Virginia

Were in Virginia, and it's hot and sticky icky here! The girls and I arrived last Wednesday and stayed with my Mom's Aunt Jackie for a few days before heading south for a family union on my Dad's side of the family.

I flew out with the my parents and the girls did great on the a plane rides. We decided to invest in an iPad just before I left. It was promptly loaded up with Sesame Street and Word World to make the flights bearable for Cecilia, therefore making the flights bearable for all of us.













Grammy Auntie Jackie lives in the DC area where they were having a heat wave. 106* and 77% humidity should not be allowed. It was so hot, which made visiting inside one of the only options. We did manage to get out to Arlington one day to visit Uncle Mike's grave. I had never been to Arlington before and it was so moving to be there. Uncle mike has been gone for 12 years now, and he is still so loved and missed.








We got to meet several new family members, including Cousin Michael. He is only a year older than C, and they had so much fun playing together and practicing the word "mine!".



Cecilia also played in the pool and Grandma helped her cool off.








Lilly has been a great little traveler. She has been so easy going, and since her throwing up is under control, it has been a relatively easy trip.









We made it through the traffic on Saturday to the reunion site. Jon will join us tomorrow. I can't wait to see him!

Lilly at 2 months old

I took Lilly to see our primary care doctor on Friday for her two month check up. Jill (our PA) was so excited to see Lilly! I was so excited to be able to tell Jill that it had been over 24 hours since Lilly had lost her lunch :). Lilly has checked out perfect and big. She weighed in at 11 pounds 3 oz., that's the 90th percentile! She is 22.5 inches long, the 75th percentile, and her head is 39cm, the 90th percentile.

She got a round of shots. I had to endure this pain by myself because Jon stayed home with Cecilia. For the record, unlike many things, shots are NOT easier with kid #2. They are still just as hard on Mama. That scream of pain coming from your tiny precious child is heartbreaking.





Over the weekend, Lilly set a new record. She went 67 hours, almost 3 whole days, with out throwing up. I was so excited! This dairy free diet of mine is really showing progress. Since then she has gone another 24 hours, and then two 12 hour stretches. At this rate, she might not have to ride around like this anymore:
It's amazing how easy it is to change your diet, when you are doing it for someone else. I find myself way less tempted to cheat because I know how it will affect Lilly. If I were doing this for my own benefit...
well, I wouldn't be doing this "diet" for my own benefit, but lets pretend. I would be cheating all over the place. Starting with chocolate. In large quantities. And ice cream. Straight from the tub. Just kidding (maybe).

4th of July

I know this post is extremely overdue, but it was an emotionally eventful weekend and I've only now found myself ready to blog about it.

We spent the holiday weekend with my parents. We love to get away to their house. Its so peaceful and beautiful. There were BBQ's and picnic's throughout the weekend. We also got to see the newly completed Indian Mountain Community Center. My Dad just finished building it, and it was beautiful. (Excuse my silly husband on the right.)
We were very well fed. Cecilia enjoyed playing with Grandma and Lilly enjoyed flirting with Pops.On Sunday afternoon we were given the wonderful news that my cousin Stephanie had her baby girl! Little Eva Sophia was born on Sunday afternoon. I am so excited for all of the baby girls in this family. Its about time we have an influx of PINK :) We were able to get to see her and the baby on Tuesday, and little Eva is so beautiful!
Shortly (very shortly) after we heard the news about Eva, we got a devastating call from my Uncle. He informed us that my Mom's cousin, Jackie, found her son Alex dead in his bed. This shook us all to the core. I think I am still in shock sometimes. Alex was just 22 years old. Alex and Oliver are twins, and Chris is his older brother, and Cynthia is his younger sister. My family, being as close as we are, rallied to support. It was very emotional to get this news so soon after the news of a new baby. It was another reminder that life is fragile, and should not be taken for granted. It was a reminder that we are not immortal. Alex's viewing was on Wednesday night, and the funeral was on Thursday of that week. I hate funerals, especially for people that are young. It was a beautiful service, and Alex's family did a wonderful job sharing about him. He was described many times as a competitor, prankster, and full of life and passion. At the end of the service, the casket was taken outside where we all gathered and dove's were released. My Aunt Jackie released the last dove as a representation of Alex's spirit to join the other dove's in flight. It was breathtakingly beautiful and almost unbearably sad. I find myself sympathizing with my Aunt Jackie as a parent, but more with Alex's siblings- especially Chris. I am the oldest of four too, and I can't imagine what it would be like to loose one of my brothers. My heart is still breaking for all of them, and they are in my prayers constantly. If you think about it, say a prayer for all of them too. Rest in Peace, Alex. You are loved and missed.

Jackie, ALEX, Oliver, Cynthia, Chris
Christmas 2010

Dairy Free

We had another appointment with the GI doc back on June 28. Lilly was showing some improvement on the Prevacid, but she was still throwing up. Lots. Despite her continual vomiting, my little tank weighed in at 10 lbs, 6 oz, at 6 weeks old! The new plan was for me to go on a dairy free diet. It's been two and a half weeks now, and its not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I miss chocolate SO badly, and cheese is right up there too. It is all worth it though because Lilly is finally starting to show improvement. On Monday to Tuesday this week, she made it 26 hours without throwing up. This was the longest she went since birth! And, if we make it to 1PM today, it will be another 24 hours. Her skin is also showing so much improvement. What I thought was just a bad case of baby acne was in fact a rash that was most likely caused by the protein in the dairy that I was consuming. I am so glad to see that she is doing better. I will continue to be dairy free for as long as needed. The good news is that she will grow out of this by her first birthday. So, for Lilly's 1st Birthday, I am having chocolate cake and ice cream :)

I love this little muffin so much! She is such and easy going, good sleeping, smiley little baby.

Newborn Lilly Photos

When Lilly was just one week old we had newborn photos taken of her and some family shots too by the lovely and talented Kaela Green of Kaela Green Photography. She also did Cecilia's 6 month portraits. We LOVE her work! If you are in the Denver area, seriously- look her up and get your family photographed, you won't be disappointed. I was able to create Lilly's birth announcement from these photos, and I was thrilled with how it turned out. Stop over at my business blog post for more info on getting your own custom greeting cards and announcements.

In no particular order, here are just a few of my favorites from the shoot.

Crash

Last Saturday, Jon was catching up on yard work in the back yard when a baby hawk fell out of the tree in our neighbors yard and landed in our other neighbors yard just about 10-12 feet from the fence. He must have fallen about 3-4 stories from the nest. This baby Red Tailed Hawk was huge! He was certainly bigger than our cat, but we couldn't tell how big he was until he got up. He stayed in a heap for about two hours before getting up. We named him Crash when he showed some signs of life. When he finally got up we determined that he was about 18 inches tall, and looked like he could weigh 10 lbs, but we knew he would be lighter due to being a bird and all. Our neighbors put out some water for him. In the afternoon he found a snake for supper. He made it through the night, and on Sunday we went across the street to tell our other neighbors about him. They rushed over to check it out, and then quickly made a call to the Raptor Rescue people. They said to bring him in right away, because Mama Hawk would not be coming down for him. So, Jon and the neighbor kid picked him up and took him to the rescue place. The lady at the rescue said that Crash had a parasite, and that they should be able to get him back to good health and release him back to the wild. She also said that he would not have made it another night had he been left there.