3 Months Old!

Height: 22 inches

Weight: 11 pounds

She sleeps through the night every once in a while - we are working on making it a consistent thing.

She's starting to teethe really early.

She is now in the averages for her size so clothing is fitting exactly as it should.

We are so excited to celebrate her first Thanksgiving this coming week.

We cannot imagine life without her.

She loves rattles and mimicking others' facial expressions.

Her swing is her favorite place to nap and she loves being held to fall asleep.

Winter Delay

It's been too long. I know this. I can't believe I've let it get this out of hand. With work starting, driving all over the metroplex everyday for the saving-money-so-not-starting-child-care-until-December-grandparent-shuffle, and school work, my life has been a blur lately.

Work is great. I love my job! I am with an incredible University (with incredible benefits), and can really see myself potentially growing with them into their vision of the future. It's nice having a bunch of wonderful people to socialize with - I've missed that from working from home.

I'm afraid the rest of this year is also going to fly by and I think the lack of blog entries might continue. I am so sorry in advance. But the holidays are always busy any way.

Today Elayne turned 3 months old. 3 months. Can you believe it? It feels like she's been here forever and just got here all at once. As we put up clothes she can no longer fit into, removed the infant hammock from her bath tub, and packed up the pack 'n play from the living room, we realized she is growing fast. She changes every single day. More on that with her 3 month post, which will be posted soon.

We are under a WINTER STORM WARNING from noon tomorrow until noon Monday. I'm hoping if the roads get too terrible that school closes or delays Monday. I am not a fan of driving in rain, much less sleet - and I drive on some pretty tall bridges in DFW. I did talk with my boss Friday and he told me to go in as late as I need to in order to stay safe. So there's that.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow. It's so cold outside, and the precipitation tomorrow is going to make it even more winter-like. We've had a fire going since this afternoon, I haven't left my cozy clothes, and the crockpot has gotten a workout. Tomorrow will be much of the same.

Stay warm north Texans!

A New Chapter

Wednesday will be my first day back at work. Meaning, I will no longer be staying at home with my beautiful baby. It's going to be harder than I am thinking it will be. I keep saying I'm ready and bored and ready to put my mind back to work. However, coming Wednesday, I will likely be singing a different tune.

I have been blessed to be able to stay home with Elayne for 11 and a half weeks. That's a whole lot more than most moms get. I've gotten to see her grow so much and start coming into her personality.

I've been able to keep up with the house cleaning and laundry. It seems like it all piles up every day. Who knows how I will fare now… I bet our house will be a lot messier. Especially since free time will be spent with our baby girl instead of chores.

Elayne will be shuffled between her Nana K, her meme/gg/grandpa, and her aunt Heather over the next two and a half weeks. Then she starts child care on December 2nd. It worked out better to shuffle her around and save a bunch of money since the thanksgiving holiday falls in the middle of what we'd be paying for.

I'll be just as nervous for December 2nd as I am for Wednesday. Even though I LOVE LOVE LOVE the place we have chosen, it'll still be hard to let her go.

This is just the first of many many many many many times to come where I have to let go and let her grow up.

Weekend Adventures?

This weekend, Phillip will be heading down to Wurst Fest in New Braunfels for some much needed "guy time". It'll be quite lonely around here, but I figure it will give me a weekend to prepare for my new job starting Wednesday.

Therefore, Elayne will be heading to my parents' so I can have uninterrupted time to get stuff done. And by "get stuff done" I mean that I will be rushing around for two days straight.

I have a to-do list a mile long. While I will miss my baby girl, I need to get some rest before starting the 8-5 routine I haven't done in almost two years. Plus, I will be scrubbing our entire house from top to bottom (ceiling fans and baseboards included) and getting as much homework done as possible to prepare myself for the holiday season.

Sounds exhausting, right? Sounds like I definitely need the husband and baby gone for the weekend to prevent distractions, right?



…There is also a slight chance I could forget the whole list and spend the weekend napping, taking lots of bubble baths, and watching Netflix marathons...

EMPLOYED

I start November 13! As in a week from today! I am too excited about this opportunity!

It all happened so quickly, bloggers, and I love it. I applied about two weeks ago, had two interviews, and now I am employed!

I will work for the wonderful Parker University in Dallas. It was once called "Parker College of Chiropractic" but with their University accreditation coming in 2011, they changed their name to reflect a bold and ambitious future they are embarking on. They now offer health degrees from Bachelors to Masters, plus the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and Massage Therapy certificate. Every year from here on out, they are also adding numerous new degrees and programs. It's an exciting time to be a part of this University.

I will be the Administrative Assistant for the Dean of Student Affairs. It's the perfect way to blend my student affairs experience with my passion for health. I get to be the receptionist, first line of communication, and assistant to the Dean for all students in the health field. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Best of all, my new boss (the Dean) is very awesome and appreciates career development. His mission is to help all of his administrative assistants move on to bigger and better things. What a great boss!

I cannot wait to start!

Elayne will be rocking the grandparent/aunt shuffle for the rest of November and then starting childcare December 2! More on that in another post.