Happy Birthday Mom!

I want to wish my mom a wonderful birthday. Jason, Jillian and I love you very much!

Sleeping Beauty

So this week we are finally sending in our laptop. The screen has been broken for at least a year and we've had it hooked up to a monitor. Our warranty is expiring soon and we bought it from Circuit City and so we thought we should send it in before there was no place to send it to. So, long story short my blogging may be a bit fragmented for awhile. I'm on Jason's Mac right now and all my photos are on an external hard drive. So sorry, no photo for this post.

This brings me to my subject: sleep. I'm blogging from our bedroom because Jillian is sleeping and we're watching her on the monitor. This is the second night of our new sleep routine. We're trying to put her to bed earlier to see if it makes any improvement to her sleep and our bedtime routine. Last night was good. She fed more often but also slept more total hours. Jason and I woke up feeling more rested which was nice considering the night before was terrible.

So, she just woke up (8:32 p.m.). Jason is working with her to see if he can soothe her without picking her up or rocking her. He has had good success. I call him the Baby Whisperer. Okay, it is 8:36 and she has quieted down but is not totally asleep. Jason has turned on the crib music thingy we have. We're working on this as a bedtime signal. At 8:38 Jason leaves the room, Jillian still awake but quiet. 8:41 and she hasn't wiggled in awhile.

Wish us luck. I'll keep you all posted.

Happy 1st Birthday Ethan

Happy 1st Birthday to our favorite little man. One year old today!

Mom's Birthday Dinner At Buca Di Beppo

My dad surprised my mom with a dinner at Buca Di Beppo for her birthday.

Ethan got up close and personal with his cousin Jillian.

Blowing out the candles.

Mom, Dad, Me (Kristyn), Jason and Jillian. The food was great, as expected.

From left: Dad, Me, Jason, Ethan, Sarah, Ron, Jim, Paula

Calvin

I can't remember if we've talked about Calvin before. I'm too lazy to go back on previous posts to see. Calvin is a caterpillar that she loves. It was one of the first things she would watch and could calm her down during a diaper change. Jason and I (this is Kristyn by the way. I was too lazy to sign out of Jason's account. Can you sense a trend today - laziness) love to watch Jillian gaze at Calvin. Here is a perfect example of how he makes her happy.

Lewko Gals

Pam and Abbi brought us dinner on Sunday night. It is great that Jillian is able to see family so often. They even stayed and helped give Jillian her bath. Thanks Aunt Abbi and Grandma Pam!

Immunizations

Today Jillian had her two month check up which includes immunizations. It's amazing all of the vaccinations they fit into one shot. All told she had three shots and one oral vaccination.

She cried after she was pricked but I think Mommy and Daddy were ready to cry more. Her tears dried quickly though and she fell asleep. It's been two hours since her shots and she is still asleep. The doctor said side effects could include a fever, diarrhea, general fussiness and sleepiness. The odds are much more in our favor for her to get one or all of the first three. I think she just fell asleep after the stress of the event. And for those of you who like to view the photos larger, yes, those are bubbles on her lips. Too cute.

Her current stats are:
10 lbs 4.8 oz
22 3/4" long

Happy Inauguration Day

Jillian and I watched the inauguration before her doctor's appointment this morning. Mommy was so excited to tell her about this historic event. Unfortunately Jillian was a bit fussy and cried and squawked through much of it. I tried to get a photo with President Obama in the background but as you can see she didn't like being propped up. Since I wanted to hear his speech I decided to pick her up and rock her instead of letting her cry for a photo.

Smiles: These Ain't For Free

You've got to work for these babies.

Jillian is smiling more and more but she is still so serious. So Jason and I work very hard to get these smiles out of her. And when we do it is all worth it!

A Quiet Evening At Home

Last night I had a lapful of love. Jillian and Brody took a nice long nap on me. I thought Jillian would wake at any moment to nurse and so I kept her with me. We've been trying hard to put her down when she falls asleep, for the good of ourselves, Jillian and her future caregivers Grandma Pam and Kim. She ended up sleeping an hour past the two-hour feeding mark. Yay! Could we be making progress? Also, Jillian has been blessing us with sleep. For a few days now she has gone about 5 hours between night feedings! Thank you Sweetness!

Mmm.... Tasty

First she grabbed on...

Then she sampled the delicious flavors of her carseat harness. We're so proud!

Jillian is 2 Months Old: Mommy Thoughts

I really can't believe my baby girl is two months old already. The time has just flown by and I know the next two months (and years, and decades) will fly by as well. Being a mom is hard to describe. I never thought of myself as the "mom type" and so assuming this role has been an adventure of discovery - of what a baby is all about and of who I am as a woman, wife and mother. As my sweet girl gazes up at me while I type, I am so thankful that she is in my life.

