Still here, still here

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the earth...not yet anyway.  It just doesn't seem like there are enough hours in the day to get everything done that I want to get done.  And of course, by the time we get all the kiddos in bed, I'm pretty much ready for bed myself.

The big girls have become obsessed with their birthday as of late.  It must be someone at daycare that alerted them to the fact that their birthday is just around the corner because it sure wasn't us!!  They have a million and one things to say about their birthday. 

"When it's our birthday, we'll be four."
"After our birthday, Santa will come."
"Do we get to open presents for our birthday?"
"We want candles on our birthday cake."
"Do we get to have a party?"
"Can I have Barbie on my cake?" (Addi)
"Can I have Mickey Mouse on my cake?" (Livi)
"Can our friends come to our party?"

Just eight more days and my little girls will be four years old.  Wow. 

And then there's Emmi.  She's such a peanut.  She recently found her fists.  So she enjoys sucking on them whenever they make it toward her mouth.  Just hoping that she doesn't become a thumb sucker!  We already have one of those whose habit we're having a tough time breaking!!  Emmi has also rolled over a couple times lately.  It's nothing terribly consistent...in fact, I'm not quite sure if it's a semi-purposeful thing or not.  Or if she just gets her head too far on one side of her body and momentum takes over!

Here's our little girl yesterday at 2 months old.

And a couple bonus pictures from the past few days.

 

And in case you're wondering why there are very few pictures of the twins...well, they don't sit still long enough for me to take any!!  You can bet there will be birthday pictures though!!

Look who started smiling.....

 

That's right.  This little girl has been flashing us some big ones the past couple of days.  The picture above is the very first smile I could capture with the camera.  So heartwarming.  Nothing like early mornings talking to the baby and she rewards you with a smile like this.  Love her to pieces.

 

Emmi is doing well.  She's a pretty content baby.  She's not the best eater in the world, but what can ya do?  She's a lot like the twins were as babies...she's a snacker.  Rarely does she eat enough to truly fill up her belly.  Instead, she eats just enough to take the edge off and then wants to eat again an hour later.  But she's gaining well.  I would imagine she's about 10 1/2 pounds now, maybe even a little bit more.  So she's getting plenty to eat, it's just happening in about double the amount of feedings that it would otherwise need to!

 

She's a decent sleeper.  She wakes an average of three times a night to eat but she goes right back to sleep.  And that insanely loud moaning/groaning/grunting that she used to do for hours is officially something of the past.  Thank the Lord.  Every now and then she'll throw in a night where she wakes up to be fed and then wants to play.  But for the most part, she's strictly business...as soon as she eats, she dozes off.  So overall, nights with her aren't bad.

 

Can't believe she's quickly approaching two months!  Just one more week.  Ugh.

Monday Night Football

Go, Pack, Go!!!

 

My little helper

I was very curious as to how the big girls would accept a new baby in the house.  When I was pregnant, they talked almost every day about the baby and how big it was getting, when it would come out, what they would do with it, etc.  I worried that the excitement would fizzle the moment the baby arrived.

However, Livi is by far a little mother hen.  She absolutely insists on helping me give Emmi a bath.  It kind of slows the process down, but she truly enjoys being my little helper, so I have to let her!!  When she sees or hears me running the bath water, she immediatelty needs to know if the bath is for Emmi...and if it is, she's right there in the bathroom within seconds. 

Once Emmi is in the tub, Livi asks for baby soap on her hands.  She lathers them together and first washes Emmi's feet.  Then she needs more baby soap, rubs her hands together and washes Emmi's belly.  She wants to wash Emmi's head too, but I haven't let her quite yet.  I tell ya, she is such a nurturing little child.

And here is that little nugget in the tub that Livi loves helping bathe...

And a few extra just because!!

She really pouts that lip sometimes!

Working on holding that head up!

Happy 2nd Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday to a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful baby girl.  This day, two years ago, was one of the most amazing days of my life.  I still remember the first time you opened your eyes and stared into mine.  What an unforgettable moment.  Elliana Jo, you are loved and missed beyond words.  What a special little girl you are and always will be.  Happy Birthday, sweetheart.

 

You were fussing and I remember pressing my lips to your forehead and saying "shh, shh, shh, mama's got you, mama loves you"

 

This is how I imagine you in Heaven - laughing it up with all the other Angels

 

One month old already

Where is the time going?  I simply cannot believe that Emilia is a month old today!  I could definitely use a pause button...or at least a slow motion button.  I feel like we're running in fast forward.  And I don't like it!!

She's doing well.  She's not the best of sleepers, but we've never had a good sleeper.  So I'm pretty gosh darn used to this!  Although she's doing better than she was just a week or so ago.  I can deal with her waking up 4-6 times a night.  What I was having a hard time with were the noises she was making at night.  Now I know that babies moan and grunt in their sleep.  But I've never known a baby to make as much noise as she did!!  She would grunt and groan insanely loud for HOURS!! 

There was a night sometime last week where she did it for 3 1/2 hours straight - from about 2:00-5:30am.  And she was asleep the entire time!!  It was something I was hoping and praying she would outgrow, and knock on wood, but she's been pretty quiet the past few nights.  Still up at least four times...and like I said, I can handle that...just please be quiet in between the wakeups!!

She just started coo-ing a bit in the past couple of days.  She doesn't do it a lot, but when she does, it's so stinking cute!!  And anytime the big girls hear her do it they have to tell me "mommy, Emmi is talking!"

Sporting her "sock-shoes" as the girls call them.

Working hard at this tummy time stuff.

She was moving so fast (hence the blurriness) and playing with her tongue.

Do you think she saw a ghost?

One month old with her bunny.

