My lil Morgie-Porgie

Had a pretty good weekend, so far!

So every now and then we get Morghan little gift cards to Target, Walmart or McDonalds with $10-15 on them. We take her on mini "shopping sprees" for her special time as a big sister. She loves that she can go shopping and pay herself, and we take the opertunity to work on adding numbers together. This time we gave her one for being such a good helper with Gracie. When all was said and done Morghan chose a swimming pool, 2 jump ropes, and purple bubbles. She was thrilled!

This morning she woke up a bit early so I let her come with me to the grocery store to get OJ and syrup. When we got home she helped me make homemade pancakes. After breakfast we went outside and Chase got her started in learning how to jump rope. It takes a bit more coordination than she has, but she is determined to learn. I have however discovered that the purple bubbles ( made by Crayola) are a no-go. What was I thinking when i let her choose that?!?! Purple, purple everywhere... I made her put on a black shirt and pants and play in the grass! What a nightmare.

*** I will admit this, I still struggle to find that balance of being a mommy to 2 kiddos. Its hard sometimes because i can see the hurt in Morghan's eyes when I have to take care of the baby and can't play with her right at that moment. It's a work in progress and I'm sure as Gracie gets bigger it will become a little easier. ***

I'm Sorry, but...

I get so angry when I see parents that place their child in dangerous situations in order to "rush" their baby in to growing up.

A while back I met someone who had placed there 4 week old in a Bumbo seat, and that poor baby could barely hold his head up. Never mind the bumbo seat was right next to the stove where she was cooking!

Met a mom who lets her infant sleep on a boppy pillow in the crib at night surrounded by toys. Are you just begging something to happen to your child?

There are so many other times that I see things, but keep my mouth shut.

I realize that how other people parent is none of my business, but rushing your baby to learn how to sit, roll over, hold their own bottle etc is just dumb in my opinion. I feel bad for the parents who are so eager for their child to accomplish a new task because they are only little for so long. Let your child grow at their own pace and be grateful when they learn new things. Rushing them won't accomplish anything except probably a frustrated child.

Sorry if it upsets you, I just wanted to have a minor vent.

Spring is Here

Normally I would take Morghan out to the park for her photos but this year we have a baby so I took them inside on the couch. I'm not too pleased with them, but they are better than nothing. Perhaps I will try again on another day.



And here is a video (if it loaded correctly) of Morghan getting Gracie to smile at her.

Where did the time go?

I can't believe our sweet baby is 1 month old today! According to our scale (which is pretty stink'n accurate) our little piglet weighs in around 11 1/2 pounds -- naked of course. She also measures in around 23 inches respectively... we had a bit of a struggle convincing her to straighten out her legs!

She is a super happy babe who loves to flash you smiles during "face time". We've heard her giggle twice, and even though it was only in her sleep, it was still precious as ever. I can't wait until we get to hear her real giggles later on.

She no longer co-sleeps with us, as she easily transitioned to her bassinet. She slept though the night again last night and I was thrilled. The night before she woke up 5 times and was awake most of the day. Towards the evening she was getting pretty fussy and would only calm down if I held her (not Daddy!) She went down around 10:30pm which is her normal 'bedtime', and didn't wake up until 8:30am! Now, if only I had stayed asleep that long. Being the paranoid mom that I am I woke several times to check on her.


--On another note, our first nephew was born on the 26th. Chase is jealous because he has blonde hair and neither of our girls do. He is so beautiful and we can't wait to meet him!--

Happy Girls

Morghan enjoys every breath this baby makes! From the moment she wakes up until its time for bed Morghan is constantly asking if she can hold Grace or help feed her. If she knows I'm about to change her diaper, Morghan races ahead of me to pull a diaper out and hand it to me followed by opening the wipes warmer for me. She is a great little helper.

So we recently learned from the Pediatrician that Grace has a clogged tear duct. Its nothing serious, and will resolve itself over time. Basically we just have to keep tissues on hand for when she wakes up because she will have an overflow of tears and eye gunk that we need to gently wipe away. She is back at her birth weigh only because we were having to supplement one bottle of formula each day. I'm thrilled however that we no longer need to do that as it makes nursing more difficult.

It amazes me how different my two girls are. As a baby ...

Morghan was so easily bored with things and smiles were hard to come by with her, even giggles were rare.
Gracie however smiles at me all the time when I blow on her belly or kiss her neck.I know they say babies don't give "social smiles" until at least 4 weeks but I currently disagree!

Morghan was a tummy sleeper from the time she was 2 weeks old.
Grace would rather lay on her side and in fact kicks herself over to her side no matter which way you lay her down.

Morghan LOVED to swing and hated being in her bouncer.
Grace is the complete opposite... I am now in search of a bouncer seat!

Morghan was an incredibly quiet baby, except when it came to crying!
Gracie has been so incredibly vocal from the day she was born. She "talks" constantly through diaper/clothing changes and after feedings. For the most part she has only really cried two times when we were in the car and I couldn't feed her right then.

Morghan didn't sleep through the night once until she was around 6 weeks old.
Grace has pulled off 2 all-nighters so far, generally around the time I think I'm going to go crazy from lack of sleep! (Maybe she senses my distress-lol)

As for now, Grace appears to have hit a growth spurt that is utterly exhausting.
I think nap time is in order for Mommy since both girls have finally drifted off to sleep! :)

Rise and Shine, Sweet Valentines!

We don't do much in the way of Valentine's Day around here. In fact when we got married I specifically asked Chase to never buy me roses or chocolates. (Shocked?) I've never been that type of girl, and I think he likes that he doesn't have to stress over it. The way we see it, our love should be celebrated everyday, not just on a Hallmark holiday. Tonight we will do as we always do... we will make a nice dinner together (with or without a baby attached) and then watch a movie together. Its what we do. No need for a fancy restaurant and pretty things with bows.

Its gorgeous outside today. Finally enough to leave the back door open and let Morghan play outside. I was able to snap a few shots before my camera battery died!

My Sweet Valentines:

Sleepy Head

So Grace has had a rather "regular" night time schedule when it comes to sleep. She is usually awake from around 5oopm-10pm each night, rather content until towards the end when she gets a bit fussy. She eats one last time, we swaddle her and she will often be asleep within a few minutes. From that point she generally sleeps for about 5 hours before waking up to eat. Once she wakes up she usually eats, we change her diaper, and she's back asleep within the hour. She then sleeps for another 5 hour stretch.

Last night... Everything was going as usual and she was asleep by 10pm. I carried her in to our room and placed her in our bed. Around 3am I heard her fuss a bit, but she was still asleep. I waited for her to wake up -- not realizing how long I would wait! I fell asleep again and at 4am she was still asleep (back to sleep) at 5am she was still asleep (back to sleep) ... finally at 630 this morning she began to stir and wake up. I could not believe that she slept over 8 hours! If only I had managed to sleep uninterrupted for 8 hours we'd be good! At 730am she was back asleep and stayed that way until 10am.

Wonder if she will do that again tonight?! HA!