Your Feet are Too Little If...

...you're only shoe color choices are pink or blue glitter and the style names include "Ariel."

I went with the pink and grey.

Feeding Update

Now that I'm over feeling guilty about it I can post that I am no longer nursing. All I can say is HALLELUJAH! Sure it's been obvious people think that's a bad decision but WHATEVER. For the first 6 weeks of Elise's life she was colicky (screaming from 4 -10pm) and her poor little tummy grumbled every time she ate. So I gave some soy formula a try. A new baby emerged! She stopped crying all night and she was pleasantly content after eating. And that was that. I was sold. I had a happier baby and I felt an incredible relief for being justified in discontinuing something I didn't like but felt obligated to do. Not the solution for everyone but it is working wonderfully for us. Elise is happy. I am happy. I'm a better, happier mom now and that makes our home a better place. :)
Life is good.

This Girl Cracks Me Up!

What is she doing with this cluster of hair bows you might ask?

Waiting for true love's kiss of course! And from none other than Prince Daddy. :)

(In case you're confused, she is recreating Snow White being asleep in the glass coffin holding a bouquet of flowers. Pretty creative, don't you think?)

Loving some glitter she found.
Playing peek-a-boo with the mermaid.

I came into her room one morning to find she had broken a foam bead necklace we had made. Before I even said anything she said, "I got crazy with the beads." Ha! Ha! Where does she come up with stuff like that? :)

I love my little Princess Isis!

Elise's Blessing

We blessed Elise at home on the 27th. We were so happy our families and good friends could come. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to join us!

I think she looks Amish with the bonnet. :)

Two Months

(Although now she's almost at 3.)

Elise's two months stats: 12lbs 4oz, and 22 inches. I love that babies get cuter and cuter as they get older. Here's my two month cutie. (Her cheeks are so kissable!)

she's a very smiley baby

Mommy's Power Tools

Oh the power I have in influencing behavior with these little gems.
Yes, I love princesses too. :)

A Moment of Silence Please...

...for Mr. Walter Morrison, creator of the frisbee, has died at age 90.

Mr. Morrison, because of your little plastic invention Ultimate Frisbee was created. And thanks to Ultimate I had something to look forward to countless Saturday mornings at BYU. Thanks to Ultimate I met and played with some of my dearest friends. (SO MANY happy memories on those frisbee fields.) Thanks to this awesome game I met Jeremy!! Wow. What would have become of me if I hadn't had Frisbee?

I just can't imagine.

So, thank you Mr. Morrison. Your the stranger who's done more for me than I ever knew.

(For an article about Walter Morrison click here.)

Check list

You know you're a mommy if...

*your fantasy involves you getting 3 consecutive hours of sleep

*a "good night's rest" would involve 4 hours of sleep

*you have been awake for every hour that is on the clock. (who knew 3am was a real time?)

*you still love someone who has puked down your shirt, poop on your hand, and peed on your carpet... all in one day

*you think all of the above digestive functions are part of normal conversation

*you have at least one roll of toilet paper unraveled at your house (I currently have three)

*you have showered at midnight because, well, you're up and let's face it... it's been a while

*you tell your spouse "you're a thinker, and a solver, worker-through-er" (and you know what that's from)

*you have guilt for what you should do but aren't, want to do but can't, shouldn't do but do, and anything in between

*it feels like your vocabulary (and seemingly your mental function and capacity) has been reduced to what it was in Kindergarten (why is that?)

*you'd give almost anything for someone to tell you to take a nap or even to go to time-out

*you know the real reason babies are cute

*you hardly bat an eye when you get out of the shower and discover your two year old wanted to "make it rain on the castle".... with a whole jar of green glitter


You also know you're a mommy if...
*you KNOW the cutest kids in the world live in your house and would challenge anyone who said otherwise

*consequently, you have taken about a bazillion pictures

*you've been present for the most heavenly sound in all the world - your baby's coos and laughter

*your toddler's laughter gives you the giggles and makes you laugh out loud

*one of the happiest days of your life was hearing your two year old clearly say,"I love you, Mama."

*you can stare at a baby's face for hours

*you know little is more calming and peaceful than holding a sleeping baby

*your day seems empty if you're away from your children for more than a few hours

*you are fanatically proud of someone else's accomplishments

*you've had a your two-year old wipe tears off your face and say, "don't cry Mama." (This of course makes you cry more, for better reasons.)

*you know that because children live there your home is a better place

*you have the best (most demanding, versatile, and important) job in the whole world.

(What would you add to the list?)

It's Been A While

Today I wore pants that zip and button again! WOHOO!

Reasonable Question

While Isis played in her cardboard "castle" last week I knocked on the door.
"Yes?" she answered.
"Hello Princess Isis! How do you do?"
She paused for a brief moment then asked, "How you do what?"

hahahaha :)

The Nursing Post

**Disclaimer** If you like nursing you may not want to read this. Additionally, this is not intended to offend anyone. These are my own personal feelings and are not to appear judgemental towards anyone's circumstances, whether you like nursing, can't, don't want to, whatever.

Though writing from honest feelings, I am laden with guilt over them. Nonetheless, here are a few of my feelings and thoughts on breastfeeding:

The Positives

*I know, or at least have read, how beneficial breastfeeding is for babies - from better health to illness prevention to brain development. That's why I do it. I love my babies and want to give them the best start possible.

*I would feel SO guilty if I didn't nurse when I am able to. (And if I'm able to, formula is one expense that we don't need.)

*It's very convenient and requires no preparation.

Not-So-Positives

*I do NOT like it. It is now less painful than with Isis but it's not comfortable and I always feel awkward doing it with other people around or anywhere but home.

