Lily - 1 month

one month

8 lbs 5 oz

20 1/2 inches

Lily has grown and changed in the last 2 weeks.  Most notably she's woken up; two weeks ago she would wake up to eat, then go back to sleep.  On her due date (15 days after she was born), almost all of a sudden, she stopped sleeping so much, and started being fussy at night.  She is the most awake, and the most fussy between 10:30 pm and 2:00 am.  She isn't a fan of the swing, the car seat, or our (mostly non-functional) bouncer.  Our biggest success with getting her to sleep during those hours is on my chest, partially upright.  Go figure. 

She loves to be held, and is starting to make eye contact and follow objects.  She locked eyes with me and smiled last week, and giggles occasionally in her sleep.  Early this morning she lost her umbilical cord stump (finally!!), so first bath pictures are coming soon.  She is a great eater (obviously, she's gained a pound and a half in the last 2 weeks), and an excellent burper.  And she's been a real trooper to put up with the abuse/love her big brother heaps on her. 

Lily and Max, who insisted he needed a "buckruck" (burp cloth)



 Lily helping out with the laundry

Can't wait to see what the next month with her brings!

Friday Flashback: Independence Day

July 4, 2010

Our traditional family outing to the Sunbowl to watch the fireworks.  This year sans Echo and family, sadly, as they were out of town. 

 The traditional picture of the cousins with Grandma Bubbles (seems so small without Echo's kids!)

 Dancing to the music!

 Plug your ears, they're loud!

Max and me checking out the fireworks

Grandma Linda and Cheetos Man amazed at the fireworks

Wordless Wednesday: Following in His Father's Footsteps

Friday Flashback: Airplane Ride

July 1, 2010

Adam is a really cool dad.  And a really cool uncle.  I could come up with lots of examples, but here is a great one: as a birthday gift to Isaiah and Kaden, Adam talked to an old coworker, who happens to be a pilot, about taking them on an airplane ride.  Isaiah got a little airsick, and I don't think Kaden ever saw his house, but they had a great time flying around for the morning! 

Here they are getting ready to take off: (I stole these pictures off Shelli's blog--hope that's okay, Shelli!)

Adam didn't even tell me that he got to fly the plane--I had to read about it on Shelli's blog.  But looking at the controls, I'm glad it wasn't me! 

Here are some birds' eye shots from the plane--so cool! 

Nesting Project #10: Cloth Diapers

Okay, this deserved it's own post, if only because it has consumed my thoughts for months now.  I'm going out on a limb here, because I think I've already revealed myself as an obsessed mommy.  But I'm going to share anyway, partly so I can have a record of it, and partly so I can let out some of my excitement. 

When Isaiah was a baby, I had online friends who cloth diapered, and I thought it was sooo cool (so great for the environment, and those diapers are super cute!) and a great way to save money, long term.  But way more work than I could ever handle.  I read a whole bunch about it, and then pushed it to the back of my mind because I knew I would be laughed at by Adam and probably everyone else I knew "in real life" if I ever showed serious interest in it.  Fast forward a couple of children and a handful of years, and here I was, pregnant again, and reading online (again) about other women cloth diapering their babies.  And I was so jealous.  I did a bunch of research (a lot can change in a few years, and I was pretty sure I could handle the extra work now), and I mentioned it to Adam, in an "isn't this cool" kind of way.  He humored me, which was sweet because I know he thinks my green-ness is a little . . . weird, maybe.  Or maybe just unnecessary. 

And then a couple of things happened.  One, my sweet sister-in-law, Molly posted on her blog about cloth diapering.  And two, while I was perusing Craigslist I came across a listing for cloth diapers that was a total steal--the deal of the century!  And after crunching the numbers and presenting them to Adam, I bought them.  And I started a new hobby, as Molly called it.  Because that's really what it feels like: something fun to think about and buy and do, never mind the fact that it has to do with poop. 

With the excellent advice that I start with Max to see if I really liked it (and could stand it), I ordered some cheap one-size pocket diapers in July, and started out with him.  Since then I've tried a few different types and brands of diapers, and am learning what I like best.  And just in the last week, Lily has gotten big enough for her smallest all-in-ones and is wearing some homemade fitted diapers with covers. 

She's an excellent diaper model don't you think?  This is one of the fitted diapers I made. 

My thoughts so far?  Cloth diapering newborns is way easier and less gross than toddlers.  But even toddlers can be fun.  There is something so cute about Max picking out what color diaper he wants, and then toddling around with his fluffy bum.  Now if I can refine my wash routine to eliminate detergent build up, I'll be all set . . .

Nesting Projects #6, #7, #8, & #9: High Chair Cover, Crocheted Beanie, and Headbands and Flower Clips

Today was Lily's due date, and in honor of passing this day with a 2-week-old in my arms, I thought I'd post the some of the nesting projects I never got to post before she was born.  Believe me there were more, but I'll spare you and just show you my favorites. 

