Rhode Island

On 10 March we went to Rhode Island to visit our friends Jesse and Sarita. It was a fun little trip and our first time taking Marcus so far (though it's only and hour away).

We went for a drive and to Newport to walk around. Newport is beautiful and I've since been back for some Mansion tours with my sisters and parents. We bought some lobster (alive) in Newport and then took them back to boil them for dinner. It was quite the experience and Dave was the brave one to throw the lobster in the pot :)  We decided we're not the biggest fans of lobster---but it was still a cool experience---thanks Jesse and Sarita!!

 Pretty lighthouse :)

 We went across that cool bridge to get to Newport. I love bridges :)

Love the ocean!

Dave braving the lobster---he could have lost a finger! ;)

RIP

Then the real work began---getting through the hard shell skin to the meat. It was good!

More of Marcus!

Today Marcus is about 7 weeks.

Marcus did a lot of sleeping in February---and so did his parents whenever they could :)  Really though, February is kind of a blur for us---we took pictures luckily, but that's all we remember. It was a very common occurrence for Dave to walk in on me feeding Marcus and we were both asleep. But we've both improved since then and Marcus is turning into a pretty good little eater.

The other thing Marcus does a lot of is eat. I know what you're thinking--- of course, all babies eat a lot. Well Marcus eats more I think :)  Actually I think he is just a very slow eater---so our feeding times take a long time. But again, he's improving and speeding up lately.

I took this pictures of Marcus when he was 4 weeks old. He wasn't quite smiling, but still so cute!

And finally... the smiles came!! He tends to smile more after his diaper has been changed. He also smiles more for Dave I think, he's a daddy's boy!

We're so glad Marcus is starting to smile and have more down time where he doesn't necessarily feel like eating. It's been so fun to watch him grow---he's definitely getting bigger!

Marcus has arrived!!

Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays!!!

I turned 27 on January 14, and Dave just turned 28 on February 8.

But the most exciting and anticipated birth came right in the middle---Marcus David Geiger!!! Born on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 5:19 p.m. He weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces, and was 20 1/2 inches long.


Here are the pictures, and birth story:

My mom came out for two weeks to help us out and see Marcus. We thought that I might deliver a bit early though---so she came out one week before my due date, 10 Jan. Then my due date came and went and he still hadn't made his appearance----so the doctor scheduled me for an induction, on Monday the 23rd. They won't induce at Mount Auburn Hospital any earlier than one week past your due date. So that put us the day before my mom had to leave.

This is me on Sunday, the 22nd. We called early in the morning on Monday to see if they had room to start my induction. They didn't though. So we spent all day hoping they'd call. Finally, with our permission, they called in the middle of the night, 1:00 a.m., on Tuesday the 24th.

This is my mom and I before we all went to the hospital.

Unfortunately my mom had to catch her flight home Tuesday morning---and Marcus had not come quite yet. We were all really sad, but not much we can do about that :(. We still had a great time with my mom and look forward to seeing her and my dad in April!

When my mom left I had been on Pitocin for a few hours. But at about 8:30 a.m. my water broke. So at that point they let off on the  Pitosin because my body was starting to do contractions on it's own. At 11:30 a.m. I was dilated to a 4 and they asked me if I wanted the epidural then because the anesthesiologist would be gone for an hour and a half. Since I was tired and wanted to to take a nap I got the epidural. It was great! I napped for an hour and a half. Then at 3:00 p.m. they checked on me again and I was dilated to a 10! They wanted Marcus to drop a little more on his own before I started to push. So at 4:00 p.m. I started to push. It was a very surreal experience. And I know I'm probably just lucky----but labor was definitely not as bad as I expected---but the epidural definitely helped that. I was a bit worried about Dave, because he doesn't like blood and tends to get light-headed. But he was right there and watched the entire thing---and didn't feel a bit queasy.

At 5:19 p.m. Marcus was born!

 Our little family

 

Here are some more pictures from the first two weeks of his life:

His first time in a car seat, leaving the hospital.

