First trip to Wisconsin

This week went by very quickly and I am beginning to realize just how fast my maternity leave is going to go.  Luke and I enjoyed the warm weather the first few days of the week.  We may not have that again for 8 months!!  We had some nice hikes around the trails of Lake Forest and even got caught in a flash storm at the dog park that was pretty exciting.

On Friday morning Luke and I headed up to Brookfield to visit Grandma Mackus who had surgery on her shoulder on Monday.  Her recovery includes some pretty intense/time consuming physical therapy and icing.  Luke and I accompanied her to the doctor where she found out she had to do even more demanding PT!  Good luck Mom, you can do it!  One week of recovery already down:)

Snoozing while Grandma M is at the doctor, snug as a bug in a rug thanks to Cousin Tracy's hand knit blanket.

After Mom's doctor appointment we were SO excited to get to meet Josie Yttre, born just a few days before Luke was.  Andrea is one of my best friends from childhood, a bridesmaid in my wedding, and an overall amazing friend.  Also, our Moms have been close friends since before we were born.  Given all that history, we thought it was fitting that we have our children almost on the same day!  Now of course Josie and Luke will have to grow up and get married to each other:)

Friday night Kristin and I made dinner for Mom and Dad and we had a fun family evening, mostly enjoying Paige's antics:)  Luke grabbed at a toy for the first time on his bouncy chair.  It was very exciting to watch him learning and growing already.  Friday night was our first night away from home and it went great.  We're lucky that Grandma and Grandpa M's house is fully equipped with a crib, changing station, rocking chair and bouncy chair!

Saturday was Grandma Della's big 85th birthday party, hosted by Aunt Susan and her daughters Katie and Melissa in Greenfield, WI.  It was a huge success and Luke was able to meet a whole group of Mackus-side extended family.  Happy Birthday Grandma and many more!

Meeting Aunt Susan

Birthday Girl!

Sunday was Kelly Warner's baby shower in Downers Grove, IL.  Kelly is Matt's cousin Drew's wife, and we have been enjoying being pregnant together.  It was my first outing without Luke and it went just fine:)  Daddy and Grandpa B baby-sat down the street while Grandma B and I attended the shower.  It was a lovely afternoon - best of luck to Drew and Kelly and Baby Warner!

Nanny!

We are very pleased to report that we have hired a nanny for when I return to work!  Isolene was referred to us by a Lake Forest friend, and not only did we love her at her interview, but her references couldn't say enough great things about her.  She previously nannied for three other families in the area, and was with each family for 5-6 years, leaving only when the children went to school.

We are lucky to have found her and can't wait for her to become a part of our family.  She starts on November 15th.  Welcome Isolene!

Second Week

The second week of Luke's life was marked by a few notable events:

1)  With Grandma Mackus's departure, Matt and I had our first days alone with our baby.  It was fun being a little family for the first time!  Luke and I hung out on the patio during the day when the weather was nice, then when Daddy got home he spent some quality time with the little man.  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Baranko for coming over on Tuesday - the meatloaf and chili were awesome!

2)  On Thursday, Uncle Ben and Aunt Linda flew in from Idaho Falls, ID to meet their little nephew for the first time.  They are both naturals with the baby!  We had a fun-filled four days spending time with them.

Linda supervises tummy time on Luke's brand new personalized puppy blanket - thanks Katie and Joe!!

3)  On Saturday, Luke had the opportunity to meet another Great-Grandmother!  Grandma and Grandpa Baranko kindly hosted a dinner at their house for 14 so that Aunt Diane & Uncle Garry, Uncle Mike, Great-Grammy Imogene and Great-Grandpa Boyd could all meet Luke for the first time and visit with Ben and Linda.  Linda's parents, Jan and Michael Cise, and her Uncle Greg also were there for the festivities.  Thanks for the delicious dinner and great company!  Luke is also grateful for all of the gifts (including the Halloween accessories as shown below, from the Cise's).

