BBBRRRRRRRRRR!

Wow, it's FREEZING here. I think the temp this morning was 15, with a wind chill of 4! (THANK YOU Zane for taking Josh to work while Eileen and I cuddled in the warm house!). Even Gracie wants nothing to do with going outside.

I'm sitting here making the most of my last couple of weeks before I go back to work. I've got the Christmas music playing and the fire going (yes, I'll hate life when I get that bill. but like I said, it's FREEZING). I'm working on the holiday letter, but wanted to take a quick break to post a little note. I'm thinking I've got another hour before Eileen wakes up.

Hit the gym this morning (yay! I'm down another jeans size!) and the Aunt Sissy came over and brought lunch. Eileen was somewhat awake when she got here, so at least Aunt Sissy got to see her a little bit!
The week has flown by. Doctors and dentist appointments for Josh and I. One night Josh & his boss took a client to the UT basketball game; the Vols beat University of Memphis. Never in my lifetime did I think THAT would happen! Running errands, going to the gym. Just everyday stuff, but going by at mach speed.

I love Christmas. Always have. Decorations & lights, re-connecting with friends and family, the songs & movies... all of it. Love it even more now that Eileen is here. It's like I get to relive being a kid - doing all the fun stuff with her (OK, so she's only 11 weeks old right now, but eventually.....).

We're hoping to go see some Christmas lights this weekend. But since Eileen gets mad after more than 15 minutes in the car, I really don't know how successful THAT little venture will be. Also hoping to go walk around downtown to see the ice skating rink and all the holiday decorations. Of course, if it stays this cold, well.. I just don't know! And at some point we'll make some holiday cookies and maybe sausage balls. YUM. (and there goes that jean size mentioned earlier!).

I haven't had to deal with any shopping madness. This year we just aren't doing gifts for anyone. Hope that doesn't sound terribly Grinch-y! With a new baby, and me on unpaid maternity leave, well.. it's either the mortgage payment or gifts! We are buying for the angels on the church tree- for that we will make room in our budget. Really, it makes us see how blessed we are. Neither Josh nor I NEED anything.. there's a laundry list of things we want... but certainly nothing we can't live without. Eileen has loads of clothes and toys; she certainly doesn't need anything (and of course she's far to young to realize that Santa is out there!). And our families are healthy and happy. What more can was ask for?

And it's Uncle David's bday tomorrow! We'll go visit him and bring him a little birthday treat. And Angela & Jason are coming in from Memphis; can't wait for them to get to meet Eileen.

Not much else to tell. Glad it's Friday. We're cozying up tonight with pizza, wine, and Christmas Vacation (we certainly can't let the season pass without watchig it at least one time!).

Hope you all have a happy weekend! Be nice... Santa's watching. 

Misc

I can't believe it's already December 4.. already Christmas season.. that Eileen is going to be 11 weeks old on Thursday.. that I am going to be THIRTY TWO in one more month. It all just seems surreal.

We had yet another busy, but fun, weekend. Saturday morning we went to the pancake breakfast with Santa at Church. Obviously, this was much more for Mommy and Daddy's enjoyment than for Eileen's. We got her picture made with him - as soon as I get it back from the Men's Club I'll post it.

And future boyfriend Miles was also there. He's 13 mos older than Eileen and it is so fun to watch him run around. He loved the blueberry pancakes. He's like a little man. And I love that Momma Nicole gets to learn it all first and then teach me. :)

Then we headed straight to pick iout a Christmas Tree. Definitely a different process this year. Always in the past I've made Josh pull out at least 5-6 trees for me to inspect before I make a choice. This year, I found the Fraser Firs, went to the 6-7 foot section, and picked the first one he held up. Seems like 90% of what we do is on 'borrowed time' - meaning Eileen is in a good mood but I know at any moment she's going to get raging hungry and start screaming like a banshee. Clearly she's inherited my level (or not) of patience. We got the tree and made it home just as the crying began. Whew.

