Gracyn at 17mos

Just a quick clip from dinner last month after she had dumped all of her spaghetti out of her bowl! Sorry its sideways, I wasnt sure if my new camera would flip it but now I know better.

Luke Talking

Just a quick clip of Luke cooing and smiling. Ignore the crazy mama babble

Im so behind!!!

I blinked and a month has passed. I cant believe how fast time has gone. Luke has just slid easily into our family and I am slowly learning to adapt to life with 2 kids. My house is so much messier and I cant quite keep up with everything I want to do, but it is oh so incredibly worth it! Its currently 10:45 and Luke needs to eat, so I cant write a real post, but I wanted to post a few snapshots from our life this past month... I promise more are on the way. Sorry they are small, it takes to long to make them larger.

Meeting eachother for the first time, she loves him already!


Excited to take him home... little does she know


The tantrum...a daily occurance, well multiple times a day occurance...


What happens when she goes unsupervised for too long...


My big girl napping after a shopping trip, how did she get so big that she takes up this much room on the couch?


Visiting the stream at Great Grandma's with daddy


Rub a dub dub, a doll in a tub


My sweet sweet boy


Cold nose with daddy


Chillin in the swing after one of his doctor's appointments

yes I still own a phone... no I dont answer it anymore...

Im sorry I havent called anyone or answered any phone calls. This week has been exhausting and tougher than I thought it would be. Thank goodness Greg is here and doing everything, I know he is exhausted too but he has really been a rock.

Luke is amazing. He is such a good, good baby. He is mellow and happy all of the time. He sleeps and eats and sleeps and eats. Unfortunately, the eating part is not going all that well. For the first 4 days I did only breastfeeding every 2 hours, and I thought my milk was starting to come in and I thought he was doing "ok". But I knew he wasnt having wet diapers and he wasnt pooping, I guess I was just hoping it would fix itself. We went to the doctor Monday and his weight was down to 8lbs 8oz, more than 13% of his original weight and much more than is acceptable. Sooooo, the doctor sent me over to meet with a lactation consultant and told us we had to start supplementing him with formula or pumped breast milk. I fed Luke with the lactation consultant and she really thought he was doing ok latching and sucking, but when we weighed him to see how much milk he had taken, it was 0. Soooo either I had no milk or he wasnt transferring it. She set me up with a pump and syringe/dropper feedings. So basically since monday our schedule has been nursing for 20-30 min, then syringe feeding for 20 min, then pumping for 20 min, then starting over 2 hours from when we started. Its exhausting to say the least. Now Luke is kinda disengaging from feeding since there is no milk there, he latches for about 5 min and thn falls asleep. I rented a scale today to start seeing what he was getting when I nursed and after 20 min he only got about 1tsp. Im frustrated and exhausted. I want to stick it out but I just dont see how that is realistic. Greg is going back to work the middle of next week and there is no way I can keep this up and watch Gracyn. So anyway, here is my plan... I have started a medicine today to see if it helps my supply. Im going to nurse him every 3 hours, and attempt to give him the supplement through a feeding tube while we nurse. If there has not been an inrease in my milk by Sunday than I am going to bow out and just give him a bottle. So thank you if you have read that novel... I didnt set out to write such a book!!!

Gracyn is having good moments and bad moments, probably more of the bad moments unfortunately. She has had some pretty jealous melt downs, but there have been lots of kisses and hugs as well! Its definitely been an adjustment for all of us, but no matter how exhausted I am, or frustrated I get, all I have to do is look down at this sweet little man sleeping on my chest while I type this and I fall completely in love over and over. I really never imagined I could love anyone as much as I love Gracyn, no matter how many people told me I could... its simply amazing.

Anyway thanks for reading all of this. I promise to come out of my hole next week and start answering the phone. I also promise to post some pictures! If you havent already, check out the post below with links to my friends' flickr pages. They got some amazing shots!!!

Photos from Friends

Check out these links to my friend's flickr pages, there you can see some pictures of Luke! He was such a good little model today. Each of these images just makes me fall more in love with him!

Lidia- http://www.flickr.com/photos/46894789@N00/3329433358/ (there are 6 pictures grouped of Luke, click forwards or back to see him)

Shannon- http://www.flickr.com/photos/77768016@N00/3329236142/in/photostream/ (there are 6 pictures grouped of Luke, click forwards or back to see him)

Luke Joseph Sanders

We are so excited to announce the arrival of Luke Joseph Sanders! Born Thursday February 26th at 4:56pm. He weighed in at 9lbs 13oz and was 21 inches! He is entirely perfect and such a sweet baby. We are home and attempting to adjust to life with 2 kids. Its been a bit harder than I expected as Gracyn is not quite thrilled to have to share the spotlight, but I know it will get easier as time goes on. She really does love to hug and kiss on him, however sharing mommy and daddy and pacifiers has not gone over so well. I have not had time for any pictures at all since we got home, but hopefully this week I will make some time to capture my new little love before he changes too much! Here is a quick snap from the hospital, day #1.

My last day as a mom of one...

Well tomorrow is the big day! Only one more night of restless sleep before I get to meet my little man. I went in yesterday to see the high-risk doctor and to have another ultrasound done. They confirmed the large estimated weight (9lbs 8oz was their guess, just slightly smaller than my doctor's estimate) and also the increased fluid levels around the baby. Because of both of those diagnoses (macrosomia and polyhydramnios), the high risk doctor agreed with my doctor that the best decision would be to induce. So I am supposed to be at the hospital tomorrow morning at 6am to start the induction process. Im hoping my body responds to the induction and we will have a good labor and delivery! Please pray that everything goes smoothly and that I am able to have him naturally and am able to breastfeed him as well!

Im a little sad this morning, thinking about the fact that this is my last day alone with Gracyn. Im trying to think of something special we can do together, but there really are no good indoor activities around here. I think we might just go to the library and pick out some special books for her to read with Grandma and Grandpa while they are staying with her. She has been really cuddly the last few days and is starting to FINALLY say mama. Yesterday she was playing with Greg in the other room and started pointing and heading towards me saying Mama. I really hope she knows what it means, I cant wait to have her really look at me and call me mama! It is such an overwhelming feeling when she gives us hugs and kisses, or when she laughs, I just cant imagine that tomorrow I will get to love a new person as much as I love her!

Anyway Im not sure how soon I will be able to update the blog, I dont think we are bringing the laptop to the hospital, but keep your eyes open for a new post introducing our little boy!

15 months

I still cant believe 15 months has passed, but at the same time, I cant remember a day in our lives without Gracyn... she is a pure joy. Here are a few snaps of her, she absolutely refuses to pose for me, but thats ok, as the daughter of a photographer I cant really blame her!

Little Reese

We were so lucky to have my family, including baby Reese, come to visit last weekend. She is such a sweet, sweet baby; very happy and content. My sister is already an amazing mother. Its unbelievable to see her in that role and to think of all we have come through as sisters, now to share the joys of motherhood together is such an amazing thing. Gracyn adored her little cousin, she had lots of love to share with her! Here are a few pictures I captured of Reese...

The Joy of Babyhood... Dancing Naked!

Gracyn loves the ring tone that goes off when Greg calls... she always dances and twists around. Here we caught it on video after dinner one night. She's naked because of a messy spaghetti dinner and obviously needs a diaper change, but how cute is she anyway!

An Update

I have no idea how Im going to keep up with posting once the baby is born considering I cant even keep up now! Here is a quick update on our lives.

Gracyn is amazing. Every day she does something fun and new, she is such a joy. She still is not talking but she says uh oh, dada, dah (for dog), hi, and then things that sound like or have the inflection of things we say a lot like "eye" "mouth" "nose" "juice" "owe" "silly girl" "done" ect... She signs more, dog, hat, and all done. She talks constantly to herself and her toys, but its all jibberish. Its fun to hear her inflection though because she really thinks she is having a conversation. She is a non stop mover, its rare to see her sitting still. I can get a few minutes a few times a day when she watches a cartoon, usually 15 min tops and then she is back to playing. She is learning her body parts and likes to point them out on Greg and I. She is now 24 lbs and 32 inches. She can reach things on the counter and the table now and get into drawers. She loves to dance and read books. She is obsessed with daddy, which though I sometimes get a little jealous, I know its for the best once the baby comes because she will have him to turn to for the first few busy weeks.

My family came up this weekend and we had a really great time. Amanda brought baby Reese who is now 6 weeks old. She is so gorgeous and I need to post some pictures! Gracyn loved her! It was so good to see that she likes babies, she kept giving her kisses and hugs (a hug to Gracyn is just laying her head on something). She held her a few times and did great! When she would hold her we would all naturally say "AWWW" so Gracyn started mimicking that and when we would put Reese on her lap she would say "AWWW".

Yesterday I went to the doctor to see how things are progressing with this baby. I am 37 weeks and 2 days right now. As of yesterday the baby has dropped into my pelvis and his head is engaged. This sounds like it means more than it does, I wish it meant things would happen soon, but really women can walk around like this for weeks. Its painful, it feels like my pelvis may split apart and I have a definite "waddle" which is slightly humiliating! I am 2-3cm dilated and 20% effaced, so still a ways to go there too. I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday to evaluate the growth of the baby. If he is still measuring really big than I think we will go ahead and schedule an induction for late next week when I am almost at 39 weeks. The doctors are still recommending that if they estimate him to be about 10 lbs that they would prefer to schedule a controlled c-section, as opposed to me trying to push and him getting stuck or having complications associated with large babies. I really would like to avoid a c-section if possible but we will weigh all of our options at that appointment. They are honest in that the u/s can be a pound off in either direction, so there is a chance he could be smaller or there is the scary chance he could be bigger. I know it will all work out for the best. I am all packed for the hospital and ready to go! (Now if only I were ready to bring home another baby!)

