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!!

Old McDonald had a Farm...

Well, before I pop another baby out and lose all sense of reality and organization, I thought I better post a few recent photos and updates. Things are moving along and thanks to my empathetic Obstetrician, I will be having a baby on Sept. 2nd at the latest! While they say you should try to enjoy the "peace and freedom" prior to a newborn arriving to disrupt the house, I have come to the conclusion that "THEY", never endured pregnancy with a 15 month old. As many women say at this phase... I am "over it", to say the least. And while I realize that chaos, sleepless nights, and stress await... wait... that's pretty much how things are now! Whatever... while I understand it will all soon multiply... let me face them without having to run to the bathroom 10 times a night (also complicated by the fact I can barely roll out of the bed), and without trying to chase a little girl around without bending at the waist!

We are asked constantly, "does Ella understand?", "is she excited about her baby sister?", and the answer is simply - "NO!". The poor kid couldn't be more clueless - and I dare anyone to try and explain it to her! She will know soon enough - and I have no doubt that we have some difficult days ahead. In some ways - I am sad for her - because I can't imagine what it will be like from her perspective, to suddenly have an intruder in the house... but she will inevitably adjust, and in a short time will never ever remember life without her baby sister.

And speaking of our 1st baby... Ella is pretty much obsessed with dogs, cats, and farm animals these days. She's petrified of birds (that's my girl), and rodents - but put her face to face with a Great Dane and she has no fear. One of the perks to living in Indiana (no seriously, there are some)... is that there seems to be no shortage of farm animals around - go figure! We've had a couple fun outings to an organic dairy farm, and more recently the Indiana State Fair - and found that our otherwise timid daughter seems to be in her element when introduced to swine, llama, and goats... She knows her animals as well as many of their sounds... but for some reason the excitement of seeing them face to face causes her to forget - and everything says, "WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!!".

And a few random shots for your viewing pleasure... it's so hard to believe how much she has grown!!

"Look everyone! I have hair now!!"

Strollers - now more fun to push than ride in...

"What?"

A few days ago I brought out the car seat to get it ready for the new baby. Ella discovered it worked great as a rocking chair in the house, and combined with her fascination with buckles... it kept her busy for hours. I had to dig out this original shot of the day we brought her home from the hospital. She definitely is a little bigger now...

3 Years and Counting...