This Week Brought To You By

A girl who is feeling better!

And who has a snazzy new hat.

Have a great week!

Marathon Training- Week 2

This is week 2 of Marathon Training for the fellas.

Both Jim and Cole were able to make it out this week to get a few 2 & 3 mile runs in.

We also got both of them registered this week, so it's official.

I saw on the marathon website that they will be expanding the field of runners to 10,000 this year.

They have limited the Half-Marathoners to 8,000.

That's a lot of people!

Also, once again this year the finish line will be on the 50 yard-line of Memorial Stadium.

That's pretty cool.

Here is Cole #29 doing Cross Country for his school team this year.
Man I miss those sunny days!

Stella Update

I wanted to give an update on how Stella is feeling.

Last week I posted about how she had croup and an ear infection.

Well, I took her back to the doctor on Thursday because it just didn't feel like she was getting any better.

Well, turns out she wasn't.

So now we're giving her several breathing treatments per day.

It seems to be helping her feel better.

Sometimes she really hates the treatments.

Other times she sleeps right through them.

Also, a tooth update-

we now have both bottom teeth through.

You can actually see them just a little bit when she smiles.

It's pretty cute.

All of this illness and tooth growing hasn't dampened Stella's spirits though.

She's still our happy little girl!

Urban Sledding

Where I grew up this is not what sledding looked like.

Wait, why is there a bicycle involved?

Uh, fellas- there are no bicycles in sledding.

Look Mom!

Are you watching?

Oh goodness

The boy has Jim wrapped around his finger.

Or maybe this is Jim's way of avoiding the sledding hill.

It's probably good exercise I guess.

Seriously!

This is our life!

A Breakthrough!

Stella found her mouth.

And now everything goes in it.

She spends a lot of time with her hands in her mouth.

And recently she's been able to navigate toys into her mouth.

It's fun to see her gnawing on things-

Even if it means that she's become extra drooly.

Today I figured out why she's so determined to get anything

within reach into her mouth....

She has a tooth!

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Stella has her first ear infection.

She also has croup.

She's been feeling pretty crummy these past couple of days.

We first noticed that she might be getting sick on Sunday evening.

We did our regular evening routine,

but she was extra cranky.

And it seemed like she might be having some difficulty breathing.

She woke up at midnight (which is definitely not like her)

and was clearly sick.

She had developed a barky cough, and was just not herself.

We decided to keep her home on Monday because she hadn't

slept much overnight and we wanted to keep an eye on her.

By mid-afternoon it was very clear that she was sick,

so we took a trip to her pediatrician and they

told us what we already knew, which was that she was sick.

I expected the croup diagnosis because she had a

baby seal cough, and had lost her voice.

But turns out she also has an ear infection.

So she got a steroid shot and a prescription for an antibiotic.

And then we went home for a steam shower.

Stella has handled her illness well.

She really just wants a lot of snuggle time with Mom & Dad.

And she is also very happy to hang out with her friends.

Wii Are Getting Fit

We got a Wii Fit last year for Christmas.

We didn't actually get it until summer because the family didn't get together

for Christmas due to holiday blizzard.

These days, our Wii Fit is getting a lot of use.

Stella loves it!

She's Got Moves

Either that or her Daddy has lost his mind.

We're starting to get into the "fun" personality phase.

Stella likes pretty much anything we do that involves chanting or waving her arms around wildly.

Hence the "pizza, pizza, pizza..." activity.

I was watching something on the food channel one day and discovered that little gem.

She liked it then, and continues to like it now.

She is so close to laughing, and so we keep doing these flailing arm activities.

Each of us hoping that we will be the first to achieve the coveted first giggle.

Enjoy this little gem on this snowy Sunday morning.

Marathon Training- Week 1

Today officially began marathon training in our house.

Both Jim & Cole are planning to run

the Lincoln Half-Marathon this year.

The date for the marathon is Sunday, May 1st

so we're about 14 weeks out from D-Day.

This will be Cole's first half-marathon.

He has participated in Cross Country and

does long-distance events in track

at school, so he is familiar with running.

But training for the half-marathon takes a different level of committment.

He is using the training schedule at

Marathon Rookie.

Jim did the half-marathon last year and did awesome.

His finish time was 2:08.

Yes, 2 hours and 8 minutes.

I get winded jogging across the street to get the mail!

And these 2 guys are committing to running for 2+ hours!

Jim's goal this year is to beat last year's time.

Cole's goal is to finish.

I think both goals are do-able.

I used to run as well- although not at this level.

I have done several 5K's and actually really enjoy it.

After Stella was born, I had a moment of thinking that maybe

I would also throw my hat in the ring of the half-marathon.

I have since realized that this is not the year for me.

Right now my main focus is providing food for our daughter

and for me, that doesn't appear to coincide with running.

Not to mention the time committment for 3 people

doing marathon training doesn't seem to be possible with an infant in the house.

So for now, Stella and I are thrilled to be #1 supporters of our resident runners.

Maybe next year.

So, this begins a new segment on the blog:

marathon training updates.

I plan to do weekly updates on both

Jim & Cole's progress in training

Stay tuned...

Stella's Stats

Stella had her 4 month check-up yesterday.

We LOVED the new doctor.

She was awesome! So we're feeling very good about making that switch.

Stella got her 4 month shots and even though she cried, she handled them like a champ.

Daddy- not so much.

This was Daddy's first time seeing Stella get shots, and he didn't like it much.

We got the go-ahead to try some cereal with her at night

to hopefully get her through the night without waking up to be fed.

Rice cereal here we come!

And hopefully a full-night's sleep as well!

Here are her growth stats:

Weight- 14 pounds

Length- 23 1/4 inches

She's doing great.

The doctor was very pleased with her growth.

And for her weight she is right on track with other 4 month-ers.

She's still a little behind in length compared with other babies her age,

but compared with other babies her adjusted age she's doing fine lengthwise

and her weight is off the charts!

I can't imagine why....

It's Peek-a-Boo Thursday

Stella learned how to play peek-a-boo!

It's awesome

Enjoy...



Spring Breaking

With all of this snow on the ground, I think it's time we do some planning for Spring Break!

For the past few years, we've been taking advantage of Cole's week off for Spring Break to take a family trip.

We do our family vacation over Spring Break because

we can't ever seem to get away during the summer.

In years past it was because Cole played baseball

and Jim coached his team.

Also Cole was involved with Nature Camp

and Zoo Crew

and being a kid during the summer.

So, we do Spring Break instead.

It's fun.

Two years ago we went to Chicago.

Here are Jim & Cole cleaning windows at the Hancock Building

(because that's what you do in Chicago right?)

and here is Cole and I getting some deep dish

(that's more like it!)

Last year we went to Houston to visit Jim's brother and take in the sights.

We went to the Orange Show

If you haven't been- you must go.

It's something you'll never forget :)

and here's Cole and I at NASA.

I was about 3 months pregnant here.

Just starting to see a little tummy.

I have to be honest and say that I

#1 don't really remember too much from our Houston trip

#2 thought I was going to die during most of our Houston trip.

The morning sickness was pretty awful at this point.

On our way back from Houston we swung through San Antonio for one night.

Here are Jim & Cole at the Riverwalk.

Not a lot of pictures of me from this trip.

I think it was because I looked like death.

Our plan to was to go to Washington DC this year for Spring Break.

I think that plan has been scrapped, however.

We definitely could still do DC, but thought we might hold off for another year

until this lady is a little more travel ready.

I think she would be fine to make that trip actually

But little people require a lot of gear.

And we wanted to make sure that if we were going to DC

we could really take in all of the sights.

And we wanted to avoid having to lug along things like

a pack-n-play and breast pump.

So we had to go back to our wish list of places to visit.

We decided to try to do something within driving distance instead of flying.

On our short list:

Minneapolis (the top choice at this point)

St. Louis

Chicago again

Denver

To me it doesn't really matter where we go.

We always have a great time together making memories as a family.

(Well, except for that Houston trip that I don't remember).

And I'm excited to include Stella in the memory making this year.

(the ladies can't resist Cole's 3-Inch Guns)

Random Thoughts Wednesday

Today is a random thought day.

It is day 2 of Stella sleeping in her crib.

She is doing awesome.

Last night she fell asleep at about 8:30.

I was able to dream feed her at 10:00 and got her topped off for the night.

Then we put her in her crib and hit the hay.

I feel weird about putting her in her room and then closing the door

but it is necessary because there is someone else in our house who also enjoys sleeping in the crib.

Lucy has never gotten in the crib with Stella

but I wouldn't put it past her.

So our options are to close Stella's door to keep the cat out

or put the cat in our room and then close our door.

I am less fond of the second option because then Lucy doesn't have access to her litter box

hence our decision to close Stella's door.

We have a monitor, and it is very sensitive.

Last night I could actually hear Stella's nose whistling as she slept,

so I'm confident that I can her her every little move.

I just have to get more comfortable with my tiny girl sleeping in her own room.

So she slept.

She woke at 3 to eat, and then back to sleep

until 8 this morning!

It seems the crib sleeping is working out for her.

I'm glad.

And I'll get used to it too- eventually.

Someone else in our house is getting to be a big kid.

This guy.

We have open house at his high school next week.

What was that I said?

Yes, HIGH SCHOOL.

This boy will be starting high school in the fall.

When did this happen?

How did he get to be 14?

The time has gone by so fast, and now we're attending open houses at high schools.

