Video of V in her Jumpy Seat

And More!

More pics....

Some pics from this past weekend

Well, not all are from this past weekend, but most are. There's a cute one of my dad with V from Wednesday that I just had to include!

Julie and Rush came over for a sleepover Friday night - we had a blast and I was SO impressed with Mr. Rush and how totally adaptable he is. Spending the night wasn't the initial plan, but after a few "adult beverages" Julie decided to stay. Rush just went with the flow - what a great kid!

Jim has been busy distributing the 12 cubic yards of mulch he had delivered on Thursday. It's finally out of the driveway and he also found time to demolish the deck. I guess we've GOT to get the screened in porch now!!! :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend - it's been wonderful for us! Virginia continues to blossom and we couldn't be more proud. She's really excelling beyond her age. She LOVES to stand and and does so for long periods of time with just the support of mommy or daddy's fingers. Also, she's still a little small for the jumpy seat, but she's getting the hang of it. I had a video and planned to post it, but for some reason the camera didn't save it. Phewy! :(

PS - all the pics wouldn't fit on this post so I'm make another

Back in Business

First, let me give a shout out to my mother-in-law, Vera, over in the UK! We miss you and can't wait to see you when you get back. Your granddaughter has tons of new "tricks" to show you! :)

Oddly enough as soon as my sister-in-law had given me "kudos" on her blog for being such a diligent little blogger, I got so busy that I didn't have time to post this past week. Things are settling down now and *hopefully* I can get back to my regular bloggin' schedule. One reason for the lack of extra time is I have started back on my regular schedule here at work. Up until last Friday, I was able to leave at 3:30 every day to go pick up V - it was AWESOME. I would "work from home" for the remainder of the day, but at least I was able to spend that precious time with Virginia. When I came back to work in late February, I made a deal with my boss that whenever his baby was born, I would resume the 9 - 5:30 schedule. Fortunately for him, unfortunately for me, his baby was born last Friday so I'm keeping my word. It's been a really tough adjustment though. I don't get home until after 6pm, but at least the days are longer now. I'm not sure how I would make it if this transition had to happen when it got dark at 4 o'clock.

It's been a particularly tough adjustment, being away from V, with the hormonal changes I've been going through this past week. I finally made the difficult decision that I had to stop breastfeeding and now my hormone levels are all out of whack. I've REALLY struggled with this very personal, emotional decision and I still get upset thinking about it. I loved being able to provide for my little one and there is such an emotional connection with her through the feeding that I am so scared to jeopardize, but I have ADHD and for the past year I have been un-medicated because the medicine is harmful to the baby. It has been increasingly difficult to function at the level I need to function here at work and the longer I am back, the more that is expected of me. In addition, and this is the part that really upsets me because I feel like I'm being selfish - although I wouldn't have quit for this reason alone - but I really need my body back and it's just not going to get there until my body realizes that it no longer needs to hold on to excess fat to produce and provide. Anyway, I probably shouldn't even write about this decision on here because I still struggle with it and it is so personal - every woman has an opinion on it and the opinions vary across the board. All I know is I believe that Baby V benefited from breastfeeding for almost 5 months and I am fortunate that I was able to do it for her as long as I did. Enough about that....

So - what have we been up to for the past week? Well, let's see - the screened in porch estimate is coming along. We've only asked for revised quotes (changes in plans) from the guy about 100 times, but hey it's the kind of thing you need to get right before you start so we're getting there and luckily the guy understands. I think he's supposed to start next week! Last Friday we went over to Kristin's house to check out the progress on her HUGE deck and screened in porch and it just really made both me and Jim excited and eager to get ours going. Last Saturday Susan, Kristin, Anne and I had "Girl Day" which consisted of meeting up for lunch at Rockford in downtown Raleigh and then some light shopping on Glenwood and a trip over to the Seaboard area off Peace St for some MORE light shopping before Susan, Kristin and I heading back to our house to grab V and the stroller for a nice LONGGGG walk from our house around the lake and back. My thighs were completely chapped at the end! ;) Then we dropped V back off with her Daddy (thank you for taking such good care of her on Saturday Daddy) and went back to Kristin's house for Chinese and drinks on her new porch. It was an all around fun Girl Day!

