Jan 15, 2008

Prior to blogging, I kept a message board to keep up with friends and family through pregnancy and mommyhood.  I'm working on bringing those posts to this blog. 



Zach continues to be a great baby and Teagan is still an awesome kid and big sis. Jeff and I are doing well. I go back to work full time tomorrow. Zach has gone to daycare yesterday and today (went until after lunch yesterday and will stay until after nap today- all building up to the full day tomorrow). 

Guess I'll get on to what you really want- pics!!

Christmas- Our first celebration was with Jeff's family. Mimi and Pop-pop, Jeff's sister Lindsay with husband Travis and kids (Corbin and Jillian) and Mimi's daughter Lisa with husband Todd and kids (Andrew, Caden, Ava). Teagan and Zach were certainly spoiled with a very generous amount of gifts!!

















A pic from Xmas Eve at our house- T in her new nightgown and you can kinda see her 2007 ornament (this year's is Mickey and Minnie) on the tree.


Some pics of the kiddos- Teagan feeding Zach, Zach's chunky thighs, fun in the tub, etc.











 

A funny naptime moment- Teagan likes to go to sleep by herself now (doesn't need someone sitting in the room with her). She will frequently ask for her pacifier and head to her room, climb into bed, and just go to sleep. Here's how I found her the other day...





Zach is a thumbsucker. It's about the cutest thing I've ever seen. I really didn't want a thumbsucker. Jeff now tells me that he sucked his thumb for a looooong time. So this might be a habit that is hard to break. But Zach is so content and relaxed when he gets that thumb in his mouth. Doesn't compare to the paci... 






He's a very happy baby. He fusses sometimes but very rarely cries. He loves faces. He loves to be talked to and sung to. He likes to snuggle but also likes his independent time. Loves the jumperoo, not the bumbo. Loves tummy time- when he gets tired of looking around, he puts his head down, pops in that thumb, and takes a nap! Weighed in at 17 pounds on Sunday. He's 12 weeks old today. It's all great!









Jeff's birthday was 1/2. Teagan was home with me and Zach and we made Daddy a birthday cake!




And just random shots...




















Teagan moments:
- I had gotten out of the shower and she wanted to brush my hair. I said that I'd had a cold shower (I got the last shower of the morning). Teagan said "Cold? No! It was wet!"

- She is playing independently and imaginatively so much. She has a bunch of Little People and various little plastic characters. She likes to put them all in a circle and have them talk and sing to each other. She puts differents ones into various vehicles and plays out mommy-daddy-kid stories. 

- Loves playing games. We teach her the "right" way to play the first time. Then she makes up her own rules after that. Love it! She is very creative. 

- She is quickly filling out her 3T clothes. I wish there was a size in between 2T and 3T. 

- She puts on he rown underwear, socks, and pants. Working on figuring out shirts. Loves taking a bath and playing with water. Loves to help with housework. Loves helping with her baby brother. Loves reading and trips to the library. Is a pretty good eater. Pretty good listener (for her age, anyway). Fun to talk to and play with. Very few behavior problems. If she has a meltdown, she is usually over-tired or not feeling well. 

Zach moments:
- He is starting to play, too. He has these plastic links that he plays with in his jumperoo. I put them in the tray and he will work and concentrate so hard until he gets his little fat hand on them and knocks them to the floor. Then he looks up and waits for someone to ge tthem for him!! He also loves "stand up, sit down." Teagan or I will say Stand up! and he stands on my lap (I hold his hands or under his armpits) then we say sit down and he plunks down on his butt. When he's really into it, he actually pushes himself up on his legs and he will sit himself down so I'm only helping him balance- not with the up and down part.

- He sleeps all night. 10-12 hours. Not a co-sleeper. Needs and enjoys his sleep. Self soothes with that thumb. With going back to work tomorrow, I've taken to sleeping in his room the past few nights. Yesterday was the first half day at daycare and he definitely nursed more when he came home. I thought he might have some night feedings, too, but sleep seems to be more important! He was somewhat restless so I slept in the twin bed in his room and he seemed to sleep a bit more comfortably. Which is, I think, a fair compromise!

- Zach is being baptized on Feb 10. Anyone in the area is welcome to come. Get in touch with me for details. I'm horrible at sending out invites.

A phrase I used the other day...

Teagan brought us love and Zach has brought us joy.

We were so scared about going from one to two kids. No idea how we were going to handle it. Teagan's arrival taught us a level of love that we didn't know existed. Something so deep and profound that it can't be explained with mere words. She delights us every single day but also taught us about some of the difficulties of infancy. Now Zach has arrived and the love is, of course, there. But he has also brought us an unreal amount of joy. He is so laid back and easy going and we are so blessed with this easy baby that we are able to really sit back and watch him and enjoy him and enjoy him and his sister together. 

Jeff and I are doing great. He has continued to be very busy at work. I'm going to be busy as soon as I'm back to work- I've managed to stay in touch with the goings on of the office (which I think is helping with my transition back into it). We are all healthy- thank God! We enjoy visits from Grandma. Mimi and Pop-pop have gone to FL for a few months. 

Sassy is doing fine as the only dog- she really seems to be flourishing now. It's like she was holding back for Ginger's sake and is back to being like a puppy now.