5.25.2011

Our baby boy has arrived!!  He actually arrived about a week ago, exactly one week before his due date!  I will post a birth story later, when he isn't  fussy in my arms!  Here are some debut pics!

Introducing:  Elliott Oliver

Born May 25, 2011 at 10:52 am

Weighing 7 lbs 3 oz and 20 inches long

Nursery Update

Well, things are almost completely ready for Elliott's arrival!  He is full term, and we are just eagerly waiting his arrival.  I am trying to get through the rest of the year at work before he comes -- we have two more weeks left!

Yesterday we finally picked out a dresser for his room, but it won't arrive for 4-6 weeks!  Fortunately, we don't have to use his crib for a while, since he will be spending at least his first month in the co-sleeper in our bedroom.

His baby shower was on April 30th, and it was so amazing!  We felt an overwhelming amount of love and support from our friends and family.  He received so many thoughtful, sentimental, home-made gifts!  What talented friends and family we have!  Our friend, Jenn, made Elliott a crocheted dog doll.  When she informed us that it was an Ollie dog, with head tilt and stubby tail included, I lost it.  Tears were flowing all around.  I know that Elliott will love that Ollie dog replica.  Octavia made us a beautiful hand crocheted quilt for tummy time!  My grandma made us an extremely soft, green, hand-knitted quilt for cuddling in the cooler months.  Chris' great Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jack hand quilted an I Spy quilt!  He also received a hand-knitted quilt from a past neighbor of mine when I was growing up.  My sister-in-law made the most AMAZING mobile with hand felted forest creatures.  All of my closest friends were there as well as my closest girls from KU!!  Monique came all the way from Colorado, Jackie and Roy from Dallas, Heather from Houston, and Andy and Andrea came from Atlanta!  Shawnee came down from Kalamazoo for the occasion as well!  I was so touched that they all made the trek just for Elliott's baby shower!  It was a great, busy, reunion weekend.

Nursery (Sorry it's blurry, I blame it on the hunger shakes)

Another view of the nursery

Blurry closet

Crib with beautiful prints given to us by Belen and Drew

Crib full of clothes and Bum Genius diapers (yes, we are planning on cloth diapering -- go green!)

I Spy quilt from Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jack

J'aime's beautiful mobile

Nancy's hand knitted quilt

Octavia's tummy time crocheted quilt

Crocheted Ollie dog from Jenn K

Print from Tiny Showcase and Elliott bowl thrown on the wheel and glazed by Chris

Elliott at 34 weeks!

The one benefit to having elevated blood pressure has been that I get a "free" ultrasound that I would not have gotten otherwise!!  Today, we got to see Elliott in 3D, and we find him to be pretty darn cute!  The sonographer estimated that he weighs about 5 lbs 6 oz which puts him in the 54th percentile -- almost smack dab in the average range.  Only 3-6 more weeks (depending on my blood pressure) until he makes his debut into the outside world!!!!

Snuggled in

The sonographer informed us that he has a bunch of hair which was floating around in the amniotic fluid!!

Chin, lips, nose

2D profile -- what a schnozz!

Referred to by the sonographer as the "turtle", here is his manlihood for all the internet to see!

Happy Birthday . . .

Poodle in the sky.  We miss you very much!  You would have been a whopping 8 years old today.  I hope you are running around the fluffy clouds and celebrating with doggie cake.

Florida Dreamin'

Nothing like having some delicious citrus to brighten up the Winter blues!  This Key Lime pie recipe from Emeril is DELICIOUS and EASY!!  I made one for my Sister-In-Law for her Birthday, and everyone loved it!  I urge you to make it the next time you need a touch of tropical in the drab of a Midwest Winter!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick butter) melted
• 2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
• 1 cup key lime or regular lime juice
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime zest

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan, and bake until brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before filling.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the cooled pieshell. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie using a spatula. Sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.

He Bares the Cone of Shame!

Oh, our poor little Escher.  We decided to go ahead and have his stomach tacked when he got neutered.  Stomach tacking is a procedure that is usually done in emergency situations when a dog's stomach flips upside down (gastric torsion), which is what ultimately resulted in Ollie's death.  However, it can be done as a preventative measure, and we wanted to reduce the risk of a repeat of Ollie's tragedy.  Sadly, this is what had to happen (Warning: don't continue to scroll down if you are squeamish about wounds):

That incision consists of 24 staples and is at least 7 inches long, and that is in addition to the incision from his neutering which is just some internal sutures.

Poor buddy.  He is tolerating the "cone of shame" very well, but we all can't wait until he can take it off. He is terrorizing Wembley with it, slamming into the backs of our knees with hard plastic, and scratching the paint off the walls as he runs into the corners.  He's a mess.

My baby jumped ship!

I don't know what it looks like on your computer, but my widget that has the baby countdown looks like our baby left the womb!  All I can see is this long umbilical cord and the baby is off in cyber space.  It's a little disturbing!  I want my baby back!  Mmmm, ribs . . . I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs.