One Month Old (Well, Technically 6 Weeks Old)

A month has flown by with our little Amelia Claire already, so much so that I had my one month post all ready to publish minus the "sign picture", and well, sickness struck our household! So, here we are at 6 weeks old already!

Amelia is a delightful little baby & has captured the hearts of her family and friends. She sleeps well, eats decently (lots of gas and burps during feedings but that will get better as she gets older, I hope!), and goes with the flow of our household. She is still pretty much a round the clock baby, but lately, she has stretched to four or five hours from her midnight feeding. I'm hoping that means we are turning the corner in the extended night! Right now, Amelia is sleeping in her carseat for bedtime, and mostly she naps in the swing or in the car. I've decided to start the transistion to the crib & "bedtime routine" once the nightly five or six our stretch is consistant. She seems to be more "sturdy" than that tiny little newborn we brought home just a few weeks ago. She's wearing a size one diaper, and her little legs are starting to get chubby as is her face.

Amelia loves the music on her swing, and she's noticing that there is a mobile on it. She's started to track the little fish as they revolve around, & we've gotten a few smiles out of her. We definitely think they are genuine smiles and not just gas! Amelia seems to like to have "noise" unlike her sister. I guess that's the way of a second child --- used to noise and hustle and bustle of the household. Most of the time, Amelia sleeps through Madeline's jibber jabber, imaginary play, poking & prodding, and even her tantrums. Amelia has begun her tenure as a "regular" at the gym nursery, and she's won over the ladies already. They love on her and probably never put her down. It helps that she had an "in" with her older sister!
Amelia is one loved little girl, and we are so blessed to have her in our family!

Above and below pictures --- One month old

Snow Day!

Two snow days already this winter --- what fun! We bundled up Madeline with the warmest stuff we had (which was meager but she loved wearing Mommy's leopard print scarf!) and headed out. Madeline had a ball even though she nearly froze to death! Her little hands and feet were bright red by the end of our time outside.

Making and throwing snowballs was a favorite!




For the afternoon adventures, Eric made a quick trip to Wally World to procure some galoshes and a less dressy coat. Madeline loved the new boots, and Eric was much happier with her "practical" coat instead of her pea coat.

She loved walking in the road, picking up the ice chunks, and crashing them back onto the street. She did this over and over.

Madeline's more practical snow gear thanks to Daddy's quick trip out during naptime.

My two favorite Madeline funnies from the day ---

"Daddy! You look like a GIANT!" as Eric was putting on some pants over his jeans to keep warm and dry.

"Mommy, can I wear your glugs?!" glugs = gloves

My BIG Girl

Maybe it's having such a little one in the house again, but Madeline seems like such a big girl now. She's talking up a storm, putting sentences & thoughts together like crazy, her imagination & play have exploded, asking endless questions, and acting more like a "kid" than a toddler. It's wild. It's fun. It's exhausting. And, I love her dearly.Madeline has been an awesome big sister over the last month. She's had very few outbursts regarding Amelia requiring more of my attention, and she's actually been quite helpful & understanding. Madeline loves Amelia to pieces, and I am pretty sure Madeline wants to fast forward about 6 months when Amelia can "do something". Right now, Madeline's famous question to Amelia, "You want to play with me, baby sister?" just gets answered with a squeak or a blank stare.

Madeline has been getting reports such as, "She has the best manners." and "She is so welcoming to our new friends in the class." from her teacher. We are proud of her reports. Madeline has grasped the concept of please, thank you, you're welcome, bless you, and other mannerly behaviors such as using a napkin or asking to be excused from the dinner table. She's learned some very hard lessons here at home in the manners department. Madeline loves people, and she engages in conversation with others very well for a two year old. She's not terribly shy especially in a comfortable setting such as her classroom. Unfortunately, we've had some not so glamorous moments at bedtime and naptime with her pulling all her clothes out of her dresser --- seven drawers worth of stuff to be exact. Clothes, socks, tights, jammies, etc. strewn about the room and piled in her bed. Yea, not okay with this particular Mama. Unfortunate consequences that had to be repeated. However, the second time around Daddy delivered the consequence, and that always seems to do the trick. Knock on wood, but we've not had anymore drawer incidents since Daddy's intervention. Currently, we're working on patience and interrupting adult conversation...this will take some time, but it needs to be a priority. Whew, tough concept for our Madeline.

Madeline continues to be a girly girl fashionista with a big opinion regarding her clothes, bows, shoes, and such. For the most part, it's not been much of a battle as she seems to like my taste in her ensembles, but I know our days will come when the Mama vs. Daughter fashion battle will occur. Madeline loves her glasses, jewelry, purses, perfumes, and make-ups. Luckily, she's okay with all the play versions of those things, but I foresee her wanting the real things in our not so distant future.

Our big girl makes us super proud, and we constantly find ourselves chuckling at the things she does and says.

Madeline had a special date with Daddy over the holidays to the Krispy Kreme. What a treat --- donuts and Daddy!

There's a Newborn in Our House

I had to laugh at our drainboard in the sink the other night. Two wine glasses, the coffee pot innards, and lots of bottles & Medela pumping items!


This pretty much sums up our day --- coffee in the mornings, lots of Amelia feedings & Mama taking care of milk business, and a glass of wine to wind down the evening when there's the very short hour that BOTH Madeline and Amelia are asleep.
Ahhh, life is good.