Thursday, December 30, 2010

Catching up on Will

12/30/10 - Will at 7 weeks:


Week 7
Will continues to be a healthy and happy baby! He is settling into a nighttime routine, going to bed around 9 or 10 and waking up around 2 and 5 to eat. He usually will go back to sleep for an hour or so after the second feeding which we all appreciate, especially now that Claire is back to sleeping until around 7. We're still tired, but feeling much more rested than we were a few weeks ago.

A few other things:

- Will has given us a few intentional smiles in the past week - I can't wait to see more of them! He gets excited when he hears Claire - I think her enthusiasm has rubbed off on him. She is still completely in love with her little brother, although we have to watch her very closely around him to make sure she doesn't smother him while showing affection.
- He can follow an object with his eyes and turns his head towards a sound.
- He sleeps great in his car seat, which helps when we have to run errands (and during our recent long trips to Dallas and Vernon!).
- He only gets really upset when he's hungry.
- He weighs about 12 1/2 pounds, which is more than Claire weighed at 4 months.

My full-time maternity leave is almost over. The school had an opening in the infant room for Tuesdays and Thursdays, so Will is going to start going to daycare and I will go back to work for those days as of the 18th. Right now the plan is to do the two day a week thing for the second half of January, then move up to 3 days a week in February. After that, my bosses and I are going to decide if I will stay at 3 days a week or go back to my 4 day schedule. I'm so glad my job is flexible!

I never posted Will's 5 & 6 week pictures, so here they are. Obviously, in week 6 I forgot what he was wearing in week 5. I really wanted to be sure to get a photo of him in this outfit, though. Before Claire was born, I bought this outfit in blue and pink to be the coming home outfit for her (not yet knowing she was a girl). It absolutely swallowed her, and she was a four months old before it fit properly - I wrote a post about it here. I was glad that I saved the blue one, and I think it really illustrates the size difference between my two children!

Five Weeks:

Week 5

Six Weeks - Merry Christmas!:

Week 6

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Claire's Holiday Recital - Video

Here is a video of Claire's performance. The funniest part is just a few seconds in when she spots Robert and me sitting in the audience.




For a higher quality version, click here.

Claire's Holiday Recital

Claire's school had a holiday recital one evening. Her class "performed" to Christmas Morning by Raffi. She looked so cute up on stage in her PJs! Claire's Grandmommy (Robert's mom) was able to come down from Austin for the recital, and we were glad she was able to be there and join in the fun!

Will was asleep in his carrier, and we didn't want to wake him for pictures. :)

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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

No time for a real update...

We are alive and doing well - just busy with life and the holidays. I have several things I want to post:
  • Mommy & Daddy's visit to Claire's dance class
  • Will's five week chair picture
  • Claire's Christmas pageant
  • Our visit to Austin for Carol's baby shower

But, I think it will be after Christmas before I'm able to get to it. In the meantime, here's a picture of sweet Will that I took today:


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Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Christmas List Updates

Lists have been updated with the items people are already purchasing for the kids!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Christmas Lists

We are super late in putting these together this year, but what can I say - we've been a little busy lately! If there's something in particular you'd like to get anyone, just e-mail me and I'll cross it off the list.

Claire:
Tricycle (with adjustable seat)
Learning Tower
Small step stool for her bathroom
Membership to McKenna Children's Museum in New Braunfels
Memory matching game (Original or one like this)
Skip Hop Zoo Little Kid Backpack, Bee
Skip Hop Zoo Lunchbag

Books - "Llama Llama Mad at Mama", "Llama Llama Red Pajamas", "Llama Llama Holiday Drama", "Thump Quack Moo" or "Duck for President"
Melissa & Doug wooden food sets (She has the cookie set and is already getting the pizza & sandwich sets)
Melissa & Doug 24 piece puzzle (she has the princess one)
Jack Johnson Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George CD
Gift cards for clothes - Baby Gap, Gymboree, Carters, The Children's Place, Babies R Us, Kohls, Old Navy

Will:
Activity Gym
Personalized labels for daycare from Mabel's Labels (need "Skinny-Minis" and "Tag Mates")
Sophie the Giraffe teether
Manhattan Toy Winkle
Lamaze "My First Mirror"
Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes

Gift cards for clothes - Baby Gap, Gymboree, Carters, The Children's Place, Babies R Us, Kohls, Old Navy

Amy & Robert - e-mail us!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Will - Four Weeks

The little monkey was in a great mood on the morning of his 4 week birthday.


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It was a busy week! On Tuesday, Will and I went to the pediatrician for his one month appointment. He weighed in at 10 pounds, which meant that he gained almost two ounces a day over two weeks! Our doctor said that the gain was "exceptional" - not surprising, right? :) I'm officially predicting that by the time Will is 18 months old, he will weigh as much as Claire. The doctor told me to get prepared to have people asking if they are twins at some point in the future.

Will's umbilical cord still had not fallen off, so the doctor took care of it. A portion of the vein was holding on, so he quickly removed it. Will was hungry and ready for a little extra snack, so he sucked on a bottle the whole time and didn't even flinch when it came off. I was glad to be rid of it, and we were able to give him a real bath that night.

Will continues to be an easy baby - rarely fussy, and only gets really worked up when he is hungry. I'm already able to put him to bed "drowsy but awake" at night, and it usually doesn't take him long to go to sleep. He wakes up twice a night ready to eat, so I usually get a couple of 2.5 - 3.5 hour sleep sessions in a night before Claire gets up. Claire has been waking up really early (around 6), but the past couple of days she has slept a little later, which makes a huge difference for me. I need that extra hour or so!

Claire is still completely infatuated with her "Bubba". She squeals when she sees him every morning and every afternoon when we pick her up from school. Her new thing is laying on the floor beside him during his tummy time. She loves to help, and does a great job retrieving things for me and trying to pat Will when he is tired. We still have to remind her to be gentle and use soft hands, but she is doing a better job remembering on her own.


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Now that we have had our first week on our own, and Will is settling into a good sleep schedule, I'm starting to feel like we are getting things under control!

Visitors

We were fortunate to have more family members visit us recently. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeremy stopped by on their way home from Austin. They are expecting Baby Grace in January, and we are so excited for them and can't wait to meet Claire and Will's new cousin!


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Last weekend, Ma and Bob came to stay for a few days. They brought lots of presents from friends and family members, and Claire was excited to open all of them.


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Will was content just observing.

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She also had a great time making cookies with Ma - they were delicious!


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We are blessed to have so many people who love us and who are excited to meet Will and spend time with Claire as we figure out how to run a family of 4!

Will at 3 Weeks - 12/2/2010

This was the best of the bunch!

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Nana left that day after 3 weeks with us, and we were both a little tired. We are so thankful for all of her help - I don't know how we would've made it without her!

Claire at 3 weeks - click here.