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Summertime Fun

Well its been a while since my last post on Mother's Day. Things are busy at the Lytle Home.


First an update on Eliza. It is amazing how in just a few weeks she is really starting to look and act like a baby and not an infant. She is now 14 weeks, smiling, holding her head more steady and really staring you down. In fact she and her daddy have a "big eye" game. It is so cute to see them mimic each other. Its one of Eliza's favorite games. She continues to love being outside (too bad its 100+ and our morning and evening swings have been cut short) and being naked and she loves spending time with all of her Grandparents and Auntie Sutti. We were so lucky to have Sutton stay with us for a few days - I don't know who enjoys her visits more - me, Eliza or Suzy. Thank you for all your help Aunti Sutti!














Yesterday we hosted a baby shower for my dear neighbor, Tracy. She is due on the 28th of July. She will being having a baby boy - named John Michael and they will call him Jack after Mike's late father. The shower was sweet and special just like Tracy. Tracy was very good to us while I was on bedrest and I wanted to do something to repay her - I think she enjoyed it.




Aunt Shug and Uncle Walter were here from Florida a few weeks ago to meet Eliza for the first time. It was so nice to see them as always. Eliza and Uncle Walter have the same hair do - none on top and thick in the back - too cute!

Eric's Aunt Nancy and cousin Henry also met Eliza for the first time. They came bearing gifts (Eliza got her first rocking dino) and Nancy brought her famous blondies which as always are sinful and COMPLETELY not on my diet but I couldn't resist! Henry is all grown up and as cute as he could be - he will make some girl real happy one day - school is out and he is a rising senior!





Our friend Russell paid us a visit - his stay was brief because he was headed to his dad's place but he brought the most beautiful hand knitted blanket done by his aunt. I know Eliza will love it - maybe she will even take it to college with her like her Mommy did with hers! Russell at 6'5 and 315lbs is by far the biggest person she's ever seen. Do you see amazement in her eyes?




Well I guess that is it for the major news. All is well at the Lytle home and we hope for the same at yours!

-Caroline & Eric

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my MC girls, Wilmington girls, Raleigh girls, VA girls and of course Mom and Cynthia! What a fun day it was. The weather was a little nasty but we didn't let that dampen (literally) our spirits. Eliza and I woke up at about 6:30 - drank 4 oz and then we took a little nap - by 7:30 it was time to get ready for church. We met mom and dad at the 9:45 service and then went to the Oceanic for a nice lunch. Eliza slept through everything but woke up hungry when the food arrived - imagine that! It was a wonderful morning spent with mom and dad.

We then scooted home, loaded up Suzy and headed to Whiteville. Eric's Grandpa celebrated a birthday on Friday so the whole family came over to eat a Jones Family feast and hang out. It was so good to see everyone. Eliza enjoyed all the attention. I have never seen her smile as big as she did when Eric's second cousin, Brooke picked her up and held her. She thought she was beautiful - she is!

We got home about 7:00 PM - we were all wiped out! Eric, Eliza and Suzy gave me my Mother's Day card and gift - looks like I will be spending some time at the SPA! YEAH!

It was a very special day - one that I hoped to celebrate for a long a time and it was everything I dreamed it would be - thank God for it!

Eric's Grandpa will be having knee surgery this morning so please keep him and the doctors and nurses in your prayers this week - we want a speedy recovery!

Love to you all - CHL

Happy 2 Months Eliza!

Wow - Eliza was 2 months old yesterday - soooo hard to believe. She is doing GREAT and we of course adore her. Here are a few of her latest ....

Last week she was 8lbs 4.5oz, she is alert and able to focus her eyes on things, we have seen a few smiles and coos, she loves her swing, loves the fresh air on the porches and at the lake, she is feeding about 3.5-4oz every 3 hours and has even discovered her pacifier and working on her thumb. She has grown out of her preemie clothes and fits nicely in the newborn sizes. She has even been able to wear some of her precious smocked dresses. She looks like the baby doll I always wanted. I think I enjoy playing dress up more than she does.

We go to the doctor on Tuesday for her 2 month check-up. Hopefully the good news will continue. Cynthia comes to help me every Tuesday so I asked her to get here in time to hold MY hand when ELIZA gets her shots ... poor baby!

Eric and I have made the decision that I will not be going back to work. I will probably help him out 1-2 hrs. a day from home. I am doing my best to be "Baby Wise" in an effort to have more of a scheduled day to juggle both but so far we are not there yet.

We went to the farm the weekend - Eric got another turkey and Eliza, Suzy, Grandma and I went to the lake ... we all had a nice time. Above are some recent pictures ... enjoy!

Eliza is 6 weeks!

I can hardly believe it - it seems like yesterday we were meeting her for the first time. Well its been a wonderful 6 weeks and we have loved most minutes of it - I thought I would be honest since you other mommies and dads know that after the initial "high" wears off the 3 AM feedings are a mental and physical struggle to stay awake - I can officially say that I don't think I have fallen alseep - of course would I know??

Eliza is so much fun - so alert and aware of her surroundings - I no longer have to beg her to eat which makes feeding time a whole lot less stressful. She is growing like a weed - although we don't go back to the doctor until May I have a feeling she is really packing on the pounds - or maybe ounces. We love her full cheeks, double chin and is even getting so "sweet meat" on her little legs. She seems to be able to maintain her body temp. which has been fun to see her not swaddled in 10 different blankets.

We went to the farm for the first time in a while this weekend - Suzy of of course loved it and I think Eliza enjoyed the fresh air on her face. Eric got a turkey and I got some sleep - all in all a great visit!

Attached are a few recent pictures ... I will describe a few since I don't know how to make a slideshow or put captions ...

• "Got Milk" -A Grandaddy Hardy feeding


• Pre-Garden Party Party - we were out of the house -showered and dressed by 10AM - a first for me - thanks to Cynthia (decided not to post this one when I saw how fat I looked)


• A few pics of Eliza in her favorite onesees that Kristin sent us - I don't know what I am going to do when she grows out of them - we wear them everyday!

I'll try to do better about posting .. until then enjoy!

Lots of love - Caroline and Eliza

Wow - It's been awhile ...

My mother-in-law said it best when she said that the one thing that I couldn't live without while I was waiting for Eliza's arrival is the furthest thing from my mind - my laptop. Last time Eric checked I had about 160 unread emails in my hotmail and Outlook account. I have full intentions everyday to get on the computer - read emails and most importantly update the blog but for some reason (gee I wonder) it hasn't happened in a while.

Well enough with the excuses let me tell you what is going on ... Eliza is a dream! We have been to the doctor quite a few times since we brought her home - jaundice and weight gain have been the two main issues. We are happy to say that both seem to be in check - we had to do a 24 hour formula only to see if Eliza had a case of breastmilk jaundice - sure enough she did - I am still able to give her breast milk but just had to stop it long enough to break the cycle.

At Eliza's 2 week appointment she was back up to her birth weight and at her 3 week she was 5lbs. That was a little concerning because she should have gained more - so on Monday our doctor told us that for the next 3 days we had to do breastmilk bottles only - that way we could measure her intake more precisely - sure enough on Thursday Eliza weighed 5lbs 6.5 oz - she gained 6.5oz in 3 days - I am so proud of her and we will continue to bottle feed. I must admit that it's been nice to have Eric to help out with feedings - she feeds about every 2-3 hours so Eric takes the 10PM, 12AM feedings - I of course take the rest. Its amazing how tired you are but some how you push through.

We continue to keep Eliza all wrapped up - our house is a balmy 80 degrees and its pretty hot sleeping but who is really sleeping anyway - we hope with all this weight gain she will have some much needed fat to keep her warm. Good news is warm weather is around the corner. We went for our first walk in the neighborhood yesterday - man it was nice to get out and see everyone. Eliza enjoyed the stroll.

Eliza has had lots of time with her Auntie Sutti and both sets of Grandparents - Sutton spent the second half of last week with me to help out and let me tell you - she was WONDERFUL! I was even able to get my hair colored - yes I am blonde again - thank the Lord!

Eric and I are doing good - a few sleepless nights but I just remind myself that it is what we signed up for and what a blessing it is. I really love being a mommy - sure wish she would have come with an instruction manual and I am sure I have made a 1000 mistakes but luckily Eliza is too young to remember and more importantly tell (smile). You do the best you can, you know. Suzy is adjusting well - as we knew she would. She is a little confused by all the noises Eliza makes (as are we) and this morning I found her sleeping on the floor using a dirty diaper as a pillow - bless her heart. Sidenote - some people say that Suzy would become a "dog" once Eliza joined the family - well they couldn't be anymore wrong - she is just as mucha part of the family - afterall she was my first "baby".

Today we had our first family outting - well I guess not really since we did go to church last Sunday for Easter - Eliza had the most precious outfit that of course her Daddy bought for her - she slept the entire service despite the trumpets and choir! We were so proud. Today we went to pick out Annoucements and lunch - she again was perfect!

The last few days we have really seen a lot more of her eyes open - its fun to see them focus on your face and when she opens her eyes and looks around its like she is seeing the world for the first time.

I could go on forever about all the things we are experiencing with Eliza but I am attemping to watch the UNC game and the truth is I really want to grab a qick nap before the midnight feeding freenzy. I wish you could all see what out bedroom looks like in the morning - empty bottles, blankets, dirty diapers everywhere - its so funny.

Attached are a few recent pictures ... maybe one of these days I could make a slideshow - I am thinking when Eliza is 12 months I'll tackle that.

We hope you are all well and thank you for keeping up with our story.

-Caroline, Eric, Eliza and Suzy