A new toy

We got a new camera. A Nikon SLR. And Doug and I are both really enjoying it. We're able to take pictures we couldn't with our P&S.

Danielle will not suffer from lack of pictures of her. We have taken hundreds in the couple of weeks we have had it. We have tons of pictures of Bradley too, since we got our first digital camera right before he was born. We are not lacking in baby pictures at this house.

Finally

Pictures of me and Danielle that are worthy of sharing.

It only took 8 weeks to get them...

Two months

Danielle turned two months last Sunday. It's been a bit of a crazy week, with all the puking, I'm just now getting a chance to blog about it.

This picture was taken on her birthday.

At two months, she is holding her head up really well. She still spits up a lot, but we're used to it now and it doesn't bother her or us. She sleeps awesome at night. Last night she slept for 8 hours the first stretch! Napping during the day is not as great, but since she sleeps so great at night, I won't complain. She is still very high maintenance. She doesn't like to be put down for very long, which makes it hard to get things done. But she has started cooing and she smiles all the time now, so that makes it all worth it. She especially loves to look at herself in the mirror. The newness of her has worn off and it feels like she has always been here.

At her 2 month checkup on Wed, she weighed 12 lbs, 10 oz and was 23.75 inches long (90-95% for both). She has officially moved up to size 3-6 month clothes.

Off the hook?

Bradley is now puking.

So maybe it wasn't the soap after all?

But I don't feel good about that. My poor little man. :(

I suck at this

Yesterday, Gracie BIT Bradley TWICE. My less-than-a-month-from-turning-8 daughter thought biting was the answer. I'm embarassed. I'm obviously failing her.

At first, I did a superb job of controlling my temper. I spoke calmly instead of yelling. I explained to her why it is completely unacceptable for her to bite her brother. Then I told her that the next time she bites, I will wash out her mouth with soap. I remember my mom washing my mouth out with soap as a kid and boy did it leave an impression. I thought maybe this was the answer. But when Gracie heard my threat, she laughed. And kept laughing. So I told her since it was so funny, we could just do it then for the two bites she had already done that day.

If I could go back in time, I would have walked out of her room.

Instead I took her to the bathroom where I washed out her mouth with soap. And at first, the smug little thing was still smiling. Then she was spitting a lot and then saying she felt like she was going to throw up. Thinking she was being overly dramatic as usual, I ignored her and told her to brush her teeth again and go to bed.

Two hours later, Doug and I were about to turn in for the night when I heard coughing sounds from Gracie's room followed by "I just threw up in my bed". Great. Guess I won't be using the soap in the mouth form of discipline anymore since I got punished WAY more than she did. Puke all over the bed. One of her cherished teddies is on it's way to the landfill now (which made my cry last night thinking about it). While in the tub getting cleaned up, she had to hurl again and puked all over the bathroom floor, door, doorjam, toilet (not in it, but on the outside) while trying to get to the toilet from the tub. I barely avoided adding to it while cleaning it up. It was so gross.

So my child who had perfect attendance until today is home with me. And I kept Bradley home too because I didn't want to risk Gracie puking in my car while taking him to or from school. And while I know puking sucks (as the memory is still fresh from when I was pregnant), cleaning it up from all over the house sucks worse.

Note to self: Do not ever wash out a child's mouth again.
(How lucky my mom was that I didn't puke after she did it.)

Odds and Ends

Doug's aunt Cindy and her partner Mary were here for a brief visit and we got to see them Friday night and Saturday morning. I forgot my camera Friday night, so these pics are from Sat:

The grown-ups in the top part of the swing set while the kids are in the sand underneath. This is also a good illustration as to why we require Gracie to wear shorts under dresses.


Cindy holding Danielle.

I take a lot of pictures of Danielle. But the big kids always want to be in the pics too. Here are a few faves of mine.

Gracie kissing Danielle... priceless for the expression on Danielle's face.

Gracie is such a ham. But this would be a really good picture if her hair wasn't going everywhere.

Bradley kissing Danielle. Not the best pic, but I couldn't leave him out.

Last night while I was fixing dinner, Danielle got fussy. Since she was in the living room with Doug and the other kids, I knew he would handle it. This is what I found when I came in to check on them:

Here's a close up shot. He was playing Mario while bouncing Danielle on his lap. He said it made it more challenging.

And on that note, I should also mention that Doug and Gracie saved the Princess last night. And all I can say is THANK GOD. Because now my whole family can stop obsessing about a video game. ;)

Thoughts on Three

When I was a kid, I always said I did not want three kids. I hated how it was always two against 1, even though it was rarely the other two against me. And I hated being packed like sardines into the backseat of the car for long road trips. H.A.T.E.D. it. That was one of the reasons we got an SUV with a third row when we bought a new car. I knew if we ever had #3, my kids would not have to be crammed three across like I was as a kid.

The plan had always been two. That's what we had discussed before we got married. But somewhere along the way, that changed for me. And for years, I obsessed about it. Tried to figure out what was the right answer for our family. Doug and I talked about it over and over again. And we decided to let Fate decide for us and we ended up pregnant with #3. And then suddenly, I was sure I had made a mistake. We had a good thing going, the four of us, and why did I want to rock the boat? I was terrified of how adding a third would affect all of us.

And now she's here. And the transition to a family of five has been easier than I ever could have imagined. And I know we didn't make a mistake and that this was what our family was meant to be.

Even if having three kids virtually guarantees that we'll never have good expressions on every face for pictures anymore. ;)

Milestones

Last night, Danielle slept through the night for the first time. I know it will likely be a while before she does it consistently, but it was nice to sleep for 6 hours without waking last night.

And today she finally smiled. I think she is a bit late for this one, but she's not the happiest baby. She is often cranky, so I think that's why it took her a bit longer. Hopefully there will be many more smiles in the near future.

6 weeks

Danielle is 6 weeks old today!

She's filling out and looking more and more gorgeous every day. Luckily, the baby acne is on it's way out. Her disposition is a bit better lately, but she's still grumpier than I'd like. We haven't seen a smile yet, but I'm willing to bet her big brother will be the one to get the first one from her. Bradley is fascinated with her and loves to talk to her and entertain her and most of the time she just looks at him equally fascinated. They get more time together since he only goes to school 3 days week. Gracie loves to hold her and talks about how pretty Danielle is all the time.

I can't believe she is already 6 weeks old. It's going by way too quickly.

sand = FUN

Doug worked hard this weekend making a sandbox under the swingset for the kids. It turned out great and the kids love it. I love it too, until it comes time to give them a bath and get all the sand out of their hair. ;)

All that remains

Last Tuesday, I had a sore throat. Wednesday morning, it hurt badly enough that I took Advil. The Advil knocked out the pain and I functioned pretty well until it wore off, around 2 pm. I took more Advil at 3, but it never made the pain go away like the morning dose did. At dinner that night, it hurt to eat, so I ate little. Which particularly sucked because we had brisket. I was in so much pain that night that I took a leftover Vicodin and went to bed early, even though my sister, her boyfriend and my parents were all playing cards at our house. I slept little Wed night, as I woke often in pain. The Vicodin didn't even make the pain go away. I got up with no alarm clock at 6 am Thurs, which for those who know me, know that's a big deal. I got online to find a doc on our insurance (as we have yet to find a new one since we moved back). I could not talk, only whisper, so Doug called and got me an appt. It was confirmed as strep and I opted for a shot + oral meds to help me get better faster. The doc recommended I wear a mask until I was no longer contagious to help keep Danielle from getting it. She also let us know what to watch for in Danielle if she were to get it. The shot hurt like a son of a gun, but I was miserable and wanted to feel better faster. By Sunday, I was back to normal and eating enough to make up for all I didn't eat when my throat hurt so badly. Today, all that remains is a HUGE bruise from the shot. It was bad the first day, but has gotten worse every day.

Yes, I just put a picture of my ass on the internet.

two days of bliss

Neither Gracie nor Bradley took a pacifier. I waited the recommended time for breastfed babies before trying it with Danielle. We tried it last Tuesday night and she loved it! It was the easiest night we had with her in a long time. I was ecstatic to finally have a kid who takes a pacifier.



On Wednesday, it was more of the same. She took it and loved it and it was great.

Since then, she has completely lost interest.

I'm bummed. But I'm going to keep trying it and hope that she takes to it again at some point.

And if you notice the time on this post, I'll also hope she decides to go to sleep sometime soon. ;)

Dying eggs

We meant to do it Friday. Then planned to do it yesterday. But it didn't happen until today. The kids had fun and I'm sure they'll enjoy eating the eggs they colored too, as they are both fans of hard boiled eggs.

Stay Safe Grandpa

As we speak, my dad is in the air on his way to Africa for work. He'll probably be there 2-3 weeks. It's a bit scary for us every time he goes over there.

He got extra bonding time with his newest grandbaby before he left.

meeting The Boyfriend

My sister was just in town for a week. Her boyfriend of two years came down Mon-Thurs to meet my parents (and Doug and the kids) for the first time.

My kids loved him.

They played piggy back tag in the backyard...

made cake balls for dessert...

(this is a bad shot but shows how all four of them worked on it)

and played Beatles Rockband.

I have to include a pic of Ticia holding Danielle, since she claimed rights to do so the entire time she was here. :)

We all had a great time and we hope to see Ticia and Dave again soon.

(And I hope Ticia isn't too mad at me for posting this.)