2 Months Old!

One month old on Thanksgiving Day, two months old on Christmas Day...love it!

Noelle had her 2 month check up a couple days early because of the holidays and she's a wonderful, healthy, looooong baby.
Weight: 11 lbs, 3 oz (67%)
Head: 15.5 inches (73%)
Height: 24 " (97 %!!!)

--She has started smiling on a regular basis...great big open-mouthed grins. Of course I can't catch one on camera b/c every time she sees the camera she gets very serious and curious about this giant black box in front of mommy's face.
--She is extremely chatty...tons of oohs and ahhs and ohs. Sweetest sounds in the world. She's also the only baby I've personally heard say 'goo' as clear as day. I know it's a stereotypical baby sound, but I've never actually heard a baby make it until they're much older...it's really cute!
--She sleeps and eats really well. When she's eating, she holds on to my bra for dear life as thought someone might come along and rip her away. Eats about every three hours during the day, then goes from about 9pm-4am without waking up. Love it! She does sometimes get a little restless around 2am and I bring her into bed for snuggles; she nestles right into me and I lay there smelling her yummy baby smell.
--Her nickname is 'Le Babe'. It makes no sense b/c it's not in any language, and 'le' is masculine, but somehow it got started and has stuck with me & Chris.
--She has already rolled over. Just one time, from her back to her tummy, but she seems ready to do it again at any moment. Slow down, sweet baby!
--She is very alert. I feel like every baby has their 'one thing' that everyone comments on (Delilah's was her hair, of course, and another friend's baby had a great giggle that everyone always noticed, etc.)...well, for Noelle, her 'one thing' is her alertness. Every person she meets comments on it...how she just looks like she's already taking this whole world in and trying to figure it all out.
--Jury is still out on hair color. I guess we should go with strawberry blonde at this point. At the 2 month checkup, our pediatrician walked in and said, "How is our little red head?" I was confused b/c Delilah wasn't with us, nor has she ever been to this office, so I just said, "she's good...at school right now", and the pediatrician looked at me like I was crazy. Then I realized she meant Noelle...
--Delilah is in love with her. Still not one ounce of jealousy. If I take too long to get to Noelle when she's crying, Red will try to soothe her and then start yelling, "Mommy, come here! The baby is BERRY, BERRY sad!!!!!!!" Which, as you might imagine, is not soothing at all. :) The other day I almost had a heart attack b/c I was washing dishes when Noelle started crying in the nursery and I couldn't get to her right away. Suddenly I noticed the crying was getting closer and I walked out of the kitchen to find Delilah pushing Noelle ACROSS THE FLOOR. I still have no idea how she got Noelle out of her Moses basket and I don't want to know. I never heard a thud, and Noelle wasn't hurt, so I guess we'll just say a little prayer of thanks and let it go.

First bottle

She doesn't always need to be held, but she gets lonely very quickly if you leave the room. Fights the swaddle more than Delilah ever did, but LOVES it once she's in it.

Runyon lovin'

"Are you looking at my belly? Isn't it glorious?"

Merry Christmas!

We spent a fantastic Christmas Eve at my parents' house. About half of the siblings and cousins were there, and there were presents and wrapping paper flying everywhere! :)

As you can see, my parents' house is so warm and festive!


Delilah was fascinated by the snow globes.

Mimi and her girls.

Team Huntley before the Christmas Eve service.

It was the 'children's' service and instead of passing out candles, they passed out glow sticks. Delilah LOVED the glow sticks and we worked hard to try and explain just how glow sticks celebrated the birth of Jesus. :)

Then we drove home so Delilah could wake up in her own house on Christmas morning. We all woke up and she ran straight to the tree. "Look at all my prizes!!!" were the first words out of her mouth.

But you can tell she was still sleepy. :)

Cute feet!

Finding her mailbox on the tree and opening it for her present (a Huntley Family tradition that I believe started when Chris & Kim were toddlers themselves)

And a couple general Christmas pics to round out the post.

We spent all weekend playing with Delilah and her new toys. It was all about family and it truly felt so magical to have baby Noelle there this year. Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

Noelle's Newborn Photos

Here are our favorite images from the photo session we did when Noelle was 2 weeks old. Oh, I love them so very much!!!

Locked Out! (...or proof that my daughter has a heart of gold)

About a week and a half ago I packed up the girls and took a quick road trip to Austin to see our dear friends, The Bighams. The whole ride there, Red could not stop talking about seeing 'kinley, and Makinley must have been just as excited b/c when we pulled into the driveway, she & Laura were already waiting on the steps outside. I didn't bring my camera, but Laura sent the few pics she snapped.

Enjoying a snack

My girl

Scott holding Noelle. They are expecting their second in June...I think he looks pretty excited about holding another baby!

