You know you're a parent when... (#2)

...you cheer out loud at the sight of a big gooey booger on your babe's upper lip.

That's right, folks. I get excited when she sneezes and stuff comes flying out. It usually means she'll be breathing a little better with the aid of the booger-sucker. And that makes me happy.

Les Miserables

Amelie and Chris are sick, so we are all miserable. Chris got sick from doing a bunch of stuff to get ready for Christmas (you may not know this is typical of Chris: before any big event, whether a vacation or holiday, he works so hard either to make money or a gift or something, that he makes himself sick). Amelie got sick from her affectionate 2 year old aunt Betsy loving on her on Christmas. Such is life.

The first day of her cold wasn't so bad, because she slept all day, save for 2 hours, and I got a ton of stuff done (cleaned and organized the entry closet and started sorting papers from my filing cabinet, which date back to 2002, mind you!). But yesterday she couldn't breathe laying down, so I had to carry her in the sling all day. She could hardly eat either, poor thing. The nights are the worst. Amelie snores with her daddy (rumor has it, I snore in a humm... I don't know), and she wakes every 2-4 hours to eat.

Today is much better... Chris seems to be feeling ok, and Amelie will even smile while she's laying on her back. And I even got her to nap on the bed. Woo-hoo! While she napped, I read most of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm going to finish it tonight. And before you call me a loser for being home, reading and blogging on New Year's Eve, remember I have a sick babe to take care of!

We have some cute pics from Christmas, so I'll post them within the week.

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By the way, if you haven't gotten your Christmas card yet, it's coming soon (if you're in my address book, that is...). Chris the Genius (I'm not being sarcastic!) got the printer to work, so we got them done.

You know you're a parent when...

This is the first installment of "You know you're a parent when..."

...there's a little poop on the sheets, and you wipe it off and cover it up because you just changed the sheets.

The art of balance

I have finally figured out how to balance baby with life. The first key is to get the TV out of the bedroom. Now, if I decide I want to watch the dreaded boob-tube, I can sit in the living room and watch it. The nice thing, is that I have to look at all the other things that need to be done, and I end up doing them instead of watching TV. The second key is to wear the baby! She sleeps in the sling while I go about my business, so I get a lot more done. Yay!

The latest thing I have been working on is Christmas cards. It seems that you will be getting them late, though, as my printer refuses to cooperate. No good.

Amelie's birthday pictures (start at the bottom and work up)

Chris swaddling Amelie for the first time... and probably the only time she liked it. We found out later that she doesn't like her arms wrapped because she always puts at least one hand up by her face. She was even born with a hand by her cheek.

Our midwives, Kim and Kathy, "doctoring" up Amelie.

I felt so much better after a shower.

The new mommy and daddy meeting Amelie.

I slept in between pushes. I was so tired from all the work, and I had also been up for more than 24 hours (having gone into labor at the end of a long day). It's amazing how I could just fall into a deep sleep like that. It felt great!

Here I am in early labor. You can tell it's early because I'm smiling and fully clothed.

This pic was taken sometime after the 32 week mark. Your welcome for keeping a shirt over the belly for this one... the stripes weren't pretty.

Here I am, pre-stretch marks. According to pictures, I got them by the next week. And a whole bunch of them, too. Some people call them beauty marks (like Chris, and other sweet hubbys), but I'm not kidding myself.

Long Time No Blog

It has been more than 2 months since we have blogged. If you have been checking here regularly, sorry for the silence. I'm guessing that nobody really looks at our blog anymore... Hopefully there are a few stragglers! :) I want to get a few photos up soon, so you can all see what our beautiful babe looks like now. Our camera is full, so there should be a few good ones to share.

The last two months have been great, and I love being a mommy! Amelie is such a good baby, and she rewards me all day with lots of smiles and conversation. I have yet to learn what "Ahgoo" means, but for now, I respond with "Ahgoo you, too!" She holds her head up so well, so now I'm able to carry her around in the sling facing forward. I think she likes that position better than curled up in the newborn hold (which she loved for a long time, as it's pretty much just how she was curled up in the womb). Sitting up in the sling, she getsto watch me make guacamole and pick up the mess in the bedroom. Until last week, Amelie has had all of 3 crying spells that I didn't know how to quiet. Then last week, she either got a cold, or was congested from the dry winter air, causing a few fits of inconsolable crying. That was a little rough, but thankfully, it's not too common.

More to come later, maybe tonight I'll post pics.