To do.

 Hello. I am very anxious about potty training Ella. I keep thinking about it and I keep putting it off like the slacker I am. Its such a commitment and a lot of work- always reminding her to go to the bathroom, cleaning up all the messes when she doesn't, taking extra clothes during outings in case of accidents, getting a mattress protector so night time issues won't soak and ruin her lil bed, holding her over other people's potties when we're out so her tiny little bum doesn't fall in- because her bum is tiny and it will. Pull ups or just diapers? How will she poo without her feet on the ground? These are my questions. I don't have answers.

 Lucy is such a good baby- her smiles bring me so much joy and they are often. She doesn't sleep through the night, but other than that, she's just excellent. I'm so pumped for when the girls can play together. Then Ella won't be asking me "Do you want to play with me?" 15x a day (whenever she asks its just so sweet and almost heartbreaking because her voice sounds like I haven't paid her any attention for hours- which is NOT THE CASE)

Christmas was good. Too many presents, but still good. I'm so annoyed that all my presents weren't winners- Ella maybe plays really with half of them. Bummer. The one that has gotten the most use I think is this sweet princess book.

Brent and I have started a 40 day diet.  We paid $50 for this Clean Simple Eats plan that maps out every meal and every snack and gives you a weekly grocery list and daily workouts. It's going pretty well. the food is pretty good so far (pineapple chicken and coconut rice for dinner tonight, Broccoli and turkey bacon pasta for dinner tomorrow), though the portions are quite smaller than what I would usually eat of course. It's SO nice and easier to have Brent do it along with me. I just bought a food scale online... so we're into it now. The recipes call for oz and grams of things sometimes, so it'll make it easier hopefully to portion correctly.

Christmas Time in Photos and Captions

She was too shy to talk to him but she rather liked him, and also the candy cane! She also asked me a few times where the reindeer were. I said they were sleeping..... ??

We saw the Nutcracker together!!! The most magical part of the holiday thus far. I may or may not have cried a little bit. Ella sat through the whole thing, riveted during the first half and a little tired in the second half. She especially liked how Clara had a little Nutcracker and it turned into a big Nutcracker.. and the fight between him and the Mouse King.

Outside the theater... running around. It was lovely.

She got the little stool out all by herself to get off an ornament to look at. It was so adorable. To keep it real, this specific day was super hard- both kids were all crying and mad about something all. the. time. and it was driving me nuts. Whatever, we get past it.

Festive.

For Christmas, we are giving our ladies (fingers crossed Ella loves these items- Christmas shopping is such a gamble! you never know whats worth it):

Train table

toddler drum and maraca set (I'm sure I'll regret it)

horse stick

some other crap, I can't remember.

play mat for Lucy

Also, Lucy is almost 3 months and she is such gem. She sleeps well (5 hour chunks at night and is easy to get back to sleep) and has started smiling and cooing- which brings me such joy. 

Lucy & Ella photo gig with Aunty

she always asks for chocolate milk these days

My sister in law Natalie is a wonderful photographer and I am so happy to share her photos of my kids with the world, they are so beautiful. 

ella has named this baby doll Lucy also.. she asks for this "big baby" several times a day and prefers it for some reason over her two other smaller baby dolls.

heres some more if you'd like to see:

I am in that stage of postpartum where all my hair is falling out. Whereas my previous bad hair habit was picking my split ends, now its running my hands through my hair to get out the loose strands... and it never stops. 

Also, Eleanor will be 3 months on Tues., Aug. 19th. It was cool when she was a newborn and all, but I like her way better now that she can smile and stay awake for more than 30 seconds at a time.

Eleanor: 2 Months

-she's starting to smile way more, and to coo. I cannot describe the cuteness of the noises that are coming out of this little baby.

-she sucks her thumb/whatever fingers she can get in her mouth to go to sleep. She'll take a binky at times, but its really the fingers that = sleep.

-she's slept through the night the last week or so, starting at 10:30pm - 6:30am and now its been till 8am. It's wonderful. Perhaps because of the thumb sucking?

-weight: 10 lbs. 7 oz. height: 22in. long - in the mid twenties percentile. So she is smaller than the normal baby, but the doctor didn't seem worried at all - which definitely put me at ease.

-wears size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes. This was a very exciting jump for me. 

I'm sure this is mostly normal, but I cannot get over reading other ladies' blogs about their babies! I love seeing what others' experiences are and how mine compare.

