Baby Patterned Baldness

I believe it is what is weird about us that makes us interesting.... at least that is what I tell myself so that I can sleep at night ;-) Elizabeth has something going on that I don't think I've seen before.... we've been calling it baby patterned baldness. It is best displayed in the picture below that was posted earlier this week~

The hair on top of Lizzie's head is lighter and WAY shorter than the hair on the sides and back of her head.... it's almost George Costanza-esque. Kinda strange to have your 2 wk old daughter working such a middle aged man hairdo ;-)

On a different note, when we were in the hospital with Lizzie I noticed that her hands and feet were REALLY dry. I asked the nurse what we were allowed to put on them in terms of lotion and she gave us recommendations. Then she said, "Yeah, the extra dry skin happens when they are over-baked." HA! Lizzie may have come 4 days early, but I KNEW she was supposed to be here earlier!! The feet don't lie :)

Happy Birthday!!

That's right, it's my big brother's birthday today! Happy 29th Ben!!! Holy Cow, you're old ;-) And because I post this picture every year on my brother's birthday, and because it is soooooo Ben, I give you this~


To be fair though, my brothers mostly picked on each other and were really great to me. As my mom would say, I taught them how to treat me and didn't put up with any deviations from said game plan :) The next pic is just in here because I like to remind Ben that I loved A&M since birth, but some people had an affinity for the dark side until their junior or senior year of high school :) That being said, Ben is one of the most die hard Ags I've ever met.

Anyway, I love you Ben! You've been way better of a big brother than I ever could have asked for and it's been great having you as a brother, friend and defender (with or without a golf club ;-) I hope that someday Micah looks after Elizabeth that way you always did for me. Happy Birthday!!

The Way to my Heart

is through my stomach. I've never understood why that statement was always applied exclusively to guys... in my family, it is pretty much universal :) That is why I now have an even more special love for all of my sweet friends. You see, labor is no picnic and recovery isn't particularly fun, but the good news is that these things get you a ticket..... on the free food train :)

We have had meals coming to us every other day since we got home with Lizzie and they have been such a huge blessing! Not only does it mean that we are taken care of and I don't have to cook, the meals have been absolutely delicious! I am getting new recipes out of it and tons of new ideas on salads :) While we were thankful for the meals brought to us after Micah's birth, I don't remember being nearly as overwhelmed by gratefulness as I am this time. I think it's because we have Micah AND a newborn this time and it makes the idea of trying to go grocery shopping on a big trip very daunting.

Anyways, just thought I would take a second and give a shout out to all my girls who have brought or are bringing a meal to us. Firstly, I just want you to know that it has been SUCH a blessing to us and has ministered to us immensely. Secondly, I wanted to say that you guys sure can cook! Thirdly, thank you for not being grossed out by the messiness of my house right now.. it is what it is :P Fourthly, NEVER doubt the impact that such a practical thing can have in someone's life.. thank you for being willing to serve and I can't wait to return the favor!

As a bit of a side note, I use this blog to document our life as a family and as such I just wanted to mention that it snowed yesterday in Katy for the second time this winter.... craziness :)

Ice dancing is over and we've got 6 boxes of Thin Mints to our name.... life is good :)

Elizabeth's First Bath

Lizzie wasn't too sure about this whole bath thing... here she is expressing her concerns to Nate~

Still a bit unsure about what is going on, but she seems a little more resigned to it~

And finally, one last plea to Mom to SAVE HER! I believe her exact thoughts were something along the lines of "Are you going to put down that camera and rescue me, or am I going to have to put up a fuss?"

The Tally

Despite Micah's less than thrilled expression in this picture, he has actually been really excited about having Lizzie around. He shows her off to guests and comes into the room immediately looking for Elizabeth, just to know where she is. We loved the first time he kissed her and talked to her excitedly. It was so sweet the first time he just laid next to her and reached out to pat her.... it was a little less sweet the first time he smacked her upside the head :P And he smacked her HARD. Not out of anger, just over-exuberance... full on smack to the soft part of her head. Yikes.

Current Tally~

Sweet Kisses = 30 ish
Massive Smacks = 2

....we're working on it :P

Wow

In just over a day, Elizabeth will be a week old! In just 6 short days she has really made a place for herself in our lives. She is a really good eater (the nurses called her "little piggy" in the hospital) and also a fairly good sleeper. She is really strong and can throw her weight around convincingly including repeatedly rolling herself onto her side. She has the cutest, daintiest little burps and sneezes that are so quiet, we're often not sure if we imagined them or if they were real. I got a chance to take a picture with her earlier today~


and Micah continued his affections towards her as well~

New Pic

Micah has taken to plopping down next to Lizzie while she is getting her diaper changed and this is my not so great, bad lighting, "quick get out the camera!" attempt to capture it :) I promise better pics in the future when I have regained the ability to move a little more freely and quickly ;-)

