Sarah Ellen is 6 weeks old.

Last Wednesday, Sarah Ellen turned 6 weeks old.  The time has flown by, yet it seems like she has always been here with us.  Sarah Ellen is a rock star little baby.  She is now sleeping 7 hours at night!!!  She must have known Mommy is a much nicer person with sleep.  We put her down around 8 and she gets up between 2 and 3 and then again between 6 and 7.  As long as I go to bed early, I'm pretty well rested.  She also is very good at putting herself to sleep.  For her daily naps, I simply swaddle her, lay her down, and she drifts off to sleep on her own- most the time without a peep.  She hasn't quite mastered this going down at 8 yet.  She has to cry it out a little to go down for the night.  I say have to, not by our choice but by hers.  If I go soothe her, she will calm down, but crank it back up again after a few minutes.  So by rocking her, we are just delaying her sleep.  If we leave her, she will fuss for 10 -15 minutes and then drift off.  (Some of you may have noticed this taking place in the previous videos of Lily - Sarah Ellen provided the background music for us.  Lily helps keep us distracted during the fussing). For the middle of the night feed I can get up, make a bottle, feed her, change her, burp her, get her down, and be back in bed in 25 minutes! Like I said, she is a rock star little baby. 

During the day, she eats 3-4 ounces every three hours.  I can't believe she is already on a predictable schedule.  This is wonderful for her type A mother. 

She has a sweet, peaceful temperament.  She occasionally gives you a rewarding smile, but is still a little stingy with them.  During the day, she is mostly happy.  She already interacts with her sister.  I am amazed to watch her turn towards Lily's voice.  I love watching them together.  Lily shares everything with Sarah Ellen and genuinely cares for her.  Sarah Ellen is a blessed little sister. 

Towards the late afternoon (the witching hour), Sarah Ellen starts to crank up the fussiness.  Unfortunately this is about the time James gets home.   I'm glad he sees her sweetness on the weekends, or I'm not sure he would believe me that she really doesn't cry all the time. 

Sarah Ellen is growing like a weed.  Aunt Nette couldn't get over how much she has grown in the last two weeks.  Yesterday I even had to put away some clothes she has outgrown.  How is that possible?

The other night, as I was rocking Sarah Ellen, Lily climbed up in the chair with us and gave us the rare cuddle.  I have never felt to blessed.  I love my two girls more than I could have ever imagined.

Yay Daddy!

James completed his second sprint triathlon this morning at James Island County Park.  Lily, Sarah Ellen and I surprised him by showing up to cheer him on (I had both girls fed, dressed and out the door by 7:30 - that was my exercise).  Allan and Abigail joined us in James' cheering section.  Congratulations Daddy, we are proud of you.

 

Later that afternoon, Lily and I baked Daddy a cake to celebrate.  Lily wants Daddy to race everyday! 

More 'matoes please.

One of Lily's favorite after dinner activities is go pick 'matoes with Daddy out of the garden.  She picks them, brings them in to wash, and then gobbles them up.  She eats tomatoes like they are candy. 

Abigail, Margaret Anne, and Lily harvesting tomatoes. 

After picking tomatoes this morning, Lily cooked them up in her new house and served them to her guests.

Video Mania

Okay so James and I got a little carried away with the video camera one night, but Lily is always saying and doing the cutest things we wanted to try to capture some of them. 

This first clip is of her hamming up while saying her ABC's.  She actually can say them all the way through, but of course not for the camera.

This clip is of her reading the last page of Panda Bear Panda Bear.  She amazed us the first time she listed all the animals.  We hadn't read it in a while before we filmed this, but she still got most of them.

One day we were reading a Richard Scary book and they were describing different emotions.  We tried to get her to frown and this what we got.

We tried again. 

Lily we thank you for always making us laugh.  You and Sarah Ellen are true lights in our lives. 

Tiger in Training

Our New House

Mimi and Papa came down today to deliver Lily and Sarah Ellen's new play house.  They had a neighbor selling an outdoor playhouse and we couldn't resist.  James is so excited to have yet another outdoor toy.  The beauty of the new house is that we put it on the back deck and Lily can go play with it whenever she likes.  I can keep an eye on her from the luxury of the air conditioned house.  Ahh, the joy of simple pleasures. 

Hope and Blake were out for a stroll and came in to check out the new house, however, they much preferred checking out the toys inside. 

Taking a Sessy Street break.

Mills and Nancy stopped by to meet Sarah Ellen and Mills had fun checking out the new house.

Mills was very excited to hold Sarah Ellen.  He is going to be a good big brother.

Thank you Mimi and Papa for delivering the new house.  I'm finishing this post while Lily is busy cooking outside!

