Memorial Day Weekend Festivities

So I totally got in trouble for not posting last weekend (happy Christina ...lol) but everyone needs a vacation and Eleanor and I had gone to Washington. Gavin unfortunately had to stay back in California because there's no rest for a car-guy during a holiday weekend -especially the first one of summer. So off to WA we went to spend a wonderful weekend visiting family, playing at the lakes, and enjoying a peaceful sunny weekend.

Then we got there and I remembered that it's never sunny in Seattle on Memorial Day weekend. 

First on our trip was a day at the family campsite by Lake Stevens. Eleanor had been there before by this time she could walk and play and eat twigs (no joke, she tried a few times). Too bad it was too cold to swim but we enjoyed our time worth Dad, Jen and the kids watching movies and making s'mores. 

The only downside to camping was sharing a bed with Eleanor. That girl wiggles and jiggles and scoots all over the place! It was already uncomfortable on the converted table, but kiddo wouldn't stop until she was right in my spot, pillow and all. Little Dr. Cooper in the making ...

Sunday we spent a day out at Papa and Nana's on Mason Lake. Seriously, I packed all Eleanor's swim paraphernalia but we didn't get to use any of it due to it being too cold. Major bummer. But we had an awesome time hanging out with the family -especially watching all three of the little girls interact with each other. 

Monday and Tuesday we didn't do much. I went and saw Pitch Perfect 2 with Jennie and Michelle. It was a good movie, but nonetheless it was still a sequel and we all know the sequel is rarely as good as the original (Harry Potter, LOTR, and Avengers are amazing exceptions in my book). It was a good girls date that involved waaaaaay too much candy, but a lot of laughs, especially from Michelle who always laughs super loud during movies. Plus, my Dad for some good papa-granddaughter time in. Tuesday was even more chill with a visit to Papa and Grandma Gill's house in Enumclaw. Eleanor entertained them by running around the house for over an hour and playing with Toby the cat. She also got to play the piano and play in a box Grandma got for her. Great day for a 14-month-old. 

Alas, we flew back to Gavin (and sunshine) on Wednesday morning. I have to give a shout out and major kudos to TSA at Seatac Airport this trip. They were incredibly helpful getting me and Eleanor through security, which always the most stressful part beside the flight itself. Props to Alaska Airlines too; they're ALWAYS super helpful and this flight was no exception. 

Cheers! 

April: the month of Eleanor (and other stuff)

It's been over a month since I posted (Where was my reminder Christina??) I'm gonna have to make a habit of doing this weekly, and i promise to try and stick to it this time. Really. I swear.

April was a hectic month in the Gill-Smith house. We had Eleanor's birthday in Seattle, multiple family visits, and then a little adjustment for Gavin's new job. We'll go in chronological order to make things, well, logical.

We flew back to Seattle for Eleanor's first birthday. Gavin and I couldn't believe a year had passed since that crazy day(night) in the hospital. I remember the first 24 hours of visitors and doctors and nurses, then the slowest drive home we've ever taken (Gavin swears it everyone was driving like a lunatic that day), and finally it was just the three of us. It doesn't seem possible that a year has passed since then. We celebrated the milestone, and the fact that Christin was in town, to have family photos taken by Jamie/JLV photography. she has taken some amazing photos of our family and didnt disappoint for Eleanor's one-year-old photos.

See! I told you they were awesome! Eleanor's birthday party was the same day and the theme was "Somebunny turns ONE!". We had colorful cupcakes, bunny decorations, and little Easter baskets for all the kids -complete with bunny glasses, bubbles, and even bunny crackers. And so many people came to celebrate with her, my parent's house was jam packed full of people. I'm pretty sure Eleanor's favorite part was her cake, but only after we cut a slice off for her. there was no getting her fingers dirty for this girl.

The following day was Easter -the other reason we went home that weekend. We went to church in the morning and then spent the day with the family, finishing the day and our weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Wendler's for Easter dinner. We were on the early flight home Monday morning, since Gavin still had to work that day.

So, while we got to fly home, Dad, Jennie, and the kids hopped in their car for a nice long drive down to Folsom! They spent a week with us, sightseeing and enjoying the great California weather. We went to Six Flags discovery Kingdom, Folsom Prison Museum, and Alcatraz. It was really fun to spend so much time with them after being gone for two months. After they left we had a couple of days until we we got to enjoy more visitors: Papa and Nana Johnson! They were on their way up from Arizona for the summer and spent the night not too far from us. Gavin took a day off work and we spent the day together relaxing and catching up -though I'm pretty sure they were more excited to play with the baby all day. 

The surprise to round out the chaotic month was the news that Gavin left the dealership he was working at and is now a finance manager at Roseville Kia. This dealership is a bit smaller than the one he came from, but he seems to like the people and there are a lot of opportunities for him to try new things and learn more than he knows now. He gets along with his new coworkers really well and his commute is shorter by about 10 minutes. the only downside is the long hours, but those are a little offset by his guaranteed 2 days off now! like I mentioned earlier, its an adjustment, but one we are fully capable of making -we are a pretty good team after all.

That rounds out our April. Crazy, chaotic, and jam-packed, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Great Trip, Great Grandparents, Great Week

The past 2 weeks have been quite eventful for our family! We flew cross country with Eleanor so she could meet Gavin's family in Nashville, TN. Then Eleanor got to finally meet her great-grandparents, Papa Russ and Nana Tunie (now known as Gigi), for the first time. Our girl handled her crazy week like a champ too.