Anyhoo, I have been amazed how well Micah has done with Lizzie being around! We have already seen him learn how to be more gentle and he is always excited when he sees her, yelling BABY! He doesn't call her Lizzie yet, but we are working on it :) Today he gently wrapped his arm around her neck and kissed her cheek... it was awesome :) I didn't have the camera ready, but I will try my best to get it next time. Anyhoo, that's about it from us except I have to say that the adjustment after this delivery has been SO MUCH BETTER than last time! I have bonded with her more quickly and the Lord has been faithful to answer our prayers with only one brief bout with the over strong baby blues! I was surprised by the insta-bonding after she was born, but my mom mentioned that I have had a year and a half to get used to being a mother. Because of that, there was no anxiety or trepidation about what motherhood would be like this time, I just got to focus on my new amazing baby! Anyhoo, the amazing baby doesn't sleep forever, so I'm signing off :)

Somebody to Love

I love this little girl so much already that it almost hurts :) I love her beautiful chubby cheeks, her "I'm not sure I trust you yet" expressions, her amazing ability to stay asleep no matter what you do to try to wake her.... she's such a gift from God and I adore her! Thanks to everyone for the super sweet comments and emails... they have been making me smile all day! Thanks especially for your prayers....God was so faithful and gracious to us in his timing and every single detail of Lizzie's arrival! The only cause I have for sadness is that Micah is not allowed up here to meet her (stupid flu season :P) and I miss him desperately... I'm totally going to sneak downstairs tomorrow and see the little man :)

Anyhoo, a couple of cool things you may not have known/caught about Elizabeth's birthday~

~ It was Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day, White T-Shirt Day, AND Make a Friend Day... I love them all... so great for a newborn!

~ My grandpa was born on Feb 4th, Lizzie's birthday is the 11th... exactly one week after his. My birthday is the 18th (exactly a week after her's) and my brother's birthday is the 25th (exactly a week after mine). I love it! I feel like my family officially owns February now!

Gotta go... my battery is dying, I'm too lazy to go get the charger and Nate is asleep (I'm on my 4th wind and it's feeling good... I predict multiple naps in my future :) I'll type at you later!

She's here!!

Elizabeth Hannah Ezell decided to come out and play at 5:40 this morning! She weighed in at 7 lbs 7oz and measured 20 inches long! Only 2 hours of labor from the time I woke up to the time she came to meet us :)

Remember Me?

This blog used to be all about me... Hello there :)


Has my mom even mentioned that we went to the Children's museum a few weeks ago? Here I am with my buddy Abby~

and I finally got over my aversion to crawling through tunnels!

I took LOTS of baths and on one particular day, I kept a wash cloth on my head the WHOLE TIME!

I learned how relaxing Daddy's massage chair can be after a long day of playing~

and I ran a marathon! Ok, technically Daddy ran a marathon, but I wear his medal all the time :)

Did you know that I'm going to be a big brother soon? My sister's name is Elizabeth! If she comes today, then her birthday will also be Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day and Make a Friend Day! I hope she comes soon... I want to meet her and I want to have Daddy home for two weeks too :)

Gun Shy

I have to say, it has been hard for me to think of anything to write about besides Elizabeth's impending arrival. I'm sure you guys have noticed that there has been a significant drop off of non-baby blog material. This is due to several factors.... We don't leave Katy anymore so I have nothing going on to tell you about, I like to craft on the floor and I can no longer sit on the floor and reach supplies in front of me :P, and the labor looming in the future basically takes up all the space I have in my head. Anyhoo.. sorry!! I promise I will work on being more interesting after she gets here :)

Anyhoo, the title of this post refers to a very interesting phenomenon that I am experiencing right now. The more pregnant I get, the less I feel like I am allowed to call anyone. Everyone I call answers in a very excited and expectant tone and then when they find out I'm not in labor, they are disappointed. Even my mom can't call her friends without getting the same response! It's funny cause I will sit here and analyze before I call or text ANYONE and decide whether what I have to say is important enough to send them on an emotional roller coaster... about 92% of the time the answer is no :) I'm looking forward to being able to make THE call!

Should THE call come today, Lizzie would share her birthday with Umbrella Day... weird ;-)

Good News Bad News

Bad News ~ No progression yesterday... I'm still sitting pretty at 4 cm and 80 % dilated

Good News ~ This news did NOT make me sob uncontrollably for hours like it did when the same thing happened with Micah at 3 cm :)

If Elizabeth decides to make her appearance today, her birthday will coincide with Toothache Day.... really? Toothache Day?? Who would make a day honoring toothaches?

