4th of July Pictures

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Elise

We spent most of the 4th of July holiday weekend visiting my grandparents in Iowa. This isn’t going to be a long post, because it’s late and I should go to bed, but I wanted to get some pictures up before it’s long past the event.

Can you believe that I actually managed to be organized enough to pack red, white and blue outfits for the kids and no one managed to soil their clothes before we sat everyone on the front steps to snap a few pictures? It was a 4th of July miracle!

Ignore my arms in the next photo. The girls decided it was too hard to hold Caleb and wave flags at the same time.

We spent a large portion of the 4th at the pool. The girls thought it was great, although they were actually a bit cold when they had to get out of the water since it was pretty windy. I thought it was perfect though since I was wearing Caleb in his baby carrier. I’ve never been much of a baby wearer, but I really enjoyed the fact that I could keep Caleb close to me and still walk around a play photographer at the same time. Maybe I’ll become a baby carrier convert yet.

We let the kids stay up late to go sit in a field next to the fairgrounds and watch the fireworks. Everyone enjoyed them. Even Caleb thought they were intriguing. We thought he might cry when they started, but he just looked and looked, right up until the end when they shot off a bunch at once and then he decided it was too loud for his liking, so we covered his ears for him.

And of course, the best part of the trip was getting to spend time visiting with Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Jim, and eating all of the delicious food Grandma cooked up for us. The girls were especially pleased to be served dessert with every meal. I should have taken a picture of the homemade strawberry ice cream and star shaped sugar cookies, but alas, I was too excited to taste it to bother finding my camera, so you’ll just have to imagine. Yum!

I did get a picture of the kids with their great grandparents though, which is really more important.

Thanks again for a great time, Grandma and Grandpa! The girls are already talking about everything they want to do “next time” in Iowa.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

Happy Father’s Day!

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Elise

Happy Father’s Day, to the best Daddy in the whole wide world!

With Love,

Your Three Little Stinkers

Caleb’s One Week Update

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Elise

Caleb John turned one week old on Wednesday. Happy Birthday, Caleb!

When I told Alethea that Caleb was turning one week old, she wondered if we would have a party. No party, but we did do a photo session with my little muscle bound man…

Caleb had his first well-child check-up and at six days old he was 9lbs 9oz, 21.25 inches and had a 38 cm head circumference. That puts him in the 92nd percentile for weight and 94th for height. And naturally he’s in the 99th percentile for head circumference, because he is a Bobble Head Baby.

His pediatrician declared him “perfect” and said that since he’s doing well and already made it back to his birth weight plus an ounce, she doesn’t need to see him again until he’s one month. Yay!

And he is doing really well. He eats a lot (every 2 hours during the day) and is sleeping well during the night. I feed him before I go to bed around 10:30 or 11pm and then he does a 3am feed and a 6am feed and then gets up with the girls and me around 8 or 9am. I’m officially calling that up two times during the night, despite the fact that Peter says 6am doesn’t count as a night time feed. But whatever, I’m never up at 6am if I can possibly help it, so I’m counting it as two.

During the day he has an awake period in the morning and then around dinner time and one more during the late evening. He does prefer to be held when he’s awake, but he’s generally pretty good if you need to put him down for a bit.

And here is his “who are these people and please tell me I’m not related to them” expression…

Sorry kiddo, you are related to us. I think he most strongly resembles Alethea at this point, other than the fact that he has deep stormy gray eyes, as opposed to her bright blue. The resemblance is especially strong when they both are wearing their contemplative faces…

It can’t be all bad being related to us though. He’s got the whole family, sisters included, wrapped around his little baby fingers. The other night at bedtime, when we asked Alethea what the best part of her day was, she replied, “Seeing my baby brother.” Then she added, “That’s always the best part of my day now.”

Lydia thinks he’s pretty great too and will hover around him saying his name over and over and trying to get him to look at her. I’m excited for him to start smiling and laughing. I’m sure the girls are going to love that!

So far we’ve discovered that Caleb likes eating, sleeping, Mommy, and having his hair washed. He does not like being naked, having his diaper changed, or being asked to wait when he wants to nurse. He is deeply offended if you offer him a pacifier.

There you go. Our sweet Caleb John’s first week in a nutshell. Now on to week two…

This and That

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Elise

Just a few not necessarily congruent thoughts on the last week…

We are home from the hospital. And so glad to be home. Peter and the girls surprised me and Caleb with a balloon bouquet on the mailbox for our homecoming. It was very sweet and the girls were super proud of themselves for their part in the plan.

Caleb continues to be a pretty easy baby. He likes to eat and he likes to sleep. And we like that he likes it.

The girls absolutely adore Caleb. They want to constantly give him hugs and kisses. So far there doesn’t seem to be any resentment towards him. Peter and I have had some emotional turmoil directed toward us however.

We have been trying to do some fun things that aren’t all about Caleb as a way of keeping peace in the house. One of those is the introduction of a bike trailer as a fun daddy/daughter activity for Peter and the girls. The girls have decided that it is their “carriage”. When Peter told me about their terminology, he added, “You know what that makes me, right?”

