One Month

Emily is a month old!!  And I am only 2 days late in putting up this post, which, frankly, feels pretty amazing!!  

Today while brother was at school and daddy was at work, the girls had a little dress-up time.  She did not fuss at all, which leads me to believe she is a big fan of the dress, tights, and hair bow.  I have seen other moms who put their kids in the same spot each month to show how they've grown, and I think that is such a fun idea.  Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it up.  

  

Emily, at one month you:

*Weigh 8 lbs 12 oz. You have gained almost two pounds!!

*You eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours (much to your brother's chagrin)

*Sadly, you have reflux just like Drew. This time mommy was much more aware of what to do, so you are already on medicine and seem to be feeling better.

*In the early evening you are not happy unless you are riding in the sling with mom. It puts you right to sleep and she can still get stuff done!

*You are a good sleeper at night. You are sleeping for one long stretch each night and after you eat, you go right back to sleep.

*You are having more and more awake time. You especially like for Drew to lay next to you and talk. He likes it, too.

*You cannot have any dairy at all (via Mom). It makes you puke and have yucky dipes. You are also not a big fan of tomato or onions.

You still seem so small-you weigh just a tad more than Drew did when he was born. I know that time will fly-you will not be tiny for long! I'm so happy that you are feeling better! We love you!!

Works for Me Wednesday-Mini Caramel Apples

While my sister was here taking care of business at my house while I birthed a baby, she did tons of fun stuff with the kids. When I got home, we had the brainstorm to do caramel apples one night. Then I had the brainstorm to make them a little more kid-friendly.

So, here's your tip for the day. Don't forget to head over to We Are That Family for more tips.

I took my melon baller and scooped out tiny round balls of apple. Then we had the kids spear them with popsicle sticks and dip them in caramel. You know how a preschooler loves to dip! Next time I do this, I will go ahead and put the apples on the sticks-it was kind of tricky for the kids to do. We used the Kraft caramel bits and they melted super fast and easy in the microwave.

Here's the gang getting instructions



Wearing a shirt is TOTALLY optional during this activity!



A little help from dad...


Have mini caramel apple will travel. Great for a little t.v. viewing snack...


And, if for some reason your kid doesn't like caramel (what???!!!) they can always have a granola bar.


This has nothing to do with caramel apples, but is one of my very favorite ever cousin pictures. So I posted it.



Happy dipping!

Boo!

Here's a little peek at our Halloween fun!

Works for Me Wednesday-Newborn bath time

I really miss my bloggin'!! So, I'm trying to squeeze one in right quick. I have approximately 5 seconds before I'll be summoned by the milk princess, so here goes! For more (coherent) tips don't forget to head over to We Are That Family.

Since my life is consumed by a newborn, I thought I'd share a newborn tip. This one is not original to me, but actually to my sister's mother-in-law aka Nana Karen. And it's a great one.

Before you bathe your tiny baby, take a space heater (we have a small, cheap one and it works fine) and set it up in the bathroom. Turn it on and close the door. By the time you bathe the babe, the bathroom is nice and toasty and baby will have a great bath.

And, now, for some gratuitous Emily pics!! Here's some shots of her first bath:

The Little Things

I'm back on the blog! And I didn't even have to give one of the kids away! Turns out I'm up a little early this morning. For the past three weeks I've been trying to squeeze in every little minute of sleep I can. Even if that means I finish feeding the baby at 6:30, try to sleep for 30 minutes, then get up with Drew at 7. The past few mornings have not exactly been a collection of my most shining moments. So, today, I decided that once I was finished feeding the baby, I was just going to get up and get the day started. Naturally, it's 7:30 and Drew's still asleep...

I won't lie-the last week has been nothing short of CRAZY TOWN! Drew has been sick, Big Dan has been sick-like, seriously, needs to sleep all day sick-and we've had home improvement projects going on. While the projects are good, the side effects of said projects are not good. Like having a sick toddler with a massive case of cabin fever who can't play outside. Like having a dog who spends the majority of his life outside, who can't go outside. Like standing on the porch in my robe (it's becoming a habit...) screeching at said dog like a mad woman after he ran off. Again. Like watching my dog do his business on the neighbors' lawn just as the neighbor steps out his front door. Like cleaning up said "business" first thing in the morning, while the baby whines to be fed. Did you hear me say CRAZY TOWN? I will say that I am thanking the Lord every day and continuing to pray for my health and Emily's health. We do not need a sick mama or a sick newborn.

In the meantime, I've been really making a concerted effort to spend some one on one time with Drew. The great thing is, he thinks pretty much anything is fun-especially when I build it up like it's amazing! So far, we have gone pumpkin shopping at Kroger, had "pumpkin days" at home, and had a date to the Corner Pub. The Corner Pub date was quite hilarious considering we got there at 5 p.m. (AARP, anyone?) and Drew just wanted to "play" the race car video game the whole time. He would run back and forth to the table and eat a bite of mac and cheese. And, bless his heart, I just let him run. He was sad that Daddy didn't come with us. He didn't really mention baby sister!

I have pictures of pumpkin days that need to be snapped, but my memory card is full. Again. And, once again, I can't exactly remember how to clear it off. Seriously. Maybe this time I should write it down. That way, next time it gets full it won't take me a full 2 weeks to clear it off!

Two week update

Today is Emily's two week birthday!! It is sort of hard to believe it has been two whole weeks since she came into the world in a big ol' hurry! The newborn fog is thick and dense, but we are starting to get used to our "new normal". I told Daniel that it is like needing to learn a whole new dance, when you already had the old one down pat. Anytime we figure out something new, and how to handle a new situation, I feel like Daniel and I should high five!

Miss Em had her first check-up yesterday and in the words of our beloved pediatrician, "She is perfect." Woo hoo! The goal was for her weight to be back to her birth weight (7 lbs. 2 oz) by the time of her check-up. She weighed (*drum roll please*) 7 lbs. 11 oz.!!!!!!!! This means that all of our hard work on breast feeding is doing its' job. As Mr. Cameron would say, "Hard work pays off!!" I've been tempted to blog about the trials and tribs of our early breast feeding days. I've spared you, though. Just one more thing to thank me for! I was a little overwhelmed at the doc yesterday. I know so many kids and babies who are sick. To have a baby who is just as she should be is such a huge blessing-one I definitely do not take for granted. I am thankful to the Lord for protecting her and me during my pregnancy.

Big brother is working hard on adjusting to his new lot in life-the oldest child. As an oldest myself, I sort of empathize with all the new responsibliity. =) He is my main go-to guy for all errands and help getting things out of my reach. He tells me all the time that he loves baby sister. And yet, there are things about our new life that are super annoying to him. Each time I have to feed her, he says, "Again??!!" Feeding time is definitely not his favorite. We are working on it. He often takes that chance to get into some sort of mischief-he knows there is not much I can do in the moment. I think they call that too smart for his own good!



In case you were worried all the crazy would dissipate in the blissful newborn season, don't you fret. I am as crazy as ever, and in fact, am pretty sure that I speak some sort of gibberish to Daniel each night, in the middle of the night. And, as an added bonus, Drew is sick. I asked Daniel yesterday if we were being Punk'd. Daddy got the privilege of watching approximately 6 episodes of Hi-5 in the middle of the night Thursday night after I begged for "just a few hours of sleep". Hopefully, this little cold will be short-lived and baby sister won't get it!

So far, it's been action-packed. Stay tuned. I'm sure there's more fun to come!

She's Here!!!!!!!!!!!

Hooray! Welcome Baby Emily!

Emily Elizabeth Hull~October 3, 2009~7 lbs. 2 oz., 21 inches