Some Christms Pictures

Added to the photo site!

Lambie

...and a flashback:



The girls are just about the same age in these pictures. Eloise is actually about two weeks younger than Marlee.

New 'Do

Marlee has a new haircut! Her hair was a bit scraggly, and no matter how much I tried to style it, she always looked like a bit of a ragamuffin. Now she has a cute little bob!

Angels Among Us

I wanted to share two simple stories that have reminded of the good in people this holiday season.

As most of you know, I volunteer for Meals on Wheels through our church. I started off doing deliveries, but I also cook. I love it. A few weeks ago, the coordinator called me to see if I would be able to cook for Christmas. I explained that Michael was out of a job, and that I would not be able to help out this year.

A few days ago, he called me back. He wanted to make sure we had everything we could want for Christmas dinner. He knew we had a new baby, and he didn't want her first Christmas to be lacking. I explained that although we were tightening our budget, we were fine, and to please spread his generosity to someone who really needs it.

Yesterday I got a card in the mail from several members of my church saying they held a prayer meeting and prayed that Michael would get an offer before the holidays. The meeting was Wednesday. The day before the offer came.

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Today was Marlee's last day of school before the holiday break. I left two tuition checks: one for December (the school had given me an extension due to our circumstances), the other was for January. The secretary just called me to say I'd made a mistake...that they had received a $50 cash payment from us last week, so I overpaid. I never made a cash payment.

An Early Christmas Gift!

Knowing Michael will have a job after the new year! The offer came yesterday. I didn't realize how down I was about the whole thing until the weight had been lifted. :)

On a Roll!

This post is a bit late...Eloise rolled from tummy to back on December 15th!

I didn't know how quickly she would reach milestones like this. While Marlee spent a lot of time playing on the floor, Eloise spends more of her playtime in her swing or crib for her own safety :). I thought this might slow her physical milestones a bit, but she's moving right along. I put her on the floor at Nanny's house, and she rolled over immediately. When I put her back on her tummy, she did it immediately again! I remember Marlee taking a few tries to finally get over. It seems to be no problem for Weezy!

Howard

Marlee has taken to naming everything Howard. I don't know where she got it, but it's hilarious. Right now, her current favorite is a ladybug named Howard that she keeps as a pet in a glass jar turned ladybug habitat.

3 Months Old!

I didn't get a great picture in this month's shoot, so I present you with a collection of outtakes :)

A Big Ol' Update

Marlee June has taken to her role as big sister like a pro. Eloise adores her, and she's a big help to me. She's so sweet to the baby and genuinely loves her. It brings tears to my eyes daily!

We've been working on potty training for the past couple of days. We had been back and forth with it for months, so I finally decided to go for it and say, "No more diapers!" It's going to be a rough week, but hopefully we'll have success in the end!

Marlee continues to impress us with her smarts. :) She's very into astronomy right now and can correctly identify all the phases of the moon and find Jupiter in the night sky. Grandma Cathy visited last week, and Marlee said, "Look at all the beautiful stars. See the bright one? That's Jupiter." Granted, Jupiter isn't a star, but it is the brightest object in the sky right now. Her pre-reading skills are continuing to develop as well. She can tell you the first letter of words and spell simple ones when we help her sound them out.

In the past two weeks or so, she's become obsessed with her pacifier. She was really good about only having it at bed time or in the car, but somewhere (I suspect Disney World) she fell off the wagon. So now we're having to work on that. She comes up with any excuse she can to get it. "I need to settle down." "I want to get in the car." "Mommy! I'm cryyyy-iiing!"

On to Eloise....

Sweet Weezy is growing and changing before our very eyes. It's amazing how much little babies develop each day. She's full of smiles and coos and loves to "tell stories." She's sleeping pretty well at night and giving me at least a four hour stretch...sometimes six! She is settling into a routine and is pretty predicable, just like her big sister was. I've been lucky to have two easy babies! Eloise is totally laid-back and go-with-the-flow. I suppose it's because she has to be to be a part of this wacky family!

Michael's job search continues after a bit of a heartbreak last week. He has several things in the works, and we're hoping one pans out before Christmas. It would be nice to go into the holidays knowing that things are better on the other side. Despite all the stress of unemployment, we're focusing on having a meaningful holiday with our girls.

Dumbo

My girls and I take to the skies!

A Belated Thankful Post

I'm thankful for so many things, but I just checked on my two sleeping girls, and I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. I can't believe that just three years ago I was so low that I threw a candle through a window, angry at life, convinced I'd never be a mom. Now here I am, with two angels, sweeter than I ever could have wished for. Thanks be to God.

Marlee the Star!

Click here to see a video of Marlee performing in a show at Epcot! She was excited but a bit shy. I'm so proud of her for getting up there...she was by far the youngest one.

Back From Disney World!

We had such a fantastic time! Marlee really loved it, and Eloise was a breeze. I'll write more later, but for now you can see the first round of pictures on the photo site!

Reason #89,042

Why I love my husband:

Two Month Check-up

Weezy had her two month well visit today. She got her very first shot, which is always sad to watch. Other than that, the appointment was good. Here are the stats:

Weight 11lb, 9oz 64percentile
Height 23 1/4 inches 74th percentile
Head 39.1 cm 52nd percentile

Two Months Old!

Twirling in the Leaves

Tummy Time

Smart Cookie

Marlee: Mommy, where's the moon?

Me: It's daytime. The moon is sleeping.

Marlee: That's uhcuz it's "nocturalt."

Our Little Red Head

Eloise's hair has always had a red tint...but look how red it's getting!

Talking in Her Sleep

MJ has been a bit under the weather the past couple of days. Right now, she's napping on the sofa, but she just said, "Mommy, I need you to get me some raisins." I wonder what she's dreaming about?

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween with friends! Thanks Eva and Mike for a great Halloween/football party. Marlee had a great time trick-or-treating with Sophie and Emily.





In case you were wondering, MJ's not dressed as anything in particuar. She picked out her "costume" from things she owns. It consisted of a pumpkin shirt, pink tutu, funky tights, coverse high tops, and (at times) her blue crochet hat.

Dancing in Papa's Truck

This was taken a few weeks ago.

Six Weeks Old

Sweet Eloise is six weeks old today! Her little personality is beginning to develop. She's mellow and reserved. Her smiles are few and far between, but when we get one, it's so sweet and loving.

I suspect that Weezy might have a sensitivity to cow's milk...so I've gone dairy-free for a while. I'm hoping that will help with her eczema and colic. If it does, I'll slowly start to eat dairy again until I find her threshold.

Oh, and though it's kind of hard to tell in this picture, she has red hair and blue eyes :)

Another Adventure

While we would have been happy wait a while for another big adventure, it has found us. Michael was laid off yesterday, along with some other coworkers. It's not too big of a shock...he felt like it would happen eventually, we just didn't know when. For whatever reason, neither of us is too stressed about it. We're not happy of course, but we're optimistic. I wonder where this adventure will take us....

Weezy Bear

I Have to Rest

Today, Michael asked Marlee what she was doing lying in her bed, and she replied,

"Remember? I have a baby sister in my belly and I don't feel good. I have to rest, remember?"

I guess everyone felt my difficult pregnancy!

Wordless Wednesday: Girls in Hats

Cousins

Marlee had so much fun playing with her cousin Henry this weekend! We were sorry he and his parents couldn't stay longer.

Resemblance?

I think they have the same nose...but that's about it. What do you see?

One Month Stats and Observations

10 lbs, 5 oz >> 78th percentile

21.75 inches>> 70th percentile

37.1cm head>> 50th percentile


Eloise is so different from Marlee. It's funny, when you have one child, you just assume your other children will look like her. I pictured Weezy looking like MJ...but I did picture a full head of hair! There are so many differences, though. Eloise is bigger and longer (even her fingers and toes). She's a furry little thing just like her sister was, but her body hair and eyebrows are white-blond, Marlee's was dark. The hair on her head looks a bit red. Marlee has my olive-undertones, Eloise is very fair skinned. MJ's eyes are big and round, like Michael's; Eloise's are almond-shaped, like mine.

I'm interested to see how similar or different they look as they grow up!

A Lady and Mush

Marlee has been asking me all morning if I would get her "a lady and mush" for her room. I had no clue what she was talking about until we read Goodnight Moon just now...

A comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush. And a quiet old lady who was whispering hush.

I guess she's trying to recreate the story!

Fun Fall Weekend

We kicked off our weekend by watching the Youth Day Parade with lots of friends on Saturday. Traditionally, we go to the pumpkin patch after the parade, but we were too tired, so we relaxed and enjoyed some football instead. Sunday, we hit the pumpkin patch. It was pretty hot out, which kind of kills the festive atmosphere, but it was fun nonetheless!

Visiting Tom Turkey

Searching for the perfect little pumpkin.

Sad sweet tiny pumpkin :)

All that fun wore Marlee out. She almost fell asleep on her pumpkin on our hayride!

Eloise is Three Weeks Old!

Where does the time go?

I'm up with her now because she decided not to go back to sleep after her 5:30 feeding. Now, an hour later, she's out, but I have to be up in an hour. Is it worth it to go back to bed? Hmmm. Maybe I'll just rest my eyes on the sofa....

Pictures

Lots more at wfamilypictures.shutterfly.com. Remember, the password is our last name :) It's easy to order prints from the Shutterfly site, just click on the picture you want. You can have them mailed to you or pick up at Target!

Hi There. I'm Renee.

Not sure if you remember me...it's been a long time!

I'm so sad that I haven't blogged in a while. To say things have been busy here is a bit of an understatement!

Of course, it all started a few weeks ago, on September 14th. After denying that I was in labor all day, we finally made it to the hospital at 8:30pm. Our precious Eloise was born 3 1/2 hours later, at 12:05 am. I was able to have the unmedicated water birth I planned, and the whole experience was wonderful. We were able to leave the hospital after only 20 hours. We were anxious to be home and see Marlee (she wasn't allowed to visit at the hospital).

Marlee was very excited to meet Baby Sister! She just kept saying, "Look at her!" "That's Eloise!" "That's my baby sister!" I took a video, but I have to edit it before posting because it is way too long. MJ loves having her sister here. She's so sweet and loves to hold and kiss her.

When Eloise was a week old, Marlee came down with the flu. The pediatrician put us all on anti-viral meds to prevent us from passing it to Eloise. Unfortunately, Marlee was contagious before she even showed symptoms, and a few days later, Eloise came down with a fever. We took her to the children's hospital, where they ran a whole host of tests (blood, urine, spinal fluid) to determine that all she had was the flu. She was admitted for observation for 48 hours. We finally came home a week ago today, and have spent the last week finally settling into some normalcy.

Eloise is a happy sweet baby. She doesn't fuss much, and she eats all. the. time. She's about 9 lbs 8oz now, and more alert and interactive every day.

Katie was here this weekend and took lots of pictures of the girls, so stay tuned for a picture-heavy post!

Pics!

Wordless Wednesday: Labor of Love

I love this picture from my labor :) If you'd like to see more, click here.

Wordless Wednesday: Sisters

I promise there are many words to come, but I though you all might enjoy a this for now. Taken about 9pm last night, just after they met :)