Lillian at One Month

Memorial Day

What a memorable Memorial Day we had!  Lillian was three weeks old last weekend and Mike & I felt it was time to introduce her to several friends who hadn't had the opportunity to meet her yet.  We planned a big barbecue here at the house and had a great turnout!  I forgot to take pictures - I had my hands full with a VERY hungry little girl!  But thankfully our friends Stu & Allison captured a few photos for you!

Sorry the resolution isn't great and that's as big as I can make the pictures without making them blurry!   The first pictures are of the guys drinking beer and hanging out in the backyard.  The last picture is of the girls all gathered in the kitchen - and look at all the babies!  We had 6 babies in all here on Monday and should have had a couple more but a few friends couldn't make it!  Our "baby-less" friends are feeling the pressure to jump in the fire!  We could have several more this time next year!

We also had out of town guests last weekend!  Uncle Tom came in from Montana to meet his girlfriend (and our family friend!) Sue from Indiana.  They spent a few days in the mountians, hiking and a few days in Denver with us.  We had a great visit, I took lots of pictures, but unfortunately, they were deleted from our camera somehow!  I'm especially disappointed because I had great pictures of us visiting my great-uncle Bert (Lillian's great-great uncle!) and they're gone.  Here's a picture of Tom and Sue at our wedding two years ago.

Lillian is fantastic.  Of course, we think so!  She really is a good baby, she only fusses when she's hungry.  And when she's hungry, she wants to eat immediately!!  This week has been a little rough.  Everyone said, babies hit growth spurts at 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 months. And they weren't kidding!  We had a three day stretch where she only quit crying when she was eating or sleeping!  But I think my supply has met up with her demand and we are smooth sailing again!  Last night we reached a few notable milestones. 
1.  I attempted to dress her in the sleeper she came home from the hospital in and it was too small!  Her legs were bent up at the knees and couldn't straighten out. 
2.  She slept in her crib all night!  Of course, she still woke to eat at 2 am, and 4 am but Mike and I have reclaimed our bedroom for ourselves! 
3.  I put her in her carseat yesterday and I had to re-adjust the straps to fit her in.

So I guess her demanding need to eat is paying off, she's growing!  We walked down to the 1st Friday art walk in the neighborhood last night and Lillian received so much attention.  Despite her obvious growth spurts to Mike and I, the rest of the world still views her as the little peanut that she is!  I've never had so many strangers stop to talk to me!  Here's a video I took earlier this week.  Enjoy!

Lily In Motion

Lillian's First Week

It's true one teeny, tiny person can change your life forever....

Sleeping peacefully, which Lillian does most of the day & night!  What an angel.

Snug as a bug!

Aunt Kim made Lillian this great sign welcoming us home from the hospital last Wednesday.

Daddy is smitten!

Grandma and Opa shucking corn on the cob with the "big" grandkids.

Our 4 generation picture with Great Grandpa.

Lillian's 1st Ladies Luncheon with my friends Gwen, Kay and Leslie - Mom was there too but someone had to take the picture!

If a picture's worth a thousand words; here's a few thousand words....

Mother's Day





My Lily of the Valley bloomed this weekend! Just in time for Lillian's birth. Lily of the Valley is the official flower of May, and it holds a special place in my heart because I transplanted these plants from my Grandmother' s garden the summer after she passed away.

 What an exciting weekend!  It's a very strange feeling knowing your daughter will be born in less than 24 hours.    Mike snapped this picture of me trimming rose bushes! Apparently, he thinks I'm one of the only 9 month pregnant women in the world who gardens the day before giving birth!

We're so happy to have our parents here to welcome their next grandchild! 

Lillian's Birth - Day

When does life ever go as planned?  By the 3rd trimester, most babies are head down, ready to go.  But Lillian's head is still squeezed, uncomfortably, right up top, under my rib cage.  Her poor head is football shaped (which Casey and I take as a sign that she's going to love football like we do!!!).  I feel her trying desperately to "flip" upside down but she just can't make it for some reason.  Mike and I have researched breech babies till our eyes get tired and we've tried every wives tale there is!  And let me tell you, people try some desperate things, and I've followed in their footsteps!  I've tried:

• Crouching down on my knees with my arms laid out in front of me
• Rocking side to side on my hands and knees
• Laying on the floor with pillows stacked under my rear end (tilting me up)
• Laying on an ironing board propped up on the couch with my feet up in the air and my head on a pillow below (yes this is very uncomfortable at 38 weeks pregnant!!!)
• Burning Chinese Moxi Sticks at my bare toes (we did this in the house one cold night but after we woke up and our house smelled like pot we decided to burn them outside no matter how cold it was that night!)
• Holding a flashlight at the base of  my belly while Mike talks to her and tries to draw her down.
• Holding a bag of frozen vegetables at the top of my belly trying to make her uncomfortable enough to flip over.
• And finally, we tried External Cephalic Version, a hospital procedure where the doctor tries to twist her downward.  The doctor got her head down, but she flipped right back up - 3 TIMES! 

Unfortunately, Lily's just plain stuck this way.  Like I said, I feel her head jutting out on my far right side,  pushing downward and I feel her foot, lodged down in my pelvis, pulling upward, almost daily.  She's really trying to do what nature intends her to do, but apparently, God has other plans for her!  So, Lillian Kerschen will come into this world quite peacefully, via Cesarean next Monday, May 9th - the same day her brothers entered so peacefully exactly one year ago.  Karma?  A gift from God?  A gentle reminder of how precious life is?  Or just plain perfect, Mike and I couldn't be happpier to be her parents.  We can't wait to meet you, Lily-Bird.