Overtime Snuggling

I challenged my parents last night. I've been sleeping pretty well lately, generally from about 8pm until at least 4am, then waking up to eat and going back to sleep until at least 6:30. It all started the same as usual last night. Mommy put me down at about 8:15 (despite my daddy's pager going off multiple times during the process). I got up again half an hour later and Daddy tried to come to my rescue. I didn't want him and settled down with Mommy after I told her my story (and she laughed). I was transferred to the crib and woke up again. I fell asleep staring at Mommy sitting in the rocking chair. I woke up and she wasn't there so I wailed again since it's so effective. Mommy and Daddy came upstairs and Mommy put me to sleep laying down on the big bed. I woke up at 4am to get a bite to eat, but the only person laying with me in the big bed was Daddy. Mommy traded with him and I got what I wanted and I fell asleep for a couple of more hours. That's how night one of sleep training my parents went. I think it went well since one of them slept with me in the big bed the whole night. The next phase is to get both of them to sleep with me. After that, I think I'll get them to massage me while I sleep and fan me with palm fronds. Sleep training is hard work.

Welcome to the World, Leif!

Leif was born at 4:17pm today. He weighed in at 6 pounds, 13.5 ounces and is 18 inches long. Emily and Leif are both doing well. Mommy doesn't have any other details yet. She can hardly contain her happiness!!! We're going to head to FD on Monday.

Mommy was thinking of her sister all day today and sent a text message to Jason at 4:08pm that said "You can do it! Love, Mina." I wonder if my encouragement was all that she needed.

Waiting

We're waiting for news that Leif has been born. Aunt Emmie went to the hospital and her water broke an hour or so ago. Mommy took lots of pictures of me today to pass the time.

I've been getting really frustrated with my toys lately. They don't do what I want them to do. The Buddy is the best. He snuggled me and let me hold onto his soft fur. It made me feel happier.
Mommy got out her nursing necklace now that I like to grab and claw while I'm eating. I played with the necklace instead and she even let me play with it afterwards.
We hung out on the floor for a while and I was in a good mood. Look at how strong I am!
I helped Mommy take a picture of herself. This was my view from the floor and the reason for my smiles.
Lately I've been doing skydiving exercises when I have tummy time. I lift both arms and legs and balance on my tummy.

Mommy just liked this picture.
She hung the necklace from the top of the jumperoo. It was less frustrating to me because I was able to pull it down to throw on the ground.
We capped off our fun with a nice bath. I had sweet potatoes all over me so I needed one.
I kicked and kicked and kicked some more. The counter and Mommy were soaked afterwards. Look at how much hair I'm getting.
I was super happy after my bath as usual.

After my bath, I got a massage and a nice long nap. Mommy missed some important phone calls, but not THE phone call. We can't wait to get more news!!!

Suggestion

Aunt Emily suggested this picture for R is for Roadtrip to my mommy. What do you think?

Creative Mommy

Look at what Mommy has been working on! I can't look because it will be a present for me, but you're welcome to look if you click on this link. She will change it quite a bit with some older pictures of me closer to my birthday (and some newer pictures of family, especially Macy), but please let her know if you have any great ideas or pictures she could use. Make sure you look at the back cover. It doesn't show up if you use the slideshow option and it has lots of fun stuff on it according to Mommy.

I Love...

I thought I'd do a post on the things I currently love.

1. Dogs! I've been showing some interest in Euclid. I reach out and grab his soft fur and his wet mouth. Yesterday I laughed so hard my belly hurt when The Buddy took my hand in his mouth and licked it. Mommy carefully supervised so don't get too nervous. She didn't take pictures because she was busy holding me. I especially love my grandparents' dog Tate. He has long golden hair and is fun since he has an abundance of energy.

2. Outside! If I'm crabby, then Mommy can usually get me to be happy by taking me outside. She hates it when it rains these days since it takes away my easy reset button. We were at a golf/dinner outing last night and took a couple of pictures. Daddy took us on a joy ride on a golf cart. Don't worry about the stitches on Mommy's chin. She had a mole removed. (Note from Andrea: Take that, Emily. This necklace matched my outfit better anyway! Hahaha)3. Hot pink! It's my color, as you can see. I'm not a tiny baby anymore so I don't need to wear pastel pink. I like to go clothes shopping with Mommy and I kick my legs when I see bright colors. She's getting good at shopping without buying.

