Baby Shower

Last weekend, my sister's friend Lauren and I got to throw her baby shower. I think that I was more excited to throw a shower for somebody else than I was for my own! It was a very relaxed and fun shower, and I think that everybody had a good time. Only a month left until Lily's due date...so hard to believe!

Lauren, Jaime and I

The diaper cake I constructed after watching YouTube videos. The shoes, while completely impractical for a newborn, are crazy cute.

The coconut cake Lauren ordered from Whole Foods. It is, perhaps, the best cake ever! I saved WW points all week for this cake.

Lily's first Seahawks clothes! Now if only we could forget about last week's game...

A cousins onesie for Lily. Jillian and Hayden wore their matching shirts to the shower. I have a dream of getting a picture of all three of them in their shirts. Uh yeah, we'll see how well that goes!

I ordered the most adorable piggy bank from AndrewandElla Designs off etsy.com. It was hand painted to match the bedding set Jaime chose. On the other side it says Lily. I got the customized piggy bank idea from my friend Jenny who got one for Hayden. Jillian has one on order to, as she broke the cheap one we got her from Target. *sigh*

The blanket I knitted for Lily also to match her room. It is the Dreamcatcher pattern by Susan B. Anderson. I'll try to remember to do a post just on making this blanket, because it really deserves one.

Jillian made friends during the shower. Here she and Peyton are bouncing on the ottoman. I love the look on my grandmother's face in the background.

Great Grandma Gene and Hayden

There is one seriously cute baby bump. Compare this to the size she was just a few months back.

Jaime with her friends Jamie, Allison, Jeana and Lauren. These girls have been friends since high school!

Jaime and her practice baby. Of course using Hayden (aka the easiest baby on earth) for practice is entirely misleading.

Oh and thanks Jeramy for deciding to pick up that external flash on a whim when buying my portrait lens. It makes for awesome indoor pics!

Losing It

You might notice a new ticker in the corner. I'm losing it. Weight that is, and not my sanity. Although some days it may feel like both.

I have a lot of weight to lose, and I'm going to bare all the facts to you. I don't like to beat around the bush. I was 140 lbs at my lowest weight as an adult, and that was in 2004. Then I started grad school while working full-time and gained a lot of weight. After I finished I grad school, I tried to get pregnant which didn't go so well, and I gained weight. Then I actually got pregnant, and gained weight. And then I got pregnant again, and gained some more. After Hayden's birth, my weight leveled off around 225 lbs. Not good.

I am an emotional eater. What ever negative feeling I might have whether it be upset or boredom, I address by eating. I've reached the point where I'm feeling very unhealthy and unattractive. Even worse, I'm setting a bad example for my girls.

I have lost weight before by counting calories and cutting back on portion sizes. I don't believe in fad diets or self deprivation. It is about changing eating habits. This time around it has been very difficult for me to gain the momentum needed to start losing weight. I would count calories for a day or two, "mess up", get depressed, and eat some more rather than get back on the saddle.

Needing to do something different, I joined weight watchers online. I'm cheap, so I figured that if I was paying for it, I would make an effort to stick with it. Plus I'm telling everybody around me what I am doing so they can hold me accountable. Because I hate to say I am doing something and then not do it. So far this approach seems to be working, and I have lost 5 lbs in a couple of weeks. I fully expect my weight loss to slow down a bit to the recommended 1-2 pounds a week. It always seems to come off quicker at the very beginning of a diet.

I'm feeling better already. It is strange but even though I haven't lost much weight yet, just eating healthier leaves me feeling skinnier.

23 Months

Dear Jillian,

It is so hard for me to believe that we are only a month away from your second birthday. So close in fact that I have stopped referring to you in months, because somehow saying 23 months sounds silly. Instead I say my almost-two-year-old, but of course that kind of sounds silly too. I could just keep it simple and say my two year old, but I can't quite do it. God knows that it would be a pretty accurate statement, as it feels like we are in the terrible two's already.

These days our biggest challenge is that your cognitive skills haven't caught up with your motor skills. You have learned to jump, but don't yet understand that jumping on the couch is not appropriate. You know where your ears are, but don't realize that jamming a Q-tip in them will hurt. You know how to take off all clothes (onesies and diapers included) and love to be naked. Unfortunately you don't yet understand the concept of the potty despite our efforts, and so you pee on the floor. You are bringing back memories of housetraining Cujo, and let me tell you that was a very stressful time for me that I'd rather not repeat.

You love your baby sister very much. You call her "baby" and "sissy". When we ask you who Hayden is you point to her, but you will not say her name. If we start the bath, you will grab Hayden's tub so that she can join you. You love your baby doll, and we often find you feeding her a bottle, swinging her (rather roughly) in the swing, or setting her in the bouncy seat or jumperoo. Last night when I put you in your crib you handed your baby to me. Apparently you do not co-sleep.

95% of the time you are a walking disaster. Your face is dirty. Your hair is wild. Water has been poured down your front side because you insist on drinking from our cup or water bottle with no help from mom or dad thankyouverymuch. Food stains are everywhere. I refuse to buy white clothes, and in fact I'm not sure why they make anything white for toddlers at all. You have recently learned to wash your hands, so maybe this situation will improve at some point.

Daddy calls you a walking techno because you are always on the move. Despite that you are a snuggler too offering hugs and kisses to everybody around you. My favorite times are when you are tired and snuggled up in my lap watching TV. Before you were born I could never have comprehended how much I enjoy holding you and loving you.

The one thing I ask of you is that perhaps you could cooperate a little more when I'm taking pictures, so I get fewer photos like this:


Love,

Mom

She's a Fatty

Jeramy took Hayden in for her 4 month check-up and shots last week. I suspected that she's a big girl since she is nearly in size 3 diapers and in size 6-9 month clothing, and the stats confirmed it:

Height: 25.75" (90th percentile)
Weight: 16 lbs 12 oz (95th percentile)
Head circumference: 17.25 (100th percentile)

Not only is she bigger than Jillian was at 4 months, she is a little bigger than Jillian at 6 months (she was 25.75" and 16 lbs 7 oz). When putting tights on her the other day, I threatened that what she really needed were some spanx! She has some serious thunder thighs and fat rolls. And yeah, I'm more than a little jealous that she makes it look cute whereas I make it look...well...not so cute.

She tolerated tummy time long enough the other day to show us that she is fully capable of rolling from front to back, and I can tell that rolling back to front will come as soon as she can move that pesky arm out of the way.

Oh my...it is going by way to fast.

Nearing the end of Summer Weekends

It is the last day of August and the weather is already starting to feel colder here in Seattle. Today it is gray and soggy. I sure hope that fall hasn't arrived early because summer is so short here and the months of gray seem to stretch on and on. On the bright side, the promise of cooler temperatures managed to lure my grandpa (D-daddy) and uncle up from Alabama for a long weekend. We haven't seen them since we visited when Jillian was just six months old, so between her growth (she couldn't even crawl then), the arrival of Hayden, and the expected great granddaughter #3 in a couple of months there had been a few changes.

Despite the cooler temperatures, the rain held off long enough for a BBQ at my Aunt's house on Sunday. It was sure good to catch up even if it meant that Jillian only got a 5 minute nap all day long (ugh). The highlight of the evening was when Jeramy delivered the enormous bottle of scotch that D-daddy bought from our friends who were moving. He loves his scotch, and this bottle was so big that it required a cradle for pouring.

Hopefully we can visit again before all these girls have graduated high school!

D-daddy and his scotch

Hayden napping on Aunt Jaime with cousin Lily kicking her from the inside

My Uncle Bob and the girls. Jillian wasn't too cooperative about pictures but if Hayden does it, she often will too.

Hayden and her great Uncle Bob

Hayden and D-daddy. Well to her maybe he is "great D-daddy"

Jillian and D-daddy

Jaime and her practice baby Hayden...a deceivingly easy practice baby

Jaime and D-daddy

She's getting big!

A tired Jillian looking to watch some Elmo

She loves herself some ranch dip.

Once we got home we caved and let her watch Sesame Street before bed

4 Months

Dear Hayden,

No matter how many times I witness it, I will never get over the growth trajectory of a newborn. It is truly amazing how much you have grown and changed over the past four months as the below picture with your newly arrived friend Michael demonstrates. It is true that you had a few pound advantage from the beginning. But still you look like an absolute giant compared to him. A completely adorable giant that is.

This past month you have continued to prove yourself to be the most easy-going baby that ever lived. You rarely fuss and share your huge gummy grins often. You think daddy is funny. You think I'm funny. You even sometimes think your big sister is funny. When your smile breaks out, your eyes light up with indescribable happiness.

Now the next part I hesitate to say out loud. And really, if any other baby mommies are reading, I suggest they skip the next paragraph. It seems that you have decided that sleeping through the night would be a great thing to start doing. So great, in fact, that I don't remember you waking up between 9pm and 7am at all this past month. In fact, if you could train your older sister to sleep as well as you do it would be much appreciated. I can even put you in your crib sleepy but awake, and you *gasp* fall asleep. At not even four months old you have attained the holy grail of baby sleep. In truth I expect this to blow up in my face any second now. It just doesn't feel normal for a baby to sleep as well as you do. But for now I will just count my blessings, keep my fingers crossed, knock on wood, search for a four leafed clover and quit speaking of this on my blog.

I owe some of my thanks for your good sleep to your thumb. Yes, my dear, you are quite the thumb sucker. You seemed to show a penchant for your thumb from the time you were in the womb with your head crammed up against my cervix and your hands always in your face. Upon your exit, I noticed that you possessed the ability to bring your hand to your face, which was very impressive for a newborn. At first you sucked on your hand. Now it is your thumb. I'll often see you wiggling on the video monitor when I'm up in the middle of the night with Jillian, and then a while later I'll see you sleeping with your thumb in your mouth. I'm sure that my excitement over this habit will change years down the road when the orthodontic bills arrive. But really, genetics were not on your side in that teeth department anyhow.

Daddy does complain to me that you do not nap very well for him during the day. It is true that you are a bit of a cat napper at this stage. Certainly no real pattern has emerged in your daily schedule. It doesn't bother me much though because (1) I'm at work all day so it is his problem and (2) you are happy and pleasant to be around no matter how much you do or do not nap.

I think you will be rolling over from back to front soon. When laying on your play mat, you can get all the way up on your side to play with a toy. I suspect that you might be capable of rolling from front to back now, but you dislike tummy time too much to find out. Despite the lack of rolling, you have found other ways to move. A few weeks ago I noticed you were off the play mat, and I reprimanded your sister for moving you. Five minutes later it happened again. I reprimanded her again. Then she went outside. Five minutes later it happened again. That is when it finally clicked in my brain that you were using your legs to propel yourself backwards. Oops! Poor Jillian. Getting in trouble for the things her sister did.

Hayden we are truly lucky to have you for our little girl, and in closing I will share this parade of your smiles so that people can see just how much you light up our lives.

Love,

Mom

I Hate this Guy

Why do little kids think Elmo is the shiz-nit? For the life of me I cannot figure this out. He is the most moronic monster on Sesame Street, can only refer to himself in the third person, has an unhealthy obsession with his goldfish and yet he is like toddler crack. About a month ago, the Elmo addiction invaded our house. Prior to this Jillian could care less about TV unless Wheel of Fortune or the Sleep Country USA commercial was on (she seriously loves that commercial for some unknown reason). Now, at least a dozen times a day, she brings us the TV remote saying "Elmo, Elmo!" Smart kid. She knows that we have episodes recorded. The second we start directing the TV to the DVR screen showing Big Bird she screams with delight. Then it's "Elmo" this and "Elmo" that. Until Abby the flying fairy comes on. For some inexplicable reason Jillian detests Abby. She'll say "No! Abby no! Arrrghhh! Abby no!" and then she'll bring you the remote again demanding that you fast forward past the Abby segment.

We only have about a dozen episodes of Sesame Street recorded so Jeramy and I know them all. We can sing along with the songs. We know the words, numbers and letters of the day. We know the names of all the monsters. Even worse, we know the names of all the people too. We know all the different segments (personally, I like Murray Had a Little Lamb). My God...I didn't even get this much SS watching in when I was three.

Being such responsible parents and paying close attention to all that research admonishing TV for children under two, we have tried widening her television show repertoire to no avail. Any time the TV is on she wants "Elmo" and we either need to distract her, ignore a fit or cave. How about Clifford? Or Dora? Or Sponge Bob? But all I hear is "No, Elmo!"

*sigh*

This is one phase I could do without. At least Hayden is happy to watch whatever I want to see on TV.