I’ve always wanted a little girl. I was not necessarily disappointed when we found out Cooper was a boy, but I was disappointed that shopping for and dressing a boy was fairly unexciting. When we first brought Ellen home from the hospital I think I made her a new headband every day for a week. It drove Noel crazy. “You really like dressing her up don’t you?” He asked. Guilty as charged; I do enjoy it.
Months before Ellen was born I purchased white satin to make her a special little dress to be blessed in. I wanted to get started on it right away, but knew it would be silly since we didn’t know when she’d be born or when we’d be blessing her and consequently what size she would be. Somehow I managed to hold off making a dress until the week before and even then I ended up making two. The first was a bit snug and I was really afraid that if she grew at all it wouldn’t fit her. (I’m really having a hard time adjusting to having a normal sized baby. Remember these booties and this fleece outfit? She never wore either because she was bigger than I expected her to be.)
After making the first dress using a tutorial from Make It and Love It, I came across a picture of a blessing dress with a full skirt. The gal that made the dress didn’t leak any of her secrets on how she made the skirt so adorably flouncy, but with some Google sleuthing I figured out that she probably used a technique called “pick ups.” I stuck with the Make It and Love It tutorial for the dress bodice and used a tutorial from Burda Style (complete with weird duct tape mannequin) to do the pick ups for the skirt. The eyelet underskirt was cut from of a salvaged bedskirt, so I can’t take any credit for it’s delicate intricacy. The second dress was a tiny bit roomy, but she wore it well.
I made the satin flowers for the headband using this tutorial, also from Make It and Love It.
*If anyone is in need of a white dress for an 8 lb or less baby let me know.
** One of these pictures was taken by me, the rest by my mom. Bet you can’t guess which one was mine 
We had quite the busy Easter weekend. My family made the long drive from Utah, most of them sacrificing cooler Spring Break plans so they could cuddle the new baby,
My mom snuggling Ellen
My sister, Hope, and Brother-in-law, Joe, getting some Ellen time.
play with a crazy little boy,
Our budding artist.
Cooper and my brother, Mitchell, drawing with sidewalk chalk.
generally infringe on each others’ space,
Squeezing onto the couch.
install a whole house fan and lay insulation,
Noel and my dad hard at work.
My mom and I took Cooper shopping and when we came back the guys had cut this hole. Noel stuck his head, complete with dust mask, head lamp, and hair full of attic debris out of the hole and said, "Boo" thinking Cooper would laugh like when we play peek-a-boo. The kid was TERRIFIED. He screamed bloody murder and even though we tried to show him it was his dad he would cry every time anyone took him anywhere near the hole. Who knew home improvement could be so traumatizing.
watch a two-year-old collect plastic eggs,
Cooper collecting his loot.
and be there for our sweet little girl’s baby blessing.
This is the best picture I took of Ellen. My mom took many wonderful ones that I will share when I get copies later.
It was nice to have our house full on such a special weekend. We only wish it could have been more full and send our love to our relatives that weren’t able to come. I’d been worried that blessing our little girl on Easter would distract me from the day’s true meaning, but found that blessing this new little life only deepened my love for my Savior and my gratitude for the miracle of the resurrection.
No this post is not about dying my hair. Trust me, that’s never going to happen. I’m not big on food dyes. I try to avoid them in the things I buy and have only used my my little vials of food coloring once in the past two years. (When I unsuccessfully tried to make cute cupcakes to impress the pre-teen girls I taught at church, which was silly on so many levels.) With Easter coming up I’ve tossed around the idea of dying Easter Eggs and in my green sleuthing have found several suggestions of how to dye eggs naturally. While I’ve decided to hold off on that tradition for at least another year (I’m just not ready to deal with that potential mess), I thought I’d share my two favorite findings. There’s these suggestions from Annie’s Eats and these from 100 Days of Real Food. If you try either of them, you’ll have to let me know how it goes.
Now, before you begin to admire me for how green I am, let’s talk about the second dye debacle of my week. I saw a wreath on Pinterest that proclaimed itself to be “super easy” and seemed fairly green to me (made out of old t-shirts and cereal boxes). I wanted something to make my house more springlike, so I decided to make it, but found I didn’t have any sacrificial t-shirts that were the appropriate colors. So, I picked up some Rit Dye while I was at the fabric store and didn’t really think anything of it until I was reading the instructions and some of the warnings made me begin to question how eco-friendly (or just plain safe) the product was. (Keep in mind, I stay current with some people/organizations that are pretty intense in their chemical avoidance.) Then I had one of my classic brain debates:
Well, it’s not like you’re eating it. But the clothes will be touching your skin. All. Day. Long. It is helping you reuse something. But it will be wasting water and flushing questionable stuff down the drain.
(By the way, this type of debate is the reason why it takes me so long to shop and I’m constantly being asked by employees if I need help.) In the end, the dye won out and I added a few stained shirts to the mix to help me feel like I was at least extending the life of clothes that might otherwise be tossed. I opted to use the “bucket method” as I thought I’d have more control over the color and limit the amount of water I used. In retrospect, I think the “washing machine method” might actually be the way to go since the color would probably be distributed more evenly and the machine is probably more efficient at rinsing things out than I am.
Sadly, the wreath didn’t end up being as quick (which is what I interpreted “super easy” to mean) as I thought. By the time I got to 2 1/2 hours of rolling fabric and using the glue gun I was getting pretty agitated (and so were my kids). But now it’s done and I can leave the dyes and the crafting alone for awhile. Phew.
The weather here has been so warm lately with temperatures in the 80s the past two days. Today we’re returning to a more traditional weather pattern with rain/snow in the forecast, so we made the most of the weekend. In true summer fashion, we slept in.
Of course tuned in to four inspiring sessions of General Conference. (Were there a lot of talks on parenting or was that just what I needed to hear?)
The Coop watching General Conference. His favorite parts were the musical numbers. He acted as if he were conducting the whole choir.
In between sessions we did yard work and went for a lovely stroll.
Turns out the tree with the awful berries in our front yard is beautiful this time of year.
Saturday evening we celebrated Earth Hour with a candlelight dinner cooked over hot coals, camping style. (Don’t worry, I did feed the kids before 8:30. Noel and I just didn’t eat till he got back from the Priesthood session.)
The art produced by Earth Hour.
It was a nice laid back weekend with beautiful weather, but I think the dry Colorado landscape needs a break so we’ll welcome any moisture we can get. I hope your weekend was wonderful and inspiring!
Two things are happening this weekend that make me excited. The first is our church’s General Conference which is always inspiring. (Plus you can watch church in your pajamas which is nice ) The second is Earth Hour 2012 . In the grand scope of things I suppose it’s not as important as the first (I mean we’re talking eternity vs life on earth), but it’s a good reminder that “everyone can take personal responsibility for the future of the planet we live on.” (And at least for me, life on this planet is pretty important at the moment 
)The idea is that you turn everything off (lights, computers, etc) for one hour on the 31st (from 8:30-9:30pm in your respective time zone). While it does save electricity, it’s predominantly a symbolic act to get us thinking about how we impact the planet. Here are nine fun things to do during Earth Hour 2012 and an inspirational video.
If someone were narrating my life, I’m sure the moment Ellen was placed in my arms the words, “She suddenly realized life would never be the same again” would have been uttered. I feel like having a new baby in the house makes me rethink everything. Big things like my parenting skills and my spirituality, as well as little, unimportant things like my fashion. Life never will be the same again, but that’s part of the excitement of living, right?
We took my mom to the airport yesterday after she’d kindly spent 11 days keeping our house clean and playing nonstop with Cooper. Today marks the first day I’m on my own with the kids and while I’m excited to try and redefine a “normal” for our lives, I find the whole thing perhaps at least a tad bit scary. I mean, how am I supposed to go to the grocery store with two kids? What do I do when they’re both crying? Will I ever feel like making my bed again?
I suppose I should finally release Cooper from the confines of his high chair and head out to find the answers. Wish me luck.
Cooper is already loving being a big brother.
Me and the kids
Don’t worry, we’re not dead. We’ve all just lacked the brain power necessary to draft a blog post (sad, I know). Hopefully we’ll pull ourselves together soon and get back to our regular publications of high intellect. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s our current substitution for 3,000 good ones.
Chubby Cheeks
Pretty In Pink
Tender moment.
*Why yes these photos are much better than the ones we typically feature on this here blog. That’s because I didn’t take them; my amazing mother did.
Leprechaun One
Leprechaun Two
The day Ellen was born I had an OB appointment first thing in the morning. I was dilated to a 5 and my doctor told me that the baby was very low which meant she would likely come very fast when things got rolling. She expressed concern that a) I wouldn’t make it to the hospital in time to get antibiotics for my Strep B and b) I wouldn’t make it to the hospital in time to deliver. My doctor had a shift at the hospital later that day and offered, if I wanted, to call and see if they could fit me in. They would get my antibiotics going and when she arrived for her shift she would break my water. I was nervous about agreeing to do this, but also very tired of being pregnant and had spent a good deal of time worrying about getting to the hospital in time (our hospital is in downtown Denver and about 25 minutes from our house when traffic is good). My biggest fear of agreeing to this plan was that the initial medical intervention would lead to more medical intervention and complications and I would end up having a horrible experience. My doctor knew my goal was to birth without medication and assured me that she thought breaking my water would be enough to kick me into active labor and that we could try walking and other methods if labor stalled before moving to Pitocin. We agreed and left the office still discussing whether this was a smart move or not. Our minds were racing so much that we drove six blocks past our street before either of us realized it. Once at home I called my mom (whose intuition and wisdom I trust immensely) and talked to her about the plan and my concerns. My mom told me she thought I’d be fine and thought this was probably the smart thing to do. I began to feel more calm about things and also kept praying that if this was the wrong decision that I would know. We spent the next few hours tying up loose ends (Noel at work and me at home). It was kind of a weird feeling to know our baby was coming later that day, but it was also very exciting. It was nice to have the advance notice so we could get things in order and I didn’t have to panic when it took me almost two hours to work out the schedules of two different people to take care of Cooper.