High chair cover before:

High chair cover after:

I got the inspiration to make a new cover for our old high chair after seeing this on Make It and Love It.  I actually did this back in July, thinking Max could benefit from a cleaner, comfier chair much sooner than the baby would.  But it was for her, too. 

This beanie was born from another nesting project altogether, which I was working on for Lily's newborn portrait session.  I made this beanie practicing the technique (and because I didn't have the right yarn for the other), and liked it so much I decided to keep it.  I had an unfortunate unravelling accident just as we took the above picture at the hospital, and ended up making another one (a little bigger this time), so maybe you'll get to see a better picture of her in it in the future.

I found a tutorial for this headband on A Load Of Craft while searching for instructions on how to make a cover for a boppy (another project that has yet to be completed--if I decide to do it at all).  I had all the components just sitting in my hairbow-making supplies, so I made one while I was working on the next project:

Flower clips (and hair bows)!  Not the best picture of the bows, but Lily in the background makes up for that, right?  I'm not even going to try to post a link to a tutorial on these since most people already do this.  If you don't know how to make them, come to my house, and we'll sit and chat while we hot glue our fingers together.   Why did I make these?  My sweet friend Kelie gave us the most adorable headbands and flower clips (you can see one here).  Most people would have received that gift and just been so excited to dress up their little girl in them.  But I have a sickness.  I saw it and was excited to put them on my baby, and then thought how great it would be to have one for every outfit.  So, I had to make some fresh flower clips (despite the fact that I think we have almost 100 of them already), and I made another headband like it in black.  Seriously, someone needs to stop me. 

Lily - 2 weeks

two weeks

6 lbs 15 oz

20 inches

Lily Anne Ellis is two weeks old today!  I took her for a hearing test and her two-week checkup today, and everything went swimmingly.  She failed the hearing test in her right ear while in the hospital, so we needed to follow up and make sure she was hearing okay.  They had told us that she had some vernix on her eardrum, so I wasn't really much worried, and sure enough, today she passed!  After her hearing test, we went over to the pediatrician's office where she was subjected to torture, aka the PKU test.  She was not fond of the whole thing, but was calm and awake after she nursed.  She has gained 5 oz and grown 1 inch since birth, so eating and growing just fine. 

So far, Lily has been a sleepy baby, only having an hour or less of awake time during the day other than nursing.  She sleeps just fine during the night, going right back to sleep after feedings (with the exception of one wakeful night that Adam held her until 3 am).  She almost never cries, and is so sweet and pretty we all just dote on her.  We can't wait to get to know her more as time goes on! 

A note about Lily's birth story . . .

When I posted Lily's birth story I did it mostly for me, so that I would have it for later.  As I went back and read it, as well as some of your comments, I felt I didn't express something well and I wanted to clarify.  I talked about getting an epidural with my other babies as if it were chickening out, giving in to something bad.  Which really isn't necessarily the case: it was a valid choice and a blessing to have pain relief when I was having intense pain.  I think my feeling was this: I have always had fairly short labor, and I think I've been going through transition each time I decided to have an epidural.  Had I known this then, and that it wouldn't have been much longer, I would have held out longer and tried harder to have my babies naturally, something I valued.  That's what I was aiming for this time, knowing that my labor has been short in the past and that I was almost done before I needed an epidural. 

Okay, so that's me.  But what about you?  What about all the women who labor in intense pain for a day or more, pushing for hours?  I certainly would never say that anyone other than myself was "giving in" or "chickening out" for choosing to have an epidural.  There is a reason modern medicine has evolved as it has--it's a miracle and a blessing!!  And for those of you who have had Cesarean sections, I am so grateful that this life-saving procedure is available, making it possible for you and your beautiful children to be here today! 

That's all I wanted to say; I just wanted you to know what I meant as I wrote out our story, so you would understand why I said what I said the way I did. 

Friday Flashback - Swim Lessons

Well, the weather has finally started cooling down here (although it's supposed to be back into the 80s by the end of the week, I suppose that's about as fall-ish as we get), and I realized you missed our whole summer!  I stopped posting sometime in June when things got crazy and I got exhausted.  So, I'm going to take the next couple of Fridays and flashback to our hot summer fun. 

Swim Lessons (May 31-June 10, 2010)

We have done swim lessons almost every year since Isaiah was old enough for the parent/tot class at Sand Hollow Aquatic Center.  I have yet to sit in the lobby and watch through the window--every year we've done lessons, I've had a toddler.  This year was my sixth year taking the parent/tot class, and my third time doing it pregnant.  I can practically teach the class myself. 

Max took a day to warm up, but then he started to really enjoy himself.  He especially loved singing the duck song and playing with the alligator.  Isaiah did great passing everything off in his level (it was his second year on that level), and Katie surprised us with her proficiency at floating.  Here are some shots from our last day: 

 Isaiah swimming (in the middle foreground)

 Katie floating

Max and me during free time

Sibling Love

We're kind of excited to have Baby Lily in our family!!