Thursday, April 30, 2009

Eliana's First Week

Well, everyone... you asked for more photos and information, so here you go! Ellie and Jonikka were released from the hospital a day early (on Friday) because they were both doing so well. Our first day home we pretty much did nothing except stare at her. :) Saturday we relaxed at home. On Sunday, Nick ran the 5 mile Ice-Breaker race in Great Falls and did great! On Monday, we ran a bunch of errands to get Ellie signed up as a dependent on the military base for insurance purposes and whatnot. Grandma Bev arrived on Tuesday night during the largest blizzard we've had all winter - 25.4 inches of snow over 2.5 days! We stayed inside over the course of the storm which has thankfully finally let up and is now all melting again (now we get to watch for flooding - oh yay...). Ellie has been just a joy to her parents and has lots of little expressions! She's had a few rough nights, but did AWESOME last night and Jonikka is hoping for another night like last night!

Things we've learned about Eliana during the first week:
1.) She sleeps like her father - with her mouth open to catch flies!
2.) She is not fond of bathtime except when she gets to wash her hair under the warm water - She LOVES that!
3.) Wait to change her diaper until after she eats, otherwise you'll be changing it twice.
4.) She HATES being rubbed down with lotion.
5.) She's a really good eater and is filling out nicely.
6.) She has her daddy's long fingers and toes.
7.) Ellie has mean parents who dress her in dorky snowsuits and put her outside in the snow!
8.) She has a fussy awake period for 3-4 hours every day which her mama dreads when it occurs during the middle of the night.
9.) She loves being cuddled by her Grandma Bev (and mom, and dad, and pretty much everyone else who holds her).
10.) She's the cutest little miracle in the world and we are totally in love with her!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The long awaited babe has arrived!!!

Hello everyone! We would like to introduce you to the newest member of the Marcus family:

Eliana Jaylynn Marcus!

Ellie arrived Wednesday afternoon at 12:29pm at the Benefis East Hospital in Great Falls, MT via a scheduled C-section (due to a complete placenta previa). She weighed in at 6 lbs 9oz and is 20.75 inches long. She is a small little thing, but already so loved! Nick and I are in a bit of a shock that she is actually ours and are finding it a bit surreal. She has a head full of the softest brown hair. We are totally in love! In case you are wondering about her name, Eliana has the Hebrew meaning: "God has answered my prayers" and Nick and I just felt that the name really fit. Plus Jonikka really wanted the nickname Ellie, so we fell in love with it. Jaylynn is both of our middle names combined.



Just wanted to give you all a quick update and let you know that mom and babe are healthy and doing well and dad is taking care of us both!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

The countdown is on!

So being that Nick and I have been pretty homebound lately, there's not really anything new to report about what we've been up to. Just the usual: work and getting excited for baby! But it has occurred to me this week that my days at work are limited - only 9 possible working days left! (My last official day is April 20th, assuming I make it that long.) While I am thrilled because this means that I will soon have a daughter to hold, I am also a bit sad because I really do love my job and I'm going to miss it.

On the bright side, we are pretty much set for this kid to get here! We have yet to install the carseat in the car, but otherwise are feeling pretty prepared. So with all the baby stuff done, we've been trying to enjoy our time together just the two of us by doing a date night here and there. I've also been working on travel plans for this summer, and started a new quilt. Nick bought himself the new Metallica Guitar Hero today and has been busy practicing that. It's really been quite low-key around here, but we'll make sure to let you all know when there is something to report!