4. Daddy! He's so fun! I loved getting to spend time with him on vacation. I'm a lot less fussy when he's around (not that I'm very fussy anyway). I liked visiting him at work on Sunday.

5. Mylar balloons! Yes, I still enjoy them. I have one tied to my changing table that I look at all the time. The current balloon is a gold star.

6. Mirrors! You'd like mirrors if you looked like me. Mommy says that was rude of me to say.

7. Sweet potatoes! Yummy! I like avocado and bananas too, but not quite as much.

8. Cousins! They give me lots of attention. Anya's 3rd grade fingers taste good. Macy and Hailey are very entertaining and I enjoyed watching them play last Friday. Milo gives the best kisses and calls me "little cutie." Leif still hasn't made an appearance, but I'm sure I'll love him too. I like the shelf he created on Aunt Emily.

9. Being worn! Daddy would be lost without our Baby Bjorn. Mommy also wears me in a wrap and it's cozy. She wants a Baby Hawk so she can wear me on her back. It's pretty rare that I'm upset when I'm being worn.

10. Snuggles! I get up anywhere from 4-7am and then Mommy takes me into bed with her, feeds me, and then snuggles until about 7 or 7:30 most mornings.

11. Baths! Mommy makes them nice and warm and I kick my legs as she pours water over me. She takes her time since I enjoy it so much. I also love the massage I get afterwards.

12. Swinging! We have a swing on our backyard patio that gets used daily. I also enjoy taking naps in Gavin's fish swing. Although, I usually take naps on the floor or in the crib these days.

13. Singing! I sing for my supper. Mommy thinks it's funny that I sing and hum while I'm eating sometimes. Apparently Daddy used to sing all the time during meals when he was a kid. Maybe I'll have a pretty voice like him instead of Mommy.

I love other things, but I'm sleepy so I'm going to take a nap. See you later!

Family Fun

We had a great trip. I don't like car rides that last over 2 hours and unfortunately, the ride is about 2 hours and 4o minutes. Other than that, I was great. It's healthy for me to exercise my lungs now and then, right? I even took some good naps in the midst of screaming and piano playing.

I woke up in a fantastic mood (as usual) on Thursday morning. Part way through the night, Mommy swaddled me and then I slept better. I'm not quite ready for the sleep sack so they're going back to swaddling. I can STTN if I'm swaddled so they might continue to swaddle me until I leave for college. My newest thing is to reach out to people. Daddy fed me some avocado. He hadn't gotten to do that yet. I like sweet potatoes better, but avocado is a close second. Check out the fancy chair at Grandma's house!
Grandma D takes tons of pictures of me. It's really funny! She must think I'm cute or something. Notice that we're watching the weather. It stormed on Thursday night and we almost had to go into the basement.
Obviously I like my doorway jumper, despite the incident that occurred the first time Mommy tried to put me in it. We can blame any bad grades I earn on that!
Thursday night I got to spend time with Mommy's side of the family. The snuggled me like crazy. Now that I'm older, I really enjoy my cousins. They're fun!!!
I practiced sitting with my boppy. I also showed off how well I can roll and stand if people hold my hands. Can you tell Hailey likes me?

We went on a nice walk on Friday afternoon. I propped my legs up on the front of the stroller. It was so comfortable.
Daddy couldn't resist taking some pictures of me in my cute hat. This one is Mommy's favorite since I was looking up at her and smiling.
Friday afternoon I fell asleep when I was waiting to meet "Uncle" James. He held me for a little bit during my nap.
When I woke up, I was very happy to see his handsome face. We're good friends.
We got back home last night (after my bedtime). Daddy is on call at the hospital today, but we'll go visit him. My cousin Leif still hasn't arrived so we'll be heading back to FD in the next couple of weeks to meet my newest cousin. I'll be twice his size!