One Month Old

Lela, you are one month old today!

• You are 9.5 lbs (according to my bathroom scale) and 22 inches long.
• You're always trying to hold your head up and you get better and better every day.
• You are sleeping good at night and usually only wake us up once to eat, but last night you slept all night!
• You eat every 3 hours during the day (lately it's been more like every 2 hours) and you eat every 4 or 5 hours at night.
• You drank out of a bottle for the first time today.
• You love to look around and you have recently discovered the little bug toy on your bouncer.
• You've started trying to talk to us and you make all kinds of faces.
• You have dimples on your cheeks when you smile and neither dad nor I have dimples, so I don't know where you got that.
• Your hands are constantly moving even when you're sleeping.

Daddy and I are so blessed to have such a good baby. You are so laid back and you have made everything so easy for us. We think you are going to be very active and maybe a little high maintenance. But no matter what you are, we will always love you!

Photo Shoot

Lela and I had a little photo shoot yesterday. Nathan's grandmother had mentioned that she had pictures of all the grandchildren at 3 weeks old and she wanted one of Lela at that age. So I dressed her up and pulled out my best photography skills. As a result, I have new found respect for professional photographers because she may look sweet in these pictures but . . .

. . . this is what she looked like the majority of the time.

I realize it could be because she hated that bonnet, but picking her up was the only thing that would make her quit, and that didn't make for very professional looking photos (not that I consider myself a professional . . . in any field).

But I was still able to capture some of her better moments.

I'm thinking of printing one of these pictures in an 8x10 but I can't decide which one. Tell me your favorite in the comments and maybe that will help me decide.

This morning, while I was on the phone with my grandparents, I heard Nathan calling my name (he knew I was on the phone) in a somewhat urgent manner. I thought to myself "I can't come right now, I'm on the phone." But after the third time I heard my name, I thought I should go see what he wanted.

So I walked into the baby's room and saw this laying on the floor by the back door.

After I got off the phone (I am not talented enough to have two conversations at once), Nathan informed me that he witnessed Bella dragging the snake skin in from outside. He then informed me that I would have to pick it up and dispose of it because he just couldn't do it.

Now, let me explain something about Nathan. He has an Indiana-Jones-like fear of snakes. That is about the most manly way I can describe the look of terror on his face and the high pitched shrieks that come out of him. So I had to, in his words, "man up" and pick up the snake skin off the floor and dispose of it.

But believe me, I am not completely fearless when it comes to snakes and hearing Nathan describe all the scenarios of where the snake could've come from and where he could be now psyched me out a little and it took me a few tries before I could actually pick it up. I was somehow afraid that as soon as I touched it, the snake would pop out from his hiding place and try to bite me . . . irrational, I know.

After having a calm conversation about the ordeal, we decided that it was clearly just a garden snake and Bella obviously killed it or at least has the skill to do so. If nothing else, we could possibly train her to pick up the snake skins since both of us seem to have such a problem with it.

So, I was informed that no one was able to see the picture of Debra Jo Rupp on the last post, so I apologize for that. I will repost the picture when I get a picture of the doctor. I was given a good suggestion of how to get a picture of the pediatrician, so maybe I will get a picture at the next appointment. I never thought this blog would push me to new levels of awkwardness in the real world.

Another appointment with Debra Jo Rupp

So, I looked up the picture of the actress who plays the mom on "That 70s Show" (which I realized is also the wife of Phoebe's brother Frank on Friends whom she has triplets for . . . ) and I am shocked how accurate my comparison was between her and our pediatrician.

I am so bummed that I don't have a picture of the pediatrician but really, this is what she looks like. She could totally use this as her picture on the website because she clearly needs one. I still haven't mustered the courage to ask to take a picture of her and I doubt I will ever come to that point. But I do feel like I owe it to you to put both pictures side-by-side, so I will work on it.

Moving on to real life, Lela had an appointment with the doctor yesterday and everything went great. She gave us another A+. I'm beginning to wonder if she would ever really give us another grade at an appointment. I seriously doubt she would ever say "Well, I can tell you're giving it your best shot, but I can only give you a B- today." At least I hope she would never say that because I would be crushed. (Yes, I'm an overachiever. Why do you ask?)

Anyway, she weighed 7 lbs 14 oz which means she's almost gained another pound since birth. The doctor said that was way ahead of schedule for a two-week old, but she assured us she's "not fat or anything." I'm pretty sure she has to say that, just like she would never give us less than a grade of an A. But don't take that to mean that I take her words lightly. Let's just say that I'm shooting for a 4.0 GPA at the doctor's office.

Well, she did great at the doctor, but at home, it has been a different story. We think she's had trouble with gas but ever since Monday night, she screams pretty much non-stop after each feeding and is almost inconsolable. Then she will either let out a big burp or fart and she'll be fine, but for some reason it takes 2 or 3 hours for that to happen. Of course she was absolutely pleasant for the doctor (not that I'm not grateful because I've got to keep those grades up). So needless to say the last two nights have been rough. But I think we've turned the corner today because she seems like her normal content self ever since 6:30 this morning. I think it could've been some smoked brisket I ate for dinner Monday night and then again for lunch on Tuesday. Who knows.

Anyway, I'll leave you with some pictures of "the precious" (another Dr. Shirley-ism).