8 Weeks!

Miriam was 8 weeks old yesterday! She's still sleeping through the night for me (about 10 pm to 6 am) and is a very contented baby. She's gotten more alert and has been cooing (the sweetest sound in the world in my opinion). She likes her Baby Einstein floor mat and kicks around to the lights and music.

This is the best I could get for a smile. It will be fun when those smiles come more frequently!

What happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's...

The girls and I traveled over the river and through the woods to visit Grandma Mari Lee this weekend. We had such a good time! Michael was a groomsman in a wedding in Ohio and I didn't want to be alone with the girls all weekend long (plus, I was getting cabin fever!) and so we headed to St. Cloud. It worked out nice because Nicole, Michael's cousin, was having her high school graduation party and so we were able to attend that. There were several members of Michael's family at the party that got to meet Miriam for the first time.

On Sunday, despite the rain, we headed to Eden Valley to go to this farm. It has a petting zoo, a large slide, horse rides and a big bouncy thing. We didn't get to do as much as we would have liked due to the rain, but it was still fun. Eleanor mostly had fun seeing the animals.

Eleanor liked feeding the goats.

This was a little kitty area where the kids could go in and see the kitties up close. The big momma cat (not pictured) scared Eleanor a little bit!

She wasn't afraid at all to hold the kitty - I was more afraid than she was. Not a big cat person myself - sorry to my cat-lover friends!

This was the little bunny area.

She got to hold one of those too!

Chasing ducks!

Thanks again, ML, for having us this past weekend. We'll have to do it again!

Dare I say it??

I hate to even type this for fear that I will jinx myself...but, it must be documented!! Miriam, at 7 weeks old, has slept through the night for 2 nights in a row!! Thursday night it was 9 - 5 and last night it was 10 - 6:15. Incredible!!

First Smile!

At 7 weeks old today, I was able to capture a smile from Miriam! She's been smiling here and there since last week, but this is the first one captured on film!! As I've said before, she truly is a dream baby - very mellow and sweet.

Karma Karma & Janis Janis

My mom and aunt came to visit us over the last several days. As I've mentioned before, Eleanor calls my mom "Karma Karma." I think it's because Grandma and Karma sound similar to each other. Anyway, we also starting call my aunt Janis Janis just for fun! We had a great visit here in Rochester and Janis really enjoyed meeting Miriam for the first time.

Thanks for coming to visit us Mom & Jan! I have to give a "shout out" to my uncle Jim who I know has been checking my blog expecting to track his wife's travels! Hey Jim - will you come and clean my house one of these days??! :)

She's all girl!

We are quickly realizing (although it's been apparent since Eleanor turned 2) that Eleanor is ALL GIRL! She loves princesses, dresses, tea parties, babies, and sitting quietly either reading or coloring. It's just amazing (as I'm sure all parents can attest to) how children develop their likes & dislikes. And, generally speaking, they like gender specific things even if we don't push those things on them. Anyway, here are some shots of us having a tea party yesterday - with real water! Actually, we should call them "coffee parties" because she always says that she's pouring coffee.

Eleanor likes to help me water my plants. Playing with a hose is always fun for kids!

Of course, I can't forget sweet Miriam. I think I say that ("sweet Miriam") a 100 times a day because there could not be a sweeter baby! She has a very easy-going, calm demeanor. Also, I don't want to jinx anything, but at 5 weeks old she's only getting me up once at about 3:30 or 4 each morning. She then goes back down until about 6 or 6:30. What a dream!!!

A closer shot at her sweet little face!

We had a wonderful week as my sister-in-law Natalie was here to help me out. She took LOTS of pictures which I'll get posted at a later time. We also have a fun weekend with graduation parties to go to. I think I might be able to get away with very little to no cooking this weekend!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

4 Weeks Old! (on Wednesday, May 27th)

Here are a couple of pictures of our sweet (and I mean sweet!) Miriam exactly 4 weeks after her birth. I took these pictures last week. She is a cuddly little thing and is (overall) a very good baby. She has a bit of baby acne in these shots, but that has already cleared up!

Memorial Day (better late than never!)

Memorial Day weekend was chilly this year...but, that didn't stop us from going to a pool party! We were invited to our friends, Karen & David, to meet their children & grandchildren. Our friends Bill & Amy and their children were also there. One of the reasons for this visit was because we check each other's blogs and so it was a "blog stalkers" party! The weather was chilly & rainy, but the pool was a balmy 87 degrees! The kids (and Dads) had a blast!

Karen is on the right and Kate (her daughter-in-law) is in the middle. Kate has 2 boys, Isaac & Anders.

Enjoying the pool for the first time this year!!

Eleanor has Violet's life jacket & goggles on.

The other great part about Memorial Day weekend was that my parents were able to visit. They did quite a lot of yard work for us and we so appreciate that! Here is Eleanor with
"Karma Karma" planting flowers. (I regret not getting any pictures of Dad from this visit...next time!)

Additional pics...

I don't have time for much blogging these days...but, I thought I would post some more recent shots of Miriam. All of these great pictures were taken by my sister-in-law, Natalie, except for the last shot.

Miriam's first (OK, it was really her second!) bath.

Proud big sister!!

She's Born!

Introducing...

Miriam Grace Culloton

4-29-09 @ 5:11 am

7 lbs. 13 oz.

19 3/4 inches

Here is our new beautiful baby girl! Eleanor's first words (when she met her) were "she's born!" So, I thought that was an appropriate blog title. We're all doing great and Miriam is now home. All of these wonderful pictures were taken by our dear friend Amy. Thanks, Amy!

Soon...very soon

Well, as many of you know today is my due date. It's now almost 6:30 in the evening and I wouldn't be surprised if I go into the hospital tonight. After seeing my doctor today I was surprised by the look on his face (while examining me) that he didn't admit me to the hospital right then! I'm at four centimeters and "everything is lined up perfectly" according to Dr. Harms. He also said that things could move pretty quickly and so we shouldn't dawdle about getting to the hospital. I'm at home right now and am having mild contractions. Michael did go to CAE rehearsal, but could come home at any minute when/if I would call him.

I would like to get Eleanor put to bed before anything major happens - I've got an hour to go for that so I think I'll make it! Thanks for all your thoughts & prayers and we'll keep everyone updated. Check your email first as Michael doesn't do the blog thing and I don't know when I would get to it until I come home from the hospital.

We're so excited to meet our new little girl and we pray that all goes smoothly.

Another pic...

I thought I had copied all of Amy's pictures onto my desktop, but I had missed a couple because they appeared to be labeled the same. Amy's pics are so high-tech because of her fancy camera that the thumbnails weren't showing up in my email. :) Anyhoo...here is another great shot of Eleanor. Couldn't resist going back in to the blog and posting this!!

More pics from the Nelsons...

Amy sent me some pictures from her camera and so I thought I'd post them. This was "Uncle Michael" getting the girls to laugh because he was making up his own tunes to High School Musical 3 lyrics. It was funny for us adults too because he truly doesn't know the music. Gloria & Violet thought it was hilarious to hear those lyrics with the wrong tunes...and Eleanor just was laughing because the big girls were!

Thanks for sending these shots, Amy! If anyone wants to see her post you can visit The Nelson Nest on the right side of my blog. Amy doesn't update her blog very often, so you won't miss it....tee hee!! :)