A little bit of summer

Søren, Silas and I are having a wonderful and relaxing summer! We hadn’t planned much of anything, as we didn’t know how much we would be up for, so we have just taken each day as it comes with a few small day trips every once and awhile.

Two of the day trips we have had were to visit some friends/family at two different Bible Camps in Denmark.  I have heard so much about Mørkholt and Sommeroase, so this year since we are actually in Denmark during the camps, we just had to check them out.  Both camps are designed for families, and it was fun to see so many kids playing around and there were many different activities and events that you could attend. I was very impressed with both camps, each unique in their own way.

With Ulla, Peter, Lukas & Nikolaj at Mørkholt Camping

At Sommeroase with Jette, Carl, Ida and Sigrid

The day at Mørkholt we had beautiful weather and enjoyed visiting friends from our church as well as Søren’s sister and her family.  Silas slept pretty much the whole day, so he was easy to have along.  At Sommeroase Silas was also so well behaved, sleeping again most of the day in his buggy as we walked around and visited with our friends.

Søren and I were also able to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary last Tuesday. We spent the day in the nearby beach town, Henne, where we looked at shops and took a stroll down by the ocean.  Then we went out to eat on the way home, where once again Silas was so well behaved! It was a delicious buffet and Søren and I had plenty of time to enjoy multiple trips to the buffet table! Then we came home and watched the movie Søren had bought us for our anniversary.  We definitely enjoyed the day!

Silas seeing the ocean for the first time

Every year we have a little day long family outing with Søren’s Mom and his sister and family.  This year we were meant to go to a little island off the west coast of Denmark, where Søren’s Mom lived until 2nd grade.  However the weather prevented us from going and instead we decided to go a different day and ended up at a very beautiful Nature Park. There were trails around a small lake and an awesome playground with fun for both kids and adults.  We finished the day back at Ulla and Peter’s house with some strawberry pie and steak dinner.  Silas had a great day too getting lots of fresh air and being as charming as ever during goodbyes, giving his toothless smile and coos to his Aunt, Uncle and Grandma.

Otherwise we have just been enjoying time at home. Going for walks, cleaning up around the house and visiting friends. We are getting to know Silas better and better and therefore having fewer and fewer crying attacks.  However, there have been a few days where he has been just a mad little boy…screaming while we were pushing him in his carriage on the busy shopping street…and screaming again as I took him to a flea market.  All in all he is so well behaved we can’t complain, but I still must note that he can be a “bit” fussy!

PS: This morning I was changing Silas’ diaper and just as I was about to put the new diaper on, I heard a giant fart and suddenly I was covered with a yellowish, watery poop explosion.  It was all over!! I had to take a shower immediately.  The joys of parenthood!

Silas 1 month +

Everyday I keep thinking, I really want to have a blog post each month showing Silas' growth (at least for this first year as so much changes so quickily in the beginning).  So yes, everyday in July so far I have told myself that it is too late now to do a 1 month post, but I still want to do it, so now I am deciding that I will just do it, even though Silas is much over 1 month now. So here is the first of the 12 posts to come! (Now I've promised it, so I have to follow through :)

SILAS 1 month


At 1 month old Silas can:
1) Hold his head really high and for up to 3-4 minutes at a time
2) Cry with such a volume and violence that you wonder if he is literally dying...well at least wonder if he is breathing
3) Make slight eye contact for short periods. For ex: Follow an item every so slowly and with delayed reaction.
4) Make cooing noises
5) Smile in his sleep...(also slightly while awake, but definitely not purposeful)
6) Sleep for 5 hours in a row (Has only done it 3 nights but still)
7) Go through 3-4 outfits a day due to major spit up accidents.
8) Wear size 56cm clothes...he has outgrown his first set of 50cm.
9) Lower and raise his eyebrows
10) Pass gas almost as loudly as his parents.
11) Weighs 11 lbs (4.98kg) and is 22.8 inches (58cm)

These are the first things that come to mind although there is much more he can "do". Already just 2 weeks after his 1 month birthday we have seen a development in many of these areas, but the most noteworthy are: his cooing noises, smile and eye contact. Silas has begun to really love being on the changing table. It is here that we can very clearly see him make eye contact with us and see that he is quite concentrated on anything hanging near him. He also smiles a lot while on his back at his changing table and when he does this he makes a lot of noises like he is saying, " I am satisfied"...It is so cute and it melts our hearts everytime.