A New Generation

Molly, Thomas, and Parker came to visit yesterday evening.  James was working late, so they took pity on me and brought over Chick-fil-a.  Molly, I still have no clue how you fly solo four days a week.  Thanks for the visit.  We gave Parker and Sarah Ellen a chance to get to know one another better.  They had fun laying there and bopping each other with their uncontrollable arm movements.  I was also able to catch a rare smile from Sarah Ellen, but don't let that fool you - I snapped about 15 shots, most of which she was crying in. 

A new generation of friends:  Parker (11 weeks old) and Sarah Ellen (6 weeks old) on July 22, 2008

The first generation.  Thomas (4 weeks old) and Lily (11 weeks old) on May 17, 2006

Miss Southern Bell

Lily is absolutely amazing us with her language. She comes up with some very long sentences, and correctly uses adverbs and adjectives. Caroline was amazed the other day when Lily said, "Cecine (pronounced Keykine) can you hold my Lovey so I can play with Margaret Anne and Abigail." I am so used to talking to her everyday that I haven't realized how complicated her sentences can be. She can come up with some good ones.

Tonight before bed she said, "Will you hand the Richard Scary book to Daddy, Mommy." Later she said, "she's fixing that clock first, then she will fix that clock."

We also get a laugh out of her very southern accent. She can turn a one syllable word into three. We tried to catch her southern drawl on video.

Mommy and Me

Mommy and Me this week was at the aquarium. Whew, my third trip to the aquarium with both girls. I attempted it again knowing that I would have other moms there to help out.

When we arrived, we were able to get all the children to sit in one place for a picture. That is a miracle in itself. Unfortunately, the Smiths hadn't arrived yet, so Matthew and Austin are missing from the picture.

Lily decided to be pitiful again and spent most of the time riding in the twin's stroller. She didn't get her full 4 1/2 hours in her crib (see naptime), so she was still pretty tired. By the way, she didn't boot Hope out of her seat. Lisa alternates carrying the twins so they each get some time out of the stroller. Thank you Hope and Blake for sharing your stroller.

Of course, you can never get two toddlers to look at the camera at the same time, but this was too cute of Margaret Anne not to post.

Back in the stroller.

Sarah Ellen had a good time too.

Lily got out for a few minutes to play at the sunken ship, but...

not for long.

Cuties!

Thank you to all the wonderful moms in our group. You are a great group of women, and I am blessed to be able to raise my children with you.

Naptime

The past three days Lily has taken 1 1/2 to 2 hours to fall asleep. She plays in her crib talking and singing nonstop. Just when I think I should give up on a nap for the day and get her, it starts to get quiet. On one hand this is nice, because it means even more down time for me, but on the other hand this is bad because she isn't falling asleep until 4 or 4:30. Today we didn't want her sleeping too late, so we went to wake her up at 5:15.

This is how we found her:

After the flash she rolled over to find her thumb.

Please note the purse that is on her arm. Such a girl.

Sarah Ellen is One Month Old.

Wow, I can't believe this sweet little baby has already been here a whole month. She has pretty much slept most of it away. Sarah Ellen is very easy going and a good little sleeper. Last night she slept 6 1/2 hours. Her usual at night is getting up every 4 hours which is still really good. She is content most of the time, but when she does cry, watch out. She has the sharpest, loudest cry I have ever heard come out of something so tiny. She has already brought so much joy into our life, and I can't wait to watch her grow.

It's the Teeth!!!!!

Its the teeth. Its the teeth. Hallelujah, its the teeth. Monday night I saw two little jagged edges poking through Lily's gums. Her right molar finally broke through. I know this doesn't excuse her behavior, but I do feel it is the main reason for it. She has finally turned a corner and is able to reason a little better. She is certainly not her old self yet, but I have seen glimpses of her. Now if the other molar would come too, we could get it all over with at once!

Visit from Cousins

We were lucky enough to have Kami, Adam, and Austin come spend the night with us Monday. Lily adores her older cousins and they are so patient and good with her. They kept her very entertained which was extremely helpful in her recent fragile state. Aunt Kami got lots of snuggles from Sarah Ellen. She even saw her first smiles (which I have yet to see). We made a trip to the aquarium. This trip was much easier for me with all the extra hands to help. Thank you guys for coming to keep us company.

Surely Not Our Lily

The terrible twos are upon us. It started Wednesday morning (remember my puny girl that wanted to be carried around the aquarium). The day started out with her being puny, then progressed to her being downright mean. She basically yelled at me all afternoon. If I said black, she would yell white. If I relented that it was white, she would yell black. She went into timeout three times within 30 minutes. James was working late, and thank goodness, the Clums had us over for dinner or I might have gone crazy.

