Kryna says I don't post enough so...

This week flew by. My goals were somewhat accomplished. James is almost back to being almost potty trained. He even slept dry during his nap today. As for Ellie's schedule she's doing ok I guess. Last night was a little better, after 11pm she slept almost 3 hours between each feeding. Some people are telling me this is normal and not to expect any more than this. So as long as that is true I can live with it. I can't remember with James really, after the first week or so I think he took forever to go to bed for the night but once he was sleeping he only woke once before 5am. I guess the Lord knew I needed all the sleep I could get so that I could deal with his constant screaming. Poor kid. Ellie is a very contented baby, I have to say I have been enjoying that.

Growing So Big

Here are a few pictures of our adorable children. (I may be partial) Kryna took these photos the day before she left. I have to say they are better than any of the professional pictures I've had taken. I'll definatly be asking her and Bert to take some family portraits of us when we see them in Aug.
Ellie is growing and changing non-stop. This last week she has put on so much chub and gotten quite long. She's a very happy easy going baby yet somewhat dramatic. She's very alert and is starting to respond to her surroundings. Also she loves her paci, papasan, and her swing. I love that she likes her paci, this was not the case with James. The two of them are so different, right down to the whole pregnancy. I kept asking my Dr. if certain things were normal while I was pregnant and then would explain that I hadn't experienced the afore mentioned problem with my first and he kindly told me that if I had wanted everything to be the same as the first time I shouldn't have done this twice. I loved my Dr.
I'm really looking forward to settling in this week. All is calm and I can focus on all of the mundane tasks of being a wife and mother that I hold so dear. Right now James is napping, Ellie is sitting in her Papasan next to me thinking about napping and I am surrounded by three baskets of clean laundry while the washer and dryer are both humming in the background. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Before James got Rotovirus the week before Ellie was born he was almost entirely potty trained. He was down to 0-1 accidents a day and wearing training pants almost exclusively accept for nights and naptime. Then along came the Roto and he lost it all. He wouldn't even try, whenever I tried to get him to go he would cry and have a violent meltdown. Soooo this week it is one of my many goals to have him back to where he was pre-roto by the end of the week. This will take a good deal of energy and discipline on my part but so far so good. After a few lengthy and hysterical sessions last night and this morning he actually went in the toilet twice and acknowledged that he'd had an accident. These are both improvements, now I just pray it continues to improve.
Another of my goals for this week is to get Ellie on somewhat of a schedule. I've been working on this for about a week and a half now with only slight improvements. She's very unusual one night she'll wake up every 2 1/2-3 hrs. and the next night she'll sleep for 1 1/2-2 hrs. and then be awake for 2 hrs. etc. I've been trying to follow the Babywise schedule that I did with James but so far she is immune. The last three nights she did ok, nothing spectacular but no 2-3 hr. mid night playtimes so I won't complain too much. We'll see how a week of quietness affects her.
James has been missing his Auntie Nyna he asks about her and begs to talk to her on the phone. This morning I found pen scribble on the sofa again so Tim took James over to it and showed it to him and asked if he had done this. Tim swears he then said "hmmuh EhhEeehh". I really don't know what to think about this.

My munchkins

Did I mention chub?

Ellie Marie

Last week Monday, June 2 at 7:18 pm, Ellie Marie was born. We went to the hospital around 6 am. At 7 pm my water broke and 18 min and 2 pushes later Ellie was in my arms. This was a much better labor experience than with James. I was instructed to wait for the Dr. and had he been a few min. later he would definitely have missed it all. We contemplated over the name for about a half an hour settled on Avie Marie then changed it to Ellie Marie 15 min later. 26 hrs later we were back home and ready to settle into a new routine. Unfortunately James had Rotovirus and was banished to Grandpa and Grandma's farm until healthy. He was able to meet Ellie for a few hours on Wed. he is very impressed with his new sister and very willing to help even when it is not needed. Thursday James, Ellie and I spent the whole day together settling in. Ever since we had left the hospital I began to become increasingly worried about Ellie. She was becoming lethargic , losing her appetite, having poor urine output, as well as not holding a satisfactory temperature. So on Thursday around 9pm we headed to the ER. They admitted her for elevated bili-rubin levels and dehydration. We spent the next 3 days in the hospital and were finally able to come home yesterday afternoon.
All this said, our little girl is perfect and I can't believe how amazing God is. She looks like her...she has Tim's tongue and if she looks like anyone we believe it is my Grandma Kryna. She also has tiny ears and long feet. Here are a few pics and when thing calm down I will post some more. Kryna was able to fly in on Sat. and is here for a two week visit. For now I plan to settle in and just enjoy all the blessings of family.

Very Proud Daddy

She actually loves her paci

James meets Ellie for the first time

He's very helpful and inquisitive

Just after her first bath at home.

Under the Bili-light back at the hospital.