Merry Christmas!

Happy holidays everyone. We are getting so excited about Freja's first Christmas. Presents are stacking up under our tree, and we are certain at this age that just like our cats, Freja will love the boxes and wrapping paper more than what's inside. She's wowing us lately with pulling herself up to a standing position, and even starting to move her feet a little bit. OF course, she wows us just by being her cute little self most days. xo

Funny Baby

Freja is doing this new thing lately where she crinkles up her nose, and sometimes she does it then sort of snorts like when she is excited about something, but now she also says "Nah-nah-nah" when she is doing it, and it's just the silliest thing.  This kid is a nut.

Today Freja & I previewed a Music Together class.  Music Together is a nationwide organization that offers family music classes for mixed ages encouraging young kids to experiment with music.  She was probably the youngest one in the class today, and really seemed to enjoy watching the big kids play the drums, shake bells and dance around. We are going to sign up for a 10-week-long session that starts in mid-January.

Ho Ho Ho!

Freja met Santa at one of two Christmas parties we went to today. Needless to say, the girl is a trooper! I'm taking her to another holiday party at the office tomorrow, and one more on Friday. Thank goodness we have plenty of cute holiday outfits like this one!

Babyproofed

Hi everyone, here are a few quick pics of our former dining room now Freja's play room. We spent all day Saturday rearranging furniture, moving plants, covering outlets etc so that we have one safe spot to put Freja down without worrying (too much) about her getting in to something she shouldn't. Our former living room is now a combo living/dining room and as you can see there was plenty of room for the dining room table once we took the leaf out. To top off our busy day we put up the Christmas tree. I figure once we take the tree down the room will seem so much bigger.

Is it just me or does "babyproofed" sound like we are protecting ourselves from the baby?

Guest Blogger: Grandpa Dirk!

At nine months  Freja now crawls, points to things, talks with good intonation (but with a vocabulary we don’t yet fully understand –but we’ll learn; give us time), smiles in that charming way of hers that captivates everybody she sees, and continues to be the center of adoring attention everywhere we go. She now has a completely new wardrobe, having outgrown the old since we last saw her in July, and a ton of new, fun toys.
 
Grandma Jeanne and I (Grandpa Dirk) were invited to spend Thanksgiving week in Basalt with Freja, Kelly and Jan. On Thanksgiving Day we went to Rachel and Brian’s beautiful house along with ten other couples and a group of adorable little girls running around the house. Of course Freja wanted to join in and run with them, but she’s not quite up to running on two feet yet, so she watched and listened and registered the activity for later when she learns to walk and run. Then she went down for a little nap while the rest of us ate a delicious Thanksgiving meal complete with the requisite turkey, ham, several great wines, cranberries, and some very interesting, intellectual adult conversation with some fascinating, articulate people while the kids entertained themselves or slept.

On Friday night we went out to Hestia restaurant in Carbondale, and of course Freja was perfectly behaved in a public place and smiled and waved at complete strangers who then felt perfectly free to come over and talk to her and admire the gorgeous child. She graciously smiled, said a few words to them, and melted their hearts. She has a way of doing that; she does it with us all the time. She talks to us, making all her needs known, and then gives us that disarming smile that gets us every time.
 
Freja has opened up a new level of love in our hearts that we couldn’t have imagined before she came into our lives. At this season of the year, when we traditionally express out loud the things that we are thankful for, I have too many things to say, so I’ll limit it to saying that I’m thankful for having Kelly and Freja in my life. There is no greater love.

Nine Months Old

Sweet Freja is nine months old already. So hard to believe she has been with us as long as I was pregnant with her! It sounds like a cliche but it really is hard to remember our lives before her. 

Freja is a busy and thriving baby. At nine months she is crawling all over the place, jabbers up a storm and has two bottom teeth. They are coming in crooked and Jan is already worrying about the expense of braces. We've been lucky enough to inherit some great hand-me-down toys including an interactive door with mailbox, doorbell, lights and all kinds of music (music we have heard over and over and over...), and also a little music table.  She just loves pushing buttons and moving parts, all the bells & whistles of cause & effect toys. 

