Meeting the Godsill cousins!

This weekend, Elaine got to meet her cousins Adam and Lauren for the first time, as well as her Aunt Julie and Uncle Kevin! Their foursome, along with Grandma Frost, traveled to Des Moines for a weekend visit. Friday we got to hang out at our house - here are the three cousins and one happy mama!

Saturday morning we went to Howell's Farm in Cumming, IA.  There was a ton to do and we loved it!  Here we are looking at the cows before taking a hayrack ride out to the pumpkin patch.

Out at the pumpkin patch they had these hilarious pedal go-karts which of course Eric and Kevin tore up the track racing one another.  Adam was sufficiently terrified riding on Kevin's lap.  Boys will be boys!

Here are Julie and I in front of the pumpkin patch with our little ladies!  It was a gorgeous fall day!

Here we are riding back to the farm.  We had a lot of laughs with the bumpy ride singing "Old McDonald had a farm".

My mom wanted to sit on the big ol' tractor wheel, I think she looks adorable here.

One of my favorite pics of the day of Lauren with a pumpkin!

And of course daddy putting up Elaine's hood because he just can't put enough layers on this nugget trying to keep her warm.  It was a great weekend and I can't wait until Lauren and Elaine get to play dolls together or beauty salon!

First day of daycare!

Well, the dreaded day has come. I'm back to work. Luckily I was able to do all half days this week and I'm off next week for Amy and Dan's wedding. So, with much anxiety, we got ourselves out the door to daycare!  I managed to get my bags down to four (purse, diaper bag, pump bag, work bag).  Eric and I went together to drop her off (apparently a dead giveaway that it was our first day - we got called out by all the staff).  Her teachers are Carol and Veronica, both ladies in their 50's, with soft voices and very interactive personalities.

Somehow, I got all my anxiety and tears out of my system, and was able to put on a tear-free brave face and only teared up briefly when Eric and I hugged goodbye for the day.  I think the key is just doing half days for a little while.  4 hours goes fast when you have 600 emails and dozens of visitors welcoming you back looking at photos of her at your desk!  Eric was the one to do a check-in phone call to her room and got a good report.  She is one of two girls in the nursery with roughly six boys.  Her designated crib is on the end as far away as possible - apparently she stares at the babies who cry. The teachers are simply over the moon to get another girl in there.  I'm just glad they are welcoming and enthusiastic - that makes it so much easier for mom and dad.  She was drowsy but awake when we dropped her off and full and asleep when we picked her up, so she was also putting on a tear-free brave face (we made a deal - I won't cry if you won't).

Her daily report read: "Read to Elaine.  She is so bright and alert.  We are so happy to have another girl in the nursery!!"  Also she was read to, was sung to, and had tummy time!   Busy day - no wonder she's still conked out!

Here are a few pics before we left this morning.

She can sit propped up by herself - bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to meet new friends!!

8 weeks!

As my maternity leave winds down, I am more and more appreciative of the time Elaine and I have together.  Yesterday we did more pics with Marji (with fun dresses and of course hair bows)!

 And last night I took Elaine over to Jill's for our favorite card game, NERTS.  8 weeks ago, the eve of Elaine's birth, I went to play this same game at Jill's house and we had a huge game going with at least 10 people.  The game is very aggressive and one of my favorites.  Needless to say I was reaching across the table bumping my belly here and there, and what do you know, the next morning my water broke!  So last night I was nostalgic and wanted to capture the moment at least with our smaller group.  Here is a photo...

Also I have to share a pic of Elaine in her new favorite device - an adorable swing that Nikki let us borrow. She laughs at the mobile and falls asleep to the rocking motion. Gotta love it!

 And here is a precious pic of daddy after a long day's work resting with his precious baby girl.  I just love watching the two of them together.  She absolutely lights up when she sees his face and hears his voice when we get home from work.  (So do I!)  I get the second kiss upon his return these days, but I also have an 8 year headsteart on her so she has some catching up to do!

I love...

It's hard to describe parenthood, but I'm so grateful for every moment with our little peanut, and find myself thinking of all the things I love about Elaine. 

• I love that when I walk up the stairs, I smell baby smells. 
• I love that after Eric gets done feeding her a bottle, he turns to me and they say "thank you for the milks mommy!"
• I love her happy little eyes, even when they have tears in them.
• I love her squeals and grunts.
• I love watching her in the bath, look around, happy and relaxed.
• I love seeing her sleep, (especially in the new swing we borrowed from Nikki)!
• I love her little tiny clothes, tiny shoes and hair bows. 
• I love thinking of her in 20 years and what she'll think of ol' mom and dad then.
• I love watching her look around with excitement when we're in a new place. 
• I love the feel of her baby soft skin, particularly her arms and feet.
• I love that she has melted her daddy's heart and that he has a new love of his life.
• I love towel time - when I wrap her up in a towel after bathtime and see her tiny little face looking innocent and sweet peeking out from the towel.
• I love her fluffy hair in the back that gets all funny after she has been in her carseat.
• I love her tiny baby butt, which Eric and I laugh and look at it in the mirror right before we start the bath.  We think she has Eric's butt.
• I love cuddling her in bed, especially when daddy's in on it!
• I love that one toe that curls under her other toes.
• I love it when she immediately stretches when you lift her out of bed or a chair.
• I love being a mom, and having this completely adorable bundle of joy to wake up to every day!

GO PACK GO!

Well, the Packers played their first game of the season, so with much excitement, we dressed Elaine in her Packers dress (complete with Packers butt ruffle not seen here).  There are many accessories to this outfit, including slippers, a bib, a hairbow, a towel, the dress, and the baby cheesehead.  Yes, there is a baby-sized cheesehead with a strap attached so we could let her look as fun as daddy!  We were lucky enough to get her awake, but smiles were far and few between, so these were the best shots I could get.

The Packers won (thank goodness) and daddy did his best to edit his comments in front of Elaine, but as soon as I put her down, he was same old Eric, flying out of his seat, stomping his feet, squealing, etc.  I'm just glad the guy has a winning team to support - after being a Cubs fan, he has earned it!

Take me out to the ballgame!

Here we have our newest Cub fan all decked out, ready to buy some peanuts and crackerjacks and root for the Cubbies!  Elaine begged us to go do something outside on this gorgeous Labor Day afternoon, so what better way to enjoy sunshine and 70 degree weather than at an Iowa Cubs game!

Here is Elaine during the 7th inning stretch.  We opted to take the Pikkolo since it keeps her so cozy, and since we were seated in the shade, the breeze definitely added a chill to the air so mommy and Elaine had a lot of quality snuggle time!  In case you are wondering, yes, Eric still managed to score the entire game (while still providing items from the diaper bag on demand like bottle, burp cloth, pacifier, etc.)  He is mastering the art of multitasking as I knew he would! 

The Cubs won 7-2 and I'm proud to say we made it through all 9 innings.  I have to say I'm pretty proud of our happy little peanut!  She's currently all tuckered out and napping after her day of baseball and fresh air.  (And daddy is skipping around the house happy as a clam.)  Here we are doing our victory walk back to the car.  Go Cubs Go, Go Cubs Go, Hey Des Moines what do you say, Cubs are gonna win today!  Elaine's first game is the last game of the season... good thing football starts in a couple days.  You can guarantee there will be a post by the end of the week highlighting her first Packers game!  :)

Changing Table Smiles

One place I can usually get a good smile out of Elaine is the changing table.  Here is a short clip of her and I on a typical day at our house!