A little HOORAY for Hilary!

Today has just been one of those days. It's been a crazy month with Lorelei and Paedn sick for the most part. It's been an even crazier week with almost having to go the the ER with Lorelei. It still does not feel like Christmas, which is more then depressing because its my all time favorite time of the year. Anyway, today, I was just burn out. I finally talked myself into going for my run with Lorelei but once we were dressed and ready to go, I found out I didn't have the stroller. So, we headed outside to wait for Daddy. She enjoyed her swing and I took to raking the yard. That helped get out some of the exhaustion! When daddy got home I went for my mile run and decided to just walk afterwards. 45minutes later, Lorelei and I were back home and feeling great! So funny how working out, or raking the yard, can make you feel like a different person. Then, Lorelei went to sleep with ease!! Yeeeees! That hasn't happened in a long time because of her being sick and teething. For some odd reason, I decided I wanted to jump on the scale and weigh myself. Why? I have no idea! Every time I think I look thinner I weigh myself and need up being The exact.same.weight. I've been stuck at 130lbs for months. But, she. I weighed myself I had to stare for a whole minute. Was I seeing this right?! 124lbs?!! Ahhhh!! Finally!! I was just amazed I had such a bad day and it turned out to have a great end. You're attitude really effects your whole day. :-)

42 pounds down, 7 more to go for my pre-pregnancy weight!!!
I am never gaining that much weight again.
Let's see how that goes next time I am pregnant :-)

Videos

Here are two videos I wanted to post of my lady!!

This first one is a video from the choir concert. The last song the alumni are invited to the stage to join the current choir. Paedn brought Lorelei up. He was nervous about how she was going to react, but she loved it. She just kept looking around and soaking it all in. So funny!! This is the first stage presence of many for this little lady!

Ok, remember how I told you Lorelei will always stop and stare anytime "The Office" theme song would come on? Here's your proof. HA! No matter if she's crying, screaming, playing, whatever, she always stops and gets big eyes and finds the TV. Too stinkin cute!!

Lorelei- 7 MONTHS!

I haven't been able to take her 7 month picture yet with the volleyball. I tried but she is too wiggly and quick for my poor, slow camera. I will attempt when Paedn is there to help! =-)

Size: Diapers-3 She is probably close to 16lbs.   Clothes-9 months

Eyes: I swear her eyes get more blue everyday. Maybe she's going to have eyes like her Grandpa Steve!
Hair: Her hair is getting so long all of the sudden and there is so much of it. It is very blond and has a little wave in it.
Sleeping: She wakes up around 3am to eat and then again around 7am. We have a pretty good nap schedule down, too.
Eating: Finishes almost 8 ounces every 3 hours. She LOVES food. She is my little birdie. Every time she sees me eating she goes, "Oh! Oh!" and crawls over to me. When she doesn't like something, she sticks out her tongue and does a full body shimmy, as if she's saying, "Ew, gross! Get this out of here!"
Milestones:

• Oh boy, can she crawl!! She crawls FAST! She loves when we chase her.

• can pull herself up and then can sit back down.
• starting to walk along the couch. Right now, she's just staying in the little corner of the couch and goes back and forth.
• mastered grabbing food and putting it in her mouth.
• very close to mastering the pincer grasp.
• tries to clap!! She just started this. I love it!
• Has EIGHT teeth- all four front and bottom ones.
• Clicks her tongue nonstop.
• Starting to mimic us. She has said "hi" and "key key" (kitty). She tries to say "mama"-she moves her mouth like she is saying it but no sound comes out.
• ATB- All Terrain Baby! She crawls over everything and everyone. She has a bouncer/walker thing and she loves to crawl under those.
• Laughs and smiles ALL THE TIME. (not a new milestone- but I love it!)
• When she is standing up and then falls, she doesn't cry. She looks at me like, "Am I okay?!" I clap my hands and yell "yay" and she starts smiling and kicking her legs and swinging her arms as if she is cheering.
• learning to drink out of the sippy cup. loves water!! (not giving her juice)

