fun night

Last night was Family Fun Night at church.  We don’t usually head out for Saturday night church, but thought what the heck since Owen’s been going to bed later.  They had bounce houses set up in the main foyer area.  The bouncies had a few too many big kids in them for Owen, so he was content to play with the hula hoops that were scattered around.  Then, they served us a hot dog dinner and we went to church.  Since Ellie’s evenings are usually rough, we spent most of the sermon in the cry room.  It’s hard to believe Owen only has 2 more services in the “nursery” before he moves up to the big boy class!

Ellie rolls over!

While I was finishing dinner, William yelled from the living room that Ellie rolled over, twice. Of course, I didn't believe him because she's only 5 weeks. But alas, he was right. I pulled out the camera and she did it again. Way to go little girl. Showing your brother up already. haha :)

Ellie’s dedication

Our church does child dedication a couple times a year and this one worked out perfectly to be on Mother’s Day.  And it was even better because William’s parents were able to be here for it.   They called us up front and introduced each child.  Pam may have mispronounced her middle name (ja-kee-uh, instead of jay-kuh) but that was my fault for not making sure she knew how to say it.  They put oil  on her head and then prayed over her and us.  I cried like a baby.  She got a little Bible which had a sweet inscription in the front.  Here’s the pictures from her big day.
all dressed up: this was seriously the best one we got of both of them:  our great little family: with Elmer and Jackie (my in-laws)
 

Happy 1 Month!

My sweet baby girl is one month old.  It’s going doubly fast this time as many people warned me it would.  With Owen, I would spend hours gazing at him sleeping and watching his every breath.  With Ellie, I’m lucky to be able to look at her for a few moments before putting her in the swing to go make lunch or clean up another toddler mess.  :)  But she is such a delight.   Well, when she’s not screaming.  But more on that in a sec.  Here’s all the info you might want to know about her first month on Earth.

Stats/Appointment: Holy cow, she is up to 10 lbs, 7.9 ounces (82nd percentile).  That’s 2 pounds gained  in  one month! She is measuring in at 22 inches (77th percentile) and her head is 37.8cm, which is the 65th percentile.  See previous post about the rest of the appointment.

Overall: In general, she is definitely a more high-needs baby than Owen was.  Week 3 was super hard.  There was a couple nights she screamed from 5-11pm and I was starting to look up colic and milk allergies.  But this past week has been much better.  She definitely has that normal newborn fussiness in the evening and is on  the boob from 7-10 easily.  I have to remind myself that this is normal for newborns and I’ll get my evenings back eventually to craft, or well, to do anything.

Sleeping: She is still sleeping lots during the day which is great for Owen and I time.  She loves the swing and spends a majority of her naps in there during the day.  At night, she sleeps in the pack and play in our room and has been giving me a good 4 hour chunk at the beginning of the evening.  Then, I usually pull her into bed with me for easiness sake.  She usually nurses at least 2 more times during the night and is up for good around 7.   Here’s a boring video of my little snorer.

Nursing: She is a champ nurser.  I mean, 2 pounds in a month, my goodness!  Unlike Owen, who was a 7 minute one sided nurser, Ellie would eat all day long if I’d let her.  She takes her time and always nurses on both sides.  Rarely do I get a couple hours before she’s rooting around again.  So, needless to say I’ll welcome the routine that comes at about 3 months, but for now we’re just going with the flow and whipping the boob out at all times of the day.  Her poor tummy gurgles quite a bit and she definitely needs to be burped several times each time she eats.  She also has blow-outs like I’ve never seen before.  Holy cow, Owen never had blow outs like this! :)

How I’m doing: Overall, I feel like I’ve transitioned pretty well to a mom of 2.  We’ve been out quite a few times and have survived getting out of the house by ourselves (although it’s so much easier with William).  During week 3 there was a couple nights where I may have shed a few tears wondering if she would ever stop crying, but this week has been TONS better!  Starting to feel in the mood to watch the food intake.  Up until now I’ve been enjoying the meals people have brought and since William doesn’t love brownies, I’ve gladly eaten every single one that has made their way into our house.

Other random items: She’s doing a great job tracking objects with her eyes and is holding her head up great!  She also in the last few days has been starting to put weight on her legs like she’s “standing up.”  No smiles yet, but I think we’re getting close.  She still refuses to take a pacifier (Lord help us).  I’ve tried 5 different ones, but no luck.  Maybe she’ll find her thumb?  This girl has boogers. I mean massive boogers every morning.  The blue booger sucker is definitely not her friend at the moment.  She enjoys her car seat.  Hallelujah.  Another first.  While getting in isn’t fun, once the car is moving, this girl is usually out.  It has made for getting out and doing things much easier than I thought it would be! 

