thanksgiving tomorrow

Lillian is Around 9 weeks. List about her and other goings on: (time is short these days)
1. Loves her new swing from aunt Steph!
2. Smiles most in morning and is in the best mood then. Great time to play! Adorable wide mouthed smiles.
3. A little slower to schedule appt as 3 re time mom. Had her month at 5 week and her 2 month is scheduled for 10. I'll write down stats at that time.
4. This would be normally when I'm preparing to go back to work, I have several job applications out there and have had 1 interview I feel is going nowhere. We will see what happen with our job searching, Eric is searching too. He put in his notice.
5. Jackson got away was gone for 3 nights and was very cold.  We all thought he was a goner. But a neighbor of stephe saw him and now he's home cause she caught him and brought him to a vets. So. very thankful. He is blind now and getting used to his surroundings.
6. Last night Kaylee had her first sleepover at her cousins house. I hear things went well. My big girl!
7. Tomorrow we have thanksgiving dinner at stephs and barb and Eric's aunt she will do most food prep, very thankful and excited.
8. Enjoying trips to zoo here, chuck e cheese and bowling. Making regular visits to library.
9. Kaylee had a harvest fest at school. Her and her cousins loved the bouncy house and face painting and dancing to a DJ.
10. It's amazing how busy I feel as a stay at home mom. I guess I thought it'd be relaxing or something. I'm having fun with the kids though and am keeping up with chores better at home. Love not pumping. And not commuting (on very icy roads-stressful!)
11. Lily is still blonde and blue eyed. Still blocked tear duct. She's so gorgeous! She's so fair - I cannot believe it with the other 2 being dark hair, dark(er) skin and dark eyes.
12. Kaylee is as expected a great big sister, loves watching baby and holding her. Can change a pee pee diaper. Loves to make her laugh.
13. Levi loves Lily and tries to hold her. He loves her too much at times and pushes down too hard on swing and bouncer trying to kiss her. We watch carefully and correct him. Think he will be a great big brother though. He says he loves Lily "more than anyone".

2week checkup for lil

8 lb 15.5 oz, 21.5 in long. No shots. Talked about her first cold she has and possible colic  from a lot of crying. Hopefully just the sickness. We see her already breathing better from her cold. Poor thing had super hard time breathing. Had to sleep up at an angle.

I skipped my 2 week appt since my dr. Told me as third time mom I'd be able to tell if something was wrong. Still have appt scheduled for 4 weeks postpartum. Having the sweats. Off painmeds except occassional ibuprofen. Have been a bit over optimistic and need to rest more. Ppd isn't too bad this time, just occassional issue. Losing weight fast. Glad to not be heavily pregnant anymore. Sooooo in love with Lillian and thankful that out transition to 5 has gone over well with the kids. They are getting used to being told to be quiet and help more with chores.

Picking a name

We had a hard time picking a name. Vivian and Lillian were always top contenders. On a date night the week before Eric and I decided on Lillian because it was my beloved late grandmas name. My grandma was generous, super funny, easy going, a bit sassy and loved us grandchildren very much. We think we will call her Lily. It suits her well. She has blond hair so far like my sister Krissy. She has dark eyes already, most likely will turn brown like me, k and l.

For her middle name we decided to use my middle name, Alissa. Levi, upon hearing my middle name in early pregnancy wanted to name her that. In late pregnancy he wanted to call her starlisaa. We told him if he wants to call her that it's fine with us. So far, he's not calling her that. Mostly he calls her cutie so far. kaylee loves the name Lily.

Baby Lillian!

Sleeping baby in my arms so hence the short succinct sentences...

Last week of pregnancy was fairly good buts lots of insomnia and trips to the bathroom at night.
Lots of contractions while stressed or driving or dehydrating but once got rest was well again. Not nearly so much swelling as with other 2 as a result of no sedentary life (not working) because of this I gained 10-12 less lbs. was still walking with Eric and Kaylee and Levi to schoolwork K.

Dr. Did exam ultrasound 35 weeks suspecting another big baby. He estimated between 7 and 8 at that time. I decided for sure on csection then. 5 days before due date of 9/22 at 5:42 she was born. Procedure started at 5:30. Eric took her took other area for bath and vitals. I was very scared and could feel more, after Levi I felt my legs by 2 hr after. This time, I could see my legs move, but could not feel them until midnight. The admin of local Anes was rough as I felt lightning bolt pain down leg 3x. Ouch! But it was defi atelier not as long as l and d thats for sure.

