Two Year Check

Lilah had her two year well-check this morning. Jonas couldn't make it to the appointment due to morning meetings, so we had to go it alone. We did very well at the visit! Lilah allowed the doctor to check her out fully with minimal fuss (with the promise of M&Ms to follow). She weighs 29 pounds 2 ounces (80%), and is 35.5 inches tall (90%). Almost three feet! She got two shots and cried for only about 15 seconds. What a big girl!

As for baby sister, a friend let us borrow her baby scale for a little while, and I put Emma on it last night for the first time. Exactly three weeks ago, Emma weighed 6 lbs 11 oz. Last night, Emma weighed 10 lbs 1 oz! What an incredible difference!

New Addition

Things have been a little busy in the Johnson household over the last several weeks. My parents came into town on Sept 25. Dad and Jonas worked on the fireplace the week that Daddy was here (we decided to have a gas fireplace installed the week before they came and Dad and Jonas worked on building up the hearth and area surrounding the FP to get ready for the stone to go over the top). The new baby's due date came and went on Sept 28, and we went to the hospital at 5am on Sept 29 to be induced. They sent us home, of course, because I didn't call ahead of time to find out there weren't enough nurses and they had admitted too many people during the night. Another nurse came on staff at 9am though, so they told us to come back.
We got checked in and the pitocin was started about 10:30. The contractions were uncomfortable enough by about one o'clock that I had an epidural started, and the doctor broke my water at 2pm. I am not sure if it was the best epidural, because I was having a lot of pain with my contractions, especially towards the end, but I could not move or feel my legs. I progressed from 5cm to 10cm in about an hour and a half, and baby was born after two minutes of pushing. (And it only took that long because I had to wait for another contraction to come). Emma Louise arrived at 6:57 pm on Wednesday, Sept 29. She was 20.5 inches long and weighed 7 lbs 7 oz. Just as Lilah looked exactly like her momma at birth, little Emma looked just like her daddy's hospital picture! She has the cutest little dimple in her left cheek. Lilah came with Nana and Papa to the hospital to meet her little sister and like the rest of us, was instantly in love. I'll try to post the video of them meeting, it's really cute. We came home on Thursday at lunch time and had our first doctor's appointment on Friday. Emma was a little jaundiced on Friday (new weight was 6 lbs 9 oz) so we had her bilirubin levels drawn on Saturday since her jaundice was getting worse. A home nurse came out to the house Saturday night and got her started on phototherapy to help her get rid of her excess bilirubin. Emma stayed on the light bed day and night until Tuesday, when she was cleared by the doctor. Since then, she has been gaining weight and eating well while we are all adjusting to our new lifestyle.

Emma is a very vocal baby, but doesn't cry very often. She loves to stretch and squeek and grunt. She is an excellent sleeper, and has been since the beginning. When she was so jaundiced, I had to set an alarm to wake her up in the night, but since I was able to stop doing that, she has slept 5-7 hour stretches at night. She is now (at three weeks) having more wakeful stretches during the day and is much better at holding her head up. She is getting so chubby and her skinny little chicken legs are turning from having wrinkles into having fat rolls. So cute!

Lilah has been a great and loving big sister. I'd like to say there has been no aggressive behavior towards her little sister, but I now have a funny story to tell. My sweet little sleeping baby was in the bouncy seat in the den next to Lilah who was eating her dinner standing at the coffee table. I was in the kitchen, just one room over, when Emma burst into tears. I came in the room and asked Lilah what happened. "Baby crying," she responded. What happened Lilah? "Poke baby, " she said. When I asked where, she said, "nose." Apparently, she had taken her nice little sharp tined dinner fork and poked our little baby in the nose. Emma calmed down quickly, and the fork never left a mark. First injury down, many more to go, I am sure.

Lilah celebrated her second birthday this past week. I know everyone says this, but it is unbelievable how fast time has passed. It is especially neat to have a newborn in hand to compare where Lilah was just two years ago. It is incredible how much she has grown and learned over the last two years. We had a fun celebration with our friends and Mimi last weekend. Lilah loved opening all her presents and is still talking about opening more. She blew out her two little candles on the first try - I was very impressed!

Her two year check up is tomorrow morning, so I'll have numbers coming soon.

Not a very flattering picture, but you can really see how big her cheeks are getting!

Manners

Last night after Lilah's bath, we were in her bedroom changing into PJs and brushing her hair. While I was brushing her hair I got a tickle in my throat and started to cough. Lilah turned around, patted me on the back, and said, "okay, baby??" I laughed but coughed again and she did it again, "okay, baby?" When I said, yes, I'm okay, thanks, she put her hand up to my mouth and said, "excuse me!" I guess I was behind on my manners. Thanks Lilah!

Meanwhile, the clothes are all washed and hung up in new baby's closet. Now just counting the days! Nothing like folding a bunch of tiny little clothes to get me excited for a new little one!!

