Grain of Rice

Last week Joakim cut his 1st tooth (bottom right)! We happened to be on vacation with all the Rose grandparents and everyone was subjected to much sucking, biting and drooling. My chin happened to be his favorite teething toy (still is). We’ll try to get a video clip of it for you. Fortunately and unfortunately, this is only the 1st tooth of many to come. Pray that he doesn’t have a bad teething season (for my sleep’s sake!).

He is almost 5 months and is such a doll! He is very active and mobile now. We can’t leave him unattended at all! He rolls over both ways often and easily moves all over the activity mat set-up we have downstairs. He always ends up far from the position I initally put him in. He also moves all over his crib. Soon we’ll have to lower the mattress, for he will be sitting up and then pulling himself up before we know it, not to mention crawling and then running!

We are overjoyed at being his parents. We still feel like the luckiest parents on the planet! Lots & lots of new pics to come soon from our spring break trip. Enjoy!

Mr. Joakim is 4 months now and getting so big and fat! He was 15 lbs, 4 ozs at this past week’s pediatrician appt. He has truly found his voice and is “talking” up a storm. He is also laughing out loud a lot and this is such a joy for us (enjoy the video of this).
He is still very strong; trying to stand up on our laps all the time. He has also found his feet. He immediately grabs his feet when we put him down. He has rolled over from his back to his stomach a few times now. We are hoping that this will mean tummy sleeping is coming soon! He grabs anything in sight and then puts it into his mouth. He is a master drooler at the moment. His personality comes out more and more each day. He reacts when you take him away from something he likes or when you take away a toy he still wants. For ex, he loves the photos on our refrigerator. If I walk away before he is ready, he gets upset.
Saxton has made sure that he’s ready for baseball season. Eveyday he puts on the cubs hat or outfit and watches a spring training game with him…I guess it’s like our music, whether he likes it or not, he will have to be a part of it.
His big blue eyes still kill me! Blond hair & blue eyes are rare on this island and so everywhere we go he is quite the hit! EVERYONE stops and comments on him. Needless to say, I love it :). He is truly a handsome child.
Enjoy all the new pics and the video. Till next time….Happy Easter!

Joakim is just over 3 months now and is SO cute! He’s 14 lbs, 10 ozs and looking fatter and older everyday. I swear this week he started giving me kisses. He’s probably just wanting to put my chin and cheeks in his mouth like everything else, but he seems to be imitating me. I give him lots of kisses on his cheeks and play eat under his cheeks. He gets very excited and opens his mouth and goes for my cheeks and chin, giving me big wet smooches, all the while smiling and giggling. It’s so cute!!!

He continues to reach for things, grabbing and pulling at them. He actually gets frustrated when he can’t pull the toys down on his activity mat. He brings both hands together often and can lift his head to a 90 degree angle when he’s on his tummy. He’s holding his head and neck very steady almost all of the time and loves to stand when we’re holding him. He has some strong legs! In general, he is very strong.

He also continues to talk, laugh and squeal, each day getting more expressive. I wish you could hear and see him! Enjoy the new pictures!

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training tomorrow so Saxton Joakim is getting pretty darn excited for his first baseball season to begin. We’re absolutely sure this is going to be the year. Go cubbies!

Thank you Katherine for the handmade Cubs outfit.

Note: This is the only Cubs outfit Joakim has received… uh hum : )

Sorry it’s been so long since we’ve written. The nights and days have run together since Joakim’s birth, it’s hard to believe that he’s almost 3 months…
He is doing great! At his pediatrician appt. last week he weighed 13 lbs, 6 ozs and was 2 feet long! Here in Puerto Rico he seems big, everyone tells me that he’s huge! I think he’s perfect. He is a gorgeous child, everytime he looks up at me with those big blue eyes, I melt. He’s looking older now, changing almost everyday and definitely has lost the newborn look. His hair is still in between dirty blond and strawberry blond. His thighs and arms are filling out, a nice fat roll on each thigh…I’m aiming for 2 or 3 :). He’s reaching for things and has now figured out that he has legs. Just tonight he started kicking the hanging toys on his activity mat, instead of punching or grabbing them. He is also rolling over more often now. He found his hands awhile ago and they are in his mouth often. He loves his thumb…we might end up with a thumbsucker! He is very interactive, with a repertoire of facial expressions. He’s also laughing & talking quite a bit, which brightens our days.
He is doing so well! We couldn’t be happier with him and his progress. The only thing is that he needs to wake up less at night. Say prayers for him to sleep, do magic tricks, sleep dances… anything. I need to sleep!

Our favorite Joakims or derivations thereof:

• Joaquin Rodrigo (I was playing Rodrigo’s Concerto for Guitar with the orchestra the week Joakim was born)

• Josquin Des Prez

• Gioachino Rossini

• Joseph Joachim

• Joaquin Turina

• Joakim

We wish all of you a wonderful holiday season! Joakim is almost 6 weeks old and is doing very well. He is starting to look a little bit chubby. He has big blue eyes and his hair is looking strawberry blond. He is becoming more interactive each day and sends us beautiful smiles often. We still feel incredibly lucky to have him, especially during this holiday time. Our first Christmas was very special.

Joakim’s name has been the subject of many conversations amongst us and our family and friends. We liked the Spanish name Joaquin and what it meant. The name is from Hebrew and exists in many languages with different spellings and pronunciations. We decided on the Scandinavian spelling because Saxton liked it and for the pronunciation, we are using something similar to the Spanish version, which sounds like - hwakeem - 2 syllables.
Joakim means “God will establish” or “established by God.” It was the name of the Virgin Mary’s Father.

Enjoy the new pics!

Joakim is 1 month old today and is a big boy! At the pediatrician appointment yesterday he weighed 10 lbs. and is 21 inches long. He is in the 50th percentile for all of the categories and we couldn’t be more proud that he is perfectly average. Well, to us, he is the best. Enjoy the new photos on the pictures page. Happy Holidays!

Pampers newborn diapers are better than Huggies… don’t be fooled, Huggies leak! You know your life has changed when you start comparing diaper brands…

We’ve definitely experienced a huge change in the San Juan Rose household. Only sleeping in 2-3 hour intervals each night, breastfeeding 24/7 and the drastic hormonal changes have been tough. But we can do this! The main change though is that we have the most beautiful, incredible, gorgeous, amazing, handsome, strong little man in our home now. We are incredibly lucky to have him. He is a gift and we are overwhelmed daily with immense gratitude to have him. He is more than 3 weeks old now and is doing very well. He seems to be growing and putting on some extra weight (we will find out for sure at the pediatrician appt. next week) and is stronger each day. He has great control of his neck and head already and has some really strong legs on him! He is able to focus his eyes on our faces and he sometimes gives us a smile. He has a strong grip, holding on to our fingers and has already pulled my hair! He is also sporting quite the natural hairdo. He wants to be like Daddy already :).

He was a very peaceful baby; just eating and sleeping and having tranquil awake periods, but at 2 weeks old he became a bit fussy. We still love him but with each day he must be realizing and feeling more about his little body and feels it’s time to cry and fuss about it. Thankfully these periods are only a small portion of each day.

The labor and delivery experience was um….difficult! It was 11 hours and 4 hours of it were extremely hard and painful. At the moment I have no desire to go through that again… but it was worth it to get him here. When they put him on my tummy I couldn’t believe how huge he looked, but now that we’re home he seems so little, especially when I see him next to other babies who are not much older.

Check the pictures page for new photos. Many thanks again to everyone!!!

-A very new mother in training….

Yesterday, November 16th, 2006 at 7:30 in the morning, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, next to the ocean; Joakim Pacheco Rose was born to two very very lucky people.

After a long labor, he came into the world weighing 8 lbs., 9 ounces and measuring 20 inches long - exactly the same as his father did. His mother is recovering beautifully and was a champion in labor. Tomorrow morning the whole family comes home and we’d love to hear from you. We are indescribably thankful for all of your thoughts, prayers, gifts, visits, cards, comments, smiles, hugs, calls, emails, text messages and previously unmentioned well wishin’.

More on the name Joakim later… if you were wondering.