Now and then...

It's hard to remember how small our Eloise was when she was born.  She is doing such a splendid job growing! 


Here's Eloise is at ten weeks old with her cousin Elisabeth who loves her very much. 

 

Here's Eloise the day she came home from Tacoma General.  She was three weeks old. 
See how much she's grown?   Look at the extra room above her head and by her feet. 

Eleven weeks old and so happy! 





One week old!  (I think she may be smiling here, too!)



For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

 

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret,

and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

 

Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand:
when I awake, I am still with thee.

~Psalm 139:13-18

Baptism

On Sunday Eloise Joy was baptized along with her friends Isabella Jean and Madelyn Adele.  

Eloise was baptized by Pastor Williams, her Great Uncle.

"Through Baptism God has added you to his own people to declare the wonderful deeds of our Savior, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light."

Eloise is now ten weeks old! 

Our Breakfast Banquet

Saturday morning we had an open house breakfast.  It was wonderful!  I'm sure we'll be having many more! 

Helpers came early for hands-on training.

Helping takes many forms!

Here is the master chef:  multi-tasking!

The eggs-in-a-nest were a definite favorite.

We are blessed with lots of friends.

Nate cooked bacon, on these girls' special request!  (Varying levels of refined taste!)

More friends!

More helping?  :-)

Brothers in Law & Gospel

This picture makes me think ahead to when Eloise is a bit older.  I'm thankful we have so many friends to help us in raising her in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

More friends!

Aunt Naomi - the 'dotingest' aunt ever!

Guess who stayed to clean up?  It was another party for George, Jordan, and Jim.



One of my favorite parts of Saturday is watching Nathaniel with Eloise.  There is nothing like it.
We are so blessed. 



You are cordially invited...

This Saturday, December 11th 2010, we are hosting a breakfast in our new home! 

It will be an open house breakfast, beginning at 9:30am and continuing throughout the morning. 

Our family ~ Thanksgiving 2010

Part two:  Since I haven't posted in a week (and a lot of people are informing me of this gross neglect) I will add an update here.  Last week Eloise had checkups in Tacoma on Monday and Wednesday, followed by her eight week checkup in Olympia on Friday.  She did very well at all her appointments.  At her eight week checkup, Eloise Joy weighed an incredible six pounds, eleven ounces!  This means she's gaining about a half pound each week!  She also received her two month shots!  Ouch!

Part three:  We are always looking for new recipes to try.  If you have one you think we might like, please share it with us.  If you have eaten something exceptional at a restaurant, please tell us about it.    We want your ideas for breakfasts, appetizers, main courses, beach food, etc!   

Home Sweet Home

We are officially moved into our new home!  I'm so thankful for my husband who worked and continues working so hard to buy our home and make so many improvements.  All weekend he was tirelessly moving load after load from the duplex to the new house, finding and fixing leaking plumbing, and countless other tasks - many of which I'm probably not even aware.  Now, it is Monday morning, so he is again at work, while Eloise and I sit snugly in our new house and watch the snow fall. 

The nursery is very cozy.

I love how Eloise sleeps with her face on her hand.  (I really think she has her daddy's chin!)

Here's the kitchen.

Here's the living room.

And of course, Grandpa & Grandma Williams' house is right next door!

Buying diapers & saving $$$

If you have a baby or toddler in diapers, you may want to check out Amazon.com/mom. 
After paying for diapers at the grocery store, I decided to shop around a bit for the best deal.  Costco doesn't sell preemie, newborn, or size 1 diapers, so I won't be buying there for Eloise for some time yet. 

I decided to search the internet for the best deal.  I came across Amazon's Mom page - something I'd never heard of before.  Not only are the diapers a little less pricey, but if you start a 'mom' membership (no fees or dues), you get an extra percentage off and free 2 day shipping.  To make a long story short, I spent $27 (incl. tax) on 168 Huggies newborn diapers, when I would have spent at least twice that buying locally.  These savings could really add up! 

Like the lepers in the book of Kings, I did not want to keep this to myself.  I started thinking of all of my friends I wanted to tell, when my wise husband told me to blog about it! 

5lbs 11oz!!!

Now we can really say Eloise is getting big - or bigger, anyway!  When she was born, our baby girl weighed 3lbs 15oz.  In the first few days, she dropped to 3lbs 11oz.  Now, at six weeks old, she weighs 5lbs 11oz!  (She is still ten days from her due date!)

She is definitely 'filling in' now.

Eloise has graduated into a new size of clothes - from preemie (left) to newborn (right). 
While newborn clothes are still tiny, they're a lot bigger than preemie clothes!

Nursery Comfort

Last night the carpet was installed in Eloise's room.  Our baby nursery is getting to be very cozy!.  The carpet is so soft and very comfortable.  I know now that it's worth the price we paid  (of which I had been very skeptical).  Of course, Nate told me all along that it was worth the price and that I would really like it.  When will I learn? 

I am very thankful to have such a loving husband who wants such good things for Eloise and me. 

Helping Uncle Chris install the carpet

 


"Raise your hand if you like the carpet!"



Eloise is wearing a day gown her Grandma Williams made her.

Kitchen Cabinets & Countertops - At last!

After two and a half months, our kitchen is beginning to look like a real kitchen!  It's a good thing, since we want to move in next weekend.  :-)

I love how the sunlight streams in the new window. 



I think the color of the granite does a very nice job of tying all of the elements together. 



One month old & growing!

Eloise is one month old today and she's growing!  She had a checkup today.  Now she weighs 4 lbs & 15 1/2 ounces.  That's a whole pound more than she weighed when she was born, which means she has gained a quarter of her birth weight in one month.  Dr. Steinweg gave her a very good report. 

Here are some pictures of our 'big' girl! 

Aunt Veronica made these pants.

Grandma Williams made the hat, sweater, and booties.

Doesn't she look cozy?  (and there's room to grow)

  

Working on the kitchen...

We've been making progress on our kitchen this week.  It's really starting to come together and look very nice.  Our goal is to move in before Thanksgiving! 

Planning meeting.  Notice the cabinets in the background. 

Eloise even has a part in making the house ready. 

I think she's a favorite 'break time' occupation!

Grandpa loves Eloise.

Installing the beautiful flooring

It's nice having a contractor in the family. 

Will this giant refridgerator fit through the kitchen door?

It takes some trickery...

and a lot of man power!  (Good thing we have brothers!)