When I laid eyes on Lily I thought she was gorgeous, was flooded with love for her, was relieved she was healthy and crying as glad she wasn't macros omit. Though I don't believe that would be an issue. she was8 lb 6 oz and 19 in long. Her apgar scores were good. She nursed about 1-11/2hours after she came out. The majorilty of csection time is spent after baby arrives working on the mother.

That night kaylee and Levi came with barb they loved her right away. adore her! They are both very cute. kaylee tried to help out wherever she could, finding wys to tend to me. Levi vacillated from indifference to utter adoration, saying "she's cuter than mashed potatoes! The cutest thing in the world. Way cuter than me!" Eric's reaction was a huge beautiful swell of pride, protective, doting and very thankful to me for baby and for both of our safety. He was and is an amazing dad. He's been staying up holding her for them first 4 hours each night while I rest. He has made sure to get me naps as he's able as he works from home and in vending. Sadly he will be moving his office out to Stephs office soon liked tomorrow so I'll miss his help but completely understand the need to have your office not be a baby and preschooler zone. Love you Eric!

Came home 3 days later. Was relieved because it seemed them checked on me and her every 2 hr at night just when I managed to get her in the bassinet they'd flip on the lights. Thought I was going to flip! First night home was much more restful!

The big move

So we have decided to move, and boy things have been busy. On top of being 10 weeks away from having a baby girl, we spent this past week traveling and setting up in my inlaws place which they have graciously vacated. It's very nice here and we're almost set up. My inlaws are staying at my sister in laws which is very gracious of her too. I can't believe their generosity while Eric and I try to sell our home and then get Eric here to look for a home together. So as of now Eric is still back home working on painting, yard work decluttering and finally (can't wait for this part) hanging artwork. Then up for sale! Wish us luck during this transition.

Kaylee's losing her teeth!

 

Kaylee lost her first tooth on Mar 23, just days before she turned 6. She lost her second this past weekend! She is enjoying the prizes left under her pillow even though we don't believe in the 'fairy'. She is growing up! We got a 2nd opinion on her gap in the front and at some point after losing her front teeth she is likely to have a little procedure on it. Not looking forward to it, hopefully it won't be a big deal.

 

We have had a great weekend - outside at the park both days! We have been feeling very busy getting our house ready to sell and purging old stuff - it's a lot of work.

 

Easter was lots of fun. They did an egg hunt in our basement in the morning, then got baskets at my parents and Cindy / Chuck put together an egg hunt in their backyard for them. It was a very fun day for Kaylee and Levi!

 

Kaylee's 6th Birthday

Reflections on Kaylee’s birthday:

Kaylee has been an amazing and fun little girl to raise for Eric and I. She is highly imaginative. She can sit down with a book and expound upon the story from the pictures, enthusiastically getting pulled into the story. She is having no trouble learning to read we think because of her loves for books. She is very independent and loves her time to herself, and when with her brother she would like to call the shots. She tries to lead him in play which more and more he goes along with, he does have his own thoughts and desires though and that is where some friction occurs when they attempt to work it out. She loves to play teacher with him, to say potty talk to him to make him laugh when he is crying, they love to wrestle and are actually a perfect match-up for weight. She ends every night by saying “I love you. Good night” with a kiss, without fail. Her brother isn’t always so reliable, at least at 3 not yet. She can sit down with a craft project and work on it for hours! She can color for hours and some of her work is seriously adorable. I love the work that comes home from school (we have scanned) which shows a picture she’s drawn of something she’s done the night before and has a sentence she writes out under it. She is still sounding out her words. Her pictures and thought connection is so cute…her drawings are plan, section, elevation all at once. I love looking at it throwing out all of the drawing conventions I know and just embracing what she is depicting! It’s priceless!

 She loves to tell us what she got on behavior for school and tries and tries to get picked for “special helper of the day” and is seriously bummed not to get chosen more often. Her teacher says she is good in the classroom, sometimes she gets into talking with her friends and is a little distracted from her work. I’m ok with this since I was the opposite – always so quiet – so I prefer that Kaylee seems to be more outgoing than myself. I am so happy with the work that is coming home, it’s complete, done correctly and colored thoroughly.

 Kaylee does like to test me. She tries to find her limits on what I will allow her to do. We sometimes have battles of the will, she wants control almost as much as I do. She doesn’t test her Dad as much. She does test her brother. But seriously, she is a wonderful kid and I love her so much! I cannot believe she is 6 years old today! I remember distinctly holding her in my arms for the first time and looking at her crying little baby face thinking how adorable she was.

 This week she starts art classes and in 3 weeks we switch to soccer. I hope it will be a fun and new thing for her to try out. I’m really looking forward to better weather with the kids – we had so much fun this weekend going to the park on their bikes.

 This morning I got her ready by doing her hair in a rainbow of color stripes on the top with her new hair chalk. She was delighted. She cannot wait to bring in her little cupcakes for a birthday treat today. She has asked for ramen noodles for dinner and I’m hoping to get her an ice cream cone too. We have a couple presents for her this evening. She had a great time at the family party this past weekend – and enjoyed bouncing in her new bouncy house with her brother and my cousin’s son. They played a lot with the new toys and we still have lots of great new crafts to make our way through doing together.

 I love you Kaylee. I hope you are having a super great time today at school!

 

(I hope to include a photo later on )

Indoor playground time!

During the last couple weekends, we've had a great time. We have taken the kids to indoor playgrounds quite a bit to burn off some energy. We met Eric's friends and their wives at a new one. It was awesome! It had basically an outdoor playground just inside, a giant pillow bouncy ( the hit of the day), 2 gyms, a video game projector broadcasted to the floor with software games ( Levi was a huge fan! ) and a room for building with giant foam blocks! Wow did they have a great time. Eric and Levi had a bought of the flu just after but are feeling better now. Eric loved seeing his friends. It was nice no one had to host everyone. Good group of kids too. What boys say to scare girls though...but Kaylee was used to it with her brother, kids want to tell a juicy story. Best highlight for me, Kaylee bouncing on the pillow with dad making her bounce higher, "this is the BEST day of my Life!" Apparently Eric heard several other kids there pronounce the same thing!

The other times I met girlfriends of mine and their kids. Of course Kaylee was happier when the kid was a girl and Levi was happier when the kid was a boy to pal around with. This sun, my dad met me there so that we could have the opportunity to have the kids swim. They had such a blast and my dad was a huge help! The kids loved the kiddie slide and the big floaty lillypads to climb and slide on, and Levi met a boy to play some water basketball, toss with. So cute to see them so excited! 

Yesterday Kay went to daycare since they didn't have school. They went sledding and had a great time. Oh and she was happy to get a peice of candy...always with the candy! Kaylee:"mom did you know my favorite food is candy?" Why, yes!

Ps Grandmas doing well,back home after transitional care. She didn't want us to visit since we'd recently had the flu. ( understand!)

Post holiday fun

Smiths were here, we had a great time! Was great to see my nephew too! We were able to take the kids to a fun indoor playground and swimming, to an light holiday show, to a fun family celebration at Eric's aunts where we saw his cousins ( and his cute lil second cousins), Eric's parents treated us to a nice meal out for us all and also babysat for us,  we took the kids to chuck e cheese and to the sledding hill by our house. Great fun,so glad they could make it and glad they left before outer polar vortex weather( -24 today with a windchill that is -45).

We went for New Year's Eve at Eric's friends new house. And Kaylee and Levi did their first noncousin sleep over. We figure hey both parents are here what could go wrong. We parents also had fun. They all got along great even our two with each other!

Today kids had no school and no daycare. We did play doh, dance party, just dance, played hide and seek, watched a movie and had popcorn, and I left midday to work and they were playing hot lava. I think they're having fun!  Get to have another half day with them tomorrow.

So far so good on my grandmas surgery. Hope I'll be able to visit in a couple days. Dad said things went as expected so far...

Before that we had our 12 anniversary. Mom and dad watched the kids and took them to frozen and to panera. We went to big mall shopping and for a nice meal.. Enjoyed ourselves!

My cousin had a nice shindig out at her place yesterday. Nice turkey dinner with all the works, kids played with her cute lil guy. Got to see my nephew Gabe! He's almost sitting up now, he's super cute! Got to spend some time with grandma before her surgery.