She's been liking to sit up lately. It's so wonderful- it makes her seem so big.

Eleanor had her first vaccination shots on July 21st. I was so impressed with the pediatrician- two ladies came in to give her the 3 shots, and they did it so quickly! Eleanor got over the shots pretty quick, but after she had come home and taken a nap, she did cry for a good half hour. Even the rest of the day she was a bit edgy. I gave her some infant Tylenol (grape flavored... yeesh), and after like 2 min, that stuff was done spit up, projectile style. But there she was, finally settled by being in the nude and with a binky. By the next day though, she seemed back to her sweet baby self. 

Eleanor's Baby Photos

I'm just dying over these sweet photos of Ella (taken when she was 11 days old! seems like ages ago). I'd love to share. They were taken by our good friend Mari Hesterman of Mariko Kay Photography (here's the link to her website). We are lucky to have a good friend who also happens to take fabulous photos for a living!

She Loves... She Hates...

Ohhhh babies. Eleanor likes:
-laying naked on the changing table, as seen above. She just kicks around and sometimes I'll get that rare gummy smile that I'm hoping will soon not be so rare.
-milk of course. She'll be kind of fussy and then I'll put her in the "feeding position" and she just opens her mouth, ready.
-to stretch after she eats- I think this is because she usually kind of snoozes at the end of a meal so when I move her, she stretches out of her slumber. She'll arch her back and put both teeny arms straight above her head.

Eleanor doesn't like:
-loud sneezes that interrupt her. She'll be eating or resting and Brent or I will sneeze, and her little face crinkles up in her little pout. I need to catch a photo of it because that pouty frown! It's too good. Other loud noises, and she just seems to flinch, but something about sneezes!
-tummy time. She'll handle a few minutes, and then... she's over it.
-the burping position. When I have her vertical and I'm trying to burp her, her little head just goes crazy- she cannot find a comfortable position! She doesn't usually like her head turned sideways laying against my chest (unless she's super sleepy), she'll turn her head kind of frantically this way and that, usually ending up face planted in my chest- and I'm like, can you even breathe baby girl?

It's surprising to me how fast the days go. I mean, my day is not physically demanding nor are my activities too varied. Yet, before I know it, it's noon and I'm still snuggling with Ella in my bed. Also, how I look no longer matters. Make up is a no go because I just think to myself how much time I'll save by not putting it on and not having to take it off. If Ella and I go out, we're lucky if I'm wearing something other than sweats and a button down (I never had to buy maternity shorts since I was pregnant in the winter, so I don't quite have any summer clothes that fit yet...). I pretty much always wear button downs at home, they are way easier to nurse in. (I'm liking "nurse" better than "breastfeeding" these days for some reason I can't quite determine. Also, I'm loving all the posts on Facebook about feeding your babies in public. Like this one for instance. Having now experienced breastfeeding and how stressful it is to feel like you can't comfortably feed your baby outside of your home... I'm all for those sorts of posts. Although its funny because I don't feel comfortable yet nursing in public because I know I will show a boob, but the thing is I wish I did feel comfortable showing a bit of boob while nursing because I think I have the right to. If a little something shows, other people can look away rather than me and my hungry baby trying to find an air conditioned closed off room with a chair- other than a toilet).

What's Up

June 12

1. breastfeeding. Is she latching on right? Is she getting enough milk? Why is she always falling asleep while eating? Why is this feeding only 10 min? Why is this feeding 45 min? Does she look like she's gaining weight? My arm hurts from holding her while feeding. I have to switch from one side to the other half way through and burp her in between? That adds even more time to the 30 min feeding. These are my thoughts while breastfeeding and it gets tiresome. But when she's eating and I can hear her little baby swallows- precious.

2. Her skin is just so soft, and everything is just so little. And she makes adorable faces when she's sleeping.

3. When Ella gives mixed signals- I wish babies could talk! She's eating her hands, so I think she's hungry. I start feeding her, and 5 min. later she starts crying. I think maybe she has a little gas, I try to burp her- nothing; and more adorable little whimpering noises. She's eating her hands again, so I try again to feed her. More little cries. She yawns- so I try to rock her to sleep. Nothing. Then the cycle just starts again... eep.

4. If she's been fussy for a while, and I rock her and rock her, and I finally get her to sleep. I feel like its such a sweet victory!

***more pictures after the jump