Once at the hospital everything was extremely chill. It was actually kind of a nice change to chat leisurely with the staff, get all the paperwork taken care of, and watch TV episodes while we hung out. After I’d been on the antibiotics for five hours my doctor broke my water. I was optimistically hoping labor wouldn’t last for more than four hours, but knew that it certainly could. My contractions began to increase almost immediately (they were already about 7 minutes apart on their own beforehand) and they wanted to keep me on the monitor for 20 minutes to make sure Ellen was handling everything okay. Ellen was super squirmy, so 20 minutes turned into about 40. By the time I got unhooked from everything I was starting to feel pretty achy and wanted to get into the tub. They checked my dilation while the tub was filling. I was at a 7 and was advised to get out of the tub if I felt any increase in pressure. The tub jets made my achy legs feel better, but the growing pressure was undeniable. I wanted to be tough, but also didn’t want to be stupid. When I told Noel that I felt like the pressure was increasing after only being in the tub 15 minutes he pressed the call button without hesitation because he knew that me saying anything meant a lot. I told the nurse I felt like the pressure was increasing, but maybe I was just being a wuss. She told me, “Honey, you’re not a wuss, you’re at a 9 ” and started getting everything set up for delivery. A few very strong contractions later I started to feel like pushing. I asked the nurse if I was “there yet” and before she could check me my body began to involuntarily push. It was a crazy, but amazing feeling. The doctors (it’s a teaching hospital so my doctor and a doctor doing his residency attended to me) rushed into the room and told me not to push while they got their gloves on. I pushed only a few times (the duration of one contraction) and Ellen was out. After unwrapping the cord from her neck (she was double wrapped) they laid her on my chest. This was not an experience I got with Cooper and I was amazed at how she really did naturally begin sticking her tongue out in search of milk. They let Noel cut the cord once it had stopped pulsing and when all the pressing things had been attended to they left us alone for an entire hour to bond as a family. It was such a peaceful and wonderful time. Only after that hour did they bug us with typical hospital policies and procedures (they didn’t even weigh her until then).
The raciest picture you'll ever see of me. Promise.
So big compared to Cooper.
The week before Ellen was born I was despairing about how awful it was to be so hugely pregnant and the thought came to me, “Maybe you have to be pregnant this long because you need to keep her inside of you long enough to get to the point in pregnancy where the doctor would feel safe starting your labor so you can avoid a problematic situation you haven’t even thought of.” It seemed crazy at the time and I immediately categorized it with other pessimistic thoughts I’d had about delivering a 10 lb baby on St. Patrick’s day or having an induction that ended in an emergency c-section. I’ll never know if I narrowly escaped having an interstate birth or something worse, but I feel very good about how everything happened. Active labor lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes which was incredibly fast, but also very nice. Even though Ellen was about two pounds bigger than Cooper she was much easier to birth and I tore a lot less (I only needed one stitch). The whole thing was a really good experience and I can’t say enough about the hospital and it’s staff. Recovery has been better this time around as well. Thus far Ellen is a really good baby and we feel so blessed to have her in our home.
My little girl.
Noel is already sweet on her.
Cooper being gentle. (PS The hospital has queen size recovery beds which was nice.)
Five years ago
You know the classic question, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Well, I seriously doubt that five years ago I would have said, “I’ll probably spend my fifth wedding anniversary breastfeeding my newborn and telling my toddler ‘no’ again as he pulls all the wipes out of the container.” At the same time, newlywed me wouldn’t have known how much I would change over the course of five years. She wouldn’t know how deeply I would love my kids or how touched I would be that my tired husband worked like crazy to simultaneously make me breakfast in bed and keep our busy little boy from waking me up early. So even though eating take-out from a great Italian restaurant isn’t quite the same as an exotic vacation, today I’ll be content to snuggle my three favorite people. Besides, Costa Rica will still be there next year.
Now.
