Two Weeks of Two

It has now been just over two weeks since Ella joined us, and we're all doing great. The little one had her two-week appointment with the pediatrician this morning, and she is weighing in at a stout 8 lbs, 14 oz! That places her in the 75th percentile of all two-week-olds, and just 18 pounds behind the Olsen twins. We're proud, to say the least.

These last two weeks have been a blur, and it seems like just four or five days ago that we were in the hospital. Of course, if we factor in all the well wishers who have stopped by with cards, food, or clothes, it seems like we have had Ella for a full month. We have been absolutely inundated with visitors and couldn't be more grateful. We have eaten food provided by friends and family since the day we left St. Joe's, and, as a result, Ella is not the only one who has put on a little weight in recent days. Our book shelf by the front door is covered with cards, and we enjoy looking over at them from time to time to remind ourselves of how lucky we are to have such support.

Lily has been a fantastic big sister to this point, as well. She routinely walks up to "Da Baby," bends down, and kisses her head. In addition, Lily likes to share fist-pounds with Ella, and apparently it doesn't matter to her whether the baby is sleeping or not. In fact, the other day Lily approached a sleeping Ella, told her to "pound it," and punched her little sister's closed fist. This caused Ella to stir and open her hands, at which point Lily proceeded to slap her five and say "yeah." Our girls are already making a good team.

We're sorry we've been slow to update the blog, but we're underachievers by nature, and having two kids only exacerbates our condition. Stay tuned, though. As always, we vow to be better.

Moving in for the kil...er, a kiss.


Lily says "NOSE!"


Being such a great big sister tuckers a kid out.


Will Ella get these lashes? We'll see...

Sister Act

Well, here we are, three days after the birth of our second child. All three of the Mavros girls (that's even scary to write) are sleeping right now, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to update you about the events of the last few days.
Let's start at the beginning...

TUESDAY
10:10 a.m. -- Katie's 38-week appointment. Doctor Thornton told Katie she couldn't believe she didn't get a call from us over Labor Day Weekend, and I don't think she was just taking the opportunity to use such a sublime pun. In fact, Dr. T really believed after seeing Katie the week before that she was ready to go and would deliver over the weekend. However, it was not to be, and while Katie did have some forceful contractions on Monday, they were not in close enough succession to warrant a trip to St. Joe's. Thus, the good doctor examined Katie again, told her she was progressing and could go any day, and sent her on her way to eat more pickles and hidden chocolate chips (I thought those cookies were missing something!).

WEDNESDAY
4:52 p.m. -- I arrived home from work to find that my wife had developed a greater interest in evicting the little one from her cozy one sac apartment. She had been having contractions much of the day (though they weren't consistent yet), and Grandma and Grandpa had offered to take Lily off our hands for an hour that evening so we could take a break and relax. Katie decided this time would allow us the perfect opportunity to go walk the baby out at the mall. While I hoped it wouldn't happen exactly like that, I was game for going.

6:18 p.m. -- We dropped Lily off with Mimi and Papa and continued on to Eastland Mall. Katie's contractions continued, though still not consistent or close together. Approximately 45 minutes and three full laps later, two things became clear: 1) Katie's belly was contracting with more regularity, and 2) there was really nothing that we felt we didn't have and needed to buy for this new baby. Satisfied with these developments and hoping to scoot before either condition changed too dramatically, we left the mall to pick up our big-sister-to-be.

6:23 p.m. -- Katie's parents' house. Dr. T had told Katie on Tuesday that, because of how much she had already progressed, as soon as her contractions were fairly consistent for an hour we could go to the hospital without fear that we'd be sent back home. As the night went on and the contractions stayed about 10 minutes apart, yours truly lobbied for a trip to the hospital. Needing another (and perhaps far more qualified) opinion, Katie called our friend Kim, who is an RN, to ask her advice. Kim said once Katie had experienced 3 or 4 of the strong variety of contractions, we could feel comfortable packing our bags.

11:50 p.m. -- After a few hours of indecision, second-guessing, and Finding Nemo (I can't really recall what we were watching, but this is as good a guess as any in our house), we made the executive decision to call for back-up and head to the hospital.