Only 2 weeks until the next monthly update...what changes will we already see there?

1 month photos:

Other random pics:

Sleeping amongst a pile of "junk"

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

This year we are in Denmark for the 4th of July, and as you may have guessed it isn't a very big occaison for the Danes. Luckily we have an American friend from our year on Watermark who also lives in Denmark, and we were able to celebrate with him and his family.

Due to the 4th being on a Monday this year, therefore a normal working day for the Danes, we had to celebrate on the 3rd of July, but that didn't stop us from having a great time.

Jim, Maria and Levi came in the early afternoon. After our boy's took a nap we decided to take a walk down to the river. At the river we played frisbee, ate chocolate chip cookies (the American kind) and just hung out. Soon it was time to go home and start up the grill for good old fashioned burgers and hotdogs! As Søren was getting it all ready, Jim and I played catch out in the driveway. It was so fun to throw a softball around again. Jim and I were feeling a bit nostalgic and never knew it could be so much fun just playing catch.

Finally dinner was ready and we sat down to an American feast. Hamburgers, hotdogs, corn on the cob, chips, fries, and salad with all the works. Søren had decorated the table with American flag napkins and flags so it was quite festive!

After dinner we played a game and enjoyed some apple pie and chocolate chip cookies before our friends headed home. Even though the weather was pretty sad, we had a wonderful day trying to preserve some of our American heritage. Hope you all have had a great 4th as well!

Silas is baptized!

Everyday I can tell that we have more and more energy! Silas is continuing to sleep well at night and sometimes well in his baby carriage.  He definitely likes to take walks in his baby carriage, that's when he sleeps his best. My Mom and I ventured into town on Monday and he slept the whole time. Then yesterday we all took a trip to Søndervig where they have a sand sculpture festival, and again he slept the whole time! It's pretty easy and a joy to have him along anywhere when he sleeps so well!

Last Sunday, June 26th was a big day for Silas.  He was baptised at our church here in Skjern.  Since the services at our church are at 3:30pm we decided to have the family over before and after church.  The guests arrived at 11:30am and the grill was ready to go. We had a nice lunch sitting outside on our new patio furniture enjoying the lovely weather God had been so generous to give us. We were all having a great and relaxing time and just an hour before we were going to head to church it was time for some ice cream cake. Just as I was trying to arrange part of the cake on a nicer platter, the whole plate slipped causing 1/4th of the remaining ice cream cake to fall directly on my lap smearing all over my new dress that I bought for the special occasion. At first I just laughed and Søren ate the fallen piece, so no harm there, but as I tried to wash out my dress I realized that it probably wasn't going to dry in time for church.  Luckily Søren's sister, Ulla, and his Mom came to the rescue and spent over 20 minutes blow drying it so that it was wearable again! I was a little stressed just before leaving church due to a sleeping baby who would wake up hungry during the baptism if he didn't eat NOW, and a sopping wet dress! But it all went well and we made it just in time to church.
The service was beautiful.  Just a simple music set up with a guitar and piano, and as we walked in down the aisle with Silas we both got a bit teary eyed. We sat up at the front of the church before the actual baptisim part and we just couldn't help looking down at our sleeping angel knowing that this special occasion was so huge. Silas was going to be baptised and become a part of God's family.  We were so happy and again a bit teary eyed.  Søren and I both agreed afterwards that at times it reminded us a little bit of our wedding day, we were just so happy! Silas slept the whole time during the service and didn't wake up until right when we were about to leave.
Afterwards we came home and took some pictures. We realized that Silas had pooped quite a bit on his dress, but we were able to hide it for the pictures, which didn't last long because Silas was quite upset and hungry. Then we opened presents and had a nice and easy sandwich dinner before our guests left.
All in all it was a spectacular day and we were all tired afterwards.

Grilling before church

Presenting Silas Adrian Madsen

Godparents

Just a funny story to cap it all off.  We were having a hard time deciding which baptism gown to use because we had 2 options.  One was my mother's and the other one was Søren's.  They were both quite beautiful but needed some cleaning. My mom went to have hers dry cleaned and they refused because it would possibly ruin it, they said.  Then Søren's mom tried to get the spots of of his by boiling it, but all the brown flowers in the fabric bled into the white turning the entire gown a light pink color.  So after having too many options we were left with NONE.  At the last minute we ordered one online and luckily it came a few days before.  I guess we are starting our own tradition!

Mr. Madsen

It is official, Søren is official finished with school and thereby officially a licensed teacher! 

He ended the year very well receiving the best possible grade for his final “exam” ,which was to present his bachelor project. I am so proud of him for his hard work these past four years. I am also happy that he is finished studying, but not as happy as he is. Silas, Søren and I took the trip to his school and got to see him get his diploma.  We celebrated when we got back home with our first date since Silas was born.  My mom was able to watch him a few hours and Søren and I went out to dinner. We thought it was crazy that we could have our first date after just a few weeks, but we enjoyed it very much!

So yeah, now he will be on the other side of the desk and I can tell he is really looking forward to teaching full time at Frøstruphave starting in August. But first it is time to enjoy a nice summer vacation!!

Congratulations to Mr. Madsen.

Getting his diploma!

A good group of new Danish teachers!

Getting to know you..

Silas is now three weeks old and wow how much more we know about him!

For example he loves to sleep on his side. Well actually more accurately he loves to sleep everywhere but in his little basket. Anybody’s arms are a hit, or in our bed, but not alone!! It’s like he has a 6th sense that tells him that we are about to set him in his basket and he wakes up…if we do actually get him in there, then he notices, while sleeping, that “oh no, I am in my basket.!!!” and then wakes up screaming…So yeah, we spend a lot of time with him in our arms, but it is so cozy so we don't mind!

We also know that he hates getting his diaper changed, but if you blow dry him a bit while he is on the changing table he gets relaxed enough to get his diaper on. He does however like to lay on his stomach while on the changing table, no blow dryer required.

Silas is in general a very content baby who likes attention and is becoming more attentive every day.  His eyes have really opened up over the last week and although he can’t focus yet it is wonderful to look into his big blue eyes. He has been sleeping quite well at night, 3-4 hour stretches, and likes to sleep late so we are getting an okay amount of sleep. 

Big eyes!

His eating habits are not quite habitual yet, but one thing is for sure, he has his Daddy’s appetite! He could eat all the time and he is definitely a “sucker."  Maybe this is why he is also a very gassy baby. He makes these cramping faces and then you can hear his gas from across the room.  Both Søren and I are proud of this ability, but we feel bad for him as we see him groan and twist with airy pain. We hope his stomach learns how to digest better soon!

So that is what we have been up to lately, getting to know our son.  He is so wonderful and although it is a bit tough at times, we wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Søren has a few days at work and his final exam before officially becoming a teacher this week!! So that is super exciting for him.  My mom is visiting and has been here for over a week already, and we have been so grateful for all her help, especially now that Søren has other obligations then just Silas and I!

Otherwise we are looking forward to Silas’ baptism on Sunday.  We were working in the yard today to get ready for our grill party for his baptism. The yard has been quite neglected since we moved in, due to the largeness of my stomach and now the arrival of Silas, so it was definitely needed!! OH, and we had our first day trip with a baby.  We had a 2 hour drive to a family reunion with the Madsen side of the family.  It was fun to show him off and see the Madsens again, and to be out of the house.  We were proud that we got through the day, but were definitely tired when we arrived home 12 hours later.  Silas was great the whole time, except for the last 45 minutes in the car he had moments of sheer screaming but finally calmed down so we could make it home!  

Sound asleep in a big bed



Fitting perfectly on Daddy's arm



Silas is here!

This past week has been one of the most amazing weeks one can experience.  There have been some ups and downs but all in all we are so happy to announce that we are now parents of a beautiful baby boy!

The Madsens

He was born on May 30th at 8:18pm, weighed 3880g (8.5lbs) and was 54cm long.  We named him Silas Adrian Madsen. (pronounced See-les) We gave him the middle name of Adrian after my middle name Adrienne, that way he has a part of my name in his name, and the less feminine version.

