Our Little Pumpkin

Elizabeth's first Halloween went great.  She was a cute little lamb for Trunk-or-Treating.  We then came home and put her into another costume.  She makes an adorable pumpkin!

 

{Project Elizabeth} Crib bedding

This spring I went out to Utah to spend some time with my mom to make bedding for the nursery.  My mom and I spend a day looking at different crib bedding on the internet, and then I took what I liked from different ones and designed what I wanted.  We then went out looking for fabric, and I decided on using Minky in the Tourquois Blue, Bright Pink, and Lime Green.  We made a few changes to the original drawing, but in the end it turned out to be fantastic.

My Mom and I made the bumpers, and sheet together, But my Mom pretty much made the crib skirt by herself(I just added the flowers at the end).  I love how well it all came together, and it looks wonderful with the crib that I got with the money my family gave me.

40 Week Junk Food Challenge~Mission Accomplished

Today marked the end of a challenge that I gave to myself at the beginning of the year.  Every January since I was sixteen I have done a 40 day Junk Food Challenge and I have enjoyed how good this makes me feel.  I know that I am stronger than my cravings for junk, because I can do this.

Well...since I found out I was pregnant with Elizabeth before Christmas last year, I decided that this year I would make it a 40 week challenge instead of just 40 days.  I knew that I didn't need the extra junk, and neither did Elizabeth.  I think that this challenge helped me to be healthier and not gain too much weight during the pregnancy, but also helped me lose the weight after I had Elizabeth(stress helped too).

Brian was so proud of my accomplishment, that he decided to take me out to celebrate.  We went to a restauraunt(Elizabeth was so-o good), and then afterward we stopped at the grocery store, and Brian ran in and searched for a while until he found what he wanted to get me...DULCE DE LECHE ICE CREAM!!!  One of my favorite kinds of ice cream.  We then went home and watched Gilligan's Island while we enjoyed our ice cream.  What a celebration!

Elizabeth thought that the ice cream looked pretty good too!

Elizabeth is two months

With the changing leaves Elizabeth Adelaide is constantly changing, too.  Here are some of the things she has developed this last month:

~Hold up her head really well

~Loves to talk to us, or even to herself

~Sleeps longer during the night

~Sees farther, and follows movement across the room

~More developed fine motor skills

~Enjoys tummy time more

~Loves bath time

~Does mini push-ups

~Makes smoother, more deliberate movements

~Holds her weight on her legs

~Reaches for things

~Grabs onto things
~Rolled over from back to stomach

Some pictures from the last few weeks

Giving a big grin

Falling asleep on Brian

 

Right after Elizabeth rolled onto her stomach for the first time on October 10th

 

Trying to stand

 

A silly hair-do

 

Sucking on her finger

 

Holding her head high

 

Here she is today

Elizabeth's growth:

~Weight: 12 pounds 8 1/2 ounces
~Length: 22 3/4 inches
~Head: 38 1/2 centimeters
~Clothing: 0-3 months
~Diaper: Size 1

Hardest part about being a mom

I love being a mom!  Elizabeth is such a joy to have!  She is a smiley, happy baby that brightens my days.

Now, with being a mom I only have one thing that I really struggle with.  I actually enjoy changing her diapers(she loves to talk and laugh while I do it), and I have some cute memories from the middle of the night feedings.  The thing that I have a hard time with is hearing Elizabeth cry.

When Elizabeth cries I just want to do anything for her to make her happy again.  But I have realized that sometimes she just needs to cry some.  There are times when Elizabeth is going to sleep she cries a little bit, and then she drops off to sleep.  I have found that when she does this she is able to sleep so much better, and even wakes up happier.  So, I realize that sometimes it is okay to just let her cry it out.  To me, it may seem like she is crying forever, but usually it is only for a minute that she cries.

Strange strangers

Last night Brian and I needed to do a quick run to Wal-mart.  Elizabeth was overtired so I told Brian to just keep walking around with her in the cart to calm her down, while I worked on printing out some pictures.  Well, Brian met a couple of interesting people.

At first a woman walked right up and took Elizabeth's blanket right off of her.  Really, who takes blankets off of babies that they don't know, especially when the parent is trying to make them happy!  She then proceeded to try and touch Elizabeth, but Brian quickly intervened.

Shortly after that Brian had a man walk up to see Elizabeth.  He didn't touch the blanket, but did reach in to touch Elizabeth's face.  Once again, Brian quickly intervened.

I just couldn't believe it when Brian told me all about it.  I mean, I love showing Elizabeth off to people, but she is still small, and the doctor said that her immune system will not be full developed for another couple of months.  Plus it is cold and flu season, and she is too young to get the flu shot(her doctor told Brian and I to get it to protect her).  Not only that, but there is also the Swine flu out there.  I am not panicked about it much, but I know that it wouldn't be a good thing if Elizabeth got it, like I said she is still too small.

