Monday, December 7, 2009

October/November

Hi all! I'm so sorry it has been so incredibly long since my last update... I could rattle off a bizillion excuses but it really comes down to, I just forget!! Imagine that.. ME? FORGET?? Charlie is almost 3 months! I can't believe it! She is growing into quite the cute little lady... well she hasn't really gotten the lady part just yet, but she TOTALLY nailed the cute part! Since my last post, she went dr. chi again for her 2 month check up on 10/9/09 and weighed a measly 9lbs 2 ounces! It just isn't fair! How come when I eat every 2 hours my butt gets huge but she eats every 2 hours and hardly gains a pound... it just isn't right! Dr Chi didn't seem too concerned though... He said all of her food goes to her head because that is growing and that she is going to be a doctor and go to Harvard... and I finished that thought with 'ON A SCHOLARSHIP!!" She also grew 3 inches!! She is incredibly long... I guess that is from her daddy:) He also heard a heart murmur, but didn't seem too concerned. I'm amazed that the man can hardly hear me when I am asking him questions yet he can hear a little blurp in her heart beat:) But I have heard this about him, so I am thankful he heard it so we can keep an eye (ear) on it! Halloween came and past and my little babe was the cutest bee I have ever seen! I'll post a few so you can see too:) She recently went through a growth spurt and was painfully reminded of how difficult it was in the beginning with NO sleep and her eating every hour!! Thank goodness it was only a few days! Of course my darling timed it perfectly with me going back to work, so unfortunately my coworkers had to deal with me working with a partially functioning brain... but if you were to ask them, I'm sure they would agree that this is a common thing! (now i have an excuse to have no brain.. B.C. ((before charlie)) I had to use the good 'ol dumb blonde

excuse!! I've officially worked 3 days now, and it isn't as bad as I thought it would be... I mean miss her incredibly, but I'm thankful for the little break I get... I'm sure I will be devastated when she starts doing her 'firsts' with someone other than me! But until then, I am A-ok:) Besides when I get home I get all the cuddle time I want crunched into a few hours! Well, Char should be waking up soon, so I gotta get going.. Will try to post soon

Monday, October 12, 2009

Update on Char

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! It has been difficult to find time to sit down and relax... I am told my mothers everywhere to get used to this! Charlie is doing well. She had her first photo shoot and yes, I know I'm as biased as they come, but she is def model material!! She is too cute for words! We have seen Dr Chi several times since my last post to monitor her weight gain. She finally reached her birth weight on Tues (YAY!) but according to the doc its 'no good enough'. She should be gaining an ounce a day at least and she is gaining slightly less. How? I have no idea because this little oinker eats every 2 hours for an hour at a time (please refer to the beginning of the post where I said it is difficult to find free time!!) On a positive note, Charlie has the cutest little giggle! Whatever she dreams about cracks her up! I'd love to know what they dream about at 3 weeks old... clean diapers? boobies?? Either way something tickles her funny bone:) My poor little monkey is very gassy... go figure!! I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...hehe (note: I am referring to her father here!) So she isn't always the happiest, sweet, angel that she can be, to say the least. She certainly gives her mommy a run for her money! So I am on a strict diet of only 'warm foods' which as I learned has NOTHING to do with the actual temperature of the food you are eating! It is a form of eastern medicine... it seems to be working. I think you are officially up to date with Charlie's status :)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Doctor Visit

Charlie's 1st trip to the doctor wasn't as bad as I expected. She stayed relatively calm while Dr. Chi was examining her. She did lose some weight... she is only 7lbs and 4 oz now. The doc said this was normal, but wants us to come back next week to make sure she has put on some weight. In his HEAVY chinese accent he said, 'you owe me 1 ounce every day'. She did grow 3/4 of an inch though!! According to those growth rate averages, she will be 5'9'' when she is 20! I hope they are wrong!! Poor Char will be a mammoth! Dan said she can be a model then... but I said she will have trouble finding a boyfriend... Dan said 'Exactly!'.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Some more pics :D



She is so wide-eyed! Dan says she looks like a bug, but i LOVE this little face :))

Dan and his babies <3 Dan and his babies <3[/caption]

Sweetest picture of Charlie and her cousin Conner :))

Charlie on our way home from the hospital
Charlie on our way home from the hospital

Just a quick update before my sleeping beauty wakes up... I only have 2 hours before she morphs into a terror! I swear she has an internal clock that when it strikes 12:30 AM she turns into a little beast! You'd never believe it by her calm demeanor during the day, but Dan can attest to it! (as can my mom and Dan's mom which have been taking turns sleeping over to help out) I have no idea what we would do with out them. Charlie has her first visit to the doctor tomorrow, which after choosing him, I learned Dr. Chi was also Dan's pediatrician at one point... yea I know what you're thinking 'How old is this doctor?!?!?' The answer is pretty old, but with age comes experience, right??? I'm sure it will be a mission bringing this little chica out of the house...

