Just for Aunt Dee Dee

Why for Dee Dee? Because she's the one who bought Anna's first few cloth diapers. (They're "one size" which is why her little legs look so scrawny!)

Today is Day 2 in cloth (kind of...I used disposables last night because Anna has a pretty bad diaper rash, and disposables keep the moisture off of her better) I have yet to wash a load, but I'm not too worried. The girl poops like crazy all over everything (and everyone if you're too close!) as soon as you take her diaper off, so sometimes it takes 3 or 4 disposables PLUS a few cloth diapers "under" her (to protect whatever surface she's on)just to get her changed, so I'm already washing TONS of poopy "stuff"...what's a few more diapers?

One Day At a Time

Today was a wonderful day!

Anna and I woke up "first" at 9:30 (okay...she had been awake nursing on and off since about 3, sleeping for maybe 30 minutes max in between nursing sessions....but by 9:30 I was ready to go downstairs to get some coffee!) Daddy and Adele got up closer to 10! (What two year old sleeps in until 10???). We all seemed well-rested and peaceful.

Anna spent the morning looking around at everything. She has started looking for/at Adele when she talks, which is cute to see! She definitely recognizes my voice, and will usually look around for Daddy when he talks, so it's fun to watch her recognize Adele's voice as well!

Yesterday was NOT a good day for me, Anna wanted to nurse all day, and when she wasn't nursing, she was most likely screaming (for up to an hour at a time...until I finally caved in and let her nurse some more) Daddy kept whisking Adele off for fun activities (to get her away from Anna's screaming!), and then I felt isolated and pretty lonely...but I didn't want anyone to come over, since I also felt like a human pacifier! I also had NO idea how I could ever handle both girls on my own if Anna was going to demand my attention all of the time! I felt so bad for Adele, because when Anna is screaming at the top of her lungs, and Adele decides not to listen to Mommy, I tend to get a little bit (and maybe even a lot...) short with her, and that's not fair to Miss Adele!!!

Anyhow...

I was determined to stay in a good mood today. I suppose it helped that by 12:00 there still had been minimal fussing by EITHER girl! Anna was great for Daddy while I showered (she only fussed for her diaper change!) so, I figured that since both girls were happy, it was time for me to take them on a little outing. First Adele told me she wanted to go to Target, but then she changed her mind saying that Target was "too busy" so we went to Starbucks instead. Adele was a perfect angel-she followed my ground rules perfectly (hold my hand or the carseat on the way in to the store, stay by mommy while I pay money, sit in your chair to drink your milk) in fact-I had to pry her little hand off of mine so that I could open the door when we left! Anna fussed a tiny bit while we were there, but as soon as I took her out of her carseat, she took her pacifier without a fuss and fell asleep in my arms. She made a grouchy face when I put her back into the carseat, but only had fake little fusses on the drive home (lately she screams most of the time she's in the carseat-she will calm down eventually, but only if the drive is long enough) We weren't gone long, but it was so good for me to have such a great experience on my own!

The rest of the day was smooth as well! Anna had a little bit of crying after I ate lunch/before one of her naps, but it didn't get to me like the crying did yesterday. Daddy got some great video footage of Adele talking and singing to Anna. I'm not sure when he'll get it edited (he's very busy with one of his video games right now...and another one comes out this week) but I'll post it eventually!

Tonight we decided to introduce Anna to our Homebuilder's group at church. We made a short appearance and then headed to Puccini's (or Miss Hini's as Miss Adele calls it) for dinner. Once again, both girls were on their best behavior! I did end up having to nurse Anna at dinner, but that was just how the schedule worked. For part of the dinner she sat quietly in her carseat, looking around at everything. Adele was definitely much older than 2 1/2 weeks before she behaved that well at a restaurant!

Hopefully the good days will continue to outnumber the bad days, but if they don't, at least I've got Daddy home for the summer!!!

To Sleep or Not to Sleep...

Tuesday morning, around 9:30...
(I just LOVE yawning pictures!)


Monday Morning, 8:30:

Sunday Afternoon, 4:30:

Such a grouchy sleeper!
Saturday Afternoon:
Ahh...here she looks peaceful!

Our precious little Anna seems to still have her days and nights mixed up. I wasn't totally surprised when she was wide awake (and often screaming) from about 1 until nearly 6 AM (and then up again at 7 to eat...) after all, she slept MOST of Sunday AND Monday...but it didn't make waking up any easier today! Thank goodness Daddy is in Summer Vacation and was able to entertain Adele so I could sleep in until about 9:30!

