Ten Weeks! Bring on the Smiles!

I tried my hardest to catch Addien's smiles on film this week! They are coming a lot more often and are just so cute! You know she really means it mean she scrunches up her nose (this isn't the best picture of her, but the only one I could get)!

Brody is home with me today so we set up the "photo studio" again to capture some pictures. The best ones were from just setting the camera on the tripod and shooting with the remote! I just love the pictures of Addisen sitting up and smiling (above).

I realized I have very few pictures of me and the kids (because I am normally the one taking the pictures). So I thought we would try to get some today and it worked! These are some of my favorite pictures to date! I love my kids!

Addisen has become more alert this week and actually stays awake for multiple hours at a time. This allows her to get in some time with her favorite friend, "Toucan Sam" (this was Brody's favorite friend when he was a baby too!).

Before we were done with pictures today, Brody had to get a shot of his airplane! His favorite part of pictures is to take them and then run to the camera to look at them. Today he told me that I was taking way too many!

Addisen's sleeping habits have been up and down. Just when I think we are getting somewhere she starts to revert back to just a few hours of sleep. We were waiting to move her to her room until she was sleeping better, but it didn't seem like that was ever going to happen! So last night I made the decision to move her to her crib (although I thought about taking it back when it was bedtime!). She wouldn't fall asleep until after her feeding at 12:30am, but then to my surprise she made it until 4:30am and then again until 7:30am. That was a pretty good night for her (especially for sleeping in a new room). Now all we have to do is get her to fall asleep at a reasonable hour!

Nine Weeks

Addisen turned 2 months old yesterday! The time really has just flown by - I only have 3 more weeks to stay home with her and then it is back to the real world! I have actually come to terms with it all this week and find myself looking forward to seeing who she becomes as she gets bigger (instead of dreading each week that she becomes less of a newborn!).

On Wednesday I set up my "photo studio" in the sun room and worked on getting some good shots for her 2 month portraits. I LOVE digital cameras - they allow me to take 100 shots to get 10 good ones! Here are some of my favorites!

This was a busy week for us! Brody started his swimming lessons last Saturday. Luckily Jim agreed to go in the water with him (I really can't imagine getting in a swimsuit right now!). Brody did really well during the lesson - he was even jumping off the side by the end.

I think the highlight of the swim lesson was the story that Jim had from the locker room. While Brody and Jim were getting ready to go to the pool some of the dad's came in to change in to their swimsuits. As they were taking off their pants Brody asked Jim "Daddy, why is he changing his pants? Did he pee in them?" Jim said he couldn't say anything and definitely couldn't look at the naked man next to him!

Brody picked out a firefighter outfit for his Valentine's Day present. His favorite part is the "smoke mask" and whistle! It is amazing what Addisen can sleep through!

The gifts that Jim and I got from the kids!

This week Brody and I made "pupcakes". The plan was to make all mini cupcakes but after the first 50 I switched over to the normal size! We had lots of fun mixing and testing the batter!

Week Eight Spent with Grandma and Bobo

Addisen, Brody and I spent the week at Grandma and Bobo's because Jim had to travel for work. He was gone Monday - today and I just didn't think I would have much sanity left if I stayed here alone with the kids. I am glad that I ended up going because it ended up being a pretty sleepless week for Addisen! Just when we started to have 4-5 hour stretches at night she went back to 30 minute cycles! My mom and dad were life savers with taking care of Brody in the morning so I could at least get a few hours of sleep in.

Brody had a pretty fun week while we were there. Uncle Neal and Jenny took him to the local children's museum and out to lunch - he had a GREAT time with them! Grandma took him to the library for the first time and he came home with 3 books and 3 movies! Bobo took him to the local pet store and he got to see birds, turtles, frogs, snakes and even 2 potbelly pigs that were there shopping!

Of course he was also spoiled and enjoyed eating all the treats!

I was experimenting with pictures yesterday while we were at my parents - this is the only one that turned out!

We picked Jim up at the airport this afternoon and Brody was excited to welcome him back with our sign! He kept yelling "Welcome to the airport daddy!" There were quite a few people that found him entertaining! We ended up having to wait about a half hour for Jim because his flight was delayed, so while Brody started to lose hope that his daddy was every going to come I suggested that we count. He counted to 5 and I said "Let's try to count higher", so Brody started to jump and count to 5...oh, how I forgot how literal a 3 year olds mind is!

Once Jim got there we went to the arcade for a few minutes and then to wait for Jim's luggage. Two of the pictures above are of Jim and Brody waiting at the baggage claim for his bag. The picture of Brody pointing is what he did to every bag that went by as he was asking "is that your bag?". I stood there and just chuckled to myself because I think he asked that question about 50 times before Jim's bag finally arrived!

Seven Weeks - Wow time is flying!

Addisen is 7 weeks old today! I can't believe that much time has already gone by! I am over halfway done with my maternity leave now and can't even imagine leaving her! I thought it would be easier the second time around, but it definitely isn't going to be.

A lot of people have been asking if Addisen looks like Brody when he was a baby - so I decided to put a few comparison pictures up. As you can see they are two very different babies! The major thing they have in common is that they are good babies during the day and AWAKE babies at night!

This Wednesday we were hit with the blizzard of 2011! Jim had the duty of digging us and our neighbor out (her husband normally loves to snowplow, but he was on a business trip). As you can tell we got quite a bit of snow and it didn't help that it drifted A LOT!

Addisen has had a good week. The good news with her is that her jaundice has started to go away and that we figured out it was due to an interaction with the breast milk and her. So now she is on to bottle feeding! It seems like an abrupt end to our "bonding" time, but now Jim can share in the feeding responsibilities.
Last Saturday we headed to my parents for the first time since Addisen has been born. My mom and dad watched the kids and Jim and I went for a much needed night out. We had a great time celebrating the night with my brother and his girlfriend, Jenny.

I am getting everything packed up this afternoon to go and spend a week at my parents house. Jim has to go on his first trip since Addisen was born and will be gone for the whole week. I thought 5 days with no adult interaction might be a little too much for me, so I opted to take the kids to my parents. We will have a full car on the way there - but it will be a NEW one! Jim finally agreed with me to get a new car with more space and to our surprise it will be ready tonight! We will be driving in our new roomy Acadia with a 3rd row! Now Grandma and Bobo can ride with us instead of taking 2 cars everywhere!

This is Addisen modeling a hat that I made for our neighbor's daughter, Ella. The pattern said 0-6 months and that size fits Addisen no problem - but our family tends to have big heads! When I gave it to the neighbors last night it was obvious that Ella would not be wearing for a while - hopefully we have some cold nights in July! Oh well it's the thought that counts, right?

Celebrating Six Weeks and Dad's Birthday!

What a week! We started the week by celebrating Jim's birthday with a party! Brody had lots of fun getting to spend the day with Nanny, Bobo, Grandma, Uncle Neal, Jenny, Daddy, Mommy and Addisen! There were a lot of people to play with!

Uncle Neal and Jenny took Brody outside for some fun! It was more of a workout for Uncle Neal than Brody!

My mom made Addisen a matching hat and sweater! We were afraid that it might not fit since she is growing so fast - but it looks like she will at least get a couple of wears out of it!