Sunday we ventured into the world of formula. Time to start letting her have that to eat so when she goes to daycare she won't freak out on those poor souls taking care of her! and, it will certainly be nice to be able to feed her when we're out and about and not have to accomplish all chores/errands, etc in three hour windows. Also hoping when we get to evening feedings of formula that she'll sleep thru the night. Although- on Friday night she slept from 8:30pm until 6:45am. We couldn't believe it. That's like normal people sleep patterns. YES! Anyway.. she didn't
love the formula on Sunday, but today she took it just fine. Fingers crossed for continued success.

Loving the cold weather. OK- not really loving the weather- but really loving the outfits I get to put on Eileen. Fuzzy pajamas that make her look like Elmo. Precious Winnie the Pooh sweaters with ears on the hoods (you can sort of see it in one of these outfits). Adorable little velour hoodies and pants. I could eat her up.

OK.. enough rambling... I must get some very late Thank You notes written... get started on a holiday letter .. finish the laundry.. read today's paper (even tho it's 9pm)... go find Josh.. he recently left the room to go make a Gingerbread House.. that makes me nervous!

Whew!

What a week! There was Thanksgiving, Eileen's Baptism, our first trip to a restaurant!, and today was her two month check-up.

Wednesday night Dad and Jean took Josh, Eileen and I out for a bite to eat. We went to Connor's, I swear they have some of the best burgers in town. Eileen did great. She hung out in her carrier for a while, and when she got fussy I held her and she was content to look all around. And I have mastered the art of eating with one hand - even a big juicy burger. Josh and I were LOVING being out to eat and talking to other adults.

Thanksgiving was great.. Sissy did all of the cooking and hosting. It was a gorgeous day.. all the grandparents were there (including honorary Nana Betty and Grandpa Harold, we have 7 grandparents!). Amy, Paul , Caroline and one-week-old Jackson were also there. Holding Jackson -all 7lbs of him- only reminds me of how much Eileen has already grown and changed in 9 short weeks. Mind Boggling.

Then on Saturday we all got together again for Eileen's Baptism. She was perfect. Didn't cry once. In fact, I swear she was POSING for her pictures! She just kept looking at all the cameras and cooing. Perhaps I should investigate modeling agencies.. college fund anyone? :) Uncle David is her Godfather and Aunt Jaime is her Godmother. The adorable bonnet you see in the picture is straight from Ireland.. thanks to my Aunt Marcia.. and she'll use it some day as a hankey on her wedding day. Pretty neat.

When it was over, we went to Italian Market - two restaurants in 4 days! It was nice to have the whole family together again.

And today we had her 2month check up. She weighed in at just under 13lbs (95th %) and 23inches (75th %). Clearly she's growing just fine! She got three shots - and she barely cried. I couldn't believe it. I was completely prepared for huge screams. She cried when she got the shots. Almost as soon as Josh and I picked her up, she was just fine. May she always be so laid back. So far no fever or reaction to the shots.. we'll see how she fares tomorrow. She did get some super sparkly fun band-aids!

And, I have been released from Physical Therapy! YAY! I have been running regularly for the past two weeks. Whew. There were some days I really felt like I'd never be able to move faster than a snail again.

OK, here's the link to recent pics. There are several recent albums posted. I promise to not take so long with another posting!

www.eileenloebner.shutterfly.com 

helloooo...

Hello! i can't believe it's been over a week since I have made an entry! Time is flying by, I can't believe it.

Thanksgiving is less than a week away.. Eileen is 8 weeks and one day old.. My parents will be here next week..a good friend just had a baby boy yesterday... another friend's son turns 5 this weekend...so much happening!

Eileen is doing great.. and so are Mommy and Daddy. She's sleeping for several hours at a time, she's (almost) figured out night and day.. we can usually figure out what her cries mean.. she's already wearing 3-6 mos old clothes! She's so long, she has to wear the bigger stuff.

And I FINALLY made it back to the gym this week. After about 5 weeks of Physical Therapy, my hips/pelvis seem to be back to normal. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to run- and twice this week I was able to run! Granted, it was at a fraction of the speed and length of time of which I was capable Pre-Eileen. I didn't care. After months of being hugely pregnant and barely being able to walk.. running on that treadmill had me just about floating out of the gym. And they have a daycare.. and Eileen did fantastic hanging out with the folks there. Whew.

Well.. I'm heading out soon to a baby shower for another friend who's pregnant... have a happy weekend all! 

I am an American...

and it truly is a privelege to vote. Tonight it was an exercise in patience. Major Patience.

First of all, it was raining cats and dogs. Second, Knoxville has some of the dimmest streetlights I have ever seen. And third, the parking lots of the polling stations had no lights whatsoever.

So the rain - I just made sure the umbrella was in the car. But when it rains in Knoxville and it's dark, it's just bad. It is bizarre, the streets are so dark- I swear, growing up in Memphis the streets were all lit up like daytime, but not here. And I don't know what it IS about these streetlights, but not only do they seem to make it darker, they also somehow manage to make the streets as reflective as a mirror, which makes driving just terrifying. Lines on the road? You can't see them at all. We were to vote at a local middle school, and that parking lot had NO lights. Now, doesn't it seem like a SCHOOL of all places should be well lit? I mean, isn't that where we want the kids to be safe? And what was weirder, there was a row of bales of HAY in the middle of the lot! Not a clue what purpose that served.

So, we finally GET to the school.. only to find out we've come to the wrong school. We find this out AFTER we've already unloaded the stroller and baby and Erin went to park in the rain. So we load everything back up and go down the little (dark) access road to the correct school. While we are driving on what SHOULD be a road, we find that all of the lazy people in town have parked on the side of the road, making it impossible for two cars to fit on the street. Somebody up there WAS looking out for us tho; we were just milineters away from hitting a side mirror on an illegally parked minivan when I realized how tight it was and stopped our car. Whew.

Once we finally got inside, we did get good news. The line for OUR district was the shortest of all. So we didn't need to wait too long to get to the voting booths! We voted on the new electronic machines and finally were on our way home. At that point we decided it was a frozen pizza night.

All that being said, the polling stations were packed - which was nice to see. Even on the dark dreary night the lines were out the doors. Good.

(note: I realize that our little 'hurdles' are exactly that- Little. I realize this little rant probably sounds pretty petty. I'm just venting. I recognize there are people in the Middle East who literally risk their lives in order to get out and vote. I realize a little rain and darkness is nothing compared to what those folks face.)

Perhaps I'll put my voter's voice to some good and petition the county commission for some improved street lighting...

(oh, and Eileen managed to make it through the whole event without even a whimper! she's such a trouper.)

LB's and Inches...

By way of seriously high tech methods, Josh and I have some updates on Eileen's stats:

weight = 12 lbs
length= 23 inches
age = 6wks, 3 days.

Just over two weeks ago, she only weighed 10 lbs and was 21.5 inches. I've no idea what the normal rate of weight/height gain is, but she certainly seems to be growing at a fast pace!

(oh, and if you're wondering, the high tech methods were a tape measure, and Josh on the scale WITH Eileen and without. See, those college educations paid off!)

Last night we attempted to go to dinner at Aunt Sissy's house with some friends. We learned that we need to have earlier nights out when little Missy goes with us! We got there a bit late - it still takes us a while to get ourselves out the door. Right around 9pm, Eileen got hungry. I figured I'd just go upstairs and feed her, and that then she'd fall asleep just like she does at home. WRONG.

I don't know if it was just b.c she was super tired, or if it was b.c she wasn't in her normal surroundings, but she would NOT eat. Nor would she stop screaming. She was just so upset- we've never seen her that way. It was just heartbreaking. At that point we knew it was time to head home (which certainly bummed me out- I was SO having fun with the other adults). She cried most of the way home, and as soon as we got here she was just fine. Ate a large meal and then slept for 6 hours.

On the one hand- we were thrilled she was OK and that she slept for so long. On the other hand, perhaps I need to visit more people and make a point to feed her in different surroundings. And we're making progress with the bottle too, which will help. Slowly but surely we're figuring these things out.

She's definitely interacting with us now.. note the smile above! Josh took some videos today of her with his phone, and captured more smiles. If I can figure out how to load those up, I will get them on here for all to see!

