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) :)

Happy Thanksoween!!!

This past weekend, the Hauschilds drove from Louisiana to meet Noelle and to celebrate the 2nd annual Thanksoween!!! (Click here if you want to read about our holiday's origins!)

We had a fantastic time. They arrived Friday night and I am DYING that I didn't have my camcorder ready b/c the second that Avari and Red saw each other, they squealed as loudly as possible, raced each other to the master bedroom, and started jumping wildly on the bed. It was the cutest reunion I think I've ever seen.
Saturday we had a lazy mimosa brunch morning, then took everyone to the park. We returned home, put the girls down for a nap, turned on some football, and I made Thanksgiving dinner. Last year I went all out and made everything from scratch, but in light of Noelle having been born the week before, I took it a little easier this year. :) Only the turkey and pecan pie were made from scratch, everything else was store bought (except Chris's delicious mashed potatoes).

Idyllic image of our pies cooling on the windowsill. :)

After dinner, the girls got into their Halloween costumes and we went on our own trick-or-treat outing. The adults had candy in our pockets, and we took turns running ahead of the girls, stopping at the end of a driveway, and waiting for the girls to get to us and say 'Trick-or-Treat!". We just moved here, and I'm sure our neighbors thought we were crazy, but the girls couldn't have had more fun!!

The girls DESPERATELY needed a bath at the end of the day. In the first pic, they are sitting in an empty tub while already wet b/c the first round of water got so dirty we had to drain and re-fill. They clearly had a fantastic day!

We planned to have a nice adult evening, but I have to admit that Delilah ruined that plan. Avari sacked out around 8 or 8:30, but Delilah was just too wound up for bed. It took HOURS to get her to go to sleep. By the time she was done, so was I, and I headed for bed while Kurt/Joie/Chris stayed up. Based on a few other visits, I'm convinced that Red associates the Hauschilds with party-time...when we're all together, sleep is not always her friend. :)

Sunday was another lazy morning and then the Hauschild's got on the road. So glad we are now 4 hours apart instead of 8!

First Bath

Here are some pics from Noelle's first bath after we came home. Chris was bathing Delilah while I bathed Noelle. Now I know why there are always fewer pics of the 2nd child: not enough hands! I thought it was b/c parents aren't as excited about all of the 2nd child's accomplishments, but it's really b/c it's now almost impossible to keep both kids safe, do the task at hand, and still have leftover time/energy/ability to take pictures. But we're going to try! :)

Noelle after her first bath

Delilah after her first bath, wrapped in the same towel. I love my angels.

Happy Halloween!!!

Last year, Delilah was still a little young to really enjoy Halloween, but she was EXTREMELY into it this year. It started with a Halloween Dora book that I bought for her about 2 months ago, where Dora wants to find a 'spooky' Halloween costume. Delilah has the entire book memorized, and is now always on the lookout for spooky things (which she pronounces "fooky"...it's adorable).
We started our celebration on Saturday, at the neighborhood park. Every year there is a Halloween parade where the kids walk around the entire park, and stop at stations along the way to say 'trick or treat' and receive candy. Upon arriving, Delilah's response was basically, "you mean I get to walk around, get candy, have people ooh and ahh over me, and then I get to play on the slide?...this is the best day ever!!!"
Delilah spent the majority of last week at Mimi & PopPop's house, and the awesome Mimi produced a tutu/princess dress that Delilah fell in love with. So she was a ballerina/princess for Halloween...it may be the worst color ever for Red, but she still managed to look adorable.

Running across the field to get to the playground/Halloween Parade

Trick or Treat!
Mommy, 5-day-old Noelle, and Red
Taking it all in with Daddy
"Listen, Mr. Light Year, you are NOT going up this slide before me!!"
And this last pic is from Halloween night itself.

Delilah had a blast running up to all the doors, looking at the pumpkins, and taking in all the costumes. If somebody opened the door wearing a scary costume, Delilah would squeal happily, turn to me, and exclaim, "Ooooh, Fooky, Mommy...it's Fooky!!" She comprehends quite well what is spooky (spiders and skeletons) and what's not (pumpkins and princesses), but she doesn't have a clue that she's supposed to be scared by any of it. It's pretty cute! :)

--Oh, I almost forgot: quote of the night: Upon seeing Delilah, an older trick or treater asked earnestly, "Do you have makeup on her to make her look like a doll, or is she really just that pale?" I think we all know the answer to that one...