An Early Visit from Santa

Much to our delight, Santa made an early visit to our house this weekend! He let us know that he'd be in the area, so we invited a few friends and neighbors over to enjoy his company as well. Initially, Ella was a little frightened, but once he flashed a sugary sucker her way, she calmed down and even gave him a high five. Earlier in the week Jeritt took advantage of his remaining paternity days, and we spent some time as a family of four. One morning he took Ella to soccer, as they missed it last weekend, and another morning we all took a trip to a local play cafe to meet up with Ella's buddy, Morgan (she calls him 'Morgy'). Jack continues to be a great baby, still sleeping a lot and hardly making a peep unless he's hungry. Ella seemed more interested in him this week, asking to hold him a lot. She's a great big sister, and we couldn't be happier with our little man!

Santa came to visit!

He even brought Jeritt a present. And Jeritt may have been more excited than any of the kids about Santa's visit!

Morgan and Ella, best buds.

Our sweet baby boy.

Check out the dimples on this good-lookin man!

Ella's friend, Bennett, came over to visit last weekend and did a great job holding Jack.

Big sister and little brother.

Jack's First Week

As a heads up, this will be the greatest amount of photos we ever post to the blog. But with it being Jack's first week, we have so many to share! To back up, we were discharged early from the hospital and came home on Monday afternoon. Soon after, we all realized that Ella was suffering a pretty nasty cold. Watery eyes, cough, and more snot than anyone should ever have to deal with, she was miserable. This made getting to know her new baby brother rather difficult, but fortunately, she was more interested in his tiny diapers and how well they fit on all of her baby dolls and stuffed animals than the snuggly newborn in the house. Grandpa C. (now known as 'Papa') left on Wednesday afternoon, and Grandma C. stuck around until Sunday morning to help us out. And what a help she was! Jack has been a fantastic baby so far, sleeping a ton and hardly even fussing when he's hungry. In fact, he's got his mama worried about his lack of interest in eating during the night, and I've lost more sleep trying to wake him up to nurse than anything else. On Friday night, Jeritt and I took Ella to the Zoo Lights display at the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was a nice night, and it was good to spend some time alone with her. On Saturday, Grandma V., Aunt Jill, and cousins Ava and Reid came to meet Jack. We played and hung out all afternoon, and then enjoyed brunch with them at Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kristin's new house on Sunday morning. All in all, it's been a quick, good week, and it's hard to believe Jack is already one week old. Monday is my first day flying solo, but thankfully Jeritt will have a few more days off this week to help me out. Stay tuned for week two!

Grandma and Ella at the park on one of the nice days.

A pitiful picture, but it illustrates how miserable she was.

Aunt Jill meeting Jack.

Ella riding the Zoo Lights train.

Cousins!!

She learned this from her dad.

Eating cake for Grandma V's birthday, or as Ella calls it "happy day."

Grandma playing with her grandkids.

Mommy and Ella watching a little Elmo.

Ella tickling Ava.

Ava with her new cousin. 

Grandma V. and her latest grand baby.

Reid holding "Baby Jack."

Grandma C. protecting Jack's soft spot.

Just another meal with Ella...

Wearing his mommy's 'coming home from the hospital' outfit.

Rabbit and Moo Cow got plenty of diaper changes this week.

Grandma C. and her first grandson.

Aunt Erin and Jack.

Grandma C. and Ella having a tea party. Please note Ella's choice of outfit.

Me, Ava, and Jack.