Stitch Fix #3

This is my third Stitch Fix shipment and I was honestly afraid to open the box. I told Brian that if I found one more purse, I was going to go ballistic! (I did complain last time, and was totally brushed off by customer service, assuring me that they pay very detailed attention to their clients' notes and feedback. Uh huh, right...) Think I found a purse?

No, thankfully there was no purse. :) Instead, I was pleasantly surprised with everything, and happy to see that they even included the right size jean this time! The third time's a charm they say, right?

I tried on the Just Black Adorra Skinny Jean ($88) first (pictured throughout this post), hoping to love them because I really could use a new pair. Unfortunately, they were at least 6 inches too long! The stylist wrote that they look cute cuffed, but I'm not going to spend $88 on jeans that aren't exactly how I want them to be. 

I then threw on the Pixley Edmond Chevron Print Henley Shirt ($54) since it totally caught my eye. I really like the colors, style, and fit. And it's really soft! Definitely keeping this one.

Next I tried on the 41Hawthorn Helix Pullover Sweater ($68). It's very simple, but also very soft, and I like the contrast between the dark purple and pink stripes. In person you can also see that the dark purple has hints of pink and blue threading in it. I have almost zero nice sweaters in my closet, so I think this is another keeper.

When I saw the 41Hawthorn Moni Abstract Chevron Stud Detail Blouse ($58), I almost gagged. It looked pretty ugly sitting in the box, but knowing that clothing can surprise me, I hesitantly tried it on. I actually think it's kind of cute. However, it is 100% polyester, and though it is unseasonably warm for late September, I was sweating within a minute or two of putting this on. I also think it's a little too formal and dressy for someone who stays home with two babies changing poopy diapers all day. So, it's going back.

Last, I eventually found a plain tank top and tried on the Market & Spruce Bri Knit Cardigan ($48). I almost didn't bother trying it on because I already have several thin knit cardigans similar to this one. However, I have always wanted a black or grey one because all of mine are bolder colors (royal blue, coral, navy and oatmeal stripe, hot pink, and teal). That leaves me on the fence. I don't find this one super special or anything, but it fits well and is very comfortable. Hmm.

So, I'm feeling much better about how this fix went, considering that I ended up liking everything. I'm feeling hopeful for what I'll see next month! If you want to learn more, or try Stitch Fix for yourself, you can do that by clicking here!

(Sidenote: I feel like I completely suck at taking pictures! Josey, how do you do it? Also, I hope you enjoyed Elodie's cameo between my legs at one point. And don't judge the dirty mirror. With two small kids I don't even bother wiping the handprints off. They'll just be there again in a few hours.)

13 Months

Army crawling, pulling to stand, waving hi and bye, shouting "tickle tickle tickle." Rocking life!

ONE! And Other Updates

I gave up on putting the sticker on her. Thank goodness this was the last sticker picture! What a challenge it has become!!

Per usual, I am way behind here. Elodie celebrated her first birthday (!) on August 16th. We had a very small party with the two couples who have offered the most support to us since Elodie was born. My mom and step-dad were also in town for the event. I wanted to keep it small because Noah's first birthday was too big and overwhelming for him, and I didn't want to repeat that mistake. I also tried not to take too many pictures, and just enjoy the day. My mom did so much of the prep for this party, and I'm afraid I never properly thanked her for that, so Thank You Mom!!! We did get Elodie a big cupcake for her "smash cake" even though I was fairly confident she wouldn't quite know what to do with it. She enjoyed the frosting and that was about it. I took the cupcake away before she got too messy, since cleaning frosting out of a baby's ears and eyes is an experience I only need once in my life.

Elodie made some HUGE gains in her gross motor skills just before turning one. She started turning herself around in a circle while sitting, modified army crawling, rocking on hands and knees, sitting up from lying down, and pulling herself to stand (using mostly upper body strength)! Since her birthday, the amazing progress has continued. She is now doing a full army crawl, leans forward from sitting to a four-point crawling position, attempts to scoot her knees forward, and is pulling herself to sitting on her knees, then can pull to stand from there using more of her lower body strength. One piece of big news I haven't shared is that I resigned from my position as a school psychologist, and started watching a 9 month old four days a week. She is a very advanced baby when it comes to her motor ability, and it is definitely motivating Elodie to learn new skills. It is so exciting to see such rapid progress, and I find myself constantly tearing up with pride. 

