Sneak Peek

Here is the link to some of the pictures from Riley's photo session with Melissa: Here. They turned out really well:) Also Riley will be a month tomorrow and she's weighing in at 11 pounds and just under 23 inches. She's growing like crazy!

Enjoy your Christmas Eve!

Good music.

Since music plays a really big part in our lives, from time to time we'll just make posts about good music:) So I just wanted to post a few videos I adore by the lovely Feist. She's one of the many reasons I love Canadian's and their music! Feist is also a reminder that good music is still out there.







For more amazing Canadians and good music check out the record label Arts&Crafts...

Three weeks old...

...And this is what Riley did when she didn't get food when she wanted:

Sometimes I can't help but laugh a bit when she gets so worked up when she's not fed right away. My mom says I was exactly the same way when I was a baby... I don't believe her:)

For more pictures from today visit our flickr: Here

Happy its Monday:)

The past three days have been filled with Christmas parties, photo shoots, visiting with family & friends, and little sleep. Although it was nice to be out and about so much, especially since we got to see some good friends, it got tiring and I was more than happy when today started. I was also excited because it started raining last night! So I get to enjoy a rainy Monday today.

Riley had two photo shoots this weekend, one with Lia Pearson (Her website), a woman I met from BabyCenter.com and one with Melissa Vossler (Her website), a long time family friend. I'm looking forward to pictures from both sessions. Leif and I were really proud of Riley because she stayed really calm and was actually alert for both shoots. I'm happy we know people that do photography because it saves us from having to go get pictures done at the mall... Ugh I would hate that.

Here is a picture of Riley I took before we went to our session with Lia on Saturday. There are a few more on the Flickr: Here.

For Family & Friends:

So I just uploaded all the pictures we've taken of Riley these past two weeks here: Our Flickr. There you can view our photostream and all the pictures & videos we haven't posted here on the blog. I also posted the link under Websites We Enjoy towards the bottom of our blog page. I'll try to remember to post the link whenever I post pictures... But if I forget you can always find it down there:)

Two weeks.

Today Riley is two weeks old. Time is going by so fast, just like everyone said it would. I'm realizing that I need to take a lot more pictures of Riley because she's already growing and changing so much. :) You can never have too many pictures... Never.

Riley is slowly developing a personality. Its fun to watch. She gets really worked up if you don't feed her right away, sometimes its kind of funny to watch. She doesn't cry too much and when she does she'll usually stop within 5 minutes on her own. Nights have been interesting. Some nights we get a lot of sleep other nights not so much... We're very grateful for the few nights we get a lot of sleep. She loves to eat and sometimes we sit up with her at night for an hour or two just feeding her. Although I love my sleep, I do enjoy the times I spend with Riley late at night. I know that these nights will become more few as she gets older so I'm taking advantage of them while I can.

Every time I look at Riley I'm amazed and reminded just how wonderful and good God is.

More pictures of course:)

Here are some recent pictures of Riley. I can't get over how cute she is! I'm constantly thanking God for blessing Leif and I with such a beautiful daughter. And look at her curly hair!









So last Friday night we had some good friends come over to meet Riley. It was a lot of fun for Leif and I because we haven't really seen too many people since Riley was born... It's always nice to have close friends come to visit. And it was great being able to introduce Riley to them! These friends were the first ones we, well I told when we found out I was pregnant. So it was pretty special when they came over. I'm very grateful for wonderful friends like these.

Riley's first bath

So here are some pictures and a video of Riley's first bath:) She didn't like it so much at first, but eventually she began to enjoy it.

Its already been a week...

and a few days since we had Riley. I can't believe how fast its gone! Or how big she has already gotten. I can't believe that I've been a mommy for about 9 days already:) It seriously feels like we just brought her home from the Hospital. Leif and I are loving our new roles as mommy and daddy! I don't think there's anything better... Well besides being Leif's wife of course.

I think my favorite moments are when Leif comes home from work and he can't wait to hold Riley. Or every morning when he takes her out of her bassinet so she can sleep on his chest for awhile before work. I'm looking forward to more moments like this and all the new ones we get to experience as Riley grows...

For Grandma and Grandpa J

Riley didn't want to sleep, so we recorded a message for you guys on our new laptop.

More pics and videos of Riley...

Here's a few more pictures and videos of Riley. The first picture is from the hospital, when Riley was a day old. The second one we took while taking polaroids for our baby announcements. Riley prefers sleeping in our bed with us, and she's already starting on tummy time. It's crazy how far she's come in just a week. :)




First time on her belly:

Postcard from William Schaff

William Schaff is an artist and musician from Rhode Island who's done the artwork for several indie bands, most notably Okkervil River and Godspeed You Black Emperor. Back in September, I donated some money to him because I was a fan of his art, which you can view here. If you're a fan, you should donate some as well, even if it's just $5. His embroidery and mail art are both pretty impressive. Anyways, as a thank you, he sent me the following hand made postcard. It was pretty cool to receive such a personal gesture from a successful artist.