This week has been a trying one for me. Yesterday I took Addisen to my work to see how much she was weighing (up to 10lbs 12oz already!). While I was there a few of the doctors commented on how "orange" she still was. So off we went to the hospital to get some labs drawn. It was heartbreaking to watch Addisen cry as they collected the blood from her. By the end of the day our doctor had called and said that her levels were the same as when she came home from the hospital - so we needed to do some more looking. Unfortunately the lab forgot to collect for one of the tests so we had to go back again today for labs. I took her back and this time instead of a heel poke she had to have blood drawn from her arms! I thought the heel was bad - but I had no idea what it would be like to watch your 6 week old baby suffer as they tried to find a vein in her arm! We heard back on the results today and the good news is that everything appears normal. So we are trying to figure out why her jaundice hasn't gotten any better. We are going to try giving her formula instead of breast milk this weekend to see if this will help things clear through her body. We will be back to the lab on Monday - so please pray that the levels improve and we won't have to continue this process!

Brody is still in love with his baby sister! Tonight he was sharing his toys with her (notice the octopus under her arm). He was so excited to pose for pictures with his baby sister and his toys!

Five Weeks

This week Addisen got to meet her Nanny (Jim's Mom) for the first time! We are so lucky to have her staying with us for a week. Brody was so excited to go to the airport and pick her up on Wednesday. He was so patient waiting for her to come off of her airplane (although at first he really wanted to go and get on her airplane).

Addisen celebrated her 1 month birthday this week! We celebrated by taking Brody to see the Yogi Bear movie at the local theatre. It was Jim's idea to take the two kids - and I have to tell you I was so nervous! Luckily Brody was very well behaved (probably helped that he ate 1/2 of the BIG bucket of popcorn) and Addisen slept through the whole movie.

Addisen is a little more active this week - but definitely still likes to sleep during the day. We have some good nights where we get 3 hours of sleep at a time and some nights of basically no sleep!

Brody has been out of daycare since last Thursday and enjoying every minute of being at home! We have been watching a lot of movies and playing a lot of games. He sure is happy to have his Nanny here!

Four Weeks Already!

When I was pregnant with Addisen four weeks seemed SO long when I was waiting for her due date! Now that she is here, four weeks has gone by way to fast!

On Monday I took Brody and Addisen back to my work to make sure that Addisen's jaundice was getting better. While we were there our doctor wanted to weigh Addisen because she looked bigger to her. Sure enough, in just four days Addisen had gained 10 ounces! She was up to 8lbs 15oz! I am sure by today she is well over 9lbs - this girl can put on the weight!

This week Brody had his "Winter Gala" at Daycare. So Addisen made her first appearance to the daycare she will soon be attending too! It was so fun to see how much Brody had grown since the last time they had a gala. During the last performance Brody clung to his teacher and hid from the audience, this time he stood next to the other kids and sang his songs (even with hand movements!).

We are still adjusting to life here in the house. Brody has started to go to daycare just Tuesday - Thursday so I can spend some extra time with him while I am off. It has been working out well, except on the days that Addisen decides to not sleep the night before! I am sometimes running on empty - but it is worth it to get to spend more time with my family!

This week will be exciting with Jim's mom coming to visit us! We are all excited for her to get to meet Addisen for the first time and spend time with Brody!

Three Week Portraits

Addisen and I set up for some portraits today. I really wanted to try to recreate some of the pictures we had taken of Brody when he was a month old. I was lucky enough to catch her with her eyes open for about 15 minutes and I think our session went pretty well! Here are just a few of my favorites!

We went back to my work yesterday to have Addisen weighed. She is definitely doing a good job of packing on the weight! She is up to 8lbs 5oz - that is 8oz more than when she was born! I think I can finally stop worrying about her eating schedule! She is still jaundice so we will be going back on Monday to see if it has gotten any better. If not then we will probably be going to the hospital for some more blood work. I am really hoping that she will be fine so I don't have to watch her get poked!

Jim and I have been laughing about how much our life has changed in the last few weeks. Brody had finally gotten to the stage where we were back to going out to eat and running errands whenever we wanted to. Now with Addisen joining us we are rarely out of the house and if we do leave it is on her schedule for no more than an hour or two. Our big Friday night consisted of grocery shopping, giving the two kids a bath and then watching tv on the couch! Oh how life has changed in the last 4 years!