Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Angel Photos

2/13: Who is watching who?  Two of my sleeping loves...

First big baby bath




2/16: Sleeping Angel




2/17: Showing Daddy her growing neck muscles as she tries to dive to her death as he holds her.






2/21: Tummy time






Friday, February 18, 2011

Our Squeaky Angel

I finally captured some of Angel's squeaks on video.  This video actually captures squeaks, lots of adorable facial expressions and what Daddy might hate more than anything...eyes opened but rolled back!  I hope you enjoy this video even a fraction as much as I do each day!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A Glimpse into the Future

Here is a funny video of what I really hope doesn't become our reality...

Monday, February 14, 2011

Sweet Pea and her Play Structure

Let me start by saying that I'm a very ridiculous mommy!  I'll explain after you watch this video clip of Sweet Pea playing on her "new" play structure.



Now let me explain why I'm so ridiculous...

You see how Sweet Pea pulled herself up on the structure?  She has learned to climb!  I was SO proud of her for learning this!

Then reality hit!  Last night she showed us just a tiny glimpse of what chaos is about to ensue because of her new skill!  She was trying to climb up her changing table and onto the rocker foot rest.  I see lots of injuries happening because she either falls trying to get up onto something or she falls after she is up there.  Seeing as Mommy is now more distracted than ever before, this is not the best timing!

In all seriousness, I am very proud of her even with the chaos that it will bring.  She is working so hard and it's great to see her making such great progress!

On the walking front...she is continuing to make great progress!  She is now standing up in the middle of a room and walking to a toy that is a short bit away.  I'm surprised that she is doing this since crawling is so easy for her, but it must mean that she is really enjoying her new skill.  She will even push me away so that she can walk a few feet to me.  At this rate I'm optimistic that she will be walking by her 2nd birthday!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Sweet Pea Walking Update

I knew that learning to walk for Sweet Pea would be a very slow process and she hasn't disappointed us.  However, she is making huge strides and is enjoying her successes and we couldn't be more proud of her for them!

Sweet Pea refused to walk one handed for Mommy and really didn't want to do it for anyone for more than a few feet.  Auntie J worked on it a couple of days and viola...we have a one handed walker...even for Mommy!  She was actually doing laps around the inside of Auntie J's house!  Here is a quick video we captured:



I've been trying to have her walk everywhere I can to help her gain strength and endurance.  Grandma has been working with her a ton this week as she has been baby sitting Sweet Pea all week because she has been too sick for school or day care.  I am trying to avoid getting Angel sick, but I think we have failed as Angel's nose is starting to be congested.  I am hoping she only gets a mild version of what Sweet Pea has as it is nasty!  Her eyes are sealed shut when she wakes up from naps or overnight from all the eye gunk.  Poor girl!  We took her to the doctor today and they gave us antibiotics and ear drops for an ear infection and they think that the rest of it is just a virus that needs to run its course.

Back to Sweet Pea's walking...

As I mentioned, Grandma has been working with her a lot and has discovered that Sweet Pea really enjoys practicing outside in the grass where the inevitable falls don't hurt nearly as badly.  Grandma will stand her up and then move away and Sweet Pea will walk to her.  In the video below you will see her take 7 steps before starting to fall. Today she was taking 10 before falling, but of course she refused to do it on camera!



Sometimes she will stop and catch her balance before she continues which is great!  She really is working hard and loving almost every minute of it.  She needs to work on protecting herself when she falls a little more, but she will get there.

Daddy learned that she doesn't like to walk for him as she would rather dive into him.  He is her play toy and that is just fine with us too.

We are still hoping to get her walking more independent by her 2nd birthday which is about 1.5 months away.  I'm fairly sure we will not have a full time walker on our hands by her 2nd birthday, but at this rate she will definitely be closer!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

More Photos from Angel's First 2 Weeks

Here are a few more photos from Angel's first 2 weeks...

