Our Girls

We're so proud of what a great big sister Ava has been. In the morning when she wakes up she immediately asks where the baby or where Elise is. She likes to look at Elise and say, "Hi, baby!" and smiles. I even showed Ava how to play "This Little Piggy" on Elise's toes. She thought that was funny...especially when Mommy did it to Ava's toes.
Elise loves the bouncy seat (w/o the vibrations though). Her color is getting a little better but we're still fighting the bilirubin levels.
She's smiling at only 4 days old! Amazing...no, I just happened to catch her in the middle of a stretch...it still looks like smiling!
We've decided to do some co-sleeping - something I never thought we'd do until Ava was 5 months old and didn't want to sleep in her crib. We loved it! Since we're not as comfortable putting a newborn in our bed, we bought a co-sleeper for Elise to sleep in. Ava was kind enough to try it out for us. (For the record: Ava has slept in her crib since 9 months - at some point it just isn't as fun anymore) ;o)

Pictures of Elise

Here she is...our little newborn. Only a few hours old and she was already sucking her thumb. You'll notice her nice newborn look with purplish skin. It turns out she had a lot of purple bruising due to a rapid descent down the birth canal. It made life easy for me (3 pushes and she was out) but made me sad for her. The nurses said it would fade and that it didn't really hurt her.

All in all the labor went pretty well. It wasn't pain free but it definitely was much easier than having Ava. I guess I was already having contractions 5 minutes apart when I came in so who knows if Elise would've picked the same day for her birthday anyway. :)

Our Family of Four
BIG SISTER! Ava got to come and see us that night to meet her new little sister. After leaving the hospital, she was talking to my sister Heidi and said, "Yay, hospital!...Yay, Elise!" We're happy that she's enjoying the good parts of being a big sister.
My two little girls. Ava had a great time playing at the Smoots' house that day but we were both happy to see each other. (I think I missed her more). Daddy made sure to take time to see her and tuck her in at night so I think that helped her cope.
Day 2: Ava got to come and visit Mommy and Baby Sister, Elise, at the hospital again. She was very excited and had way too much fun playing in the room. :) She did want to help feed and take care of the baby.
Eyes open. Grandma plays with Elise.
I couldn't resist putting her in bed with me. There's something so special about cuddling up to your newborn.

What a difference a day makes! These are her hospital pictures from day 2. I made them retake them because the first day she was soooo purple and banged up looking. She's still purple in these (I touched them up a little) but looking a lot better.
Notice the big hands and long finger! Mommy's genes.

STAY TUNED!

I'm sure we won't resist the urge to post lots and lots of pics in the days to come!

Introducing.....

Elise Nicole!

9lb, 9oz
21"
Born at 4:24 PM

Pics to follow later. ;)

Just in time...

Call it nesting, call it last-minute, call it crazy...but I just finished Ava's I-spy quilt - today. Yep. On my due date. I guess it just shows what 15 minutes here or an hour there over a month or two will help you accomplish. I'm glad it's done. Now she can have her special blanket just like the other grandkids.

Various Thoughts

1. I'm so glad Spring is here! The fruits of my landscaping/gardening last spring & summer are starting to show.

2. I'm sad that the Jayhawks lost. :o( But, I'm glad we got the huge monkey off of our back - and we did have a good season, Big 12 Conf. Champs, etc. We even taught Ava to say "Go KU!"

3. I'm glad that Chris and Ava are still getting the mail together...Ava sure likes it.

4. I'm still pregnant. This baby really is going to arrive...very soon...reality check.

5. I'm supposed to be induced Tues if I don't have the baby before then (getting down to the wire). I'd really like to go into labor on my own, A) to have that experience (was induced w/Ava) and B) because I'd rather not spend all of my labor in bed hooked up to an IV (until I'm ready for my epidural). I don't know. My dr. reccommends not going too far past my due date since I'm prone to have another big baby. (Ava was 8lb 15oz and this girl should be close if not bigger...who really knows though.) It's really my choice. If I had my way I'd go into labor Monday. Who wants to go much later than their due date anyway??

6. My biggest concern is Ava right now. I know Chris and I will be fine and so will the baby. I just see myself missing her and being overly concerned about her happiness when Mommy is away. She's such a mommy's girl right now.

7. 2 kids - what will that be like? How will we manage? Any advice out there on how to adjust to 2??? - keeping in mind that they will be just under 2 years apart??

8. We'll definitely keep everyone posted as to when the baby comes. Keep checking back!

More of Grandma's Handiwork

My Mom made Ava this cute strawberry hat this past winter to go with her red winter coat. She also made her some matching mittens (not pictured). Even though winter is over, Ava still loves to dress up in her various hats. She especially likes her strawberry hat - and when asked who made it for her she says, "Grandma made it."


Thanks, Grandma!

Our Little Baby

Here she is - our new little bundle of joy...snuggling up in her bassinet. She weighs over 30 lbs and is 3 feet tall. OH wait - that's not our new baby...that's Ava after hours of begging to go "night-night" in the bassinet.
I decided to give in to her strong desire to be the baby...even if I was a little nervous the thing might break.

Ava has been having a blast playing with all of the baby items we've been setting out. She's been putting her baby dolls in the swing and the bassinet as well as putting herself in the baby's carseat, bouncy seat and as pictured - -bassinet. I guess we'll be looking at toys r us and garage sales this summer for her own collection of baby gear for her dolls.

real baby update: I'm still pregnant. Due on the 26th (Mon). Dr. will induce Tues the 27th if the baby has not arrived before then.

Catch Up

Lots of good things have been happening too these last several weeks - here are some catch up moments that we caught on camera. The above picture was taken after our little trip to Oklahoma in Feb. Ava thought it was hilarious to get inside of our luggage that we hadn't unpacked yet. She kept saying, "I hiding". :)

For Valentine's day, Chris and I exchanged gifts (Chris got me a new color all-in-one printer and I got him a game for his Wii - amongst other smaller gifts, etc.) Chris also got Ava a Mickey Mouse valentine and a book all about dogs -which she loves. Ava picked out the puppy she's holding for her daddy. We didn't go out to eat but instead got Chili's to go.

Since the weather has started warming up we've been able to make several trips to the park. Chris has even come home a few days after work and taken Ava to the park so that I could rest or do something I need to do - like shower. ;) Just like most kids, Ava LOVES playing at the park.
She especially loves to swing. One funny thing is that on two separate occasions, we've been at the park and some other kids will come over to the equipment Ava is playing on and she's said, "No, this is MY park!" Oops.
We celebrated my sister, Gina's (in dark blue shirt) bday earlier this month. We had it at our house - made a tasty meal and then did various activities ranging from playing with the grandkids in Ava's kitchen, organizing baby clothes and playing Chris' Wii games. Can you find the nonhuman visitor in this picture?

Last but not least - even though it was late and I looked and felt frumpy - I made Chris take a picture of me so that we can have record that indeed I am pregnant. Hopefully, I'll get a few more where I'm feeling a little more spiffy.

There you go - we have had some good times too! And - Ava is also quite fun to be around - despite my hormonal complainings as of late!

COUNTDOWN: 2 weeks