Favorite toys/activities:

•  Lorelei loves music.
• As I cook dinner I put her in her bouncer and put on my "Show Tunes" playlist and sing and dance. She finds this hilarious
• likes to sit at the piano and help Daddy play and she sings along

• loves animals...especially dogs because they stick around when she "pets" them.
• loves blankets, especially crochet ones. She has to have her blanket to fall asleep.
• is starting to enjoy sitting down and reading a book. She was always too busy before!
• entertains herself very well. She is pretty independent!
• rarely watches the TV- she'd rather be moving and playing.
• chases down the vacuum. ha! She loves it!

Nicknames: Lady, Lor, LoLo, I have called her Laura a few times. Then all the generals like sweetie, honey, etc.
Funny moments:

• When she is tired she will crawl over to me and sit on my lap. Not funny but seriously adorable.

• Every time we make eye contact she gets a huge grin. I love how happy she is!

• At church she was being a little too active for class so I took her out in the hall. I let her crawl around and then I would go hide behind a corner and she would look for me. I would pop my head around the corner will quick so she could see me and she would squeal and head over. I would go behind a different corner and the process continues.

Looking forward to: Her first Christmas!! (if you know me, you know how much I LOVE CHRISTMAS!) Waving, her first words, standing up by herself. AH! Everything is happening so quickly.


Paedn and Hilary Update:

 Paedn is doing well! He is getting veeery close to be working full time again. He is talking about taking some college classes next semester.Very proud! He is such a help. He always washes the dishes (I hate doing dishes). He always makes sure I have a clean house. He likes having projects to do but we are working on him relaxing as well.

I had my first 5k race and decided to challenge myself and do the Mud Run. My wonderful sister and her husband ran with me. It is so helpful having someone run with me and push me to do better. It was more of a mental race then an endurance one for me. I do not like heights and some of the obstacles you had to crawl up a wall and then go back down the other side, which is fine! But, it's the whole switching sides up top that freaks me out. But, I am proud I can say I did every obstacle! My forearms are completely bruised and all up my legs. Awesome! Working out puts me in a better mood. The fresh air is great for Lorelei and me. Plus, getting my blood pumping is refreshing!

Six Months!

Size: Diapers-2   Clothes- 6-9 months

Eyes: Her eyes are very blue!
Hair: She actually has a good amount of hair, it just doesn't look like it because it is so blond!
Sleeping: She has gotten comfortable with the midnight feeding and our doctor told us to cut that habit now. So, we are in the process of that. She actually did pretty well last night! Let her cry for about 15 minutes then went into her room and rubbed her head/scratched her back while I sang to her and she fell alseep! Her naps have gotten better. She sleeps between 2-3 hours.
Eating: 6 ounces every 3 hours. We have given her sweet potatoes and she LOVED them. She kept humming and singing the whole time. So adorable. I am going to start giving her new foods and different textures. Excited to see what she will think!
Milestones: Still a busy bee!! She will not sit still and is army crawling so quickly. She is very close to crawling. She gets up on her hands and knees and takes a couple steps forward and then flops down to army crawl. ...I think she is impatient. She can also push herself up to a sitting position but won't sit for too long because she wants to be moving. She loves to talk and to squeal!
Favorite toys/activities: Anything that makes noise or anything that she is not supposed to have!
Nicknames: Paedn has been calling her Peanut a lot and I am still calling her all those pet names like "honey" or "sweetie"
Funny moments: This lady keeps me laughing the whole day! She is hilarious! Probably the most recent moment has to involve our cat! We just put up a gate to block the kitchen from the living room and Daisy (our cat) will sit on one side and Lorelei will be on the other and they will play through that gate. Lorelei will reach her hand through to try and pet Daisy and Daisy will swat back at her hand and Lorelei will just bust out giggling!! Daisy will reach up and stretch on the gate and Lorelei will giggle. It's so funny! She loves that cat. It's pretty impressive how fast Lorelei caught on to petting the cat softly. She is doing great! Daisy actually allows Lorelei to pet her and even tolerates the occasional fur pulling.
Looking forward to: When Lorelei will crawl over to me and will just want to sit and cuddle. That will be an amazing feeling. She is so busy all the time I don't know if it will ever happen!

At Lorelei's six month check-up she weighed 14 lbs 9 oz and was 26 inches long. She is a tall skinny girl! After her shots, she cried for only a few moments until I was able to pick her up and hug her. She is always getting compliments on what a happy baby is- and it's true! She smiles all the time and is very curious about the world around her. Lorelei loves little kids and is just mesmerized by them. Makes me certain that she is definitely supposed to be the big sister because I know in a few years she is going to be a big help!

learning how to escape the barrier 

my birthday cake Paedn made me!

doing push ups with Daddy

learning to sit!

All smiles!!

Rolling around.

climbing on Mommy!

Lorelei's First Time Eating Solid Food!!

This was Lorelei's first time eating solids. She did so much better than I thought she would do!!

5 MONTH Update!

I started writing this when Lorelei turned four months but life became so busy I never posted it. Added a few more notes and now it is all updated for her five months!!

Size: Diapers-2   Clothes- 6 months

Eyes: still very blue!

Hair:  The new hair that is coming in is very blonde and there is more of it. 

Sleeping: She has been off the past few weeks. Waking every 4 hours. I think she is going through a growth spurt!

Eating: averaging 4-6 ounces every 3 hours

Milestones: She will not sit still! Rolling EVERYWHERE! When she sees Paedn or I walking by she will try to roll over to us. SO FUN! She rolls to go get toys. She is so smart. 
When we are sitting on the couch and she is on the floor she tries to reach for the couch so she can be up there, too!
She loves to stand. If she could stand all day she would. She holds onto our index fingers and balances and tries to walk. She gets so excited.
Can sit while placing her hands on the floor in front of her. (tripod sit)
TWO TEETH!! So cute to see when she smiles.
She is getting so close to crawling. She inches like a little worm; brings her bum into the air and scrunches together and then shimmies and inches forward.
She jabbers ALL the time. Oh.my.goodness. She also figured out she can squeal so she has been doing that a lot more. She also does a fake cough to get our attention and as soon as we look at her she gets all bashful and smiles and looks.. 
Smiles all the time!! She is giggling more and more every day. She even giggles now when she is being tickled! LOVE! 

Favorite toys/activities: Anything bright and colorful. She has Pooh Bear, Marie (the kitty from Aristocats), Moo Moo Cow, Sherman the Giraffe, Catherine the Caterpillar that sings lullabies  and she loves her play mat.

Nicknames: Lor, Sugar, and we call her Turkey a lot

Funny moments: So many! They always seem to be poop stories! She was with Grammie Leeann at the grocery store and she was getting fussy so mom picked her up out of the car seat and didn't notice she exploded her pants. There was poo everywhere! I guess mom and the ladies working at the deli had a good laugh about it. Another one happened to Paedn. He was nice and changed her diaper for me. I was in the kitchen and all of the sudden I hear, "AHH!! EXPLOSION! Lorelei!! How can you have that much in you?!" I just started cracking up. I think I got all the poop during the newborn stage so it is being passed around for everyone else. =-) 

Looking forward to: Crawling! Call me crazy but I am loving each stage more than the last.


Updates on Paedn and Hilary
Paedn has had a good few weeks here! He has been able to work maybe 3-4 days a week. This is the most he has worked since his incident.  He isn't in as much pain. This makes my heart so happy!!  I am so proud of him. He is so happy to be feeling better. He still needs to take it easy though. His body definitely isn't used to all this work. He is still staying positive and is finding that motivation! When he can, he still loves to do his leather work to help him relax. When he wasn't able to work he did this all day long and it helped distract himself from the pain. We are hoping these are his steps on the road to recovery!! We are done with Mayo and they think he is getting better!


