Today I am very grateful because it was the end of my 6 weeks of leave and I would have had to return to work today if I was not able to take extended leave. It was very important to me to be able to stay home with Jillian and James agreed. We had decided that it would be best for me to stay at home until August with her. We know that it will be very difficult because of course I'm taking this leave without pay but it will be worth it and I know that I am blessed to be able to spend this precious time with Jillian. I could not image having to leave her at this point now and return to work.
A lot has been happening and Jillian is doing great. She is now sleeping about 5 hours at night. She usually eats around 9 and doesn't wake up until around 3. She is also much more alert when she is awake. She is smiling and cooing or at least trying to - sometimes all that spit just seems to get in the way. She also eats alot and is sometimes still hungry after nursing for 35-40 minutes!
Here is what we have been up to...
Jillian has been drinking some bottles and her daddy thought she was a genius so had me take this picture. He said she was trying to hold her own bottle.
We made our 1st trip to Hallettsville 2 weekends ago. We also got our 1st pictures of Jillian smiling. It still melts my heart when she smiles!
Mommy and Jillian in Hallettsville
Bandit also learned a new trick in Hallettsville. He figured out that he liked to drink beer. Unfortunately he also cut his tongue on the can and was bleeding everywhere.
Family picture
I finally got some naked baby pictures. It took a while because every time I went to take a picture when she had her legs cutely folded and covering herself she would spread her legs wide open. I gave up and just got a waste up shot.
Here we were trying on her Easter dress
Mommy and Jillian also made another trip to Hallettsville for Jeff and Teresa's wedding shower. Willa and Graciella were fascinated by Jillian.
Some days Jillian decides she does not want to take a nap and mommy decides she desperately needs a nap so this is what usually happens. She sleeps very soundly when she is next to me and she actually slept for 3 hours on this occassion and it was great. James took the picture because he thought it was funny that we both had the same arm out while we were sleeping.
Jillian's new thing is that she likes to sit and stand when you hold her. She is actually quite strong and puts a lot of pressure on her legs when she stands.
She also had her first round of shots on Wednesday. She did great but had a very delayed reaction. The nurse had finished all three shots before I think she realized what had happened and started screaming - actually she did that silent cry where they are gasping for air. It broke my heart but I actually didn't cry which I was surprised. 
Here she is with her Charlie Brown bandaids. She was a little fussy after her shots and I think all she literally did the next two days was eat, sleep, and poop - no smiles and no playing. She is feeling back to normal though now so we survived.