We went to Santa Barbara last weekend to go to a wedding. Freja was a great little traveler - passengers on one of our flights even told us she was the world's best baby. Of course, we agree! 

Jeanne & Dirk arrive tomorrow and will be here through Thanksgiving week. We'll be sure to get guest blog posts from them while they are here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Vondos in the House!

Aunt Julie and Cousin Kacee reporting on our week with Freja.... We must have picked the right week to be in Colorado, because the weather was as wonderful as Freja. The blue skies and warm sunshine were perfect. Kacee enjoyed a long hike on Sunday with Kelly, while Jan went to Snowmass (I think) for a long bike ride; I spent QT with sweet, sweet Freja.  She babbled and played and napped right on schedule.  Every morning, Jan was up with Freja, either holding her while she had her bottle or chatting with her like daddies do. Kelly worked from home Monday and Friday, and at the office Tuesday-Thursday. Martha, one of Freja's sitters, spent Tuesday with Freja, while Kacee and I enjoyed a day of mom/daughter togetherness. We savored lunch at Ajax Tavern and indulged at the Aspen Candy Company. But enough about our fun, I know you want to hear about Freja...By the end of the week, she had mastered sitting but was still using the "super-stretch-belling-crawl" as a method of movement. Her first tooth began to come thru. She enjoyed using a finger as a chew toy as well as the sound of a trilling 'r'...that made her laugh, laugh, laugh. Kel has colorful letters, that spell her name, I would spell them out and then sound them out while pointing to each letter, she smiled and giggled.  Kacee drew a picture that is taped to the underside of a shelf over the changing table...we hope it gives her something to focus on while she's in for a pit stop. Kacee and I also worked an some simple baby-proofing projects like moving plants and stands and installing outlet covers. I went thru drawers pulling precious baby clothes that she's amazingly (and beautifully) outgrown. Oh, and not to be left out...Shady made it perfectly clear that I wasn't to use the dryer when he was around and that not everyone in the house was happy we were there. He certainly doesn't hide his feelings. We can't wait to see Freja again.  As her onesie says, "The Best of Mom and Dad."

Back Home Again in Indiana

The Koorns are still recovering from a whirlwind trip to Indiana last week, we had such a good time taking the Freja show on the road! We got to experience flying with a baby, our first time being "those people" with a screaming baby on a plane. Lucky for us people sitting around us were all very patient and understanding, clearly we all survived. 

In Indiana Freja got to meet my grandma Elsie, who makes 99 years young look absolutely amazing. We stayed at my dad's house outside of Bloomington, and LOTS of family & friends came down to visit us and meet the babe. Jan rented a bike for a couple of days, and I got to do a little solo shopping. Before we knew it we were back on a plane to Aspen. You can check out a few of my favorite pics from the trip in the flickr stream.

The leaves are gold & orange, snow has been falling on the mountains and winter is just around the corner. Hope you all are enjoying a happy fall!

7 Months & Counting!

I have no idea how this happened, but Freja is already 7 months old! She is growing & growing, and eating food and rolling around and jabbering up a storm. She's very entertaining these days, with new tricks all the time. We're working on sitting up unassisted, introducing new foods and crawling just might be around the corner. We've also been introducing her to some basic sign language - mostly "Daddy," "Mommy," and "kitty" for now - to see if it catches on.

The three of us are holding on tight to warm summery days (even though it's now officially fall) and plan to get outside this weekend for some family time on a bike ride - time to break in the Chariot bike trailer we recently got so Freja can ride along!

New pics have been added to the flickr feed - enjoy a little Freja fix!

Sittin' On Top of the World

Or at least, sitting up high in her high chair! We finally got a chair for Freja to make feeding her solid foods easier, (a little) less messy, and to give us a place for her to hang out while we're working on dinner etc. in the kitchen. So far she seems to like sitting up high instead of being down on the ground, this way she can keep an eye on us. Since Jan & I like to cook, now we get to involve Freja when we're in the kitchen. It won't be long until she's our little sous chef! 