The day was going well (aside from a brief stop at our old house where I shed a few tears of nostalgia), with the girls squealing and playing while Laura & I tried to catch up as quickly as possible b/c we knew that 24 hours just wasn't going to be enough time. But then...

We all went outside in the backyard to play and were having a great time when Red decided she wanted to go back in. Which was fine until I heard the 'click'. The 'click' that meant my 2 year old had locked herself inside leaving, Laura, 'kinley, myself, and Noelle outside with no key and no way to get inside.
I convinced her to unlock the door, but since there were two locks on the door, she unlocked one just as she locked the other. And b/c the blinds were drawn, she couldn't see us and she started to panic. And once she started to panic, it was all over and she wouldn't listen to my instructions anymore. I could hear her crying and calling for 'Mommy' and there was nothing I could do...I felt so unbelievably helpless.
This went on for awhile until Laura made the good suggestion that if we could get Red to the front door, she would sort of be able to see us through the wavy glass and perhaps that would calm her down enough to unlock the front door.
So we managed to yell and ring the doorbell enough to get Red to go through the house to the front door, where she did indeed calm down enough to want to open the door. But, alas, she was too short to reach the lock!!!
So we started to try and guide her to get a stool to stand on. We told her it was in the bathroom...sadly, the stool was in the downstairs bathroom & she thought we meant one of the bathrooms upstairs, so I watched her trudge up the stairs, wander between the bathrooms before coming back downstairs empty-handed. She came to the door, I kneeled down, and we pressed our faces and hands to the glass like we were visiting in prison. Funny now, but heartbreaking at the time. And then I learned how Delilah handles a crisis: she pretends it isn't happening. She had been crying on & off this whole time, but after the stool thing didn't pan out, she decided she was done. So I watched her go back into the playroom & start playing like nothing was wrong. She walked out of my view towards the kitchen & came back in view with a sleeve of crackers. She walked out of my view towards the dress-up trunk & came back in plastic heels. And just continued on as though she always plays alone at Makinley's house.
I managed to get her to come back to the door one more time and yelled for her to get one of the small play chairs and drag it over so she could stand on that & reach the lock. But she was past the point of no return. I promised her candy, cookies, suckers, play-doh, anything her heart desired if she would just drag a chair over. Nothing worked. And the tears started again. And I was about 60 seconds from breaking Laura's window. And then I had an idea. I told Delilah that Makinley was cold and needed to come inside.
Red stopped her tears long enough to repeat, " 'kinley is cold, Mommy?" I said yes and then watched my brave little girl straighten her shoulders, take a deep breath as if to say "I can do this", and she promptly dragged a chair to the door, stood on it, and unlocked the door in about 30 seconds.
So helping her friend was more motivating to Delilah than candy or toys or anything else...how sweet is that?

If only I would have thought of it an hour earlier...

Wordless Wednesdays: School Pics...aka: Where do the leaves end and her hair begin?

One Month Old!

Noelle is one month old today and, it being Thanksgiving and all, I bet you can guess what I'm most thankful for today. :)
This past month with our newest angel has been such a blessing. There have been a few nights where she slept for 6 hours or so, but most of the time she eats every 3-4 hours. The best part, though, is that she does not have her days and nights mixed up AT ALL. At night she promptly goes back to sleep after eating...now that I think about it, maybe that's actually what I'm most thankful for. :)
The next doctor's visit is at 2 months, but using the very scientific method of weighing myself holding her, and then weighing myself not holding her, she's around 11 pounds or so. Chunky monkey!
Noelle is extremely alert and likes to watch everything going on around her. So far she seems pretty serious...she's only flashed us a few smiles!! But she's a very content baby...a couple bouts of gassiness that led to some tears, but that's about it. I believe she has spent a total of 25 minutes not in someone's arms, so we'll see how she does when I start cutting the proverbial cord a bit.
Delilah does not seem to be showing an ounce of jealousy. The other day Noelle was crying in her car seat (in the kitchen, just before I loaded us up), and Delilah went over, rocked her, talked to her, and Noelle quieted down. Red looked at me and very proudly declared, "She not sad, Mommy, she happy. I did it!!!"
Nights are a little tricky b/c our king size bed is still in our Austin house for showing purposes, so we are in a queen. Which is fine at 10pm with just me and Chris, but when Delilah wanders in at 4am and then I have to feed Noelle, it gets a little crowded.
Noelle has just about the worst case of baby acne that I've ever seen. Red never had any, so I think Noelle may have inherited Red's share. Poor thing. They say it doesn't hurt, but it looks so red and uncomfortable!
Noelle loves to be swaddled and loves when I 'wear' her in my wrap. I didn't wear Delilah too much b/c it was summer, but the cold weather of winter makes it quite cozy!
The jury is still out on eye and hair color. Eyes are still blue and hair is...just about whatever you want it to be. Some people swear it's strawberry blonde and others swear it's dark blonde...and each group thinks the other group is crazy. And I can't even use her eyebrows to help out b/c those are pretty much non-existent...seriously, the kid has clear eyebrows.
She takes a pacifier, but I think as soon as she has control over her arms, she'll prefer her thumb or fingers...she tries so hard to get them in her mouth!!

