Happy Birthday Jason!

Happy 28th Birthday!

I love you Jason.

J's CPK

That's "Cabbage Patch Kids" for those of you over age 8. It really does say "CPK" on the box. My mom searched high and low for this particular doll for Jillian.

In case it is hard to see the birth certificate says "Cathy Rozella" and her birthdate is November 17th. That's right, the same day as Jillian. Bravo mom!

Littlest Cheerleader

Go! Fight! Win! Jillian showed her Charger spirit on Sunday and cheered them on to a victory over the Broncos. Thank you Auntie Brenda for the cute Chargers dress.

This is just a great photo showing how Jillian is noticing what is around her. Ron and Sarah let us borrow some baby toys and accessories. I think this is from an activity mat. We keep it on the changing table and shake it to get her attention. Recently she started focusing on it and so now we "play" with it almost every time we change her.

Jillian joined her cousin Ethan in cheering on the Chargers at Grandma Joy and Grandpa Ron's house.

Cheshire Cat

This looked so cute on our little Jilly Bean! Purple and fuschia are her colors. Thank you Tia Marie.

Second Christmas: December 26th

Since we had 2 Christmas Eve celebrations and Ron and Sarah were in L.A. for Christmas Day, we got together again on the 26th to exchange our family gifts. My mom and dad got Jason some cognac. (I was trying to think of a clever Ladies' Man reference but I got nothing. )

I love this photo of Ron and Sarah. They look soooo excited to be there! (In reality they were avoiding the camera.)

My mom wrapped Ethan up like a Christmas present (after sticking him in a trash bag). I wonder what they'll do to Jillian?!

Christmas Day And Wii

I'm skiing. Can't you tell?

Christmas Day was a casual affair. Jason, Jillian and I piled in the car and headed to my parent's house. Jason's mom met us there later. I made ribs and we scraped together the rest of dinner from my mom's fridge. My dad gave my mom a Wii Fit for Christmas and the game "We Ski." As you can imagine, it looks pretty funny to be skiing indoors. Jason got some great video which I wouldn't be surprised if he posted. It's very embarassing!

Christmas Eve

Jillian with her Great-Great Grandmother Erline. Erline grabbed Jillian almost as soon as we got in the door. Jillian had a pretty fussy Christmas Eve but she quieted down in her great-great grandma's arms. Evidently Erline has some experience with babies.

5 generations of women. From left: Aunt/Cousin Ashli, Great Grandma Treva, Auntie Abbi, Great-Great Grandma Erline, Jillian, Grandma Pam, Great Aunt Bev and Aunt/Cousin Kelli.

We had two family events to attend on Christmas Eve and so it was a packed night. First was Christmas Eve Fiesta at Bev's house. The food was excelent as always! We had our 2nd annual Ugly Ornament Gift Exchange. I came away with a very lovely mannequin with purple beading that I swear was in last year's exchange. It will have a lovely home in my office when I return to work.

Grandma Joy and Grandpa Ron display our best Christmas present. Jillian's dress was just beautiful (thank you Mom). She looked so adorable in it. The tights she is wearing were hilarious. Of course they say "0-6 months" on the tag but no baby under 3 months or so would fit into those tights. She looked like a wrestler with the tights and the little bloomers under her dress! The black patent leather shoes were adorable with the dress.

Jillian's Great Uncle Mark held her for the first time on Christmas Eve.

Cousin Ethan had awesome Christmas pajamas! The hat made the ensemble, but like any kid, he didn't want it on. We madly snapped photos before he ripped it off. We did a white elephant gift exchange in lieu of exchanging presents with everyone. Jason got a photo frame and I chose a Santa and Mrs. Claus doll set.

Merry Christmas

Jason, Jillian, Brody and I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. I am sure that I will have tons of holiday hijinks to report about in the coming days.

Baking Day

2 bakers - ready to go.

Mom and I decided to bake Kolachky, English Toffee and Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Kolachky fillings and Pineapple Upside Down Cake ingredients.

Jillian watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation for the first time. This movie is a family tradition - we watch it over and over from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

A surprise visit from Lissa, Nathan, Roy and Darlene made our Baking Day even better!

Now With Karate Chop Action

Don't mess with me.

(Thank you Tia Marie for the cute onesie)

The Past Week: A Possible TMI

So let's start this off on a good note with a picture of me and my beautiful daughter. Everyone happy? Okay good. Now let's delve into the misery that has plagued me for the past week: clogged milk ducts. Last Friday night I woke up with an intense pain in one breast. I stumbled downstairs to grab my books on breastfeeding and What To Expect The First Year. I determined that I had a clogged milk duct. I jumped in the shower, per the suggestion of the books, and tried to massage it out. I had some moderate success and it went away the next day... only to return in the other breast. So I read some more and was soon doing a barrage of home remedies. Each day I would think I had beat it and each day it would transfer to the other breast. Wednesday it came to a head with the most painful one yet. I was crying it hurt so badly. I tried so hard to work it through and was successful, though it took an extra day. Last night it returned to that same painful spot with a vengence. I was (and still am, to be honest) miserable. It hurt to just be. One of the ways to clear the duct is to feed every two hours or less and then pump after to clear everything out. First of all, it kills to put her to my breast in this state. Second, once she feeds and I pump, it's pretty much an hour to the next feeding. My breasts are so sore and beat up at this point I dread feeding my daughter. How sad is that?! And poor Jason had to be up with me all night because it hurts so badly I can't really lift or burp her. To make things a mite worse, Jillian has been a little fussy since last night. We are all pretty beat up right now!

One Month Old And I'm Huge!

Hi everyone. Today I had my one month check up. Mommy and Daddy thought I might weigh a lot but wowee. I sure surprised them!

8 lbs 14 oz

21 inches

Here I am on Wednesday 12/17, my one month birthday. Thank you Auntie Heather for my outfit. Grandma Joy came to watch me today so Mommy could go to a work party. I got a little hungry when Mommy was gone and took a bottle from Grandma Joy - my second ever.

Mommy, Daddy and me take a photo to commemorate my one month birthday. Yes, Mommy is in her pj's.

First Bottle On Four Week Birthday

I finally started pumping over the weekend so we could start occasional bottle feeding. Jason was so happy to give her the first bottle. She took to it okay. She was a little too worked up at first to take it. I started off breasfeeding her and then handed her over to Jason. This seemed to work okay. We'll try again tonight.
This is what Jillian looks like at 4 weeks. She is getting huge but is still such a peanut!

Ethan Is Chuck Bass

Okay, I know I am obsessed with Gossip Girl but my nephew is so Chuck Bass (without the boozing and womanizing and such). At his mom's birthday dinner he wore jeans, a striped shirt and a sport coat. How awesome is that? It's really the hair that reminds me of Chuck.

Canfield Sunday - Happy Birthday Sarah!

My mom came over to watch Jillian for a few hours so we could go to Costco and set up and decorate our Christmas tree. This was our second time leaving Jillian but it wasn't much easier than the first. I was excited to get out and go to Costco but part of our brains were always thinking of her. We were in desperate need of food and I had sent her announcements and our Christmas card to their photo center. At Costco I was very excited to eat my first post-Jillian hotdog. I didn't have any while I was pregnant and so of course wanted one the entire pregnancy.
For Sarah's birthday we met at Macaroni Grill in Escondido. This was Jillian's first restaurant outing. She did great but got hungry about a minute before our food got to the table. So this was also my first time breastfeeding in a restaurant. I was unsure if I should step outside but I asked Sarah what she would do and she gave me the confidence to do it. I was very discreet, so no worries.

Grandpa Ron loves his granddaughter.

Sleeping In Sunday Morning

Mommy got some work done around the house while Jillian and Daddy slept in.

Our Christmas Present

Abbi had the great idea to set up some photo opportunities for Jillian. Here she is under the tree. She's actually reclining in a little gold sleigh.
At first she liked Santa.
And then not so much.

Saturday With Grandma Pam & Auntie Abbi

On Saturday we went up to Oceanside to visit Grandma Pam & Aunt Abbi. We brought Brody so he wouldn't be home alone and he was a perfect gentleman. He very much wanted to be cozied up on the couch with one of us.




Abbi entertains us with some shoe modeling. The heels were a recent gift from her dad when they went to Las Vegas. The sneakers were a recent purchase from her mom. The sneakers were put on less for fashion and more for traction as she tried to get Brody to chase her around the house.

Grandma Pam was in heaven with her granddaughter, and Jason and I appreciated another set of arms to hold our baby girl.

We came to visit Pam and help her rest but it really felt like a day off for us. We watched movies and ate and had a very relaxing day.

I'm No Gardner...

...But really???

Jillian, Brody and I just went on a walk and this is what I found at our front door. This was one of those plants with the long, super-skinny leaves. I can't believe this is what the landscapers think trimming back should be. I checked my neighbor next door to make sure it wasn't something personal against us. It wasn't. Her plant had been hacked to death as well.

Why Can't She Always Be Like This?

Right now my daughter is screaming as I hold her and type one-handed. Aren't babies beautiful when they sleep?

A Couple Days Late... I'm 3 Weeks Old

Yay me, I'm three (weeks old)!

Here is our precious girl snoozing in her Pack 'n' Play. She loves to have her hands by or on her face and above her head like this. I did snap this photo on Monday, 12/8 about an hour after she officially turned 3 weeks old.

Sleeping is still going well. At night she falls asleep after feeding pretty regularly. I have a routine when I get up to feed her where I change her diaper first, swaddle her tightly and then feed. That way if she nods off she can go right down in her crib. Most of the time it works well. I'm very jealous of my cousin Megan, though. Her 9 week old is sleeping through the night. Her daughter Brooklyn is on formula, which Megan attributes to the success, but I'm still jealous. I have a feeling we will not be so lucky at 9 weeks!

Jillian And Her Daddy

It makes my heart melt (and her eyes pop!)
Jason is the best dad. He takes her whenever she is crying. He changes every diaper he can. I start to feel guilty that he is holding her and soothing her so often when we're together. But he truly wants me to have some down time and he loves to spend time with his daughter. Jillian and I are both so lucky!