*I feel guilty/bad that I don't feel that warm, fuzzy special bonding while nursing. I just don't. So am I an insensitive mom? I still love my baby more than anything.

*It's frustrating that I'm the ONLY person who can feed her. I'm the only one that has to get up at night because, well, she does have to eat.

*I hate sitting and not being able to do anything all day. All I get to do is sit and see how messy my house keeps getting and feel guilty for having to tell Isis over and over again no, I can't play right now.

*At times when she's not hungry I still have to act as a human pacifier.

*I hate that I can rarely hold and cuddle my baby without her immediately wanting to eat.

*And this is completely selfish but I want my body back. I already sacrificed it for 9 months. I hate my chest being sore so frequently (for various reasons), I hate leaking, and I hate feeling like a cow. (That feeling is only exacerbated when I pump.)

Well, I guess that about sums it up... time to feed the baby again. Gotta go.

Please, Please, Please...

...someone tell me I'm not the only one whose laundry basket has looked like this.

(yes, it was at my eye level)

At least they were clean.

The Dominant Feeling at Our House These Days

enough said.

What the devil?

The two kid thing isn't as overwhelming as I expected. That's not to say it isn't overwhelming; it is. But I survived the first and second weeks of Jeremy being back at work and no family here to help me. SURVIVED is the key word.
Isis realized in the last few weeks that she is 2 1/2 and hasn't given me any reason to believe in the "terrible twos." So, she has decided to make up for missed opportunities. Sleeping issues galore, mess after mess after mess, and taking boundary-testing to the limit. All those antics and my lack of sleep (seriously, an hour a night???) has left me at wits end. I'm sure there will be more posts on that, but here is evidence of our "nap/quiet time" the other day. Her door was locked and still it looked like this:

I seriously could barely open the door.
Good grief.

I'd love any help or suggestions on nap and sleeping time, time-outs, shoving anything on counters off, etc. Basically anything relating to disciplining a two year old.

Where'd my sweet girl go? I want my Isis back!

FOILED!

Understandably, one of my goals this year (the next 6 months really) is to get rid of the baby weight (and the leftover from Isis).
I tend to consume an abundance of chocolate when I'm tired,stressed, or worn out. A new baby easily accomplishes all three.
My problem?

Elise has colic.

My Beautiful Girls

I have two adorable little girls. Sure I'm (probably) biased but just look at these faces! :)

When my sister was here three weeks ago she took some great pictures of Isis and Elise. These are two of my favorites:

Angelic baby Elise
Happiest Isis. I love that smile. Can she get any cuter??
She was also able to capture some great Isis personality in a lot of them. :)

(On-going updated Elise pictures will be available for your viewing pleasure in the "Elise" album in our picasa albums. You should check these out to see a smiling one month old.)

Christmas

A little recap from our fun Christmas.

The girls got matching pajamas on Christmas Eve. :)

Jeremy got a few gifts he was excited about. This cool carabiner/pocket watch was one of them.
Santa made out like a bandit by getting a play kitchen for FREE!! Someone was going to just throw this away!! (Thanks Kollen for finding it!). Santa's elves just needed to tighten a few screws, do some sanding, and add a little paint and...

WA LA... a new kitchen ready for Christmas!

Isis was pretty excited when she came down the stairs and saw it. She opened the doors and turned the knobs and then asked, "Where the dishes?" :) Santa did not forget those, she just had to get to them... which took awhile because next she opened...

two princess dolls.

That's the reaction you're going for on Christmas morning. :) She LOVED them and hasn't stopped playing with them since.

We hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as much as we did.
(We're a family of 4! Crazy!)

About that post...

So those "next few days" turned into a few weeks. So, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Initially I said Elise was a quiet baby. I'd like to take that back. She is a good baby but NOT quiet. If something doesn't suit her, even for a moment, she'll let you know. Jeremy and I are finding it interesting to note the differences between a preemie and a full-term baby... like the developed lung capacity. She also eats a lot and very frequently. Which is good; it means she's healthy and growing. It's just tiring for me, I can't do anything, and Isis is left with a boring playmate. (There will be a post about nursing in the future I'm sure. I have too much to say about it right now.)

I think Elise came with a happy temperament though. Happy and very observant. When she's awake she's AWAKE; always watching and looking around with her beautiful little eyes. You can tell she's really studying your face when she's looking at you. She has a happy, peaceful countenance. It's really calming to watch her. She is also very strong. Again maybe that's a full-term baby thing, but wow. She was picking her head up off my chest in the hospital before she was a full day old. I was impressed. And I think she smiles. I know they say it's just gas, but gas smiles don't reach up to their eyes, and her eyes smile.

I have constantly said that I'm not a "newborn mom." And while I still definitely like being able to interact with my baby as they get older, Elise has given me a new appreciation for this newborn stage. With Isis everything was so new and different and hard. I was sad I quit working; I was lonely; I was tired; I was overwhelmed. This time I guess I just knew (mostly) what to expect. I think I'm even more exhausted this time but Isis keeps me from being lonely or bored. I'm appreciating more how little and perfect my baby is. I am grateful for a gentler, happier perspective.

Pictures of Our New Cutie

You can see some first pictures of Elise in our family album. I'll try to do better to post in the next few days... if I can keep my eyes open long enough. :) We are all doing very well and are very happy. And tired. :) Love to everyone!

New Arrival!

Elise Eden Gwin joined our family yesterday at 11:51 in the morning. She weighed 7lbs 4 oz and is 19 inches long. I was scheduled to be induced on Wednesday but she had her own plans. :) (Fine by me.) She is a healthy, well-tempered baby. We got home a few hours ago. I'll post pictures and more of the story a little later.