Elliot's 1st nutcracker ballet!

So, when all the ballet moms suggested that we take our budding ballerinas to the nutcracker performance, I thought it was a perfect idea! Me and Elliot spending what feels like adult time together now that I have an infant, getting dressed up and walking around downtown after dark and having a fabulous dinner and skipping and holding hands and then pirouetting all the way back to the car. Most of which happened but she really seemed more concerned about why they didn't sell popcorn than the beautiful ballet! She would yell what sounded like "BO BO" after every dance (I finally figured out that she meant BRAVO!) and then would look at me eagerly asking if it was over, to which I replied "no and could you please whisper?!"
When it finally was over she stood up and yelled "yay, we can eat!". She did dance all the way back to the car and our burritos were very fancy:)

Awesome big sis!

Elliot loves being a big sis. She wants to help me do absolutely everything. She even says things like, "mom I love my baby sister so much.". I will remind her of this when Delilah is stealing all of her things like only little sisters do:). Elliot's transformation into big sis is pretty good. Our only hiccup is her inability to sleep alone. Last night she slept all through the night without getting one of us (Danny) up at all. I admit that there might have some "Santa is watching you" bribery...harmless right? Anyway, it worked. Delilah's integration into our air breathing family has been good. We found out after a couple of weeks that my milk production was not keeping up and she was continuing to lose weight. We started supplementing and she instantaneously gained her weight back. I am finding the mothers milk tea is helping my production. Right now it is a system that is working and providing Danny with some baby bonding time that he didn't have with Elliot who has never had a bottle ever. She is starting to smile and I've caught some giggles while she is sleeping which is the most glorious sound. She still loves to be held, who wouldn't? But she seems to hate being in the car. This was the same with Elliot and it was just awful the first few months. I can't remember when it got better...locked away in a deep corner of my mind. Having two with this makes me think that something is wrong and it's not just a personality flaw. I'm looking into it and will get back with what works (because something will dammit!). I'm hearing a lot about switching carseats and reflux and about some poor people who are still somehow dealing with it 2 years later...please oh please let this be a quick phase! It's pretty stressful to go anywhere with a screaming baby. Other than that mama trauma, she is delightful and darling. Knowing how much I love my Elliot regardless of what we went thru with her as an infant helps. I lnow that everything is temporary and to grasp on to every little moment because they grow up without you even realizing it. I love my sweet girls.

1 month old!

My "little" baby girl is one month old now. I can hardly believe it. The month leading up to her birth was excruciatingly long and now I have no idea where the last month went. My guess is that my lack of sleep due to a cute newborn and an adorable almost 4 year old who now gets up to remind us to sleep with her every time she realizes we aren't in her bed anymore...has stolen my ability to grasp real time. But even in our sleep deprived state, we are enjoying our newly expanded family. Elliot is an awesome big sister and just wants to hold her and hug her and kiss her and help me to everything with her. The only complaint would be that she loves her too much:) Delilah is getting more alert and we've gotten some smiles but we aren't sure if she means them yet:). Kyla and Logan both live her too. Logan has taken a bit because he really wanted a boy and I think Kyla might love her the most because she looks a lot like her. But she also looks just like Danny and really I think she looks just like elliot as a baby with lots of dark hair.

2 weeks old

Yesterday was Sehra Delilah's second week with us:). We are getting to know each other more and more everyday. She likes to sleep a lot during the day and a little less at night. Not sure how to flip flop that cycle but in the meantime, I am trying to catch some zzzzz's wherever I can. When she is awake, she is getting more alert. Her collarbone seems to have healed. She is moving her arm pretty good now which is nice not to be afraid of hurting her when dressing or picking her up. Looking at her I feel like we've known each other a while- could be that she is so familiar looking very much like Elliot and daddy and Kyla:). But she has expressions that remind me of holding my sweet baby Elliot. So far her temperament seems calm as long As she isn't hungry which is an issue we are in process of working on. She had been steadily losing weight though she ate constantly. We have started to supplement her feelings and build up my milk supply to hopefully then be able to eliminate the supplement all together. 1 day after supplementing, she gained 1 1/2 oz. back!! She is at 9 lb 8.5 oz. Hoping to have her back at her fighting weight of 10lb 3 oz this week. She is super cuddly and cute:). A perfect addition to the family.

12 days old

Ah, asleep. Now my turn.

Elliot's 1st Shiner!

When Elliot started walking a little before she turned 1, she really just started running and she did it with such flair by not looking where she was going or just going too fast that she always had some sort of boo boo on her face/head. I'm afraid she might have gotten her clumsiness from momma...anyway- though she still falls numerous times a day with her 99% of the time jumping up and exclaiming "I'm OK!!" and her bumps and bruises are typically on her shins and knees. But a couple of days ago she and Logan had a bike/body collision and Elliot got her first big girl shiner...poor baby. It's really not too bad.

Day 9 with Sehra Delilah

Today has been a wonderful day spent doing not much else besides nursing baby D. She has been so hungry or not feeling well and I am becoming the human pacifier. But we did get to have a picnic out in the backyard in the warm November sunshine when elliot came home from school...And this is what that looked like...mmmm.

1 week old

Baby Delilah is here with us for one week now and it's wonderful, exhausting, and all things newborn:). She is doing a lot of sleeping all day and a little less at night...good thing she is so freakin cute! She really is a good little girl who so far looks just like daddy.

Sisters

I am officially in love with my daughters. Elliot has been amazing in this transition. I was so worried about so many things and she has been patient, understanding, and so loving to everyone. Not that I don't recognize that we will run into some hiccups along the way, it has only been five days:). But so far, I couldn't be more proud of her and her seamless movement into big sisterhood. She is just awesome.

