's Leah doing her best Popeye impersonation.

Nicole and Leah were both able to be released from the hospital on Friday, and we all came home late Friday afternoon. Although Leah had a bit of a rough start, she is a strong little baby and she is doing well. Her blood tests and x-rays were all looking good by the time we came home. We were greeted by one excited puppy who had been wondering what the heck had been going on over the past 5 days! Lucy already loves her "little sister" and tends to stay wherever Leah is. Lucy is also the first one to the crib when Leah starts to whimper at night. Here are a few more pictures from our first day home.

Leah has recovered very well from the stress she experienced during her birth, and these beautiful pictures were taken after only two days.  We are still awaiting a couple blood test results, but anticipate that Leah will accompany us home on Friday, as she is starting to feed regularly.  She even spent the night with us in our room last night!!  Enjoy the pics. I call this "piercing maternal stare" I call this "dad's goofy smile" Grandma's first time holding a grandchild... ... same with this grandma ... and this new grandpa.

Our daughter Leah Catherine was born this Monday, November 17th, at 2:37 p.m.  She came into the world weighing a very healthy 9 pounds, and she is 20 inches long.  She was born via an emergency c-section after about 12 hours of labor, over 2 of which were pushing!  The important thing is that she is now doing well, and as of this morning is breathing on her own and able to breastfeed.  These first few pictures are of Leah a few hours after her birth. As you can see, she looks a lot like her papa! Leah quieted down when she heard dad's voice and latched on to his finger for the first time. Mom finally got to see and hold Leah around 11pm! And here's our happy, sleepy family! Again, thanks to all for your prayers, encouragement, and presents!  We will keep posting updates and pictures.

I am officially on maternity leave as of this Monday, and yes, I am still pregnant! So I have had a few relaxing days of vacuuming, reading, scrapbooking , napping, refolding baby clothes, and taking Lucy for waddles around the block. At the latest, I will be induced a week from today if baby hasn't decided to make her grand entrance on her own yet. We will keep you updated! Thanks to all for your encouraging emails, letters, and prayers. Here's a picture of the belly at 41 weeks!

Happy Halloween from our pumpkin to you!

Greetings friends, Thanks to all your prayers and support over these last months, my job search is finally over.  It ended where it began, in the principal's office at Marian High School, a Catholic high school in Mishawaka, IN, about 5 minutes from our house. I will be teaching 11th and 12th grade English-- 4 sections of honors Junior composition, and 1 Senior world literature course.  Both Nicole and I are very excited about this opportunity, as we will now be on the same schedules with breaks and will, of course, have the summers off to travel and visit all of you, our family and friends. I am observing the teacher who is resigning over the next week, and I will begin on my own Monday, November 3, just in time for Nikki to go into labor, necessitating my finding a sub for a week or so?!  Oh well, what can you do? Thanks again to all of you who have prayed earnestly that this challenging time would pass.  We are truly blessed by all of you.

My sixth grade class has been working on persuasive essays this quarter, and one of their first assignments was to write a persuasive piece on what Mr. and Mrs. Dainty should name their baby! They worked in partners, and they got to choose either a girl's name or a boy's name. Their responses were quite interesting and they have certainly given us some chuckles. Here are some of the highlights. (Spelling and grammar errors have been left in for comedic purposes.) Most Unique Supporting Details "Isabella is a perfect name because Queen Isabella helped supply Colombus for his trip across the sea. When we were younger we wished that there were famous people with our names. Many people may think Isabella is a weird name, but we think it is very beautiful." "I picked the name Tera because it is easy to spll , and Tera sownds like she will be smart like her mother. Her mother is so smarte . And she will want to be a techer like her." (This child obviously

At long last, the nursery is just about ready for our little one to arrive. The furniture has been assembled, the horrid blinds that we got with the house have been replaced, and tiny baby socks, bibs, booties, and overalls now occupy the drawers. My mom, sister, and grandma helped us come up with a satisfying furniture arrangment when they visited the other weekend. Here are some pictures! Welcome! Baby will have to share a closet with Daddy. I love seeing these teeny dresses hanging right by Ryan's dress shirts and khakis and carharts... Here's a close up of Ryan's chairrail handiwork!