My Little Ladies

I definately think we are settling in around here finally and establishing a routine. It was hard for me at first when my mom left after being here for a month. She was such a big help and more than anything, it was nice to have some company at night when Brian is at work, it can get lonely around here. We've had to do alittle adjusting to bedtime etc. since it's just me and I only have two hands. The first few nights by myself were rough when I was trying to put Emme to bed and Stella wanted to be held or was hungry. Finally I figured out to just hang out with Emme on the couch at night and she falls asleep there instead of trying to put her down in her room and then Stella starts crying in the living room, yikes!

Emme has started not wanting to sleep in her crib for the past month or so, so I figured we would try the toddler bed out. It just came today so we will see how that goes, there will be pictures to follow and a story I'm sure! I'm really happy how Emme has adjusted with a new baby however. I was concerned since she can get needy but she is so good with her and really loves her sister so much. I love our little ladies!

Our New Years Present

Stella is here!!!! She decided she just couldn't wait until my scheduled c-section date which was supposed to be on January 5th. Stella Catherine Lilly arrived on December 31st, 2009 at 6:02 a.m. weighing 6 lbs 15 oz, 20 inches long. Brian of course was super happy to be getting a tax deduction for 2009 since she decided to come early. For those of you who know Brian, that is no surprise.

It sounds stupid, but I had no idea what labor felt like because with Emme, I had a planned c-section so I wasn't even sure I was in labor. I always thought it was like the movies where it is supposed to be very painful and you know you are having contractions. Well for me, it wasn't like that. I started feeling lower back pain on Wednesday (the 30th) night and also a cramping feeling. I wasn't sure if these were contractions or not because like I said, I never felt them before. I thought they were supposed to be very painful and it was mostly just uncomfortable for me. So I decided to ride it out and see if it would just go away. Brian came home from work at usual time at 11:30 pm or so and I still didn't feel right. I decided to go into the hospital at 2:30 am since I couldn't sleep and it wasn't going away. Brian's advice was just to go to sleep and it would go away...um, thanks Brian but I don't think labor just goes away if that was what was happening so I thought it would be best not to take any chances. I told Brian to stay at home with Emme since there was no need to wake her up since I thought for sure they would just send me home and say it was nothing. So off I went to the hospital and I told Brian I would call him with any news in case they were going to keep me there. Well, needless to say, my contractions were about 3 minutes apart after they monitored me for a bit and they decided after calling my doctor who luckily was on call that morning, to just go ahead and do the c-section since I was already 38 weeks along. I called Brian and we had our friend Tiffany come over at about 3:45 am to watch Emme and he came to the hospital. They did the c-section at 5:30 and she was born at 6:02 am. I got released on Saturday which actually worked out perfectly since my parents flew in that day. Emme got to visit me in the hospital each day for a little bit, it's hard to keep a toddler occupied in a small room for long but at least she got to see me. I felt so bad since I'm with her 24 hours a day and I know she missed me. Brian said she found an old license of mine and she kept pointing at the picture of me crying. If that doesn't tear at your heart strings, I don't know what does.

Surprisingly Emme is soooo good with her little sister. She's so gentle and she always wants to kiss Stella and touch her softly on the head. I was really worried that she would be very grabby with her since she can be the dogs at times but she isn't at all. She even holds her bottle to help feed her. Actually, she's been more gentle with the dogs now too because we keep telling her to be nice to them like she does with Stella, so I think she understands more now. Stella is just the best baby in the whole world, thank god! Emme is such a handful these days that I'm so grateful to have had a mellow child the second time around. She only cries when she is hungry or cold when you change her outfit. She is so content when she is awake or sleeping, she's a true blessing! Emme is wearing me out more than the newborn! I thought for sure she would end up looking more like me but she looks like a little clone of Brian again. Except she got my temperment I say. She has very light hair, not like Emme when she was born. It's definately very blonde with alittle brown in it. She also has the prettiest blue eyes, so I'm hoping they will stay that way or turn to green. Emme's were alot darker when born and she ended up with brown eyes so it would be nice to have one with brown and one with blue or green. We feel so lucky to be blessed with two beautiful little girls!

Christmas '09

I would say Christmas this year was a success in my book. Brian had to work Christmas Eve so Emme and I went over to Heidi's parents house and spent Christmas Eve with them which was really nice. We usually spend the holidays with Heidi's family since we have no family here and I always feel welcomed and part of their family. Emme had a ball playing with Levi and the other kids and she even got a present from the Christmas Angel (i.e. Marty and Jim, Heidi's parents).

Christmas morning we got up and I made breakfast and then we opened presents. Or I should say, Emme opened all the presents. She had a blast ripping off the paper and opening everything, she had quite a knack for it too. Before I could turn around, she had another one opened right away. She was sure one spoiled little girl I'd say. She probably had 20 presents under the tree from Brian's parents, cousin, and us combined. Her favorite thing she got I would say was her shopping cart complete with 100 fake food items and little boxes. While that might not have been so smart on my part, since I will be the one picking up all the pieces everywhere, she is totally in love with it. She pushes it everywhere and stops and fishes things out all day pretty much. She also loved the vtech toy I got her that you sit on and turn the wheel. That was a steal since I got it on craigslist in pretty much new condition for only $15, go me! Amoung other things, she got a billion books from her Nanny, some clothes, blocks, little pots and pans, a fake dishwasher, a puzzle, tons of various balls to throw around, a trainset/train table that we have yet to put together since she got enough stuff to keep her occupied for the time being.

After gifts, I made gingerbread cookies and then we made our way over to Heidi's sister's house for Christmas Day dinner. It's always nice to see Heidi's family and Emme loves playing with the other kids. Christmas definately seems to be getting more and more fun every year now that we have kids. Emme is in such a fun age where she gets more of what's going on and is more involved compared to last year where she was just a little baby blob. I know next year will be even better since she will be a year older, talking, and super excited to see what Santa brought her. Then of course, we will have number two who will be almost a year old as well, wow! Can't wait!