Monday, January 31, 2011

Josie's Mad Coloring Skills

Josie has been into coloring for a little while now. Being home together every day leaves us a lot of time to color together. She loves to use markers and pens the most but we're sticking to these jumbo crayons...they hardly break! Notice that they are all unwrapped...anytime she gets a new crayon, it's the first thing she does before she can color.

Josie knows how to hold her crayon correctly and understands that drawing is a representation. She likes to ask us to draw a doggie or a baby. One time I drew a doggie that she didn't like so she said no and scribbled it out. So I drew another dog and that one was acceptable. She definetly has her opinions. She loves when I draw stars for her to color in too. Recently she has begun to trace her feet and hands. She will babble and laugh away during coloring time.

Zoo Trip...Collin's 1st Time!

On Saturday the weather was in the high 30s so we went to the zoo to get rid of some of our cabin fever! I love the zoo in the winter; it's never busy or crowded and Josie and the girls can run without worrying about others. I do miss the green of the trees but well!

A pic to document Collin's first trip to the zoo...he slept through the whole thing!
Watching the orangutans...here favorite were the penguins and the spider monkeys though.
She followed this poor peacock about a quarter of a block.
He hopped into the snow and Josie does not like to walk into snow so he was able to escape!
The crew heading home.



Tuesday, January 25, 2011

6 Weeks!

Here's Big Guy at 6 weeks.
I know I say it every week but I can't believe how BIG he is!
He is growing fast. I really can't wait to hear his weight.
This week he has been "talking" everynight. It's the sweetest little coo.
Very random smiles though.
A LOT more alert and now loves to "sit" up and face/observe the world.

Doesn't it look like he has red hair??

With his sweet & sassy sister who can't get enough of him!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

5 weeks & BathTime

Big Guy is 5 weeks old! This is the first bath that he stayed quiet for a little bit...we had tons of water in there for Josie to play in which kept him nice and warm. We'll have to try that again and see if it keeps him quiet a second time.
This week is pretty much the same as last...a few more coos, a few more smiles, more head and neck control, better tummy (now he's on BeneFiber twice a day), and more awake time.
Trying to figure out his schedule and his little personality but everyday is different.
Josie continues to love her brother and wants to help even more. She has started to help me burp him which she does gently, help give him his bottle, and to bathe him.
She'd do anything I would let her too; she loves to interact with him.



Monday, January 17, 2011

One Month!

Big Guy is one month old! I would not be shocked if you told me he was 10 pounds!
To celebrate his 1st monthly birthday we packed away his newborn outfits...they are too short and too tight on the waist. Good thing we didn't have too many of them!
0-3 is fitting perfect right now...we'll see if they last until 3 months though!
This first month went quickly; I knew it would with the holidays in there.
Hopefully now it will slow down...only 9 weeks of maternity leave left!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

So Excited!!

Going to see her in March!

Playing with Play-Do

Today was Josie's first experience with Play-Do. I thought she would enjoy it a bit more than she did; she just wanted to put it in and out of the container.
This was Josie after being told "no" for trying to eat it.
So we stopped playing with play-do and read a book instead!

New Year = New Hair


I've been wanting to sraighten/relax my hair for years now but have always chickened out and being pregnant twice kept me from doing much with my hair. Let's just say that I LOVE it! It's straightened extra with a flat iron but should only have a slight wave if I don't flatiron it. The week before Collin was born my cousintrimmed off about three inches and today I had another six inches chopped off! In two weeks I go to have it colored so it's only one color and not two!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

4 weeks!



Mr. Blue Eyes as I call him has turned 4 weeks today :(


He has had a much better week. The formula, bottle, and gas drop changes seem to have made a positive change. He still is uncomfortable often but is typically not screaming. (tonight was fough one for him though )


He has been a lot more alert this week and his head/neck control is getting a lot stronger.


He loves to hold onto our fingers as he's in our arms; it's awesome.


He has been watching people as they walk through or leave the room.


Just like Josie he loves the play mat and to look up at the lights.
He is young but already starting to have some male pattern balding! ha ha!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Thursday, January 6, 2011

One and Three Quarters= 21 months!

Josie is 21 months today...and I'll admit it I've started to plan her 2nd birthday party!
Thinking girly pirates!

Let me tell you about Josie at 21 months! She is smart. She is an excellent problem solver and is very observant. For example, I hung a new picture on the wall and within an hour she noticed and kept looking at it. She uses about 70 words correctly in conversation and can mimick another 30 or so but doesn't really understand them (like the names of colors). She can identify her head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, arms, hands, legs, foot, toes, belly and butt. We are working on her back, chin, knees, and elbows. She loves to color but is not into books.

She is doing PHENOMENALLY well adjusting to a new baby in the house. She loves her brother so much and has been extremely patient with him and us. She has not shown jealousy or anger towards him at all. I am truly suprised how well she has transitioned and I hope it continues that way.

She loves to climb, jump, run, and be outside. She is active no matter where we are. At church she's on the go in the narthex, in a store she'd rather be walking than in the cart, she constantly would like to go into the basement to play with her outside toys. Unfortunately, the only way to slow her down is put on Dora or some other show. She would take a bath everynight for fun.

She's not the best eater. She loves fruits and vegetables (not tomatoes though) and will eat them instead of meat and breads. She's getting better with cheeses and yogurts but would eat like a rabbit all day if she got her way. Well that and chocolate; she's a chocoholic.


She wants to get her way all the time and will argue with you in her own language. She has started to ask why when we tell her no and I think understands some of the explanations we give her. She is also starting to earn timeouts for some unwanted behaviors. But I must say she sits for them; not always quietly or calmly but she'll stay in timeout until she's called out of it.

2011 New Years Resolutions

So we all have made resolutions for 2011!

our first picture as a family of four

Curt-- To eat three meals a day. Sounds funny but he sometimes only eats dinner.
Josie--To potty train.
Collin--To crawl and walk and sleep through the night
Jaime--To lose the baby weight, to run (or jog) a 5k and to craft every month. The crafting is a repeat of last years but I didn't follow through on it and would like to do more.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

3 weeks!

Collin's 3 weeks old!
This has been a hard week for Collin; he's been having some issues with the bathroom/gas. Only going once every 2-3 days but it makes him sooo uncomfortable several times a day. Sometimes it's just a sqwauk or two but others it's full on crying for 15 minutes or so.
Today we switched formulas, bottles, and started using gas drops so let's hope we see a difference in a few days.
In more happy news...he knows who his mama is! He is responding to my voice and will turn his head when he hears me and knows when I'm not holding him. He's turning into a mama's boy! (that's fine for now but I told him not as a grown-up :)
I have heard him coo twice and it is so sweet I can't wait to hear it more.
He also had a smile (albiet a gas bubble smile) but it was a huge open-mouth smile which is going to warm hearts one he's doing it on his own!
Can you see the discomfort on his face even when he sleeps ? It makes me so sad.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Matching Sunday Outfits

Shortly after we found out we were having a boy my mom found these matching outfits. Today they wore them to church; the cuteness is definetly worthy of a picture post!

Two Weeks...(a few days late)

He's two weeks old! Waahhh!!! Now I have to start counting in weeks and not days :(
He weighed in at 8 lbs 7.5 oz (55%) and stayed at 21.5 inches.
His color from the jaundice looked good. He had been on the billi-blanket for 3 days.
They snipped off his umbilical cord.
He is eating VERY well; more than the typical 2 wk old...more like a 5 or 6 week old.
As petite as Josie is I think Collin may be the opposite and be a beast!

Snuggly Babies--All Of Us Ready for Bed!

Christmas Day

Our attempt with the kids in front of the Christmas tree :)
I would say maybe next year but I think that may be even harder then!
Christmas Day was a slow start. I was up at 6 a.m. but everyone else slept until almost 8:00!
So I watched TV and enjoyed the quiet until Curt and Josie woke up. Collin slept through the gift opening of his presents but Josie helped him out!
Curt's parents came over shortly thereafter and we celebrated Christmas with them.
The day after Christmas is Curt's mother's birthday as well so we celebrated her birthday too.
After they left, Josie and I went down for our naps and we went to have dinner at my parents house.
It was a quiet Christmas but lovely just the same.
And here's a photo of our early Christmas present!

Kitchen Time!

Curt and I gave Josie a kitchen for Christmas.
She has LOVED it and has spent a lot of time in the kitchen in the past week.
As you can see she does not always use it for "cooking".
It's an indoor jungle gym too! She has stood on the counter.
She has pushed the stool under the curved arch and tried to hang from the arch as well.