New Tricks!

Elliott learned a new trick--rolling over! Now, he is only able to roll over from his tummy to his back, but this is typical of 2 month olds. This means that Elliott is not so far behind his full-term peers...somewhere out there. :) While he seems to act like a preemie in some ways (like nursing) he seems to act like a full term baby in other things.
Elliott also started smiling recently, and it's so sweet to see! I don't have any pictures of his social smiles yet, (smiles from "just gas" are different). However, the blogger site is experiencing technical difficulties and I'm not able to upload any pictures--sorry!
Today is Brooks and my anniversary. We are celebrating by inviting a plumber to come fix our recently leaky toliet in the upstairs bathroom. Sounds like fun, huh? I just got the call that they will be here in about 45 minutes. We also got a little surprise this morning when Brooks's alarm didn't go off...or at least neither of us heard it...so he slept in, so we got to spend a little more time together, which was really nice. I also managed to have some kind of neck spasm, so I got into the chiropractor this morning, and thankfully he was here to take care of Elliott for me! I need to call and get back into the midwifery for another small concern that I won't disclose. But I would appreciate your prayers that there isn't another complication. It sounds small but necessary to take care of it is what we think it is.
Time to get Elliott down for a nap! Another cool trick he does sometimes. :)

Trip to Pennsylvania - Grandpa Charles Locke Goes Home

During Jillian's spring break, we had the honor and priviledge of a week long visit by Grandma Locke, known to me and my circle of friends as Mama Locke. :) While she stayed with relatives, the (Bruce and Judy) Duncans, she came to our house everyday and had long visits with Jillian and Elliott, and made delicious meals.

We are so grateful and thankful for Mama Locke's visit and all the yummy favorites she made for dinner. Our dinners together allowed us to share our highs and lows of the day (sometimes, Elliott was both! ;) All in all, while we kept anticipating that Mama Locke would have to leave us early to return home, only to prepare to leave for Langhorne. (Grandpa "babysitting" and Elliott as papoose or joey and me as the kangaroo mommy)

On Friday, April 4th, Brooks came home from work and Mama Locke got "the call". Grandpa Locke finally went home to be with his Lord. After a few calls to Grandma Locke in PA, we determined that Dad Locke had time to come out to IL for Elliott's dedication, then he and Mama Locke were off to help prepare for the funeral services on Friday, the 11th.
It was a really nice service--all of the Lockes (besides Grandma) got involved. Dad Locke shared his memories, Brooks led prayer at the end, and Mama Locke and I provided music. I sang "In Christ Alone", a song that was actually a congregational hymn at our wedding, while Mama Locke played keyboard. It was beautiful, emotional, and I think it was a wonderful way to remember Grandpa Locke.

We had a very nice visit with Grandma Locke, and she simply adored Elliott!!! Hope you like the pictures of her with him. I also made sure that we got a picture of four generations of the Locke family. :) You don't see that every day! (Jillian stayed home so she wouldn't miss school and get behind.)

Elliott was great on the plane both ways, even though Southwest decided to become an airline that I choose to avoid--again. FYI--Southwest Airlines does NOT pre-board families traveling with infants anymore--they have to wait until all of the "A" boarding group (60 people) boards, then you get to drag all of your stuff to the back of the plane if you plan to sit with your family. So, if you have to fly with a small child, save yourself the hassle and DON'T FLY SOUTHWEST!!!

Here are a couple of really cute pictures to show you Jillian, the sweet big sister, and Elliott's beautiful big blue eyes up close and adorable. :) He's so sweet, and I love him very much, even though he's still working on how to sleep without someone holding him. He is getting better, but I expect this to be a longer-term project, especially getting him to sleep through the night. I recently got Elliott to space out his nursing schedule to every 2 1/2 to 3 hours instead of every 2 hours, which is very helpful. My friend, Jessica Sanders, introduced me to Babywise, a book to help parents teach their babies to eat and sleep in a way that allows mom some time to breathe. I'll have to post more about that another day. All I have to time to say now is that I wish I had read this sooner (all you expectant mommy friends, are you reading this???) even though I'm not new to parenting, and that I am looking forward to the day that Elliott starts sleeping through the night on top of him spacing out his feedings. I'm starting to feel more like myself again. :) YAY! Thank you, Jesus!!!

Please Post Comments!!!

Please feel free to post comments on our blog! We welcome them! In fact, they inspire me to post more fun pictures! So if you want to see more, give us some feedback, even if it's just "aww, how cute". You can email us directly if you want to keep your comments less public.
Thanks!

Dedication Dinner

Here are the pictures of Sunday dinner with all of Elliott's grandparents after his Dedication.


Elliott with Mom and Dad.

Elliott with big sister Jillian. Cute, huh?


The Family (minus the kids)

Papa Zoo and Grandma Judy with Elliott

The "Little Prince" with Grandma and Grandpa Locke
(Grandma got him the adorable outfit, too!)

Grampa Jim and Nana and the future fan of a football team other than the Cowboys.

Elliott with Aunt Gail and cousin Lauren - Katie had to work :(

Here's a cute picture of Elliott that was from way before his dedication. :)

Elliott is Dedicated to the Lord!

On Sunday, April 6, 2008, Elliott Charles Locke was dedicated to the Lord. For those who are not familiar with the tradition of infant dedication, here is what we do and why.














We stand on the platform before the congregation with the other families with infants to be dedicated.

We take turns bringing our child to Pastor Todd Augustine (the pastor who married us almost 2 years ago!) who introduces the baby to the congregation and gives background on their name, why the name was chosen and what it means. Then he prays for them, and he usually prays something related to the meaning of their name.














Elliott - English form of Elijah; meaning "The LORD (Yahweh) is my God"

Charles - meaning "strong and manly"

Pastor Augustine commented that he certainly is manly, getting a chuckle from the congregation. :)

Then he prayed that he would grow up strong in the Word and that he would know the LORD as his God, coming to faith at an early age.

Pastor Todd then asked us if our intention was to commit our child to the Lord, raising him to encourage his faith and to teach him about the Bible and it's truths, with the intention that one day he would come forward as an "adult" and make a public profession of his faith and be baptized. He asks the congregation if they will help and support us as the church family.

As Evangelical Christians, we believe that it is our faith in and love for Jesus Christ that saves us, not our baptism. In the Bible, when someone came to faith in Jesus, they were baptized, out of obedience and as a public profession of their inward change and connection with Christ. Some traditions baptize their children as infants, then confirm their faith around 8th grade. We dedicate our children, our gifts from God, to God as we raise them in the truths of the Bible so that they will come to a saving faith by the grace of God and choose to follow Him, including baptism, when they are ready.

My Midwife

This is Liz Garcia, the midwife that delivered Elliott and helped us to achieve the birth that we were hoping for, despite all the complications. She was so encouraging and professional and wonderful! She asked me if it was the experience I wanted, and I told her that it went as well as it could have, and I felt so empowered to have been able to endure my labor. She also said that Deb Lawrence, our doula, really was amazing! Hopefully I will be able to meet up with Deb soon so I can get a picture with her and post that.

I won't go into details, but my 6 week check up brought me good news and bad news. The good news was that I had the most comfortable exam I've ever had--practically painless!!! I highly recommend that if you haven't tried midwifery before, even for well-woman gynecology care, you really should!!! The bad news was that I wasn't back to where I need to be, so she extended my medical leave for two more weeks (I have one more week left at this point). It doesn't really affect my work (since I am not returning to work until the end of May) but some of my symptoms aren't comfortable. I guess it's a good thing! Now that I finally received my paperwork to extend my medical leave, I haven't had a chance to get back to the midwifery.