January 2012

The last month has been busy with me starting back to school for the semester. It was tough getting back into it, but after the exams this past week I think I am getting back into the swing of things. Lorelei goes to stay with Pops while I do my classes and she has learned to pull the stool around the counter and steal drink from Granny. Granny has been on a diet and is only drinking water now, so Lorelei is not having as much luck anymore.She enjoys eating white donuts as much as Gabe did when he was her age, only she makes a much bigger mess as shown by the hand print next to her on the couch and the white mouth.
We went to eat Mexican with Pops one day and Lorelei found a new way to eat her salsa. She will eat maybe one chip with salsa and then she just wants the salsa.
We went back to eat Mexican for Granny's birthday in January and Lorelei decided since she didn't have a straw that she would just drink the salsa. Granny bought her this hat and when she gave it to her she wouldn't take it off. She has even worn it on days that have been pretty warm.
This past month, my parents dog had puppies. My dad had the feeling that he should put a light and some straw in the dog house and the next morning he went out and saw that Ginger had had 10 puppies. Lorelei has claimed this black one (with white paws) for herself and named her Cocoa. She says that all the white ones are mommy's puppies. When Pops starts to give the puppies away I don't know what she is going to do. We will probably bring Cocoa home, but she is going to be very disappointed that there are no more white puppies!
One weekend we went to Asheville for me to go a conference for some pharmacy meetings. I have to get in hours each year for school. The hotel we stayed in, Grove Park Inn, was huge! It even had a spa that several people visited for massages and loved, but Rob and I prefer that other people not touch us. Lorelei made herself at home as soon as we got there by climbing into the bed. She also loved jumping on it! Asheville isn't the best place to take a young kid, especially when it is raining, but Rob took her swimming one morning at the indoor pool and she loved that. We also went to eat at a great restaurant called Tupelo Honey Cafe. I had some great shrimp and grits and Rob had homemade tomato soup and with a grilled cheddar cheese sandwich. I also took Lorelei out to get ice cream at The Hop. She ate all of her chocolate ice cream and I had a salty caramel. It was sweet, but really good.
This past week while I studying, Rob insisted that I come see what Lorelei was doing. Of course I went. He had set up some pillows and blankets on the floor so that she could "fly" onto them. She was jumping off of the couch and landing on them. She would even just fall right off onto them. She kept doing it again and again. Every time she would jump she was something else: Nemo, a dragon, a parrot, penguin, pigeon, rooster, and any other bird Rob could think of. We still have them set up because now she thinks she can just jump off the couch whenever she wants.

I am now 35 weeks pregnant and the countdown has begun to March 1! Just in time for spring break. We have planned our C-section and now we just have to make sure we are ready. Before the baby comes I have several exams to take, so I am praying the baby will wait until the set date. Still no boy name, but I am hoping that if it is a boy I will know what to name him when I see him. I hope Lorelei takes having a new baby around well. As long as she doesn't pull the baby around like she pulls those puppies around I think we will be okay. It is hard to believe we are a little less than a month away from having another baby, but I am definitely ready to be done with being pregnant and can't wait to meet him/her.

December 2011

It has almost been 2 years since my last post. I can't believe it! Lorelei and being in pharmacy school has kept me busy, so now that I have a few weeks off I thought I would add a new post. Lorelei is now 2 and baby #2 will be here at the beginning of March!

We started off December by enjoying a parade in Hartsville. It was a pretty cold day, so we bundled Lorelei in her purple scarf and pink gloves. She was so thrilled to have a purple scarf like a snowman in a video she watches on You Tube.

I have a difficult time getting Lorelei to smile when I have her dressed up, so this is one of my favorite pictures. I just wish I had been able to get her juice from her.
Lorelei loves her Play-doh and Granny helped her with this project. They covered an ornament and Lorelei had fun stabbing it with her crayons to make it look "fantastic" as she has started saying.
Cousin Gabe came over for a visit to see the pigs! Lorelei is Gabe's shadow whenever he is around. He is definitely her favorite cousin. This picture was one of the few I could get of them together with the pigs because Lorelei kept running to them and they kept running away.
We attempted to take a family Christmas picture. This is not the one I chose for our Christmas card, but this picture describes how it was most of the time while trying to get the picture. Next time we need to try to get one a few hours before Lorelei's nap time.