Elodie also continues to work on her communication skills. She waves in response to "bye bye", claps when she's proud of herself, mimics facial expressions, and has started to point a little bit. She can even do her "mean face" on command. It's adorable! She attempts to repeat some words, or so it seems, with "tickle" being her new favorite word to mimic. She also says a lot of "yeahs" and has recently enjoyed saying "mamama" in addition to all of her "dadadas." Finally! However, I haven't heard anything I would consider a "first word" since I haven't seen any evidence of her connecting meaning to anything yet. Elodie is also finding her voice when it comes to her opinions. Man this girl can scream! Don't make her mad, or you better watch out. She will sometimes lash out with smacks and scratches, and while I find it difficult to handle at times, Brian and I both appreciate that cognitively she knows what she wants and knows how to tell us!

Elodie is showing more affection towards people and objects with her improved motor skills. She likes to hug and wrestle with stuffed animals, and will also initiate this kind of play with me, Brian, and Noah. I love that she is able to come after me from across the room (usually by rolling) just to plow into me and giggle. With the increased affection I have also seen a huge increase in separation anxiety. Half the time I can't even cross the room to grab a fresh diaper without being met with wails. It's both endearing and exhausting!

In terms of her size, Elodie weighed in at 18 pounds, 9 ounces at her one year appointment. That is the 28th percentile! Her length was measured haphazardly as she was flipping out at that point in the exam, so she may or may not be 29 inches, which was around the 38th percentile. Her head was up to 17.5 inches, which was somewhere in the 90s as far as percentile goes. A little bit of a jump, but not a big worry to the pediatrician, so I'm not worried either. She wears mostly 12-month clothing, although 9-month bottoms fit better. We are still using size 3 diapers. She is still getting almost all of her nutritional needs from her g-tube and her interest in purees has plummeted. She is more interested in finger foods, but hardly consumes any substantial calories that way. I am in the process of weaning from the pump, and now only pump upon waking, and then just before the kids' bedtime. I want to keep at it until we settle Elodie on either formula or Pediasure. The dietician recommended Pediasure, but cautioned that she may not tolerate it as well as formula since it is more calorie-dense. So hopefully if we can start by cutting it with breast milk, it might make for an easier transition. We'll see. Her sleep is mostly good, but naps are changing. It's difficult with Noah's school schedule, since I have to pick him up right in the middle of when Elodie would normally take her afternoon nap. She is also spending more time awake in the mornings and taking her morning nap a little later, so trying to adjust her afternoon nap a little earlier doesn't work. Instead I force her to stay awake until after her early evening feeding, then put her down. The trouble with that is then she wakes up around 6:30, making it difficult to stick to her usual bedtime. I wish we could just make the transition to one longer early afternoon nap, but I don't think she's quite ready yet. I hope we'll figure out this new routine soon! 

As far as the rest of life goes, we participated in our first Hydrocephalus Association walk on August 9th and raised a little over $200 for the event. They made posters of all of the participants with hydrocephalus, and we got to keep Elodie's. So cute! It was really encouraging to see so many children and adults living full lives despite their medical condition. At one point I saw a young boy run past us and noticed his shunt. He looked like such a typical kid. I hope that will be Elodie some day!

Noah also started Kindergarten on August 18th. I haven't been all that emotional about it, unlike many of the other parents I know. I am mostly excited for him to continue to learn new things and develop into the amazing young man he is already becoming. Ok, so I did get a little teary as I drove to the school that afternoon to pick him up, but it was more of a "I am so lucky to have these kids" moment than a "my boy is growing up" kind of thing.

Noah's first teacher!

And yeah, as I mentioned, I made the very difficult decision to resign from my position as a school psychologist in August. Back in February I was presented with an offer to watch another baby 4 days a week. Her parents work with Brian at the high school, and it seems to be a great situation for all of us. Money is going to be extremely tight this year, which is really stressful, but I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to be a stay-at-home-mom during Elodie's early years. I always wanted that with Noah, but it never worked out. I will admit that being a stay-at-home-mom is way different and harder than I anticipated. This first year has kicked my butt and oh man do I feel like I never get a break, but it's worth it to see every milestone firsthand and know that Elodie is getting the best care available while she's still seemingly so fragile. I do miss adult interaction though!

I am sure I have forgotten many small details that I would love to capture, but finding the time to write this stuff down is getting increasingly difficult. I can't imagine I'll keep up with monthly updates now that Elodie is considered a "toddler," but I hope to continue to use this space as a place to document important memories for our family.