McMillan-Stevelt-Mitchell Women

Mimi & Dylan-Roo spending some quality time together today - our babies just adore their Mimi!

Dylan talking to Mimi. It was just a little peep & squeak, but I'm sure one day she'll talk her ear off just like her big sister used to. :) On a side note: Dylan weighs 7 pounds 15 ounces today! That means she's gained 14 ounces in 7 days, I'm pretty sure that's twice the standard weight gain. I can't believe my baby will probably be up to 8 pounds tomorrow!

Fighting falling asleep in Mimi's arms. Dylan was awake today from 10:20 am till 5 pm, besides a nap from 1:15-3:00 p.m.! Here's hoping that means we'll sleep well tonight!

Dylan (2 weeks old), Grandma, & Great-Grandma.

4 generations of McMillan-Stevelt-Mitchell women - Dylan, Mommy, Grandma, & Great-Grandma (Mimi!) - before Mimi had to head back to Wooster today.

Thank you so much for your help the last couple days, Mimi! You made our transition to Chadmo going back to work much easier, and your swiss steak was soooo delicious. Please come back soon, we love you bunches!

Snuggle Puppy

Someday soon I need to blog about breastfeeding, but that is just too long of a post for tonight. In the meantime, I couldn't resist sharing this reasonably modest breastfeeding picture. I think Dylan makes the cutest faces & does the most adorable snuggles while she's eating (we've made a lot of progress in 2 weeks to get to this point!) and I loved how she insisted on "hugging" me during this session. I even tried to move her arm a couple times, so I could see that cute face, but she kept putting it back. Please excuse the self-photography, I have limited mobility in these situations! ;)

We're loving having Mimi here, and we had a fun photo shoot with Kalena Ogg Photography today - can't wait to see those pictures in a couple weeks! We were very sad to have Daddy go back to work today, but he had a good day and we did pretty well for ourselves too. One day at a time!

Mimi is here!

All bright-eyed & bushy-tailed after our bath this afternoon! We had to be clean & shiny for when Mimi got here this evening. :) Daddy is heading back to work tomorrow morning, which I have to say I've been very nervous about, but Mimi (my Grandma, Dylan's & Haley's Great Grandma) was nice enough to say she'd come down & help out with the transition. We always love to have her, and when we had Haley we tried to convince her to move in for a year!!

An afternoon nap on the couch - I just love to snuggle like this, and so does Dylan. I bet I could trick her into sleeping 8 hours in a row this way, if only I could sleep this way at night!

Our Sweet Pickle

Dylan, checking herself out in the mirror for the first time today. She's our cutie-patootie pants! I just can't get over how sweet she is...

And one more example of poodle-ridiculousness! You can see why our pets think the adjustment to the new baby is very difficult when this is the sort of treatment they're used to receiving.... ;)

New Yorker Caption Contest

This picture really cracks me up, but I'm failing at finding something witty to say. So instead, I'm turning it into a contest! Please submit your most humorous caption as a comment, and the winner will be posted under the picture in the near future. :)

"Confused woman brings baby to pet blessing." -Brianne Clanton, Denver, Colorado

Haley's Comets 2011

The 2nd annual Congenital Heart Walk was this past Sunday, October 2nd. Unfortunately Chad, Dylan, & I couldn't be there, but we were very proud that the rest of Team Haley's Comets turned out in force (both the Ohio & Wisconsin editions!) Haley's Comets raised $2,015 this year, and the Central Ohio walk raised $58,764, to fight congenital heart disease. Thank you so much to all our family & friends who made donations to support this cause that is so close to our hearts! (Literally & figuratively. :))

Team Haley's Comets (Ohio): Kelly Stevelt, Jim & Kathy Bowman, Linda & Kim Stevelt, Linda Carstensen, Kathy Crisler, Will Brantingham, Libby Carstensen, Jesse Cantrell, Sydney & Spencer Waugh, Katy Klingelhafer, & Greg Gallenstein. (Not pictured: Christian Cantrell, Chadmo, Dylan, & me.) It was a beautiful day for the walk and everyone said the park was gorgeous. Thank you, Ohio family & friends, for walking even though we couldn't be there with you! We would've been very sad to let our Haley-Bug go unrepresented at the walk, and it meant a lot to us that you were all there to honor her!

Team Haley's Comets (Wisconsin): Nancy Mitchell, Lexi Mitchell, Claire & Niki Schoenemann, Mandy Gibbons, John & Patty Meade, Emily Pertzborn, Jim Mitchell, Mason & Mitchell Lane, Nolan & Derek Pertzborn, Jessie & Marah Lane, Beau Lane, & Tessa Pertzborn (hiding :)) Our Wisconsin division walked with us long distance on the same day as the Ohio walk. They also had a beautiful day, and we were so grateful that they all took the time to get together in honor of Haley even if they couldn't make it to Ohio for the actual walk - thank you Wisconsin family! And thank you so much for organizing this, Jessie!

Though I don't have a picture (Becky - a picture??), I also want to acknowledge that one of our other Wisconsin cousins, Ella Thoreson, did 'Jump for Your Heart' at her school in honor of Haley and raised money in her memory. Thank you so much to you too, Ella! :)

One Fine Day

Our first outdoor photo shoot with Dylan-Roo - it was too gorgeous today not to spend some time outside!

Possibly my favorite picture of her yet... She is SO sweet!

Our first walk, and Dylan's first time in the Baby Bjorn! Grandma, Grandpoppy, Chadmo, Dylan, the dogs, and I all walked out to Haley's grave and soaked up some of the lovely sunshine. It was my first walk in almost 2 months, and it felt great to get outside & get moving.

Zonked out on our walk - she's still so tiny we get an awfully cute side view!

Relaxing on the porch swing after the walk - a little piece of Heaven.

This one's a little blurry, but I liked all our hands together, so I couldn't pass it up. :)