Three Weeks

It is hard to think it has been almost four weeks since Chelane was born. In some way it is still surreal not to be pregnant anymore and in others it feels like she has been here forever and I couldn't imagine out lives without her. Here are some pictures of the last week.


Chelane likes to be very awake for a few hour stretch in the day, so we take advantage of that for some tummy time. Dallas can't resist Chelane on the floor. He will always lie down next to her (like this) and watch. He is usually very gentle but sometimes he likes to roll over...

He is being a great big brother and helper to me. He not only fetches me diapers but he is my little alarm. Since my hearing isn't terribly good (and the last few weeks with this cold it has gotten temporarily worse) sometimes I don't hear timers go off downstairs if I am upstairs, or Chelane crying if I am in the laundry room. However, I can always count on Dallas to run to my side and point to the offending noise so I can go take care of it.


This is our little angel. Very wide-eyed and adorable if I do say so myself. Karma came up to spend last Saturday with us and she said she had definitely gotten longer and "chunkier". She seems to almost be too long for most of the newborn size clothes she has. She is such a cutie.

The Plan

I guess just so everyone knows, Cam has decided that is the Seattle job falls through we are going up to Seattle for school anyway (he is going to go to GRCC and finish his associates and then see where he wants to go from there). He isn't even 100% sure he will take the Seattle job, or wait for it if they aren't hiring right away, anymore either.

We already applied him to GRCC and he was accepted. He is tentatively thinking about physical therapy or sports medicine stuff. It look like either way we are planning on being up in Seattle area by the end of March at the latest. THere are still a lot of details to iron out but we have started the process for applying for grants and student loans, now we still need to find a place to live and get Cam (and possibly me too) are part time job. Please keep your eyes open for good part time jobs and/or cheap 2 room apartments if you could (Jen, how much was rent at the complex you and Dane were at that is right down the street from GRCC?)

Fun Times Around the House

So i figured we were WAY overdo for a baby picture, although this isn't the best... I mean Chelane looks great but I have nice circles around my eyes (which I always seem to have) and the really bad eyebrows, I need Jen to shape them again and then I PROMISE to keep them up. She seems to have really open, bright eyes when she is awake. I know you can't see them in this picture, but her eyes are a deep blue right now. They may continue to get lighter, but I think I can safely say we have another blue-eyed child.


Dallas rediscovered Toy Story 2 (he had completely mangled the DVD, there there are about 5 chapters in the middle that have to be skipped because it freezes every two frames; but he is still watching it) and it is the only movie he will happily watch for the last 3 days and we can't seem to interest him in doing anything else (he has taken short breaks, but he always come back to the TV). I guess when you are watching the same thing over and over you have to find different ways to make the experience new - at least that is what I think the idea behind this was...


Anyway both kids are doing great. Dallas cries more than Chelane does... And he has figured out how to take his pants off, I know big discovery. He ran out of the room last night (where he was, surprise!, watching Toy Story 2) without them on and streaked to the bathroom while signing "bath". Sorry I wasn't fast enough with the camera to catch that one, it would have been a good date picture (as Cam puts it - showing the picture off to girlfriend in 15 years) for later...

Another Short One

Portland is a no-go. Cam got the news this morning, so he is applying for the Seattle position. If that doesn't go well either we are still planning on moving up for him to go to school, probably after Christmas sometime.

Also I finished the "Twilight" series last night, I stayed up a little late to do it... I didn't get to bed until almost 1am, but luckily Chelane is deciding to do her long stretches today. She didn't get me up the first time until about 5am and hasn't gotten up again yet (it is almost 11am - I am going to wake her soon if she doesn't rouse). I liked the books, the last one made me cry (all the parts where she is preparing to send off Renesmee and thinking they will all die, it tugs at a mother's heart strings).

Well I should get back to my amazingly perfect children, Dallas is eating Honey Bunches of Oats in milk downstairs with a spoon (still, hopefully) and I need to see how much damage has been done to the kitchen :/

E*Trade Makes Me Happy

So they put off the starting time of the Portland position another week, so that is another week of waiting. Also the Seattle position opened, but we have no idea when they are wanting to fill that by. Cam is also struggling with the decision of either applying to these jobs or just forgetting about them and planning on school full-time.

I am only about ready to pull my hair out, but it is no big deal :)

"She's Perfect"

... At least that is what the doctor said at her 2 week check-up today. Ok, ok he actually said, "She looks perfect." Yeah I know that is a slight difference.

She seems to have grown a quarter inch (up to a whoopin' 20.25" now) and they weighed her at 7lbs 10oz (she was 7lbs 1 oz at birth). I do have to enter a caveot here, she had her diaper on when they weighed her and since I use cloth diapers it added a bit more than a huggies would have. However, the docter and I agreed that the diaper wasn't adding 10oz, more like 5 or 6, and therefore she was still up to (and a little past) her birth weight. So I can breathe easy, it looks like the kid knows what she is doing as far as nursing goes!

Sorry, no cute picture to put with this one... I'll try harder next time.

It Snowed

Yes, here we are in October, poor fall has only been happening for about 3 weeks, and we get snow... I guess in snow's defense it is melted already...


