Win the Essential Babywearing Stash

I love wearing Madeline. Sometimes I even wear her around the house. It helps when I need to get things done and she wants to be held. Here is a link to the contest. If you like wearing your baby/toddler...you should enter. Who knows maybe you'll win...and then you can give the prize to me..:)

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Conversations with a 3 Year Old

This is the conversation Delia and I just had a few minutes ago...

Delia~Mommy, you like grandma?
Me~Yes, I love grandma.
Delia~Oh mommy, Papa is your uncle!! (said with much enthusiasm)
Me~No he is my daddy.
Delia~Mine?
Me~No, he is mine.
Delia~Mine?
Me~No, he is mine.
Delia~Your one?
Me~Yes he is my one.
Delia~Oh.

She is obviously still trying to figure out the way families work and how to say what's mine or yours. I thought it was pretty cute though. She sure is silly.

I'll update some more later. When I have more time.............which may not be until next week......I can never be sure.

Here is a recent picture of Madeline.........she's growing so much!!

3 Years Ago Today

Three years ago at 1 am I woke up with contractions. Jake and I started timing them. I was two days late and I hadn't had any false labor, just lots and lots of braxton hicks contractions...so we were pretty sure this was it. We got to the hospital around 5 am and they admitted me. I think I was dilated to a 2 or 3. My mom, Jake's mom and my sister hopped in the car and started the long drive to SLO (about 6 hours...depending on who you ask and whose driving!). I labored and labored and labored. I had back labor so Jake pushed as hard as he could on my back. It helped tremendously. Around noon or so my mom and everyone got there. At about 2:30 pm I was ready to push. Two hours later Delia was born at 4:38 pm. She weighed 7lbs, 8oz and measured 21 inches long. I honestly can't believe how quickly it has gone by. Are you sure she's three already? When did this happen? My beautiful bald headed blue eyed baby has grown into a gorgeous blue eyed blondie! I'm looking forward to what ever this year will bring and the changes that are bound to happen as my little girl continues to grow. She amazes me everyday...though not always in a good way. This year will likely be a busy one. I plan to start homeschooling her in the Fall. And I'm hoping to enroll her in a dance class or possibly gymastics. I think she would benefit from a class. She needs to interact with other kids...at the moment I'm her best friend....aside from DeeBee of course!



Below is a slideshow of Delia. Starting with pictures of her from birth to now. Enjoy!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday Delia!!

We Love You

Has It Really Been A Month Already?

We had ourselves a very busy weekend. Our original plan was to stay home and catch up on things that needed to be done...like vacuuming for example...something I haven't done in ages and something that hasn't been done since well...my mother visited when Madeline was born!!! We either need to get better about this chore or get a dog. I'm all for the dog. So anyways that was the plan. The plan changed though.

On Thursday night I was pretty sure that I was getting Mastitis (for those of you who don't know what this is; it is an infection some nursing mothers get....and it is not fun). So I didn't want to take antibiotics, which my doctor would most likely shove down my throat the second I told her, so I phoned my sister who had a natural/herbal "medication" that works wonders. It is called Mastitix and it's only ingredients are Echinacea Herb, German Chamomile, Red Root, Baptesia Root, Boneset, Yarrow, Elderflower and Usnea. And it really does work!! The only problem is that you can not find it anywhere except online. So I either had to wait and hope it didn't get worse or we had to make a weekend of it and go "home". So we decided to go and by Friday afternoon we were all packed in the car headed "home". I also had a migraine headache that had crept up on me Thursday evening...it lasted until Sunday!!! Needless to say I wasn't really enjoying the car ride. Have I mentioned that Delia talks a lot...and it's not quietly? We had to stop along the way so that Madeline could eat. It really isn't a bad drive at all...quite fast compared to when we lived in SLO.

Another reason we decided to go is because Jake's brother Chris, his wife Trisha and their son Seth were going to be there too. Since we don't get to see them much and since they hadn't met Madeline yet we figured we would make a weekend out of it and stay until Sunday.

Later that evening I spiked a fever (not sure how high) but thankfully it went away by the time I went to bed. Possibly the best part of the weekend is that Madeline started sleeping for 6 hours! Two nights in a row!! Of course I don't actually get to sleep that much! The Mastitis "medicine" was working and I was starting to feel better...minus the pounding headache. Hooray for sleep and natural medicine!

We had a great time hanging out with everyone and can't wait to head back on Thursday....to celebrate Delia's 3rd birthday.

Below are a few pictures of Delia taken when she was about 3 weeks old. I took the same pictures of Madeline at about the same age give or take a week or so.

Delia

Madeline

Delia & Madeline

Sunday night Madeline slept for nine hours!! Last night she did the same!!! I feel like a new woman!!!

Delia's Imaginary Friend...DeeBee

Delia has an imaginary friend named DeeBee or DB (I'm not exactly sure how she spells it). Occasionaly she'll talk about DeeBee or say, "Oh, DeeBee is here!" I've asked her a few times about DeeBee but she hasn't given me much information about her little friend....until now...

