Chimin'Time

Did I ever mention that I've been running a second Etsy shop?

I didn't think so. 

We created Chimin'Time with our friends Mark & Amy over a year ago, intending to sell the chimes sets to elementary schools to use in their music programs. 

Turns out by the time we got 75% through assembling 100 sets of chimes we were pretty burned out. :)

Once we finally recovered from that initial burn-out, Amy had the awesome idea to try to sell them on Etsy!

Today I discovered that we were featured on a site called outblush.com.  

HERE's the link directly to our chimes.

Cool, huh!? :)

Dancing Queen.

The kid's got moves.

And style.

And a belly.

This one makes me think of the Emperor from Star Wars...

She occasionally (okay, OFTEN) charges me when I'm filming. It's a dangerous business!

And just in case you're wanting to view the goodness for yourself...

Smellie...

...has been busy.

VERY. BUSY.

Helping with laundry...

(it's exhausting work)

Refusing to eat her delicious dinner...

Attending Aunt Megan's wedding...

Crashing Syd's bathtime...

I'm sitting there bathing the Syd-meister, when out of the blue Emily comes flying over the edge of the tub--on her tummy--pajamas and all.

Comforting her sister...

Making sure Stinkie is well hidden...

Playing "naptime"...

Swimming at the apartment pool...

Making sure Syd's swing is well-stocked.

You never know when you'll have to go!

Playing with friends...

Testing mommy's high heels...

Finding new hiding places...

Watching Elmo... 

(Or Zathura. Or Tangled. Or Cars. Or... well... you get the idea.)

Fashionably cruising...

 Fashionably crashing...

Transitioning to her toddler bed...

(Eventually we had to get a baby proof doorknob cover. But it was getting fairly frustrating there for a while...)

Yup. Busy busy busy. 

She LOVES jumping off two feet. 

I hope the insulation between our unit and the one below is good!

She never stops talking. And I love it.

Most of the time. ;)

She is an amazing big sister. She loves Sydney SOOOO much.

Stinkie.

...as we lovingly call her...

She's darling...

Supah Swank...

and dimpled...

She's doing amazing. So far we haven't had any issues with long-term complications. No retinopathy in her eyes. She eats like a champ. And she's chunking up nicely. 

At her 4 month appointment (read: 1 month developmentally), she tipped the scale at 10 lbs 2 oz!

That's my girl!

One day (after two months of kicking myself for not doing a photoshoot of Sydney when she first came home from the hospital), I got off my fanny and decided to just wing it. 

Why, yes. She IS adorable. Thank you. ;)

 

Did I mention I was winging it?

And because she's hilarious...

Meanwhile... back in the 'Couv...

Hi. Welcome to my blog.
What? You've forgotten who I am?
Uh.....

 

I'm stuck in a mommy time warp.

You know the one. 

What? It's the middle of OCTOBER!?

*cough, cough*

Yes. I know it's out of focus and grainy. But I love it anyways.

The Shop.

I did it.

I opened an Etsy shop!

I'm still a little intimidated by the whole thing. So many little elements.

I figure I'll learn as I go along, right?

I just hope I don't make too many really stupid mistakes, but we'll see!

All Stuft Up

p.s. Sydney has been home for two weeks now. I've been a little preoccupied--hence no update on the homecoming. I'm think I've finally readjusted (again) to my current situation and role as a mother of two (with both at home), so hopefully I'll do better at blogging. :)

How Time Flies!

First off, a huge apology to those who have been depending on my blog for updates about Sydney. I have shamefully neglected you all. 

But I have good news!

No, she's not home yet. Boooo.

When I went in last night to breastfeed her she took 50ml!

NEW RECORD!

Here she is after a particularly good feed (48 ml, I think) and an impressively large poop.

She's doing really well. 

She's at 38 weeks gestation, and babies usually go home between 36 and 37 weeks.

So she really likes the cushy NICU. Especially since she's in a cute 'lil' crib now!

But despite the longer stay, she's eating so well. And breastfeeding was on the top of my list of worries, so the fact that she's a rockstar eater puts me completely at ease. 

As of yesterday she weighs 6 lbs 4.5 oz!

She's chunking right up, lemme tell ya!

It looks like we have another thumb sucker on our hands!

Her feeding tube is out, and she is now on an ad-lib feeding schedule (as opposed to being fed every three hours.) That means that she eats what she will, when she will. There are parameters to determine about how long she should sleep between feedings, depending on how much she takes. She breastfeeds a lot better now that she's on this new schedule! She wakes up herself, so she's a lot more alert which leads to higher volumes taken in less time. 

All that really stands in her way at this point is her oxygen needs. She caught a very mild cold (turns out my allergies weren't just extra bad those days, I guess) and it's kept her from progressing the last week or so. They had moved her down to a low-flow cannula and she was doing well, but because of all the nose-suctioning they were having to do, her nose was bleeding. So they moved her back up to the high-flow so she would be getting humidified air to help her nose get better faster. 

She has been on room air (no extra oxygen) since this morning at 1 liter of pressure. She'll probably be put back on the low-flow cannula tomorrow and they'll try and decrease the flow little by little until she's off. She's made huge progress since yesterday, so maybe she's decided the NICU isn't so cushy after all!

I've got my fingers crossed that she'll be home in 1-2 weeks! I can't believe how close she is! Thank you all for your prayers on her behalf!

Lately.

Sydney's off the CPAP as of this morning.

She could potentially get put back on if she struggles on the nasal cannula, but hopefully she's off for good!

This was taken yesterday, during her last "hat check."

And here she is with me (and my cra-zay-zy hair) today, rocking the nasal cannula.

Can you believe I posted a picture the SAME DAY I took it!?

I can't wait to see her tomorrow and see how much the shape of her head has changed. :) The hats they use to keep the CPAP positioned are really tight (for obvious reasons), so Sydney's head is a little bit oblong. Her eyes should "un-puff" now, too, that they're not being squished shut by that blasted hat.

She gained two ounces last night, landing her at a whopping 3 lbs 8 ounces!

Most babies get to leave the NICU around 36-37 weeks gestation, which leaves us 3-4 weeks left.

WOW.

6 down. 3-4 to go.

But DANG! Ain't she CUUTE!?

Emily is starting to get into all sorts of mischief. 

She's gonna be a climber, just like her mommy was.

(Sorry, mom!)

She's totally thinking, "Shoot. Do I run, or act cute and innocent!?"

She still LOVES Enchanted.

Please observe the elbow dimples.

Best seat in the house.

Until daddy brought in the camp chair, that is. 

Yes, I'm working on trademarking her thighs. Don't be jealous.

Oh--what is Daddy up to, you ask?

Well... he keeps busy. 

You know. With the important stuff.

Reach.

Often times when I'm drying and/or straightening my hair I will put Sesame Street on for Emily. 

This song was on today's episode, and it brought back so many memories. It was on the show when I was little, and I remember loving it. 

It made me want to "reach" and "stretch" more in my own life.

Funny how much our "flexibility" diminishes as we get older.

Sometimes... I knit stuff.

And it's awesome.

First project. A little rough around the edges, yes. If I could go back I wouldn't choose crazy-bulky yarn. Not the easiest to learn on.

Project #2. Everyone needs a big fluffy monkey, right?

Projects 3 & 4. For the nephews' birthdays. I have lovingly dubbed them "Fire and Ice".

For the other nephew.

And my latest project... Just for fun.

I'm halfway-seriously considering selling these on etsy. I'm allowed to, even though I didn't write the patterns, as long as I give credit to the lady who designed them.

So tell me this. Do you think people would actually buy them???