Sunday, December 29, 2013

ellie: one month



happy one month, ellie!  
...  you had your first thanksgiving and christmas.  
...  you met your grandma niki, and your grandma and grandpa L, and your aunt alex. 
... you passed your hearing test.  yay!
...  you smile a lot more now and spend a decent amount of time awake and actually making eye contact with us.
... you love your big sister.
... you helped us celebrate avery's birthday and daddy's birthday.
...  i'm guessing you weigh around 10 pounds.  you're wearing size one diapers and 0-3 month clothes.
...  you not on a schedule and i have no idea how often you sleep or eat.  i feed you when you're hungry and you nap when you're tired.  i'm guessing you eat every 3 hours on average although you cluster feed in the evenings.  
...  you sleep in the rock 'n play and our bed.  
...  you saw the zoo lights and are usually pretty happy in the moby when you're out.  

i have loved the squishy newborn stage that you're in. i love snuggling with you whenever your big sister is sleeping.  and i love watching you and your sister hang out together.      

Friday, December 27, 2013

2013 in review.

in january




... we recovered from the holidays and took lots of trips to barnes and noble to play with legos and trains.

in february



... we celebrated valentines day.

in march



... we found out that we were going to be a family of 4!
...  we had a million snow storms.
... we took avery to the butterfly pavilion and aquarium and bought season passes to the aquarium.  still one of the best purchases of the year!
... we built a firepit in our backyard and then watched the snow pile on top.

in april


... i attempted to survive being pregnant in the first trimester
... we celebrated easter with church and ham.  and i will now never eat baked ham again.
...  we started to do a few more house projects.  we replaced the window in our family room and the backsplash in our kitchen and we painted the soon-to-be nursery.
...  we had a million more snow storms and i began to research moving places like texas and florida.

in may



... it snowed for the last time and the weather slowly started to warm up. 
...  i began to recover from being pregnant and slowly started feeling better.  we took avery to the pool on memorial day weekend and did a lot of work in the yard.

in june 




... we went back to maryland for two weeks!  we visited friends and family, took avery to the beach, and celebrated at a wonderful wedding.
...  we did every summer activity imaginable and enjoyed warm weather, flip flops, popsicles, front porch sitting, the pool, and open windows.  

in july





... we celebrated the fourth on a boat with avery and dunkin
...  we had grandma and alex out for a visit.
...  we made fires in our fire pit, ate ice cream, took the dogs to the reservoir, ate lunch outside, and discovered lamar's donuts, and bought a new car.
... avery started walking!!!

in august






... i told my boss about my decision to be a stay at home mom after baby number two.
... we took avery to heritage square and the county fair.
...  my dad came out for a long weekend.

in september








...  we celebrated my 30th birthday!
... we took our first real family vacation in southern california.  and then we came back to the floods in colorado.  
...  we enjoyed the last of some warm weather.  we took avery to climb on red rocks in boulder and squeezed in a few more evenings with the firepit. 

in october








... we went pumpkin picking 
...  we continued our annual tradition of pumpkin carving and cooking rice balls
...  we also took avery to a halloween party and then celebrated on halloween by dressing up and handing out candy

in november








... i had my last day of work, we finished the last of the preparations before ellie's arrival, and planning a lot of versions and inductions. 
... we counted all of the things we're thankful for right now.
...  my mom came out to visit and take care of avery during ellie's birth.
...  ellie alex was born on the 25th!
...  we celebrated thanksgiving.

in december







... we enjoyed all of our time as a family four.
...  we decorated for christmas and really enjoyed the season.
...  we celebrated charlie's birthday and avery's birthday.
... alex came out to visit and we had a relaxing christmas eve and christmas.  and then we took down our decorations and got ready for 2014!

christmas 2013.
















this christmas was cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a toddler who woke up at 5:30 am, a play kitchen for avery's big present, FaceTime with family, alex celebrating with us, a very sleepy baby, a long afternoon nap for everyone, christmas music on iTunes, pork and mashed potatoes for dinner, a glass of wine (the first in a long time), too many cups of coffee, spending the day watching avery play with her toys and holding a sleepy ellie, and attempting family pictures before bed (never a good idea).  