11:58 p.m. -- With all the efficiency of Chinese food delivery, Tom and Susan arrived at our door to stay the night with their already-out-of-the-womb granddaughter. After a few instructions for the babysitters, we made our hasty exit.

THURSDAY
12:09 a.m. -- Check-in, wheelchair ride up to second floor, blood pressure cuff, craftmatic bed (as seen on TV), yada, yada, yada.

12:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. -- Political pundits talking about Sarah Palin's invigoration of McCain's campaign (oh, God), Evan Almighty On Demand (really, oh God), there was about as much on TV as there was going on in Katie's insides. For hours the contractions were, while strong, still about 8-9 minutes apart, and the nurse on duty even toyed with sending us home. As it was, Dr. Thornton was to be in the hospital by 6:30 a.m., and the decision was made to have her make the final call on whether we stay or leave at that point. As we both drifted in and out of sleep (probably I was more in and Katie more out), the waiting game continued.

4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. -- At about 4am, Katie got restless and decided she wanted to walk around. She did so for a while until the nurse returned for her first progress report in hours. To our surprise (more Katie's than mine, truth be told), Katie had progressed from 4cm to 7cm in that time, most likely due to getting out of bed and knocking that baby around! This is when the fun started.

5:03 a.m. -- Katie is pretty uncomfortable at this point. She is asking (politely at first) for an epidural, and it just so happens that the anaesthesiologists turn over at that time of day, so the day shift takes over for the night shift (we found out later that promptness is not the strong suit of the day shift). Katie gets her medicine to counteract her betastrep-positive condition, and the pace in the room quickens as nurses prepare for the delivery and try to get Dr. T on the horn.

Time is a blur -- From here until the birth, I have no sense of time. Katie is getting more adamant about an epidural, and I am doing all I can do about it.....nothing. She doesn't really want to be touched, and I have no medical training. So, I am sitting in my most encouraging and supportive manner next to the bed, wondering where the damn anaesthesia is. When Dr. T arrives, Katie is visibly comforted, but her pleas for some relief of the pain of back labor (yes, this one was backwards too) continue. Dr. Thornton is the consummate pro, and she assures Katie that she will soon receive her drugs, though it is too late for the full monty. She says she'll get a spinal block when possible (apparently when the anaesthetist has both his cream and sugar to his liking in his coffee), and she would deliver the baby immediately after. At this point I'm still sitting/standing on the side trying to sit/stand positively and supportively.

7:17 a.m. -- Spinal block is a go after repeated unsuccessful attempts by our man to get the frighteningly long needle between my wife's vertebrae. After bending one from so much unsuccessful pushing, he unwraps another and chooses a different spot. At this point I'm thinking I should have been an anaesthesiologist. All kidding aside, Katie shows immediate relief as soon as the needle is withdrawn.

7:24 a.m. -- About 5 or 6. That's how many times Katie had to push (Lily required about an hour and a half of pushing, if you recall). Ella Kathryn popped right out like a good girl, and both she and Mommy couldn't have been better. Katie really did look gorgeous 5 minutes after delivering an 8-pound baby, and little Ella Kathryn was an absolute angel. 20.5" long and 8 lbs even. And no jaundice! So, life has changed. Again. Stay tuned.

Domestic Goddesses???

So far Lily and I have taken to the staying home gig pretty well. As you can see below, Lily has become a master chef in her play kitchen. Her favorite thing to cook would be Cheerios, of course. Our mornings are so much less hectic now. Lily and I work on breakfast while Daddy takes his time getting ready. Then we all have a relaxed breakfast together and I even have time to pack Jeff a lunch. Jeff is always taking such good care of us, it feels so good now to be able to reciprocate that even more. Unlike when I worked, we are now able to get errands done during the day and have time to just sit and be a family in the evenings. My mom has been helping me come up with dinner ideas so that I can have dinner going or ready when Jeff gets home. Last night I made pork chops in cream of celery soup, mashed potatoes, and spinach salad with craisins, almonds, and Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette. It was very tasty, easy to make, and ready to go when he got home. Jeff thanked me for it by totally cleaning his plate (he told me several times how good he thought it was, too)!

The after care at my house with the three little girls is going great so far too. I am having a ton of fun coming up with fun snacks and working with them on their homework. This week I made chocolate pudding with strawberries, popcorn, chex mix, smoothie popsicles, and my first attempt at Jell-O jigglers. The jigglers really didn't turn out as planned...a little too much wiggle in the jiggle to hold them together, but it was fun to try. While I am not ready to claim to be a super mom or domestic goddess, I am really enjoying the time I have with Lily and the time I have at home to take care of my house, husband, and family.

In other news, as many of you know our first born has had the ability to walk for many months now and has totally and unabashedly refused to walk. She is very coordinated, and it really didn't worry us that she wasn't walking. The doctor said that when she was ready she would do it--but not until then--and truer words were never spoken. Despite our best efforts to force the issue, nothing really changed until one night just shy of her 19 month birthday when our little flower decided she would like to walk laps around the downstairs. We quickly grabbed the video camera in case the momentous event were to reoccur with the frequency of a Bigfoot sighting. As it was, the walking went on for maybe a half an hour...and within a few days there was no crawling at all. Now our toddler walks all the time with really no "toddling" at all. She is very controlled and rarely falls or gets close to any disasters. What a silly child we have! With the walking and ever-expanding vocabulary, she just seems so old these days.

Quick Fix

Sorry for the lack of blogging the last two weeks. I have had my hands full with our little girl. :) Yes, I am now officially momming-it from home! Lily and I have enjoyed running errands, playing, swimming, and visiting Mimi in the morning for cheerios and coffee. Today, Tara, Dalton, and Calem came over for breakfast and then we went and walked at the mall together. Tomorrow is the first day that the little girls will be coming over to my house after school. I am really looking forward to it and I think it will actually be a lot of fun!

In baby news- I am now almost 37 weeks!!! I went to see the Doc this past Tuesday and she said that it could be any time now :) I think she could tell I am ready. The good news, though, is that I am actually dilated and the baby has definitely dropped. This news seemed to make the locals around here a little nervous prompting them to push me to get a bag packed and do some last minute checks of what needs to be done before she arrives. So the bags are packed, the little cloth diapers are washed and ready, the crib is set, and her clothes are all clean in her dresser. So now all we need is for her to decide to come. I have been getting lots of really good and strong contractions, but I don't want to get too excited yet. I think she is getting pretty ready too. There just is not enough room for her to push around in there anymore and I can tell she doesn't like it :) So it really could be any day now!!! We can't wait.

You Complete Me

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary! It feels like our wedding was just yesterday, and at the same time it feels like we have always been together. As cheesy as the line from Jerry Maguire is...we truly do complete each other or more like we compliment each other in lots of ways. I help him relax and he keeps me active. He is logical and I am dramatic. He likes to be silly, and I like to pretend to be serious (so does Lily). I like to write blogs, and he enjoys proofing them. I get lots of aches and pains, and he is good at massages...I didn't say he likes to give them though. :) He likes to drive but is terrible with directions. I hate driving but am an excellent navigator. However, now that we have a Garmin he really doesn't need me anymore. So I hope he likes me for more than my very keen directional skills. All in all, we make a good team and I wouldn't want to be tackling the ups and downs of parenthood or life with anyone else.

He has been the best friend, supporter, teacher, chearleader, husband, and dad to my baby that I could ever ask for. In all our years together he has been there to see me grow and change in so many ways. He was there, standing on that last curve of the track with mom, cheering me on to the best track season I ever had. He was there to help me with my final papers as an IWU student (thank you, Jeff). He has given me support, wisdom, and guidance through the ups, downs, and challenges of my first job. He makes me feel so confident and strong. Receiving a compliment from him on doing something well means more to me than anything else. I look up to him so much and admire what a hard working and intelligent guy he is. I don't think he ever gives himself enough credit. He is my best friend and favorite person to be with, and I think he is very cute too! I look forward to many more years of wonderful life experiences and growing older together!

