I've Been a Bad Blogger

Yes folks...I've not been very good at updating regularly.  Let's just say that life is kicking into full gear lately and I've sadly let these updates go by the wayside.  I am punishing myself by sitting in a corner for 13 minutes tonight....I might sleep in the corner, and a corner might be my personal synonym for bed.

Just a lump

Things have been quite busy around the Konrad household.  We continue to receive wonderful gifts.  I do not know how this child is ever going to run out of clothes.  Every parent will probably tell me they will, but we are just teeming with threads!  We also received some great gifts from one of Kate's schools today.  We are very fortunate to be surrounded by such giving people. 

Bad news...Daniel's fitness plan has not been working.  He's coming in at a whopping 9lbs 5oz...sigh...I put a call into the Biggest Loser, but not sure if he meets the qualifications.  Oh well.  On a less silly note, Daniel is quite healthy.  As I continue to say in my continuous blogs he continues to receive continuous high marks.  He has certainly had his bouts with fussiness and being a crybaby, but he's having lots of alert times where he just chills and looks around.  This is the closest we'll get to playing, so I'll take it.

Invisible pants

Unfortunately, I do not see Daniel or my wife as often as previous weeks as I am back to working full-time.  I figure this is part of life and although it is nice being back in a routine and working with my awesome kids at school, I certainly do miss hanging out with my little dude.  Katie is great about updating me on his many daily achievements (IE:  Weighing more, sleeping more...etc...) so it's very nice having that connection still.  He has been sleeping through the night very well, so although we're tired (Kate from getting up to feed and me from being back at work full time) we feel we have been spoiled with a pretty awesome baby.

Our weekend plans of late revolve around my marching schedule, so not much else on those fronts.  Robert Griffin III has been getting thrown around in some Heisman talks, so Daniel's getting smug.  My favorite days are Sunday right now where I typically have no activities and I get to just be a dad and husband full-time.  I plan to not wait so long til' my next update...but don't be surprised cause it's getting a little crazy up in here.

Shout out to Jen Pollock!

Someone's Got a Case of the Mom-days

What a pun, right?!  The content of this blog has little to do with the title other than it was the first thing to jump in my head.  I guess Daniel chills a bunch with his Mama. 

Just chilling

He's been such a chill guy today.  It's not too often (for me at least) that he's awake and NOT crying, but today he's been hanging, getting tummy time, looking around, and without even a little fuss.  I feel like our strict *training is working.  We kind of went picture happy because he was so stinking cute and the camera was just right there.  I decided to see if I could make a two-week old laugh (even though I know it's not really...possible) by making raspberries in his stomach and telling a couple jokes...no dice.  He just responded with brow furrowing and confused looks.  He was quite fun though.  His neck's getting quite strong, despite how large his noggin is. 

So alert.

Hanging with the elder Konrads

We had a busy weekend of bachelor/bachelorette parties (Katie's brother, Brian is getting married in October), the Applejack Festival, Husker gaming and family time.  All of it was a wonderful time.  The Applejack Fest was a pretty wet and cold, but Daniel slept the whole time and I got a sweet apple doughnut, so I consider it a success.  Afterwards, we watched the game.  Daniel still is obsessed with Baylor..and they seem to be doing pretty well, so I guess we'll have to increase his training/brain-washing.  We watched part of the game at my parents' house and it was certainly a good time.   Lots of baby passing.  Sunday included church and some time with Kate's family.  It was also a wonderful time. 

Sister and Son

Daniel has been doing so well.  As I wrote last week, his doctor gave him a great "grade" and we're thrilled that.  He was quite fussy for a part of the last week, but we chalked it up to his two-week growth spurt.  Just the past couple days, he's been doing great, however.  He's starting to get in a steady routine and, although we have to let him cry it out sometimes...and that's one of the hardest things ever, he's starting to sleep through the night.  What a stud though.  I'm so proud of him. 

This week is very busy for me, so that unfortunately means Kate is without her manly man (me).  She's amazing though, so I never worry, I just sure wish I could be around more often.  Thankfully, I've had the time off that I've taken, so I'm quite happy I did so.  No regrets. 

Well...that seems to be it for today...and....so......on..
 

*Daniel's training includes eating, sleeping, pooping, and sleeping some more.  

Training.

Up All Night

Well...not really, but it feels like we are sometimes.  Daniel has spats of not wanting to sleep alone, so we have to let him use us as mattresses.  Katie's more like a twin size, where as I fall in around the Queen-King size...depends on the size of my last meal.

Mattress!

Welp..we just got back from Daniel's weekly checkup.  He's getting quite fat, coming in at a whopping 8lbs 9 and 1/2 oz.  I was exploring some dieting actions...maybe Jenny Craig has a newborn... eh Katie said not to worry about it.  It's normal for infants to grow I guess =)

I'm going in reverse today.  Yesterday, we were able to visit with my family over at my parents house.  Unfortunately, I forgot the camera, so you'll have to just imagine how good he was.  Didn't fuss at all.  I feel like we're training him quite well.  Katie also had an excursion to her Aunt Valerie's house, also which has no physical documentation...so it could all be a lie.  Heck, she could have been taking him out to Coldstone or something....or something...oh well, I believe her.

Rickyard

He's really been a champ at home.  If there were a weight-lifting contest for newborns, he would be right up there with the big dawgs.  I mean, he lifts that enormous noggin of his (courtesy of Zac Konrad).  His tear ducts are starting to come alive, so now his crying and drooling can be accompanied by tears.  He was getting some nice yellow goop with that though, so we decided to take him into the doctor, and he's been fine ever since.  We've still been receiving such nice meals from friends and family.  Thank you so much to the wonderful couples from our Sunday School class.  Thank you to the Coopers, Thiemanns, Drowns, and Halls.  What wonderful food.  We're very spoiled and blessed. 

Sleeping like a celestial creature.

A lot of people ask about how Katie's feeling, and I have not been writing up here often enough.  She's been doing quite well despite giving birth so recently.  She's been up and about since day one.  She's always been quite active though, I think the loss of 8lbs 4 oz in her abdomen helped simplify movement though.  She's an awesome mom already.  Very good at what she does..and I had no doubt.  She takes walks though, gets out daily, and like I said..serves as a GREAT mattress for Daniel!

Decent Husker family picture.

We're looking forward to the weekend with the game and possibly heading down to Nebraska City for the good ol' Applejack Festival.  It should be a good time.  Chilling with family, heading south to Neb City, eating apples, apples, and more apples...and so on...

SOMEONE ruined this photo...

It's Game Day

In this house (apartment actually, but just roll with it), we are Husker fans.  It's just the way it is.  I was talking to Daniel this morning and he was talking about how he likes Baylor's quarterback this year and think he has a shot at the Heisman.  I told him that we have a pretty good quarterback too at Nebraska and I'm excited to see how he grows this season.  He scoffed at me and told me to watch out for Baylor...even though we'll likely not play them.  Looks like we have some brainwashing to do.

Cutie Patooti

I'm sitting here watching our bundle of flesh sleep.  Can you believe he's a week old now?  I'm pretty sure he just passed gas.  He's been sleeping like a champ since we came home, but now he's a champ at sleeping without using our bodies as mattresses.  I thought that I could get in a quick blog update while he slept so well..but he's beginning to stir, so that might delay..

Facepalm at my joke(s)

We've continued our trend of venturing out daily and Wednesday we headed up to Immanuel to visit Katie's colleague and friend, Kelly who just had her OWN baby, Duncan.  He's a handsome looking dude as well.  I'm sure Daniel would approve if he could form verbal opinions yet.  Maybe he could learn to draw...eh.  He did a great job and we followed that hospital trip with his very first pediatrician. Doctor said he was a stud (not in those exact words, but he did score some very high marks).  He's extremely healthy right now.  The only stuff that concerned us was excessive hiccuping and sneezing, but that's all normal at this point.  He's even almost able to suck his thumb, which I'm told is quite exceptional.  I can do it faster than him though.

Can you believe they're the same age???..kidding

We were able to have my best friend, William, his wife, Lucy, and their 5-month old, Isaiah over on Wednesday night.  We've decided that Isaiah and Daniel are stuck together..they have to be buddies no matter what. They coincidentally were in town on their way to California and it could not have been better timing.  We cannot wait to make a trip out to California..one day.  They have their own blog (which we ripped off) here. 

Great family pic.

On Thursday, we visited one of Kate's elementary schools, Wheeler Elementary.  Time for Daniel to put on the charm.

Ladies' Man

Daniel's time at home has been quite good.  His behavior I mean.  He certainly has his moments of hysteria, but they are few and far between.  Most of the time he either sleeps or is "alert" and looking around, exploring often with furrowed brows.  Friday, September 9th was the first day I had to leave to go back to school for a parade and it certainly was hard. I love my job and my students are great, but man...I enjoy chilling with my son and wife.  That's life though I guess...

We're heading to Kate's parents' house today for the game (I'm actually meeting them there because I have a parade today), Daniel's chilling with Nana K tomorrow for a bit, more family stuff, some time with my buddy, Joe, than back to the grind on Monday..for half-days at least =)  Again, as always, thank you to all of you who have brought us food:  Our wonderful mothers, Jen and Queno, Anna, Angie and Kevin, Emily and Jason...and Eric that one time he brought me BK in the hospital.  What a great thing to do!  We LOVE it!  ...and so on...

Me...having fun.

Adventures in Baby Rearing

Boy oh boy, do we have some adventures lined up for you.  For example, we embarked on the journey of a lifetime today when we set out for our local SUPER TARGET.  Daniel's only really 4 days old or so...so it FELT like an adventure.  We had to figure out how his carrier fit in the grocery cart doggoneit.  No easy task..