Thursday, December 26, 2013

pre-christmas 2013 and a very special birthday

it's the christmas season! which in our house is also the season of birthdays.  we celebrated charlie's and avery's birthdays last week and somehow i managed to make it through without feeling too stressed.

avery loved dinner!


charlie turned 31 on tuesday and we kept things pretty low-key.  just the way he likes them apparently.  he bought himself his gift a few weeks ago so i didn't have to stress about finding him the perfect present or even something acceptable enough that he wouldn't return.  he actually took the day off and started it off by letting me sleep in with ellie and making french toast for us & his parents who were visiting.  have i mentioned he's a good guy?  we hung out, took avery to the playground, and ate dinner at a japanese steakhouse.  we had plans to do the zoo lights after dinner but it ended up running pretty late and so instead we headed home for cake and presents before avery's bedtime.  every year he asks for a carvel cake, which makes things even easier for me.  i got him the game cards against humanity, which we played for a bit with his parents that night.  definitely not a game to play with anyone who you don't know too well!  



avery's second birthday was also pretty tame.  ellie was pretty fussy that whole day so i had to spend a lot of time just taking care of her.  we took avery to barnes and noble to play with the legos, had macaroni and cheese for dinner, FaceTimed with everyone by the end of the day, and opened a few presents.  when i asked her what kind of cake she wanted she told me chocolate with chocolate icing so that's what she got! the icing was a little stiff but overall the cake was pretty good.

and here's just some random pictures of us and the kids as of late.  i can't get over how big ellie is getting!  at her two week appointment she was just about 8 pounds but i'm guessing she's gained at least a pound or two since then based on the fact that she's outgrowing all of her clothes.  avery is slightly obsessed with her sister and is really helpful with taking care of her throughout the day.









Tuesday, December 24, 2013

happy christmas eve.



right now we have turkey soup simmering on the stove for dinner, a second pot of coffee was just brewed, christmas music is playing constantly, my sister is in town and has been playing with avery since the second she ran down the stairs to wake her up this morning, and we have plans to take the kids to the playground and watch elf later today.  and we promised avery we'd drive around again tonight to look at christmas lights.

after avery's in bed tonight we'll be wrapping a few presents and assembling her big gift and then tomorrow we get to spend the morning watching her open presents.  our christmas (new years) cards have been sent, our presents have been bought, and all we have left to do is enjoy these few days together.  i have loved the christmas season this year.  it's been slow and sweet and amazing to watch through avery's eyes.  i've loved that her excitement has been over the christmas lights and buddy the elf's mysterious appearances and drawing snowmen and santas and getting christmas cards in the mail.  she doesn't really get the present thing yet, which has made this christmas about the season itself and not a list of things that she wants to play with.  

merry christmas eve.  and we miss you mom & dad. 

Sunday, December 22, 2013

two!

two years.  i still can't believe it.  how is it possible that you've already been a part of this family for two years?  mostly, it feels like you were born just yesterday but i also can't imagine a day when you weren't a part of our family. 

avery, here's you at two:  


you're funny.  
you make us laugh all.the.time.  you repeat things we say back to us all the time which is both hilarious and terrifying.   


you love your baby sister.  
i'll admit it isn't always easy and you don't love her 24 hours a day but things have gotten a lot easier in the past week and you really are the sweetest with her.  you constantly want to hold her, you always come and comfort her when you hear her crying, you show her your toys, help with her diaper changes and baths, and hug and kiss her all the time.  


you're a big talker.  
your dad was making fun of me because just the other day i said that i felt like your vocabulary has just exploded, but really it has.  everything is a part of your vocabulary now and you are constantly saying words and phrases that i didn't think you knew.  you're talking in full sentences, using pronouns correctly about half of the time, and having conversations with anyone you decide is worthy of one.  the other day we were coloring and you said to charlie "look dad, i made a circle on the table".  last month you hadn't figured out that avery = i or me but now you use it all the time.  one funny thing that you say all the time is "i do", which means yes.  sometimes you use it correctly like when we ask you if you want to go take a bath but other times it's just a substitute for the word "yes".  


you love books.  
you read to your sister, to yourself, you ask your dad and i to read you books all the time.  you've really liked our christmas books this month and you're still a pretty big fan of dr. seuss.  i love watching you read and reading to you and i hope that your love for reading doesn't end any time soon.  you have a great memory and have memorized a few of the books that we read pretty frequently.  fox in socks is one of your favorites that you ask your dad to read just about every night (apparently i don't read this one fast enough or without mistakes because you never want me to read it unless he's out of town).  you also like to read this one on your own and you know what's happening in each of the pages.  you'll say "fox socks box" and "sue sews" and "slow joe crow comes" and on and on.  i think i actually enjoy watching you read the book more than your dad.  :)


you love being outside. 
you love going to the playground, going on runs in the stroller with your dad, and playing with the snow.  it's been really, really cold lately but we try and get you outside to play as often as we can.  


you love animals.  
you play with your animals all the time and are really good at identifying them.  you can tell the difference between an elk and a moose, a big horn sheep and a ram, a lizard and an alligator, a monkey and a gorilla, and many others that i won't name here.  you love to make up games and songs with your animals and had a really fun time playing with your grandma when she was out here visiting.  you're less into our animals these days and are currently in a phase where dunkin seems to annoy you a lot and you're always pushing him and saying "dunkin move".  but then you'll climb on top of him and pet his ears and grab his tail.  you're pretty lucky he's such a good dog.  you're always trying to get the cats in trouble and will tell us "toby get down" (your way of telling us that toby is on the counter) even if he's not even around.  you still love going to the aquarium and will get pretty excited if we talk about going.



you're a great helper.
you help to clean.  usually the appliances are a favorite although the other day you helped me out with cleaning the bathrooms.  you'll get out a diaper, changing pad, and wipes if i need to change ellie and will actually get upset if anyone else tries to help.  you hand us wipes while we're changing her and you love to pretend to change your animals.  


you're a great sleeper.
you sleep about 11-12 hours at night and put yourself to sleep.  you demand that i put your blankets on you when i put you in your crib.  you're also (finally) successfully napping in your crib.  we have the same routine for naps as we to for bedtime:  books, a review of our day, and then you climb into your crib.  your daddy started singing the wheels on the bus to you at nap time so you now request that during naps.  
   

aaand ....
you play imaginary games all the time with your animals, stuffed animals, the dogs and cats, and just about anything else.  you give kisses and hugs all the time and demand that we give them back.  you also will ask for a kiss if you see your daddy and i kissing.  you love the broncos and assume that every football team on tv is them.  you ask to wear your broncos shirt every day and get so excited when you wear it on game days and your daddy wears his, too.  you're cautious about new people and situations and prefer to hang back with your dad or i until you're really comfortable with new people. you love to draw and are really good at holding pens, markers, and crayons.  you're still a bit ambidextrous.  you write with your right hand but eat with your left.  you love your grandparents even though we don't see anyone as often as we would like.  you love to meet new dogs and are fearless about petting other people's animals.  you smile and laugh all the time.  even though you've started throwing some epic tantrums you usually bounce back pretty quickly.  you wake up grumpy from naps just like i do.  you take care of your bunny the way that i take care of ellie.  you hold her, dress her, cover her in blankets, feed her, and change her diaper.  you LOVE christmas: the lights, the trees, the decorations, the cookies,

  

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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happy birthday to the best sunday morning pancake maker, fox in socks reader, 3 am diaper changer, wheels on the bus singer, halloween decorator, baby carrier, house cleaner, dinner partner, grocery shopper, bath giver, hiking partner, ikea furniture assembler, christmas light hanger, dad, and friend.  can't think of anyone i'd rather do life with.  happy 31st.  

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

christmas 2013.

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i knew that this holiday season was going to be a little different than in years past both because we were going to have a very new newborn with us and because avery is actually at an age where she can understand and get really excited about christmas.  i am loving the 'almost two' age (usually) because she just gets things now that she hasn't in the past and it makes things a lot more fun.  we knew that we definitely wanted to make the season fun for avery but i also knew that running around and doing a lot of activities wasn't going to happen because ellie was so new and honestly both charlie and i are still adjusting to the lack of sleep.  but because avery is old enough to get the holidays it's also made us think a lot more about how we want to celebrate and what traditions we want to establish.  

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avery's really into the christmas decorations this year, which has been really fun.  we tried to involve her as much as possible in decorating since she gets so excited about it.  we broke our previous tradition of decorating for christmas the day after thanksgiving since we were planning on having ellie prior to thanksgiving.  we both knew that decorating with a newborn would be a lot less fun than enjoying the decorations while sitting on a couch with a newborn.  so charlie hung the outside lights at the beginning of november and we put up our inside decorations a week or so before thanksgiving. we've always kept it pretty simple inside (and even with that the clutter of the decorations is beginning to drive me nuts).  avery helped with the tree, although she was in a terrible mood that day so wasn't as into it as she might have been.  she's so cute because every time she sees the outside lights she'll say "daddy hang christmas lights.  thanks dad." and every time she sees the inside lights, like the ones i hung in the playroom she'll say "mommy hang christmas lights.  thanks mom".  it definitely makes decorating worth it to see how excited she still is over these things.  i got her a mini tree for her room and she's still really into holding the ornaments during diaper changes and turning the lights on and off of the tree.

charlie got a train for around the tree this year and she's liked it almost as much as he does.  it's the polar express and it came with the book (now we have two copies) and the bell.  

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one of the christmas ideas that seems to be everywhere is the idea of wrapping up 25 christmas books and unwrapping one each day and reading it.  i love that idea but i also love the idea of having all of our christmas books available to read during december.  we read all the time and she's really liked some of the christmas books.  some of her favorites that we read every day are the bearenstein bears christmas tree, the sights and smells of christmas, the polar express, and 'twas the night before christmas.  i think her favorite out of all of them is the bearenstein bears and i've been pretty impressed that she'll sit through the whole book because it's long! and sometimes even ask for it to be read multiple times.  

we sort of do the elf on the shelf tradition.  neither charlie and i are sure if we're going to do the whole santa thing with avery.  i mean she knows who he is but we haven't done the whole concept of santa bringing you presents on christmas.  both of us hate the idea that santa brings you presents if you're good.  mostly, i just don't like the idea of using santa as a bribe or a threat and i don't want her behavior to be tied to some imaginary figure that brings presents.  also, i think that christmas can be pretty magical with or without the big guy in the red suit.  anyway, charlie told her that the elf comes during the holiday season and that he's there to watch over us and make sure that we're safe.  we do attempt to move him once a day although we've both been pretty bad at that but she does look for him and gets excited when he shows up in a different place.  charlie named him buddy last year and she'll tell you that buddy's the elf and he makes sure we're safe.

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a few other things that we've done are baking christmas cookies.  avery was really into this and also really, really into eating them in front of the christmas tree.  i love how she gets so excited about little things like that.  we also made a christmas tree out of painters tape and then cut out ornaments for her to put on the tree.  i wasn't sure about this but it was actually a pretty big hit.  my mom did a few crafts with her when she was in town.  they did a foam christmas tree, a rudolph face that had to be glued together, we made another rudolph one day at barnes and noble when they had crafts, and we made snowmen out of foam balls.  avery's really into crafts so all of these were fun, easy activities that made the really cold weather that we've been having not seem so terrible.  

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we also watched a christmas movie.  avery's never actually watched a movie before so this was sort of extra special.  we started the grinch for her one night and then she finished it the next morning.  she really liked it and snuggled up with charlie during most of the movie.  i also found the bearenstein bears christmas tree (the book that we read all the time) on youtube and we watched that.  it's a short one (about 20 minutes) and she liked it but it didn't hold her attention nearly as well as the grinch did.  when she gets older i'd love to have friday's during advent be christmas movie nights because there are so many good christmas movies to pick from.

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Day 30: thankful for this view. Doesn't get much better than this. #30daysofthanks

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but mostly we've spent this time just hanging out as a family and wearing a lot of christmas pj's.  avery's been playing a lot, we've been coloring and drawing santas and snowmen, we've been taking turing holding ellie, and just spending this time just enjoying being a family of four.  we'll have visitors the last 2 weeks of december and this time with just the four of us has been really, really nice.  in the future, especially as the kids get older i know we'll be doing more activities, but i hope that we don't get too busy during this season, that we learn to say no to certain things, enjoy time as a family, and focus on family and friends and the time that we spend together.  i feel so incredibly fortunate to have had this time with my family, without charlie traveling, and to have had so much family come and visit us.  it's really been the perfect christmas season. 

Friday, December 6, 2013

ellie's first week.

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this is what happens when i turn my back for a second.  avery dumped her animals all over ellie and was happily playing with them on top of her.

i can't believe she's already a week and a half old already.  most of the time it seems like she's been with us loads longer than that.  i knew that this time would fly by, especially because this is such a busy season in general, but i also think that having a toddler to chase around has made the time go that much faster.  

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my first day 'alone' with them.  charlie was back to work.  i'm still nervous for his first overnight trip.

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avery loves to read to her and ellie's usually pretty into it if she's awake.

in general this first week having ellie has been so much easier than our first week with avery.  i think most of this is because we've done this before but also she's been a really easy baby so far.  (i'm praying that this continues).  she doesn't cry during diaper changes or baths or really at all unless she's hungry and i've made her wait too long.  but even when she does start crying she's pretty easily appeased by being held.  avery on the other hand screamed through diaper and outfit changes and baths.  they both did sleep a lot at this point.  i remember when avery was around a week old being worried that she was actually sleeping too much and ellie's been the same way.  

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first time breastfeeding her.  did i mention how much better her delivery was than avery's?

Day 30: thankful for this view. Doesn't get much better than this. #30daysofthanks
sleepy baby + christmas tree = good night.

she's been eating really well and does well with eating every 3 hours.  the first night she was super sleepy and i literally could not wake her up to eat despite trying everything.  left to her own devices she seems to wake up every 3 to 3.5 hours at night and i think would go longer throughout the day if i let her but i'm trying to establish day as the time we eat and play and nights as the time for sleeping so i'll wake her every 3 hours, change her diaper and feed her every three hours throughout the day.  she's a lot like avery in that she doesn't eat for nearly the recommended feeding times.  she'll usually eat for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes a feeding and only on one side.  avery was the same way and she seemed to do just fine.  weight gain is always one of my worries because i've never wanted to deal with being pressured to supplement with formula.  i can tell that she's growing and i honestly have way more milk than she's eating so i know she's just full and done with eating.  i've been trying to avoid pumping because i don't want my body to get used to producing that extra milk.  i figure i'll deal with pumping later if i feel like it.  i never started with avery until she was 6 weeks old and this time since i'm not planning on returning to the office i feel no pressure to build up a freezer stash or introduce a bottle.

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my three favorite people.

i was really lucky the first week because my mom was here with avery and charlie was also off of work.  basically there were lots of extra hands around which was really nice so i could just physically recover and also not worry too much about avery being entertained.  charlie and i both pushed to be released from the hospital after 24 hours.  my midwife was more than fine with it but the on call pediatrician only released us on the condition that we would follow up with our doctor the next day.  luckily i was able to get an appointment because we both wanted to go home pretty badly.  i think hospital beds are really uncomfortable and it's impossible to get any sleep anyway when you're trying to feed a newborn and you have people coming in to check your vitals and the baby's vitals every few hours.  the nurses were actually really great and tried to time their visits with her feedings but it's still so much better to be at home.  the first night at home i slept with her next to me which meant that i got so much more rest.  i also slept a good portion of the morning, too.  charlie does most of the diaper changes at night, too which is really helpful.  

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trying to burp her. 

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she's really into holding ellie. 

avery's been both really, really good with ellie and not so good at times.  overall she's really into her sister and i was impressed at how as soon as she was born she realized that ellie was her sister and now a part of our family.  we didn't really prepare for any of this ahead of time and i wasn't sure if she would actually grasp that concept.  she asks to hold her all the time, kisses her unprompted, tells her how cute she is:  "ellie so cute", and comforts her when she cries.  so she definitely cares about her and can be really sweet.  however, she definitely doesn't like when ellie actually needs something and therefore avery doesn't get the attention.  she'll hit her when i'm feeding her and sometimes for absolutely no reason at all.  i really think she just wants the reaction from charlie or i.  but it's been hard because i can't put ellie down anywhere within avery's reach unless i'm right there to make sure she'll be nice or move her if she isn't.  ellie's also not really into the moby or the ring sling, which would be good solutions.  i'm hoping that as she gets older she'll like being worn more and also that avery will grow out of the hitting phase.  

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first sponge bath.

one of the worries that i had when i was pregnant was that i wouldn't love ellie as much as avery or that i would almost feel resentful of her for taking my time away from avery.  honestly, it was never an issue.  as soon as she was born i pretty much fell madly in love with her and if anything i've felt guilty that because i've been trying to play with avery when ellie doesn't need me i haven't spent nearly as much time holding and snuggling with her that i was able to do with avery.  i mean i know this is irrational and that she has all of her needs met and if anything she actually sleeps better on her own, but i still want to soak up these sweet newborn moments as much as possible because i know it's going to get so much harder.  

it was really such a nice week.  starting with a fast and easy labor and delivery that couldn't have gone any better to being able to come home and spend a few days with my mom before she left 

Monday, December 2, 2013

thanksgiving, a new baby, and some family time.

so much to write.  so little time to write.  makes for one big, random post.  