Awake in the hospital:


Mommy and her Angel in the hospital:


Grandpa and Angel in hospital:


Grandma and Angel in hospital:


First bath on day we left hospital:




Getting dressed up for heading home:


Daddy and his little Angel:


Resting up before the trip home:




Car ride home...Mommy forgot all the inserts that make a newborn actually fit into an infant carrier.  Whoops!  Mommy got to hold her head the entire way home as her punishment.


Grandma enjoying some snuggles from Angel while watching Sweet Pea and the cousins play:


From this past Saturday at Cousin C's 4th birthday party:

Mama Bear holding Angel for the first time:


Mama Bear sharing her Angel time with Papa Bear:


The smile on Angel's face shows she loves her Papa Bear already!

Happy 2 Week Birthday Angel

It's hard to believe that Angel wasn't due to join us until today because I've so thoroughly enjoyed having her with us these past 2 weeks!  She joined our family and instantly made it complete.

14 Things We Love About You:

1) When you were born your bottom lip quivered so much and your Daddy and I just adored it!  It only lasted a few days though.  (After I wrote this I saw it quiver again for a few seconds...thanks for the flashback!)

2) You make the cutest squeaking noises and we call you pipsqueak and squeaky because of it.  You squeak when you sleep, eat and are awake.  They always bring a smile to my face!  I'll try to capture some on video before you stop.

3) You are alert more and more.  You used to barely make it 15 minutes and now you are awake for easily an hour at a time and on Monday you were up for 2.5 hours in a row!  When you are awake you stare at me while I talk to you and just cuddle against me.

4) Your expressions are hilarious!  Daddy thought that you look very concerned most of the time when you were first born.  "She has a lot on her mind" was said a great number of times.  You mastered the brow furrow right from the start!

5) You have a dimple on your right cheek when you grin.

6) You sleep just like your Mommy with your hands up by your face.

7) You prefer to sleep in the bed with us instead of in the bassinet next to the bed.  Luckily you only start this around 4am or so as this keeps Mommy from sleeping too well.  I'm worried about the transition to the crib, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.

8) You love to be held and are demanding it more often with each passing day.  I'm pulling out the sling and hoping you enjoy it so that I can hold you and play with your sister at the same time.

9) You sleep for 3 hours at a time during the night.  I hope you start to stretch that soon, but it's better than one hour blocks!

10) You wake up to feed so I don't have to torture you with cold washcloths to wake you up to eat.  That was so hard for Mommy with your big sister and I'm more than happy not reliving that!

11) You obey Daddy's 4 rules:  1) Breath  2) Sleep  3) Eat  4) Poop  After some early trouble with rule #1, you have been obeying all 4 of Dad's rules.  (The first night home from the hospital found Daddy watching you for an hour or two while Mommy took an early nap and apparently during that time you decided to mess with your Daddy and not breathe or at least appear not to for significant lengths of time.  You learned quickly how to mess with him!  I see years of torture in his future!)

12) You eat like a champ and I'm excited to see what you weigh at the doctor on Friday.  We moved from newborn to size 1 diapers today.

13) You are not a crier!  You cry for a brief moment to get your point across and then you give us time to respond.  It's very considerate of you!  However, you do not like red traffic lights and you let your displeasure be known.  I'm hoping you learn to be a little patient with traffic soon since we do live in Southern California!

14) You put up with your big sister petting you and trying to stick her fingers in your ears.  I think we should all be happy that it's your ears and not your eyes!

It's been wonderful getting to know you these past two weeks and I look forward to getting to know you more with each and every passing day.  I love you so much!

First evening home from hospital:


First time the cousins got to meet you:


Cousin O was happy to pose with you, but Cousin C didn't want to get too close.


Auntie J enjoying some cuddle time:


Cousin O is amazed at how small you are:


Daddy's cousin from Michigan:


Your sister loves to help burp you:


Crazy Aunt R is in love with you:


Sunbathing to try to rid your body of the jaundice:


Family photo:


What a motley crew:


Mommy enjoys her snuggle time with both of her girls:




Snuggled into car seat:


Daddy with his little Angel:
 



Sleeping Angel:

Wordless Wednesday: Chaos with Dog Bowls and Daddy's Basket

What happens when you leave a sick Daddy to "watch" a little troublemaker?