General Conference weekend

This weekend we listened to General Conference at home.  Brian and I love listening to it, but we discovered that it is harder to catch all of what is said with a cute little baby.  We will need to listen or read some of the talks that we missed.  It's a good thing that they are put onto the internet, and in the Ensign for easy access.

Here we tried out the new Moby wrap that Kaylee gave to me, a friend of mine that had her little girl a few weeks after Elizabeth was born.  Elizabeth wasn't to sure about it, so we will need to try it again another time.

Brian was enjoying Sunday morning with Elizabeth while waiting for Conference to start.  You can't tell in the picture, but her sleeper says "Daddy's Girl," and Elizabeth really is.  Elizabeth was being silly by putting her head upside down while on Brian's lap.

 

So, in Elizabeth's defense about being a distraction during Conference, she did end up sleeping well through most of it.

 

A tearful goodbye

Goodbyes are so hard to say when it's someone you love.  My mom left today, after a months visit.  During her visit she was such a great help to us as we figured out the whole parenthood thing.  She helped us by cleaning, cooking, giving us advice, answering questions, being great company,  doing lots of babysitting(Brian and I got to go on a lot of dates while she was here), and many other things.  So, as you can see I was very sad to see her go.

As I drove my mom to the airport shuttle, she mentioned that of all of her children, I am the most like her.  I take this as a great compliment.  My mom is a wonderful woman!  She is kind, creative, always thinking of others, among many other amazing attributes.  I am truly grateful to be able to call her Mom!

While she was here we worked on some projects together, for Elizabeth.  We made a bracelet, a hair bow, and finished her quilt.  We also got things for me to make some other things for Elizabeth.  I am looking forward to make these other projects.  It has been fun getting our creative juices going.

Here are some pictures of Elizabeth from the last week of her visit.

We discovered that Elizabeth loves to sleep on her stomach.  Now this is a Safe-sleep no-no, but I feel that as long as it is only during the day when someone is checking on her, it is okay.

 

One morning I had put Elizabeth in the Boppy, and went to get ready for the day.   Soon after I left she cried out, so I quickly came back to find that she had slipped down.  Her head was where her bottom should have been.  I learned not to use the silky blankets with the Boppy.

 

On Sunday morning Brian took Elizabeth for a walk while I finished preparing for the primary lesson.  They were gone for almost an hour, and when they got back they had a surprise for me.   Aren't the flowers beautiful!  Elizabeth is learning early that her mommy loves flowers.

 

Just playing in the Boppy

 

Elizabeth is enjoying the soft quilt that my mom made for her(I helped a tiny bit)

 

This was truly a wonderful gift to have my mom come out.  She said that she rarely gets an opportunity like this to be able to leave home for this long.  I am so glad that things worked out so that she could come!

Elizabeth's one month doctor visit

Today was a crazy day with doctor visits for both Elizabeth and me.  We went to Elizabeth's doctor first.  She was weighed and measured before we met with the doctor.  Elizabeth weighed 9 pounds and 13 1/4 ounces, almost three pounds more then she was when she was born.  She is now a little over two inches longer then when she was born, at 22 1/2 inches long.

After Elizabeth was measured the doctor came in to check Elizabeth.  He first pulled out the growth chart and showed me how Elizabeth's measurements were looking like.  It was neat to have a visual for how Elizabeth is growing.  She was in the 50 percentile for each of the measurements, except for her length.  For her length she is taking after my side of the family by being in the 90 percentile!  She is growing way to fast!  The doctor and I then talked about a few things, and then he checked her out.  After he checked Elizabeth he pronounced her perfect, and I agree completely.

We then drove over to my doctor's.  I left Elizabeth out in the car with my mom, while I ran in.  This visit was one of the fastest ones that I have been to, and that is really saying something.  I was pronounced fine, and I was happy to finally go home.

Here is Elizabeth in her cute outfit, from Grandma Baldus, with her matching fleece blanket with the crocheted border that my mom did, and the Boppy that also matched Elizabeth today.  She is such a cutie!!!

 

 

Elizabeth Adelaide is one month old!

Today Elizabeth turned a month old.  I cannot believe how time flies!  We went to a park today and had my mom take pictures of Elizabeth and our little family.

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the things that Elizabeth can do now include(but not limited to):

~Smile and laugh
~Grab onto things, like hair(including her own)
~Click her tongue
~Focus on faces and objects
~Follow moving things
~Wakes up only once during the night
~Doesn't really spit up
~Only tolerates her pacifier
~Does amazing things with her long tongue
~Mimics faces, and tongues
~Loves to be cuddled
~Neck is getting to be pretty strong
~Loves looking out the windows

Elizabeth's growth:

~Weight: 9 pounds 13 1/4 ounces (50 percentile)
~Length: 22 1/2 inches (90 percentile)
~Head: 37 1/2 centimeters (50 percentile)
~Clothing: Newborn
~Diapers: Size 1