Okay, I know it has been a little while since my last post. We have been busy with Ellie's birthday, Grandma & Grandpa Mac's visit, and our trip to Atlanta, Ga. With the impending move, I feel like life is whirling by in a flash. It has been very stressful the past few weeks with looking for a home in Atlanta, finding tenets to move in here (since we are leaving half-way through our rental contract), and getting a release date at work for Jim to move.
I guess I should back up by starting with we found a great 3 bedroom home to rent in Woodstock, GA. Everyone we talked to said to stay north of the city. All the nice family neighborhoods are in the north and Woodstock is the next up and coming place. Lots of new housing developments mixed with homes that sit on a couple acres of land. With all the traffic, I was looking for something a little out of the hustle and bustle. It took the rental agency a week to process our application so they should be sending up the contract Monday and finally have a move-in date. It looks like we are shooting for a January 7th move in date. It is a little earlier than we would have liked, but we are trying to accommodate the friends that will be moving into our current townhouse in Raleigh, NC. They are currently staying in corporate housing and need to find a place by the end of the month. Thankfully we will not have to pay rent in two places for the whole month. Unfortunately, Jim's boss needs him to stay through the 13th. Now the plan is to move on the 7th, but Jim will fly back and stay in a hotel for a week. I am not looking forward to sending up or home with baby-in-tow by myself. Thankfully my mom is going to fly out to stay with us. In the meantime I need to start packing everything up and making to-do lists (rental truck, boxes, electric, water, and cable cancellations, airline flights, hotel reservations, buy washer & dryer, etc.).
I promise to get back to my blog just as soon as I can. Please be patient with me.
First Haircut
When Eliza was born, she had a full head of hair. I remember at her ultrasounds we could see her hair floating around. After she was born everyone told us her hair would most likely fall out. Well it didn't. I finally broke down last week and decided it was time to get a trim. She had stands that when wet, reached half way down her back. Most of the time it looked like a curly rat's nest that formed lots of little knots. We found an adorable kids hair salon, Snip-its. It was a little pricey for a baby's haircut but the hairdresser was a pro at working with wiggly-whinny kids. Since it was her first haircut, they put some of her hair in a baggy and filled out a little certificate for us to keep. Very cute. Here are a few pics of the experience and her new do!
Odds & Ends
Ellie's first oreo cookie.
Stood up by herself for the first time this morning. So exciting! Oh wait, now I need to move everything out of her reach. Better start hanging stuff from the ceiling.
CT’s, Endoscopies, Gallbladders... oh my
This month has been crazy, to say the least. Many of you know that Jim has been sick
for weeks. He has been working
with a surgeon and GI specialist to figure out what is causing his chronic
stomach cramping. At first we
thought that scare tissue had built up from his previous surgery causing pain
when food moved through his intestine.
The doctors have not ruled that out, but they discovered that Jim’s
gallbladder was not acting normally.
He has surgery scheduled this Wednesday, on the 19th, to have
it removed. This will be a
laparoscopic outpatient surgery, however, they will poke around in there to see
if anything else doesn’t look right.
His GI specialist is concerned that his symptoms seem like more than
just the gallbladder. Jim
underwent an endoscopy yesterday to look for ulcers or anything else that might
explain some of his symptoms. The
GI specialist found two areas that looked suspicious and were biopsied. The first site is where the esophagus
meets the intestine. There is an
area that is red and swollen. This
usually appears in patients that have reflux. The second site has little red bumps in the small intestine. It may be nothing or it could be an
infection of some kind.
While all this is going on, Jim has only missed a few days
of work; usually for medical tests and appointments. He has kept up with his schoolwork, earning an A on his statistics
midterm, and preparing for his accounting midterm this Monday. If that has not been enough, he is
interviewing for a different type of position within his company. He has been up all night working and
left early this morning for the three-hour interview. He doesn’t expect to get the position since it is
highly coveted in the IT support center, but it is a great opportunity to
practice his interview skills and learn more about the position for future opportunities. It has surely been the hand of God
helping us through this time.
Thank you to our family and friends for all the support.
My mom will be flying out the day before the surgery to
watch Ellie while I stay at the hospital with Jim. She will also be staying with us for a week to help while
Jim is recovering. Please continue
to keep our little family in your prayers!
Sewing (Brandi - don't show your girls)
While my mom was here in August, she taught me how to sew with some basic projects. I made curtains for Ellie's room. It was a little tricky since they had two layers of material (to make the room really dark). I picked royal blue for one side (so it didn't look too kiddish for guests staying over) and a cute children's print with a border for the other side. The children's print only peaks out when the curtains are tied back. It was a fun project but next time I will not pick a print with a border (much more of a challenge).
I made them a little short so Ellie will not pull them down when she starts walking.
My next project was making Kenzie and Kate's Christmas presents. While in Charleston, SC with my parents, we found a really cute reversible child's handkerchief apron. I used it as a prototype to make my own. Since the girls are Tinkerbell fans, I found some material that had her in it and glued fabric jewels to all the flowers for some extra bling. On the opposite side I sprayed the material with fabric sparkles (aka fairy dust) to continue the fairy theme. It was a little tricky making the aprons without a pattern but I'm happy with how they turned out for my first time.
Please don't look too closely. It was around midnight when I took these pictures.
My next project was making Kenzie and Kate's Christmas presents. While in Charleston, SC with my parents, we found a really cute reversible child's handkerchief apron. I used it as a prototype to make my own. Since the girls are Tinkerbell fans, I found some material that had her in it and glued fabric jewels to all the flowers for some extra bling. On the opposite side I sprayed the material with fabric sparkles (aka fairy dust) to continue the fairy theme. It was a little tricky making the aprons without a pattern but I'm happy with how they turned out for my first time.
Ellie's 9 month check-up
Eliza's check-up went well. At first the doctor was very concerned given her weight and measurements. Then she figured out that the nurse put a boy's grow chart in Ellie's file. Turns out she is doing fine.
Height: 16.5 inches, 20%
Weight: 16.12 pounds, 18%
Head Circumference: 17 2/3 inches, 75%
Given her last measurement, the doctor asked if she has a hard time holding her head up and needs to wear a larger clothing size to get it over her head. Both are true. We just hope she eventually grows into it. I asked a lot of questions about her reflux. Even though the Prilosec makes it not burn when she spits up, she spits up a lot. Some days she soaks through 3-4 outfits. The doctor has recommended that we cut back on formula and push more food. We have been feeding her solids twice a day, but the doctor wants us to up it to 4-5 times a day. We have an appointment to go back in a month. If she is still spitting up just a much, then we will talk about being referred to a gastroenterologist. That is all for now.
Height: 16.5 inches, 20%
Weight: 16.12 pounds, 18%
Head Circumference: 17 2/3 inches, 75%
Given her last measurement, the doctor asked if she has a hard time holding her head up and needs to wear a larger clothing size to get it over her head. Both are true. We just hope she eventually grows into it. I asked a lot of questions about her reflux. Even though the Prilosec makes it not burn when she spits up, she spits up a lot. Some days she soaks through 3-4 outfits. The doctor has recommended that we cut back on formula and push more food. We have been feeding her solids twice a day, but the doctor wants us to up it to 4-5 times a day. We have an appointment to go back in a month. If she is still spitting up just a much, then we will talk about being referred to a gastroenterologist. That is all for now.
Just another day!
Ellie has finally graduated to a big girl stroller. Thank you Mom and Dad. Let me tell you, it is so much easier to push than her old one with the baby carrier. Oh, did I mention she has also out grown her infant carrier. Hallelujah!! That sucker was so heavy to tote around with her in it. It is forward reclining from here on out.
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