I Look But I Don't See

You know how sometimes you can look at something over and over and not really see it for what it is? As new parents, Jason and I find it easy to overlook some things around our house. Things that used to be a priority have moved far down on our list. Take this for example:

My mother-in-law Pam and sister-in-law Abbi were nice enough to place flowers around our house - WHEN JILLIAN WAS BORN! This poor, decaying rose is still sitting on our bathroom sink. We're in our bathroom at least once a day and yet, almost 9 weeks later, a dead rose sits in a beer bottle.

Meeting Emma Rose

Jillian had a chance to meet another future best friend: Emma Rose Stephens

They took a nap together. Emma was a complete doll and so much better behaved than Jillian, my little fuss bucket. I was amazed that Emma at less than 2 weeks old only eats every 3 hours. Jillian is on a 2 to 3 hour schedule during the day, with most of her feedings two hours apart. Boy am I jealous!

Review: Homelife Dishwashing Detergent

So recently I refused to pay full price for dishwashing detergent. Cascade and the like were ridiculously expensive and I didn't have a coupon. So I purchased Albertson's generic brand. Let me tell you, this stuff is awesome. Right away I noticed that the dishes were cleaner than with the name brand stuff. If you're in a pinch or looking for something new in the dishwashing department, I highly recommend it!

Tummy Time

Today we did some tummy time. It is really fun to see Jillian lift her head up though she is still such a bobble head. She usually only likes it for about 5 minutes but today she was on her tummy for at least 10 minutes, talking to Cathy Con Cuerpo the Cow.

Here she is looking at Cathy.

I put a rolled up blanket under her chest to get her going. Otherwise she face plants into the floor.

Isn't It Great? Jillian Is Eight Weeks Old!

I can't believe how big she is getting! She is aware of more and more of her surroundings and she makes cooing noises when she is awake. She loves to stare at windows and Calvin the Caterpillar. She still has cranky moments but overall she is a happy baby.

Meeting Ava - Finally!

Ava Yates was born on December 30th but I had a terrible cold and then Jillian had a projectile episode which could have been a cold as well. So I finally got to meet her today. More importantly, Jillian got to meet her. This is a future best friend so it's important they get a chance to chat. Not much chatting yet though. Sleeping in adjacent carseats is a good first step.

Game Night

Danielle and her fiancee Johnny (Congratulations!!!) holding Jillian.

Saturday night we went over to Bonnie's house for our monthly game night. We had been out of the cycle for a few months with the birth of Jillian and it was really fun to get back into it and see everyone.

Chet and Jason were in charge of figuring out the game. I have no idea what it was called but you rolled dice and passed coins from left to right or placed them in the center. Whomever was the last with coins won the game.

Our lovely hostess Bonnie listens intently to the conversation at the card table.

Mike, Brandon, Kristen and Audra.

Ben, Aaron (in the carseat), Kim and Mike.

Jillian Loves The Bath

So she screamed and screamed during her sponge baths but our little girl loves the "real" bath. She isn't overflowing with positive affirmations of her love for the water but she doesn't cry and she kicks her feet. And at this point we equate no crying with love. Yes, I took the embarrassing naked pictures but how can you not love this sweet girl and her chubby little folds?

New Year's Resolutions

Okay, so I have a couple. I'll let Jason jump in and edit this post or do his own if he likes.

1. Keep up the picture taking. We've done well but we're slipping.

2. Get up to speed with Jillian's baby scrapbook. As any of you scrapbookers know, it is so hard to be really far behind.

3. Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and size. I'm about 15 lbs and 2-3 pants sizes away.

4. Be better at remembering birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I have some fantastic friends and relatives who never forget to call, send a card, etc. I want to be like that too!

5. Find some time each day just to soak in the fact that I am a mom, that I have a wonderful husband and this magical daughter. I want to absorb life, not just try to get through it.

6. Snag a little "me" time in each day. Usually it is writing this blog or taking a shower. I just want to make sure it gets in there some how to preserve my sanity.

I'm sure I'll think of more. Now, can I keep them???

(I had to stick in some oh-so-cute photos to keep my spirits up!)

Thank You Terry Family

So Jason and I really didn't do much in terms of Christmas gifts this year. It seems we ran out of time and ran out of money. So we managed to overlook the fact that Jillian had a couple gifts under the tree from my Aunt Laura and her family. We finally opened them late last week. Only about 7 or 8 days late.

Jillian received a gloworm (remember those kiddies of the 80's?) and a musical toy that can go in her crib. She also received a onesie that says "Miss November" with a crown on it. It is awesome! I didn't get a photo of it because we opened it with Ron, Sarah and Ethan who got a shirt that says "My Mom Rocks".

Thank you Terry Family for your kind gifts for our baby girl.

Mood Miss Match?

Obviously she forgot what shirt she was wearing.

I want to get physical... physical...

Yah, so... I forgot to put the onesie on UNDER the pants. -Jason

Happy New Year! Yay... Yay...