January 2015 in Review

January 2015

Happy New Year!

Everything this month revolved around welcoming baby boy into our home.

Little Marco was the highlight of January.

Weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz and 21 inches long.

He was such a good baby and so hard not to fall immediately in love with.

The saddest part of our hospital stay was that Lily wasn't allowed to come meet Marco.  Due to flu season they implemented a mandatory 'no visitors under the age of 18' anywhere in the hospital.  We were no exception.  But we still were excited that little Marco made us a family of four.

While in the hospital, Michal and I were interviewed for the local newspaper.  It appeared the following day and all the nurses and hospital staff would mention that they read about us that morning.  It was quite the experience being recognized (not famous) in the hospital.  I wish we were famous, it may have given us better treatment in the postpartum section of our stay.

Here is what the newspaper had to say about us...

Tim Clodfelter/Winston-Salem Journal

Next month, Forsyth County residents Michal and Katie Trenerowski will be featured on an episode of the reality TV series “House Hunters.” And this week, they are adding a new member to their family. Katie was in the early stages of labor on Thursday afternoon with her second child, but she welcomed the distraction of talking about the family’s stint on TV. “My husband I just thought it would be really fun,” she said by phone from her hospital room. “How many people get to document their first home purchase on TV? ... We may look silly, or serious, but we really had a lot of fun with our crew.” Their episode will air at 10 p.m. Feb. 4 on HGTV. The series follows prospective home buyers as they look at three properties with the assistance of a local realtor — in the Trenerowskis’ case, Mia Parker. The Trenerowskis moved to the Triad a year ago for his consulting job, and after living in an apartment decided it was time to buy a home. “They were referred to me from a former client,” Parker said. “It was very interesting. His taste in a home was very different from her taste in a home. It made it an interesting adventure, if you will, to find something that would please both of them. “Since Katie is from Utah and Michal from Poland, they had very different ideas of what they wanted in a home. This made them the perfect pair to appear on the HGTV ‘House Hunters’ episode…. He was looking for more of an older fixer-upper, she wanted something more move-in-ready.” They looked at three homes, two in Winston-Salem and one in Lewisville. They can’t say which home they picked — that information is under wraps until the episode airs. They were also not allowed to post anything on Instagram or Facebook about their new home, and couldn’t even say they had been on the TV show until it had an airdate. “They want to keep people (in suspense) so they will stick through the show,” said Michal. “They asked us not to show it.” The Trenerowskis were already familiar with “House Hunters,” having friends who had been on the show. Those friends suggested they apply. They applied in late April/early May and found out in June they were selected as participants. They were also familiar with the trials of moving. “We came from Poland to Utah, and from Utah to North Carolina,” Katie said. They have moved 10 different times in the five years they’ve been married. “It was an adventure every single time,” she said. Now that they have a growing family — with daughter Lily, who will turn 2 next month, and a son who may be born by the time this story runs — they are planning to settle down, Michal said. Katie added that North Carolina puts them roughly midway between Utah, where her family is from, and Michal’s native Poland, saying “We feel like we’re close enough to our homes… and can have our own little adventure here.” Parker said she received “no financial compensation for me as a realtor (from appearing on the show) other than to let people know I’m here and this is what I do.” But she welcomed the chance to appear on the show and to spotlight the Winston-Salem area and highlight “all the great things our city has to offer.” The episode was filmed in July, and the Trenerowskis have already been in their new home for about six months. “We’re really, really happy with what we have,” Katie said. “We could not agree on a home at all, so I think the fact we actually picked one is a miracle.”

Before Marco came into our family we tried to make sure Lily got as much attention as possible and felt extremely loved.  We didn't want her to feel excluded with all the changes coming into our family.  So while Mommy went into ultra-nesting mode - I made sure Lily felt like she was helping every step of the way.  Most of the time she was actually in the way, but nothing is more adorable than a 23 month old little girl trying her hardest to help and impress you to make you proud.

Below are some of my favorite memories of the early month.

~ Dressing up

~ Potty Training

~ Lily discovered how to take selfies and they appeared on our cameras ALL. THE. TIME. during the month of January

~ Bringing me breakfast in bed... and then eating my breakfast in bed

~ Giving doll-doll (and herself) a pretend bath

~ Pretending to go night-night

~ Constantly trying to dress herself

But my very favorite memory of Lily this month is when she met her baby brother for the first time.  We had two nurses, my mom, and myself all crying.  It was such a tender moment and I really am grateful that God gave me this moment to cherish and remember always.

Once baby Marco came home, the house was full of love.  There is just such a special spirit in your home after a baby is born and the pictures below attest to that.  I just love how everyone was always loving someone else especially the love Lily showed toward Marco.  Lily was always hugging, holding, or trying to smother her baby brother.

Marco had his first photoshoot this month.  He was a little pill during the shoot and would NOT fall asleep.  We were there for about 4.5 hours and he was asleep for maybe 60 minutes.  It was really hard trying to get him to cooperate.  That being said, the photographer did a phenomenal job of really getting some good shots when he was cooperating.  I felt like we definitely robbed our photographer because of how hard she worked and the amount of pictures we ended up with surpassed our expectations, especially with an uncooperative baby.

I was very hesitant to get "family shots" with baby Marco.  I just wanted pictures of him, but I'm glad that I opted to do this for so many reasons.  But the number one reason is this: look at our faces - we are just elated and so in love with our new baby.  We beam and it shows and I am so glad our photographer was able to capture that on film.