A New Arrival

The thought occured to me today that between my two sisters and I, we have given birth 5 times in the last 2 years.  I've given birth once so perhaps this isn't my bragging point.

My sister, Lindsay, gave birth to her second beautiful daughter on Saturday.  Lainey Elizabeth bolted into the world around 11am after a not-so-long labor and only a few minutes of pushing.  Amazing.  I would love to say that we were able to make it in time for me to see her be born but she came so fast that we were still on the road.  I have yet to witness one of my sisters giving birth - or anyone for that matter.  I've only been in the driver's seat in that situation, so to speak.   Lainey is beautiful!  She looks so much like her big sister, Kate.  Lainey's oxygen levels were a little low so she has been in the NICU since Saturday evening.  We are praying for her to be released tomorrow.

Amelia is growing up fast.  Too fast.  Let me rephrase that.  I haven't met an age of hers I didn't like better than the age before it.  Up until a couple of months ago I wasn't even ready to entertain the idea of another newborn in our house.  I love that Amelia can mostly understand and respond to what I say to her or ask of her.  Car trips can still be a little brutal, but we never have to stop on the 3-hour drive to Portland anymore.  If she gets bored I give her another book or a Fruit by the Foot ("loll-ups" as Amelia calls them).

We recently went to Florida on vacation and had such a good time.  We stayed with friends who were amazing hosts - we didn't want to leave!  We initially went down there for my college reunion.  I went to a small, 2-year liberal arts school and I actually left one semester early but they consider me part of the class anyway and for that I'm grateful.  It was fun to reconnect with my classmates.  We drove into Orlando for a quick trip one afternoon and walked around Downtown Disney (it's FREE).  We had no desire to spend the $200 on one theme park for one day when our 19-month-old would likely last 2 hours. 

I need to be better at blogging.  I am wanting to ramble because these stories need backstories but I don't have the time or energy (my family is currently fighting a nasty cold) to expand on this topic.

We had fun.  How's that?

We ate all the Chic-Fil-A and Dunkin Donuts we could handle.  Washington state needs to step up their fast-food game.

I will write tomorrow.  I must document the eating habits of my child so that when her child gives her a hard time about food I can show her a post that exactly portrays my true feelings as they are in the moment.  I'll give you a sneak peek:  complete and utter frustration.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul & strength.  He deserves more than we could give so give everything you can.

Have a good Monday!

I've watched "White Christmas" - the season can begin

Let's pretend the previous post was yesterday's.  There.  That was a good post yesterday, huh?

The gifts are all wrapped and under the tree.  Last year I faked it and just threw many gifts in bags.  If a gift was actually wrapped all I did was stick a bow on the front and call it good.  This year I decided that all the gifts should be tied with ribbon and the ribbon should then be curled and cut.  It took me probably a total of 6 hours to do, but I'm happy with the result.  Part of the anticipation is unwrapping the gift.  If it just takes one second flat to do it then what's the fun in that?

I feel like my Christmas tree could use more "oomph" at the top.  I'll have to see about that next year.  Maybe.  I really am not someone who needs to way overdo everything when it comes to decorating.  I enjoy it, but I don't shop for my home very often (or ever).  I think everyone has something that they feel pretty crazy to spend money on and, for me, that's home decor.  I'd rather have a new shirt or, better yet, buy clothes for Millie.

Speaking of decor and Millie, I bought her a stocking.  It's a technicality, really.  We aren't ever here at our house for the holidays so I don't know that her stocking will even be used except for looks.  I forgot to get one for her last year so I bought her a really sweet heirloom needlepoint stocking from L.L. Bean just a couple of weeks ago.

And just for the fun of it, here's her First Christmas ornament from last year.  I love it.

I love looking at photos of the babies from a year or more ago.  I can't believe how much they've changed in what seems like a short amount of time.  Here they are on 11/29/09 (l to r:  Kate, Anna, Amelia):

 And here they are on 11/27/10 (in the same order, only Caleb [6] and Ben [4 months - my sister, Carrie's, 3rd] are sandwiched between them:

How time flies!  The girls are starting to play with each other more and getting into the territorial phase.  Amelia is the youngest - she's almost 18 months.  Anna is the oldest of the girls at 20 months and Kate is 19 months.

I think that does it for me tonight. 

Happy Wednesday!

The Business. She's a Beast.

It's been two months since I last posted.  To the day.  Odd.
Somehow I have over 760 "fans".  And if I could send free bows to each one I totally would.

But, the business is why I haven't been blogging.  Or cleaning.  Or cooking much.  Or, really, much of anything.  It's pretty much grown into a huge, scary monster that I am afraid I can't handle anymore.  Busy is a blessing, don't get me wrong, and I certainly wouldn't complain.  But I feel an obligation to every single one of my customers to make the best product possible and ship it as soon as possible which is very stressful.

It sounds easy.  You're thinking it sounds easy.

It was easy when I first started and had, maybe, an order a week.  Now I'm looking at my order sheet of orders placed this week and last and wondering how I'm going to ship 16 orders as quickly as I'd like.  The truth is, I'm not.  And I have that disclaimer on my main business page - that it could take 2-3 weeks for in-stock orders to ship.  You'd think that would make me relax a little but it doesn't.  It makes me twitch.  Do you know how quickly 2 weeks flies by?

Christmas is 3 months away!

I digress.  Really.  Because I'm not complaining, I promise.  I could just use one or two of Santa's elves right about now.  He should stop being so selfish and gimme one.


On to other things.  Like my sweet, beautiful Amelia.  She's such a good girl and this age is SO fun.  I don't let my business completely overtake everything in my life, especially her.  We have a great time.  She's hilarious - I'm really enjoying 15 months old.


She can say a lot of things because she tries to mimic everything you say.  Today, she said a word and I didn't understand it (big surprise), so I said "What?" To which she responded "What?  Whaaat?  Whaaaaaat?"  I would be offended that she were mocking me if she weren't 15 months old and learning to speak.


She says "Thank you" ("Tchank Tcho") without prompting.

She says "I love you" ("Ya Ya") and gives kisses and hugs without prompting.

She says "All Done" ("Ahh Duh") as she signs it now.

Give her 100 toys and she will always go right for a baby doll and tote it around with her.

She laughs a lot, but she laughs the hardest at/for her cousin, Caleb.  They are GREAT friends.


The girl will eat any dried or fresh fruit you stick in front of her.  She may be a somewhat picky eater with some things, but fruit is not one of them.

"Default happy" is how my husband describes our baby, and he's right.  She just seems content and easy-going 95% of the time.  She gets that good naturedness from her daddy.  Not that everything is stars and rainbows all of the time - she has her moments.  But, we deal with the attitude and move on.

She will and does walk off with things.  No idea where the remote control for our Blu Ray player is.  She walked off with one of David's favorite pens - can't find it anywhere.  Half the time we can't find our lip balm or remotes for our bedroom lights.  It'd be frustrating if it weren't so funny.


She started walking in mid-August and hasn't slowed down since.  That was the same week we were down in Portland buying our '05 Honda Odyssey Touring.  Yes, a van.  And I LOVE IT.  Seriously, I think people who say they'll never own a van need to drive one around for a week and see how awesome it is.  Remote control doors and rear hatch?  Um, yes, please!  Seats that fold into the floor and hidden compartments in the floor for storage?  OKAY!  The list seriously goes on and on. 



You'll notice many of the photos are from this month. We drove down to Portland last weekend for an early trip to the Pumpkin Patch at Sauvie Island. We had a really great time but many of the festivities weren't out yet - too early. I should mention that my sister, Carrie, made the girls' t-shirts. Cute, right? She's making more to sell in my Millie's Bows comment game on October 1st. See my Facebook fan page for details.

And, just for fun, here's a photo of the newest member of the family!  Meet Benjamin!  My sister, Carrie, gave birth to him on July 28 of this year.  He's so squishy and loveable.  That's my dad holding him.


Happy Friday!

Starting to Forget

I was so concerned about potentially boring my few readers that I neglected writing about Amelia as often as I wanted to and should have.  Now I'm starting to forget so much about her first several months.  I know we had rough nights (and some rough days), but not wanting to be a downer, I rarely posted details.  How lame.  Life is full of ups and downs - how can anyone read a blog that's all "ups" and no "downs" with any sense of reality at all?  Especially with a newborn the wonderful moments outweigh the tiring, emotionally exhausting ones, but I think they're all worth documenting.

Often we drive past the gas station where, on the way home from Bible class one night, we had to park there so we could take turns soothing an inconsolable baby.  My parents were in town that night and my mom spent a lot of time with me trying to figure out what was wrong with her...I think Amelia was maybe a month old.  Finally my mom, being the rockstar superhero that she is, soothed Amelia with a combination of song and belly rubbing.  I know now that it was painful gas causing my baby to get so upset.
So, I'm here now. I have to get back on the proverbial horse and write about my sweet baby. It makes me so happy to go back and read the few posts I did manage to write when we first brought her home and the months that followed.

Here are some things about my 10 1/2 month old baby girl:

- She doesn't like anyone to touch her hands.  At all.  I was able to put a finger puppet on her pointer finger tonight in Bible class before she slipped her hand out of my grasp.  I think it was just an attitude thing, but when I was holding her tonight I had my hand on her leg and she kept pushing my hand off.

(Picture to the right is of Amelia and her pediatrician.  We love her!)

- She still only has 2 teeth that are all the way through and those are on the bottom.  The white of her left eye tooth is clearly visible but no sign of her two front teeth yet. 

- She loves graham crackers, green peas, cheese, all fruit, Costco hot dogs and buns, and beef.  She's not a big fan of chicken or turkey.

- She loves Tess.  Every morning when she first sees Tess, she claps and says "Hi Teh!"  She's constantly grabbing Tess's toy rope and waving it in front of Tess's face until Tess grabs it and they play some tug-of-war.

- She hugs me every time I get her up in the morning and after her naps.  I love it.  She will give me hugs and kisses any time I ask, and I ask a lot! 

- She's a daredevil.  Climbs on things, including our couch, and loves to be tossed into the air.

- She says "Mama", "Dada", "Bah" (Book), "Teh" (Tess), and tries to say a lot of other things.  She's just at the age where she'll look at your mouth when you're saying something and she really tries to figure out how to say it.  She babbles all of the time.  I can't wait to see what she says next!

- Her favorite games are "Peek-A-Boo", "I'm Gonna Get That Baby", and "I See a Belly!"  She loves her books, especially "Open the Barn Door" because I make the animal noises.  Every time I say "Woof Woof", Amelia laughs.

(Picture to the left is her about a week ago when she fell asleep for the night using her stuffed bunny as a pillow)

- She loves her daddy.  When she hears him come in the door, she crawls over to the gate and claps and bounces up and down.  She wants him to hold her right away and she'll spend until dinner snuggling and playing with him.  She loves repeating noises that he makes.  He'll say "Ha ha ha" and she will repeat it.  They do a lot of "Ah!"s back and forth. 

- She has learned on her own how to uncap lipbalm and Vaseline as well as how to push the button on the wipes box and start pulling wipes out of the container.

- If she is done with something it goes on the floor.  This applies to books, toys, and especially food.  Tonight I gave her pieces of cooked chicken breast dipped in mixed veggie puree.  On the floor.  Then I tried salvaging the pieces (they had dropped onto a clean towel which we had underneath her) by putting a small piece of pineapple on top of each piece.  That did the trick.  My baby loves pineapple, just like her mama and completely unlike her daddy.  The "on the floor" thing has become an issue in the middle of Bible class or worship services when she just lets go of whatever toy she's done holding and it falls loudly onto the floor.  So, we are teaching her not to drop things on purpose.  It's a fine line between purpose and accidental at this age.

- She's not so much a drama queen, she stays pretty even tempered.  However, her whine/cry sounds like the most pathetic noise in the world.  Sometime I'll record it and post it.  There are days when she's not in the best mood and that's all I hear.  It makes me want to saw my ears off with a spoon.

I think that's enough for tonight.  Good timing on her part - she just cried out.  Hopefully (praying!) she isn't really awake and that was just a squeal in the night.  We'll see.  Mama needs sleep.  I planned to get up with David tomorrow morning but I also planned to go to sleep 2 hours ago. 

Happy Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday: Rub-a-dub-dub

Flowery cupcakes

This weekend we were in Portland for my niece's first birthday.  My sister baked some cupcakes and bought some candy for us to, hopefully, get us inspired on how to decorate the cupcakes.  I tried working with some of the candy she bought but neither one of us were really happy with how it was turning out.  I had researched a little online and found that it's possible to roll out gumdrops and cut shapes into them.  I thought that was a clever idea but when we were at the store at 10:15pm the night before the party to readdress the cupcake decorations, Starbursts sounded better and the colors were brighter.  I figured rolling those out would have the same effect.  So, we bought them.

After I rolled out the Starbursts and cut them into flowers, I poked a hole through them with a toothpick and Carrie rolled the scraps into balls and we used those as the center of the flower.  Then, we stuck the toothpick through the green Sour Patch Straws that Carrie had purchased earlier that day and voila!  Cupcakes with flower sticking out of them.

Anna definitely approved..

Caption This!

I don't get out much.  I make bows and get over-excited about my daughter clapping open-handed for the first time. That's not to say I don't do important things, they're just not interesting to anyone but me.

My mom got the babies matching dresses and after Amelia had her picture taken in it, Mom loved the pose so much that she wanted to duplicate it with the other 2 girls.  Fortunately, the photography chain we used near my home up here is one that my family uses often down in Oregon and they had a similar background for the babies. 

The babies also got matching denim dresses from Granny & Granddad (my mom & dad) so we got a shot of them alone and also one with Caleb.  Of course they're all wearing Millie's Bows.  I tried to talk Caleb into wearing one but he wouldn't do it. 

My bow business is going extremely well.  I have several orders stacking up and am having to decide between cleaning my house or making bows.  Both have to get done but guess which one wins out most often?

It was so fun being in Oregon and watching the babies play together and play with Caleb.  Amelia absolutely adores her big cousin which works for me - he's endless entertainment for her.

Anna is the personality of the group.  She's so funny and she eats like a truck driver.  Obviously she's adorable, but I think more than being cute her personality totally shines through.  She's always good for a laugh - and a pose.  This picture struck me as hilarious and I think it would make a good "Caption This" contest.  So, give it your best shot - I'd love to hear your caption suggestions!

A little weighed down

Millie and I had an adventure today.  We even dragged David, my dad, and a random young couple and their little boy in to it.

I decided it would be fun to take the train to Portland with Amelia.  I figured it would be less stressful to ride rather than drive, so I bought the $28 one-way ticket and, while nervous, was optimistic.  How bad could it be?  Just like taking a plane, right?  A lot of help with bags - just check them at the front counter and carry on your small bags and, in my case, my baby.  So, I packed a very large suitcase and planned to take the car seat by wrapping it in a garbage bag.

There is a train station just about 6 miles from our house and that seemed a little too convenient but, like I said, I was optimistic.  A friend who initially told us about the train and how great of a trip it is came over on Wednesday to hang out with Amelia and me.  I told her that we were leaving from the station closest to us and she said "You know that's an unmanned station, right?  You pretty much just walk up and get on the train.  But, I'm sure the conductor will step off the train and help you with your stuff."

Okay.  I got even more nervous but I was still picturing an actual train station that you walk up to, walk inside, maybe get a cup of coffee, relax, check your bags, and eventually get on the train.

Imagine my surprise when David drove me to the train station in the Back 40 and it was a raised platform with some shabby wooden overhangs as covering and absolutely nowhere to check any bags.  It was pouring down rain and David grabbed the baby in her car seat and the diaper bag while I had my big suitcase rolling behind me as well as another carry-on.  We realized we had to cross to the other side of the platform where the south-bound train will approach via a walkway under the platform then up what felt like a steep incline to the little bus-stop-like shelters to wait for the train.  I have to give a shout-out to David.  He (twice) scoped out the area and went up to walk around the platform to find out where we needed to go so that the baby and I could stay warm and dry in the car.  Love him.

The train approached and the conductor stepped off to help me with my bags.  I said goodbye to David and boarded.  He stood outside the window and waved to us, then snapped this photo:

I think it's a funny picture because Amelia is smiling at David and he's literally jogging alongside the train to take the picture.

The ride itself went just fine.  Amelia didn't want to eat any formula which didn't surprise me.  When a lot is happening around her she just refuses to drink formula and, when I was nursing, she refused to nurse.  So, she got a lot of solid foods on the train including raisins, a toasted bagel and each bite I dipped in apple blueberry baby food, yogurt bites, and Cheerios.  About an hour after we left she zonked out in my arms and I was able to lay her down in the seat next to me which, fortunatly, was never filled even though every other seat was filled.

Unfortunately she only slept for about half an hour until a loud noise woke her up, but I was able to flip through a few pages of a magazine and doze off for a little bit while she slept which was great.

A few times, a young couple walked past with their adorable 2-year-old son who was dressed in blue and white striped overalls and a matching conductor's hat.  CUTE.  The first time Amelia saw them, she said "HI" plain as day.  It was so sweet that I called David and told him about it. 

The conductor who helped me with my bags to get on the train was so nice and actually he stopped by a couple of times during the trip to tell me what a good baby I had.  However, he was nowhere to be found when we arrived in Portland.  Instead, another very grouchy conductor helped me.  I told him where the first conductor put my bags and as he was lifting them off the train and onto the platform he growled at me that my bags were illegal in size and weight and that I shouldn't have been allowed to carry them on.  I told him that I had planned to check them but there was nowhere to check them. 

He said, "Well, there probably was a place but you just didn't get there in time to find it!" 

I was dumbfounded.  I didn't know what to say, so I just mumbled something like "Actually that's not the case..." and then he said "Oh, wait, where did you get on the train?"

When I answered him, he said "Oh, yeah - there isn't a place there to check bags.  Sorry, miss, sorry.  Sorry about that."

Maybe he was just having a bad day - I hope he doesn't treat every customer that way.

He set my bags on the platform and left.  So, picture this.  I'm carrying the following:

- a 17ish lb baby
- a diaper bag
- a messenger bag
- a car seat in a garbage bag
- and I'm pulling a large suitcase behind me

Yeah, it wasn't working well.  I tried, but the train station entrance looked like the finish line of a marathon and I was standing at the start.  I opened my big bag just enough to grab the Bjorn.  Unfortunately, the last time I wore the Bjorn I undid all the hooks and buttons on it so I was having a really hard time trying to hold Amelia and figure out how to put on this contraption.  About that time the young couple with the 2-year-old son walked by me.  I thought I was the only one left on the platform but was relieved to see them and especially relieved and extremely grateful when they offered to help carry some of my load.  I had asked my dad to come in to the train station to meet me since I knew I wouldn't be able to get all of my luggage so luckily he was standing right inside the door as we walked in. 

My dad took me to my all-time favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch on the way to their house and Amelia enjoyed more yogurt bites and some sticky rice.  I enjoyed General Tso chicken.

Amelia still, even though I had tried several times, wouldn't drink formula at all.  Of course I was worried because she hadn't had even a drop since 5:45am and here it was 1:20pm.  But, when we got to a quiet room before her nap she drank some and that made me feel better.  However, her nap was only an hour long.  So, she had a total of an hour and a half of sleep between 5:45am and 8:00pm when she went to bed.  For her, being overtired means being upset about bedtime.  I tried rocking her but she fought me so I let her cry.  She fell asleep about 40 minutes later after some crying and whining. 

It's been a long day and I don't know why I'm still awake.  Amelia had so much fun today playing with her cousins.   Here's Amelia and Anna with Caleb.  He's such a good big brother/cousin and the babies love him.
 

Amelia and Kate

The girls with Caleb

Amelia sported her "UW" turtleneck and socks today to support the University of Washington Huskies since they were in the Sweet Sixteen, but they lost to West Virginia.  Oh well!

Tomorrow we have a lot going on but I'm looking forward to this weekend with family even though I miss David.  My mom's birthday was today so tomorrow we celebrate since she was busy tonight.

I have to go to bed - it's almost 1am!  I got 5 hours of sleep last night so I really need to try to squeeze in as much as I can.

Goodnight!

Things are Bloomin'

I'm going to do this post in a bulleted format because simply too much has been going on and if I write about all of it I'll bore myself and you.  So, here goes!

- Millie's first tooth (her bottom left) broke through on February 5th.  This helps explain the terrible sleeping and overall crankiness that is atypical for her. 

- The night before Valentine's Day, David took Millie and me to a local chinese restaurant. I only bring this up because of how cute my baby looked that evening and because I have proof of her cuteness...

-  David and I went to see "Avatar" on Valentine's Day, but it was sold out so we saw the movie "Valentine's Day" instead.  It's a rental.  We finally saw "Avatar" yesterday in 3D and it was good - the animation (especially in 3D) is incredible.  Here's Amelia and David on Valentine's Day...

- David bought Amelia a Sophie the Giraffe teething toy as a Valentine's Day gift.  He also made her a card by drawing hearts and writing "Happy Valentine's Day" on a piece of folded cardstock.  He's not an artist but I hope he does that for her every Valentine's Day - it's pretty special.

- The weather here lately has been incredible.  Mid 50s to lower 60s and beautiful blue skies.  On Friday we took Amelia to the park right up the street.  David thought I was a little crazy for wanting to take her on the slide and swings, but we did it and I think she liked it, even if her face doesn't show it!

Our plum tree is really going crazy right now, blooming really early.  So I couldn't resist getting a couple of pictures of Amelia with it. 

- I thought I had more to say but apparently my memory is short.  Wait, I already knew that.  This is why I need to post often.  Otherwise I forget what I want to say.  Oh, I'm annoyed that the Olympics air live on the east coast and we get a 3 hour time delay even though they are taking place just a couple of hours north of here.

- Here's a cute video I took of Amelia (far right) with her cousins Kate (middle) and Anna (far left) last time we were in Oregon at the end of January. My sister, Lindsay, is the one with the blanket.

Busy week this week, but hopefully I'll post more often now.  Obviously if I wait then I forget everything.
Happy Tuesday!