Soon

 

For some time now (like 5 years, or so) I've considered myself to be in a bit of an artistic slump.  Some may consider 5 years to be more than what qualifies as a "slump" but I'm calling it that anyway.

Ironically enough, I've been an art teacher for the duration of this "slump".  My slump has not included the ability to be creative on other peoples' behalf.  In other words, I think my work with students has not suffered.  My work with students has been what I want it to be (more often than not...), which may in fact be why my own personal creative outlet has not been what I want it to be.

Now I find myself the mama to one sweet little muse, in the springtime, not working, reading all sorts of creative blogs written by all sorts of creative women doing what I want to be doing.  On top of all that, I'm totally sleep-deprived === and most of us know that this is often the state of mind that great ideas appear.  So I've got that going for me.

I'm not going to make any promises that what is on my creative horizon will knock your socks off and I'm not going to start my etsy shop just yet, but I finally feel like I've got some ideas and motivation at the same time.  And that's big for me.

For the time being, you'll find me holding the little babe, daydreaming about sewing and painting and crafting and creating. It's easy enough to blog with one free hand while the other is holding a baby, but threading a needle is another story. But, soon. 

  

(another new post after this one)

It was nine weeks ago today that we first heard your sweet voice, kissed your tiny cheek, and touched your delicate skin.  Happy nine week birthday, Ellis.  We love you more than we ever knew it was possible to love someone you've just met.

We admire you and your strong spirit so much.  You've come a long way, little baby.

At 2 lb. 13 oz.:

Over 5 lb., and counting:

let's vote

Gabe is going on a rafting trip.  I'm going to get my hair cut and colored.  

I'm sure you're asking yourself, "But why?  Brooke's hair is already "colored"--a couple of colors, in fact.  It's like day and night, what with the dark on top and light on the ends."

I have had my hair cut exactly one time since this incident.  It's time to brave the salons once again.

Now.  Should I go with brown or blonde?  Can I pull off a new color by going brunette? And when I say "new" I am of course ignoring the fact that my hair has been turning browner with each passing year for the last 10 years.  I'm asking you.  What do you think I should do?  I also have the itch to go short.  The problem is that I'm indecisive, so I would appreciate any advice you might care to give.

I will for sure make certain that my stylist can see this time around.  Fool me once (into assuming you can see, just because you're willing to come near my head with scissors and then charge me for it) shame on you...as the saying goes.

Introducing...

Nicolas, aka, Nico !!!  Keri and Charlie are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy.  He was due a few days before Ellis, so I'm certain they'll be the best of friends.  Look at all that hair! Welcome to the world, Nico.  You lucked out, your parents are super cool.

Guess who has surpassed the 5 lb. mark?...Any guesses?  Ellis Jane, that's who!

In the week since she'd come home, Ellis gained a whopping 11 oz., as of her first doctor's appointment yesterday, which is a fantastic showing. In the NICU she only ever gained an ounce or just a hair over an ounce a day at best.  Her little thighs are fattening up and I'm pretty sure she gets cuter everyday.  

There is a cacophony of animal-like noises coming out of my sweet baby right now because of the painful gas she gets from the vitamins we have to give her, so I'll leave you to view the rest of the pictures without my clever captioning while I try my best to comfort/distract her.  Enjoy!

Warning to men and grandmothers, I talk about bras and leaking and such.

You've been warned.

Yesterday as I was getting ready to take a shower, I discovered the bib I shoved into my bra in the middle of the night in order to stymie the leaking (you saw the photo of our freezer, so you know) that inevitably occurs every time our darling daughter eats (bottle, or otherwise).  As I vaguely recall, through my half-asleep stupor, the bib was the closest thing I found to "temporarily" solve my problem.  I fed Ellis, put her back to bed and stumbled back into bed myself, forgetting the bib.  More solid proof that my mind is no longer focused on anything to do with yours truly, which is refreshing, I have to say.

**Flash forward to the end of my shower when I realized how similar I was in that moment to a fancy, if not slightly riskAY Italian fountain.  Not the fountain that dispenses soda mind you, but the other kind of fountain you can think of... 

Enough of that.  Ellis has her first appointment with her pediatrician tomorrow.  As usual, we're hoping for good weight gain. And that we like the pediatrician.  

I just sat staring into space for the last minute or so.  Nothing is coming to mind, so I think my mind and body need a nap.  More pictures soon.  Most of you have probably not read to the end of this post because there are no new pictures.  Thanks for sticking it out to the end, those of you that did! 

**Funny to me that that sentence starts with the word flash.

picnik.com

Her Morning Elegance

Do yourself a favor, and just watch 

THIS.

Our first 3 days home together

Yesterday Gabe and I took Ellis Jane on her first walk around the block.  It was a beautiful day, so we seized it.  I LOVE this first photo.  It shows Ellis' beautiful face, and also her giant clothes. For some reason a lot of preemie and baby clothes are made more similar to adult proportions, which means Ellis' arms don't even come close to the ends of her sleeves.  I also chose an adorable little hat for her, thinking it was the right size.  It wasn't even close, so we folded it up and hit the road.  These first two pictures are of Ellis snoogled up in her stroller, entirely overdressed for the weather by her always-cold mama.

Here are a couple of Gabe and Ellis.  Once a day we have to put 1 mL of vitamins with extra iron (the doctors weren't convinced that Ellis' fair skin was thanks to her pale folks, hence the extra iron).  It's pretty raunchy stuff and it makes her puke (yes, puke. Not "spit"--that's too light of a term) probably 4 out of 5 times. Because of this tendency, we decided to strip her down therefore getting a rare glimpse of her little arm which is typically covered in efforts to stay warm and not burn unnecessary calories. Run on.

How many men does it take to change a diaper...

Gabe's good friend Dr. Nate flew out to be our butler for a few days.  So far he's gotten the oil in our car changed, done some painting, gone grocery shopping, cooked our meals and now assisted in a diaper change.  It's been quite a luxury to be cooked for, let me tell you.

Here is another from our walk around the block:

Now, I've mentioned to many of you what a spectacular milk-producer I am, but I suspect you haven't grasped exactly the extent of it. There is no food in our freezer, other than Ellis'. There is also more at the hospital, which we refused to bring home because there is simply nowhere to put it. Kind of ironic that our baby only weighs a little over 4 lbs, huh?

Poor Daly.  He has really taken a back seat these days.   

Drum roll, please...First bath at home! Plus the first picture of Ellis' back cheeks.

I actually really like how this picture captures the fact that life is SO not about me anymore (not that it ever was, but one can sure be deluded enough to think so). And yes, that's my bra.  Nice. 

Babies have lots of nooks and crannies. In this picture I'm getting one of the crannies clean.

Pay no attention to the mess surrounding us, clearly I haven't.

So there's a little expose (pronounced x-po-zay)on life in our household over the last three days.  More to come soon I'm sure.

our pact

My new pact with Ellis:

She'll keep growing, and I'll take the blame every time her little bum makes a big noise.  

Why? Because she's my girl, and I'll always have her back.