The Welch Blog

We're Moving!! (blogs)

2007-11-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

If you want to keep up with the Welch family updates, check out our new blog at http://thewelchblog.wordpress.com. Wordpress is a lot cleaner and has a lot more features for us to enjoy! We'll try to stay there for a while.

Our little Mav's Man

2007-11-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that David and I are huge Dallas Maverick's fans so it's only right that we get Elliott used to the routine early on. He hasn't decided who his favorite player is yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before he's cheering for our favorite team!

Here he is watching his first Maverick's game on TV during the preseason. He really did focus in on the players' movements.

Just the boys

A day for the dogs

2007-11-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sunday night, after Elliott and I got home from Canton, we took the dogs to the dog park. They were in "dog" heaven and Elliott had fun, tool! I am embarrassed to say that we didn't get a single picture of the dogs having fun, but here are a few photos of Elliott enjoying the early evening sunlight! I guess things do change when you have a baby!

This is what women call fun?

2007-11-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

This weekend my mom and I took Elliott with us to Canton to do some shopping. We prepared ourselves for the crowds, but it was still a bit overwhelming at times. We stayed at a cozy B&B in the middle of nowhere and ate some fabulous home cooking! I was a little nervous about having a crying baby in a place where others might actually expect to get a full night of uninterrupted sleep. But, Elliott was very well-behaved and we all survived his first trip out of town. He didn't mind the crowds, but I don't think he was too impressed with what women call "fun"!

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

Halloween in our neighborhood is a big deal, to say the least. David and I had only been living in our house for a few weeks last year at Halloween. We were warned by our neighbors, but nothing could prepare us for just how many kids stopped by for a trick or treat! In fact, last year we ran out of candy in 1 1/2 hours and had to turn the lights off inside and out just to keep kids from approaching the front door. We had to hide out in our own home! So, this year we joined forces with several of our neighbors and combined our candy for the night. Our gracious neighbors, Dolly & Dave, were so sweet to invite people to sit out on their front porch. It's fun to see all of the cute kids in their costumes and we enjoyed getting to share some drinks and appetizers with our neighbors. Because it was nearly 80 degrees outside I decided not to torture Elliott by putting him into his very cute, but very warm, chili pepper costume. He did, however, manage to be festive in a Halloween onesie. He seemed to enjoy the time outdoors, but I think he'll definitely have a lot more fun next year when he can actually go trick or treating!

Elliott and his ladybug friend, Clarity!

'B' is for Bumbo

2007-11-04T18:25:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Elliott in his Bumbo seat that I couldn't resist sharing! His grandma got him the Bumbo seat earlier this week, and he really seems to like it. It's fun for him to be able to sit up unassisted, and it's fun for us to watch him in it! It's also nice to have another place for him to play when he gets bored with everything else!

And, here are a few more photos of Elliott during tummy time!

Baby Boom

2007-10-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

Today we got all of the "summer" babies together after church to take their picture. There are six new ones! It was so much fun to see them all lined up next to each other! It will be neat to have these pictures to remember how they looked as little babies because they are all growing so fast! They aren't in birth order here, but we managed to sandwich the boys with the two girls on the end.

Clarity (#6), Samuel(#5), Winston(#3), Elliott(#4), and Adah(#2) (Jackson(#1) was absent today)

The Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

Today we were invited to go to a pumpkin patch with some friends of ours...it was so much fun! It was a beautiful sunny day...perfect for taking pictures with pumpkins! I'm not so sure that Elliott and Clarity thought taking pictures with pumpkins was quite as fun as we did. But, for the most part, they were very patient with us. Clarity's mom, Shelley, sent me these pictures of the babies with their "thoughts". I hope you don't mind, Shelley, but I couldn't resist passing them along...

Clarity to Elliott: "You having any fun?"
Elliott to Clarity: "No, let's tell them how we feel."

Both Babies: "Waaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Here are some more pictures from the day. Enjoy & Happy fall!

Perfect Picnic

2007-10-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Today Elliott and I had a picnic at the Kimbell Art Museum with our friends Shelley and Clarity. It was a perfectly beautiful day to spend outside! The babies had so much fun laying on blankets under the trees. They really seemed to enjoy being outdoors. The mommies also had fun talking to one another! Here are a few pictures from today's picnic...Shelley and I were hoping that Clarity and Elliott would hold hands, but I guess they weren't ready to take their relationship to the next level yet!

Happy Babies!

Close, but not quite

Clarity with her mommy

Elliott loves watching the trees above him!

Clarity loves looking around!

Clarity & Elliott practice their moves!!

Happy 2 Months, Elliott!

2007-10-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Today we are celebrating because Elliott is 2 months old! It seems like just yesterday that we saw his face for the first time. He started smiling at us last week and this week he has started to talk to us. He seems to get sweeter every day! Yesterday he had his 2 month check up with Dr. Jeff and he got 4 shots! Ouch! As of yesterday he weighs 11 lbs 6 ounces. We are enjoying the way that he focuses on our faces and objects around him. This Sunday during church the scrolled end of the pew was very fascinating! Other exciting things to look at include curtains, lights, and ceiling fans...spinning or still! Tricia returns to work next week so that leaves the late night feedings up to dad! We'll keep you posted! Here are some recent pictures! Enjoy!

Silly Boy!

Silly Daddy!

Elliott's Sock Monkey Quilt from Nonnie

A day in the park

2007 Jazz by the Boulevard

Enjoying or enduring tummy time?

"What are you doing, Mom?"

That was then...

...and this is now! Happy 2 months, Elliott!

Elliott makes his mark

2007-09-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it! Elliott is 6 weeks old today. I had my 6 week postpartum check up at the midwives' office today and I got an A+...well, an A- because my blood pressure is still somewhat elevated. They say that's probably due to a lack of sleep! It was so good to see Sharon, the midwife who actually delivered Elliott, again. We shared such an intimate day in our lives with her and I found myself missing her after the delivery. Elliott got most of the attention, and everyone at the office got a chance to love on him. We also got to participate in a neat tradition that they do with the babies after 6 weeks. All of the babies they deliver have their footprints marked on the walls of the office. It was fun to sit in the waiting room while I was pregnant and look at all of the names, weights, and birthdates of all of the babies delivered by the midwives. And now, Elliott has made his mark, too! He was a very good sport about it, but then again, he is a good sport about most things!

Applying the ink...

...ready to go!

Elliott makes his mark!

All done!

Precious feet!

Sharon, our wonderful midwife!

Getting some love from Dora the office manager...

...and from Susan, the nurse!

What a fun day!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5...roll 'em!

2007-09-06T03:22:00.000-07:00

Well, we've made progress! The first night that we tried Dr. Jeff's "rules" Elliott actually went 4 hours at night between feedings. Within a few days he was lasting 4 1/2 hours. The last two nights he's gone 5 hours! Yay! We're almost there! We had a very busy Labor day weekend with Bar-B-Q's, a pre-football game tailgate party, a picnic, and time by the pool playing cards at Grandma's house. Elliott really seemed to enjoy the outdoors, especially with a nice breeze. We've been practicing a lot of tummy time. Yesterday I put Elliott on his tummy in the cradle and returned a few minutes later to find him on his back! Since then, he's done it twice more! (I'm going to try and capture it on video and post it on the blog.) I was a little freaked out at first by it, but we've done some research and discovered that, although it is very rare, babies can roll over as early as 1 month. It is so amazing to watch him change in little ways every day. They really do grow up fast don't they?

UPDATE: We got it on video!

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3

Growing like a weed!

2007-08-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

Today we took Elliott to see Dr. Jeff for his one month check up. He said Elliott is doing great! We were surprised to find out that he now weighs 8 lb 12 ounces and is 21 inches long! Dr. Jeff is known for helping parents get their babies to sleep through the night at an early age...this is one reason we decided to see him. So, today he gave us the low down on his recipe for success in the sleeping department! David and I were all ears because we are definitely feeling a little sleep deprived these days. As of tonight, Elliott will no longer be sleeping in our room. Adios amigo! To quote Dr. Jeff, "We'll send you a post card." Also, we will start trying to put him in bed between 7pm and 9:30pm. This will help him establish a routine that he can maintain throughout childhood. We certainly don't want a 5 year old who stays up until midnight every night. Great advice! Apparently, once a baby is over 8 lb they have the ability to sleep 6-8 hrs at night...Hmmmm...now we know that Elliott has been keeping secrets from us! We thought it was a very nice visit with the doctor and we feel better after talking with him. He was very reassuring....now we'll see how fast Elliott can catch on to the new plan! Other news: Elliott took a bottle for the first time last night. This was fun because David got to feed him...they both performed like champions! Elliott loves to ride in his carseat...he falls asleep every time we're in the car. He is a great shopper...very important to mom! He loves taking baths (see photo). We have both of the dogs at home now so it's starting to feel normal around here again...it's loud and there is dog hair everywhere! Also, we have really enjoyed going on a lot of walks around the neighborhood lately to exercise Dexter's knee. Elliott went to church for the first time on Sunday. He was so well behaved...he slept through the whole thing! Later on we'll have to teach him that it is rude to sleep through the pastor's sermon. I guess some things can wait!

And then there were three...

2007-08-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! We thought it would be neat to start a blog for our family now that Elliott is here...I guess that means that we think we're more exciting now. Actually, we just thought it would be a good way for people to check in and get updates on what's going on in our lives, and it will be a good way for us to start a journal of our own. As most of you already know, we just welcomed Elliott Keene Welch into the world 22 days ago! He was born on August 2, 2007 at 7:43pm weighing 6 pounds 3 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long. The pregnancy and birth were absolutely amazing! My labor had to be induced 2 weeks early due to some problems with my blood pressure being too high, but everything turned out great. We had an amazing midwife who gave me the confidence to endure a lengthy delivery! I don't think David and I could have anticipated how wonderful the moment that Elliott made his grand entrance into the world would be. We were both crying tears of joy and relief and we could not have imagined him being more beautiful. I could not believe that we were finally getting to see our child face to face. The first night in the hospital was so special. David gave Elliott his first bath and I lay next to him trying to make myself get some sleep when all I wanted to do was stare at him. Elliott is three weeks old now and we are enjoying him more and more each day. He has a very sweet disposition. He only cries when he's hungry, bored, or having his diaper changed. He is beginning to study our faces more intently. David and I love interacting with him. He loves to eat and is growing so fast! In fact, from one doctor's visit to the next, he had gained 15 oz in 9 days! We'll have another appointment next week so we'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes! Dexter is very interested in Elliott, but Elliott isn't really giving Dexter the attention he thinks he deserves. We keep telling Dexter that they will be playing together soon. Maverick has been staying at my mom's house for the past 2 months because Dexter had knee surgery. He has had the opportunity to meet Elliott and he was very sweet with him. We hope to have Maverick at home with us for good within the next week...making us a complete family at last!