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

My YAY list

I'm stealing the idea of a "YAY" list from my sister Heidi. Hopefully this will compensate for some of my more whiney posts as of late.

1.)Yay for the fact that baby #2 is still a girl. We had a sonogram last week and were able to "double-check". It was great getting to see her sweet little face (chubby cheeks), although Ava kept Chris on his toes the whole time.

2.)Yay for the fact that I should still sometimes listen to my mother: Ava had been acting cranky and my mom said that she didn't think Ava was feeling good - that something was up, she wasn't herself. I brushed it off as Ava being tired and whiney for not getting her way. Guess who was right? That night Ava came down with a fever.

My mom was also right when she got after me for being so stressed, saying that I was trying to do too much and putting undue pressure on myself. She said I just need to rest and take it easy.

3.)Yay for Ava's naptime! She totally wore me out today at Library Storytime today. She was such a stinker! She must know that I can't chase after her very well. She left the room we were in twice. I finally told her we were leaving but then committed parent inconsistency and let her play with a friend from church we saw before leaving. QUESTION: I'm pretty confident with my "in-home" parenting skills but what about in public where you don't have the same resources - like a crib for timeouts, etc. I haven't figured that out yet.

I sat and watched our DVR-ed American Idol episode during her naptime. Yay for DVR by the way. I also ate the Heath blizzard that I bought on the way home from the library. Just what I did and didn't need. Both of us were much happier after naptime.

4.)Yay for the fact that my husband is helpful around the house! I'm also thankful that he tells me to just rest and not worry about things. I wish I could just do that - I'm trying to do better.
Also, yay for the fact that Chris hasn't complained that we've had cereal for dinner at least 3 times in the last week and a half...as if I normally do much of the cooking anyway.

5.) Yay for spring-like weather!

Rite of Passage

I don't mean to make this a complain fest -but this has been a hard week with husband and child sick --- Ava's still sick and vomitting. On top of that, I'm feeling very pregnant and wondering how in the world I'm going to make it to my due date (Mar. 26th). On the other hand, I'm not ready yet so I don't want the baby to come too soon either....better get things ready! Time for reality.

For those of you who know me well you know that I'm somewhat of a control freak so it's really hard to feel like life is spiraling out of control. I'm ready for a takeover now though...the spring weather is quite refreshing and exactly what I need today. I also realize that all of these issues are ones many of you have been through and that it's just part of being a mom/human. ;) I also think in a way this is preparation for the chaos that is to come with the early weeks of the addition to our family.

I will get through this...but sometimes I just feel like rebelling and refusing to do anything that I don't want to do. Wouldn't that be nice?

Thought of the Day

You know it's going to be a blah day when the only thing you've managed to put on your TO-DO List is: Take a shower...and you don't even feel like doing that. ;op

Oklahoma Visit

This past weekend we tried out our new mini van and went to visit my Grandma Patty in the OKC area. Ava warmed up to Great Grandma right away. Here is GGma reading Ava an Elmo book from the library.
VEGGIE MONSTER! You may not know this but Ava LOVES veggies, especially green ones like broccoli, peas and green beans. She gets so excited when we put veggies on her plate. Sometimes I have to try to get her to eat her other food before we give her veggies or that's all she'll eat. She also loves grape tomatoes, and other fruits like strawberries, grapes, oranges and bananas. The weird thing is that she doesn't really like bread and she'll always leave the corn untouched from her mixed vegetables. ??? Go figure!
I love her expression in this photo. We were having fun with her 2nd cousin, McKinley, petting the doggies.
My Grandma and I...ELMO got into the pictures because we were trying to coax Ava into taking some pics with GGma before we left...didn't work b/c she was too groggy from her recent nap.
Chris, Elmo, Quartz, Grandma Patty, and Maya. The dogs loved snuggling on Gma's couch...nice and warm and comfy. We had a nice visit and were glad to be able to go, although it was pretty cold driving down.

Are we in trouble?

I've been indulging in napping when Ava goes down for her nap in the afternoon. Some days, she would only sleep an hour and then wake up so I started putting her in bed with me so I could sleep longer.

So she got caught a little cold this week and has had a hard time breathing through her nose (can't breathe through her mouth very well because she loves her binky --- another issue I'm not going to deal with yet). It turns out she did not want to sleep in her crib. I took pitty on her because I'm sure it's hard trying to sleep flat with a runny nose and such. So, into "Mommy's bed" she went. I could prop her up with pillows or on my arm so she could breathe. A few days of doing this and Ava wants nothing to do with her crib! AHH! I wouldn't mind her in my bed as much if I was ready to go to bed at 8:00 or if she didn't wake up in the morning when Chris turns the shower on.

My next goal was to get her back in her bed now that she is feeling better. After lots of tears, she's finally back in her bed. My observations: Crying it out does not work. I can't handle it and it's not good to cry when you're already suffering from a drippy nose...it becomes waterfall or snotterfall...okay I know that's gross. I even laid on the floor until she fell asleep in her bed one night. It didn't work the next night.

Finally, I tried reasoning with her...telling her "no crying" "you're okay" "you're tired" "you have to sleep in Ava's bed"...etc. It finally worked last night. I asked her to be nice and lay down (after the millionth time) and she did. I'm hoping it will last and that we won't have to start all over again.

The funny thing is that she gets the joke and it's on me. The last couple of days when she has taken a nap or slept through the night in her crib I'll say, "Good job sleeping in Ava's bed!!" Then, she'll smile and say, "Mommy's bed???" NO MOMMY'S BED!

Ava's Antics

Ava's been a busy little toddler (she'll be 20 months on Feb. 9). She loves to find empty laundry baskets (or almost empty and she'll happily dump out the rest) to lay in, sit in, read in, etc. Here she is reading in the laundry basket with her baby doll. I had just given her a pillow that she had asked for.
Ava got a kitchen set for Christmas. (Thanks, Rebecca for the great deal!) Here she is with her Aunt Kelly and cousins, Yummum (William) and Kate.
Here she is stuck in the toy basket in her closet. I heard her yelling, "Help! Help!", but made her pose for a picture before I got her out.
Ava loves her mermaid tent that my parents got her. She also loves the blanket from Chris' dad.

Here are just a few of the phrases Ava has been using lately, (some I enjoy hearing more than others):
1. No, Mommy...(when she doesn't want to do something)/Stop it Mommy (when she doesn't want me to do something - like talk to Daddy or check my email instead of paying attention to her)
2. I don't want to
3. Ava do it ...Mommy do it (said this when Mommy told her to clean up her mess)
4. Uh-oh, I dropped it
5. Where'd it go? I found it.
6. I sorry Mommy/Daddy....or she'll say "I sorry" when she gets hurt
7. C'mon! Hurry!
8. Help! I stuck.
9. I love you/I love you too!
10. What happened? What's that? OH, no!
11. First, diaper/eat/clean-up -then, books/play (repeated after I say it)
12. I drive (Ava says as she sneaks into the driver's seat of our new van and starts turning the wheel and moving the gear shift)

13. Listen, Listen...Do you hear that? ...airplane/truck/baby crying
14. Sweet dreams, night-night
15. Mmm, yummy....I like it.
16. Ava sad/happy.
17. 1, 2, 3, fork, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 (she sometimes skips 5 & 6)

18. Oh my gosh

19. do you want one/some?...yes?

20. No Quartz/Maya - Ava's food!

21. Please! Thank you, Mommy/Daddy

22. A kiss it? (when she gets an ouchie)

23. She's also been singing lately. She likes to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the ABC song...oh and of course anything from The Little Mermaid.

24. Ava also thinks it funny to call me Lori. ;)

25. I swimming, swimming...(she likes to pretend swim in the bathtub)

26. That tickles

27. "MINES!"

28. I race you!

29. Dang it! (repeating what her mommy said...oops)

A Must Read

Just thought I'd share...I think everyone should read this book.