Next thing you know he'll be driving.

Oh yes- he'll be 15 in November

and eligible for that coveted learner's permit

and keys to the car with parent supervison.

And then we'll be doing college tours...

Ack!

I would like to freeze time in this moment

Silly Cole- age 13

and

Tiny Stella- 8 days.

I always tell people that every age that my kids are presently at is my favorite age.

And that's true, but lately I've become nostalgic

for past ages when I know we've still got lots of time together.

Stella Flat Head

Stella's a big girl now!

She no longer sleeps in her bouncy seat, or in her pack-n-play!

She sleeps here now- in her crib.

Over the long weekend we worked hard on making that transition.

She napped in her crib successfully for a couple of hours at a pop,

so we thought it might be time to try it at night.

Last night was the night- and she did great.

I, on the other hand, did not get much sleep.

It seems like the monitor magnifies each little sound.

So you may be asking yourself- why did we make the shift now?

Several factors played into our decision to give the crib a shot:

1. She's 4 months old now- it's probably time

2. She's outgrowing the newborn napper

3(most importantly). She's developed a flat head.

Her head has gotten kind of a significant flat spot, but only on one side of the back.

She always lays on the right side of her head,

and it's become a bit misshapen.

We decided to switch up her sleeping spot in an effort to maybe help out her flat head.

I don't really think it worked.

She still lays in the crib on the right side of the head.

I'm feeling the need to defend myself as a mother-

we do tummy time,

we put her in her bumbo and other seats where she isn't resting on her noggin.

We even try to prop her up with a blanket when she's laying on the floor

in an effort to get her to lay on the other side.

It doesn't work.

And

It's still flat.

I'm hoping we don't have to take extraordinary measures to squish her head back to a nice rounded shape.

I'm hoping that as she becomes more mobile it will work itself out.

But for now- Stella Flat Head will be sleeping in her crib.

Exersaucer Time

Here is Stella enjoying her exersaucer time.

 

 



4 Months!

Stella is 4 Months Old today!

She's got lots of new tricks these days!

She loves to smile, and hands them out quite regularly these days.

She's also found her voice lately.

She likes to scream.

I don't mean scream like cry-

I mean scream like squeal.

I love that she's vocalizing, but not sure I'm fond of the scream.

She's holding her head up by herself almost all the time now.

She much prefers to be sitting upright than laying down.

She likes to look at books with Daddy.

I think she likes the enthusiastic way that he tells the stories.

All of these new activities really wipe her out!

She's also become quite drooly lately

so as you can see, she regularly wears a new accessory

a bib.

She got a new toy the other day too.

An exersaucer.

She LOVES it!

I tried to upload a video, but it wasn't working.

I'll try again tomorrow.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Bear with me while I reminisce for a second.

Here is Stella the day we took her home from the hospital.

This would have been September 19, 2010.

She was kind of tiny.

So tiny in fact that the clothes we had picked out to take her home from the hospital in were enormous.

My mom ended up going out and buying some smaller clothes for her.

Thanks Mom!

The sleeper that she is wearing here is one of those items that my mom brought.

I know it's hard to tell here, but the sleeper is rather big on her.

Here is Stella this morning laying next to that same sleeper.

It comes to her knees.

My how things have changed in a little less than 4 months.

We couldn't be happier with how well Stella has done.

We knew with her being preemie that she might have some challenges,

but the girl hasn't let her early entry into the world affect her in the least.

We go next week for her 4 month check-up, so we'll see how she stacks up against other 4 month old babies.

From the looks of the chub on those arms I think she'll measure up just fine.

The Bumbo: Right & Wrong

Today my children will be demonstrating the right and wrong ways to use a bumbo.

Right

Wrong- definitely wrong!

Happy Wednesday Friends

Sleep Spots

Since her birth, Stella has slept here:

It is the "newborn napper" in the top of her pack-n-play.

It lives about 2 feet from my side of the bed,

and it has been nice to have her so close during her first few months.

When I hear her start to rustle, it's really easy to pop the paci back in her mouth

and buy myself another hour or so.

It's also nice to be able to check on her throughout the night if she happens to sleep longer than I expected.

All along I have said that we will transition her to her crib full-time

when she starts sleeping through the night.

Well....

That still is not happening.

Stella's crib is a lonely one,

except for the occasional nap taken there by the cat when she happens to sneak in there at night.

I tried a few times to have Stella nap there during the day,

but it was so much easier to keep her close.

So she napped here

in her swing

or here

in her bouncy seat

or even here

on the floor

But for the last two days

she has been napping here

in her crib!!!!

Yay for Stella!

Yesterday she took a 2 1/2 hour nap in the crib

and she is currently napping there today.

We are making baby steps toward making that transition full time.

But it sure would be easier if she were sleeping through the night.