Hanging with da moms.

Things have been shaping up nicely at the Konrad household.  Daniel has been a super stud and really been behaving himself.  I told him I'd take away his Nintendo DS if he didn't.  We came home on Sunday, September 4th at around 1pm.  Shout out to Noelle, Tina, and Jason for helping us pack up our room. 

No pictures please.

We've still been entertaining visitors, although on a much smaller scale, and he always seems to sleep quite well when someone else is holding him...so I'm not complaining at all.  He struggles to sleep by himself in his crib, so at night, we've been taking shifts allowing him to utilize us as a mattress of sorts.  I'm developed by NASA!  He's been doing better though and Kate's brother Joe, allowed us to borrow their super-duper awesome swing.  It's helped Daniel sleep by himself a little better.  We might save the crib for when he's 13 or 14.  He'll be a little dude.

Yesterday we ventured out for the first time (after coming home of course) to visit with the Elsasser Family Labor Day Extravaganza.  It was quite nice and Daniel got some training to be a future Grill-Master thanks to Rick Elsasser. 

Labor Day Extravaganza

Jack Jack and some Shoes Shoes

The Best.

Today we decided to grace Target with our presence.  It was quite exciting. Since then it's been chill, chill, chill.  Although I love my job, I'm not looking forward to having to leave this little guy home.  He's so flippin' cute and I have to teach him how to hone it for his own benefit. 
 

We've been extremely blessed by so many of you providing meals for us the past few days.  What a seemingly little act that makes a BIG deal to us.  You all are amazing and we hope to do the same for you one day.  Here's your moment of Dan.

Dan and Dan.

It's Good to Be a Konrad

So, big news.  We're finally parents..or at least of a post-utero baby.  Although this is mentioned in the previous post, but what a stinking healthy baby.  Daniel came into this world weighing a whopping 8lbs 4oz and stretched a good 20 3/4 inches.  Born 9:32pm.  What a stud.  He looks so darn good.  He has a few zits, but we'll just limit his pizza intake and that should help. 

We had so many wonderful visitors yesterday and I especially want to thank Rick Elsasser, Eric Konrad, and Laurie Konrad...for feeding me.  The hospital food would have been great, but I never thought to eat until the cafeteria closed.  I am in your debt for eternity though. 

I'm sure you would all love the details of the whole ordeal, but I'll be discrete.  We arrived at the hospital at 7:20am, Katie began the Pitocin at 9am, began pushing at 8pm, and had a baby at 9:32pm.  The hardest part of the process was waiting.  I've been told this is often the case for inducing first-time mothers.  Katie had been a trooper with her contractions for quite a bit, but we decided to go with the epidural and I'm very thankful they did so.  The rest of the day was less about the pain and more about the wait.  We watched some good movies though and luckily the hospital has free wireless for when Kate took her naps.  Our nurses were amazing (Dorothy and Connie) and Dr. Harper-Harrison was "da bomb". 

After Daniel was cleaned, we chilled a bit before moving to our recovery room.  Katie was quite hungry as she was only allowed to eat crackers, italian ice bars, and jello...which she was not supposed to eat either...but we're rule-breakers.  I was just hungry because I'm always hungry.  Because we didn't eat until 12:30pm and the doors were closed, we didn't want me to leave, and there were not many options in our pantry that late at night...I got creative.  I whipped up a 4 course meal though.  First:  Bagel with jelly, Next:  Bagel with butter, Third:  Chili Cheese Fritos, and Lastly...the dessert:  Twix bars.  I had a frozen muffin. We did not sleep too well the following night because Daniel's appetite and my "pull-out bed" which was about 16 square feet. 

Yesterday, Saturday, was wonderful because of all the friends an family that came.  Daniel was passed wonderfully and nurses/doctors continued to sing him praises of how well he's doing.  He breathes, eats, pees and poops so well.  I'm getting pretty good at wrapping him up like a burrito too.  I'm thinking I'll try the fajita wrap on him sometime...

So..what to say?  Thank you everyone who supported us through prayer and other means.  We know that so many of you have offered your aid in the time to come and we certainly look forward to taking advantage of those offers and hope we can do the same for you.  We're very blessed to have you in our lives and cannot wait to share this journey with you.  Daniel's amazing.  We love him more than anything.  There's no doubt in my mind that many of you know what we mean when we say that and we're excited to act that out in our lives.  Here's some pics to wet your whistle.

Grandma Patty

Nana K

Grandpa K

Broccoli Monster

First Family Picture

Greasy hair, double chin, and a baby.

Beautiful

Welcome, Daniel!

Daniel Christopher Konrad was born at 9:32 p.m. on Friday, September 2nd. He measured a beautiful 8 lb. 4 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long.  He's a stud.  More info/pictures to come, but first...we're sleeping.

For the record...I did cry.