I will save you a lot of the details about the birth but here are some of the key parts.  We had an appointment Monday morning to begin the inducement process, as I was officially 10 days overdue and that is the new procedure in Denmark. When we arrived at the hospital at 8am I was put on a monitor to check the baby’s heart rate and any possible contractions.  After that they checked to see if my body was ready to break the water, but not quite, so I was given a pill to help with that and we were told to come back 6 hours later. In those 6 hours I thought I could tell that something was a bit different, but nothing really regular.  However, by the time we went back to the hospital I was having quite a bit of pain, so I was hopeful something was going to happen! After another 30 minutes of monitoring they checked again, and this time I was almost ready for breaking my water. The midwife told us to come back in 1 hour.  During that hour I could definitely tell that something was happening. We went for a walk and I had to stop pretty regularly to let a contraction go by. Then again back to the hospital, and this time the midwife said I was ready! They broke the water at around 6pm and from there it all went incredibly fast! We were told to get something to eat at 6:30, but by that point I was having very close contractions and barely remember walking down to the cafeteria.  The midwife acted like she thought I was over exaggerating, since it had only been ½ hour since my water broke, but we were told that we would be going to the birthing room now so that  I could take a shower and a bath to help with the pain.  At this point, I really didn’t think that I would make it 7 more hours with this pain. (As we were told that labor would take about 1 hour per cm and I was only 3cm at 6pm) By 7 I was in the shower, and trying to stay calm and breath. By 7:30 I was in so much pain and the contractions seemed endless, no break in between, so the midwife checked me out, and WOW, 8cm!!! She looked completely surprised, and I was quite relieved.  She said the baby would be here soon.  And she was right at 8:18 our baby was born and he was so perfect.  They laid him up on my chest, Søren cut the umbilical cord and we were now officially parents.

Those first few hours were so magical, as if nothing else in the world ever mattered.  We just couldn’t stop staring at him.  We celebrated his birthday with a Danish flag and toast and a few hours later we were shown to our “hotel” room, where both of us would be staying for the next 4 days.

Happy Birthday Silas!

During these 4 days, we learned a lot about Silas.  He had fits of gas/pressure in the middle of the night, slept well during the day, wanted to eat a lot,seemed generally happy, and was always well behaved for visitors. We got lots of practice changing his diaper and clothes and began to get the hang of nursing.  We were able to call a nurse at anytime of the day, and we used this option to gain some experience and some good tips for how to keep Silas happy!

Hospital visitors - Meeting Farmor

Faster and Fætter (Aunt and Cousin)

Thursday night Silas had his first bath and by Friday morning the three of us were ready to  go home! The first car ride was quite strange.  I could tell Søren was driving very cautiously (like you do if you are driving a big trailer filled with glass ornaments or something) Silas was well behaved in the car and slept most of the time, as long as I was singing the A-Your Adorable Alphabet song to him! Finally we were home and it felt strange and wonderful at the same time.  He was OURS, really OURS to keep!

First bath

Daddy gave him his first real clothes

Time to go home!

Since coming home we have had some visitors, and otherwise have just been taking it easy trying to get used to the new rhythm. Silas has been in general sleeping well during the day, but I think he is in the American timezone, as he is up “partying” during the night.  We have been trying to get naps in when we can during the day to make up for it, but we are quite tired. But then it is just one look into his beautiful face and it’s hard to feel anything but joy. He is a bit of a trouble maker already though, as he has peed on us a few times and on Søren’s Dad and another friend Kis as well! “Oh, Silas,” we say, knowing it’s not really his fault, but probably ours for not making sure everything pointing the right direction.

As for the two of us, we have been enjoying sharing the responsibility of having a child and I must say Søren has been so supportive and helpful, especially when I have to nurse Silas for multiple hours a day. He brings me water, the heating pad, books, whatever I need. It is a big help, as I think it is quite challenging and painful to nurse. The nurses at the hospital think that his tongue might be too tight and therefore making it hard to feed correctly, so we are going back to the hospital tomorrow to get it checked out…(Oh, I hope it works!!!)

Below are a bunch of pictures from our first adventurous week with Silas.  Enjoy!!

Finally meeting Grandma!

Bundled up for his first carriage ride

Proud Mom
(I couldn't stop smiling!)

Resting with Daddy

Neck exercise

Søren getting a chance to feed him (as Doctor reccomended to help me heal)

Sleeping outside for the first time!
Yay Denmark!  (PS: He has taken his longest nap ever out there right now, that's why I had so much time to write this!!)