By now we've tried two types of solid foods, rice cereal and sweet potatoes. Both proved to be pretty popular! Last night I put peaches in a mesh feeder, which is sort of like a lollipop that she can chew on without us having to worry that she might choke. She LOVED the peach, as evidenced in today's video. Have a great weekend!

Freja's First Food

Freja is just over 6 months old now, just the right age to move beyond the liquid diet and try some food. We've been experimenting with rice cereal this week, and tonight we're moving on to sweet potatoes. It's fun to see her reaction to food, the spoon, getting the cereal all over her face, etc.

On Sunday we went up Aspen Mountain to watch some friends finish a mountain bike race and see some bluegrass. The family photo shows the gorgeous (although cloudy) views from the top.

Hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend!

Living the dream

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday and this week marks 6 months that Freja's been out in the world with us. Life just keeps getting better for all of us. Kelly sent me off to Steamboat for the weekend to do some mountain biking and when I came back we had a fun dinner out with a group of friends. Four different couples and 5 little girls ranging from 4 to 4 months. It was pretty cute. Freja continues to develop and grow. It's a nice finish to each day to come home to such a lovely daughter. She loves her jumper and the following photos I think are pretty cute. Enjoy!

Heading back to Cali... by JPK

So, it's been awhile since our last blog update, but as always things have been busy. Kelly has been back working part-time since mid-June, and I've been busy trying to organize a bike race for later in August. That said, we took our first real vacation of the year and drove out to California. We visited both friends and family as well as enjoyed a few days to ourselves.

We started our trip at my parents place in Garden Valley. My mom and her friends threw us an amazing party at their house. She invited a lot of my old teachers and other people I had grown up with... most of whom had known me since I was born. It was a lot of fun to see them and introduce Freja. It reminded me of how lucky I was to grow up in such a tight community of friends and I hope that we can provide a similar environment for Freja.

Our next stop was in Calistoga, a small town just outside of Napa. We didn't venture out much there, but had some nice times at the pool and ate lots of good food. From there we started our trip south and headed to Los Gatos to see Will, Nika and Persis. Will and I have been friends since before I even could spell the word 'friend' (or Will for that matter). Persis is about a month older than Freja and is a super sweet baby with her Momma's good looks.

I enjoyed copious amounts of Will's home brewed beer and watching Persis and Freja interact. We all went to a baby music class which was ultimately more fun for the parents I think than the girls. Persis conked out at the end of it. We also did a private wine tasting at Ridge Winery which was exceptional. Wine tasting with babies in tow is a bit different from wine tasting in the good ol' days, but fun nevertheless.

From there we headed to Ojai which is inland from Santa Barbara. We stayed at a resort owned by the same family that owns Aspen Skiing Company. Again, we did little other than relax and eat.

Our final stop for the trip was Los Angeles. Uncle Jan and Nancy hosted us at their place and Arie came up for a visit. The highlight for us was going to visit Grandma Rachel in Santa Monica. It was fun to have four generations of family in the same room. I am blessed with being related (and married) to strong women, but none are stronger than Grandma Rachel. I hope Freja inherits of her strength and spirit.

We also had a great time introducing Freja to Arie, Jan and Nancy. I love the influences each of them will bring to Freja's upbringing and I hope each will come to visit us in Colorado often.

So, that's our trip in summary. I will note that on this trip Freja started sleeping longer at night and started rolling from her back to her stomach. Both good signs of progression. For me, the best part of this trip was spending much needed time with my smoking hot wife and darling daughter. I really am a lucky man.

Finally, here is a fun video we shot just today. Freja is really starting to love playing peek-a-boo!

California Dreamin'

Hi everyone & greetings from Los Gatos, CA. We are in the middle of a two-week long road trip visiting friends & family in the Golden State. Our little Sweet Koorn has been such a trooper in the car, in & out of the car, meeting lots of people and setting up shop in different locations.

For our first stop we spent a few days at Jeanne & Dirk's house in Garden Valley; they hosted a fun meet & greet party so their many friends could come meet Freja. It is nice & quiet up on the Divide, and Jan & I really enjoyed being truly unplugged for a few days.

Next we stopped in Calistoga, which is up in Napa/CA wine country. The hotel we stayed at had a great pool and yummy restaurant, so much fun to be had there that we barely left the property. We were surrounded by wineries but managed only to do wine tasting right there at the hotel.

On Thursday we left Calistoga and headed down to Los Gatos where we've been staying with Nika & Will and their sweet baby Persis. It's been so fun seeing Freja play with a baby so close to her in age - although somehow we haven't gotten the girls on the same schedule, so when one is napping the other one is ready to go! Babies as you all know are unpredictable. Yesterday we enjoyed a private wine tasting at Ridge Winery in Cupertino, delicious wines and great views of the valley. We took them to a music class this morning, Freja was so intrigued by all the singing, clapping and instruments (Jeanne & Dirk rejoice, it seems she's gotten your musical genes!).

Tomorrow we head down south to Ojai where we'll have a few days to ourselves before we venture down to LA to introduce Freja to Uncle Jan & Nancy, Grandma Rachel and Arie & Mikako. We'll keep taking lots of pictures and refresh pics on the flickr stream when we get home next weekend. Love to you all!

Nineteen Weeks Old!

Nineteen weeks just sounds so old, amirite?

I just added a new round of pictures to the flickr stream tonight, as you can see we've been so busy as usual. Freja continues to break in her jumperoo, suck her thumb, and her latest trick, playing with and eating her feet. Jan & I get worn out just watching how active she is, and we can't wait to see her move even more. It won't be long until she's sitting up on her own, eating solid foods, then crawling and walking!

Oh boy. On second thought we are relishing this time when she's pretty stationary.

We hope you all have a great long holiday weekend!

Happy Feet

Hello everyone & happy summer! Freja had her four-month checkup last week; since her two-month checkup she has grown 2 1/2 inches to 25 1/2" long and gained 1 1/2 pounds to a total of 11# 11 1/2 oz. She's long & lean just like her daddy, or as her doctor said, right on track to be a supermodel!

We had a great visit with my mom Cecilia, stepdad Dennis & favorite nephew Zack. Zack is also growing like a weed, topping out almost as tall as Jan at the ripe old age of 13! They were all so helpful watching & reading to Freja, cooking & cleaning for us, and even let Jan & I get out for a date day at Food & Wine on Father's Day. We miss them already.

One of Freja's many new tricks is playing with her feet, as evidenced in today's video. Happy viewing!

Guest Blogger: Grandma Cecilia!

Zack, Papa Denny and I are having a good visit and enjoying getting (re)acquainted with Freja. She has a sweet personality; she coos and babbles and can carry on quite a conversation! She loves nibbling on either fist, but really prefers her left thumb when she’s tired. We have all taken turns reading to her; she seems to really enjoy it. Saturday, we went to Carbondale to watch her Daddy in a bike race and today Mommy and Daddy had a real date (Food and Wine in Aspen) and we got to care for her while they were gone. Papa Denny used that time to sand and stain the front door. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all!

Finally New Photos

Hi everyone,

I know it's been a while but I finally just added a new batch of photos to the flickr photostream! It's hard to get much done online what with all the sunny gorgeous summery days we've been having. Poor us! There are pictures from the last month or so of Freja hanging out on her playmat, in the bumbo, in the jumperoo, being carried around in a pack - we've got all kinds of contraptions to keep her (and us) entertained. It's yet another picture-perfect day here today and she & I are heading up to Aspen later. We'll do our best to keep the blog & flickr updated so you can keep up with how much she's growing. Lots of love!

Fifteen Weeks

Before Jan & I had a baby I always thought "I don't want to have one of those houses that fills up with so much baby stuff." Those of you who have babies or know anyone with babies know this is hilarious. You just can't escape the 'stuff'! We are accumulating & borrowing things at a rapid pace these days! Our most recent acquisition for Freja was the jumperoo jumper seat she's in in this video and it is a huge hit - with her and with her parents! She seems to really enjoy being propped up so she can see what is going on around her, and the bells & whistles on the seat itself keep her entertained. It's a bonus for us that we can get some things done while she's in it.

You'll see in the beginning of this video that Freja is a little thumb sucker. It seems to really comfort her as she is doing it all the time these days! Before the thumb she was all about the pacifier, and now she won't even take a pacifier. This is okay with us since she always has her thumb with her, we don't have to worry about her losing or dropping a pacifier. It really is pretty cute with the thumb sucking. She really gets after it sometimes!

Freja Friday: Fourteen Weeks!

For the first time since Freja was born I actually had to look at a calendar to see how many weeks old she is. For some reason that feels like a milestone?!

Freja is just getting cuter by the week/day/minute! She's jabbery and smiley and squirmy all the time. Yesterday she laughed at me and it was for sure the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. I hope someday soon we can capture laughing on video but she is a tough subject as previously noted! I did get a little bit of her talking today - enjoy!

Happy Baby Time!

Freja is a whole three months old today! It sounds like a cliche but really, where does the time go?!

We usually wake up to some happy baby time in the mornings and today was no exception. Freja woke up cooing and gooing and was smiling away when I went in to get her this morning. Of course as soon as she saw the red light on the flip video camera she went as still as a statue! (Never mind that she won't sit that still for a still photo.) I did manage to record a snippet of her chatting away, one of so many seemingly serious conversations we have had lately. I love listening to her tell me these very important things!

Twelve Weeks Old: She Rolls Over!

Guest writer - Daddy

This is an interesting time of year for me - I work a lot of hours (including weekends) during the Spring. This means that I don't get to spend a lot of time with Kelly or Freja. However, it does mean that the time I do spend with them is just that more special. Freja can now recognize me when I come home from work. It is usually around a time just after a feeding (and pre-nap time) so she's in a good mood and I typically get a big smile from her. It really doesn't get any better than having your baby girl smile at you after a long day at the office. Of course I also get a great smile (and a hug) from my beautiful wife. I've always enjoyed coming home at the end of the work day but now it is a very special time.

Today when I got home I decided to have a little 'tummy time' with Freja. I put her down on her stomach and she promptly rolled over. I again put her on her tummy and again she rolled over. I called Kelly into the room and she filmed the below clip. The roll-over wasn't as quick as Freja was building the suspense (she's a natural in front the camera, of course). I can't believe how much my little girl can do these days. She's simply the best.

Happy Mothers Day!

Hope you all are enjoying a very happy Mothers Day! Jan and Freja have been spoiling me all day - just how it should be right?!

Eleven Weeks

Freja sure loves her daddy! The feeling is mutual, as you all know.

We're finally getting some warmer weather, which means we're enjoying being outside & busy with Freja. It also means dressing her up in all the cute summery clothes she has - which is A LOT. You all can look forward to seeing plenty of pictures of her all dolled up in adorable outfits like the one above. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day to our moms, grandmas, mom role models, and anyone who ever had a mom. Lots of love!

Ten Weeks Old

Just a short video post tonight to mark Freja's 10-week birthday. It's about a minute long, and halfway in or so is a cute smile followed by her very favorite new trick: putting her whole hand in her mouth. The doctor said she's a bit early with this one, as most babies discover their hands around three months of age. Once again, she's making us so proud! Enjoy!

Two-Month Checkup!

Freja had her two-month checkup today and we're happy to report she is doing just great! She measured 23 inches long and weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds 3 ounces. Mama is so happy that her little monkey is up in the double digits, it means all my hard work feeding Freja is getting great results! For percentiles she's now in the 75th for height and 25th for weight (up from 10th % for weight at her one-month checkup). Yay for chubby cheeks and pudgy little legs!

Freja continues to smile, make eye contact and coo & goo-goo at us every day. Last week during a tummy time session I saw her "see" Gary - she was very intrigued. We frequently stop by mirrors so she can "see the baby" - she loves checking out her own reflection. Her head & neck control are outstanding, and once again she impressed her doctor with her strength. She is just so fun, such a sweet happy girl. Jan & I could not be more proud of this amazing little accomplishment in our lives!

Two Months Old!

Freja is two months old today! I just shot this video clip of her enjoying a little hang time on her play mat this afternoon. Cute sneezes and big eyes featured. Enjoy!