Riley has arrived...(it's a girl)...

Margaret and I went into the hospital on Monday. We were inducing her, since she had been due a few days before, and we didn't want to miss Thanksgiving. They started her on pitosin, which is intended to induce contractions; the doctor stopped the pitosin in the evening so Margaret could eat and rest. They started her back up at midnight. When the doctor came on Tuesday morning, he broke her water to speed up the process. However, by 7 o clock that night, Margaret had only dilated to 5 cm's. After contracting so long, Margaret was pretty exhausted, so we decided to go with a C Section. The procedure took about 45 minutes total, and by 8:36, Riley was here. She was 7 lbs. even and either 19.5 or 20.5 inches (I'm not sure which are official). They stitched Margaret up, and we spent the next 36 hours in the hospital until they discharged her. Our nurses were a bit shocked that the doctor allowed us to go home, since the minimum time after a C Section is usually 3 days. But Margaret's been doing well, and so has Riley. I'm amazed at how quickly Margaret's recovering. And I'm even more amazed with how well Riley's doing. Here's a couple videos of her first moments, and a few of my favorite pictures as well. I'm hoping to post more soon. God's blessed us enormously over the last year, but none of it compares to how much he blessed us this past week. Thank you to everyone who's prayed for us and supported us over the last 9 months. We wouldn't be where we are without you. :)

Hoppipolla.

This is probably one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. I could listen to this song over and over and never get tired of it. The video makes it even more beautiful. Its what I imagine Leif and I will be like when we grow old:) He's fun like that.
Sigur Rós is just brilliant.

Pictures of Riley's Room

Margaret wanted me to take some pictures of Riley's room to post on here. I just snapped a couple the other day, and though I'm not that happy w/ the quality of the pics, at least you'll get an idea of what her room looks like. It's turned out really well, although it'd be nice if we could paint one of the walls or something. We're hoping to add this tree wall decal in the near future...





The blanket and wall decor is by Amenity, which you can find on designpublic.com. We found the fox lamp at Urban Outfitters for $10, and the shade (as well as the dresser) is from Ikea.

Sunflowers.

The 15th of every month Leif buys me sunflowers:) Its something I look forward to each month. He's never forgotten. Not once. The 15th was when we started dating in April 2007 and to celebrate every month Leif would buy me my favorite flowers: Sunflowers. I'm blessed to have such a wonderful, thoughtful and caring husband. Really... He's the most amazing man I've ever known.

*I wanted to take a picture of the flowers he got me but I can't upload them to my computer because its broken:( So this image will have to do:


& a picture of us from like June/July 07. Its fun!

Some incredible wall paper.

I found this wall paper on designpublic.com today. It's an amazing site. Yes, it's a little pricey, but you'll be pressed to find a better site for decorating your home. Each of these are panels that can be placed next to each other seamlessly in whichever configuration you like. They're made by SUM. I can't wait to have a home to decorate, and the funds to do so...

Only 10 days left...

...until Riley's due date. We're not expecting her until a day or two later, but still:) November 22 is something we've been looking forward to since May, when we got to see her for the first time. I had heard that I would be super anxious and time would drag on around this point, but for me time continues to fly by. I think because I know that these are the last few days of just "Leif & Marge". This waiting period has been bittersweet I guess you could say... I'm really excited for Riley's arrival but I'm sad that things will be changing for Leif and I. The past 8 months with Leif have been amazing. We've grown so much, in our walk with God and our relationship with each other. Most couples get married and wait a few years before having children, giving them a lot more time for just each other. Leif and I on the other hand really only got a few months, but they were months filled with so much more than I would have ever imagined.

God has really blessed us in these past months and continues to do so on a daily basis. He never ceases to amaze me.

& I'm posting this picture because I think its wonderful
as is his music.

Ramona Córdova

A video of Riley doing somersaults, or something...

We're still waiting for Riley to get here, and though I don't have any pictures of her for you yet, here's a video of her having fun in Margaret's stomach. She usually moves even more than this. Every time I tried filming her she'd stop moving, just to frustrate me. I think she thought it was funny.

Some great pieces from Jeremy Scott

These are by Jeremy Scott. And although he may have been an ass on ANTM, these designs are pretty impressive. Now if only I could afford them for Margaret or I. The Rolls Royce Sweater is the cheapest, at $330, and it's not even cashmere.

Inaugural Post

This is the first entry in our blog. Margaret's making me post something, because I'm really bad at updating blogs. I always start off excited about them, and then I gradually forget that I even have a blog. But hopefully this time will be different, because now I can use this to write about Riley. She's two weeks away, and we're pretty excited to meet her. I hope she comes sooner, partly because I want to see her, and partly because I bet Margaret $5 that she would get here within a week. Anyways, we'll be posting on here, about Riley, and about us, and whatever things we feel like sharing. So check back often. And pray Riley gets here safely...with all ten fingers and all ten toes...or at least seven fingers and nine toes. That would probably be enough to get her through life...