We call her Mellow Elo.....

Well, we have made it through nearly 2 weeks at home after the arrival of little Miss Eloise! It seems fitting to be doing my first post on Eloise on my official due date. So far it has been a smoother transition than expected mainly because Elo is in fact quite mellow : ) It has also been incredible to have the help of gracious people. My parents were here together for the first week before my dad left & we now have my mom with us until the 21st. Jenny got us jump started on a super clean house while we were in the hospital & we have enjoyed some delicious meals delivered by some families at CCC.

Back to the new addition....

She is absolutely precious, just as we imagined she would be. She is relaxed spending much of her time snoozing on one of us or snuggled in her cradle. She loves being swaddled until she wakes up & then you can hear her grunting as she fights her way out. Luckily with my 6 years of work experience as a Labor & Delivery Nurse, I am a master swaddler & she has been unable to escape so far : ) She has more hair than Charlotte did & it is just as dark as her Daddy's hair which I love! She makes the absolute sweetest noises whether awake or asleep. She has earned herself the nickname "Wheezy" with her wheezy sounds that come out every now & then. She is a fabulous & super fast eater weighing in at 7lb 7oz. She is pretty consistent with eating going around 2.5-3 hours during the day, cluster feeding for a couple hours in the evening followed by a 4 hour stretch then a 3 hour stretch at night. In fact, the last three days have been almost identical as far as time of feeding goes. She looks similar to her sister sometimes but she looks like Eloise!

Here is the sweet one I speak of....

She has received more kisses from her big sister than all of us combined. On the other hand she has had multiple near misses of being sat upon, having her eyes poked out & her arms pulled out of socket while being forced to do the hand motions to Twinkle Twinkle. We have also rescued her from a cheerio that was placed lovingly on her lips by sweet Charlotte. Big Sis likes to be up close & personal ALL the time. It really is precious to see how much interest she has in her. She likes to hold her & asks to nearly every time she sees her. She also screams "Bay-be" with a little Texas twang as she runs into our bedroom every morning. When you ask her what her sister's name is, she responds with "Bay-be," We say "baby who?" & she says "bay Eh-wheese." We can't hear her say it enough so we ask her about a million times per day. She doesn't seem to mind. The other thing that Charlotte is doing that gets constant laughs from us is copying every noise that Eloise makes, sweet sighs or little growls, they are all hilarious.
Eloise got only 2 mini baths before her umbilical cord fell off. This may cause you to think it fell of rather quickly. In reality, the small amount of baths she got was because I am a bit busier now with two, even with my mom helping. Her cord just fell off on Thursday & she got her first real bath in the whale tub. Here are some pictures from her first mini bath.

The big helper loved dipping her washcloth in the bowl & pouring water all over the counter, chair & floor with a little on baby Eloise. I love her willingness to care for her sister : )

Here she is happy as can be after getting snuggled in her towel while we played beauty shop. She loves having the top of her head under the running water to rinse out the shampoo.

We ventured out alot the first week with either Char or Elo but our first trip with all four of us in the truck was on Sunday when we went to church. It was SO fun to get them buckled into their seats & drive to church with two little girls. I know it may sound a bit silly but having two kids in my backseat is something I have looked forward to. They did great, no screaming from either mouth.
It was wonderful to have my Dad in town with us. Charlotte really enjoys spending time with him & he seems to not be able to get enough of her. My parents took Charlotte all over the place during that first week at home. Usually one outing a day including the Splash Pad, Animal Kingdom Lodge & Cocoa Beach. This was really helpful for me & Rob to sneak in a nap or some time for the two of us to snuggle Eloise. Charlotte enjoyed getting out & spending time with her grandparents. She calls my mom "Gaga" & randomly started attempting to say "Pawpaw" but it usually came out as "bop bop." So, Lady Gaga & Bop Bop stayed quite busy between entertaining Charlotte & catching some time with Eloise during their week stay together.

I have the best mom & I hope that many others feel this way about their own mother. She has served us with the most joyful heart since the second she got to our home. She has spent countless hours in the kitchen, playing with Charlotte, helping Eloise fall asleep, making sure my water cup stays full & that I am resting. She keeps telling me that we would have been fine without her but I would say that it could have been a rough entry into life with two! My favorite part of having her here is seeing how she loves my girls. I have said it before but it is a glimpse into how she loved me & my brothers when we were young & it is beyond sweet. Her encouragement means so much to me. She is constantly telling me that I am doing a great job & that I will continue to do so after she goes home. She is also honest as she has mentioned more than a couple times that she suspects I will be very tired for awhile : )

Here is the beautiful Grandmother with her newest Granddaughter.

Robby is LOVING having a new baby around....especially another girl. He loves to steal her away & snuggle her real good as we say. He smiles so big when he walks in to seeing her awake & looking around when I am holding her. He runs a close second to Charlotte in the amount of kisses he gives to Eloise. He tells her how beautiful she is & how much he loves her. I am more than excited to have him leading us in parenting two girls.

Daddy & Elo

What delights a mommy & daddy the most in those early weeks of little sleep? Sweet smiles from a precious little one. We love you Mellow Elo!