Introducing Brenna Anne Griffin!!!

Things went great this morning. We came in at 5:30 and she was delivered by 7:36 AM. She is a small little thing. They predicted she'd be between 8 to 8 1/2 lbs and she is only 6 lbs, 14 oz. Scott is going to have to buy her some dfferent clothes for her picture and going home outfit. LOL! She was 19 inches long. Her apgars were a 9 and 10, so she is doing great. She nursed within an hour after delivery, and has been feeding very well all day long. Thank goodness.

I had some temperature issues after surgery. My temp was only 94 degrees for several hours, but I was sweating like a pig. They ran all sorts of tests, did an x-ray, and had me consult with an internist. Nothing came up on any of it. They are doing a few more follow-up tests tomorrow just to be safe, but I'm maintaining my temp now, so I think everything is fine.

Brenna's Room!

Ella had the most kind-hearted reaction to Brenna's room I could have imagined! I put up all the Raggedy Ann and Andy stuff while she was taking a nap. When she woke up she came running to the top of the stairs and yelled for me to come up. She said, "I have something to show you! Come upstairs with me."

I went up the stairs and she says, "Shhhh...it's a surprise. Come with me." So I follow her into Brenna's room and she says, "Ta-Da! Look at Brenna's room! Who do you think made this wonderful room for her?" So I told her that I had done it, and she said, "It's a beautiful room! You did a good job mommy."

She made me so proud! There wasn't a hint of jealousy. She was just thrilled for her sister that she got a great room. Makes my mommy heart swell with joy! Here's some pictures of the room. There are 2 small things that aren't done yet, but this gives you the idea.

The view from the door:


The dresser that Scott painted:

One of the things that isn't done is the diaper organizer that I still need to make to hang above the changing table.

The wall where the glider is going to go:

It's been ordered, it just hasn't arrived yet.

The fourth wall:

Pictures of Ella's New Haircut

Ella's First Public Performance

Last weekend, Ella, Scott and I went up to Craig and Terry's cabin in Virgina. Friday night, Craig and Terry took us to a local pizza joint where they have a live blue grass band play on the weekends. Ella made her first public performance while we were there!

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A Perfect Night!!!!

We had the most perfect night tonight. Scott got home around 5:30--awesome! We had a really great dinner as a family. We even had chocolate covered strawberries that Scott had gotten me for Valentine's Day for dessert. YUMMY! After dinner, Scott gave Ella a bath while I cleaned the kitchen. Then all three of us played together in Ella's room for about 30 minutes. Ella was dancing and singing. Then we got into a tickle fest, and she was laughing and screaming. It was precious. We had such a good time. At 7:30 we all went downstairs and watched one of Ella's shows together so she could calm down a little bit before bedtime.

When we told her it was bedtime, she jumped right up and went up the stairs. Scott and I followed her. When we got to her room, she had turned off all the lights, gotten into bed and covered herself up!!!!! Not one single word of protest. We went through our nighttime ritual and she was tucked in, lights out, prayers said by 8:15. Scott and I left the room and haven't heard a peep from her since. We haven't had a nighttime go this smoothly in I don't know how long. I had to be memorialized.

Ella's Songs

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Just some recent pictures...

My little career woman



Coloring with daddy:

Queen "Tootin' Common"

I don't know what it is about potty training, but Ella seems to be much more "gassy" over the past few weeks. We have been very sensitive to her toots, because she isn't doing a very good job of getting to the potty. We end up with dirty pants more days than not. So, everytime Scott or I hear her toot we are asking if she needs to go to the potty. All the questioning has led to an interesting new proclamation from Ella. Now, every single time she toots she follows it with a surprised look on her face and the statement, "Oh, I had a little toot, but I didn't poop."

Cookie Monster

The other day I was "otherwise occupied," and I heard Ella moving around. A few minutes later I heard her feet scamper across the wood floor. Then I heard her set down a stool in the kitchen. I looked around and saw the two stools I expected to see so I was a bit confused as to what was going on. Here's the conversation:

Jana: Ella, what are you doing?
Ella: I'm just standing here.
J: What are you standing on?
E: A stool.
J: Where did you get the stool?
E: From upstairs.

Yes, she had gone all the way upstairs to her bedroom, retrieved the stool and brought it all the way downstairs. Now I KNEW she was up to something.

J: What are you doing on the stool?
E: I'm just getting a cookie!

A few minutes later, I went into the kitchen and moved the bag of cookies farther back on the counter. A few minutes after that, I heard the bag crinkling. When I went into the kitchen, Ella had soundlessly (I have no idea how she managed it) moved a chair across the floor so she could get another cookie! Can I just chalk that one up to good problem solving skills?

So, Ella has figured out how to be mischievous! She answered every question truthfully, but certainly without any extra detail. I found it quite amusing as well as a little bit scary!

Please Hang Up and Try Again

Ella picked up the phone in the office today and asked who was on the phone. I told her no one and to hang up the phone. A few seconds later she starts having a conversation.

"Hello friendly operator. How are you? Oh, OK. Friendly operator, please hang up and try again. Just tell your friend to hang up, cause I'm just on the phones with our friends. Well, I just want to dial you. Are you coming home to see me? Well, just remember me if you want to come. Well, share your wagon with me. I'll just play with it when you come home.

Well, hello McKenzie. I don't want to dial you until Thursday. Well OK. Bye McKenzie"

By the way, I have no idea who she knows named McKenzie.

I was laughing so hard! Really, laughing isn't a good thing when I want to teach her to not play with the phone, but it was so funny!

Is Santa coming?

With all the Christmas decorating that has been going on at our house Santa has been a big topic of conversation for Ella. Scott told her that on Christmas Eve after she went to sleep Santa would come down the chimney to leave her presents in her stocking. She is VERY excited about this idea. She keeps going to the fireplace, peering up the chimney and saying, "Nope. Not yet. Santa's not coming yet." Or, she will point to the fireplace and say, "Tonight when I go to sleep, Santa is going to come down our chimney." Thank goodness Christmas is getting near! The poor child can hardly stand herself she's so excited.

Brenna's Second Ultrasound

We had our follow up ultrasound for Brenna this past Monday. The CD with our pictures on it wasn't working correctly, so it took me awhile to get the pictures uploaded. The technician was able to get the views of her lip and her heart that were missing from our initial ultrasound. It was very nice to get confirmation that she is perfect! The pictures were of such good quality we even know that she had 5 fingers on each hand and 5 toes on each foot. They also confirmed that we are, in fact, having a little girl.

At the time of the ultrasound, she weighed 1 lb 3 oz. Her heartrate was 129--which, by the way, completely negates the old wives tale of a faster heartrate for a girl. Due to the measurements that they took, they moved my due date from April 1 to March 27. More than likely the girls will have birthdays that are within a week of one another.

Here are some more pictures of Brenna:

Her face:


One perfect hand:


Her tiny feet crossed at the ankles:


Her precious little ear:

Introductions

As we were checking out at the doctor's office yesterday, Ella decided it was time to introduce herself to the appointment scheduler. She said, "Hi. What is your name?"

The woman answered, "Phyllis. What is your name?"

"My name is Ella, and my mommy's name is Jana. My daddy's name is Scott."

Phyllis said something about how she really knew what everyone's names were really well.

Ella paused for a few seconds and said, "Thank you for meeting us." The entire back office staff as well as Scott and I died laughing. I'm sure the fact that she got a laugh will mean that she is introducing herself to people all the time now.

Too Smart (mouthed, that is) for Her Own Good

Ella is proving to be quite a challenge already. I am scared to see what the teenage years have in store for me. Here are two examples of her recent shenanigans.

Ella wanted me to play catch with her the other day. My back was hurting so I wanted to sit on the floor, but Ella wanted me to stand. She kept asking me to stand, and I kept explaining to her that I wanted to sit. Finally I said to her, "Ella, listen to my voice. My back is hurting, and I am going to sit down." She looked me straight in the face, stomped her foot and said, "NO! YOU listen to MY voice. I want you to stand up now!" We ended up having a nice chat about how Mommies give instructions and little girls do not before she went to sit in time out.

The second thing she has said to me when she doesn't like that she is getting into trouble is "Don't say that. Use your big girl voice!"

Everyone keeps telling me that if I persist through this it will pay off in the end, but there are days when I feel like I am losing the marathon. The energy level of a hot-headed two year old is just astounding.

We have kicks!

Scott felt Brenna kick for the first time last night! It feels so much more official now that Daddy can be in on the fun. I can't wait to see what Ella's reaction is the first time she feels Brenna.

