Noelle at one month

Here are a couple of pictures of Noelle at around one month old. She really is a good baby. She loves playing with the musical chimes toy you see in the top picture. Every day she gets a little better at her motor skills.

End of the Spear

I just finished watching the movie called "End of the Spear" last night (during a 3 am feeding). What an awesome movie. I wanted to see this when it was in the theaters, but I never made it. That's probably for the best, since I shed so many tears watching it last night. The tears weren't of sadness, just overwhelming emotion. Then, at 4 am, when Noelle was back asleep, I could not fall asleep. The movie is much more than the brief description on the DVD case, and more than I expected. What enormous faith those Christian missionaries had. Faith seems too small a word to describe it, as they risked their lives doing what God calls all of us to do. The risks the wives took affected me the most, as they supported their husbands, then risked the lives of their children as well as their own to complete the mission their husbands began. I don't think I could do it, yet that question lingers within me.

If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It is not for children, as there are very violent scenes.

Noelle's Checkup

Noelle went for her one month checkup today (she's 5 weeks old). She weighs 9 lbs, 3 oz, which is exactly what Connor weighed at birth. She is 21.5 inches long. She is pretty much exactly in the 50% percentile for both height and weight. The doctor said she has a very small amount of jaundice, but nothing to worry about or even to do anything about.

She goes back next month for several vaccines. I can't believe that they give a 2 month old so many vaccines, but her doctor was very good about assuring me that it will not tax her system at all.

Four Things About Me

Things you may or may not have known about me.....
(If you have a blog, consider yourself tagged!)

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. IT Manager
2. Buyer/Planner
3. Forecast Analyst
4. Inventory Analyst

B) Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. The Notebook
2. Dragonfly
3. Life is Beautiful
4. An Affair to Remember

C) Four places I have lived:
1. Chattanooga, Tennessee
2. Knoxville, Tennessee
3. Memphis, Tennessee
4. Trumbull, Connecticut

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. 24
2. Lost
3. The Office
4. Monk

E) Four places I have been on vacation:
1. Greece
2. Grand Canyon
3. Hawaii
4. Carlsbad Caverns

F) Four Websites I visit daily:
1. yahoo.com
2. chattanoogan.com
3. msn.com
4. cnn.com

G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Liz Lovely's Cowgirl cookie (http://www.lizlovely.com/)
2. dark chocolate truffles
3. avocados
4. carne adovada

H) Four places I would like to be right now:
1. Asleep (anywhere) for over 4 hours straight!
2. Hawaii
3. Hiking through canyons in Utah
4. Exploring some Mayan ruins

Noelle is growing...

Noelle is 3 1/2 weeks old and now weighs about 9 lbs. She is nursing now! I am so glad that I kept trying. As you can tell, she gets plenty to eat.

Connor & Noelle

Here is my favorite picture (so far) of Connor looking at Noelle. He really loves her.

The first thing he asks when he comes in the door or wakes up is "where is my baby sister?"

He wants to sit by her, and he put a stool next to the changing table so he can watch every time we change her diaper. When she cries, he sings to her.

Noelle Elise is born - December 20, 2007

This is Connor meeting his baby sister Noelle for the first time. We are in the hospital, and Noelle is a little less than one day old. I think she looks a lot like Connor did when he was a baby. She's just a little smaller (she was 7 lbs 15 oz, 20.5 in; Connor was 9 lbs 3 oz).

My labor, delivery, & recovery with Noelle went better than with any of my other kids. We left the hospital when Noelle was 24 hours old. I drove her to the pediatrician's office the next day.

Because her face was bruised during delivery, her doctor was worried about jaundice. This is why I had to take her to the doctor when she was 2 days old. Her bilirubin level was high, her weight was low, and I was instructed to supplement her with formula until my milk came in. I did, she thrived, and now our only problem is that she prefers the bottle to nursing. I pump and she always gets my milk, and I try to nurse her at almost every feeding. She is improving her nursing skill, and although she screams and protests occassionaly, I usually do get her to nurse.