Despite a fair smattering of sleepless nights, she's still a little sweetie! She's been pretty fair tempered when we've taken her out. So far, we've attended a "kiddie concert," visited the YMCA's outdoor pool (Anna and I stayed in the shade), been to our park twice, and we've taken many walks. Tonight we're going to try another local concert.

Adele has had even more outings than Anna...mostly with Daddy, but I took her to get a snow-cone the other day, when she was clearly missing her "mommy time."

Adele, eating a "Shrek-inspired" dinner the other night:


Well...if I don't wake Anna up from her little nap, I'm not likely to get any sleep tonight, either. Bye for now!

Getting to Know Our Anna

We've enjoyed our (almost) week at home with Anna. She is a very sweet baby!




The first few days home were a breeze! Anna did her share of crying, but we could usually calm her pretty quickly! (That's a NICE change from when Miss Adele was an infant!) She slept great for a few nights as well...through the night except for 2 feeds, she even gave me a 6-hour stretch between feeds on Tuesday night! Unfortunately, the last two nights have not been quite as nice. She seems to be a night owl, and just wants to be up, looking around. All I can say is "thank goodness for coffee!" We'll get her straightened out eventually.

Yesterday morning, despite a rough night, Anna "chilled" for about 2 hours, which made for some great pictures!





Adele is adjusting to having her home, and is a little bit jealous of all of the extra attention Mommy seems to be giving her sister, but I've tried to give her some "Mommy" time the last two days and it seems to be helping! Right now she's going on a "date" (to the mall) with Daddy.

I'm also giving in to the fact that Anna does look a bit like her sister. When we took this picture of Anna, I was instantly reminded of the one of Adele...something about their eyes!
Anna:

Adele:

In Case You Missed Our News...

...Adele is the proudest, smiliest, happiest (and I'd have to say BEST!) big sister ever!

We welcomed Anna Kate on May 19th (her due date) at 11:39 PM. 8 lbs even, 19 3/4 inches long.

She has a little bit of her dad/sister in her, but I actually think this one might be related to me too!

Now I guess I have to re-name my blog. . .

"Tanks, Mommy!"

Adele is at a stage where she "tanks" (or thanks) us for just about everything. It is super sweet, but also kind of silly. For example, she thanked me for letting her out of a time out this evening, and then there was this conversation, as Daddy was outside grilling pork chops (and mighty tasty ones at that!):

Adele: Mommy, what's Daddy doing?

Mommy: Making dinner on the grill.

Adele: Can I see him?

Mommy: Sure, look out the window.

Adele: Tanks, Mommy!

You're welcome, kid...especially since you were already looking out the window when our conversation started...

Odds, Ends and Pictures!

We've been slowly getting things ready around here for Anna's arrival (yes, I have faith that she'll arrive EVENTUALLY!)-I have the pack and play set up in the TV/Living room, complete with diapers, outfits, burp cloths and blankets. Anna's room is just about ready, we just have to raise the mattress in the crib, clean up a few odds and ends and vacuum. All of the things I want to have for Anna at the hospital are in a neat pile on her changing table. Tonight our "job" was to get the cameras "cleaned off"...and in that process I realized that I haven't posted pictures since before Easter!

Uncle Tim, Aunt Laura and James spent Easter with us-they were heading home after vacationing in Georgia. Aunt Laura was ALSO pregnant then...However, Andrew, THEIR little guy decided to make HIS appearance 4 weeks early (which is a little scary, but he's home and doing well...which makes ME all the more jealous!) In a way, it's great, because Adele understood that Andrew was in Laura's tummy, just like Anna is in mine, and now she asks to see pictures of Andrew "outside" Laura's tummy. He's got the cutest blonde hair, so Adele thinks Anna's will be blonde as well.

EASTER CANDY!

Easter Egg Hunt with James:
James found way more eggs than Adele...probably because she would stop and open each one before putting it into her basket. (Maybe she was checking for Peanuts...)





Ahh, the wide variety of maternity dresses:


Here she is all snuggled on the couch with her new water bottle from Uncle Tim and Laura:


Daddy got me a video monitor for an early Mother's Day/Birthday present, but before we had that set up, this was what I found while checking on Adele one night:
I guess SHE was ready for a middle of the night hospital run...complete with a dress on OVER her jammies! (Do you see her keys in her hand?)

Our Favorite Girls:


A smile this big can only mean one thing: A package from Memaw!


Tonight while I was making dinner, Daddy had a bad headache, and he was laying on the floor, just like this, while Adele watched "Princess Tiana." When he got up, Adele instantly jumped into his spot-she wanted to be "Just like Daddy!"


Later on tonight:
Fun with Clothes Baskets:




And last, but not least, our little "Yogurt" Princess: