Christmas Vacation

I am finally getting around to uploading all the photos from Christmas. We had a really good trip to Evansville and it was so wonderful to see good friends and relatives. It was kind of like National Lampoon's Christmas...complete with a trip to the ER, reading of "The Night Before Christmas," watching 8 millimeter home movies, and plenty of Wii karaoke (highly reccommend Glee for Wii). Elliott did very well on the 6 hour drive there and back! My Grandpa Gross was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday for stroke-like symptoms. Based on his condition, it did not look good for him, but miraculously, he had a great recovery and was back to his regular self by Tuesday. It was just a reminder to all of us how fragile life is and don't take anything for granted!

Piekos Family Christmas

Grandmas and thier grandkids!

Can you tell who uses hair product?

Gross Family Christmas- 4 Generations!

Train goes by the Windemere Farm snow village

Piekos Family Christmas

I had quite the adventure on Friday, doing last minute Christmas shopping.  While I ordered most gifts online, it was necessary to go to the mall for a few things.   Elliott and I had a great time and usual, he did not make a peep!  We used the stroller for the first time, which I found also doubled nicely as a place to store bags.  Shopping with a baby is totally different than alone, which includes figuring out where the elevators are, the best restrooms with changing tables, and which stores have good carts to put the car seat in!  I found that Von Maur's third floor ladies lounge is amazing and extremely mom friendly.

On Sunday, we celebrated Christmas with the Piekos Family. This was Elliott's first time visiting Grandma Liz and Grandpa Bob's house and I'm pretty sure he had a lot of fun. We had yummy food and played the game of "Things", which I would highly recommend. One of the rounds asked "What do you wish you could purchase from a vending machine?" Our answers included, "fried chicken, tires, dental floss, balloons, diploma and a jury!"... to give you an idea of how funny this game can be. Thanks for a great time Piekos Family!

1 month old!


Elliott is 1 month old!   Time is flying by! Elliott had his 1 month pediatrician appointment and is doing excellent.  He is the 50 percentile on all of his measurements, putting him at 9 pounds 11 ounces.  He behaved  well at the doctors' office, except he didn't really like having his ears poked at or getting the hepatitis shot, which he shed his first real tear from crying.  I have been trying to get Elliott on a better schedule called "EASY", from the baby whisperer book.  It is not "easy" to do, but basically is a routine that means he eats, then plays, then sleeps, and this is supposed make the baby happier and to help the mommy feel better.  As you can see, mommy is very tired these days- I didn't even know the picture below was taken until I was just looking through the files. 

This week has been fun!  We started off with cookie extravaganza and Bears game on Sunday- thankfully baking went better than the Bears game.  I went to ladies night out on Tuesday and Chris babysat.  I have also been visiting some of the other mom's in the neighborhood during the day, along with watching CNN- probably too much!  For all you mom's out there, all drop side cribs are now banned... more information on that to come.

Passed out after too much CNN!

 

1 month old!

Sleep?! Really, what is that?

Elliott has been growing a lot and is unable to fit into his newborn outfits.  I played Wii Fit with him and according to Wii Fit Elliott has gained 2 pounds (Elliott's Mii is a dog and I can "weigh" him by holding him- it is really not accurate, but fun!).  He has a one month check up next week, so I will confirm the real weight gain after the visit.  I brushed Elliott's hair straight back after a bath one day this week, giving him sort of a Donald Trump hairstyle- Chris was not a fan.  Check out the pictures and recent video featuring "bounce around game."  We are not getting much sleep- it seems like Elliott sleeping through the night was a random occurence and it is not happening anymore.  Mommy is extremely tired from waking up for nightly feedings!  I have been getting out for errands and working out.  My goal is to get the weight off by the big 3-0 next month.  Bob and Liz were nice enough to babysit Elliott last night and Chris and I went out for a nice date night! Thanks Bob and Liz!  It has been a wonderful holiday season so far.  I feel very blessed to have so many good things happening in our life.  Every year Chris and I buy toys for children that need toys.  Toys for Tots is a great charity to support if you are looking for some way to give back.  It is so important to be thankful for what you have and help those who are in need. 

My cool hair after a bath

3 weeks old

Lounging in my chair



Our Little Man...