39 Weeks

You may notice that there aren't any pictures anymore.... that is because at this point really nothing changes externally. I am (thankfully) as big as I'm gonna get and that's about all there is to it :) Lizzie on the other hand is storing away fat with each day that she holds on. She should be between 18 and 22 inches long and weigh between 6.5 and 8 pounds! If she were born today, Lizzie would share her day with Boy Scout Day and Kite Flying Day (who flies kites in February??).

And now I give you....the evolution of teasing~

Two Sundays ago- I went to church and was asked by EVERY person I saw when I was due or jokingly "You haven't had that baby yet??"

Last Sunday- I went to church and about half of the people I saw asked or commented on the fact that I was still pregnant.

This Sunday- 2 people commented on the pregnancy while almost everyone else would try to glance at me casually (so I wouldn't know they were looking) and they would wince in a sort of sympathetic, you're still pregnant way. If they knew my mom, they would approach her in hushed tones and ask about the pregnancy.

This has turned into quite the interesting social experiment :)

My friends are the best :)

My mom friends are a total God send. No really, they are the keepers of my sanity :) I met them all through MOPS (or later through someone from MOPS :) and we blindly started a play group a year and a few months ago. I don't think any of us knew how starting that group would end up impacting our lives. That we would become as close as we have or that we would become such a strong support system for each other or that we would have so much fun with and without our kids :)

Anyways, I just wanted to give a shout out to all my girls and tell you that I thank God for you daily. I am so blessed to be able to raise my children alongside such amazing moms. I cherish the friendships we have developed and I look forward to many more years hanging out and building each other up in Christ!

On a different note, here is the weekend birthday breakdown~

Friday~ National Weatherman's Day

Saturday~ Lame Duck Day & National Frozen Yogurt Day ( I may observe that one :)

Sunday~ Wave All Your Fingers at your Neighbor Day & National Fettuccine Alfredo Day

Nope, Still Pregnant

Sorry guys! I had a weird night last night and didn't remember to write a post for this morning :P I'm not feeling very creative right now, so I'll just lay the facts out for you...

Today is~
Thank a Mailman Day
National Stuffed Mushroom Day
and
Gumby's Birthday

Last but REALLY not least, it is my Grandpa's birthday! I'm hoping she comes today, but I don't feel like she will, so we'll just see :) I think since I went into labor with Micah late at night, I just assume that the same thing will happen with Lizzie... hence, I missed my shot at today when I woke up labor-less this morning..... we shall see.

Looking Back

Remember last week when the weather was like this?

I miss it! I miss the walks we were taking every day after Nate got home from work and I miss the trips I took with Micah to the park.... I've got some MAJOR cabin fever going on this week!

Anyhoo, on to our regularly scheduled programming :) If Elizabeth was born today then she would not only share her birthday with National Carrot Day, but she would also have the same birthday as Elmo!

Still Going Strong

As of yesterday, I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced! Elizabeth should be here soon and hopefully it will be a quick labor (being 4 cm already certainly helps :) If born today, she would share a birthday with Frozen Food Day and, of course, Groundhog Day! So if she comes out today and sees her shadow, does that mean 6 more weeks of pregnancy? ;-) I have to admit, my favorite option for her birthday is the 4th (my grandpa's b-day), but my second favorite is most definitely Groundhog Day :)

38 Weeks!

Ahhhhhh!!! I made it to February!!! WOO HOO! February is a significant month in my fam (my b-day, Ben's b-day, my Grandpa's b-day), it is SUCH a fun month to have a girl (hello heart themed parties!), it inspired a Foo Fighters song (February Stars), and it is the most difficult month to be born in! (Aka- it's the shortest month ;-) When I first learned of Elizabeth's existence, I was SO excited that she was due in February! Then I found out about the full moon at the end of January and I figured I might have to give up on my February dreams.... not so! Not only that, if I can hold on throughout today at least, I won't even have to miss February Bunco!

Can you tell I'm excited?

No seriously, I spent all yesterday counting down the hours until February and praying for God to allow the pregnancy to go until at least 12:01 am.... I mean, I was soooo close. I'd hate to miss it :)

Now I have a confession..... as I write this, I am seriously hoping I get to post it. You see, Micah makes blogging quite the challenge. I realized awhile ago that the best way for me to blog was to write it the night before and set it to post in the morning. That's right, as I write this I still have 8 hours til February.. oh please, oh please!! I hate to tell you this since now you all know that I do not compose and post such fantastic works of wit and insight all before 7:05 am... sorry to shatter my mystique ;-)

Anyhoo, as of today Elizabeth is the size of a watermelon (and she will stay watermelony til we get to meet her :) and is likely between 18 and 22 inches long and 6.25 and 7.5 pounds. If she were born today, she would share her lovely February birthday with National Freedom Day (which seems incredibly appropriate ;-) and National Baked Alaska Day!