She's Here! ...and already one week old!

Introducing Miss Lila Mae...

Lila was born Monday, November 21st at 12.56pm. She entered the world weighing 9 pounds, 10.7 ounces and measuring 21.5 inches.  She is healthy and perfect and we have been enjoying the time with her very much! 

Our first week with Lila has been super busy. We were in the hospital from Sunday, the 20th at 4pm until Wednesday, the 23rd around 1pm. All of the nurses and doctors were fantastic and we enjoyed spending time with many visitors once Lila made her appearance. She was able to meet all of her grandmas and grandpas as well as her Aunt Megan and some of her friends from Saint Paul.

We came home from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, and Lila was able to meet her Great Grandpa and Grandma Welsh. Thursday she celebrated her first Thanksgiving with her Grandma and Grandpa Welsh and Uncle Eric. Grandma Welsh spoiled everyone but Lila with delicious food. She'll have to wait until next year to taste all the goodies.

On Thursday night/Friday morning, Tony, Eric, and my dad went out to some Black Friday sales. They got some really good deals and I think had a good time (or at least a good time laughing about the craziness of the crowds when they got home). Later, on Friday, Miss Lila took her first shopping trip. She had a doctor's appointment right over by our mall, so we left the house a little early and stopped by a few stores. Lila loves rolling along in her stroller and riding in the car. At her doctor's appointment, everything checked out just fine. Her jaundice seemed a little worse, but we were told to keep an eye on it and since then she's been getting better each day. She weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces, which was already 2 ounces more than one of her check-ups at the hospital, so she's gaining back weight like she should be. At her appointment, she was in the 98th percentile for her height and the 90th percentile for her weight. She goes back for her next appointment on December 23rd...just in time for Christmas!

On Saturday, Tony, Lila, and I traveled out to Yorkville for the Dixon family Thanksgiving. Lila was able to meet her Uncle Dennis, Aunt Dawn, Uncle Jason, Great-Uncle Keith, and cousins George, Sharayah, Sam, Seth, and Simon. We had a good time celebrating with the family.

Then, on Sunday, Miss Lila Mae was baptized. After the baptism, we had a little gathering back at our house where she was able to capture everyone's hearts with her crazy cuteness. She did a great job during the baptism of staying happy and then stayed awake for quite some time back at the house so that people could get to know her a little bit.

That bring us to today, which is Lila's one-week birthday. We spent the day snuggling and relaxing...no appointments, no reason to leave the house, nothing on the calendar. It was fantastic! :) Here are some pictures from today of some of her favorite activities.

T minus 3 days...

Well, I have three more days of work until I'm officially on maternity leave. Baby Dixon hasn't decided to make her appearance yet, so I just keep going to work, coming home, resting up, and then heading back the next day. I do have to say that I'm getting more and more tired by the end of the day, but so far, so good. The suspense is killing me, though. I'm such a planner that I really want to know when to expect her arrival. That's just not how it goes, though. I have another appointment on Wednesday, so hopefully that will go well and I won't have to wait in a tiny little room for an hour like last time! I should really be writing thank you cards right now. I feel bad I haven't done them yet for most of the showers that people had for us. It's not that we aren't thankful because we most definitely are. The task just seems overwhelming to start. I guess there's no better time than the present. :)

Closer and closer...

Tony and I are both feeling time speed up on us these past few weeks. They have been filled with visits from friends and family, baby showers galore, unpacking and putting away things for baby, trying to wrap up loose ends of projects around the house, etc. It seems like the list of things to do is never-ending, and I'm almost positive it won't all get done. The good news is that we both know that and are ok with it...and take opportunities to just slow down and spend some quality time together. That's what we did today. We came home from church after taking time to get lunch together and just relaxed with some football. At times I feel guilty for not crossing things off our list, but at other times, I know that just being together sometimes is what's best for me, Tony, and baby Dixon. Here's to the next 4 weeks until her due date. :)

Yay Surprises!

I'm not really much of a surprise person. I usually find out what surprises are before they happen because I'm too curious to just let them happen to me or because I'm suspicious of people when they act differently around me. However, I have to say that I'm looking forward to two big "surprises" this weekend. :)

My wonderful sister-in-law has been lovingly planning a baby shower for me since almost the moment she found out that Tony and I were expecting, but she has kept the details other than the location and the guest list a secret from me. I haven't seen an invitation, I don't know the theme, I haven't heard about the games or food...and I'm excited to see what she's put together since I know she's been working hard and is pretty excited to get to use pink! :)

The second surprise I actually got last night. One of my friends from college currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and another lives in Madison, Wisconsin. I figured the friend from Madison would try to make it to the shower, but I didn't think the one from Baltimore would be able to make it (and I certainly didn't expect her to fly back for the occasion). However, Baltimore friend decided to use the weekend as a chance to come visit for a bit and Madison friend is coming to...and they are both staying overnight! :) It's going to be like a good old fashioned college slumber party since the sister-in-law, her husband, and my nephew are also staying overnight. I'm so excited to see them all and celebrate and spend some quality time in the same place, since none of us are very good about keeping in touch.

So, I'm trying to get through this week as quickly as possible so I can get to the weekend and enjoy all the surprises! :) Now if only I could stop checking on our baby registries to see what awesome things people are purchasing for baby Dixon! What can I say...I can't totally change my approach to surprises! ;)

It's Been Confirmed...

After our doctor's appointment yesterday and ultrasound, I'm happy to say that we are going to be welcoming a little girl in November...for sure. I have been suspicious since the first ultrasound as the tech seemed less than sure of herself back at 20 weeks. Yesterday, she had no doubt. Thank goodness because we have so many cute pink and little girl things! :) She somewhere between 4 pounds 12 ounces and 5 pounds 4 ounces right now which is between the 50th and 72nd percentile. Everything is growing exactly as it should be, so we are very thankful. I'm sure the next 7 weeks are going to fly by!

Weekend Fun!

Well, I spent two weekends in a row in Morton - the first for a baby shower with many Central Illinois family and friends and the second attending some Pumpkin Festival festivities and my nephew's 1st birthday party. Both were wonderful weekends, but I think I'll try to stay home for awhile to rest up after all the traveling. :)

I felt really blessed at my 1st baby shower (and really hot and sweaty while trying to open presents...this whole pregnancy thing surprises me sometimes as I used to always be cold). Tony and I received so many wonderful gifts from family and friends as we prepare to welcome our little baby to the world. I've been too overwhelmed by the generosity to even put any of it away yet. It's all just sitting in the nursery waiting for organization.

This past weekend's highlights were definitely pumpkin ice cream (thanks mom!) and celebrating George's birthday. It's hard to believe that he's already a year old. I still remember when he was born, so small and fragile looking. He's definitely grown and changed a lot. He's such an amazing little guy (probably because he has such great parents). Hopefully he and our little one will enjoy being cousins as they grow up! :) I'll leave you with a picture of George and the awesome tractor that Uncle Tony built for him.

Running Ragged...

It seems like the past couple of weeks have just been non-stop action, and I get tired just thinking about what the next couple of weeks hold for Tony and me. We are traveling all over the place, and the stresses of balancing work and home and other obligations are taking their toll on our tired bodies (due to my restless sleeping and incessant leg cramps these days).

On the plus side, we will have the chance to visit with our families this weekend for our nephew/godson's first birthday party, and I will get to eat some pumpkin ice cream! I know that we will survive; it's just that sometimes I wish I could stop time to just cross some things off of my list. :)