Playtime

For Danielle's 4 week 'birthday' I brought out the activity mat. Well, actually just the activity part -- I couldn't find the mat!! We had it a few weeks ago, washed it and got it all ready . . . . and now it is missing, likely in the disaster of her room. She really liked it! She was obsessed with the mirror for a bit and then the parrot caught her attention. She laid there for about 20 minutes and took it all in. She was so cute! It seems like just yesterday that Lily was laying under that rainforest -- the music really brought me back.

She was very excited!

I caught part of a smile on film!

All these photos were too cute -- so I had to post them all.

I Finally Came Up With A Cute & Witty Blog Name!

Holy Crap! After three + years of blogging, I FINALLY came up with a real name for my blog!! Honestly, "Still trying to come up with a cute and witty blog name" was the truth, I was trying to think of a good blog name. I never really wanted to make it all about Lily (even though it is easy to change the name) since it was a family blog and I knew that someday we'd have another child. So my temporary name just kinda became the official name for awhile. But lately, I've been kinda excited about the idea of getting a title just for my girls.

Lily has a zillion nicknames and Boo Boo is one of them. To me they are kind of blanket names of affection that can apply to both girls, but Lily seems to be territorial about "Boo Boo". So Chip started calling Danielle "Bun Bun" at birth as a companion name to "Boo Boo". And, it has surprisingly stuck -- so we have a Boo Boo and a Bun Bun and I felt it made a perfect title to my blog!

Sleep Stories

I know I've talked a lot about Danielle's sleep patterns, but honestly at this age there isn't much else to talk about!! :) When Lily was a newborn, she pretty much slept in the swing for her first 3 months of life. We had tried the swing with Dani before, but she wasn't really feeling it. However, lately I have been nursing her and then rocking or bouncing her to sleep in my arms. I am trying to avoid some of the bad habits I got into with Lily such as exclusively nursing her to sleep. It made it impossible for anyone else to get her to sleep. Not that I am really planning on going anywhere, but if Chip or My mom has Dani at nap time and I am out somewhere with Lily, it would be very helpful if they could get her to sleep. So yesterday after she ate and I was trying to get her down, I tried putting a very relaxed Dani in the swing and it worked -- she feel asleep! It actually worked twice yesterday and she is in the swing now as I type. She still sleeps in the nap nanny at night and took a longer nap in the nanny yesterday as well, but it is nice to have variety and options -- then maybe she won't be insistent on only one way of getting to sleep. We'll see. . . . next week it may be something entirely different.

Up until yesterday it felt like she was awake more than asleep during a 24 hour period. She wasn't fussy or crying, she was just not sleeping or only sleeping for 5-15 minutes and waking up. But yesterday she slept all day and then gave me a 5 hour stretch and 3 hour stretch at night -- that is 8 whole hours of sleep for me!! Hopefully this is the sleep pattern that sticks around for awhile!!!

Super Mom!

These last three weeks that Lily has had school Chip has taken her every morning and my Mom has picked her up every afternoon. They have both been so great and it has been a huge help to not have to get up in the morning and not have to disrupt Dani if she is sleeping to go get Lily. But this morning Chip had to leave for work at 6:30am for a tournament. Since I would have to get up to get Lily ready anyway and I hated to ask my Mom to come over so early, I said I'd take care of it. Dani has been waking up around 6:50/7:00 with the sunrise the last few mornings anyway and stays awake for a few hours -- so if this is her normal pattern it does work really well for getting Lily to school.

Thankfully today was no exception. We were up from 4:20-6:00, but then Danielle woke up at 7 anyway and I had no problem getting all three of us fed, dressed and out the door on time. I even walked Lily inside instead of using the carpool. I was pretty proud of myself, so I treated myself to a much needed iced mocha from McDonalds! It felt great after 12 weeks of being stuck on the couch to get out, drive and do something. I still don't necessarily want to do it everyday, but I was glad today went so smoothly.

My girls all ready to go!

Can I Take Your Order?

Danielle has gotten a little better at taking at least one nap out of my arms a day which leaves me more time to spend playing with Lily. I'm sure I said it before, but Lily has been amazing thru the bedrest and these last 4 weeks with Dani. I am SO proud of her and so glad to finally have the time to play with her more. The other day we played restaurant -- we even wore her restaurant hats! :) We're cool like that.

Sisters

Lily and Danielle watching a Rapunzel themed episode of "Super Why". Lily was teaching her all about Rapunzel and the alphabet. They are beyond sweet together. Lily is the happiest lately when she has Danielle in her arms.

Nap Nanny

As I've mentioned before Dani will only sleep in my lap during the day. Honestly, it is so sweet and I really wouldn't care, but it isn't fair to Lily or Dani. I can't really play or do anything for Lily and if Lily does need something or if I need something, I wake the baby by getting up. I don't want to give up all my cozy baby time, but I need an hour or two a day to get some stuff done and pay attention solely to Lily. So when Jenn offered her "nap nanny" for us to borrow, I gladly accepted. I'll try anything! So far, and I hate to jinx myself, it is a miracle! The first day I got Dani to sleep in it for 90 minutes. Yesterday she took a 2 and a half hour nap in it which allowed Lily and me time to play and I got some light housework done! She is currently sleeping there now (which is how I can blog!) and going on 2 hours. I do miss holding her, but it is nice and I feel like she is getting a better sleep.

