Good Friends & Papples

Fall is by far the best time of year in Indiana... and we had a blast with our good friends this past weekend at an apple orchard just a few minutes from our house! Ella has never really cared for apples... but apparently there is something to be said for the "fruits of your labor"... because after finally persuading her to taste the "Papples" she was picking, I couldn't get her to stop!

Wish I could take credit for all of these pictures, but the really good ones were stolen from Faith. She's really learning the ropes of that new camera and doing an awesome job!! Thanks for sharing Faith!!

Claire's 1st Month

It is with shame that I report that what they say is true... the second baby never gets anywhere near the attention that the first does. Poor Claire has had just as many pictures taken in her first month of life, than Ella probably had taken in the first two days. I have recognized the error of my ways while putting this post together, and now vow to do better - from this day forward. You would think that being a second child myself would inspire me to work harder for my own kid... but as you probably noted from the above post, the camera seems to be drawn more to apples and 17 month olds than sleeping newborns. Claire, if you're reading this someday... I'm sorry. We promise to do better. :)

The Week in Pictures

Claire's 1st week has been a busy one, that's for sure!! Although, I'm fairly confident that she was completely oblivious to the majority of it... Ella is adjusting really well after a couple of rough days. She has been spiking some high fevers that are either from the horrible molars that are taking their time poking through, or from some mysterious viral infection. Either way, she has been in and out of misery and a new baby sister was not exactly her idea of therapy. My parents have been staying with us and quite frankly I'm not sure we would have survived this week without them! Both girls are waking at night and without their help with Ella, I'm afraid Eric, Ella, Claire and I would have suffered breakdowns by now! :) Despite the drama from a Big Sister who would rather not be... a re-admission to the hospital for a very orange Claire... a cold for Eric and Mommy's sore boobs... we are overwhelmingly happy to finally have our new baby girl!

Ummm.... she's touching me!

"Big" and "Little"

"Do I know you?"

Aunt Julie, Cousin Emma

Ella trying to bribe Grandma Cook with cuddles in hopes she won't notice the new baby in the room.

So tired.

Doing a little tanning.

Triple lights!

"Good Mommy. Let's leave her here!"

Happy to be home... wait... she never even noticed she left.

Back to the Hospital

Baby Claire was readmitted to the hospital tonight for a high bilirubin level. Poor thing has been turning a brighter and brighter shade of orange over the last few days, and bloodwork today indicated she needs phototherapy (triple lights in fact). All in all it's the an issue that typically is easily resolved... and we hope to maybe even return home tomorrow. Still, prayers would be appreciated... for her levels to drop quickly, as well as for Ella - who has become quite the Mommy's girl over the last few days. There is a horrible ailment called teething which has been wreaking havoc on her sleep - and mood! The new addition does not help a whole lot, and I can only hope that my absence will go unnoticed by her tomorrow. Thank GOODNESS for Grandma!!! What in the WORLD would we do without her being here?!

Baby Claire - the Revealing

"Whatissssthat??"

Claire Elise Johnson

September 2, 2009

4:02pm

6#14oz

20 3/4 inches long

D-Day

Eric and I are settled into our hospital room and ready for the big day. If you're on Facebook, you should be able to find more updates there as things progress... and hopefully we'll have some pictures soon!!