Like Father, Like Daughter

This is what I came down to the other day. Lily and Daddy watching baseball together on the couch. This picture, unfortunately, doesn't really capture the whole scene. When I came down the steps Lily was actually maxing and relaxing like her dad with her head back on the cushion. Also this picture doesn't show you her legs all propped up. What a silly child!

Don't Want to Miss a Thing

I miss Lily so much every day. She is changing so fast, and all I can do all day long is think about how much I wish I were home playing with my silly little child. I sit and wonder what she is doing with her babysitter and think about how that should be me at home with her. We have been so blessed to have such wonderful, caring babysitters taking care of her, but even still it is always hard to be away. What's more, with baby #2 on the way soon, I knew it would be even harder for me to walk out the door in the morning...so I put in my notice at work on Monday! I am going to be a stay-at-home momma! About a month ago, Jeff and I starting talking very seriously about me quitting my job to be at home with our girls while they are little. While Jeff has always been very supportive of the idea, he has also been concerned, and rightly so, about how our finances would be affected. Since we moved into a bigger house in December, and because the cost of, well, everything is going up, he did some number crunching to calculate what we'd need to do to make it happen. Being a determined mom, I starting searching for the "perfect" part-time or work-from-home job that would allow me to make some extra cash and still be with my babies. Well, if you've not looked into it, let me tell you that it is a lot easier said than done. The great majority of part-time jobs don't pay enough to be worth it because, by the time you've paid for babysitting on the days you're at work, you're basically breaking even. But, as I said, I was determined not to give up. After talking to a lot of different people about my options, I came up with the idea to offer after school care for kids that need somewhere to go before their parents get off from work. We live right by a Catholic School, so I thought that this would be my perfect solution. Barb Selzer, a family friend, has been doing day care for kids from this same school for over 20 years and is getting ready to move to Champaign in a few weeks. I called her for advice/referrals, and she was more than kind and helpful. She gave me names of kids she thought might be interested, and she provided me with various strategies she has employed to "advertise" her child care service in the past. In a little over a week, I have lined up 3 girls and I am hoping to get 2 more. I could not have gotten this figured out without Barb's help and Jeff and my family's support! I am so thrilled, excited, happy, and shocked that this dream of mine is really coming true. I can't wait to be able to be with Lily and her little sister all day long.

P.S. if you know of any kids that might be in need of my service, please send them my way!

More SKP pictures!

I waited up way past my bedtime last night to see the proofs from the awesome photo session we had with Summer Knobloch. They turned out so cute and we couldn't be happier with the results. Above are just a few of the great shots she got of our family. The one and only thing that could have gone better would have been if Lily would have been in the mood to smile. Instead, she was way more interested in Summer's cool camera and would have rather helped her take the pictures than be in them herself. Our whole gallery is on her website right now and if you would like to see more please let me know and I will send you the password.

Thanks again Summer, for capturing our little family of 3 before we add one more! I can't wait for our newborn session, which will be here in no time!

www.summerknoblochphotography.com

Crafting for Play

I would say I am an artsy person, but I am definitely not so crafty. Thankfully, my mother-in-law is very much the crafty person because I have being dying to learn how to make play food out of felt. Not only is the felt food very cute, but it also is better than buying plastic food and cheaper than buying the wood play food. So I have had my eye on the fun felt food on Etsy.com and on Lily Bean Market, but it gets a little pricey so I figured I would take a go at making some myself. I am glad I had Judy there to guide me through my first efforts, as I would have been a little lost without her. We ended up making these cute little strawberries that I got a pattern for from Bugga Bugs on Esty. Now I am working on little sugar cookies with pink frosting and beads for sprinkles. I hope Lily has as much fun playing with them as we did making them!

Summer of Fun!

Here a few images from our wonderful session with Summer Knobloch this past weekend. We had so much fun with her and she was so great and easy to work with! She will be coming back to take some newborn pictures when little #2 gets here in a few weeks. She is so talented and we are so excited to see the rest of the proofs from this session. Check out more of Summer's fabulous photography at SKP blog.