His room is almost done. Its painted and the furniture is mostly in. I dont have any accesories up yet, but I can do that later. I have a bassinet set up in our room and downstairs, the baby toys all brought out and washed and all his clothes organized in the closet. My mom sewed his valance this weekend and it turned out better than I had hoped! It looks really nice and was just the finishing touch his window needed. Its definitely strange to peek in there and see all the boy stuff when I am so used to having a baby girl!

Ok this has gotten long winded so Im going to wrap it up! Hopefully I'll have a post soon introducing our new little man (who still doesnt have a name by the way! yikes!). Check back in the next week or so to see if he is here!

The Hot Dog Dance

The Mickey Mouse Club always ends with the "Hot Dog Dance" and its her favorite thing. Greg even went and bought her the soundtrack so that she can dance around whenever she wants. I wish I could capture her better, but if she see's me with the camera she stops what she is doing, so you just get a back seat view!

I know I am behind in updates... its my goal this week to post a few updates on our family, so I promise to try!

and a front view, but she doesnt really dance much here

A new day

Today is a historic day in our lives and in our children's lives. We have a new president, and while I didn't vote for him, I pray that what others have seen in him as a leader of change will come to be. I hope that as American's we realize that no one man can do it on his own, that we all need to change in order to give our children the best world possible. We really do live in an amazing nation, though I take that fact for granted every single day. Im excited to see what comes out of this day in history, and to see what it means for my babies... I thought I would share a quick image from the web. How easily people overlook the importance of God in our country, it is moving to see that the oath our nation's leader takes is taken with one hand on the bible. Im grateful that I live in a country where on such an important day, the new president started it by going to church, and the ceremony was opened and closed in prayer.

New Website

Well it isnt quite ready for its big reveal yet, since its missing galleries, but it was my goal this week to at least make it live so I can use it for proofing. I hope you like it! Megan Abelard Photography

When Grandparents Babysit...

My parents are so over the moon when it comes to Gracyn. It seriously is so fun to watch them interact with her. The silly songs they sing, the ways they make her laugh, the sheer joy on their face when she does something they find funny. Gracyn and I spent 5 days down in Indy after Reese's birth, and she was spoiled every minute of the trip. On Saturday I decided to have a night out with my friend Beth and her husband Adam. So I put Gracyn to bed at 6pm (she usually goes down around 6-7) and went out to meet them for dinner and a movie. When I came home, my mom told me that around 8pm, Gracyn woke up and was "too excited to go back to bed" (read that as "the grandparents wanted to play more with the toy"), so they decided to let her out of bed for a few hours. She showed them all her favorite dance moves and charmed them with her smile in order to bribe them into giving her milk and cookies and a frozen fruit bar. She got to stay up until 10pm! I would complain about messing up our routine, but lucky me she slept like a rock the rest of the night and let me sleep in until 8am. I cant complain about that!
Anyway, here is a video from her late night with Grandma and Grandpa... she is dancing to Little Bow Wow... lol.

Im an Aunt! Welcome baby Reese!

On Wednesday January 7th, my sister and my brother-in-law welcomed their first little baby girl into the world. Reese Elaine Elpers was born at 3pm, she weighed 8lbs 6oz and was 21in. My sister called me at 10pm on Tuesday to tell me that her water broke. I kinda panicked running around trying to pack everything up for Gracyn and I to leave. Unfortunately, it was snowing quite a bit here in Chicago and with it being so late Greg and I decided it was best if I waited until the morning to leave. I was so sad, thinking I would miss her birth, but in the end I was able to make it in time to see her born! My poor sister was in labor for about 17 hours! And she did it all medicine free. She really was so strong and focused, and Ryan was an awesome help to her. It was a great experience to get to witness her birth! I think I will still choose the drugs though :) Anyway, Reese is gorgeous with tons of dark hair and dark eyes. I cant wait to watch her grow up and see her personality develop. Here are a few pictures I have so far, I will have lots more soon!

Baby #2

Well I realize I have completely neglected to update much on little boy Sanders. Its amazing to me how fast this pregnancy is going. I remember with Gracyn each week took forever, but here I am at 28 weeks and cant help but wonder where the time went! I have 12 weeks left to go and so much still to do! Tomorrow I go to the doctor for my glucose testing (praying I pass this time so I dont have to do the 3 hour test like I did with G). I also have to get a shot because Greg and I have incompatible blood types, and have my thyroid tested. We are keeping a close watch on it this pregnancy because of issues after Gracyn and hoping that if we control it I will be able to breastfeed, which I wasnt able to do with her. I have bought the babies new bedding and decided I want to use a puppy theme in the room but thats about as far as I have gotten. I am hoping to commission the artist who did Gracyn's paintings to do something custom for him, but it will depend on how finances are after the holidays. Otherwise, I think I will use a lot of my black and white images of Marley. There is a photographer I love, Erin Vey, who specializes in dog portraits, maybe I could look into some of her work as well. We plan to paint the room in January and start attempting to transition Gracyn to a twin mattress on the floor so that we dont have to buy another crib. I know thats a pretty bold move since she will only be 14months, but we are hoping we can make it work.

We still dont have a name for this little guy, but we have it narrowed down pretty well. I think I have my heart set on one and Greg has his set on another, so we will see how the compromise works out. You can vote here...



Anyway that is a quick update, I cant wait to meet this little man and snuggle with him, but its going to be a lot of change for Gracyn so for right now I am enjoying every minute alone I have with her. So far he is so much more mellow than she was inside, so I have a feeling he is going to have his daddy's laid back personality. I pray he gets his smarts, looks and athleticism too!

Birthday Photos

Here are a few photos my sister and dad took from Gracyn's birthday party.

favors are chocolate flowers on a pretzel rod and chocolate covered oreos


greg's yummy strawberry cupcakes with white and pink chocolate shavings


giant cupcake cake that greg's mom made


gracyn's favorite friend, Brittnee, her nanny


loving her new wagon that Uncle Ryan put together for her






her party hat


took her a while to warm up to the cupcake, she just didnt feel well


playing with her new dolly

In the meantime....

Some holiday cheer for you since I havent gotten a chance to post birthday pictures yet, Im going to post a quick fun video from Gracyn's favorite singer. She listens to his CDs at bedtime. I'll try to post birthday party pictures tonight.

Weekend Festivities...

BEWARE, this is a long post!

Wow what a long and exhausting weekend! It was wonderful to spend so much time with our families this weekend but we definitely had our ups and downs.

Wednesday, Gracyn and I had a special lunch with Aunt Kate at the Rainforest Cafe. We spent almost 2 hours there and by the time the food arrived Gracyn passed out. It was amazing she could sleep through all the noise there!

Thursday started off great, we had a lazy morning then got dressed to head over to Greg's parents house. We had a delicious meal with all the family there, including both Great Grandma's which was a special treat since they have both been ill. I love that Gracyn gets to know and spend time with them! Gracyn refused to eat and throughout the meal got more and more fussy. By the end of the meal she was starting to feel warm. When we got her home, her temperature was 104.3! We gave her some tylenol and fluids and put her to bed. My family arrived a few hours later to stay with us for the weekend and celebrate Gracyn's birthday with us. That night Greg and I made Gracyn's favors for her party. We made chocolate covered oreos and pretzels with chocolate molded in rows of flowers. It was a fun and easy project for us to do together for our little girl's big day.

Friday, Greg and I went grocery shopping while Gracyn spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa. Her fever was down by the morning and kinda fluctuated most of the day from 101-102ish. By the evening she developed a rash over her back and stomach and was still refusing to eat most foods, but would still drink and eat cold things. Friday night we got everything ready for the party, I made a lot of food and Greg made Gracyn the cutest strawberry cupcakes.

Saturday came and Gracyn woke up with 102.3 fever and a rash over her whole body. So now I was really worried about needing to cancel the party. I got her in to see the pediatrician, hoping all of this was just a reaction to her one year shots she got the week before. He took one look at her and said it was a typical viral rash and that she had some patches on her throat which explained the not wanting to eat. He said she was probably still contagious, so we had to call all our friends that were coming with kids and tell them not to come. I was so disappointed to not have any of Gracyn's little friends at the party! We still had a good time celebrating with our family and a few of our friends that could still come. Gracyn was really clingy and wouldn't let me put her down most of the party, but she warmed up when it was time to open presents and she saw all her new toys! We really are blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends to love her and spoil her!

Here are a few pictures that I have loaded so far... I'll probably put her birthday ones in a post on their own since this one is so long! Thanks for reading all of it if you did!

Some of these are poor snapshots, we need a new small point and shoot camera (hint hint Greg)

all dressed up and ready to go!




a rare photo of the 3 of us...


grandma sanders and her 2 crazy brothers...


gracyn's great-grandmas


eyes are starting to look sick here...


lazy mornings...