This is the conversation I just had with Delia about DeeBee:
D = Delia, L = Me (in case you were wondering)


D: Oh, DeeBee is here. Mommy will you open the door?
L: Sure. (this is where I pretend to open a pretend door and let DeeBee in)
D: Hi DeeBee.
L: Is DeeBee your friend?
D: DeeBee is my owner. (this I think means DeeBee is Delia's...and not that DeeBee owns Delia)
L: What color hair does DeeBee have?
D: Black
L: What color are her eyes?
D: Blue
L: Is DeeBee bigger, smaller or the same size as you?
D: The same
L: How old is DeeBee?
D: Twenty Eight Nine. It's her birthday.
L: Where does DeeBee live?
D: In the castle with her daddy. She's getting married.
L: Who is DeeBee getting married to?
D: Her daddy.
L: What is her daddy's name?
D: Uh, DeeBee Daddy

I just love her imagination! It sure makes for interesting conversations. Everyday I look at Delia and can't believe how big she is....and with the addition of Madeline it only makes it more obvious. I can't believe she'll be three next week!!! Like I said in the last post....I wish I could freeze time....

I wish I could grab time, put it in a ziploc bag and stick it in the freezer!

I wish I could freeze time and keep Madeline a newborn. I look at her everyday and I can't believe how much she's changed. She is getting too big and it makes me sad. I'm excited though; excited to see who she'll be and what she'll be like. I can already tell she's fiesty...a good thing considering she has to deal with a busy and bossy big sister. She gets mad if she's comfortable and I change the way I'm holding her or if I move her hands out of her face so she can eat. She basically screams/cries out. It's a little comical but I fear I've got my hands full and frankly they can't hold much more than what Delia already fills them up with. I love having two little girls and although it gets a little stressful sometimes I wouldn't change it for the world.

Here are some pictures of the girls...

Just 3 Days Old

Sisters

Look at all that hair!!

My Big Girl....can't believe she's almost 3!

This is what happens when her hair gets wet...curly curly

And here is a link to the slideshow of the rest of the pictures that Kelli. http://kellijanephoto.com/slideshows/talleys/

Our Week So Far...

Monday was an interesting day. I was sort of dreading the day considering I had had my mom and Jake home for a whole week helping me. I knew everything would be fine but still couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed. I did manage to do two loads of laundry (although it hasn't been folded or put away yet), feed Delia and myself, do the dishes, feed Madeline (obviously) oh and go to the bathroom; however I didn't get a shower....until Jake got home. Anyways the day went well with only one slight mishap. I was feeding Madeline on the couch in the living room and Delia had to go potty. She can go all on her own now. So she runs into the bathroom, then she runs out and then I see her run back in again and next thing I know I hear a big CRASH, THUD, BANG!!! Then she's crying hysterically. So I jump up as quickly as I can with a baby still nursing and hurry into the bathroom. Somehow she had tripped and face planted into the floor...I'm guessing this from what she told me and the evidence all of her poor sweet little face. She came away with a very large fat lip, a small cut in her mouth/gum, a teeny tiny bloody nose and a nice goose egg on her forehead. Not very much fun. She is obviously fine but boy was that not fun and not exactly how I wanted to start off our week. Thankfully nothing else has happened....yet!

Madeline is almost 2 weeks old already. Things are going well. She is still nursing wonderfully and has been sleeping for longer stretches at night. Sometimes close to 4 hours! She had her two week well baby check up today. She has grown an inch and now measures 22 inches and she weighs 8lbs 15oz. She is in the 96th percentile for height and the 76th percentile for weight. The doctor said she looks great and is as healthy as can be. She does have a clogged tear duct in her left eye. This usually clears up on its own though.

She is starting to stay awake a little longer now and is really looking around at things; mainly our faces. She smiles a lot and has started smiling in response to us talking to her. So far she seems like a pretty easy going baby. She does not like having a dirty diaper and will let you know, though. And I sense that she is going to be funny. She gets this silly look on her face and sorta smiles up at me...like she knows something I don't and she thinks it's really funny. How can they look so wise and yet be so incapable of anything but pooping, peeing, crying and nursing?

Delia likes to check on Madeline when she's sleeping and the second she makes a noise she runs in to comfort her. She calls her Sleepyhead and gives her lots and lots of kisses. Delia is doing great and likes to help me out a lot....well most of the time. I sense her getting a little frustrated because I'm constantly telling her, "Just a second." or "Hold on." or "When I'm done feeding Madeline.", but even with all of that she's doing pretty well. I'm looking forward to the day when things get to be somewhat normal again. Shouldn't be too long now....right?

And last but not least............PICTURES!!
Last week my friend Kelli came over and took Madeline's newborn pictures...a very generous gift from Jake's brother Chris and his wife Trisha. (Thanks....so very much!!) She has posted a sneak peek on her blog....click here to view them. I can not wait to see the rest of them.