Eloise: one month

Alternate post title: The Easiest Baby in the World*

*except when her mom wants to take a particular posed picture of her

I was all set up yesterday to try to recreate a certain picture I'd seen months ago -and was reminded of thanks to a pin of Dani's- but Eloise had different ideas. After over two (TWO!) hours of nursing, hushing, rocking, bouncing, nursing some more, being peed on, changing six (SIX!) different poopy diapers, swaddling, holding, walking, nursing again, etc, etc, ETC, this baby girl STILL REFUSED TO SLEEP.

Even with a heater set up nearby to keep her toasty, a fan on for white noise, and all the aforementioned tactics, Eloise insisted on staying awake, using up the entirety of the little boys' nap time. This is especially remarkable considering that a normal day for her is more like today... As I type this, she's sound asleep, as she has been since about 11pm LAST NIGHT, having only woken up long enough to nurse, burp and be changed.

Yesterday was a very poorly-timed fluke.

But I did use it to my advantage and pulled in Simon and Andrew once they woke up to snap a few shots with them and Eloise.

And ruined photo attempt aside, she still retains the title of one of the easiest babies I've ever met.

Seriously.

I won't go into her awesomeness too much -lest I sound like I'm bragging- but I will say that this first month with her has been wonderful. She's fit seamlessly into our family.

The boys all adore her without question or reservation or any jealousy. They run in to greet her first thing each morning, insist on holding her often, and practically (sometimes literally!) smother her with love and kisses and affection.

She sleeps peacefully most of the day, making only sweet little squeaking noises (and the odd tiny grunt or snort) when she dreams. When she's awake, she rarely ever cries unless to let us know she's getting hungry. She's generally content to just lay there or be held while looking around and taking it all in... the colours, the smells, the voices and faces of her family... the noise!

(Oh, the noise!)

where'd my fist go??

I have all the respect in the world for photographers who rock the self-portrait. Clearly I need way more practice. And maybe a tripod (to avoid the perilous laundry basket + milk crate + pillow combo I used for these).

focus of off/soft, but I still love this

look at the wrinkles!!

The pictures I took of Simon and Eloise didn't turn out that well. One always looked great while the other way making a beyond-weird face. Simon had zombie eyes in the first picture, and Eloise looks awful in the b&w picture, but I think Simon looks pretty stunning so I wanted to post it. He looks so much older than four! And you can hardly see the chunk of hair he cut out near his temple.

And I think Andrew looks sooooo cute here! But his bracelets were blocking Eloise face... and poking her in the eye.

She eventually did start to get a bit sleepy, but still wouldn't give in. I ended up running out of both time and light (the sun sets here at 6pm EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.) without getting my shot. Hopefully I'll have time to try again this weekend, although it's looking like a busy time... what with getting ready for our house hunting trip back to Canada!

This first month has gone by so quickly. It's been wonderful to finally meet this little soul that's been entrusted to us, and so fun to watch the boys interact with their new sister. The adjustment has been so easy, it's hardly been noticeable, except in a slight more fullness to our day... and more laundry!

That being said, when we return to Canada in a little over a month it will be without a) my mom, and b) a maid twice a week who does all the laundry, vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, bed changing, kitchen cleaning, etc, etc, ETC. 

That's when everything will likely come to a screaming, crashing halt!