Week 7

I say it every week, but it's hard to believe that our little baby is seven weeks old now!

Hanging with her Grandma... in her "Grandma's favorite" onesie!

She decided she was too big to sleep in a crib anymore...

She got to be the flower girl in her very first wedding! This weekend she was in Aunt Jessie's wedding. I don't have many pictures because I was trying to get me ready and her ready, and she spent most of the pre-wedding time screaming. But she did look adorable in her flower girl dress, and she was asleep by wedding time, so there was no screaming then. The cool thing was the girls got to dress in the nursery, so there was a swing that Elena got to hang out in, at least long enough for me to take this picture, and then she started screaming again. But check out the shoes! :) So cute!

Baby feet... so sweet
And, of course, it was Halloween this week, so she got to dress up as a pumpkin. Here she is with her daddy, who, if you can't tell, is dressed as "The Bomb" (see the hat with a fuse). She got to go to the youth party at church, and was passed around to everyone, and got to hang out with baby Lilly, who was dressed as a ladybug.
Look how big she is! She was hanging out with Uncle Charlie after the Halloween party.

All in all, this has been a very different week for us. The trip to Springfield was good, but it was very tiring for all of us, especially Elena. I think she got tired of being out of routine, and she spent a lot of time in her car seat or swing while we decorated, rehearsed, got dressed, etc. So she was pretty cranky for most of it, which just stressed me out. But it all went fine, and she was adorable. Then Monday I had to go back to work, and leave her at daycare. That was, obviously, really hard. But it's been ok. It's not great, but it's ok. It's hard knowing that someone else spends more time with my daughter then I do. But seeing her eyes light up when I come to get her or come to nurse her lets me know that she still knows that I'm her mommy. And we did get her first piece of fridge art... on Halloween they did "arts and crafts" and sent home a piece of paper with her footprints on it. And they take good care of her. So really, everything is fine. And it still amazes me how fast she grows... but now she's hungry, so I must go, duty calls! :)

P.S. For those of you always complaining about "more pictures of the peanut" (ahem, Jessica Apostle), remember that I upload all of my pictures from each week at elenaanne.shutterfly.com. Email me for the password if you don't have it!

My View

When I look in my rearview mirror, this is what I see, and it makes me happy every time (even when she's screaming her head off).

On another note, for those of you wondering... today was a better day then yesterday, although still not good. The bummer of today was that I was in an all day meeting across town, so I didn't get to nurse her at lunch time. But I made it through the day, and I was so excited to get out of my meeting and head across town to pick her up I almost couldn't stand it. I guess it will keep getting easier, although it probably won't ever be easy.

Really Hard

Well, today I went back to work. The work part I enjoyed, since I really like my job. Unfortunately, I can't bring my sweet baby with me, so I had to leave her at daycare. No matter how much we liked the daycare we picked out, it killed me to leave her there.

They were really nice about it, they told me to stay as long as I wanted to. But the longer I stayed, the more I cried. So I just waited until she was asleep (she was already pretty asleep when I got there) and handed her off. But I couldn't go to work sobbing, so I thought I'd grab a cup of coffee... not helpful. So I went to Mom's work instead. I needed a hug, and someone who had been there to tell me it was ok and she would be ok and it would get better. Mom and Sherry and Carrie told me all those things, then we talked a little. And I managed to get all the way to work without crying. But then the first person I saw in my office said "Welcome back! Was it hard to leave her?" To which I wanted to say, "No, I enjoyed leaving my 6 week old baby whom I love more than I thought possible with total strangers so that I could come back to work even though all I really want is to be able to stay home with her and the last six weeks have been nearly perfect for me." But all I said was Yes, and, of course, teared up again. However, my boss was really sweet, she told me to make whatever adjustments to my schedule that I needed to make. And all of my immediate coworkers were really nice, too. They got me flowers and a gift certificate to Super Suppers, which was really sweet. And they were very understanding all day; nobody really expects me to do a lot of after school stuff for a couple of weeks. So once I got to work, I was a lot better. And I got to go see Elena at lunch and nurse her, which was really nice.

I think her first day at daycare went better for her than for me! She slept a lot, and ate, and sat in the swing... sounds like a good day for a baby! I've never been so excited to see her as I was when I got to go pick her up. Tomorrow may be a little rougher, because I have an all day meeting, so I won't be able to go nurse her at lunch. But, hopefully, I'll make it through without too much trouble. Either way, I guess I'll get used to it, and it'll get better.

Six Weeks

Well, this will be a short post because I'm supposed to be packing for Springfield right now, not posting on the blog! :) But I couldn't resist a 6 week post, because I can't believe my baby girl is that old already! So here are a few pics from her sixth week of life!

We went to Shelter Gardens for a walk. Both of us needed it- she was cranky and I was stir crazy. So we headed out. Not that she knew she was there, because she did this most of the walk! But it was good for both of us!

It's been cold here the last couple of days, so whenever we went out she was all bundled up. She looks so adorable in this little green outfit, and the bib and the hat just made her that much cuter! The hat, since you can't tell, says "Got Milk?" across the front.

Aunt Yaya came over to make sure her flower girl dress fit... We wrestled Elena into it, and she promptly yakked all over it! But it came out, and the dress is still adorable on her! Here's hoping she doesn't scream all the way down the aisle!

She practiced looking "thug-tastic" in her carrier.
Rested on Daddy, the best place to lay!
Read (or chewed on) her favorite book... that darn Mommy is already pushing books on the poor baby! :)

Well, it was kind of a bittersweet week, since it was my last week home with her. On Monday I have to go back to work. :( I am definitely learning that there is some give and take... This week, Monday was not a very good day for us. Elena was cranky the whole day (I think she wasn't feeling very well, because she went through a lot of diapers and spit up several times). Her being cranky makes me cranky, because I spend all day doing the "baby jiggle" and everything else I know of to help her feel better, and nothing works. Plus, Josh was gone all evening, so it continued all evening as well. And Truman was mad about something (probably the baby crying all day) so he tipped over every water glass he could find if left unsupervised (and, sometimes, while supervised) for more then a minute. So it was an ugly day all around. But then yesterday Elena was all smiles. She was content to hang out in her swing, her bouncy seat, being held, laying on the floor, whatever you wanted her to do. It was a day I definitely needed! Today we went to visit Midway Elementary and hung out with all of the teachers for lunch. I am very sad to have to go back to work on Monday, I think the only thing saving my sanity is knowing that she will be so close.

Someone asked me today if I could remember what life was like without her, and I really can't. She has so quickly become a part of us that it's hard to imagine life without her. It's unbelievable the amount of love we can feel for something so small, that can't even talk to us. But contentment for me is taking a nap on the couch under an afghan with a baby on my chest. Life just doesn't get much sweeter...

Really Cool!

Well, this came in the mail last week and was really exciting! My daughter is a real live person now! :) Not that she wasn't before, but there was something cool about getting a social security card for her in the mail.

Short and Stocky?!

Elena and I went to her checkup yesterday. We actually spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings in doctors' offices between my check. up, a glucose test (gag), and her checkup. But her's was definitely the most exciting. Everybody was excited to see what she weighs now. So, here are her stats...

weight: 8 lbs, 13 oz
length/height: 20 7/8"

So, she's grown an inch and 5/8, but gained 2 pounds!! So she's now in the 25th percentile for height and the 45th for weight! Which is what led Dr. Garb to say she was short and stocky! To which I thought, "Well, she comes by that honestly!" She let him know exactly how powerful her lungs were when he examined her ears. She screamed like I've never heard her scream before. Now I'm really not looking forward to the next appointment, when she'll be getting shots!

5 Weeks

Well, Elena is 5 weeks old now. As with the first 4 weeks, week 5 was a busy week!

She had her first bottle. Which was pretty ugly the first time, but she's practically a pro at it now!

She went to her first big youth event, and her first football game (at the same time). We went to the HHS vs RB Providence Bowl, then to the church for a lock-in. Yes, Elena stayed all night. She really just followed her normal schedule. I, on the other hand only got 2 hours of sleep!

It was chilly during the game, so we had to break out the warm clothes. This is an adorable fleece outfit from Aunt Jessica. It fit surprisingly well, except for the hood! If we put the hood on she looked like a Jedi! We did realize that with a green outfit, a green blanket, and a green stroller. she was all decked out in the wrong colors! But she was warm, and we sat on the Hickman side, so it was clear who she was rooting for!

she also got to wear her first Halloween onesie... Who said horizontal stripes aren't flattering?!

And, most importantly, she practiced her "Josh face"

Anyway, it was a great week. My last full week at home, since we leave for Springfield on Wed. next week. She's changing so fast, she holds up her head a lot more. And she smiles a lot, though I don't know if she's really doing it on purpose. She is also definitely showing her temper. She has the stiff-as -a-board, back arched, screaming routine down pat! our life is going to be very interesting! But, even in the midst of a screaming tantrum, we still love her!