4)  On Sunday, Aunt Kristin, Uncle Cory and PJ came down to visit Ben and Linda.  Everyone had a great time catching up and the day went by too fast.  Aunt Kristin and Uncle Cory thought that Luke looked bigger already just since last week!  I hope he isn't planning on growing up too fast!

Grand-Parents Weekend: Meeting Great-Grandma Della and celebrating Grand-Parents Day

Luke turned one week old on Saturday!  To celebrate, he was lucky enough to meet his great-grandmother Della Mackus.  Great-Grandma Della came down with Grandpa Mackus, Aunt Kristin, Uncle Cory and PJ for a day visit (Grandma Mackus was already here).  We're so glad they all came, it was a very fun day!  PJ is always entertaining.  Watching her so active makes me think about how Luke will look when he's that age - and PJ will be showing him how to do things.  Can't wait for them to really interact!

Sunday was Grand-Parents Day.  This was the first year that we could celebrate Grandma and Grandpa Baranko as grand-parents!  They were very happy to be able to spend the day with Luke.  Luke had all four of his grandparents with him on this special day and we had a very nice visit.  

Sunday night my friends Safet and Katherine stopped by to meet Luke.  Safet and Katherine are two of my closest friends from business school.  We met on our trip to Turkey and Dubai and were practically inseparable. Safet is moving to Germany on Friday so we had to squeeze in a visit before he left.  Good luck Safie!  Thanks for coming all the way up to Lake Forest you guys!

The first week at home

The first week at home went by in a flash.  Kristin, Cory and Grandpa Mackus went home on Labor Day, but we were lucky enough to have my Mom stay with us for the first full week.  She was a huge help!  We basically had a live-in chef at our disposal.  She was busy morning, noon and night cooking delicious meals for us.  In addition to her culinary accomplishments she also played the role of laundress, housecleaner, babysitter, diaper changer and New Mommy advisor.  A girl could get used to being waited on like that!  With all of her help, Matt and I were able to learn our little guy's needs and get into a little routine pretty quickly.  Thanks again Mom!

Anyone who has talked to me over the course of these past 9 months knows that I wasn't necessarily looking forward to the first week at home.  While I knew I would be completely in love with my little munchkin, I had prepared myself mentally for very little sleep, lots of crying and a huge schedule adjustment from my everyday life.  I'm happy to say that only one of those three things has come to fruition.  Yes, my schedule is changed completely from my pre-baby life (which hasn't been a bad thing), but the no sleep and constant crying hasn't happened!  Yay!  We have the best baby in the whole world!!  Luke was sleeping a 4 hour stretch at night by the third night home.  When he's not sleeping, he's pretty calm, just looks around with his gorgeous big eyes.  Fussy times are pretty few and far between so far.


Here's some pictures of the first week.  Thanks to everyone who called/emailed/texted/Facebooked their well wishes for Matt, Luke and I.  We really appreciate all the love and support!

Coming Home from the Hospital

Luke came home today!  We were released from the hospital on Monday, September 6th - Labor Day.  Luke was excited to meet his new big brother, Spumoni, and his cousin PJ for the first time.  

Luke Meets His Family

Everyone was very excited to meet Luke.  Grandma & Grandpa Mackus, Grandma & Grandpa Baranko, Aunt Kristin & Uncle Cory, and cousin PJ were all at the hospital when he was born.  He can't wait to meet his Uncle Ben & Aunt Linda in a couple weeks!
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Per the Mackus tradition, shots of "Old Grand-Dad" whiskey were taken by all to celebrate the birth of a new baby in the family.

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Luke Makes His BIG Debut!

Luke Mackus Baranko

Born: September 4th, 2010 at 7:59pm

8 pounds, 8 ounces; 21 inches

Just 10 days late from his due date, Luke is joyfully welcomed to the world!

We went into the hospital on Thursday, September 2nd at 7pm to be induced and didn't meet little Luke until 7:59 pm on Saturday, September 4th!  He didn't want to leave Mommy's belly!  Despite a challenging birth process, we are so blessed to have a healthy and happy baby boy.

(Not So) Patiently Waiting