 



Just a snippet

A couple days ago I took Emmi to work to visit with my coworkers.  While we were there, I decided to weigh her...and our littlest peanut is growing!  At 3 1/2 weeks old, she weighed in at 8lbs 11oz.  Nate didn't think she was gaining weight.  On the other hand, me being the one who carts her around for a good chunk of the day because of nursing, I knew she was getting plumper.  I guessed she'd be about 8 1/2 pounds, so she was just a little heavier than that.  Can someone please find me a pause button? 

Today I took Addi and Livi to a self serve yogurt bar.  The excitement on their faces when they get to pick out which flavor of frozen yogurt they want and then the types of toppings they want is simply precious.  What I find funny is when there's about 15 different flavors to choose from (banana, expresso, mango, blueberry, etc)...what do the girls pick?  Addi wants chocolate and Livi wants vanilla.  Addi loves her chocolate milk.  Livi loves her white milk.  When we go to DQ, Addi wants chocolate ice cream in a cup.  Livi wants vanilla in a cup.  So here we are at this self serve yogurt bar with multiple flavors...and they pick chocolate and vanilla.

That's about it.  More pictures to come soon!!

More camping fun

We went camping for possibly the last time this year.  The big girls stayed with grandma and grandpa on their "bus" (it's an RV) while Nate, Emmi and myself travelled back and forth between the campsite and our house.  Luckily, the campground we've always gone to is only 20 minutes from home.  I'm not sure I would've enjoyed an overnight stay with a 3 week old!

The girls absolutely love camping.  This weekend the campground's theme was a pirate one.  So on Saturday morning the girls got to decorate a pirate hat and a pirate eye patch.  But that's about all they wanted to do with the pirate stuff...instead of actually wearing it, they made grandpa wear it.  Luckily, grandpa was a good sport!!  It's always sad when the weekend comes to a close.

Emilia's first experience camping.

They were tracing each other with chalk.

I think Livi is meditating...I'm not sure she trusts Addi's work!

Walking to the pool.  How sweet.

Pretending to be a seal.

She just yelled at me to stop taking pictures.

Just chilling on the RV.

Pictures!!

10 days old with her Bunny

BIG yawn!!!

Getting ready for bath time!

I know she looks like a sleepyhead, but she's really not!

Don't mind Addi.  She didn't feel like cooperating.

Everything else

So remember when I was talking about the busy week I was supposed to have at the clinic?  The one where Addi had an appt with Audiology on Monday, ENT on Tuesday and followed by my own OB appt on Wednesday?  Well, my OB appt was canceled because little Miss Emmi decided to make her arrival.  However, Addi's appointents still needed to take place.  Emmi's birth put a little curveball into the plans, but we managed to get everything accomplished.

Nate took her to her audiology appointment because I was still in the hospital and Nate's dad stayed home with Livi.  We found out that her hearing has decreased somewhat.  It's not terrible, but it's definitely down from when she had her testing done after her first set of ear tubes.  The following day we saw ENT.  For this appointment, knowing there would be a discussion about a second set of tubes, I wanted to be there.

We were essentially given three options.  First option was to take a wait and see approach because her hearing isn't that bad.  Second option was to schedule the second set of tubes.  The third option was to schedule the second set of tubes in addition to having her adenoids removed.  I guess it's now fairly common to recommend having the adenoids removed if a second set of tubes is warranted.

We've decided to take the wait and see approach.  If it beomes apparent that her hearing is further decreased or if she starts to complain about increasing pain in her ears (she has pain because of the fluid behind the eardrum even without an infection), then we will move forward with tubes.  And if it comes down to having a second set of tubes, we'll likely have her adenoids removed as well.  We're just hoping that we don't even have to go that route!!

Other than that, the girls are doing well.  Livi, my more tenderhearted child, continues to be a little mother hen.  She takes such good care of Emilia.  She covers her up with her blanket, she takes her nuk to her, she strokes her head nicely, etc.  It seems like she's always aware of what Emmi is up to.  She is such a sweetheart!!

Photo Shoot

I have a friend who I used to work with on 7th floor in the hospital who contacted me shortly after Emilia was born asking if she could come take some pictures of our sweet addition.  Of course I jumped at the chance!  She's working on her photography skills and wanted some extra practice with a newborn.  Who could pass up the opportunity?  So here are some pictures of our sweetie at just 5 days old.

And on Friday, at 6 days old, she had her first well baby visit with Dr K.  She's the first of our children to have gained weight by this visit.  The other three girls were still losing weight.  But she actually gained a couple of ounces.  When she was born, she was 7# 10oz.  And when we were discharged from the hospital, she was 7# 3oz.  But at Friday's appointment, she was actually 7# 5oz (and measured at 20 1/2 inches)!  Woo-hoo!!  All the other girls had to go back for weight checks.  But not this sweetie!!

She was also the first of our girls who didn't have to get poked in the heel for a bilirubin check at this visit.  The first three were bordering on jaundice at 5-6 days old.  But her coloring looked completely normal, so we got to escape the clinic without a lab draw.  Hooray!

Overall, Dr K has deemed Emilia perfect...and we agree.

Well........

SHE'S HERE!!!  Our beautiful new addition arrived on August 4th at 11:39pm.  Emilia Lynn weighed 7# 10oz and was 20 inches long.  The older girls predicted all along that this baby was going to be a girl...and they were right.  I have so much more to say, but for now, some pictures will have to make due.



Taken just 1 hour and 40 minutes before the arrival...and I'm still smiling!

First bath.

Two hours old and she has a tendency to purse her lips.

Chilling with mom at 6am.

Sleepy.

Just making sure all my fingers are there!!

Being a day old is rough work.

So precious.

This was the best picture she would let me get of her feet,

The big girls first introduction at home.

They wanted to take her for a walk.

So peaceful.