That Time of the Year

It is officially "that time of the year".

This Christmas season, Brent is management in a retail store - that means longer days, more hours, and less time off. It's worth it because he is the only one working right  now, but it also means less family time. We are adjusting and rolling with it, but that doesn't make it less hard. At least he loves his job and the people he works with... that makes it much better for all of us. Plus, his co-workers are always receptive of my baked goods and it is about time for Christmas cookies!

Christmas aside for just a minute, this is what made my morning:

These two are my world! I love them both more than anything. :)

Unfortunately I had to wake them both up from their nap... things needed to get done.

 Time to decorate!!!!

Good Morning!

We love her! She has such a great personality, I really hope nothing ever changes that. Brent and I have also decided that her little noises make her sound really constipated, but trust us... she is not! Hopefully we can get some cute little "coo"'s soon. 

Everything else is fabulous! She is starting to have more awake time during the day and she is sleeping better at night, only waking up every two to three hours to feed. We are noticing more smiles, which are adorable as always. She is showing more interest in raising her head and wigggling around during tummy time. She still hardly ever fusses, unless she is hungry. I would say we got very lucky, and that we have the best baby ever. 

Or maybe I'm just a little biased. 

She has started wearing some newborn clothes. Preemie stuff still fits her, it's just getting tight in the legs (which seem to grow longer and longer everyday)... and the newborn stuff is still very baggy and loose in the arms and tummy area, so she is at the in-between stage. Either way, I consider it a milestone!

We have noticed that she is getting a very mild case of cradle cap, but it does not seem to be bothering her at all. We have a meeting with our lactation consultant at the hospital this week so we are going to ask the nurses about it when we go in, but until then we are going to try and not worry about it. 

Don't forget to let me know if you want a Christmas card!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

I realize that pumpkin is now out and peppermint is in, but I cannot give up on my pumpkin spice latte that easily.

I first discovered the greatness that is a pumpkin spice latte about two years ago. Unfortunately, daily runs to a local coffee store can be damaging to the wallet so I knew that habit wasn't going to fly. Instead I just indulged in the treat a couple of times a season and was completely satisfied.

That is, until this year.

I gave up almost all caffeine during my pregnancy, so I made zero runs to the coffee store while the pumpkin spice latte was in full swing. Since it is only offered seasonally I figured I would treat myself to one after Elly was here. Sure enough, about a week after her birth I hit up the local Starbucks. Since it was still so warm here I ordered it in frappuccino form. It was delicious! Unfortunately, that was the night she would not sleep and became very fussy. Apparently even the small amount of caffeine was going to be too much, so I backed down to not having any - which is quite a feat when you are sleep deprived!

However, a few weeks ago my mom got Brent and I a coffee pot and some decaf coffee to home brew! Since then I have been trying to research home made recipes. I had not come across any good ones, and then as if she was reading my mind Ashley posted this recipe for one she had tried!

I tried it immediately and loved it, however if I were to make it again I would try a little more pumpkin to up the flavor a bit. The only downside was that it was hard to watch and make while keeping Elly happy, but it is definitely worth it.

Until I found this.

I love Silk soy milk products, and when I saw this at Target I had to buy it. Then I had the great idea to steam some and add it to my coffee. The result is delicious, creamy, pumpkin-y coffee.

I'm currently on my second cup.
Yeah, it's that good. :)

'Tis the Season

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Stores have their shelves stocked with red and green, lights are sparkling in the neighborhoods, and Christmas carols can be heard over speakers.

Unfortunately, the seasonal spirit has not hit our house. The tree is still in the box, garland un-hung, and lights not shining. I still have not even started my Christmas cards! This is very unusual for me, as I usually have them ready, addressed, and in the mailbox the morning after Thanksgiving and then immediately begin decorating. That is, until a little bundle of joy becomes much more important that when the Christmas tree gets put up. It's okay, I'm not complaining.

However, I was getting a little antsy about my cards. I love sending out Christmas cards, and wanted this years to be especially good since it's our first family Christmas... even though we thought we weren't even going to be able to get pictures taken, I still wanted to get cards out to our loved ones. Yet, every time we went in a store none of them caught my eye, or I just completely forgot.

Then I got great news from Shutterfly. They are giving away 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers!

This promotion could not have come at a better time for us. Elly will be almost two months old at Christmas time, and this year is especially wonderful because it is her first Christmas ever and our first Christmas as a family. Thanks to Shutterfly we will have the perfect cards to document this special Christmas and have beautiful cards to send out.