I've read this book about 3-4 times in the last 2 years and think it is one of the best financial books out there. It's short and easy to read (it'd probably take you 2 hours tops) and has practical steps to follow. The title might sound a little too good to be true - but note that it doesn't say INSTANT millionaire - just automatic. It covers topics from getting out of debt, paying yourself first (through pre-tax investments like your 401k or IRA), investing, becoming a homeowner and paying off your mortgage early, and even covers tithing and charitable giving.

I hesitated to post this but I really think it is a beneficial read...the younger you start - the better.

Snow Much Fun

We took advantage of the few inches of snow that we got this weekend and had some snow fun.
This was Ava's first time playing in the snow. We bundled her up and just let her go. She took to it immediately, sloshing around in her snow boots.
Here she is waving to the camera...you can see the snowman that we were building in the background...actually Chris did most of the building. I did the decorating. We used Chris' hat, an old scarf, rocks for the eyes, sticks for the arms we found in the field across the street, mulch pieces for the mouth and buttons and a baby carrot for the nose...I guess we just don't buy the regular sized carrots anymore. Anyway, it was the perfect snow for making a snowman.
Once we let Ava take her mittens off she couldn't get enough of picking up the snow. She enjoyed adding handfuls of snow to the snowman as her contribution.
Daddy and Ava next to our snowman. We built the snowman close to the house to deter neighbor kids from knocking it down.

I'm sorry to report that by the time Chris left for work this morning it was demolished...how rude! We're not going to let it damper our spirits - we'll be rebuilding tonight - but this time in the backyard. Ava will be able to look at it more through the back door this way anyway - until it dies a more natural death - via melting! UPDATE: We won't be rebuilding after all - it's TOO cold and the snow is too hard. That's okay though. At least we have our pictures to remember him by. ;) It just makes you wonder why kids do that kind of stuff! Oh well. Luckily, Ava isn't old enough to be sad about it and recognize that it's still supposed to be there. We did notice that almost all of the snowmen in the area were also knocked down...someone must've gone on a snowman rampage...so sad.

The Home Stretch

I've got less than 10 weeks to go before baby girl #2 arrives. For the majority of this pregnancy so far I've kind of forgotten or have been in denial that I was pregnant - not really thinking about it unless I was feeling the baby move or feeling sick.

That has changed...I'm now feeling pregnant and my belly has sure expanded in recent weeks. I'm definitely feeling more tired and am also feeling the effects of all of those wondeful hormones - not to mention mental pressure and anxiety! This pregnancy has been a little different.

Here are some of my cravings this pregnancy: oranges, hot chocolate, Ramen noodles, bread, especially Great Harvest Honey Wheat bread (I couldn't eat bread, sandwiches or pizza when pregnant with Ava - yuck), ice cream, juice, salad - can't get enough of the salad bar at Jason's Deli (which reminds me that Chris is due to take me there) and glazed or powdered donuts.

When I was pregnant with Ava I was working so had fun dressing up in all of my new maternity clothes, etc. Now, I am perfectly content if not elated to be in my favorite comfy pants, wearing Chris' athletic socks (it's sooo cold right now), with my hair in a pony tail, reading or watching one of our favorite shows that we've dvr'd (sp?). Now that's the life.

I'm starting to face the reality that yes, the baby is coming and yes, I am pregnant, and yes, this is the last leg and I will experience more discomfort as things progress. On the other hand, I'm also starting to really think about the excitement of welcoming a new family member to our home and how blessed we truly are!

Those are my thoughts for now.

I just joined the club...sigh...

I'm officially a "minivan mom". It's too cold to take a real picture of our new (well, slightly used 2006) Toyota Sienna so here's a stock photo. We tried really hard to find an SUV that had decent gas mileage and enough room for our expanding family...not to mention safe...but instead got a mini van. We realized it was the more practical move although I'm having mixed emotions about it! (I'll post a real pic when the weather isn't so foul).