Sehra Delilah 5 days old

It's a Girl!

Test

38 weeks and ready to bust!

First Haircut...seriously.

So, Elliot will be 4 years old in January. It took her at least 2 years to grow enough hair to put into pigtails (by that, I mean she had two rubber bands in her hair) This last year her hair really started growing and I knew that she needed a haircut because she had never had one. Not even a snip. Elliot loves to have her blown dry with the big round brush which loosens her curls and makes it soft and long "like rapunzels". Though when I do this, i notice that the ends of her red hair are blonde and very sparse and see through. Hard to notice most of the time because of her adorable little curls. So finally, I made the appointment to get her first hair cut. I got mine done first and then Danny brought her at the end so I could take 400 pictures of her getting her hair washed...i don't know...everything is just that cute through the eyes of a mom.

Thank you to Jami Redlinger at The Middy for being so great with her. Elliot did awesome! She absolutely L.O.V.E.D. it. The surprising things that are more fun than I could have ever imagined. I simply adore her.

Ok, so how about 3 or so weeks later??

Well, I am not living up to my promise of once a week but so far am beating my every other year pace.
I am 35 weeks and waiting.
While I wait, I will fill in the last month or shall we call it the birthday bananza??
1st...Logan turned 9 on Aug 28 with a pool party with his best friend and family. It was great to be able to mark the end of summer with a bbq pool party:)

Next up was Elliots 1st day of preschool, which has been amazing. We absolutely adore her teachers and she is really thriving. Everytime I wonder whether or not I made the right choice, i find her singing a song or telling me about a story that I did not think to teach her. Not to mention, I am pretty sure she loves it!

Next up...Kyla turns 16!!!
Amazing to me because 16 doesn't really feel that long ago...I know it was but I remember so clearly being her age. We spent the evening at PF Changs and then to eat some of froyo at one of the many new places to have exploded on the asheville scene!

Then of course we've got Danny's big 3-9 this year:) He went to NYC with his sisters, Laura & and Kimmy. Laura was the nicest big sister ever and treated them to the finer things while they were there:) I've been to NYC but not quite like that. He had a great time. And while he was flying home on his birthday, I was at the carolina/green bay game with Brooke enjoying VIP seats and watching Brooke enjoy the VIP beer tent:) Very Fun...Happy Birthday my darling:)

Back on the Train...

So I am officially the worlds worst blogger...I am going to try to be better so I have this to help me remember all of the wonderful and crazy things that go on in life that you always seem to forget as time goes by.
First off, we are expecting the fourth and what we are calling, the final addition to the family:) Estimated due date is the beginning of november - I am 31 weeks now and already have a very large belly and a fabulous waddle to prove it...uncomfortable, hot and sweaty to say the least...9 weeks and counting:) But I must say, it really has gone by pretty fast. This pregnancy has been different from Elliot's. With Elliot it was basically a breeze. I wasn't sick or tired or uncomfortable until the very end. Though elliot did give me adult acne and super thick curly and darker hair...weird, i know. With this baby, I was super nauscious for the first trimester and very tired. But...my face has been clearer than its been in a long time and my hair is actually straighter, but I am super achy and tired (yes, it could be my age:) I am getting to the point where I am really ready to have the baby so I can meet him or her! Though I have those moments of realization that my life is going to change drastically in a way that I can't even know until it happens. Elliot and I have such a good groove and I am about to throw a very big wrench into that!
Another big change for the Scullys is that we decided to sell Beans & Berries Cafe this past winter. It was a decision we came to after realizing the only thing we talked about was work and we were always stressed. We were so busy but never really getting anything done. Both businesses and our family/home were suffering because of it. So...we let it go. Though we were really proud of it and i definitely miss eating there, it never felt wrong. We are much simpler and happier. It certainly doesn't stop Danny from constantly coming up with our next business venture...but at this point it is purely talk:)
The kids are amazing as always. Kyla, 16 in two weeks, has her permit finally and is driving...not used to that yet at all. She just started her junior year and is more beautiful and smart than before (not sure how its even possible) She is playing on her travelling soccer team right now and has been put on offense which I am sure they will not move her from since she scored 4 of the 7 goals in last weekends tournament. She's a superstar!
Logan, 9 on Sunday, has just started his fourth grade year and he is growing up so fast! He looks just the same but bigger:) He is going to be a very big boy:) Poor guy spent the beginning of the summer with a broken collarbone from a scooter accident. But he healed fast and has been jumping off the diving board like a madman since. He is also playing soccer this fall which he loves. Birthday party this sunday...swim party - oh yeah!
Elliot, 3 1/2 going on 13, starts her first day of real preschool tomorrow morning! She is such a big girl now and talks and acts like her big sister and brother. She does it with her own special flair but oh my goodness she is my little clown! She played soccer this past year if thats what you want to call it...more like kick the ball and start crying when someone took it from her. She still asks to play again but I think we might wait until spring soccer. We have enrolled her in a ballet studio which she loves! It is more adorable than I could have ever imagined. I literally was doing everything I could today to not cry. I am overly emotional, yes, but I don't know if I have been more proud or in awe of my little girl. I will not be a stage mom - i will not be a stage mom - i will not be a stage mom. She is free to quit at any time. But she really does seem to love it so far. Of course, the attention span of a 3 year old might resemble that of a goldfish.
I will be posting pictures to try and backlog my blog...so try to not get confused with random pictures posted:) I will close out the first chapter of my novel and will make the commitment to blog once a week from here on out...hahaha.