Some people have asked if Caleb’s nickname is going to be C.J. and the answer is that we are planning on just calling him Caleb. Alethea and Lydia however call him “Baby Brother”, “Baby Caleb”, or just “Baby K”. I actually favor the later as a nickname since it hints at a future career as a hip hop artist.

Overall, this first week of being a mother to three has gone as well as I could have hoped and better than I expected. I’m hoping that as we enter week two, we’ll be able to settle into a bit more of a routine and tame some of the emotional upheaval the girls seem to be experiencing.

Planning to take one-week pictures of Caleb tomorrow. In the mean time, enjoy these of the girls playing outside this afternoon…

Thanks for stopping by!

24 Hour Update

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Elise

Caleb is nearly 24 hours old now and I am completely in love with this little guy! Not only is he a total cutie, but thus far he’s been eating and sleeping like a champ.

He reserves crying for something really offensive like when he managed to scratch himself on the cheek, or when the doctor took of his clothes and he got cold. Other than that, he’s either eating, sleeping, or looking around with a slightly perplexed look on his face.

Big sister Alethea thinks Caleb is great. She’s only upset that I’m not coming home at night and bringing him with me. This morning she was crying because I’d decided to spend one more night in the hospital, so she declared she was going to stay overnight too. When I pointed out that there was only one bed, she decided that she was going home to get her sleeping bag and would camp out on the floor.

Lydia has been going back and forth on whether having Caleb around is a good thing. When she arrived to visit this morning, she ran right over to him, smiling and cooing. Then a little later she declared that she didn’t want to be his big sister. Then another while later, she was holding him and giving him kisses.

Regardless of Lydia’s wavering opinion, Peter and I agree that he’s a keeper!

We love every bit of his 20.5 inches…

Including his goofy faces…

We’ll be headed home tomorrow morning after we get through discharge. Alethea is so excited to surprise him by showing him his room! Hope he likes it!

Introducing: Caleb John

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Elise

We are happy to announce the arrival of our son, Caleb John!

Arrival: June 4, 2014, 5:10pm
Stats: 9lbs, 8oz, 20.5 inches long, 15 inch head circumference

Big sisters think he’s a “sweet baby brother”.

Mom and Caleb are doing well. Happy to finally be an official family of five.

He already is showing a talent for getting his thumb in his mouth!

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers today. It helped to know there were so many people rooting for us!

More pictures tomorrow!

Here We Go

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Elise

9:25am. Just starting Pitocin. Not really anything to report. Really like my nurses. Really hate being hooked up to machines.

And because this would be a rather boring update otherwise, here’s a couple pictures of the girls taken at the beginning of April. Hard to believe that less than two months ago we still had snow on the ground.

Can’t wait to share pictures of Baby Boy too!

Due Date

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Elise

T-minus one hour until the end of Baby Bob’s due date and so far he’s a no show. So in the absence of newborn photos, here are a few recent favorites of the girls.

Alethea had her first piano recital a few weeks ago. She was really nervous and expressed a lot of concerns ranging from playing the wrong notes to, “What if I forget how to sit at the piano and I sit on my knees and my legs fall asleep?!!” However, her fears turned out to be unnecessary, since she played wonderfully and amused everyone with her enthusiastic bowing and adjusting of the bench.

Lydia has been learning new skills too. She knows how to spell her name, likes to draw pictures of princesses, and can put on clothes and shoes by herself, although the shoes don’t always end up on the right feet. We might need to do a little work on measurements with both girls though. The other day, Alethea and Lydia were playing with my tape measure, checking out the kitchen wall when Alethea asked, “How many inches does this weigh?” Very seriously, Lydia replied, “That inches is three dollars.”

Both girls continue to be good eaters, although Lydia is the more adventurous of the two. Alethea adores raw fruits and vegetables though. In fact, tonight she ate her whole dinner and then asked for some watermelon and proceeded to devour 10 slices!

Alethea’s favorite activities currently include drawing, singing, dancing, and playing princesses. She sometimes combines the the singing, dancing and princesses by belting out tunes from “Frozen” with great gusto. I’m thinking she might end up on Broadway someday. Although the weather has taken a major turn for the better lately, she’s not a huge fan of being outside now since she doesn’t like the mosquitoes and is absolutely terrified of bees and wasps.

Lydia also enjoys drawing, singing, and princesses to some degree, but she loves being outside and has an affinity for nearly every living creature. She enjoys helping me in my garden, most especially if we dig up earthworms. You should hear her giggle in delight whenever we discover one. You’d think we were unearthing kittens. She always insists on holding and talking to them.

My favorite part about being mom to these two beautiful girls is that they are truly the best of friends. I know having a baby brother around is going to shake things up, but I hope nothing will ever change the fact that, despite the occasional squabble, these two would rather be with each other than with anyone else.

We are all excited to become a family of five. Alethea and Lydia agreed today that they want their brother to come so they can see what he looks like. I promised them that he’s coming soon. You hear that, Baby Boy? Soon!

Will be updating as soon as there is anything to report. Stay tuned!

