Playtime for Ellie

Our morning routine these days is as follows:

1. Mommy and Ellie wake up; Ellie eats.



2. Ellie lays on the floor... usually continuing to snooze.



3. Daddy and Joshua wake up; everyone else eats.

The last day or two, Ellie has decided to wake up and "play" a little bit more. She was looking at a book this morning when Joshua came into the kitchen and decided to read it to her. He is such a sweet big brother!

Ssshhh! Ellie's sleeping.

It isn't that any amount of noise really bothers Ellie at this point, but we decided to go ahead and start teaching Joshua to be quiet when Ellie is sleeping in her bed. He still loves to make a beeline for the pack n' play to peer over the side and see her, but David is quick to lift him up and remind him to be quiet. Now when we say "ssshhh!" Joshua imitates what he thinks he sees... David sticking his finger up his nose and blowing out of his nose. Of course, David is actually putting his finger up to his lips and making the "sh" sound, but hey, those are small details! Joshua gets the general idea!

She must be in there somewhere!

You can see Ellie's yellow blanket in the previous post. As I mentioned, she pretty much lives in it. Yesterday, however, I was carrying her around and left the blanket on the guest bed in Joshua's room. David later noticed Joshua trying to catch a glimpse of his ever-sleeping sister. It was very cute. We watched as Joshua leaned over and moved around the bed to find an angle that would allow him to see her face... but to no avail! It was just her blanket.

Ellie's uniform

I was feeling badly that we haven't taken a ton of pictures of Ellie like we did with Joshua during his first weeks. David reminded me that one reason is Joshua never slept... literally... so he was being held and "doing" more than Ellie does. Sure, we could take a hundred pictures of this precious little girl, but they would all look the same. Firstly, her eyes would be closed in all of them, and secondly, she wears a winter uniform. Layer number one is a little onesie and socks. Layer number two is a thin pair of feet pajamas with the little sleeves that fold over her hands so she doesn's scratch herself. Layer number three is her fleece pajamas. Finally, bundle her tightly in a snuggly blanket and put a hat on her head. (But know that the hat is too big and will fall off before too long. Hey, we do the best we can!) Ellie has all sorts of sleepsacks and warm things that we will add into the mix before too long, but she is so tiny that she gets swallowed in them currently!

Big brother

I was worried about how Joshua would react to Ellie, as I imagine every mother is when there is a new addition. I especially thought about what he would think when he couldn't climb into my lap while she is eating. Well, when he is awake, I sit in the rocking chair next to a little bookshelf in his room. He enjoys pulling books off the shelf and placing them in my lap so I can read to him while she eats. Joshua also likes to stroke her head and poke her eyes and nose... I am thankful that there is a reflex that causes her to close her eyes in those moments!

Small successes

Today Ellie is a week old. Our big milestones for the week include one bath with very little crying and 2-3 hours of our being able to see her sweet little eyes each day. She is a very content little baby. In fact, I think that last night was the first time I truly heard her "hunger cry." We usually have to go to great lengths to wake her up to eat, but last night she finally woke up hungry and then stayed alert long enough to eat well. I will do my best to post pictures and updates regularly, but you know, I am a little busier than I was last week!

So this is what it's like to have a newborn!

Most of you have probably heard one way or another that Elisabeth Justice Balch was born on Friday afternoon. There is so much that I could say today, but I will simply say that we are all doing well and adjusting to being a family of four. I will also say that I feel like this is our first time to have a newborn baby! Joshua was nearly 10 pounds at birth, and he was awake and crying all the time. Elisabeth was just over 7 pounds, and she sleeps ALL the time! Joshua hated to be swaddled, and Elisabeth stays so scrunched up that I can hardly get her limbs into her clothes! Joshua has been a little confused about this other kid who never goes home, but he likes patting her head and rocking her in the carseat. He is already a great big brother!

I'm an aunt!

David's sister and brother-in-law just picked up their sweet daughter in China yesterday! They have a few weeks of things planned in China, and then they will return to the States with Lily Pace. We have been looking at her 9 months pictures for 5-6 months now waiting with them to hear when she would be with them forever. Today, we saw new pictures of Lily WITH her Mommy and Daddy! She is too precious, and we are sooo excited! She is about 6 weeks older than Joshua, and I can hardly wait for them to play together! Congratulations, Paces!

Coffee grooves

Joshua loves to dance. He loves music and rhythm. When he hears music, he often bounces or waves his hands around. In the mornings, when David stirs his coffee, Joshua waves his hands around to the "song" of the spoon scraping the bottom of the mug.

Bubble bath

David found some bubbles that we put in Joshua's stocking. They are now his only desire at bath time! (Joshua's, not David's!:-P) We rush through the bathing routine, and then Joshua reaches out for the little container that holds his bubbles. I definitely prefer the bubbles to being splashed or sprayed with water! We tried them out on the balcony the other day, and Joshua loved chasing the bubbles back and forth, but I think it is more fun for him in the contained bathroom where he can actually "get 'em." (That is what I imagine him saying as he reaches out to slap all of the bubbles.) Needless to say, we went back to the store and bought him some more!

A big day in the life of our little man

Yesterday, Joshua took his first steps! He has been interested in standing over the past week or so, but he usually refuses to take any steps unless he is holding on to something. Yesterday, Joshua took several steps toward David. He was very proud of himself. He continued to practice throughout the day, and he thinks it is such a funny game! We also noticed that Joshua has a new tooth. Teeth are kind of old news at this point, but it is his first molar, so it is kind of exciting! Our little guy is growing up extra fast in time to be big brother! Baby sister is due in exactly 2 weeks... whatever that means!:-)

A picture of 9 months

I said picture, not photo! I am not one of the moms who will post pictures every month to show the growth of my tummy, but I will share a word picture, if you will...:-) We were out running errands, and I saw my tummy in the mirror of a store! Not just the fact that there is a tummy... but actually my shirt didn't fully reach the top of my pants, and I couldn't tell until I looked in a mirror! So, point #1 is that you know you are 9 months pregnant when one of your biggest "moo moo" maternity shirts doesn't cut it any more! I quickly passed Joshua off to David and held my sweater closed for the rest of the outing. I think I was down to about 5 shirts I could wear comfortably... now make it 2, and I will just wear long sweaters until this little girl is here! We went into a store, and I was gasping and peeling off layers while David comfortably walked around in his fleece. Point #2... you know you are 9 months pregnant when you can't believe how stifling the heat is all of a sudden in January!

The best toys

Yesterday, David and I took notice of the toys that seem to entertain Joshua the most. Strewn around the apartment were my 2009 planner, several lemons, a bulb of garlic, a strainer, a spoon, and a plastic bowl. Can you tell where we spend a lot of our time? He keeps me busy with washing dishes and produce these days since that is what fascinates him so much!

Readers are leaders!

Joshua has gone through several phases with books. He used to just sit there and look at page after page as we flipped through them with him. For awhile, Joshua requested book after book, only to cast it aside after we got through a page or two. After that, his fascination was not with reading the books but with pulling them all off of the shelf time and again. And if I dared try to put them back on the shelf with him around, it would just remind him to do it again! Things are a little more fun these days as he will pull down a book and sit in his room flipping through it by himself... imagine that! We had a couple of rough weeks of lots of fussing and "neediness," but over the past few days, Joshua has shown us that he can go into his own little world. It is so sweet to hear him "reading" and talking up a storm to himself. Who knows what is going on in that little head of his?! I just try to stay quiet and listen so as not to distract him!