The Cauwe Family

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Photo shoot

We recently had pictures taken by local photographer Shauna Mora. Nico was great and cooperative for most of the shoot, although at one point, he had enough and let us know about it. The poor guy just wanted to be left alone and we were dressing him, posing, undressing him, posing, and dressing him again.
To see the pictures, go to http://www.shaunamora.com/nico

Flashback ... shower pics

I never got around to posting pics from our showers that took place a few days before Nico was born, so here they are ...

COUPLES SHOWER

The hostesses - Hanna, Kim and Steph

Opening presents - "The Tickle Monster"

Nic's "diaper dude"

Nic's buddies got him a Curious George pinata filled with candy, onsies and pacifiers. What a great idea!

My best friend Alison came to Austin for the shower and stayed for a few days after Nico was born the next morning. She was a great help in stocking the nursery and helping me get everything ready for Nico to come home. Thanks Al!

My pregnant girlfriends - Ali (due in April), Trisha (due in January), me (about to give birth in 12 hours), and Raegan (due in June)

Bellies!

SHOWER GIVEN BY CO-WORKERS AT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE

The hostesses - Janece, Sue and Jennifer

Soon-to-be-parents

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful showers!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

One Month Old ... Already

Hard to believe, but Nico is already a month old. Seems like just the other day Nic and I were walking through the doors of the hospital wondering if I was really in labor.

This past month has been a blast and also tiring. Nico is eating a lot and definitely growing -- according to the scale at home, he's gained 6 pounds! (Can that be right?) He's a super happy baby who smiles a lot and only cries when he needs something. (I hope he keeps this up.)

Nic had the entire month off of work and finally went back this week. It was so much fun having Nic home. Nico and Nic were able to spend a lot of time together and bond. The three of us were able to sleep late, watch movies and go shopping together. Also, Nic was a great help to me during this time where everything is new.

1-month-old (1/7/09) Look at that pot belly!

Parker and Kyla watch over their baby brother.
Both dogs have been great with Nico. They are very protective and keep a constant watch over him. When they hear him crying, they run to check on him, and Kyla loves to give kisses on the head or hands.

Happy New Year!

On New Year's Day, Nico had two special visitors. Grandmother Janny came from Corpus and Aunt Charlotte came all the way from New York City. We had such a great time and wish that they lived closer.

Janny and Nico share a moment

Aunt Char from NYC

Nico and the ladies after lunch at Chuy's

Nico and daddy at Chuy's

Nico's First Christmas

Christmas this year was super special because we got to spend it with our 18-day-old Nico. We are so glad that he decided to come early and celebrate Christmas with us.

On Christmas day, we went to Nonni and PopPop's to open presents and enjoy a fabulous dinner cooked by Nonni.

(Thank you to both grandmas for giving Nico a Christmas outfit ... he had multiple wardrobe changes on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.)

On Christmas morning, we helped Nico open his presents.

Look what Santa left!

Cauwe family on Christmas day

Learning to play guitar with Uncle Brandon

After Nonni made us a fabulous Christmas dinner, she rocked Nico to sleep.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Nonni, PopPop and Uncle Brandon came to Austin for dinner. After dinner, Nic continued the tradition that my dad started when my brother and I were little -- reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. We even have the original book that my dad used when we were little.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

An Early Christmas Present

Nico Cauwe

December 7, 2008

10:46 a.m.

5 pounds, 11 ounces

19 inches long

Our precious boy couldn’t wait any longer and made his entrance into the world a few weeks early. Although tiny, he’s perfect and healthy, and the best Christmas present we could have asked for!

Birth story: On the evening of Saturday, Dec. 6^th, our wonderful friends in Austin threw us a baby shower, so earlier that day, I got my hair done, ran errands, and got ready for the shower. The shower was a blast, and that evening when I got home, I was exhausted. Nic and his buddies decided that they didn’t want the party to end, so they took the party to 6^th Street. (Ask Nic for his version of the story.)

At 1:30 a.m., I woke up with slight cramping but was able to go back to sleep until about 3:30 a.m. Around 4 a.m., I was having contractions that were 5 minutes apart. We called the hospital and they told us to go ahead and come in.

Because I thought I still had time before the baby arrived, I didn't have a hospital bag packed, so the packing began and we were off. I was admitted to the hospital a little before 6 a.m. and by 9 a.m., I was pushing. Things progressed so rapidly, that I didn't have an option for an epidural because by the time it would have taken effect, the baby would have been born. Thank goodness for yoga!

Nico came into this world bright-eyed and vocal. His cry was beautiful and it was love at first sight as he was placed on my chest.

Once Nico was born, we notified our friends and many thought it was a joke because they saw us the night before at the shower and there was no indication that I would be going into labor just a few hours later. Guess Nico sensed all the fun we were having and couldn’t wait to join us.

Here are some pics from Nico’s first two weeks: