JoElle meets Isaiah and Aunt Carrie

JoElle met her cousin Isaiah and Aunt Carrie on Saturday! Isaiah had a great time with her, he insisted upon sitting next to her in the restaurant!

I taught Isaiah how to put her paci back in her mouth and wipe up all her drool! He told me he gives his baby sister Elena a hug in their mommy's belly every day. He didn't want to leave the restaurant because he was having fun with her.

JoElle is sick again with a cold from daycare this time, and so am I....She spent this morning in the nursery at church, and we went to Sunday School and worship service too. She was kinda fussy because she needed some sleep and wanted to be held by us. She has been through a whole week of daycare, and it went pretty well. She hardly sleeps there, just 20-30 minute naps 3 or so times a day. Instead of sleeping, she is busy looking around, watching the other babies and her teachers. When JoElle gets home, I feed her, we play a bit, take a bath, and then she is out for the night around 7:00 p.m.!

This little boy named "Scooby" kinda likes her, he is a toddler and whenever her swing at daycare stops, he pushes it for her! He always smiles at us when we get there in the morning.

2 month checkup

JoElle has really started noticing us and smiling at us in the past 3 weeks. She is even enjoying new people talking to her and smiling at her. She loves to smile back! JoElle also loves to talk to and smile at Grandma- my mom.

JoElle got five vaccinations at her last Dr appt on Aunt Ana's B-day (March 11th). She did great, but got fussy later that afternoon; it still wasn't near the fussiness we endured thos first two weeks when she couldn't tolerate the milk and the soy formulas!

She is now 11 lbs 9 oz and 23.5 inches long. Compared to other babies her age, she is now bigger and longer than only 80 percent of them, with an average sized head. So, compared to her body, her head is small which enables her to hold it up for minutes at a time, even while on her tummy. JoElle isn't growing as rapidly as she was at first, the first month she was bigger than 100% of baby girls her age. This makes sense, since Tim and I are both short and not huge people (ok so we both are trying to lose weight though...)

Grandma babysat for us on March 9th,which was our 3 year anniversary, so that Tim could suprise me by taking me to Sambuca's in Addison (it is a Mediterranean cuisines Jazz cafe that we both love....mmm delish!)

There is also a pic of JoElle with Grandma that I took when we got home. We don't worry about JoElle at all when Grandma is taking care of her. Grandma has really taken the time to get to know JoElle and the way we interact with her, feed her and all that, so JoElle is very familiar and comfortable with her, just like with us (until she gets superfussy occasionally!)

JoElle begins daycare on Monday in North Arlington, close to my new job. We really like the center and her teachers, and the other babies in her room are very friendly!
So pray for us and her as we transition into this new phase of babycare!

Going "back" to work...(new job)

I found a job on Wednesday, March 2, and training class starts on the 14th! I am both excited and sad. We must have the income and I need to work for myself, but I will miss being the one to take care of JoElle throught the day.

I know it will all work out just fine, please pray over her health and for protection for her as well as peace and wisdom for us.I will be working at a bankruptcy company called Ascension Capital Group, and the great thing is that it is in Arlington! It is across the highway from Six Flags, so my drive will be much, much better than the 1 hour to 1.5 hour commute I had to Irving. So we are wanting to find a daycare up in that area...

1 month old - smiling!!

JoElle is already a month old! Wow! Time flies...She started smiling at mommy and daddy Saturday! And when she smiles she really grins!

JoElle is really noticing us more; before she would stare at us when we fed her, now she is starting to notice us other times and is looking for us, too.JoElle got her pictures taken last week, and she did so well! She actually slept through most of them, so we got some cute sleeping baby pics.

She is still so very awake during the day, she doesn't require a whole lot of sleep. She has now been to church with us twice and lots of friends have met her. JoElle is getting used to us and us to her, things are much calmer!! She still loves to cry out when she needs or wants something, but we can calm her quickly, so it is not as stressful as her fussiness from the intolerance to milk!

I am actively seeking jobs, so please pray for me! It is challenging to apply and interview while taking care of the baby. My last job was temp to hire and they decided not to bring me back after having JoElle, ok so I thought this might happen, but it is still nasty. Needless to say, I must work for the income and my own sanity at times...:)

3 weeks old

JoElle is three weeks old today! She has been rolling over a lot from her tummy to her back- at first we just thought she accidently rolled over, but almost every time we put her on her tummy on the floor she rolls onto her back all by herself! She first rolled over the day we brough her home from the hospital, when she was 3 days old, in front of me and my mom.

Today she was waking up and getting hungry, so I went to get her bottle ready, and when I came back she was on her back looking at me! She is sleeping on her tummy a lot because she is much calmer this way, she doesn't sleep well at all on her back. She can move her head very well, so we are not worried about her. The reflux medicine and switching from soy formula to Nutramigen seems to be working, she is much happier and calmer.

JoElle: 2 week checkup

JoElle went to the Dr. for her two week checkup today.She now weighs 10 lbs 4 oz and is 22.75 in long. So she is a growing girl! She is in the 100 percentile for height and 97 percentile for weight.We switched her formula AGAIN to an even more easy to digest formula(hence more expensive, Nutramigen) and now she is on acid reflux medicine, too. We hope this will reduce her fussiness and allow her to get some rest at night.

2 weeks old

JoElle is two weeks old today- but it seems like she has been here even longer than that!We are still struggling with her formula, we aren't so sure that this soy formula is good for her either, but we go see the doctor on Tuesday, we will know more then.

She was up for 5 or so hours last night crying almost the whole time because she doesn't feel well. She hardly got any rest last night until I slept with her in my arms. This week we plan to take her for pictures (we will see how she feels!!) and it is also my birthday on Wednesday, so Grandma has offered to babysit so Tim and I can go out. She is a perfect angel for Grandma! Grandma also offered to stay a night or two so Tim and I can both sleep. Sounds like a plan to me!