Family of Four

Just an update on how we are all adjusting to a family of four. Emily is now 2.5 weeks old, and is weighing in at 9 lbs. 9 oz. She is a great little eater and sleeper. She's even good about letting us sleep 4-5 hours straight at night.

Ally is a great big sister. She comes home from school every day and gives her little sister a kiss. "She likes me, mommy" Ally says every time Emily stares at her. When Emily cries, Ally likes to help me soothe her with a calming, reassuring voice: "It's okay Emily. It's okay baby girl." Allyson has started her battle of wills with her daddy. Last night I was laughing hysterically at Reed arguing with Ally while giving her a bath. Then I started crying hysterically when he got upset I was laughing. My hormones are obviously still not balanced.

I spend my days nursing Emily, watching t.v., catching cat naps on the couch, and trying to keep up with the girls' laundry. My new wardrobe consists of nursing bras and pajama pants, so I'm not generating much laundry of my own.

Reed is working from home the rest of the year, so I am very lucky I at least have some adult conversation during the day and someone to watch Emily so I can grab a shower. He has been just as fantastic a dad this time as he was when we brought Ally home from the hospital. He lets me go to bed after the last feeding and gets Emily to go to sleep for her 4-5 hours. He brings her to me in the middle of the night for her feeding, then puts her back to bed. Reed takes such good care of all his girls!

Here are some more pictures for you all to enjoy (if I can figure out how to post):

Emily Frances Phillips

We welcomed the latest Phillips into the world yesterday.

Emily Frances Phillips
23 November 2009, 12:08 PM
9 lbs 0 oz, 21.5 inches

She has bright blonde hair and dark blue (for now) eyes. She's breast feeding well and we hope to take her home by tomorrow. Leslie and I are really tired, but enjoying it. Emily eats on and off for about 2 hours, then sleeps for another 2 or so. I'm sure we'll be posting plenty of pictures later, but here are some from the delivery room.
Leslie during a contraction.
Emily on the warming table.

First picture with mom.

The Family minus Allyson (pictures soon to come).

Hmmmmmm..... I know!

(If you get it, you're rolling on the floor right now.)

40 Weeks Plus 2 Days

Well the due date has come and gone...

Leslie and I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, he basically told us that we need to schedule an induction. If the baby does not come naturally by Monday (23 November) we will go to the hospital at 6:3o AM. We're still hopeful of labor coming natural, but at least we know that Emily will be here by Monday. That's exciting.

Nothing Yet

For anyone wondering, there is no Baby yet. Due date is on the 17th, so it should not be very long.

Ads

I know you can find these elsewhere, but I thought I'd share. Just so its clear, this post is for the shock value, the Phillips Family makes no endorsement of the content of the ads...

Chicken Tortilla Chip Casserole

Experimented with some ingredients in the fridge yesterday and made an extremely tasty meal, you should try it.

• 3-4 Chicken Breasts – Shredded
• One large Onion (white or sweet, not red) – Sliced
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• Cooking Sherry
• ½ cup Roasted Red Pepper – Sliced (sub green chile or jalapeno if spicier is desired)
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom
• 8 oz Sour cream (more or less as desired)
• Cheddar Cheese – Package Shredded (½ cup in Casserole, rest for topping)
• 8 oz White Corn Tortilla Chips – To Thicken (more or less as desired) (Substitute other chips or tortilla if desired)
  

Preheat oven to 375.

Add splash of Sherry to medium covered pot on stove. Add chicken to pot, cook covered until chicken is fully cooked. Shred chicken (I use a food processor, but fork is fine). Return chicken to pot.

While Chicken is cooking:
Add butter and splash of Sherry to medium sauce pan. Heat to medium high. Add Onion. Saute on medium high until onions are limp and turning slightly brown. Mix in Red Pepper and continue saute until peppers are hot. Add Cream of Mushroom and Sour Cream and mix with onion and red pepper. Heat over medium heat (do not scald).

Pour Onion mixture into pot over the shredded chicken and combine. Fold in ½ cup cheddar cheese. Fold in tortilla chips (the chips will break and get smaller as you fold them in, they will get soft as they soak in juices). Pour combination into 9x9 casserole dish, top with cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 until cheese is browning (as desired) – approximately 10-15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving. Feeds 4-6 depending on portion size.

Anchorage Day 3

Day three saw the return of clouds with the added bonus of rain. Temperatures at sea level peaked in the mid 40's. Luckily I happened to be in position when Mt. McKinley showed up on the horizon. Even from ~200 miles away you can see its bulk. Its the one on the right if you're wondering.

Here is a picture of the storm that rolled in. You probably can't see it, but the mountains in the background have no snow on them. When we arrived only the very tallest peaks had ice and snow. The ones nearest to anchorage were bare to the top.
here is a picture from the next day. As you can see it snowed fairly heavily. The locals said that that snow would not melt until next summer.