Four Generations...

Here's a picture of my grandma, my mom, Elle and me at my grandma's house. This is actually our second 4 generations picture. Here's the first one:

My mom and grandma are such great examples of fantastic mothers. I am lucky to have these two women in my life!

Elle's First Baseball Game

The Padres played the Mariners.

The game was close.

The tickets were free.

The 5 for $5 deal was a tasty treat.

The weather was great.

The baby slept.

Our Trip to Yuma

Last weekend my mom, Elle, and I took a trip to Yuma to visit my grandma and grandpa. Yuma was a lovely 100+ degrees (a dry heat of course), but we had a great time with my grandma and grandpa. We ate homemade cinnamon rolls, played dominoes and Royalty, attended the Friday night potluck at the clubhouse, and went shopping. We enjoyed ourselves! Here are some pictures from our trip:

Grandma, Elle, Grandpa, and me

Elle getting a diaper change

Baby Elle getting a bath in the sink (it was the perfect size)

Great Grandma feeding Elle before bed

Great Grandma reading Elle her story before bed

No Neck Nellie...

So I'm thinking that my daughter has no neck. When I look at her all I see is head and then shoulders. It is a sad thing.

I don't know how this happened, I'm guessing it has something to do with the amount of weight she has been putting on lately - she is a bit of a porker. The only time I ever see her neck is when she is getting a bath. I make sure to clean her no neck...

You be the judge:

Elle Starts to Chat it Up!!

So Elle is officially smiling back at us and cooing, which I like to call chatting it up! She has been doing this for about a week or so now, but yesterday was the first time I got my camera ready in time to catch her in the act. It is so much fun to talk to her and have her coo back, and smile at me! She is too cute! Here's the proof:

The Nightly Routine...

So...in all the books I've read, and the YouTube videos I've watched (yes there are videos out there) the "experts" say that it is important to set a night-time routine so that baby knows it is time to get ready for bed.  

Becuase I want to be the perfect parent with the perfect child, I have set the routine.  Right now Elle only gets a bath every other night so when she has a bath, her nightly routine looks like this:

Bath - - Johnson's Vanilla Oatmeal scent is stinky good!

This bath picture is from her first week home...she loves her baths now and isn't quite so slippery!

Change diaper - - depending on my mood, this could be disposable or cloth (cloth is better--way less blowout)

Elle tried on her robe and slippers for the first time...too cute!

Book - - So far it has just been "Goodnight Moon"

Dad got in on the reading...love it!

Bottle - -  Just to top her off to get her to sleep for 7-9 hours

Bed - - Swaddled up in her crib

This is actually a picture from a nap...but this is the blanket she likes to be swaddled in!

The nightly routine has worked well thus far!  She is only waking up once in the night and is still taking good naps!!  This makes for one happy mom!

Elle Vs. Daddy

  

Elle is on the left.

Cole is on the right.

You be the judge.

I'm praying for blue eyes and red hair...something to prove that she is my child too!

Elle Meets Grammy and Papa

Two weeks ago Tim and Judy (aka Grammy and Papa or Cole's parents) came to meet Elle for the first time!!  

Elle loved them both!  Grammy held her a lot and Papa held her too.  They decided as they were holding Elle that it felt like they were holding Cole, just in girl clothes!  Elle looks just like her daddy did when he was a baby!

It was so nice to spend time with Mom and Dad Petersen.  They were here for just a few short days but we had a great time.  They got to see Cole play drums at church, we went shopping, made some tasty lunches and dinners, went out to eat, made a Costco run, and cleaned the filthy carpet.  Now our sweet daughter can learn to crawl on the carpets!  Thanks again Tim - the rug doctor!

Elle is hoping to see her Grammy and Papa soon!  

The BOB

Elle loves to ride in the BOB (she falls asleep before we get outside)

Coach loves to walk next to the BOB (she falls asleep when we get back home exhausted from the trek)

I love to push the BOB (I fall asleep...only lightly at night these days)

Cole likes to run with the BOB (he falls asleep...a lot...not while pushing the BOB thankfully!)                                              

Long story short...the Petersen's LOVE THE BOB...and SLEEP!!

Baby Carriers...A Review...

Elle in the Moby Wrap (just days old)

Elle in the Hot Sling

Elle in the Swing (a couple weeks old)

Elle in the Moses Basket (a week or so old... her eyes are still bruised)

In the Universal Stroller 

In the carseat on Mother's Day

Elle in the Baby Bjorn

Alright, so I've been a mom now for a little over two months.  I have traveled with my newborn, taken her to restaurants, concerts, church, walks in the park and the mall.  I have carried Elle in a variety of different ways:

Universal stroller (frame that you set the carseat on and strap it down)

Jogging stroller

Carseat

Moby wrap

Hot sling

Baby Bjorn

Moses Basket

Swing

My two buff arms

From my least favorite way to carry her to my favorite the list would look like this:

Carseat:  The carseat weighs more than the baby girl...it is awkward and bangs your legs when you walk.  You have to keep switching arms lest one arm get more buff than the other.

My two buff arms (not that I'm whimpy though):  This really isn't a bad way to carry the baby.  If I'm going to run into the store for one or two things...I just carry her like this...way less hassle.

Moses Basket:  Elle is soooo cute when she is in the moses basket.  Carrying her in it is not the easiest...but once you get to where you are going...it is a nice bed for her to take her nap in.