In the meantime, here's a link to some new pics.. note there are two recent albums, both dated 11/5.. enjoy!
http://eileenloebner.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8IZt27Foyat4Y

maybe next year!

We didn't make it out to Trick Or Treat for Eileen's first Halloween... she decided she was hungry at the prime Trick or Treat hour.. and there is no arguing with this child when she wants to eat. By the time she was done, it was raining. Oh Well. She's not even 6 weeks old yet, so I'm betting she won't notice she missed it.

In the year or so we've been in this house, the number of kids on our street has doubled. We had lots of little ones at the door - too cute. I am amazed they actually come UP to the door- Gracie barked like a maniac at everone who came within 15 feet of th house.

Despite the increased number of goblins, we still had loads of candy left. I promptly sent Josh to work with it this morning (OK, I did pull out one last Mini Twix for me). I am working so hard to shed the baby weight, the last thing I need is all that chocolate calling my name all day! 

Around Town..

It's like summer here today. Ok, not THAT warm, but at least its in the 70s. A nice treat before it gets chilly again this weekend.

Pretty quiet weekend here.. LOVED that extra hour of sleep we got on Saturday night. I do need to learn to start Tivo-ing the Night Games. I fell asleep at 9pm on Saturday, missing most of the Beating of Spurrier. On the plus side, I am awake early enough on Sunday mornings these days to catch the college ball highlight show on ESPN at 7am.

We went to Kroger and Babies R Us and Tar-jay. Oh, and we went back to church for the first time since Eileen was born. She was great, slept the whole time. Maybe she liked all the music and singing.

We sat in the back where all the other People With Children sit. Normally, we sit right up front so Josh can see everything. I used to hate it, but now I like it and I certainly pay more attention. Well, the back of the church is quite chaotic. We're hoping Eileen's good behavior holds so we can return to the front (but I'll make sure we're on the aisle in case I need to make a fast getaway!)

Not too much else to tell. She'll be 6 weeks old this Thursday, I can't believe that much time has passed. Not sure how much she weighs, I'm guessing at LEAST 11lbs. And as you can see, it doesn't appear she will be vertically challenged!

Working Girl

Whew. I'm sure most of you will think I'm nuts, but I must say - at least after yesterday- I can't wait to go back to work! (now quick, someone go check on Johanna. She is probably doing back flips in her office :)).

Yesterday was challenging. Eileen would NOT go down for a nap, would NOT chill out in her swing. The only way she'd be content was if I was holding her. Heaven forbid Mommy needed to take a restroom break - screaming would commence within seconds of her being out of my hands. Josh was thinking I should call the doctor in case she was sick. But as long as she was being held, she was smiling and cooing and sleeping just fine. Later in the afternoon, I loaded her up into the car and went for a drive hoping she'd pass out in her seat. She fell sound asleep, until we got home. As soon as we pulled into the garage, she was screaming again!

I finally gave up. There were dirty dishes and laundry and plenty of other little messes. I barely ate anything b.c I just couldn't get anything together for myself (thank Heaven for drinkable soups and drinkable yogurts). I finally just cuddled her up and sat down for some quality time with Eileen, Dr. Phil and Oprah.

Hoping for a better day today. Mommy needs to be able to get out and have contact with other humans of the adult variety. It's pretty chilly, but sunny, and I can't stand to be cooped up in the house any more! I did get to go to physical therapy (thanks Aunt Sissy for babysitting) and I'm meeting a friend for lunch.

I have no doubt that when it really is time to go back to work, it will be extremely tough. Especially since we're a one-driver family- I will have some serious scheduling to figure out. I know I'll miss hanging out with Eileen all day. But I also think that being away from her for a bit each day will suit me well. I hope I don't sound like a bad mom, or like I don't completely adore my daughter.

Having some time with friends at work, taking on challenges that don't involve diapers - for me, I think the balance of the two lives will help keep me sane. Stay tuned...

Fall Fesitivities

Who doesn't LOVE Fall?

Here's Miss Thang in her pumpkin costume from Nana Betty. How cute is she? We'll dress her in it again next week and Trick or Treat. Ok, we're only going to the next door neighbor's and the folks across the street- how could we not at least hit two houses with this little angel?
We went to a pumpkin carving party- and it was such fun! Picture a crowd of 30-somethings (after a margartia or two) outside weilding knives and large gourds. Too funny.

Perfect fall day.. sunny, cool and breezy (Oh,and the Vols beat Bama, so that was truly the icing on the cake). And there was to die for Butternut Squash soup and this desert - it was like liquid pumpkin pie with ginger snaps.
Here they are... the works of art. I think there were actually more than this that came along after the picture.

Eileen slept thru most of the chaos. Then she woke and just hung out watching all of us. She's so laid back, let's hope she stays that way.

Happy Sunday.

ps. here's a link to some more pics:
http://eileenloebner.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8IZt27Foyat3G&notag=1

updated link

OK, for some reason the link on the earlier post wasn't working.. so let's try this!

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IZt27FoyatpY

bottle battles

Here's Daddy attempting to feed Eileen a bottle. Everytime we give her one, she gets about halfway thru and then chokes and scares us half to death.

On the one hand, I desperately want to get her used to the bottle so I can get some helpo with her (constant!) feeding. On the other hand, the choking is so scary that I will just deal with doing it all myself for another couple of weeks! It did occur to me to try a different bottle, maybe a different 'flow' will make it easier for her to eat.

Here is a link to some new pictures. Ususally I would edit out the blurry and repetitive ones, but these days I can't find those extra few minutes. Oh, and the concrete you see all busted up - that was a slab in our backyard that Josh broke up last weekend. Long story, but at least now you know why we were taking pictures of concrete!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IZt27Foyato-

Not much else to tell. I have to go wake Eileen and get her ready to go with me to PT. Urgh... I hate to wake her! Later taters... 

Mystery Bear

REWARD FOR INFO LEADING TO THE ORIGIN OF THIS BEAR!

Did you send us this bear? He arrrived at our house yesterday, but with no note. Eileen would love to write her thank you note - so if you know who sent it, please speak up. He sure is cute!



I'll get some more pics loaded this afternoon (assuming Eileen takes a long nap!)

Dog Tired

Even Gracie is worn out!

Actually, I think we're pretty lucky as far as newborns and sleep go. We manage to get about 5-6 hours a night of sleep - not continuous, but at least it seems to be a decent amount. But I swear Gracie gets completey annoyed by the 2am feedings and diaper changes!

My one goal yesterday was to take a picture of Miss Eileen in her adorable monogrammed outfit from Aunt Kimmie and her just-as-adorable handmade pom pom hat from Miss Karrie. But she was just fussy all day and I couldn't get a smile out of her! I may just dress her in the outfit again today so I can get a picture before she outgrows the pieces.

Speaking of outgrowing, we went for her 3 week checkup yesterday. She has gained two pounds! and grown an inch! all in the span of 2.5 weeks. She's weighing in at 10lb 3oz (90th percentile), and 21.5 inches (70th percentile). So I no longer feel the need to work out with free weights, I'll just keep lifting Eileen and will soon have nicely sculpted arms!

We're going to a housewarming party later this evening. I am very much looking forward to seeing some friends- it will be fun to interact with adult humans.

Hugs, Kisses and lots of prayers to Nana Betty and Pop Harold, we're relieved the surgery went so well.

Happy Saturday!

Swaddle Me NOT

Little Missy has a mind of her own, and she's just 3 weeks old!

We have one of those "Swaddle Me" blankets, the ones that wrap up the baby like a burrito and you can Velro it shut. It even has a little 'pouch' for the feet.

As you can see by this picture, Eileen wants nothing to do with being contained! I had her wrapped up tight for a morning nap, and this is what I found when I went to check on her. How she kicked out her feet but kept her hands wrapped up, I will never know.
And this is the reaction I got when I took the photo posted above. You'd think after three weeks of constant picture taking that she'd be used to the bright flash of the camera!












Sissy brought me lunch yesterday and then she cuddled with Eileen. She loves to sleep that way, with her
little hands under her chin. Too cute.

Mommy went to the doctor today b.c of some major hip pains. It basically hurts to walk. Not fun. We won't even discuss stairs or getting in and out of the car. Turns out, most likely my hips are so out of place they are causing all the pain. Evidently this is super common. Urgh. So I will have to have some physical therapy. Oh, and losing the pregnancy weight will also help (as if I am not already working like mad to get rid of it all!). I guess that's just more motivation, eh?

It is FREEZING here today. And even tho Eileen has a load of clothes, all of her warm clothes are too big. It's supposed to be warm again this weekend. In the meantime she and I went to Tarjay and Old Navy this morning, and she just was bundled up in a 3x too big sweater. Eh. she'll never know the difference.

I'm off to wash dishes, do laundry, and attempt a nap! 

Designer Duds

Love this outfit on her. I don't know if you can really see it so well, but she looked smashing in it. She owns two 'designer' outfits, this being her Tommy Hilfiger. That Mommy bought at a yard sale. Too cute!

Today our adventure was to Tarjay. The weekly grocery trip. She did great, slept in the car and slept the whole time we were at the store. Then slept another 1.5 hours once we were at home! Mommy took a nap then too.

OK, I'm not sure this will work. I'm posting a link to Shutterfly, but you may have to just copy and paste it to your browser if you want to see the photos. It may take another day of playing around on here to figure out how to make the link clickable from this page!

anyway- here ya go:
www.eileenloebner.shutterfly.com/action

And now we're off to eat dinner! Have a good one.

Fall Fun

Fall is the BEST time of year. If only nasty gray winter didn't come right after it. These past couple of days have been perfect. Sunny, breezy and a tad chilly.

I got my pansies planted (after a whole summer of not being able to 'play in the dirt' - I was in my glory digging up flowers and weeds and getting the fresh flowers in the ground!). Josh planted the mums and got our fall display together in the front yard. This from the two people who used to be such city dwellers in Manhattan. :)

My mom & John left this morning. That was tough. Mom was here almost three weeks. She didn't want to leave Eileen, and Josh and I didn't want them to leave at all. Josh had a blast with John doing handy man things around the house. (And thanks to John our computer is right with the world again). And I sure got used to Mom taking care of baby while I took long showers and napped. This week on our own will prove interesting!

Today was a big day for Eileen. We ventured out to run some errands. We got bourbon, beer, a bale of hay and some gas drops for baby's tummy. How's that for variety!? She did great in the car, and once Mommy and Daddy figured out how to get the carrier attached to the shopping cart (thanks to the very nice lady at Babies R Us), we did pretty well too!

As you can see, the day of errands wore Daddy out. Gracie stands guard over Eileen (actually she's still trying to figure out this whole baby thing, but she's been quite patient and sweet about it all).

I really will get links to Shutterfly loaded up, but right now we're all heading out for a walk and then to get some dinner before the UT/UGA game gets going.

Have a good one!

 

Pictures, Finally!

This was me two weeks ago today, hard to believe my tummy was that big. Of course, Eileen did weigh in at 8lb 8 oz, so I guess it makes sense.

Now she's here and she already looks completely different than she did when she was born. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by already.

Right now, she pretty much sleeps all day and then likes to party it up at night. Not so fun for Mommy and Daddy (esp Daddy who has to work every day!).

My mom is here thru the end of this week, Josh and I are getting spoiled rotten. She's been cooking every day, and helping me with laundry and cleaning. And she volunteers to change every diaper! I certainly don't argue with that.


We still can't get our computer and camera synced up, so in the mean time Josh burned the pics to CD at work and then loaded em up for me at home. I am slowly but surely getting the pics cleaned up and online. I'll post links to shutterfly where you can view more pics if you want to!

It may take a day or two. It boggles my mind, all she does is eat, sleep and poop, but somehow those activities take up my whole day and my time at the computer is limited to 15 minute batches. So picture posting is little by little.

I hope I posted these pictures right. They probably don't look the way I want them to, but at least there's finally something for you to look at.

OK, I'm off to get Josh from work. Check in later for updated pictures!