A Birthday Baseball Game

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Elise

Yesterday was Peter’s birthday, so we had people over for a joint Mother’s Day/Birthday celebration. It was a nice time spent with our families. However, since it’s a bummer to always share your birthday, we went to a Twins game last weekend, just the five of us (Bob was there too even if he couldn’t see what was going on), for a Birthday Only celebration.

The girls were really excited at the prospect of going to a game, and even reluctantly consented to wearing pants. (They almost always wear dresses or skirts, because they insist that’s what princesses wear.)

It was a 1:10 game, so we got them a each a kids meal for lunch on our way in. The hot dog, chips and small drink bought us 2.5 innings in our seats.

I knew the girls would be excited to see T.C. I was hoping he would show up on our side of the stadium about mid-game so we’d have a distraction to look forward to. Unfortunately he came at the bottom of the 1st, which means we spent eight innings answering the question, “Where did T.C. go?!?” We couldn’t have asked for better weather though. It was actually a little hot sitting in the sun.

A bag of kettle corn bought us another inning and a half, after which we took the girls up to the concourse to get out of the sun and walk around a little bit. We spent several innings in the shade, during which time the girls found themselves in need of the family restroom multiple times. Twins runs scored when each parent was in the bathroom with the girls… Elise 4, Peter 0. Apparently me not seeing the good parts is key to the Twins winning. But at least they did win, and we were back in our seats to watch the fireworks go off.

Then there was taking the obligatory down-by-the-field photo. (They are smiling so nicely because a lady heard me trying to coax them to smile and told them that she bet their Mommy would give them a dollar if they smiled. Clearly she doesn’t know their Mommy.)

Since it was kids day, they were invited onto the field to run the bases. They were excited about it at first, but much less so when they realized they weren’t going to be allowed to run all over the grass.

Then it was time for the long walk back to the parking garage, which proved to be a bit too long for one little fan.

But that’s okay. With no major melt-downs we are calling the outing a success.

Happy birthday, Peter! There’s no one with whom I’d rather spend my all my Twins games (which roughly translated means, I love you very very much!)

Three Weeks and Counting

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Elise

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant. Just three weeks left until my due date, May 29th. Of course, I can’t know if Baby Boy will show up early or not. I’m 1-2cm dilated, but my midwife says that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. In any case, I’m physically ready to be done, but my to-do list is still quite long, so I’ve been trying to knock out as many things as I can before returning to those sleep deprived newborn days.

Of course, it’s harder to knock things off a to-do list when you’re nine months pregnant and your belly closely resembles that of a giant teddy bear…I shouldn’t complain. I feel very blessed to be expecting a healthy full-term baby boy. I’ve gained less than thirty pounds and can still wear my wedding ring, which was not the case at this point with either of the girls. This pregnancy still feels harder to me though. I don’t know if it’s because I’m over 30 now, because it’s the third time around, or because I’ve got two other kids to keep up with, but yeah, I’m exhausted.

Alethea and Lydia seem more or less ready to make the transition to a family of five. They enjoy giving my belly kisses, and telling perfect strangers about their baby brother who is coming. Alethea has really been on board from the start. I think she’s so confident in managing her sister that she figures it can’t be much more work to be in charge of two. She seems very eager to be Mommy’s helper.

Lydia on the other hand, up until about a month ago, kept telling me that she did not in fact want a baby brother, she wanted another sister. Fortunately, that has ended and more recently she has started saying things about helping her brother walk and discussing where his car seat will go in our new-to-us larger vehicle that we purchased to accommodate three car seats.

Besides the new vehicle, we’ve also managed to acquire a fairly complete first year’s wardrobe for our little guy. We have a couple wonderful neighbors who were getting rid of their baby boy clothes and gave me first dibs on them. Between that, the things we already owned that were gender neutral, some gifts, and a few Target clearance finds, other than getting a few more 0-3 month sleepers, I’m about done with the “Find Boy Clothes” item on my to-do list. And everything is even washed and put away! Sweet little hats that probably will never fit my baby’s head… awwww…

As far as the nursery update goes, I’m not as far along as I’d hoped I’d be, but we have made some progress. I bought the airplane fabric I was eyeing and my mom came over and helped me turn it into drapes, or rather, I helped her turn it into drapes. (Let’s just be honest about who did more of the work.) I also went to Home Depot and bought galvanized pipe to make a curtain rod, which I spray painted last weekend (never fear, while wearing an OSHA approved respirator). Now we just need to get the rod and curtains up, then pin the curtains at the correct length, take them down to do the hem and put them back up again. Sounds fun, right?

So not too much has changed in the nursery. I have gotten most of the girly accessories out, although I still haven’t made any decisions on the artwork situation, hence the continued presence of that bit of pink.

I did find bookends on eBay to fit the new theme. I love them, but I just can’t decide if I leave the current paint job or do something else. Spray paint them a solid color, perhaps bronze? Paint just the red parts with a color that better matches the rest of the room? Maybe go bold with a fun green to liven things up?

So that’s where things stand at 37 weeks. Just for fun, and because I’m running out of mental decision making energy, leave me a comment and let me know whether I should paint the bookends and if so, what color. Opinions please!

BobbleHeadBaby

Category Archives: Alethea Margaret