7 Weeks Old!

Freja is a whopping 50 days old today, and appears to be getting bigger & bigger by the minute. The pictures on this post were taken at 4 days and 50 days, you can see for yourselves just how much she has changed in such a seemingly short stretch of time. She is smiling and cooing at us now, and it melts our hearts every time to see her so engaged and developing such a sweet personality.

We had a great time hosting all of her grandparents in March, as noted in all of the guest blogger posts. Since the last set departed we've successfully moved her to her room where she is sleeping all night and for daytime naps. Such a grown-up! We are all getting better sleep in our own spaces, she really seems to love sleeping in her crib. Now if we could only get her to sleep more than 3-4 hours at a time...

Guest Bloggers: Grandpa Gene & Grandma Marsha

Hi everyone! Our turn for updating the blog (that would be grandma Marsha and grandpa Gene).

We have been really enjoying our time here in Basalt and Aspen visiting the “Koorn Couple” - now the “Koorn Family”! Freja has been the sweetest! We had only known her through pictures and a short video, but now we've had the chance to get our hands on her and have really relished it. So special! She has put up with me (Grandma Marsha) holding her, bouncing her, talking to her, and cooing to her. She has been very patient with me. I have noticed that she likes to look at her Grandpa and be held by him, too!

Her mommy and daddy are keeping busy caring for her and observing all the subtle changes that happen day by day. She is a lucky girl to have such doting parents.

This is Grandpa Gene here – she feels so good when she falls asleep on my chest. When she is fussy (take that to mean crying and arms & legs flailing), she can be determined to get attention. But, with a clean and dry diaper, she returns to her lovable self. At 6 weeks, her facial expressions, yawns and sneezes are very cute. She is so tiny. I brought her some John Deere socks, very nice. Today, March 31, 2011, I got to install a ceiling fan and light in her room. I'm a very lucky Grandpa.

Guest Blogger: Grandpa Dirk

Just when you start thinking that you are so surrounded by love from your wonderful family and friends that you couldn't possibly fit any more in your heart, along comes a granddaughter that so overwhelms you that you feel like your heart could burst from so much love. Holding little Freja in my arms, watching her sleep so angelically, breathing steadily against my chest, is like no other feeling I would have ever imagined before. Freja is absolutely adorable, perfect in every way, with long delicate fingers, perfectly shaped face and mouth, and deep blue eyes that are focusing more and more each day.

We arrived last Monday and will stay for a week. During the time we've been here I've taken Freja for a stroll in her stroller (Kelly allowed me to push it while she walked along with me), and got to carry her in the Ergo pack (like a backpack, but it goes in front, allowing Freja to sleep against my chest). In the house I can carry her around in my arms, which soothes her, but she really seems to prefer that I sit on the ball and gently bounce up and down. That definitely transports her to her dreamland. You can tell when she's dreaming because her eyes are moving behind her eyelids. Jeanne and I both want to hold her knowing our time with her is limited, so we take turns. We will have to leave this wonderful family and our granddaughter all too soon, and will follow her progress on the blog, but we are truly honored to have been allowed this time to get to know her at this stage of her life. Thank you Kelly and Jan for bringing this wonderful girl into our lives!

Guest Blogger: Grandma Jeanne!

Freja is learning and changing day by day, under the wonderful care of Kelly and Jan. She responds to sound and movements around her, and turns to see what's happening. Every day she shows more awareness and responds to music and songs with a little look of pleasure on her darling face. Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Dirk love holding her, watching her and Dirk even got to stroll her around the community yesterday. She is an absolute little sweetheart, with active legs, hands and lungs. It's a joy to watch her in all these stages. We're so happy to have her in our lives. I really love this little sweetie!

Grandparents

Just a quick update - my parents are visiting us for the week and enjoying time with their new granddaughter. I think they are pretty smitten with Freja... (I would be surprised if they weren't :o). I have been back at work but I know that she's in good hands with Kelly and my parents.

Family Photo

Grandpa Dirk with Freja

Freja: One Month Old Already!

