Watch Dog

Thanksgiving Leftovers

We had a wonderful time tonight with Rob, Carol, Blane and Karis. We STILL have food left over for lunch tomorrow... cooked way too much. Blane and Lucas acted like wild turkeys, but played well together and had a lot of fun.

Ellen Claire isn't crazy about group pictures... something that she has in common with her big brother. Here is Ellen tonight:

And here is Lucas when he was the same age:

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a cozy Thanksgiving at home this year - just the four of us. It was our first time cooking a turkey and I think we did a pretty darn good job. I don't know how people figured out how to cook a turkey before Gore and the internets - we had to look at youtube videos every step of the way. The videos helped us know what to look for when pulling out the giblets (pronounced with a short g, by the way - like gym - we learned this on dictionary.com) and carving the turkey. It was a lot of work, but turned out fine. The rest of the menu was pretty traditional. We had mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, dressing, roles and pumpkin pie. We had tons of food left over, so we invited the Autrys to come over on Friday to help us eat them.

When we sat down to dinner we toasted "cheers" (Lucas's new thing) and then said what we were thankful for this year. Lucas said that he is thankful for Marbles and throwing rocks : )

Obviously taken by a timer on our camera...

Sweet Babies

First Play Date

Well, it was more of a play date for Lucas, but Ellen and Karis had their first play date picture taken (like Lucas and Blane used to). We will definitely have to go on some family vacations with the Autrys... Blane is 1 week older than Lucas and Karis is 5 weeks older than Ellen.

Ellen (4wks) and Karis (9wks)

big brothers with baby sisters

Proud big brothers!

Sweet Dreams

"I'm hungry!"

Lucas E. and Lucas B. on a walk...

It's hard to be a 5 week old!

Our bed or Ellen's crib?

Months ago I decided that the baby would sleep in her crib from day one and that we would put the crib in our room for the first few months. I didn't think I could handle another 2+ years without good sleep and figured I'd have to have sleep this time since there would be two kids. That plan changed when I started decorating her nursery because the nursery wouldn't have been complete without the cute crib. We decided to get a Moses Basket and put the baby in the basket beside our bed for the first few months. That plan changed on Ellen's first night home when I couldn't help but cuddle up with that sweet angel. So the first few weeks were spent just trying to heal and get as much rest as possible. Ellen slept in her swing, bouncy seat, basket, but mostly in our arms. After our company left and we were in some sort of routine again I started trying to put her in her crib at night. She is so easy going that I figured I'd let her sleep there is she wanted to and not force her to sleep in my bed. I made myself a cot in her room and we spent a week trying out the crib at night. I realized that I was afraid of the crib (since Lucas never slept in one) and kept bringing different seats into her room. I figured at least she was sleeping in her room, even if it wasn't in the crib. Half of this time she'd end up on the floor with me sometime during the night. Then one evening about a week ago I realized how quickly she falls asleep when I have her in the sling. She is really snug in the sling, so I thought I'd try to swaddle her to see if it had the same effect... and it did! The first night that I swaddled her she slept for 3 hours in her crib and then woke up every two hours after that. After about a week of this she's sleeping for about 4 hours during the first stretch (8pm-12am) and then still wakes about every two to three hours after that (usually around 3am and 5am). When she wakes up at 5am I bring her to bed with us for the next few hours.

I'd love for her to sleep with us all night, but I'm co-sleeping impaired... I just can't do it and get good rest. Maybe when they are older and not nursing or making so many noises... I hope so. I still say that there is nothing sweeter than waking up next to your baby.

Here is sweet thing enjoying a lazy morning in mama's bed...

What we are calling her...

Ellen, Ellen Claire, EC, E to the C, Baby Sister, Baby Ellen, Miss Girl

Lucas in the morning before school...

He wanted to pose by Tyson with his reindeer hat.

Snug as a bug...

Big Brother Update

All in all, I think LB is handling the transition to being a big brother pretty well. There were a few rough, tantrum-y days during the third week, but not many since then. The two most challenging things are that he's waking up again one time a night and he doesn't know his own strength around Ellen. He plays with her like she is a 4 year old! I feel like we are constantly saying, "be gentle, not so rough, that's too rough, she's smaller than you, etc." But the important thing is that he completely adores her. He will run past me to see her first, is always asking about her and has a sparkle in his eye when he's talking to her. I think he's really going to enjoy her when she starts giving him some feedback.

Here are some pics of the goofball...

Being silly in the baby carrier with mommy...

Is that Baby Lucas or Baby Ellen?