I am doing well. I am still working part-time and now am also coaching 7th and 8th grade volleyball. I love my girls!! I have a great assistant coach as well so it makes me feel less hectic. I am definitely keeping busy. When I am home I just want to sit and relax. I am feeling worn out, especially since Lor hasn't been sleeping well (she is waking up twice during the night instead of just once). But, we are making it work! I am training for my 5k in Novemeber. It's a slow process because of how chaotic my life is right now, but it's happening. I ran a 9 minute mile the other day. I was so proud. I am trying to get back to my high school days when I ran a mile in 5 minutes. I am weighing in at 126lbs!! I am so happy. I am only 10 pounds from my pregnancy weight. Ha- if you knew what I weighed when I had Lorelei then you would realize why I am so excited. The weight has been dropping pretty quick.

Lady Lorelei- 12 weeks

I decided each month I will do this little survey to keep most of my thoughts in check about Lorelei!

Age: 12 weeks, not technically three months yet though.

Size: Diapers-1 and finally fitting into 3 month clothes

Eyes: Very Blue

Hair: Turning slightly more blonde and gets fuzzy quickly. It has a slight wave to it.

Sleeping: Daytime naps are iffy, but nighttime she will sleep 6-7hours straight then wake up 3 hours later then back to sleep for another 2-3.

Eating: Mostly about every 3hours.

Milestones: Rolling over from tummy to back! She's trying to go from back to tummy but her arm gets stuck. 

She scoots a little bit and can scoot to face herself in different directions. She wants to be on the move nonstop and gets upset when she can't crawl! 

She is holding up her head much better. If she is sitting in her swing or bouncer she is always lifting her head up like she is trying to sit up.

Starting to teethe- chewing on everything!! 

Almost giggling, when she smiles really big she squeaks. I was so excited!

She slept in her crib for the first time!!

She can fuss herself back to sleep which has been very nice.

She loves to have conversations with us. Whether we are oohing at her or talking for real she always talks back. It is so much fun!

Favorite toys/activities: She loves Sherman, her giraffe, her Daddy's knuckles and just

 about anything else she can chew on. 

She LOVES to be outside- I wish it was cooler so we could do that more.

She likes the TV but would much rather watch me in the kitchen.

Loves bath time! She kicks and splashes like crazy- I am always soaking wet. She hates getting dressed afterward.

Nicknames: Lor, Ellie, Cookie, Mogli, then all the typical pet names like sweetie, baby, honey, etc

Funny moments: So many! One of the most recent ones though- I always make fun of Paedn because he freaks out when she starts filling her diaper. He always jumps and moves his hand out from underneath her like he forgets there is a diaper there. Well, I was holding her and she started filling her pants and I didn't move and she pooped everywhere!! I called Paedn while  he was at work and couldn't stop laughing. Karma my friend.  

Looking forward to: Giggles! More rolling over. Her being able to sit up by herself. Her reaching for me. 

This past month she has gotten so long and is starting to fill out more. She is still our skinny minnie though! She is an adorable little girl with such a sweet personality. She loves her daddy and gets so excited when he comes home. She will just sit on his lap, grab his thumb to chew on and watches TV. She has long eyelashes. We get told more often that she looks like Paedn. I have had a few tell me that she looks like me though. She hasn't found her thumb yet to suck on but shoves her whole fist in her mouth and gnaws on that. She has finally started taking a pacifier a little more consistently.

Fourth of July! Always playing with her tongue.

We call her Mogli because she looks like she is chilling up in a tree like in the Jungle Book.

Phone pictures so they are poor quality! 

I thought I was funny and wrapped her head up in a towel.

The first outfit she grew out of! Always make sure the back up outfit in the diaper bag actually fits her!