Clothes Horse

It's absolutely amazing how blessed we are. You all know that Brian and I decided to wait to find out what we were having until the baby was born, and I know how vexed it made some of you because you couldn't really shop for baby things until she arrived. Well, you've more than made up for it. Here's a shot of Mary Ellen's closet. Notice how much pink is in there? Now think about the fact that our little darling is not even a month old. In fact, Brian suggested that in a few months, I'll have to stop doing laundry for a few weeks so that she'll have a chance to wear all of her outfits.


Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have showered us with little girly things. Here are a few shots of her in the different outfits that she's received so far. And trust me, there are plenty more where these came from. She just has a little growing to do first.

Thank, Grandma Janet!

Thanks, Miss Kim!

Thanks, Tim and Cathy!

Thanks, Susan!

Thanks, Aunt Kelly!

Thanks, Miss Wendy!

Okay, so this one isn't exactly girly. This was supposed to be Mary Ellen's Coming Home outfit, but she was just too little for it. I LOVE the little outfit, though, so I just had to put her in it the other day so I could snap a few photos. It's funny how much her head has grown already - the hat was actually a little tight, but she's still swimming in the onesie.

What a day!

Mary Ellen and I had a nice little mother-daughter outing thus afternoon. First we met our friend Wendy at Infusion Tea for a little lunch. Mary Ellen slept the entire time, so... I decided to push my luck and head for Babies R Us, where I managed to stay out of the girls clothing section. Whew! While at Babies R US, we had a little lunch (for Mary Ellen), and somehow she was still in the best of moods. So we headed out to Jo Ann's where I finally was able to buy the letters for her name to put above her crib. And we topped the day off with a little stop at the Sonic Happy Hour (back to my Mizzou Days, though I didn't go for the Route 44 this time).

It was quite the day, and we both enjoyed it very much. I'll have to admit that I was getting a little stir crazy the past few days, so this outing was good for the both of us. And you can see how Mary Ellen feels about the big day (photo taken just minutes ago):

Big Girl Bath

Now that her cord is a thing of the past, Mary Ellen has been able to enjoy a few big girl baths. She had enjoyed her sponge baths while they lasted, but I think it's so much easier to bathe her now that I don't have to be worried about her cord. I actually feel like she's getting clean and rinsed, and there's nothing as snuggly as a baby just out of the bath.

Happy Baby

As I was changing Mary Ellen this morning, I had to stop and make note of how much she has changed already. She's so alert and she's starting to vocalize a lot more. She's filled out all over - she now has almost chubby arms and legs, not to mention an extra 1/2 of a chin (not officially a double chin yet). She also slept through a feeding last night, which means that I got 4 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep. What a champ!

I'm trying to catch up on posting some videos, so in addition to this one, I posted a video on the Aug 5 entry (Mary Ellen is 3 weeks old!). I caught her this morning chilling in her crib, happy as could be, and by some miracle I had the video camera near by. So here's a clip of our happy little girl. Enjoy!

Mary Ellen is 3 weeks old!

It's so hard to believe that Mary Ellen has been a part of our family for 3 weeks already. But then I look at her and see how much she's grown and changed since she was born, and I have to admit that she is, in fact, 3 weeks old. Here's a little video clip from yesterday:



We had a few more firsts yesterday. I took her out on my own. Totally on my own. Our destination: the Mother-Baby Tea. I was pretty nervous about taking her out, actually, but just as she's approached each new adventure so far, she was a champ. She slept the whole way there and most of the way back and made it very easy on her nervous driver. The tea was wonderful - it's hosted by the hospital and designed for nursing moms and their newborns. You can only attend until your baby is 8 weeks old, so it's a really safe place to bring your questions and concerns. I met some nice moms and got some reassurance about a few things that Mary Ellen and I were struggling with. I'm heading back on Monday, too, and I just love having something on the calendar to look forward to.

In other news, Mary Ellen finally lost her cord last night. I have to admit that I was pretty grossed out by the whole thing and that we had not been pulling the cord up to clean it like I know we were supposed to. We'd been good about cleaning it, but the pulling up part was just too much for me to handle. I guess I'd better get over that kind of thing fast, huh? Either way, the deed is done, and it's amazing how much older she seems now that she's sporting a shiny new belly button.

And finally, Mary Ellen and Brian and I took our first walk as a family last night. We loaded Mary Ellen in her stroller, affixed the bug net that Grandma Janet sent us (the netting actually makes her stroller look kind of regal), and off we went. It was just lovely, and Mary Ellen really seemed to enjoy the fresh air. In fact, she and I have already had another walk this morning. We managed to catch the weather while it was in the 70s! Perfect!

Now that Mary Ellen is a little more alert during the day, I've been working to get photos taken for her announcements. She's quite the little ham for the camera. I don't want to share too many before we get the announcements put together, but I think this one is just darling.

Sleep Smiles

Just how cute is this? I know they're not real smiles, but I can start to see just how fun it will be when we get to see the real thing. I love this little girl!

A Day of Firsts (for the Mama)

We were very sad to send Grandma Mary Anne back home today. She was a huge help over the last week, and I hope she enjoyed her visit as much as we enjoyed having her. We were a little nervous, though, because getting her to the airport required me to take Mary Ellen in the car for the first time. Until today, Brian has been the driver and Mary Ellen and I have been quite cozy sharing the backseat. But there's a first time for everything right? We dropped Grandma Mary Anne off at the airport and my little darling slept all the way home (which is about a 30 minute trip). Piece of cake, right?

In other groundbreaking news, I was able to take a shower while home alone with Mary Ellen. God bless video monitors.

And finally, this will be the first night that I'm tasked with making dinner without a supporting cast. There are no Grandmas here for the first time in Mary Ellen's short life. Luckily, we're having leftovers. Surely Mary Ellen won't be able to prevent me from reheating food in the microwave, right? Here's hoping!

Mary Ellen has a little stuffed deer that hangs over the side of her Pack-n-Play, (thanks Gary and Kelly) and she LOVES her deer. This is a shot of her gazing lovingly at her little friend.