Jim and I celebrated our Second Anniversary this past Tuesday. It was pretty uneventful, no pomp and circumstance, but he was very sweet and that's really all that matters. We had already given each other our gifts, well actually I'm still waiting on mine but I know what it is and I know it's on the way! ;) I was on my hands and knees shampooing spots on the carpet for the majority of our anniversary evening. On Monday I found out that my cousin Judy was going to be staying with us after her lecture at Meredith College Wednesday night. I know that she couldn't care less, nor would she even notice, a few spots on the carpet but I knew they were there and I'm just like that. I don't feel comfortable having guests if I feel like things are not clean and in order. Anyway, I'm so happy that she was able to stay with us because we seldom get a chance to visit with her. Her life is SO much different than anyone I know and I just can't imagine being on the go EVERY DAY. She had been covering the PA Primary the day before until late in the evening and she pretty much is going to be traveling every day until the Democratic Candidate is chosen. When she accepted the engagement at Meredith back last June, she knew it was in the middle of the primary season but thought that by this point in the game the Presidential candidate would surely have been chosen and the primaries would pretty much just be formalities - who knew we'd be biting our nails all the way to the Democratic Convention?! Regardless, I'm glad she was able to come and speak at Meredith and thankful that we were all able to spend some time together. My mom, Caryn and I met my cousin Sue and my dad's cousin Ricky and his wife up at the Meredith for her lecture. It was VERY interesting - I really enjoyed hearing her spin on today's political chaos. We had a bit of our own chaos the next morning when Jim took her to the airport and he was so involved in talking with Judy that he missed the airport exit and had to do a U-turn in the median on 540! Judy admittedly likes to cut it short at the airport, but she didn't anticipate that she would need a few extra minutes Wednesday morning! Once Jim finally got her there around 7:40ish for her 8:05am flight, she called me at around 7:42 rather frantic because she realized she didn't have her wallet on her. Luckily it had just slipped out of her purse in my mom's car and I was able to drive out to the airport in record time - getting there around 8:02, but I've yet to hear the results of whether or not she was able to convince them to hold the gate open for her. I'm thinking she was successful though. :)

My mom was able to meet with a neurosurgeon at Duke this past Wednesday for her back and it sounds as though she's headed down the path to seriously having to consider back surgery. It's a very scary thing and we hope and pray that the results are a miraculous. I'll keep you posted.

Hum..Let's See..What else...our friend's Joe and Nichole got married yesterday so Jim, V and I went over to his brother's house last night to celebrate with them. It's not until you get around people without kids that you realize how much your life has changed. Personally, I know I used to think I was "really living" when I partied all the time and had no real responsibility other then to hold a job and pay my bills, but I've never felt as fulfilled as I do now and I wouldn't change a thing - I'm just going to leave it at that!

Oh - one more note - Baby V LOVES her peas. Of course I have to throw in a picture of her in every blog post so here she is saying, "more peas please"!

Keep checking back for more "Gellin' News", I'll try to keep more up to date as this is probably a pretty long post by now!

Coming a Computer Screen Near You Soon, A New Post!!

To all those "Gellin'" fans out there, yes, all two of you, please don't give up on the blog! It's has just been a VERY hectic week and I haven't had a chance to jot it all down in the blog yet, but rest assured a hectic week = lots of new material!

Fun Evening with the Girls

Last night I went for a really nice walk around Lake Lynn with my friends Kristin, Julie and Heather and her two little girls, Kate and Rachel. Virginia and I walked to the lake from our house because I figured I could use the extra exercise but after the long walk around the lake, V was getting hungry and I wasn't sure she could make it the extra 15 minutes it would take to walk back to our house so we hitched a ride with Kristin - luckily she had Mathew's car seat with her. What I didn't remember was that Heather had put her sweater, cell phone and car keys in the bottom of V's stroller! Oppsy!!!! I felt so terrible. They were stuck at the lake and had to call Heather's husband to come pick up Heather, Kate, Rachel (and their two scooter thingy), Julie and her dog Jake...in a jetta! What a sight I bet that was. Thank goodness they just live across Leesville! In the meantime, I'm feeding Baby V and getting her ready for her daddy to watch her (basically just feeding and changing her diaper) while Kristin is updating Jim on the construction of their new deck and screened in porch, which looks awesome by the way. Our cell phones were in the car, so we didn't realize what had happened until we were on our way over to Heather's house for drinks and nibbles afterwards. Sorry Heather!!
We all had such a nice time at Heather's house - she's an awesome hostess. She had yummy apps for us for dinner and she started a little fire for us out back on her patio. Then she served us some interesting green tea icecream that she had made herself - let's just say Jake, Julie's dog, really enjoyed it! This morning Heather wrote to say "and to follow my amazing dessert success last night, I'll be making spinach creme brulee with a beet coulis, followed by cabbage in a caramel sauce." YUM - I can't wait!!! ha
Seriously though, it was a really nice evening. I love my friends!!

Flip Floppin' like a Fish out of Water

Baby V has recently mastered rolling over, well...I shouldn't say "mastered" because sometimes she can't get back over to her back and she gets frustrated and just ends up crying in a pool of drool on her tum-tum until Mommy or Daddy can come and flip her back only for her to do it all over again! Working those legs and flipping over is ALL she cares to do now-a-days!

A nice weekend draws to an end

The past week was so enjoyable with my folks REALLY helping us out by watching Virginia for us since her sitter, Linda, was on vacation. Virginia had a rough start to the weekend with her visit to the doctor and receiving her second set of shots, but she has bounced back nicely and has been feeling much better since Saturday morning. Thankfully, now she's back to her same happy self again!

Last night we went out to my friend Nicole's house in Hillsborough for a WONDERFUL mexican dinner. Seriously, the fajitas were the best I've ever had! Nicole is a good friend of mine from work and her family is so much fun to be around. Her kids, Georgie and Evie, are SO adorable!!! Evelyn really should model - no kidding. Heck, her daddy modeled a few weeks ago for an article in the News and Observer, so why shouldn't she?! ;)

Today has been perfect - so relaxing with no where particular to be, in other words - NO STRESS! I just feel like we're always on the go so every couple of weeks I love to have a day like today to catch up - you've just gotta have that. The family did some shopping at Lowes, Target and the grocery store afterwards. Then Daddy finished one of his pint glass shelves and Virginia and I went for a walk. Virginia also tried some sweet potatos this afternoon - that was pretty exciting! She seemed to enjoy it, although I'm not sure how much you can really tell with 2 tsp. It's just overall been a nice day and I am dreading the thought of this nice weekend drawing to an end.

PS - WOW while I was writing this I have once again missed my little baby turning over from her back to front for the second time!!! Dangit! :(

Poor V...shot day

Last night Baby V awoke as if she had a premonition about today's visit to the doctor. Virginia went to the Doctor today for her four month shots. :( Her daddy came and held her - I just can't watch and of course I cried more than she did. Afterwards she slept for a couple of hours and when she woke up she had her baba and tried rice cereal for the first time. She had quite the appetite - finishing it all, and without wasting an ounce! I was so impressed with how well she took to the spoon! Unfortunately later that afternoon, things changed for Baby V. She really started to feel the pain in her thighs and she let me know! I wished there were something I could do to take away the pain, but all I could do was give her some Tylenol and lots of TLC. I thought maybe she should take a nap and she'd feel better, but really the only thing that would soothe her was to have me or Daddy hold her or rock her. I knew it was serious tonight because Baby V is generally such a happy baby. A mommy knows her baby and Baby CAN communicate with you at such an early age. She went down a little eary tonight and all I can wish for her is that she sleeps it off and feels like a new Baby tomorrow!

Virginia Grace finally meets her friend Kendall Faith!

We've been trying to get to Charlotte ever since my friend Jenny had her little one about a month ago. I just couldn't wait to get my hands on that little baby girl! This past Sunday we finally made it, even if only for a few hours. Getting out of the house with a little one is never easy and we finally left Raleigh about 12:30 and arrived at Jenny's at 3pm. Little Kendall Faith is so precious and small but there's nothing small about her hair, She's got a rockin' DO! :)

The weather was quite pleasant so we went for a walk around Jenny and Jeff's neighborhood but Kendall was hungry so she and her mommy had to go back for a snack. We watched a few videos of Jenny in the hospital and snapped a few photos and by then unfortunately it was time to head back home because Baby V's bedtime was quickly approaching. We left shortly after 6 and got home around 8:45 just in time to give V her last ba-ba and settle her down for the night. Lots of driving, but well worth it to meet little Kendall Faith and to catch up with Jenny and Jeff!

Never a dull moment with James Woodruff!

You can really learn a lot from a 4 yr old! :) Yesterday I was having a heck of a day and so I decided to drop it all and take Baby V on a walk, I thought it might do us both some good. As I was leaving, Sterling and James pulled up (Caryn was having a "heck" of a day as well so they evacuated). Well I have to be honest, I was thinking having James join me on my stress relieving walk might actually add stress, but it turned out to be a very enjoyable walk! He talks and talks and I learned that four year olds absorb everything! He told me about how Honey had an "ouchy" on her back but that she wasn't going to have to have an operation and all sorts of other little tid-bits he's picked up by listening to conversations. I was SO impressed when we past by an American Flag and he stopped and saluted - what a good boy he is! Also, he really knows his way around. At the beginning of the walk he said, let's walk by my house - and I was like, ok - let's go, not thinking that he'd REALLY want to walk that far! When we got to the end of our street I asked him to take a left (I wanted to keep him out of the higher traffic direction) but he said, "My house it this way!" and proceeded to the right! We walked to the top of Glendower and I thought, surely he is tired now....whatever! He wanted to keep going, but I convinced him we'd better turn around and head back to Uncle Jimmy's house. No problem, says James and he takes off jogging back down the hill toward home. He behaved though and never got too far ahead of us, at least he kept me at a fast pace!! I certainly needed the workout. He did get far enough a head one time that he had his pants down in the middle of the sidewalk so that he could "relieve" himself. Oh well, four year olds aren't particularly modest and I told him that I was proud of him for doing that rather than letting it go in his pants! Hey - we'll take it, right?!? Finally, as we were approaching our house James had had enough of the walk (jog for him) and asked if he could get on the stroller with Virginia. ha - I told him he wouldn't fit, but that if he looked just around the bend he could see our house. It worked and we were able to make it back home without me having to push a stroller AND hold James on my back! Whew! Thank goodness - Auntie E was pooped herself.
Anyway, it was a very nice walk and when I returned home I was in much better mental shape and could go back to tackling closing out Q1. :) Thanks for the entertainment James!

Auntie C and Cousin James come for a visit!

As close as my brother's family lives, it's amazing how seldom we get together. That's something I really would like to change! My sister-in-law Caryn is so talented with her scrapbooking and card making, I really need some of that creativity to wear off on me and I certainly have a good "subject" now so I asked Caryn and James over for a little scrapbooking party. Well, let's just say that neither one of us really made much progress in that regard, but we did at least get to visit with each other!

I usually rant and rave about what a doll Virginia is, but Saturday night she was in a "mood" (see pic to left - it makes me laugh). Poor Baby V had a bit of gas but once we gave the Mylicon a moment do it's magic, she was back to her same happy self again.
Then we tried to put her in the jumpy seat for the first time. It went OK - she really didn't jump, but she didn't cry so at least it was exposure to it and maybe she'll jump the next time. She just kinda stood there and pee-peed on herself this time - ha - seriously there was a little puddle beneath her and I had no idea where it came from. Somehow she managed to pee outside of her diaper! :) Oh well - no biggie!

Grandma and Grandpa McMellon Visit!

Friday afternoon, Nana V and Grandpop McMellon came up to see Baby V. The weather cooperated enough that we were able to take a nice little walk and we all took turns pushing the stroller! :) Virginia sat in her bumbo seat for a while - we were all so proud of her! It's the first time she's really sat in it for over a couple of minutes.

Earlier today, Vera and I took Virginia to Lake Lynn to feed the ducks - it was overcast, but the temp was great and it was nice just to get out when we knew it would end up being a rain day indoors. I think the ducks were all taking naps when we got there though. I've never seen the lake so devoid of pheasants, still we enjoyed ourselves!

It was good to see them - Jim's mom is going to England for a bit and I know she enjoyed seeing Little V before she heads off. We'll have to keep up with her while she's gone through the posts!

Tragedy in the news

I was just surfing a little on my lunch break and I came across a posting on WRAL.com where the second child had died from a pedestrian/car crash yesterday. His older brother past away immediately, but the second child had hung in there in critical condition for another day.

As a mother now, this really scares and saddens me. Here is a mother and her three children crossing the street (albeit illegally, oncoming traffic had a green light) and the children dash ahead only to end in such tagedy. Before I had a little one I always thought those "children harnesses/leashes" were cruel and embarrassing for the child - but I have to admit, I'm second guessing that now. These children were too old for such a contraption, butI just don't know...there's no reason to speculate on what if's...it's just sad...mothers shouldn't have to watch their children die.

Sorry for the "downer" post. I just know that Virginia may not be happy with how strict I'm going to be with her, but I just can't bear the thought of anything ever happening to her. I know she'll want to ride her bike further than I want her to ride it (I'm already thinking the end of our street is far enough), play with kids whom I don't know their parents, make friends on the internet, be dropped off at the mall unattended...poor thing....she doesn't know what she's in for, or maybe I don't.

Mommy can never catch a smile!

My photography skills could use some work, but check out those rosey cheeks! :)

Hanging out in front of the fireplace on a rainy day

Finally, we've had some down time. So sad that it takes a rainy day to be able to just chill at home for an evening, but I'll take it! I love spending time with my precious one. I probably snapped 100 pictures to get 10 good ones, and even then I didn't truly capture that beautiful smile of hers. I think the flash would startle her - what do you think?! ;)

I declare, these past few weeks have been so busy and I really don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I was talking to Julie earlier tonight, trying to get set up a time for us girls to get together to celebrate her birthday which is on the 13th. She said she thought that her social commitments would slow down after she had Rush, but we both agreed, that's just not us. I enjoy staying busy, so I hate to complain about it but a nice rainy evening at home is appreciated every now and then.

We've been getting quotes on our screened in porch over the past week, well, Jim has. I'm SO excited for it. I was thinking about Virginia's first birthday party and how nice it's going to be to host it in there. Her birthday is December 1st you see, so knowing NC weather like we do - we know that could mean anything reminiscent of a nice summer day to a snow storm. I'm hoping it will be nice and we can maybe even let the kiddies run around in the yard a bit. Who knows...I just enjoy daydreaming about the future - it's going to be so great. Already is now that V is here. They say that a Baby changes your life. She sure does - and it's so much better.

Oh - an update on the Weightwatchers initiative. So far, so good. Lots of water and jello being consumed, and plenty of Fiber One. I guess we won't really know the results until next Tuesday....stay tuned!!

WeightWatchers - Day 1

Wow - once again, I was really shocked when I got on the scales today. I haven't been on them since my 6 week postpartum visit to the OB and that was such a depressing experience that I have forgone doing it since. I have GAINED 2lbs since then. How do you gain 2 lbs when you're breastfeeding?! So much for "oh, you will just shed the pounds if you breastfeed"! No regrets, Baby V has benefitted from it and that is the most important thing.
Also, Jim was just saying that I don't use the elliptical machine enough. You can earn bonus points by working out, so you'd better believe I'm going to be doing that!
Anyhoo, I'll track how I'm doing on here...it's just another way to have to be accountable!