Things just got worse on Thursday. She yelled at me again all morning. I regrouped during nap time and was determined that I could be the better person and very patiently handle Lily's tirades. That lasted about 10 minutes. She wanted to be carried down the stairs. Once I did, she started screaming that she wanted to do it herself. Do you think someone likes control (wonder who she gets that from)? I finally got her in the car and headed out to Mommy and Me (Sarah Ellen's first). She was fairly quiet until I turned onto Camp road. She started screaming for me to go the other way. This continued until we reached Cameron's house. Then, I apparently got her out of the car the wrong way and she screamed about that too. So, I grab the car seat in one arm and Lily under the other arm. We walk into playgroup with Lily screaming at the top of her lungs. I plop her down on a chair. She jumps up, runs to the door, screams to go back to the car and do it her way. She then grabs the diaper bag and begins throwing it on the floor. The other moms were a little shocked to see Miss Lily in such form. Finally, I take her into a bedroom and tell her to calm down. She lay on the bed for 15 minutes sucking her thumb. After that, she was a happy girl.....until bedtime.

James and I had our toughest discipline experience with Lily on Thursday night. After bath, things quickly went down hill. She screamed about how she walked out of the bathroom, where her diaper was to be put on, doing her pj's by herself, and basically everything. We attempted timeout. She continued to scream. She even told us to leave and shut the door. Yes, she was telling us how to do timeout. She's controlling her punishments. Finally, we brought out the big guns. We told her if she didn't calm down, we would put her straight to bed without reading books. After several opportunities, Lily couldn't get it together, so we did it - we put her in bed without reading books. When she realized we were serious, she let out blood curdling screams. We left. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. To leave my baby in there screaming for Mommy and Daddy was horrible. Yes, I know she brought it on herself, and yes I know she will be a better person because of it, but it was just awful. She cried for about 30 minutes and then fell asleep. You would think it would be our newborn crying it out, not our toddler. The next morning, she was a happy girl and didn't seem to hold it against us.

She continued to be challenging on Friday, but we were able to read books. She got it together just in time, and I don't think I could have handled doing it again. Tonight we had a small victory. I've been at a loss as to how to discipline her. Timeout does not work. Forcefully telling her (okay yelling at her) does not work. Taking away books does not work. So, tonight I got creative and thought about positive reinforcement. I drew four squares on a piece of paper and got some stickers. Each square represented a part of bedtime routine: diaper, pj's, brushing teeth, and reading books. If she completed each one without fussing, she got a sticker. It worked!!! She did the whole process without getting upset (and this is after missing her nap today). She couldn't wait to get her next sticker. Score one for Mommy and Daddy.

I have to give Lily some credit here. I made her sound like a little tyrant. She does have two top molars coming in, and just a wee bit of change is going on around here. This does not excuse her behavior, but she does have a lot going on at one time. She continues to make us laugh all the time and amaze us with the things that come out of her mouth. She is wonderful with Sarah Ellen, gently rubbing her head, giving her hugs, and even sharing lovey. These qualities that are now challenging us, independence and strength of will, will carry her far in life. We just have to channel them as best we can.

Our Big Adventure

I've been getting a little stir crazy hanging around the house all day, so I decided I was up for an outing with both girls. I made plans to meet Molly at the aquarium on Wednesday morning. I was a little hesitant because Lily was a little puny all morning. She is cutting her top molars (the last ones - thank goodness). I took the risk and headed out. We got there around ten and Lily was excited to be there. Molly called saying they were running late, so we walked around downstairs for a while. Lily started to get very restless, so I took her to the new camp ground exhibit. As we were strolling around, I got a whiff of the oh so familiar infant dirty diaper smell. We headed over to the concrete stairs so I could change Sarah Ellen. Of course it wasn't a simple little poop. No way, this was a blowout that got all over her bottoms and took about 15 wipes to clean. So now my cutie is dressed in her top and a diaper. Lily was very patient while I changed the diaper. As I was finishing, she asked if she could go push the elevator button. I told her yes, turned my back for two seconds, and turned around to see the door closing and no Lily. She got on the elevator. Thank goodness as soon as I pushed the button, it opened right up. All this and we hadn't even started going through the aquarium yet. Once we did set out, Lily decided she wanted to be held. So I carried her in one arm and pushed the stroller with the other arm most of the time. We didn't last too long, and soon headed home.

I suppose I will get better at these outings, but it is definitely harder with two. Even though it's more of a challenge, I'm going to continue getting out. It is best for all of us to get out of the house now and then.

More Visitors

My parents, sister, nephews, and grandmother came down one morning for a visit. This is a picture of my grandmother, Hester Ellen, holding her tenth great-grandchild Sarah Ellen.

Lily had a blast with Adam and Austin. I told my sister she may have to leave them for the summer. I could use some live in toddler sitters right now.

The Unswaddler

Our little wiggle worm was escaping her swaddles in week one. We could swaddle Lily with a receiving blanket for weeks before she started breaking loose. We then moved to the Amazing Miracle Blanket (one of my baby must haves). Lily stayed in these blankets until she was 4 1/2 months. Our new little Houdini has even managed to squeeze an arm out of these blankets already. She likes her freedom.