As far as our first family pictures, we are planning on getting them done by Nicole! She used to be my manager at Subway, but now is trying to get her own photography business started. Her photos are fabulous and offer much more character than us sitting on an ottoman in front of a Christmas tree backdrop, and I feel like this will help make our cards and first family Christmas even more perfect!

The possibilities are endless, but here are a few of my favorites!



I already have a list of recipients started, but if you would like to receive a card leave a comment and let me know!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!! I LOVE Christmas! :)

[If you are a blogger and are interested in this promotion, you can sign up here.]

I am Thankful

I hope everyone (in America) had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We could not have asked for a better day! It was Elly's first Thanksgiving.. we are very thankful that she is with us and that she is very healthy and happy!

My mom and Whitney came up here to celebrate with us. My mom made a delicious lunch and we all watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade. After they left Brent, Elly, and myself all went into food coma for a few hours. When we woke up we ventured out to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. The movie was amazing. I think it is my favorite of the films thus far! What was even more amazing than the movie was Elly. She slept through the entire movie, only making little noises when the movie got loud at sudden points. She was fabulous! We are so lucky to have such a great baby.

Then, around 3:30am we left the house to give Elly her first taste of Black Friday. Nuts, right? Brent thought so, but I really wanted to go... so we did. It was actually a LOT of fun. The only bad part was having to wait outside in the cold and snow to get into Target, but after that I really enjoyed myself. I got Brent's Christmas gift bought (Lord of the Rings trilogy on Blu-Ray - normally $75.99, on sale for $23.97!!!) and my favorite find: Silk Pumpkin Spice soy milk... it is SO good.

Now Brent is at work and I am cleaning the apartment in preparation for Christmas decorations! I am so excited for the holiday season this year! :)

I love my family!

Invisible Ice Cream Cone

I am 3 weeks old today!

This picture makes me laugh. I loved it even before Ashley pointed out that it looks like Elly is eating an invisible ice cream cone. I cannot deny that I lived on ice cream for a good portion of my pregnancy, so Elly must just have an early taste for the delicious dairy treat. I'm okay with that.

I am not okay with the fact that she is already THREE weeks old. Time is flying by way too fast, and I feel like I'm going to blink my eyes and she'll be graduating high school or something ridiculous. I am trying to savor every minute and capture lots of pictures (and now videos!) so I can always look back on these precious first weeks when she is really started to develop and discover new things.

Elly loves her Boppy (and her name letters from "Aunt" Ashley)!

Photo shoot with Mommy and Daddy! We love her so much.

As mentioned previously, we took Elly in for a check up yesterday and things went much better than we could have hoped! We absolutely love her pediatrician. He was so confident in her (and us), and things worked out perfectly. He never once suggested that we add formula to her diet, and while the every 2-hour feeding schedule was grueling it was definitely worth it. She has surpassed her birth weight by almost four ounces, and continues to grow! Aside from her weight, everything else was great as well. We are very happy about this and very lucky to have such a wonderful, healthy little girl.

We are also noticing that she is hitting all of her developmental milestones. She is having lots more awake time during the day and has slept better the past couple of nights, only waking up to feed. She is showing lots of personality and different expressions. And she is raising and holding her head a lot better!

She lifted her head off my chest all by herself!

Tomorrow is also a big day: Elly's FIRST THANKSGIVING! Grandma (Sherry) and Aunt Whitney are coming up to have lunch with us and then Brent, Elly, and myself are going to see Harry Potter. We feel it is very important to introduce Elly to Harry Potter at a young age since that is where her name came from (Emmeline - a member of the first Order, she was only mentioned briefly in the books.)

I hope everyone else (in America) has a wonderful holiday and enjoys a delicious feast!

I know I'm cute.

I also know I already have Daddy wrapped around my little finger. :)

small BIG update

We went in for Elly's check up today and she weighed in at 4 lbs. 10.8 oz.!!!!! She was 4 lbs. 7 oz. at birth, and 4 lbs. 4.6 oz. at her check up last Tuesday so she gained almost half a pound in a week!! And I am proud (and very happy) to say that we did it without supplementing with formula!

Everything else is great, and we do not have to go back to her pediatrician until her two month check up, when she will be getting her vaccinations.

Brent is off today, so we are enjoying a nice relaxing day as a family! I love it, and Elly is having LOTS of awake time right now so I think she loves it too. :)

We did her three week photo shoot (a day early) so I will have lots of pictures to load later, along with a better update BUT for now I will leave you with this: