Shiloh Elizabeth

October 1, 2010

Finally, the wait is over! Shiloh Elizabeth Goodwin arrived on August 7, 2010 at 8:08pm after 5 miraculous minutes of pushing...Praise the Lord. In this picture, Canaan meets the long-awaited Shiloh for the first time! "At last. All the preparation of changing Annie's (her Bitty Baby's) diapers and clothes and using up all 126 wipes in the container was worth it. The REAL baby is here."

And now, Canaan is even more prepared...she knows how to "nurse" her baby (which we hope she never does in public) and still uses all 126 wipes in a matter of minutes (which is why many of the wipe dispensers don't actually dispense wipes--they're shoved full of crunched-up and "used" wipes, thanks to Canaan trying to "wipe Annie's poop.")

Family picture #1 of zillions. Peanutty Shiloh weighed in at 6.1, 19 in. Mama weighed in at 297 lbs. Just kidding. Not really.


All those extra pounds and contractions and decreased bladder size: well worth it.













Shiloh's first bath experience: slightly successful. Her hair did get washed (her hair is now growing in blond so it looks like a bad dye-job--light roots, dark tips), the umbilical cord did get wet (and no infection ensued--she now has a normal belly button), her lungs did get a work out (we had forgotten the amount of screaming involved with an infant), Canaan did try to pour water on her face (it's a wonder the 2nd child survives infancy), and we were successfully launched back into infant-hood ("Yes," we remind ourselves, "it's worth it.")

It seems as though your brain conveniently "forgets" the early months of having an infant. I imagine it's so that the human race doesn't just die off because everyone only has one kid.

While it takes some re-adjusting, moments like these make it worth it--big sister holding her little sister, smiling while she imagines, "What would my mother do if I just plucked this button right off Shiloh's dress then quickly popped it into my mouth so she'd have to finger sweep it out while trying to take this cutie picture and supporting the baby's head all at the same time?"

This sweet little face makes it all worth it when it's 4:30 in the morning and we're thinking, "14th day of sleep-torture: fall asleep for 15 minutes, then wake up to yelling baby. Rock the baby. Fall asleep for 15 minutes, then wake up to yelling baby. Change the baby. Fall asleep for 15 minutes, then wake up to yelling baby. Feed the baby..." We are now sleep-torture pros, bring it on Commies--we won't tell you nothin'.

While Canaan came out of the womb as "Miss Independence and full of business," Shiloh came out "Miss Congeniality and full of snuggling." Maybe it's the Second-Child-Phenomenon: I could hold her all day, knowing that this tiny stage doesn't last long, so I have to eat it up while I still can. It's worth it to slow down and enjoy this.

Here, Shiloh's looking at Moses Bardin thinking, "The man's working on two wrists while I've barely got forearm fat. But he sure is cute."

Here, we tried to trick Canaan, "Where's the real baby?"

While a favorite expression in our house is, "Woah!! Gently _____ Shiloh." Fill in the blank with "touch," "kiss," "play with," "place your Barbie next to," "move the firetruck away from," "remove Annie's bottle from". Canaan does love her sister.

Shiloh's first visit to the Mountain House was met with the whole family: Luke and Beth (my sister and her husband), Tim and I (and little muffin-head-Shiloh), Grandpa and Grandma, "Unka John" and Canaan.

While at the Mountain House, we visited a little shop where Tim found his first purchase in preparation of having two beautiful little girls. A pink shotgun. Pump-action. With an orange nozzle.

To welcome Shiloh into the world of ladies and tea, best friends Cassie, Amy, and Bonnie gave us a "Sip-n-See"--the epitome of Southern Tradition, complete with cute dresses, big bows, monogrammed gifts, cucumber sandwiches, and sweet tea.

The ladies! Our house is officially chock-full of estrogen. Poor Tim.

And with estrogen comes gymnastics--including a leotard with panties sticking out. This is first of many girl-things: cheerleading, dance class, tu-tu's, prom dresses, manis, sensible pairs of shoes, boyfriends, and drama.

But girls are worth it!

Proud grandparents: Grammy (my Aunt Beth from Minnesota who stayed for two weeks--I'm thinking of hiring her as our live-in-nanny), Grandpa (my dad), and Grandma (my step-mom). Shiloh thinking, "Will my head ever grow to be as big as Grandpa's hand?"

Cousin Courtney at the lake. And lots of pink.

Our friends, Lindsey and Justin Neal's "little" boy, Alexander. How could a sister not feel safe with a big burly guy next to you, while laying on a fluffy giraffe, surrounded by every doll and stuffed animal imaginable?

The following video chronicles the love between sisters: from giving a false name to protect her identity ("No, sir. My sister won't go on a date with you. Besides, you have the wrong girl. Her name is...uh...um..."), to fibbing about her real age ("Of course we're still 37. This is our 10th anniversary of being 37."), to giving take-your-breath-away-snuggly-hugs. This is REAL love!

And what decent Georgia Fan would let the season pass by without dressing the girls up in cheerleading uniforms and taking lots of pictures? Not this one. Canaan telling her sister, "Just buck up, lady. We all have to wear bows around here and heaven forbid if you spill sauce on your uniform." Shiloh's look of resignation to this fact.

Canaan's look of astonishment at the poor season thus far.

And Daddy's look of peace, "Parenthood? It's worth it."