Baby Lou, 7 weeks and Hello my House!

We've been listening to lots of Lou Reed around here lately.  Bettylou is called alternately Betty, LouLou, BL, Beelzebub, and BOB.  Although officially her name is Betty Lou, we usually write it Bettylou. Whatevs. A rose by any other.

One of my arms, the other is Jude I think.

This little rosebud had some major weight gain problems in her first month.  By the end of month one she had not regained her birthweight.  Cause you know, having four kids wasn't enough, I had to have feeding problems.  She was nursing, I was pumping, she seemed satisfied but she just wasn't growing.  My doctor determined that my milk was low calorie.  Apparently I make fat free milk.  So we had to go to the doctor a lot for weight checks and our doctor happened to be in my old neighborhood.

When BL was two weeks old I was heading to her doctor appointment and drove by the kid's old school.  Across the street was a house for sale. I knew as soon as I saw it God had put that house for sale just for us.  There was our home.  Don't care how many hoops we have to jump through, like meeting a child or a husband you see the place and your heart just says, "Oh, that's mine.  Hello, my house."

Maybe more pictures when we're more settled. 

After three weeks of completely annoying and unnecessarily stressful home buying, we suddenly packed up our house in Utah County and tada! dumped off our stuff in our new house.  Now we are in our forever home.  It is three blocks away from our sewage house and literally across the street from the elementary, I wave the kids to school and can watch them go inside from my porch.  My friends, all the amazing women I've met through neighborhood, school and ward are all just a few streets away.  My kids got into the original programs I planned for them, though they had given up coveted spots (we have all day kindergarten AND pre-K for Silas!). I got my entire life back, just better. Thank you for praying!

Now I've said this before, but here I am again feeling a lot like Job.  All that I lose I regain, but better. I am tried and tried, confirmably more acutely than is generally reasonable, but then my life doubles in perfection in ways I'd never have imagined. Had a good house, lost it, got a better one. Had an eternal husband and family, lost it, got a better one and I get to have my kids 100% of the time.  It's like God just has his foot on the trials accelerator and then lets up all of the sudden.  I'm too nervous to be this happy. I walk around marveling.

Now we are 2/3 moved in and our sweet baby girl is gaining weight.  She just had a growth spurt (7 weeks) and is now transitioning out of the newborn phase and into infant.  She grew out of newborn size diapers last week. 6 weeks in newborn size!  See, that's a little tiny baby.

First smiles and starting to coo!

Oh, and I also started teaching a class at the community college right in the middle of all this.  It's only two days a week and it's a half semester class, but that means I have to leave all my people for four hours in the afternoon.  I love it but it's hard.  I may need to retire.  

7 weeks Bettylou, finally getting some mass.

My life has big highs and big lows, it's exciting but hellish to live through.  Right now I feel like we're cresting, but I hope it's a permanent plateau.  Thankfully we have so many wonderfully supportive people in our lives, including in the blogosphere.