Elliott is almost 3 weeks old!  We have been having a lot of fun with him the past few weeks.  He is really starting to be more alert and has even rolled over several times.  We finally caught his rollover move on video.  The past three nights have been very nice, because Elliott is sleeping from 11:30 pm to 6 am.  I took Elliott to my work to visit my coworkers and he was very good for everyone!  It snowed about 6 inches here today, it is a winter wonderland out there. We haven't invested in a snow blower yet, so Chris shoveled the driveway- all 175 feet!

 

A Thanksgiving to Remember!

The past two weeks have been very exhausting and very fun!  I have so much to be thankful for: great family and friends, a perfect, healthy baby and wonderful husband!  My mom has been visiting for the past two weeks to help Chris and I and we have been spoiled with her around.  She has been helping with Elliott, cooking amazing meals and helping us with laundry and cleaning.  I do not want her to leave!  Elliott went on his first shopping trip and did not make a peep.  Elliott rolled over 3 times today- I'm thinking that he will be crawling and moving more very soon.  We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with the Piekos and Gross family at our new house with our new baby.  Thank you to everyone who came to our house and made great food! 

Reading a book with "Nan" and "Chief"



Grandpa Bob and Grandma Liz



Great Grandma Rose and Great Grandpa Earl

Uncle Matt

Aunt Lisa

Bundled up for a shopping trip



Elliott Michael Piekos - Welcome to the World!

Elliott Michael Piekos arrived at 1:21 pm on Monday November 15th.  He is 7 pounds 6 ounces and 22.25 inches long!  It was quite a process getting into the world, but everyone is healthy and doing well.  I started feeling contractions at 1 am on Saturday, but wasn't sure if this was the real thing.  I called the hospital and they said only to come in if the contractions were consistently 3-5 minutes apart.  36 hours later, the contractions were consistent and painful but only around 8 minutes apart, so they asked that I come in.  I was 1 cm dilated and given some great meds to ease the pain and be monitored.  I continued to dilate, slowly so was admitted.  After pitocin, an epidural, later even a stronger epidural and, 3.5 hours of pushing, Elliott finally arrived!  Chris was extremely patient throughout the entire labor, he was there for chapstick and ice and tons of movivation the whole time.  We are so happy and excited to finally meet our little person.  We have been trying to rest and adjust to our new lifestyle as parents.  My mom is staying with us to help and she has been a huge help to us!  We can't wait to introduce Elliott to all of our friends and family!  Thank you to everyone for all of the support and good thoughts.  Here are some of the first pictures!

1 More Day to Go...

I'm getting very anxious to meet Baby P!  I had a doctor appointment yesterday and there are still no signs of Baby P arriving any time soon.  I took a few vacation days and have been spending time just relaxing around the house and getting some projects and cleaning done.  I will post when I have more exciting details about Baby P!

Baby P: Please arrive soon!

I have 7 days to go until my official due date.  I have been going to weekly doctors appointments and there are no signs of getting this baby arriving before the due date.   I am really uncomfortable and since everything is ready, I wouldn't mind if I had the baby today.  There are some great birth dates coming up... 11/10/10 and 11/11/10 would be nice and easy to remember.  11/12/10 is Liz's birthday so that would be a great birthday present for the soon-to-be grandma.  According to my sister, more babies are born on or near full moons; the next full moon is November 21st (please arrive before then!!).  More and more people keep telling me it looks like I'm carrying a boy, and I took an internet quiz this weekend which the results said I'm having a boy.  I can't wait to find out!!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous this weekend and we spent Saturday in the city with some of our friends and celebrating Liz's birthday in the suburbs.

39 Weeks!

Bob telling a story

Matt is single...ladies, know any single gals?!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween weekend!  Chris carved a pumpkin, using his elaborate techniques for creating words in the mouth.  Fall has been beautiful and we have so many leaves changing color in our yard.  Chris has been working hard to keep up with the leaves.  This year our costumes were very last minute, as we weren't even sure if we were going to dress up, based on my situation!  Since I couldn't do the usual fun, glamourous costume, I decided to go all out and be a large and in-charge, beer-drinking man!  Chris went as "Cigar Guy".   We had one last night of fun in the city with our friends.  On Halloween our friends came over with thier son for Trick or Treating.  It was a great day and fun to see so many cute kids out and about!



                                                                                Go to Youtube.com for funny videos of Cigar Guy!