I have always associated snow with winter and Christmas, and while the snow makes me a little happy because of that connection, it is also making me sad when I realize how far away Christmas still is.

I think I am going through some past-baby emotions. Sometimes I am feeling just super and then little things either set me off (temper-wise) or start me crying for no real reason. Having only one car makes it a little worse since I can't go out and about during the day (although I don't know how much of that I will want to do, at least not for a few months, trying to handle two kids by myself doesn't sound terribly fun); and while sitting at home, being able to relax and read (I am on book 3 of the "Twilight" saga, Mom bought them for me when she came down to help with Dallas) while taking care of the munchkins is very nice I know I am going to get a little stir crazy without adult interactions... So keep posting and commenting so I feel like there is at least SOME connections with the outside world!

I really love this picture of her... Sorry you are going to be getting random baby pictures posted up here for a while I think.

I feel like I should write something...

but I can't quite decide what. With a new baby around there should be tons of stuff to write about, I guess I am just feeling overwhelmed at it all.

Dallas is taking to his new baby sister very well... sometimes too well. He figured out how to climb up on Cam and mine's bed (which is quite a feat, the bed is only an inch or two shorter than he is and to accomplish this he balances on the bed frame and gathers fists full of our blankets to hoist himself up) which isn't bad except sometimes I put Chelane on the bed and leave. I can be gone for only a few moments and Dallas will almost always have scurried up on the bed. He really just wants to hold her and play with her but he doesn't know his own strength nor the special care she requires.

Today Mom and I (I am very lucky to have Mom here to help with everything around the house and keep my company, I know I will be lonely when she leaves) were showing Dallas how to play catch with his ball. It is one of those $3 plastic balls from the big bins in a Wal*mart. You know, the really thin plastic ones that are about 9" in diameter and even if you chucked them with all your might it still wouldn't hurt whoever you were aiming at. Well he really loved it. Later that day I brought Chelane downstairs and put her in her swing while I made some dinner (Chelane decided to be awake from about 2:30 to 5). Dallas was running around, once and a while pushing the swing alittle or caressing Chelane's head or hand. I then turn to see him running across the room with his ball that he drops onto her lap. Luckily the game ended there, he removed the ball and had no interest in trying to play catch with her any longer.

Dallas has also developed a dislike for loud noises. I notice I tend to raise my voice often and for really no reason. When I do this Dallas will "shush" me. He also will "shush" if Chelane is crying (which only seems to happen if I have let her get hungry or she is in the middle of diaper change).

Chelane has started to do some long stretches at night. Last night she ate alittle after 10pm, so i was expecting her to wake me up around 1 or 2am to eat again. When she started to cry it was past 4am. I am trying to wake her up every 3 hours during the day (she does it herself anyways, I just encourage) to make sure she is getting enough to eat to justify longer stretches at night (I like those longer stretches). She is also producing enough diapers that I am not too worried about her not getting enough. I will admit I am scared to have a Dallas repeat (failure to thrive at the 2 week appointment) although she doesn't fall asleep nursing after 5 minutes the way Dallas did, so I am hoping we have this nursing thing figured out.

It is very nice to be able to be at home and relax. I was out and about a lot after Dallas was born (Cam's family was in town and my family was in town... not to mention moving when Dallas was 5 days old...) and I think that contributed to my failure to figure out nursing with him. This is a nice contrast.

Oh I kept debating on if I should say anything about this, I am getting sick of the uncertainty to be honest... So Cam didn't get rejected for the Portland job. He hadn't had any email or any contact from the Portland manager so he sent him a company IM on Monday. Apparently they have filled 2 of the 4 positions with locals (non E*Trade people I am guessing) and the manager in Portland is fighting with Human Resources about something (he couldn't say what) before he fills the other two positions (I am guessing with E*Trade people). So hopefully we are still in the running and Portland can happen. Ah, if I only had patience...

Well that is most of the exciting stuff around here. I should carry the camera around the house with me and shoot some pictures to post... posts without pictures just seem to be no fun.

Events This Last Week

Well Chelane finally came (yay! she just couldn't wait another day for October!) and she is absolutely adorable. Cam and I have taken to her right away. She is a very mild baby. She is sleeping for three hour intervals between feedings and isn't awake very often yet. I have been nursing her and she seems to be having enough diapers to suggest she is eating a good amount, I guess we will see for sure at her two week check-up. Here are a few pictures.


As for Cameron's job... He hasn't heard anything all week so he is figuring that he has a rejection email sitting in his inbox at work (he can only access his work email at work). We will find out "for sure" on Monday, but for now he doesn't have it. We are both pretty bummed about that, but it just looks like he is going to start throwing his resume out there and see if anything turns up.

Dallas has started to try to take his clothes off *sigh* He apparently didn't want to be wearing his shirt (I think this was Monday, the day before Chelane was born) and was trying to get it off. Luckily the shirt stretches or "un-stretches" when it is washed.


Apparently Dallas has become accustom to cameras and has decided on a certain face for his "smile." When we pulled out the camera to try to get pictures of Chelane while she was awake Dallas walked in front of it and gave us this priceless face.