Without further ado, here is our little bird. (So nicknamed b/c Delilah pronounces her name "No-Owl")

See...so serious!

And here are some pics from Thanksgiving. We had almost all the grandchildren there, and wanted to take a group shot with Mimi &PopPop. I think it turned out pretty well for having 8 kids in the pic. :)
My brother Cannon, Amy, & Greyson
Mimi & PopPop with my girls. :)

Thanksgiving was at my parents' house and everyone had such a great time. Love being closer to them!!!

Noelle Meets the Original Team Huntley

This past week Noelle got to meet the grandparents, aunt, uncle, & cousins from the Huntley side of the family!
Aunt Kim, Uncle Ted, Taylor & Lauren came down from Plano for the weekend, and then Grammy Di & Papa H stayed for a week before they headed back to Utah. Noelle was spoiled from all the cuddling (she misses her afternoon naps with Grammy Di!), and Delilah was spoiled from always having a playmate (there will always be a seat at the Play-doh table with Papa H's name on it!)
To be honest, it wasn't the most eventful week b/c everyone was in varying stages of illness, but we all muddled through and had a great time taking it easy & hanging out.
Thanks to all of the Huntleys for being such a big help with cleaning and entertaining Delilah. We miss you and can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas!!!!

Papa H & Noelle

Grammy Di holds Noelle for the very first time
Uncle Ted-O! Cousin Taylor The dynamic duo: Delilah & Lauren

The Story of Noelle's Arrival

-At 3:15 on the morning of Monday, October 25th, I was in a dimly lit hospital room, holding my precious Noelle for the first time. This is the story of how she got here.
--I had been having contractions on and off all week (maybe for two weeks?). Nothing too strong, nothing too painful, but definitely contractions. On Saturday, 10/23, I started having some stronger contractions, but they were still completely irregular, coming anywhere between 20 minutes and 2 hours apart. Our dear friends, the Bighams, were in town and had dinner with us. I really wanted to have the baby before they left so Laura could meet her, but it was not to be.
--All day Sunday brought more contractions, but still extremely far apart. I knew this could last for days, so I was loathe to call my parents and drop Delilah off with them. I was afraid it would be a false alarm...a false alarm that I might repeat several times over the next few days. But I really thought it was time, and Chris trusted my instincts and convinced me that it was time to drop Red off. So he took her there about 5pm and then ran a few errands before coming home to me. By the time he got home, I knew this was for real, but since the contractions were still an hour or two apart, we both thought we would have dinner, get some sleep, and go to the hospital in the morning.
--Famous last words.
--At around 10:15pm, the contractions were still about 30 minutes apart, but I looked at Chris and said, "I feel like I should be at the hospital now. I feel like I should be getting ready to have the baby." So we started getting our stuff together, and I started timing contractions. We were taking our time, when all of the sudden the contraction spacing jumped to 7 minutes. By the time we got in the car (around 11:15pm), the contractions were 4 minutes apart and they HURT.
--We checked into the hospital, and everything seemed to be going in slow motion. The nurse finally checked me at 12:15 and said I was 5-6cm; 30 minutes later I got an epidural, and when they checked me again at around 1:15am, I was fully dilated at 10cm. Since I wasn't completely effaced, my heaven-sent nurse said that she would recommend to the doctor that we wait and I could rest/sleep for an hour or so. She said she could tell I was in shock that everything was going so fast and that I wasn't ready to have a baby yet. Since I was in labor with Delilah for 38 hours, the nurse was right: I was in shock and I wasn't ready yet. (She later told me that she could tell I wasn't ready the moment I came through the door so when she said I was 5-6cm, I was actually around 8cm but she didn't want to scare me...seriously, I love her).
--So I relaxed for about an hour and a half and reflected on how differently everything was going than it did when I had Delilah. With Red, I wasn't against having an epidural, but I also wasn't keen on the idea of getting one the second I walked in the door. And that was my attitude towards everything that first time: I was open to medical assistance (like Pitocin, breaking my water, etc.), but I wanted to be notified first, make my own decisions, and try to do everything as naturally as possible. I thought I had the same attitude this time, but I didn't. In the car on the way to the hospital, I already knew I wanted an epidural, and once at the hospital I didn't really care what they did. Which was good b/c the doctor on call apparently didn't really think I needed to be notified about anything. My water was broken, and I was put on Pitocin (still not sure why, since I was moving so rapidly on my own), and didn't find out about either until after the fact.
--Which would make a lot of you mad, and would normally make me mad, but it just didn't. I think I was just worn out from everything that's been going on (the move, living as a single mom for a while, trying to sell our house, etc.), that I just wanted to be taken care of. I didn't want to make one more major decision...I just wanted someone to tell me what to do. And that's what this doctor and nurse team did. It really furthers my belief that most of the time (but certainly not all the time), we get the labor & delilvery we need, even if it's not the one we thought we wanted.
--Anyway, around 3am, our room was bombarded with doctors and nurses and I was told I could start pushing. I still couldn't believe it was time (neither could Chris), but I started groggily pushing. Again, I was ready to be in it for the long haul since I pushed for two hours with Red...but 4 pushes and Noelle was out.
--I remember one of the nurses delightedly cooing about how chubby her cheeks were, and Chris remembers me crying tears of joy and repeating, "Come here, sweetie, mama's here, come here, baby."
--And then she was in my arms and on my chest. She stopped crying literally the second she was in my arms and I was so happy I thought I would burst.
--And the three of us spent the rest of the night together (minus a couple hours for the nursery staff to officially declare her healthy). We didn't really tell anyone, even our parents, until the morning, and there was something so special about having those few hours to ourselves. The hospital was quiet, the rooms were dim, and Chris & I fell in love with our baby girl.
--People say you forget the pain of childbirth, but I think I had mostly forgotten how overwhelming and beautiful and emotional it all is. I had forgotten how your heart feels like it's going to explode from holding so much joy, and how you fall more in love with your husband. How you instantaneously pledge to this new being that you will do everything in your power to make sure she grows up knowing how much she is loved.

I love you, Noelle, and I will always treasure those early morning hours when you joined our family.

2 Weeks Old!

Sweet Noelle turned 2 weeks old on Monday, and we went for her 2 wk checkup yesterday. Ideally, babies are back up to their birth weight at this check-up and Noelle breezed right by that checkpoint, weighing 9 pounds exactly (73rd percentile), 22" long (95th %), head circ of 14.75" (83rd %).
The best news was that her heart murmur was gone. At the hospital, we were told that she had a murmur, that it was really common, that it would go away on its own in a few days, and that we should take her to the pediatrician a few days after we got home to make sure it was gone. Well, we took her, and it wasn't gone so we had to go to Texas Children's Hospital for an echocardiogram, where they found 2 holes in her heart. But the cardiologist still told us not to worry and that they would most likely be closed by her 8 week checkup, and if they weren't, we would plan a new course of action at that time. Well, Miss Noelle showed everyone by healing much faster, and the holes are already gone. And all that "don't worry" talk that was going around?...let's just say it fell on deaf ears and I was extremely worried the whole time. I don't care how 'common' it is...when someone tells you that your 7 day old newborn has 2 holes in her heart, you worry. A lot. And you cry. And you pray. And you say thank you when you're given the news that you really don't have to worry anymore. (And if any of you reading this are mad/sad that we didn't tell you what was going on...take comfort in the fact that we didn't tell anyone. Telling people would have made us worry even more, which wouldn't have helped anything).
Noelle currently eats every 3-4 hours, stays awake for 20-30 minutes at a time, and sleeps the rest of the time. When she's awake, she's very alert and tries so hard to keep her heavy little head up! Her eyes are definitely thinking about staying blue, and several people have commented on the strawberry blonde tint to her hair. And her chubby little cheeks are the cutest things ever.
Delilah is still being very sweet with her. Noelle was crying in the car and I told Delilah it was b/c she was hungry, to which Delilah replied, "she can have my snack, Mommy". She's also lifted up her shirt several times and offered to feed her 'like Mommy does'...it's pretty funny. The hardest thing is convincing Red that when the baby is sleeping, she's already happy so she doesn't need a pacifier shoved in her closed mouth, or super-tight hugs. :)
Chris and I are so in love with our new angel and fight over who gets to hold her...the winner is always promptly declared a 'baby thief' by the loser.
And here are some pics of Noelle's first visitors. As I downloaded them, I realized we completely dropped the ball on taking pictures and, thus, we have no pics of her being held by my brother, my stepbrother, numerous cousins, or dear friends. Oops!!!

Mimi

Pop Pop

Aunt Jenny
Slie & Heather
Ali

Avari

(Kurt & Joie: I know this isn't the best pic of my gorgeous goddaughter, but I had to include it. Noelle is in the middle of spitting up profusely on Avari & this was Avari's look of disgust right before she practically dove off the couch to get away) :)