 

 Our favorite picture :)

Dave's mom came to visit little Marcus---and to help us out. It was greatly appreciated!!!

We love our adorable little Marcus. And we're so glad he's here now. We can't imagine life without him now :)

Christmas!!

Dave finished his first semester of Law School!! I'm so proud of him! We won't know his grades until February--but I'm sure he did very well :)  Finals week and the week prior were stressful for Dave--and I tried to make his life easy and not bug him to much. We were so glad when it was all over. And spending two weeks with just him has been really great for us. We won't get much of that after January :) But we're so excited for baby Marcus to join our little family.

Dave and I had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was definitely quiet since we stayed here in Cambridge. But being 8 months pregnant, we decided traveling wouldn't be very fun.

On Christmas Eve we planned dinner with our awesome neighbors, Amanda and Jonathan Stradling. It was a lot of fun! Amanda made an amazing Julia Child recipe and we had wassail and fondue. It was nice to have someone to hang out with on Christmas Eve---we're glad we weren't the only ones staying in town :)

 Our amazing table - thanks to Amanda and her crystal/china :)

 Amanda and Jonathan!

Liz and Dave!

Christmas morning we slept in, and opened presents. We felt very spoiled this year by family---so thank-you everyone! We received everything from games to movies to clothing to emergency preparedness. Marcus received some gifts too! I'll put some pictures below (not everything though). We then went to our sacrament meeting and enjoyed the great service. I love Christmas time and talks about Christmas. Then the rest of the day we spent video-chatting with family and playing games. It was a perfect Christmas.

 This is me 37 weeks pregnant---almost there!!

 We thought this game was so cool---monopoly Boston style. Thanks Brooklyn!

 Wheat grinder---plus lots of wheat :)  Thanks mom & dad Geiger!

And I just had to get Dave a Harvard beenie :)

 My amazing mom made this beautiful blanket for Marcus--and another one too!

We received a changing pad and wipes warmer for Marcus from Rachel :)

And I'm so glad that we already have the greatest gift of all---the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope everyone had a great Christmas and remembered the reason we celebrate Christmas.

33 Weeks and Christmas decorations!!

I am now 33 weeks pregnant. Here's the picture:

We also put our crib together. And I've been painting a dresser we bought on craigslist---so final pictures of baby room will be soon :)

And we put up our Christmas tree and decorations and took a family photo:

Thanksgiving

First of all, Dave and I are so grateful for all we have. We have wonderful family and friends and have been given many great opportunities this year. We are most especially thankful for the gospel in our lives and to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints---and grateful for the atonement of the Savior, Jesus Christ. We would be not be as happy and enjoy life as much without this knowledge.

For Thanksgiving our Bishop and his wife invited us and a couple others from the ward over to celebrate with them. It was an amazing feast and we're so grateful for their hospitality and kindness. Here are some pictures to highlight the day :)

The bishop cutting the turkey---yum yum!

The feast begins!!

Dave took most of the pictures, but this one. So here's Dave! Love him so much!!

Juliana's Visit

Dave's sister Juliana came out for a couple days for a job interview. So we didn't have a lot of time. But we took her to Harvard Square, Mount Auburn Cemetary and to Bunker Hill. Here are some pictures from the weekend. It was so fun having her here!!

Juliana and Dave at the Bunker Hill Monument.

Juliana, Dave and Liz at the top of the monument. Yes, I walked all 294 steps! I took it slow though and met them at the top :)

To prove we made it, or at least Juliana made it---and either Dave or I took the picture :)  We all made it, I promise.

I look weird in this picture---but Juliana looks pretty and so do the pretty fall leaves :)

Juliana at Regina's Pizzeria. So yummy!!

Glad you could visit us Juliana!!!!!

30 Weeks!

I'm am now 75% of the way through the pregnancy!! Thirty weeks! I've definitely gone through a growth spurt---or Marcus has :)  So here is the very unflattering picture to prove it. Everything is going well so far and we're excited to meet Marcus in a couple months--time is flying!!