Our Sweet Little Baby

Here are a few pictures I captured of Lily in her most precious state, asleep. I love watching her sleep and listening to her breath. I am pretty much always watching her, but being near her when she sleeps is my favorite. When we first moved her to her crib from sharing our bed, I remember crying in the middle of the night because I missed her so much. Months have passed since that time, and I still wake up in the night hoping to hear her make a noise over the monitor. Some nights, like last night, she ends up in our bed, and while it can end up being an uncomfortable night of sleep, I cherish it. When Jeff brings her in and sets her on the bed she crawls right over to me and snuggles in...and then flops around several times. I am usually the lucky one that gets the less floppy end of her in the bed. Unfortunately for Jeff, he ends up getting a heel in the head or the ribs or a whack across the face. Poor Daddy. She apparently needs to be touching both of us, but is not very gentle in going about it. When I become uncomfortable and have to turn my back on her to get my big belly and hips some pain relief I usually end up with two little hands on my side pulling me back around. I always give in and turn back around to cuddle. How could I not when she is pulling and saying, "Mama?" Finally, the best part of sharing the bed with our wild sleeper is the morning. As she always has, she crawls over to her "Da Dee" first and wakes him up. Then she looks at him and says, "Baba? Okay!" Daddy goes down and gets her a baba and then we all snuggle a little more until she is finished. After her thirst is quenched, bright and cheery, her day begins...and she doesn't stop talking or smiling from there. She is endless and constant entertainment, awake or asleep, and I couldn't love her more if I tried.

Up North after the 4th

On Sunday we traveled to Elgin to visit with Jeff's side of the family. Lily, as always, put on a show and dazzled everyone with all her new tricks. She had lots of fun making pirate faces at Uncle Moks and Papou and enjoyed snuggling on the couch with Grandma and Aunt Dana. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the sun and playing outside too. Per usual, Lily did not want to miss any of the fun and stayed up way past her bedtime. Luckily, she did sleep pretty well and was very excited about her trip into the city to Lincoln Park Zoo.

Lily filling in as the "O" and making her "O" face.

Very excited about the puppies (camels)


Making her pirate face, which doubles as a tiger face when tigers are in the vicinity.


The first animals that really captured Lily's attention were the two-humped camels. She was amazed! Then she cheered for the polar bears as they swam around in their pool. Next she was in awe of the giraffe. She just stared at him as he ate from a tree. She also enjoyed the ape that was lounging right next to the observation window. I think she thought he was cute, and she shared with us that he had gone "nigh-night." It was a quick trip, but it was also a lot of fun and we look forward to many more in the future.

Red, White, and Lily

Lily had a fun-filled 4th of July playing in the pool. Mom and Dad enjoyed all the help from Lily's cousin Tess. Tess can always make Lily crack up, and she did not disappoint on this occasion. She had Lily giggling multiple times throughout the day. In fact, Lily was so exhausted from laughing with her family that she crashed for a nice nap at 5:30 p.m. and only got up just in time to cheer for the fireworks.

Free Entertainment

This past weekend we took advantage of a few of the many great free attractions Bloomington-Normal has to offer. Early Saturday morning, Melissa, Keaton, Lily and I strolled around the Farmer's Market in downtown Bloomington. There were lots of puppies and people for Lily to observe while mommy purchased some local fresh and organic produce and an awesome cinnamon roll from Kelly's Bakery. Okay, so I guess that trip wasn't totally free, but it kept the kids entertained. Pictured below you will see photos from our trip to Miller Park's new and free splash park. Lily had a lot of fun chatting with the other kids and playing on the adjacent playground. We were really impressed with both the splash park and the playground area. Lily was more impressed with all the kids at the park and the puppy we ran into on the walk back to the car. Bloomington also has free plays this summer at Miller Park. They just finished up Charlotte's Web and will be performing Peter Pan in July. We missed Charlotte's Web, but hope to take Lily to see Peter Pan. In addition to the free attractions we have taken advantage of in Bloomington, there is also a plethora of fun, free family activities in Normal as well. The newest attraction is the Amphitheater that is located right near the Constitution Trail on Linden. This summer, in addition to the summer high school theater program, the amphitheater will show movies like The Incredibles and E.T. along with hosting concerts and story nights. With Lily's bedtime being a little later these days, this is the perfect place for our family to ride our bikes and burn off some energy before "nigh-night."