I haven't gotten Christmas pictures on the computer yet, but Lorelei racked up. She woke up at quarter to five Christmas morning and noticed her new kitchen from Santa. She also got a new Little People's Pirate ship from Santa. She had many more presents, but I won't list them all. She loved opening presents (except for clothes) and still asks to open them. Rob got a metal detector (exactly what he asked for), a video game, a headlamp and dress pants for church. I got a GPS, which will definitely be needed when my mom and I drive to Nebraska next summer! I am glad Christmas is over, but not looking forward to starting school again. I have enjoyed my time off with Lorelei and I am not sure how things are going to go when the baby comes, but I think it will all work out!

January

Time has flown by since Lorelei has been born. I am amazed at how much she has grown. In January, we had another doctor visit. Rob refused to go to see Lorelei have shots again, so I took the morning off work and took her to the doctor. He said she was doing great and that she was beyond where she should be at four months. After the doctor saw her, the nurse came in to give Lorelei her shots. She screamed and screamed, but I still took a picture. We found out that she was 12.5 lbs and 24.5 inches long. We finally moved her up into 3-6 month clothing, which was big, but her 0-3 month clothing was getting to short. Lorelei began rolling over during January too. She had previously rolled, but she really started rolling in Jan. The biggest problem is that she rolls from back to front easily but cannot always get rolled back onto her back. I finally have been able to get some good pictures of her smiling. I am not the best photographer, but I try. Lorelei has also wanted to sit up more. She tries to lift up but can't do it. She absolutely loves her fingers and has also found her toes. She lifts them up and tries to eat them. She still loves staying with Grandpa Rickie and her dad while I work. They take great care of her and I am so glad we have been able to avoid putting her into daycare.
We also made a trip to Charleston in Jan. to visit Grandma Joan. It was a nice relaxing visit. It rained all day the Saturday we were there, so we stayed in and enjoyed the fireplace.
January was also an eventful month for me because I cut off 10+ inches of my hair to donate to Locks of Love. It was hard for me to do, but after Lorelei had my hair with both her hands and a foot, I knew it had to go and I love the new do. I can't pull it back into a ponytail, but it I have been enjoying it because it takes much less time to wash and dry.

Christmas 2009

So now that the Thanksgiving post is done I'll move on to Christmas. Maybe I'll actually catch up with this thing at some point. Christmas was celebrated a week early with my family. All of my brothers and sister were in town with their families. Kashelle and Kailey finally were able to meet Lorelei. Kailey was jealous that Gabriel had met her before she did, but she was still happy to see her. I think she was even more happy to spend time with Gabriel. Their favorite game whenever we were there was "GET ROB." They loved attacking him and playing Hide and Seek with him too. Another hit was Jason's Rock Band. He got Beatles Rock Band as a Christmas present and we stayed up late (for me) playing that. The kids had a lot of fun and received a lot of presents. Even Lorelei got a lot of stuff from everyone. She loves all the toys she got and we love the clothes and wipes. Alane and Chris came for only one day and Alane loved holding Lorelei, but every time she would hold her she would cry, so the week I had off my mom and I took Lorelei to Columbia to visit Aunt Alane and Uncle Chris. It was good to spend time with family and we are planning to go up to visit Kashelle, Stephen, and Kailey in the spring.
For actual Christmas day, we stayed home. Rob and I exchanged gifts that morning and opened a couple of things for Lorelei. My parents and grandma came out and we had steak for dinner. It was delicious. It always is when Rob makes it. The rest of the afternoon we relaxed and enjoyed the day.

Thanksgiving 2009 and Shots

It has been awhile since I have updated, so I'm going to begin with Thanksgiving. Grandma Sandy and Grandpa John Eynon came into town from Michigan. They were going to head to Charleston when they came down first, but we were going to have Lorelei's blessing, so they visited us in Florence. We went to dinner and enjoyed spending time together. They love their granddaughter and can't wait to see her again. Rob gave Lorelei her blessing. In it she was blessed with good health, a sweet spirit, the ability to know good from evil and that she would share the gospel with others. Grandma Terry bought Lorelei her blessing dress and Great-Grandma Juanita bought her a white blanket.
That week we went to Charleston for Thanksgiving with the Eynons. We enjoyed visiting with all of them. We played scrabble with Rob's dad and Sandy and his sister and her husband. On Thanksgiving day we got together with all the cousins and had a feast. Lorelei was loved on, especially by her second cousin Haley. While we were in Charleston Grandma Sandy made her some awesome hats and that we still have her wearing.
Lorelei actually had her first shots before Thanksgiving. Her daddy took her in for them and swore he wasn't going again because it broke his heart to have her cry. He did take a picture of her with her band-aids, so she did survive. She was a little down that night but the next day she was back to herself. During this time she also found her hands and started chewing on them. She began smiling really well too. Lorelei really loves having her clothes off and if all else fails when she is crying that is exactly what we do and she usually calms right down.

Lorelei - 2 Months Old

I can't believe Lorelei is already two months old. She is growing like a weed. She has begun to look at her hands in the last week. When she is in a good mood she will lie on her play mat and swing her arms. When she hits any of her toys that make noise she gets so excited and flails her arms and legs even more and makes all sorts of happy noises. During the last month, she celebrated her first Halloween. We dressed her up and a frog and I went as the princess. Rob went as a hippie and won tackiest costume while Lorelei got a prize for being one of the cutest kids. Lorelei's favorite place is her changing table. She absolutely loves lying on it. She coos and moves her arms and legs. We also put her in a swing, but she does not always enjoy being in it. Lorelei will also hold one of her rattles and I watch her the whole time she has it because she throws her arms all over the place and I feel like she will hit herself in the head. She likes to grab other things as well such as my hair and people's shirts. We have begun reading to her and she loves when I read Dr. Suess's Green Eggs and Ham. She even looks at the pictures on each page. Her neck is getting stronger and one of these days she'll begin to hold her head up, but she is not quite capable of keeping it up on her own. She has begun to like her baths too. She especially likes coming out and being wrapped up in her towels.

I enjoy dressing Lorelei up. Here are a few pictures of her before/after church. I'm not sure she liked the bonnet, but it came with the outfit, so I put it on for a few pictures.

Rob and I love our little girl even when she is being a fuss bucket. She wears Rob out some days. He doesn't stay up as late as he used to and he does not have time for naps. She likes to sleep in the mornings and usually stays awake most of the afternoon while he is home. She is also spoiled rotten so that if she isn't dead asleep if we try to put her down her little eyes pop wide open and she won't go back to sleep unless someone is holding her. We have a carrier that we use to walk her in and that helps put her to sleep too. She loves being walked around. Rob or I will walk her down to Aunt Susie and Uncle Bobby's and she falls asleep most of the time before we make it there. Rob will also walk her around in the field outside. Lorelei is also a good shopper. My mom and I have taken her with us several times and she either sleeps or looks around in awe. Lorelei has been a great blessing in our lives and we are grateful for her everyday.

Lorelei - 1 Month Old

Lorelei is now a month old. She is growing so fast. When we first brought her home she had no fat on her and now she is pudgy everywhere. She is probably about 7 lbs now. She outgrew her preemie clothes after two weeks, but the newborn clothes were still big. Actually some of them are still big for her, but others fit fine. She likes to look and people and my mom thinks she talks to her, but I think she is only hearing herself because as much as she talks to Lorelei, the baby wouldn't have time to get a word in. We have heard her coo, but whether that is just noise or actual delight I don't know. Lorelei does not like bath time at all. She screams her little head off no matter who gives her the bath. I think it is because she gets cold and we just haven't mastered it yet.

My brother, his wife, and son came and brought her this butterfly toy for her car seat. It makes noise and crinkles. She enjoys the noise it makes and will follow it with her eyes now. They also gave her this book for pictures, but where the pictures go are black and white designs that in the last week she has begun to stare at. They gave her a rubber duck too that my nephew tried to get her to play with. While he was here he also asked if she could walk and talk.

She also likes to look at people. Rob says she sometimes only wants to be with me because she'll cry with him and then he gives her to me and she stops immediately. She will sleep in her bassinet, but sometimes she has to sleep with someone holding her or next to me or Rob. She has had gas several times over the last week and does not like to be put in her bassinet then. I'm amazed that she has slept 5-7 hours some nights in the last week or two. I didn't expect that for another month or two. She likes the car and sleeps every time we go anywhere. During the day she eats 2-3 ounces about every three hours. One day while I was changing her, she had not finished pooping and when it came out, it shot 2-3 feet across the room. Another day while lying next to Rob on the couch, she managed to pee on the couch and on Rob without getting herself wet at all. Lorelei loves to stretch and she always keeps her hands next to her head. She's like her dad because she sticks out her tongue a lot. I love to watch her sleep because her face shows the whole spectrum of emotions from sadness to happiness. She even gets the wrinkled forehead that makes her look angry and she has a pouty face that is adorable. Rob and I love her so much and are glad to have her in our lives even if we are cranky when she wakes us up after we have only been a sleep a couple of hours.