Universal stroller:  This is great when going to the mall...just click in, click out.  But for walks in the parks....I thought on one or more occasions that I was going to tip her over...That would not be a pretty picture.

Jogging stroller: This is going to be great before long.  Right now, technically, she is too small to ride in this stroller, thus I have to fill in the gaps in the harness with blankets.  This can't be the safest thing I've done with my newborn!

Moby wrap:  This wrap is cool.  It is 6 yards of fabric that you can wrap around your body in a variety of ways to hold the baby.  The only downside right now is...the one way that Elle goes into the wrap takes two people to get the wrap on.  So this can only be used when Cole or a helpful friend is close by.  This is the wrap that we use when we go to concerts and Elle loves it!

Hot sling:  This is the cutest wrap.  Pink and brown and when Elle is in it and we walk by people on the street, I hear, "there's a baby in there...I think there's a baby in there...My baby was never that small."  This wrap has been used at two weddings so far, and will be used at the wedding we will be attending tomorrow.  

Baby Bjorn:  Elle just recently made weight for this carrier.  She enjoys facing out and towards me in this carrier.  It is comfortable for both Cole and me, which is a plus.  After feeding Elle she likes to get in this carrier and walk around the house with me.  She also likes walks in the park in the Bjorn...and she really likes taking the dog out strapped into this carrier.  

Swing:  When Elle enjoys her swing...Mom enjoys picking up the upstairs, doing dishes and adding a new post to her blog.  We are borrowing the swing from my brother and sister in law...and we love it..Elle's sleeping in it right now!

I use all of these baby "carriers" equally and love them all in different situations.  It's good to have a variety of modes to carry baby depending on baby's mood...okay... it really depends on my mood!!  I'll have to take a picture of Elle in the jogging stroller...coming soon...

Cloth Diapering...

Here's the gdiaper...with a cloth insert...

Here's the "real" cloth diaper with a waterproof cover.

So I've taken on the task of using cloth diapers and...

I LOVE IT!!

Elle's little bum looks so cute in the cloth diapers and it really isn't too hard.  I've got the system pretty well down.  I've got a couple "wet bags" that I use as diaper pail liners and they just get tossed in the wash with the diapers so I don't have to touch the dipes at all.

Right now I'm using two types of diapers.  I'm using the gdiaper with a cloth insert and I'm also using "real" cloth diapers, you know, that you fold and put a cover over...

I have to say the gdiapers look the cutest, and work pretty well...minimal leaks (sometimes pee gets on the cover).  The "real cloth diapers are GREAT!  I've got the "bikini fold" down!! 

I'm washing a load of diapers right now...they are soaking in cold water to get the stains out!

Oh...the joys of being a mom

As I promised...

This is a picture of all the bags of milk I took to Kelly's house today to store in her deep freezer.  This is ONLY the bags from MAY!!  I kept all the bags from April in our freezer here at the house.  Now I can't start workin' on June's supply.  Hahahaha....

Some Fun Pictures...

I love my dress with popsicles on it!  Summer time is the BEST!!

Check out those cheeks!

This is just how she sleeps..TOUCHDOWN!

Elle is a bowl a G and Gma's house

Elle with her new play mat (her friend Zack Watkin is letting her borrow it)

Elle and her mommy!

Dad is not strangling her...she actually likes to be held like this!

Elle with G and Gma....is she flipping G off??  She is so feisty!!

The Dairy Queen...

Amy (my sister in law) took this picture of Elle when she was here helping me out.  Amy's camera is way better than mine, so I had her take a few pics.  

Too cute is all I have to say.

So my freezer is officially full of bags of breastmilk...you can just call me the dairy queen.  There are 100 bags of milk in the freezer waiting for the perfect time when Elle needs to eat and I'm not around....so yeah, they'll be put to good use in like 3 months.

I was going to post a picture of the overflowing milk freezer as it was quite impressive.  A week ago we seriously had no food in the freezer so it was a sea of milk...but Cole's parents came to town, took us to Costco, and thus the freezer now has food in it and so the picture would not really show the craziness within.  

My friend Kelly offered the bottom shelf in her deep freezer for me to store my extra milk (it stays for 6 month in a deep freezer!)  So I'm going to take her up on her offer...Perhaps I'll post a picture of the pile of milk bags before I take them to her house.  (I know you are looking forward to that picture!)

So there you have it...I'm a dairy queen...Elle loves it though...Check out those cheeks!!

Growing...Growing...but still not THAT big!

Elle had her 2 month check-up yesterday which included:

a weigh-in

a measure

and 4 vaccines

The weigh-in was good...9 pounds 9.7 ounces!!  That's 2 pounds a month!  We've been working hard for that too!

The measure was good too...23 inches!!  That's 2 inches a month!  She's taking after her dad! (since I'm shrimpy)

The vaccines....well...she cried.  But not for long.  She had two pricks on one leg, one on the other leg, and one orally.  No fever yet and no grumpiness either.  (Both possible side-effects)

So...when I got home I decided that since Elle is the size of a normal baby now, maybe, just maybe she could wear 0-3 month clothes.  So I put some PJs on her and well....she's not quite big enough yet.  The photo proves this point.  Her legs got all caught up inside....poor girl.  He ended up sleeping in her regular "up to 7lbs" PJs that still fit!