breakfast anytime

This has been our first official week on our own. We are so grateful to have such wonderful families. They've come in town to love us, support us, cook, clean, run errands, and be babysitters so we could go on dates. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I feel like Jewel and I are finally in a groove. I told her, 'we've been in this thing together for a while, so be patient with me'. Luckily, she started listening about a week ago. Thank you Jewel. I will say it feels good to have a normal appetite, and a desire to create in the kitchen again. Not mention, permission to at least walk, for exercise, has been a true gift as well.
Our clock is beginning to look a little normal, knock on wood, but a savory breakfast for dinner was a nice treat for us. You have to try this! Not only is it delicious, it's cheap! Happy breakfast for dinner to ya!

Caramelized Onion Breakfast Casserole (From Better Home & Gardens)

Ingredients:

4 strips - bacon

1 - sweet onion, halved & thinly sliced

2 cups - broccoli florets

5 - eggs

1 1/2 cups - milk

1/2 teaspoons - dried basil, crushed

1/4 teaspoons - salt

1/8 teaspoons - pepper

4 cups - crusty sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

4 ounces - Muenster or Swiss cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Directions:

In a large skillet cook bacon until crisp; remove bacon, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in the skillet. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion to skillet. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook over medium heat until caramelized , about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan cook broccoli for 3 minutes in enough lightly salted water to cover; drain.
In a large bowl combine eggs, milk, basil, salt, and pepper. Stir in bread, broccoli, cooked onion, cheese, and bacon. Transfer to a 2-quart square baking dish. Cover and chill 2-24 hours.
Preheat oven to 325° F. Bake casserole, covered, for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 20-30 minutes more or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Wouldn't be complete if I didn't attach some pics of the nugget. Her she is 4 weeks old. 

 We call this the "who face"... the pierced "o" shaped mouth happens pretty often.

Love the 2 of them together!

a first time for everything

There have been many first time experiences for me this week; some sweet, some tough, and some dirty.
I have found myself staring at this little girl and filled with joy that can't really be described typed out,
I have laughed as I have changed the changing pad cover for the 2nd time in one day due to projectile poop,
I have struggled getting enough sleep,
I tell myself when Jewel smiles at me it has nothing to do with gas,
We've been blessed by sweet notes and meals,
I've written in a baby book,
I miss running outside in beautiful weather, but I'm dreaming about running with a stroller with leaves falling around my feet,
I love seeing Aaron with another girl (clearing throat, Jewel),
The hot flashes, have. got. to. go. seriously,
Twice Biscotti has brought Jewel a toy while she's cried,

and I'm loving Bethel Loft Sessions, "You Have Won Me". So good, love.

Here is one sweet first, Jewel's first bath at home.

 A little upset that she then had to have clothes on.

But, all in all, a great first bath at home.

the story of jml

September 1st will never be the same for Aaron and I. We had no idea that would be the day that we would welcome our sweet Jewel Mackenzie Lott into the world. I decided I wanted to make sure I wrote everything down, so we wouldn't forget that joyous day. (*warning: kind of long!)

I woke up that day around 5am feeling like, 'if Jewel would stop curling up in a ball then I could get some sleep'! Finally about 6:30am I realized... 'wait a minute, I think I'm having contractions', and decided that I needed to wake Aaron up. Shortly after I that... I brushed the pool down, vacuumed the house, cleaned the bathrooms, and did the laundry while trying to count contractions. Clearly, something was going on, and was probably going to be sooner rather than later. We got Holly, our doula, on the phone and told her we knew today was the day. I was having 1 minute contractions every 3-4 minutes for the past few hours. Our plan was to stay home and labor as long as possible, and then head to the hospital. We gave Biscotti a big hug, packed the car, and headed to the hospital. 

We couldn't have asked for a better situation when we checked in. We were one of two expecting parents, I was 5cm, and our natural birth plan was happening the way we wanted to. My progression was right on point, but my water still hadn't broke. Aaron and Holly were the best team I could have asked for, and the hospital accommodated us in every way we hoped for. 

Around 5pm, when we were due for our hourly check on vitals, Jewel's heart rate begin to drop. She had been staying consistently at 120, and all of sudden we were at 80... then 60. All I remember is a flood of nurses, a doctor that wasn't mine, an oxygen mask, being told that my water had to be broken immediately, and as soon as it was... it was going to be go time. Originally, Aaron and I pictured having all these cool pictures, not graphic, from labor and delivery. However, everything happened so fast, and was a little scary, that pictures seemed meaningless. After 20 minutes of pushing Jewel was here, praise the Lord, at 7:37pm weighing 6lbs. 14oz, and 19in long.

Our first time time together after a tough 17 hours of events after birth.

They laid this perfect little miracle girl in our arms, and Aaron and I feel in love. After 2 minutes of taking in the moment, Jewel turned purple. That girl was so ready to come out that she gulped in almost 27oz of amniotic fluid. Our sweet Jewel was rushed onto oxygen and a feeding tube. We were unable to hold her, but Aaron, thankfully, was able to go into the nursery to be with her. Meanwhile, 9 hours later, I wasn't recovering exactly how the nurses were hoping for. I ended up going under an emergency surgery for a hematoma (ugh). However, the good news was, when I got out of surgery Jewel was breathing on her own and we could now hold her. After all that, Aaron and I couldn't believe how blessed we were to have this healthy beautiful baby girl. We just sat there and prayed over her, and this new chapter our family was going to embark upon. 

We wished that could have been the end of this little girl's tough journey to the world...but we then had a serious case of jaundice. For 2 days Jewel laid in this sad incubator with sunglasses on, and we could only hold her if we were feeding her. We hated those 2 extra days in the hospital, but we were so thankful to be able to come home with a healthy baby girl.

Now, a whole week later, we continue to look at her in awe. She truly is such a sweet gift. We are so blessed. Baby J, we love you little lady!  

Headed Home!

Biscotti's new favorite place to sit, Jewel's doorway.