Our trip to Nashville was a fun surprise for Gavin's family -especially his mom, who had no idea we were coming. It was a hard secret to keep too! Lol. Eleanor was the perfect baby flying to Tennessee -we flew 3.5 hours to Dallas and then hopped over to Nashville form there. Not a single peep out of our girl the entire flight. When we got to the airport in Nashville, Gavin had his mom come meet us at the baggage carousel, but since she didn't know Eleanor and I were coming it took a few seconds for her to notice me standing there with the stroller. When she finally did notice, her reaction was AWESOME! There were joyous shouts and tears and I'm pretty sure we jumped up and down a little. Candy picked up her granddaughter and didn't out her down all weekend. Lol. She said it was the best Mother's Day present she's ever gotten.
 
We spent about four days in Nashville, going to Marlana's High School graduation, meeting a bunch of Gavin's family, and spending some time exploring the city. Eleanor did pretty well meeting everyone, but she sure didn't take to the heat and humidity very well. We all had a rough first day acclimating ourselves to it. Haha! I did come away form the trip with some great memories and an awesome souvenir -my first pair of real cowboy boots! Candy thought they'd be a good memory and she was absolutely right. I tried on about 8 different pairs and settled on a beautiful pair of brown boots with a bright blue embellishment. Unfortunately we had to head back home Tuesday afternoon. Again, Eleanor was a champ on the plane, and didn't make a sound until we landed in Seattle -her ears were popping like crazy when we landed and she made sure the back end of the plane knew she wasn't feeling very good. Our poor girl.

Eleanor's adventurous week didn't stop there. Friday she got to meet her great grandparents, Papa Russ and Grandma Tunie (now known as Gigi -for great grandma). Papa and Nana were completely smitten with Eleanor, their third great granddaughter this year. We spent a few hours at the lake house with them and I got some great pictures and a nap. Successful visit if you ask me. :)

Third week's a charm ...

It's been three weeks since Gavin and I brought our tiny little love bug home and I'm happy to announce she's still alive and in one piece! Haha! The first two weeks were full of trial and error as we figured out this whole child rearing thing, but I think we finally have the hang of things (at least we feel more comfortable in our new role as parents). Since I didn't really post anything other than pictures (see the last post or my Facebook and Instagram accounts ... Eleanor is everywhere) here is a quick overview of the last three weeks, plus a bit about us before she made her debut:

Pre-Eleanor: Gavin surprised me by bringing home a new Jeep Grand Cherokee about three days before Eleanor arrived. While it was very sad for both of us to see the truck traded in, the Jeep is a great vehicle to haul both human and furry child around. About 4am Thursday morning I woke up feeling very weird pains in my abdomen. I wasn't convinced they were contractions until about 7am, when I decided to wake Gavin up and start getting ready. We had so much to do still! Eleanor wasn't due for another week! Gavin installed the car seat in the Jeep and made sure our bags were in the car, while I washed a load of baby clothes and packed the baby bag. Unfortunately the hospital was in no rush to admit me and sent me home for a few hours to cook a little more. By 7:30 they determined I was in enough pain (re: dilated to 4cm) to admit me and 10.5 hours later (after the longest 20 minutes of my life) I pushed out a tiny, gooey, little angel.

Eleanor Anetta Smith was born at 6:05am, weighing 6lbs 14 oz and 18 inches long. She was perfect.

Lucky and Eleanor meeting for the first time.

Week One: We got her home from the hospital safe and sound. Gavin is convinced that no one knows how to drive and everyone drives waaaay too fast. Thankfully Gavin took a week off work and our little family got used to a new routine and a new life. Of course we didn't really sleep and every little burp, hiccup, and spit up was fretted over for the first few days. Nursing was a challenge to learn for both me and Eleanor, and Gavin soon got the hang of all the Daddy duties before he unfortunately had to return to work. Lucky took a protective interest in his new little sister. He also fretted over every little noise she made, which was super cute to watch.

Eleanor and Grandpa Jim II (haha!)

Week Two: With Gavin back at work, Eleanor and I worked to get on a routine of sorts and kept trying to figure out the whole nursing thing (it's not as easy-peasy as some people say it is). We had our first public outing to the mall with Grandma Jennie and Auntie Michelle, which helped ease this new mama's nerves. Her 2 week doctor appointment also went well. Eleanor had lost a bit of weight after being born (all babies do I guess) but was now up to 7lbs 9 oz! We also found out that Eleanor might have reflux, because she spits up a lot when nursing, but it isn't too serious so we give her a natural remedy called gripe water to help ease her tummy and keep her from getting too gassy. We also had our first adventure into Seattle with her for my dad's birthday. While that was a pretty tiring trip for us all, it was nice to spend the day with my family.We also had Eleanor's newborn photos taken! (See the preview below!)

How I'm blogging right now ... I've got this mom thing down.

Week Three: We finally found a routine that works pretty well for us. The age-old advice of "sleep when the baby sleeps" is the best advice and I've learned to follow it for the most part. Eleanor and I spent the week just chillin for the most part. all three of us had a fun two days during Gavin's days off. Gavin and I even got to have a little alone time thanks to Christina and Josh babysitting for a little bit. Christina was in town for a week to see the family, introduce her boyfriend Josh (he's pretty cool), and meet her new niece. Gavin and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Azteca just the two of us before scooping up Eleanor for a family trip to the mall.




Oh! We also got her newborn pictures back from the photographer (Michelle Douglas is awesome)! I've posted a couple pictures to my Facebook account, but here's a little preview of them! :)

Picture post! Eleanor's first 10 days.

I've been slacking a little on my blog posts -having a baby takes up a bit of time. Lol. So to kick start the blogging again, I though you might enjoy seeing a few pictures of Eleanor's first few days in our world. Enjoy!