We have been saying that Brenna was kicking me, but that turned out to be BAD terminology. It took a little while to figure out why Ella has been kicking a lot lately. I guess she thought if it was cute for Brenna it was cute for Ella. Yikes! We now say that Brenna is giving Mommy love pats. I sincerely hope that cuts down on Ella's kicking habit.

Fall Leaves

Notice the Brenna belly?

Sisterly empathy?

Earlier today Ella got a spanking for jumping on the bed. She cried and cried! I pulled her onto my lap to cuddle with her while she was crying and to talk to her about why she was punished. The entire time Ella was crying, Brenna was going BERSERK! She kicked me repeatedly until Ella stopped crying. As soon as Ella quieted down, so did Brenna. Sisterly empathy or coincidence? I'm not really sure, but it was a weird experience.

Halloween Fun

We had a wonderful Halloween with Ella this year. Our morning started out at the YMCA. Ella and I go there three times a week for my water aerobics class. Yesterday they had a Halloween party for all the kids in Kids Watch. The kids got to decorate brown paper candy bags, they got their faces painted, and then they went trick or treating around the Y. They could also wear their costumes, but Ella and I didn't know that since we were out of town last week. Here's a picture of Ella's cute face painting and another of her sweet, smiling face that I just can't resist adding.





Then last night we went trick or treating with our friends the Mazon's. Johnny is one of the pastors at our church, and they were some of the first friends we made when moved to Knoxville last year.

Last year Ella was very frightened by all the activity around her. This year, she thought trick or treating was great fun! She was very polite. She'd say "Trick or treat" at every house and said, "Thank you" with no reminder about 80% of the time. She also mentioned that she could now teach Brenna to trick or treat. She's starting to relish the idea of teaching her little sister new tricks when she arrives.

Here's pictures of all the kiddos!

Ella's smile should show you how THRILLED she was to dress up as Wags the Dog from The Wiggles. She thought it was the best costume ever, and she would "ruff, ruff" on command. She was so cute!!! When she would run, the tail on her costume would wag back and forth just like the tail of a real dog. It was precious!


This next picture is Ella, Maddie Grace (as Cinderella), and a very tired Annie Beth (as Tinkerbell). Ella and Annie Beth are only 2 months apart in age, but all three girls are wonderful friends. I swear, we could drop Ella off at the Mazon house and never come back, and she would assume that she was just meant to be a part of their family. In the second picture, we added the Mazon's little boy Trace.




And finally, a Griffin family picture.

Prima Ballerina

Ella loves her tutu and "ballet dancing shoes." Here she is practicing her dance moves.

Introducing our new baby....

The so-so news first. My ultrasound was so early (17w 5d) that they couldn't get the proper view of the upper lip (to check for a cleft) or the aortic valve (to check for a healthy heart). Because of that we have to go back in 4 weeks for another ultrasound to make sure that everything is indeed developing correctly. I'm not too concerned. I really think that because the baby is so little they just couldn't get what they needed. Apparently about 20 to 25% of all ultrasounds get redone for a better look. We did talk worst case scenarios with the doctor. I would rather be prepared with the info in advance than have it sprung on me in 4 weeks, but we will know more then.

Now, onto the GOOD news!!!!!



















I am pleased to introduce Brenna! We are still discussing middle names, but more than likely it will be Brenna Corinne--Anne, Nicole and Joy are also on the list.

Ella has been insisting for almost the entire time that it was a sister, but had very recently (as in the past couple of days) changed her mind. I had thought it was a boy the entire time. When they told us it was a girl, Ella started crying! LOL! Once we reminded her how much fun all of our friends who are sisters have together she came around. I think all of us felt a little bit of disappointment because we had talked about it being a boy so much. I am thrilled Ella will have a sister, but a bit disappointed I might not ever have a boy. I think I would have been thrilled if it was a boy, but a bit disappointed that Ella wouldn't have a sister. LOL!!! I am now really excited that Ella is going to have a sister.

We decided to go ahead with the 3D. Because we did it this time, they will do a second one for us next time without charging us. So hopefully we will have even better pictures in four weeks. She doesn't have much fat right now so the pictures look a bit alien.

Here's the face:




Here's her face and body:


Here is her 2D profile:

She kept opening and closing her mouth like she was yawning. It was so cute!

And here are her "parts" in 3D and 2D: