A Strong Girl

Our little Emma is so strong... she has been holding her own head up since she was a day old. Two of her favorite places to be is on Daddy's shoulder and Mommy's chest. In both places, she holds her head up high so she can look around!

And one of her favorite things to look at is our picture wall. I guess it's the bold black and white colors that attract her. She can stare at that wall for quite some time!

 Some friends came to visit recently and they brought Lea a big sister present. She got a new tiera with a matching necklace, ring and ear rings (her very first!). She was on cloud nine!

 Lea really is a great big sister. She is a huge help... fetching a pacifier, burp cloth, blanket... what ever I need help with, she is quick to assist. She loves to give Emma kisses on the nose and the top of her head and about every couple of days, she asks to hold Emma...

Tonight we were finally able to give Emma her first real bath (her umbilical cord stump fell off last night). Of course, Lea was ready to help!

We are loving life with two fabulous, little girls!!! :)

Sisters

Two Weeks

Emma is now two weeks old. It's already hard to remember life without her! At her well check yesterday, we found out that she weighs almost 9 pounds (60th percentile) and is also in the 60th percentile for height. The pediatrician said she looks perfect! Emma sleeps very well at night. She typically nurses around 10:30pm, 2:30am and 6:30am. Kevin is still a huge help, even though he is back at work. He helps with Emma's midnight diaper change and with Lea's breakfast every day.

Going to her doctor appointment was my first outing with both girls by myself. Lea was really a big helper and was so well behaved. After the appointment, we got smoothies at McDonald's and then after a 30 minute camp-out in the parking lot at Walmart (I nursed Emma), we ran some errands. I was proud of myself...and my kids...for doing so well. :)

Lea is still doing pretty well with this big change in her life. She does have one or two random melt-downs every day... and when I say melt-down, I mean M E L T - D O W N. It's always over something super trivial and usually happens when I am nursing Emma. It breaks my heart! I'm praying she gets over it soon. I make a pretty big effort to give Lea personal attention every day but, in her eyes, I am sure it seems like ALL my attention goes to Emma. Lea is very gentle with Emma. She loves to help me get burp clothes, pacifiers and blankies. Any time she hears Emma cry, she has to rush over to her to "help".

So, we're doing well. It's a big transition for all of us to go from one kid to two. We constantly remind each other that we need to calm down and take things day by day. These days will be in the distant past sooner than we realize. It's hard to believe that this Christmas we will have a three year old and an 8 month old! :)

Let's Dress Up

Girls will be girls...

It looks like we need to invest in some dress up clothes! LOL

We use to try hard to somewhat "shelter" Lea from all the Disney Princess marketing in the world but some of it still found a way to creep into our home. The only "princess" movies she has seen are Beauty & The Beast and The Little Mermaid. She doesn't own any princess dolls (oops... wait... yes she does, she just got a tiny, pocket sized Cinderella doll) and she only has a couple princess books. But that was enough to spark the girly side of her. She LOVES dressing up in play jewelry and carrying around a purse. I honestly think it's in their genes... girls like girly things.

Don't get me wrong, though, Lea also loves playing outside in the dirt and looking for worms. :)

More Cuteness

I don't have the brain power right now to write a long post about how we're doing. Maybe it has something to do with the new family member that has us up every few hours, every night. ;) We are doing well, though. Emma is showing signs of having the same sleeping patterns that Lea had when she was a baby... fingers crossed because Lea has always been a great sleeper. Emma nurses around 11pm, 2pm and then 7am. Not too bad for a one week old! During the day, however, she wants to nurse every hour. Seriously.

Emma had her first check up on Saturday morning. When we left the hospital, she weighed 8 lbs 3 oz... at her check up (two days later), she weighed 8 lbs 4 oz. The pediatrician said an ounce in two days was great. She's showing some signs of acid reflux so we're keeping an eye on that. Lea had it, too...not the kind that made her spit up all the time but the kind that gave her heartburn. We're praying Emma doesn't have it. It makes nursing quite difficult.

Kevin goes back to work tomorrow morning. I'm a little nervous. Lots of friends and family are visiting this week, though, so that should help.

Here are some pics from the past couple days...

Emma meeting her cousins.

Emma meeting her Aunt Sarah and Uncle Dave

Mommy enjoying some Emma sunggles.