Belly Dancing

This is just a hint at what new baby girl Johnson does to her momma at night while she's trying to go to sleep. It is very dark, but if you watch the line between my bellly and the sheet you can really see what's going on. I don't know what going on in there, but it sure isn't comfortable!

Big girl

Lilah has made the move into her big girl room this week! We have been working on painting and gathering furniture for it over the last several weeks, and it is nearly complete. I am still waiting on the curtain rod I ordered to arrive, but Lilah and I talked and she wanted to go ahead and move in. She LOVES showing people her new room and doesn't seem to miss the old one in the least. She has some cute pictures on the wall, including her name above her crib. Every morning when I go get her she points to it, says, "Lilah!" and beats on her chest. Pretty funny.

We have seen a lot of animals in the last few weeks too. Two weeks ago, we went to the zoo in Seattle. Lilah loved it! She still asks about the elephants at the zoo, and we really only saw their backsides. She was super cute next to the penguins, and I was able to get a cute picture. We checked out the fair last Friday that is in town this week and got some great close-up experience with cows, horses, goats, sheep and pigs. It was really cute to see how excited she got with all the animals around. She kept asking, "more animals?"

Along the animal crazed lines, we got a new kitten. Crazy, I know. I had only gone to Ace (of all places!) for a paint roller for Lilah's new room and saw her in a little cage at the front with her sister. She is so much cuter than most kittens and was super sweet from the get-go. And now that we have her at home, that disposition has not changed. She is snuggly and lets you hold her like a baby. Sleeps on her back on the sofa all stretched out and lets Lilah carry her around all over. She has her claws still, and will keep them, so Lilah has had a few lessons on how to be gentle with the kitty, but she has done a really great job (Lilah and kitty both).

Lilah's words have exploded over the last few weeks. She'll repeat anything, which I've had to learn to be careful with what I say. My favorite thing recently is that Lilah is learning to joke a bit. She noticed the other day that the cows and horses nearby eat grass, so I was asking her who ate grass (working on more than yes or no questions which I have a tendency to only ask). I went through and asked if Momma ate grass, and said, Nooooo..... then went through lots of other family members, saying Noooooo after each one, but coming back to cows and horses with a yes. Now, whenever we pass a cow or horse on the side of the road, or if Lilah just gets bored, she goes through the list herself. "Nana eat grass? Noooooo. Papa eat grass? Nooooo." And in the mornings sometimes when I go to get her from her room, she'll say, "poo poo diaper!" and I'll ask if she went poo poo in her diaper, she responds, "Nooooo...." and then laughs. Fooled you mom!

Love

Lilah and I have had a fun day today. We met up with some friends at the park this morning and played until it got too hot. Cut us some slack, okay? We were dressed pretty warmly and then the sun came out. Low seventies can feel pretty hot when you aren't used to it (and pregnant). By the time we had played so long in the sun, Lilah's poor cheeks were so red, we needed to cool down. On the way home we picked up slushes from Sonic, which Lilah loves. After lunch and a nap, I put on Beauty and the Beast for her to watch while I caught up on laundry and dishes. She pulled up her little camping chair next to the coffee table, and put her little slush in the cup holder. Just watching her, I can't help but be overwhelmed by love. She really is pretty sweet and funny. In the beginning when the beast is giving Maurice (Belle's dad) a hard time, Lilah gets very concerned for his well-being, shouting "uh-oh! uh-oh!" the whole time. Then when she gets to a particular part in her slush when the ice has built up too much, she gently shakes it to mix it back up. Just like her momma. So funny how she's picked up those things! And still 30 minutes into this movie, she has hardly budged, except to tell me her slush was finished. So precious.

And I was able to catch Lilah and Daddy snuggling in bed the other morning. Jonas wasn't so happy about me pulling out the camera, but I think all dads need to have snuggle pictures with their kids. I think it's pretty cute!

Three years later...

Jonas and I just celebrated our third wedding anniversary last week. The week before our anniversary, Jonas' parents were in town visiting, and we all took a trip to Victoria, BC. Jonas and I went to Victoria on our honeymoon, so it was really neat to see it again near our anniversary. We had to get our picture outside of the Empress hotel, where we stayed for a few nights three years earlier. To think all that has happened in the last three years!

We have been very busy getting Lilah's new room ready. It is painted now, and the chair rail and crown moulding at up and looking great. She loves to look into her new room and is very excited about moving in. We have a dresser on order and will move her in after it arrives. Jonas and I are also building Lilah a new bookcase to help contain her massive number of books. They live in a huge pile on her bedroom floor right now, but we are working on a sling bookshelf so that she can see the fronts of the books and hopefully make it easier to keep them picked up in her new room. Her new room is considerably bigger than her current room, so she'll have lots of room to play. She's going to stay in her crib in the new room, and hopefully for a little while longer still. I'm not ready for a big-girl bed!