Sunday, September 13, 2009

It's a Girl!



As most of you know, we had a baby girl, Charlie Grace Russell. She was born on 9/9/09 at 3:43 PM and weighed 7lbs and 13 ozs and is 20 inches long. She arrived on her due date... clearly she did not get her punctuality from her mother! The doctors and nurses were amazed at that head of hair! I have to be honest, I'm a little jealous! She has beautiful thick black hair and I haven't wasted any time putting little ribbons and bows in it! Our pups are adjusting fairly well to our new addition. Finn could careless, in fact he leaves the room whenever she cries! Eska on the other hand is obssessed. We had a long talk the other day about how Charlie is my baby, not hers! Still, I think she may be a little confused :) She will not leave her side. And when Charlie gets upset, Eska barks at us as if to say 'What are you a bunch of morons?!?! She's hungry!!!" Even though we are slightly sleep deprived (excluding Charlie Grace, but including my Mom and Dan's Mom) we are all doing really well. I cannot believe how much I love this little munchkin already... I guess it's true what they say, you can only truely understand the magnitude of a mother's love until you become one yourself. There will be more pics to follow... I have to get Dan to upload them and I will bombard this blog with zillions of them!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

You really can't make this stuff up!!!

After a long afternoon of relaxing and preparing for my new babe's arrival, I had an appointment for an exterminator to come to check out these moths that have been flying around. Turns out they are Indian meal moths. Never heard of them, but apparently as per Mr. Exterminator, they are very common and equally difficult to get rid of as they arrived via a package of pasta that had eggs in it (ew!) The bug guy tells us that we need to clear out EVERYTHING in my kitchen and cabinets so that he could come back in an hour and spray. We need to be out of the house (including the pups) for at least 4 hours... unfortuntely this is only the beginning. While my mom, dad and I are cleaning out the kitchen (Dan went to the dog park just before hearing this news, convenient?), verizon wireless finally calls me back on our houseline to figure out the issue with my phone as to why I can't send and receive picture messages (obviously a necessary feature in the upcoming days!) but oddly enough, I can't find my cell phone. The VERY patient technician waited for me to call my cell in the hopes of finding it where ever this scatterbrain left it... well, you'll never guess who had it... the bug man! We have the same phone and when he saw it on the counter he thought it was his... Finally for once it wasn't me!! Now I had to explain to the technician what happened... She prescribed I get some sleep before this baby comes, and I quote "sounds like you really need it!". I told her I was going to do just that as soon as I packaged up my kitchen. Wrong again! Apparently physical labor brings on a different kind of labor... yep, I got my wish, my contractions are currently 8 min apart and are lasting roughly 1.5 min... I'm beginning to wonder why I wanted this so bad!! I'm done rambling now... its officially 9/9/09, the day I get to meet my little baby:)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Still no baby...

Just a quick update... It seems baby Russell needs some coercing to enter into this world. I've tried to will this kid out... but this baby is STUBBORN!! (I think he/she gets that from his/her Dad!) So tomorrow morning 8 AM sharp we will be at Saint Clares in Denville where the induction will begin! Hopefully by this time tomorrow Dan and I will be parents!! Eska and Finn are going to be sooo surprised when we leave tomorrow and 3 of us come back instead of 2! (we are hiding all sharp objects from Eska!!)

Monday, September 7, 2009

Hola!

Hi All!! I know I am going to get made fun of relentlessly for starting a blog... but hey, I want to be part of the 21st century!! I thought this would be the easiest way to keep intouch with friends and family without bombarding their inboxes with updates and photos of Baby Russell (and of course his/her furry siblings, Eska and Finn!!) We are still awaiting this little babe's arrival... if I said patiently it would be a lie! We are SO ready to meet this little boy or girl!!