It's hard for us to believe that Freja is just over a month old already! On the one hand it feels like she's always been in our lives, but on the other hand it seems like we just brought her home from the hospital yesterday.

Jan & I love getting to know Freja and figuring out her cries & noises and what they mean. In addition to her hungry cry, change my diaper cry and the general newborn inconsolable cry, she's just on the brink of starting to make some coos, oohs and aahhs, and we're sure there's also a genuine smile around the corner. Freja had a one-month checkup at the doctor on Friday who confirmed for us that she'll be smiling and cooing at us in no time. We also were happy to hear that she is growing and gaining weight at a good pace, and that she is very strong for her age. She even rolled over twice just to show off for the doctor (Jan's chest puffed up just a little bit when the doctor praised her for this accomplishment!).

We start phase two of meeting the grandparents tomorrow with the arrival of Jan's parents tomorrow afternoon. We just know that Jeanne is probably not sleeping a wink tonight she's so excited to meet her first grandchild! She & Dirk will be here for a week, and Jan & I look forward to having some help around the house (and by help I mean we'll let them hold Freja so we can rest, do laundry, make dinner etc). Check the blog later this week for a guest post from one or both of the new grandparents!

Picture on the right - we got to enjoy grilling this afternoon to celebrate the first day of spring. Sort of hard to tell but Jan has Freja in the Ergo pack WHILE he's grilling burgers. This is definitely him in his happy place!! She's already a daddy's girl, but there's also no doubt about it, she's got him wrapped around her tiny little finger. Love!

Guest Blogger: Grandma!

Grandma Cecilia here...I came earlier this week to visit and help, and thought I'd share with you from a different perspective. Well, not too different. Like her parents, I think Freja is a wonderful little baby! She and Kelly came to the airport to pick me up Monday afternoon - her first trip to the airport, not that she will ever remember! The biggest surprise about this little package is that she is not like any baby I remember in our family - she has a LONG torso, LONG legs and LONG arms! Longer than it seems in her pictures. She is certain to be quite an athlete!

So far, we have been keeping busy. Yesterday Kelly called me "The Grandma Whisperer" as when Freja is fussy, I have been able to calm her by whispering a "shush" noise to her. My body clock is still on FL time, so I get up early (4 or 5 here) and have encouraged Kelly to go back to bed after the morning feeding to get some rest and I am up with Freja. The weather has been nice and in the high 40s, so we have been on a few walks and this afternoon, I got to help give her a bath. We may make a trip to Target tomorrow - a major outing! Overall, I'm just here to help when I can and try not to get in the way, and of course, get my hands on that precious little baby every chance I get!

Two Weeks & Two Days!

Freja is just over two weeks old now and growing and changing so much every single day. We had a two-week check at the doctor on Friday and she's doing great, just about back up to her birth weight and getting longer/taller too (looks like she's getting height from her dad - thank goodness!). As newborn parents Jan & I are learning and growing every single day as well, which at this point means letting Freja take the lead. She eats when she's hungry, sleeps when she's tired, we just follow suit and do our best to accommodate her whims. She loves to be carried around & held all the time, and Jan and I are more than happy to oblige.

My mom Cecilia Wilhelm arrives tomorrow for a week. I look forward to having some help & company during the days since Jan is back at work full time, and I know my mom is dying to help out by holding and loving the baby full time! I'm hoping we have some warm springy days while she is here this week so we can get outside and go for long walks (it didn't take me long to realize baby + stroller = nap time. LOVE the stroller!). We'll post pictures of Grandma & baby Freja this week, and will try to get some of Jan & I too. Thanks as always for checking in on us and sweet little Freja Maxine!

What's in a name?

We've had a little confusion about the name of our little one so I thought I'd step in and help out a bit. Freja is pronounced "Fray-ya." Two syllables. The second syllable is pronounced like the first part of my name. So Freja = Fray-ya.

Where did we come up this name? First off, we knew that there aren't many names that go with Koorn and those that do are typically from Northern European areas like Holland, Germany or the Scandinavian countries. As most of you know, I lived in Sweden for a year and have an affinity toward Scandinavian culture and I suggested Freja. In Norse and Viking culture Freja was the goddess of love and beauty. She was also the leader of the Valkyries, the female warriors of the vikings. Additionally, it is largely believed that Freja is the origin of the word "Friday" (which is a day that all of us can agree is pretty cool :o) and our little Freja was coincidentally born on a Friday.

Maxine fit nicely between Freja and Koorn. Maxine is the feminine form of Maximilian which means "the greatest." After seeing her born I can assure you that Freja Maxine is the greatest!

Anyway, that is the background on our sweet little girl. Love you all!

-Jan

Freja Maxine Koorn!

Freja is here, she's finally here! Freja Maxine Koorn arrived on Friday, February 18 at 2:27 a.m. weighing in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces and 19.8 inches long. Jan & I are so thrilled to have her here, after all those months of wondering what will she look like and who will she be. Now we are getting to know her more and more every single day, and we honestly can't remember life before Freja.

We're taking approximately 1,000 photos of Freja every single day, and instead of uploading all of the individual pics on a how-cute-is-this basis, we decided to create an online photostream to share photos. Please check the Flickr Photostream link to the right to keep up with our latest favorites. As always comments on the blog or to the Flickr photostream are welcome!

Lots of love to all of you, thanks for checking in on the Koorn family!

And Waiting...

Today marks three days to our due date of February 15. Jan has decided this baby likes to sleep in and/or be fashionably late, just like her mom. He just might be right on both counts! Yesterday and today I went on a long walk to see if that might get things moving (the attached picture was taken today on the bike path in Emma, near our house), to no avail. Tonight we're planning to have extra spicy food for dinner. If nothing's happening by tomorrow we'll resort to a horseback ride and/or long Sunday drive on a bumpy road. Let us know if you know of any other old wives' tales to speed this thing along!

Still Waiting!

We had a checkup & ultrasound for week 39 today. Happy to report everything is just fine with mom & baby! The pic at left shows one of her chubby little feet. They tried to get a good picture of the baby's face but she had both hands up in front of her face (and one arm in her mouth for most of the time). Best guess for the baby's weight is about 7 1/2 pounds right now, give or take. Yet another reason I hope she decides to come soon - I don't want her getting much bigger than this for delivery! For now we'll just see if she does come this week, and if not we have another appointment scheduled at week 40 which is the baby's due date.

Clearly my prediction that the baby would arrive on Super Bowl Sunday was off! We've got a few hours left to meet Julie's prediction of today, otherwise our next guess is Jan & Arie's vote for Wednesday, Arie's birthday. Stay tuned.....!

Weekly baby update for week 39:
You're in the home stretch! After nine months of growth and development, your baby is ready to be born, or nearly so. At week 39, your baby is fully developed and anywhere from 17-23 inches long and weighs 6-10 pounds. Don't be frightened if your OB-GYN says your baby is large: It's extremely difficult to judge a baby's weight accurately from the outside. Your baby is adding neural connections and growing hair and still gaining weight. Researchers have theorized that when babies are ready to be born, they send a chemical signal of androgens to the placenta, which increases the production of estrogen and leads to labor. If so, it's proof of the old saying that "only a baby knows when it's ready to be born."

The Waiting Game

At 38 weeks pregnant, with just two weeks until the baby's due date to go, there is light at the end of the tunnel! Two weeks left of course means she might come later tonight, she might come in three weeks. It's really up to the baby (and my uterus) at this point. I'm as ready as I will ever be, and equally unprepared since I know I have no idea what to really expect.

Would anyone care to take a guess at the baby's arrival date and/or time?! Put it in the comments below! I'm going with Super Bowl Sunday, for no particular reason whatsoever. Mostly because that means we'll get (most of) another weekend just the two of us before baby makes three!

I read this article in an online blog on Momformation the other day, about feeling like you're carrying a huge baby. It really sums up how I am feeling at this point to a T! The whole paragraph about thinking the baby weighs about 20 pounds, 200 ounces really nails it. Fingers crossed that our girl is not as big as she seems to me!

And now your weekly baby update:
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Thanks for following along everyone, and stay tuned!