Anna is 6 weeks

Well...it didn't happen. Saying those words "good baby" did not turn Anna into a monster. In fact, she's only getting better and better! She is a great baby. Her smiles have gotten bigger, more frequent, and more spontaneous. SO fun.

She takes about four 2-2 1/2 hour naps. And since 4 1/2 weeks she's been sleeping a 6-9 hour stretch at night, eating and then going back to sleep for a few hours. Seriously!

Of course there are days that her naps are a little messed up, she wants to eat more often, or cries hard when it's bedtime but pretty much that's what she's been doing. She does a kind of spit up/throw up thing once every couple of days. I'm not sure what's causing it but she gags really easily.

David and I are still able to have time together in the evenings since Anna goes to bed at a decent hour. Our nights are not filled with a fussy baby like they were with Natalie. It's so nice. Life is good.

I took this picture because it just typifies my everyday life. Anna being happy, Natalie curiously watching/playing with her, and Cyrena busily writing and working on something.

Anna likes to look in her mirror

Trying to get her to smile at the camera

She likes the mobile in her swing--a great craigslist find

I still have to wake her up from every nap to eat, this ensures she gets all her feedings in so she'll sleep long at night! Sometimes it takes her awhile to wake up.

Another attempt at capturing a smile

Anna is 1...Month

Wow, it's January 19th already! That means Anna is 1 month old. It doesn't feel like it's been a month since Anna was born but it also seems that we've never been without her!

I think I can officially say the words "good baby" in regards to Anna. I'm very scared of those words because I worry the minute I utter them my baby will turn into a monster. But I think how a baby is at 1 month is a good indication of how they're going to be the next couple of months until they're out of the 'newborn' stage. And that makes me happy because she's pretty good!

She's definitely a gassy baby so there are times we really have to work out the burps and such. We are transitioning her to formula in the next week or so. She's a good sleeper and puts herself to sleep most of the time. If she's overtired or has an upset tummy she'll need us to pat her back and help her relax to sleep. She's only able to stay awake 45 minutes at a time--max. She has been very alert lately and has the beginnings of a smile, I hope that happens this week! She likes the bath, loves her bottle, and most of all loves to be cuddled on my shoulder. Oh, and she loves the plethora of kisses she receives from each of us!

I am feeling great, better than I've ever felt with a newborn. I usually get the baby blues pretty bad for a week or 2 but I have really only had them for 1-2 days this time-and only cried once. I can't tell you how relieved I am about that (and I'm sure David is too!). Now, I've definitely had my grumpy days but none of those yucky, hopeless, apathetic, overwhelming feelings.

Anyway, things are going well, the kids are all healthy and happy now and we're looking forward to a visit from my junior high/high school/college/newlywed, etc best friend Jessica next week! It's been over 2 years since we've seen each other--crazy.

Here we go again

Natalie has RSV and a double ear infection. So we're back to breathing treatments like last year. She's never had an ear infection that I know of so it's her first time on antibiotics. There's a whole lot of coughing going on around here and it's getting a little old. I think I may have a complete meltdown if the baby gets sick. For now I'm trying to isolate them as much as possible but it's hard with a 2 year old that doesn't understand why she can't be in the same room as the baby and why I can't hold her. Give me strength!!

Sickies

Our poor girls have been really sick this week. Natalie's been pretty bad since Sunday and Cyrena has had symptoms the last couple of days. The normal cold/flu junk. They went to bed at 6:45 tonight....I hope they get better soon!! It's been exhausting. Yesterday after lunch I was putting the baby down for a nap and came back into the family room to find them like this:

Clifford had ended and Charlie Rose was blabbing on PBS...no wonder they fell asleep. :)

Luckily Anna, David and I are healthy so far.

Our girl

David captured this 'money shot' of Anna giving us one of her sleep smiles. She is so adorable. I love these smiles because they give me a glimpse of the future.

Anna loves the bottle. I was brave enough a couple days ago to say "I don't enjoy nursing" It was going fine but I just really don't enjoy it. And since I know a happy mom=a happy baby, I decided to stop. So for now I am pumping exclusively and it's going well!

Cyrena is loving feeding her. In fact, Cyrena fed her 3 times yesterday. When I asked her if she wanted to take some of the night feedings, she said "of course!" Hahaha. Anna also loves her pacifier and does a great job keeping it in already. She uses it to fall asleep for naps. She is really filling out; multiple chins, arm and leg rolls, etc. It's awesome! She's 2 weeks old today and is such a good baby. We are loving her!

Christmas Day 2010

Christmas Day is so nice when kids sleep in! We took our time, opening things slowly, and enjoying every minute.

Cyrena's favorite gift was GUM. She has always been told she couldn't have gun until she was 6 but I told her she's been such a big girl that I wrote Santa a letter and asked him to put some in her stocking. She's been chomping away ever since.

Natalie's favorite toy was this Fur Real walking/purring kitty. She LOVES it even though the rest of us think it's a bit creepy.

We all got matching aprons from my parents...we needed these!

The girls got these amazing pretend/mess-free makeup kits, they are having so much fun with them!

Anna got a yellow, crocheted afghan made by Grandma Taylor and we bought her the cute, wooden hexagon toy.

Santa found a $5 easy bake oven on Craigslist and it was tried out as soon as present opening was over.

Santa also brought Cyrena this dinosaur excavating kit. This was the best present ever!! It took 3 days to complete. It was a block of compacted dirt and you had to dig and brush away at it until you uncovered all the bones, then you snap them all together to make a T-Rex! Oh and the headlights were a HUGE hit--thanks Candace for the idea!

A couple months ago Santa found this basketball hoop at a yard sale for $10! He kept it hidden well. This family has been wanting one for awhile so it was very exciting!

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve was a beautiful day. We spent some time at the park then got ready for the festivities.

Natalie could spend ALL day on the swing

We broke from tradition and prepared a mexican feast for dinner. It was, in a word, TASTY. You can see the anticipation on David's face....he was very proud of his plate.

Anna snoozed

We had a little program. A video presentation by Grandma and Grandpa Taylor, Cyrena played "Old MacDonald" on the piano, we played the stocking stuffer game, Cyrena read some scriptures, Natalie danced, David read the Christmas story in Luke II.

And of course we opened up pajamas