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... my mom was out here for 9 days.  9 days.  it was awesome.  avery had such a great time with her grandma and it was so nice to just spend some time with my mom.  she was originally coming out because i had a version and induction scheduled for the 20.  but when i went to my regular appointment on the 18th we found out that ellie was head down again and so ended up canceling both.  we scheduled an induction for the 25th (although i was really hoping that she would come on her own before that) so that my mom could take care of avery and charlie could be at the hospital with me.  we had a great time in the few days before ellie showed up just hanging out.  avery was spoiled with all of the attention and my mom was such a help to have around.  especially when we were in the hospital and after we came home.  we were all sad to see her leave.  especially avery who cried when they said goodbye and who keeps saying "grandma have to go home" and "grandma come back christmas".  thankfully grandma will be back for christmas.  and this time she's bringing grandpa and alex, too!

Day 28: thankful that this little chunk was born healthy. I'm so excited for A to have a sister to grow up with. Also very thankful we were able to spend the holiday at home. #30daysofthanks

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...   ellie was a full pound and a half bigger than avery was when she was born.  i still can't really believe that and ellie still seems so big to me when now since i was used to my tiny 6 pound avery.  it makes me glad we didn't wait 2 extra weeks with her as she would have been really big if we waited that long!  although i actually think i would have gone into labor that week if i wasn't induced on monday.  this time the induction was fast and really easy.  it was pretty much everything i could have asked for from a labor and delivery standpoint.  i was induced at 8 am and she was born at 3:30 pm after less than 5 minutes of pushing.  much easier and with much less drama than avery's birth.  my midwife was great and so was the hospital staff.  we pushed pretty hard to go home 24 hours after her birth and i'm so glad we did.  sleeping in my own bed that night without nurses waking me up was amazing.  breastfeeding is going really well and i forgot how amazing and fun newborns are in those first few days before they start crying much.  :)  she was unnamed until a few hours after she was born and so all the paperwork we have from the hospital says "baby girl L".


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...  we broke all the rules and decorated for christmas before thanksgiving.  i'm so glad we did because i did want to decorate this year because i knew avery would be super into it but i didn't want to be trying to recover from having a baby and attempting to juggle a newborn and a toddler and worried about putting up a christmas tree.  plus, i wanted avery to be able to really enjoy everything and not feel like it was rushed or something we had to do.  i'm so glad we did it before because it was not only something to do to distract myself before ellie was born but also avery really did enjoy it and it was nice to come home to a decorated house.  i usually get sick of christmas decorations and am ready to rip them down by the 26th because i can't stand all of the clutter but we'll see how motivated i am this year to take them down.

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...  avery has been charlie's little buddy since we got home from the hospital.  she has quickly moved on from me and is all about daddy helping her do things and hanging out with charlie.  i'm so glad that she moved out of the mommy phase that she was in before ellie was born and i'm glad that she's enjoying all of her time with charlie.  i'm still really scared of the day when charlie starts to travel and i'm left to take care of the both of them all day and night by myself.

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...  we crafted!  i was slightly impressed with myself for actually doing a real activity with avery instead of just playing with her toys.  not that she was neglected as grandma did lots of activities with her but i felt bad for not spending as much time with her and she's definitely been a little jealous of the time that i've had to spend taking care of ellie.  anyway, we made little snowmen.  she was really only interested in making a mess and stabbing the foam balls over and over with toothpicks but she did have a good time and now whenever she sees the snowmen she gets excited and says "snowmen so cute!".  so i guess it was a hit.  charlie even joined in on the fun and made one himself.

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...  we spent thanksgiving at home, which was so, so nice.  charlie made rice balls and stuffed mushrooms and my mom made turkey breast, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and caramel pie.  and i sat on the couch with ellie during most of the day and even snuck a nap in the afternoon.  very low key but i was very thankful to be home and even more thankful for all of the work that they did in the kitchen and taking care of avery.  dinner was delicious!