I was nursing EC the other day and knew that LB was playing in the nursery, but didn't know what he was doing. It turns out that his "project" was to take everything that could possibly be moved and put it in the center of the room. This included the fan, rocking horse, and every.single.thing from her drawers!

1 Month Old!

Our sweet little Ellen Claire is 1 month old today (11/18). She continues to have a sweet, gentle spirit and is so easy to love. I think the love that I have for her is extra special because it was such a surprise. I knew that I'd love my first child like crazy, but didn't know how I'd possibly love any other child as much as Lucas. Love is magical because it just multiplies! Ellen must get a thousand kisses a day from me and I cherish the times when it's just the two of us and I can gaze into her eyes. Kind of mushy, but she's just that sweet.

Here are a few 1 month old stats for Ellen...

- sleeps in her crib for 4-6 hours a night and then in our bed between Jeff and me.

- doesn't take a pacifier or a bottle (although we are trying each day).

- only cries when she wants to be changed, held or is hungry.

- loves her changing table and can stay there for 20 min just looking around the room.

- also likes her bouncy seat and swing (thanks ele!)

- has fallen asleep in the carrier against my chest every time I've put her in it.

- sleeps on her back.

- still has a wobbly head.

- has coo'd a couple of times.

Lucas and Ellen at 1 Month Old - Comparison

My Southern Boy

Lucas had us cracking up last night when it was time to put on his pajamas. Instead of saying that he wanted to put on his pj's he was saying, "I want to put on my pay jayssss."

Jeff was trying to correct him but he kept saying it in his southern accent since we were laughing so hard...

I love my southern boy : )

Outings

I thought that we would keep LB out of school the first few weeks after Ellen's birth since we'd have family in town, but we actually ended up taking him to school most of these days because home was so boring, I was recovering, etc. Now that a few weeks have passed I'm looking forward to keeping him home a couple days a week for outings. This week was kind of a trial run to see if I could handle it because Grandpa was here to help out. We went to Pullen Park and had a great time. I think I could have done it alone. The next day, however, I timed it poorly and we were out too close to Lucas's nap. He had a melt down and I could NOT have handled that alone. Next week I'll have to plan things more carefully...

Here we are at the park...

Lucas and Grandpa on the horsey.

Ellen and me posing for her first train ride.
(Can you tell that getting less sleep is starting to wear on me??!)

Me with the two kiddos.

Grandpa is here!

Headband

First Restaurant

Panera Bread at Brier Creek...

Our first real outing since Ellen

After 3 weeks of being cooped up in the house, we decided to take advantage of the great weather on Sunday and go for a walk/hike at Umstead Park. It was such a successful outing. It felt like pre-Ellen since she just slept the entire time we were gone. We all enjoyed ourselves...

Ellen's 3rd Week

EC, as her dada calls her, is still a really mild tempered baby, but she did become a little more vocal in her 3rd week. I think my mom was here a full day before she heard her cry at all, but in the days following she had a few fussy periods in which she demanded to be held (but was fine if we held her). I told the doc at her checkup last week that my only concern is that she is too good of a baby. He quickly knocked on wood for me : ) I am praying to the baby gods that her laid-backness doesn't change. My friend has a theory that her baby is calm because he wouldn't have survived in her house if he had been high needs and that Lucas is so intense because I have patience and can deal with it. So maybe that is theory is true with Ellen too... I am tapped out on patience and so she has to be calm or her mama will freak out. I should note that I think I have a little bit to do with their temperaments. I was never a nervous nelly with Lucas, but I was a lot more on edge and I'm sure that he sensed it. With Ellen I am so much more relaxed about everything, which gives me more time to just sit and enjoy her. Who wouldn't enjoy this cute little thing? I just want to eat her up when she's all cozy in her girly blankets!

Almost Better

As you may have guessed, we all caught the cold that is going around. Thankfully my mom was in town and I was able to sleep when Ellen slept for most of the week. Lucas has a residual cough and Ellen still has a little stuffy nose, but we're feeling much better. Hopefully I can find more time for the blog now...

3 Week Check Up

Baby Ellen had her 3 week check up on Thursday. She is still a healthy little girl. Here are her 3 week stats. She has gained about a pound since birth and has grown an inch.

Weight: 8.4oz (30%)

Length: 20 3/4 in (50%)

Head Circ: 14 1/2 (55%)

Chillin' with Grandma before school...

Having Fun with Grandma

Election Day

Here she is!

Still as cute and sweet as ever : )