She enjoys tummy time much more than her brother ever did.  While on her tummy or her play may, Owen loves to bring each of his cars and tell her color of each one.  And then smoother her in kisses.  It’s pretty adorable.  She loves the Moby wrap and it’s made a few grocery trips with the 2 of them possible:

She loves her bows and headbands.  Haha.  Well, I’m making her love them.  She does wear one almost everyday.  I’ve heard I need to get her used to them now before she reaches the stage where she can rip them off her head.  :)

And our one month picture shoot.  The doll was one of my first dolls as a baby.  And yes, I made the tutu that I tortured her with.

Happy 1 month baby girl!  We love you so much and can’t imagine life without you in it!

about me page

I finally updated my About Me page.  If you care. :)

Comical Doctor’s Visit

Well, I will not be winning the mom of the year award after today’s doctor’s appointment.  It began badly when I dressed my kiddos like it was yesterday (read: in the 90’s) when in reality it was in the 70’s.  Oops.  Poor cold baby without even a blanket.

We arrived 10 minutes early and got called right away.  Score, we were going to be in and out.  Or so I thought.  40 minutes after the nurse left the room we were still waiting.  I was out of ways to keep my already grouchy toddler entertained, so I (as politely as I could) asked the nurse where the heck the doctor was.  Actually, we weren’t even getting to see the doctor today, just the nurse practitioner.   The nurse hunted her down somehow now that everyone was nearing melt-down time.

Ellie did ok until she realized she was hungry and started screaming.  It was around this time, I was talking with the np about Owen.  William’s been wanting me to take him in for awhile.  He’s has a runny nose and a little bit of a goopy eye.  But I just chalked it up to allergies and sleeping with the windows opened.  But I asked her a few questions and she said she could check him out.  Owen quickly decided he wanted nothing to do with her and started screaming as she looked in his nose and ears.

Blasted.  Ear infection.  How long has the poor little guy had that and I just said he was fine?  Now I know antibiotics aren’t even 100% necessary for ear infections, but the mommy guilt was raging now.

We now have 2 screaming children who have been in this little room for about an hour.  Our sweet nurse, Katie came in with stickers which helped calm down Owen.  But then, as I was strapping in my screaming baby, the very old np gave me some advice on how I really needed to get a double stroller because Owen could just run away fast.  Umm, thanks.  Want to buy that stroller for me?  And Owen's not really a runner, but thanks for your two cents.

testing

Just got Windows Live Writer.  I’m testing to see how it works with Blogger!  Not having to upload my pictures. . .this could be amazing!!

first time on her playmat

Pulling out Owen's old things makes me a bit sentimental.  Wasn't he just this tiny? But enough about that.  I'm trying to be sure to document everything for Ellie that I did for O.  So here is her first time on her activity mat:  She wasn't too interested.  But I'm sure it won't be long before she pays a little more attention.

 

1 month already?!

My sweet little girl is one month today!  I'm finding this very hard to believe!  We have her doctor appointment on Monday, so I'm going to wait to post her full one month review until we have her stats. :)
 

a rare nap time together

My sleeping beauties:

pizza time

We have been so blessed to be getting a TON of meals from friends. For someone who doesn't love to cook, I cannot even tell how amazing this is. Seriously, I think I'll keep having babies just for the meals. :) Ok, just joking. But on the nights off, I've been making super easy prep meals as Ellie is usually screaming (more on this later). I've been wanting to try my friend, Anne's recipe for homemade pizza and now that we've tried it, I'm never buying frozen again! Super easy and it was fabulous. And it can be changed up in so many ways depending on your toppings. The thing I love is that the recipe makes 2 crusts and 2 sauces, so I made one set and froze the other for next week. And the dough doesn't need to rise, so it was very easy to make and use right away.  Click HERE for her recipe and tips.  It's Owen approved:

umm, on the pizza, not in the mouth

Sunday besties

Gotta post their Sunday outfits. I expect this to be a weekly post now that I have a doll girl to dress.

first time outside

There was a random post that wasn't posted by me. Hmm, maybe Owen? Or maybe I should change my blogger password. :)

Anyways, here's a few pictures of Ellie's first time playing outside in the yard.  Trying hard to not to make her the typical second child and be lacking in pictures:

not sure the 0-3 month size is correct on this hat

sweet boy

mmm, popsicles

 

library story time

Last Tuesday (5.1.12) was one of our first ventures out of the house with 2 kids. Of course, it was pouring rain, but I refused to let that stop us. We try to go every week to Tuesday Twos at the library, a story time for 2-3 year old's. We often see Garrett there, a little boy we sometimes babysit. Of course, my camera battery died before I could get a picture of Ellie's first trip to the library and I forgot my phone in the car. But here is Owen and Garrett:

But this week, I was better prepared.  He actually ventured off my lap this week for a bit, which is big news for my little introvert.  Ellie slept through everything.

 Yes, that bow is stuck on her head.  With what. . .well, that's a whole other post. :)

 Her outfit for the day.  I love that little shirt I made her.  And what did she do?  A huge blow out!  This girl is good at her blow outs.