Busy New Hobby

Now that these quilts have been opened by their intended recipients and parents -- I can show you what I spent so many hours working on. First of all, Camie gets the credit for turning me on to making these I Spy quilts. Totally her idea. Then, Rebecca S. gets the credit for motivating met to get them done because she amazingly cranked out like 4 of these before I finished my 2nd one. What's an I Spy quilt? It's basically just a quilt full of novelty fabric blocks that contain lots of different objects that you can play games with and use during quiet times or on car trips. I decided to try and make one for each of the 4 grandkids for Christmas (Ava's has not been done yet - have to get on that).

Here is the first quilt that I made for my 1 year old nephew, Ryan. (You should be able to click on the picture to make it bigger). It kind of has a "picnic" theme to it. Keep in mind that other than a wall-hanging - this is my first ever quilt. I learned quite a bit. Also keep in mind that I made the decision that I couldn't go for perfection - if I wanted to ever finish it anyway.

Here is the 2nd one I did for my neice, Kate. Her mom, Gaia, knew I was doing these quilts and came over and picked out some squares from my HUGE collection that I have aquired from ebay as well as LOTS of trips to local and not as local fabric shops. I think I bought 70 1/4 yards of various fabrics plus kits purchased from ebay.
And the last one I made was for my nephew, William. Gaia mentioned that William would probably want to put the quilt on his bed so I tried to make it a little bigger. I also skipped the sashing and did solid blue squares (thanks to Rebecca for the idea and sample). Because of a sewing machine malfunction I took a long break between quilts 2 and 3 and didn't finish William's quilt until 2 days before we left for our trip. But, it did get done! Now, I just need to make one for my own daughter.

Side note: I'm really starting to feel the pressure of this new baby coming (due March 26). I feel like there are so many things I want and need to get done before she comes! AHH! Baby steps, baby steps....

California Christmas

TIME FOR A NEW BLOG!

We had a nice Christmas in California this year to visit Chris' dad and stepmom. We almost missed our plane getting there (several people in front of us were trying to get to Denver during their snowstorm), and had and eventful plane ride - but we made it afterall. Ava is Chris' dad's first grandchild so it was nice for us to be able to spend Christmas together.

They live in Vallejo which is near the bay area. We spent a day in San Francisco's Union Square and then went to Pier 39. We ate at MY diner, a 50's style place, and went to a cool store called Hannspree, pic below.

What a cool little frog seat. Ava, of course thought it was fun to sit on him.

At Pier 39, they have a huge two-level carousel. Ava absolutely loved riding on it, saying "Whee" almost the entire time, then pleading for more rides. We were going to ride it again but went instead to see the famous sea lions before it became too dark. We taught Ava the sound for a sea lion and listened to it for the rest of the trip...that was funny!

Christmas morning was fun. Ava had a TON of presents to open. I think she got a little overwhelmed. She figured out how to do it and got the hang of it, although she wanted to open and play with each present right away. That was hard to understand. Ava took the loot in the Little Mermaid category - mermaid blanket, sleeping bag, tea set, cd player, purse set, dinnerware, cups, then a mermaid tent from my parents, a mermaid chair from Aunt Gina, a mermaid dress, and yesterday, cousin William gave her a Flounder pillow. I'm probably leaving something out but you can see it was lots of MERMAID stuff! She loved every bit of it.

Christmas Eve we went to Chris' stepmom (Jenny's) parents' house for Crab - Chris loved that. Then, we had a nice Christmas dinner at their (Will & Bonnie)'s house. We had a nice time. This is our best shot at a Christmas family picture. OH well. :)

Chris' dad helps head security at the C&H Sugar Refinery in Crockett. On our last day, we went to visit him at work. PIC: Chris, Ava, Chris's sister, Liz, and their dad, Glenn. Ava loved the Culligan water station - we kept having to get her refills and replacing the little cone-shaped paper cups. She thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Grandpa George let Ava put on his safety glasses and we found a hat to complete her look.

We had a nice visit in CA and enjoyed meeting back with some of my family back in KS. -Other than the hassles of airports and air travel: lost Chris' luggage on the way there and then lost Ava's box of presents and her carseat on the way back. All of the items were delivered shortly after being lost - they had to give us a "loaner" carseat so we could get back home, then delivered hers later.