Pre nap nanny - she would sleep in the bouncer un-swaddled for only a few minutes before walking up. I was hesitant in using the swaddle during the day since I wanted it to help distinguish between day and night and help with healthy sleeping patterns.

Behold the nap nanny!

She is still too tiny to sleep in it at night, but that is ok for now. As long as she is warm and cozy and I can keep my eye on her, we are all happy!

Eating left over Easter candy (yes we still have a large bowl of chocolate eggs and bunnies we need to clear out before Halloween) and making "sticker by number" mosaic jewelry boxes with Lily while watching Gilmore Girls -- perfect mommy and me bonding time while Dani sleeps peacefully on the floor next to us.

Dani's 1st Bottle

I started to try to pump some milk for Dani this week so she can get use to the bottle. It wasn't easy since she nurses constantly! But I managed to get some and so far the bottle is going well. I have to make a conscious effort to keep this up, as annoying as it is, since I would like the bottle to be an option. I learned my lesson the hard way with Lily who refused to take a bottle past 6 weeks.

3 Weeks Old!

On Wednesday Danielle turned 3 weeks old, so I had to get some photos of my little angel. For the most part, she is still a pretty easy baby. She still sleeps swaddled and in the bouncer at night and spends most of the day in my lap. She is so precious and we are all madly in love with her!

Silly Lily posing for her own pictures.

I was shocked that she slept through all this -- and actually she slept down on the floor for awhile after. Usually she has hated being on her stomach . . . maybe some of her sleep habits are about to change.

Meeting Matthew

On Tuesday morning while all the bigger kids we in school Jenn and Matthew came over to visit. Matthew and Danielle are only 5 months apart, so hopefully they will grow up to be the best of friends -- just like their sisters.

Fresh Air

After one of the hottest summers on record (68 days of 100+ temps so far! The record is 69 days). It has finally started to cool off to highs in the 80s with temps in the 60s-70s in the morning. It is SO nice to actually be able to go outside again! I had hopes of walking to the park this week, but instead we have settled for play time in the backyard. Either way, I was excited to use Danielle's new stroller. It comes with a pram attachment that she will only be able to use for a few months, so I want to enjoy it while I can! :)
Chip got the stroller out of the box on Monday night. Lily was disappointment it wasn't a double stroller -- actually she was pretty pissed. She can be SO lazy, but she is going to be 5 years old and needs to learn how to walk more! That being said, I know Lily too well and purposely picked out this stroller since it was one of the only ones that had a board for her to stand on that held up to 50 pounds. She was pleased with her board and wants to ride on it constantly around the house, so she should be good for awhile on any long walks or trips. (and sadly yes, after nearly 2 years Chip got a haircut. Lily and I are mourning his longer hair, but he promises he is going to grow it back out -- it just got out of control and he needed to start over).

I was hoping Dani would fall asleep outside while Lily played.

I think she was too excited to actually be getting fresh air! This picture cracks me up and pretty much sums up how all of North Texas feels about the lower temps!

2 weeks old!

On Wednesday Danielle was officially 2 weeks old. We had a 2 week weigh in and check up at the doctor's office. Everything continues to look great! Her official 2 week stats are:

7 lbs 10.8 oz -- 27% (not quite back to birth weight, but gaining weight, so we are good!)
20 inches long -- 35%
Head Circumference is 14.25 inches -- 54%

The best news was that her doctor said as long as she is eating 8 times a day, I didn't necessarily have to wake her to feed in the middle of the night. Of course, the first few nights after getting the go ahead to sleep she was up constantly! But last night she slept for 5 hours and 4 hours -- only one night feeding! It was awesome, although I know better than to count on this happening very often.

She still won't sleep in her co-sleeper and only sleeps in the bouncer next to me on the bed while swaddled. During the day she hardly ever leaves my arms. The second I put her down she is wide awake. It is so sweet, but I'd like her to sleep in the pack in play or swing for just an hour a day -- that way I could get some work done around the house or go back to work. I'll gladly hold her the rest of the day -- I know this is not going to last forever and before I know it she will be in PreK too. Speaking of which, it is SO trippy and indescribable how much Lily has appeared to have grown in the last 2 weeks. Two short weeks ago she was my baby. Just a 4 year old who I would carry (pre pregnancy) and would always curl up in my lap. Now she seems HUGE. She barely fits in my lap and just seems like a whole different person, physically. It is strange and hard to describe. But her sweet disposition and thoughtfulness is still there. She is having some jealously issues. I think the last 10 weeks (with me on bedrest too) have been hard on her and she just wants her normal life back, but overall she is madly in love with Danielle. She is so sweet and loving to her. It is amazing to watch and I hope her love affair with her baby sister continues to grow.

Lily loves to hold her and mother her. If Dani starts to cry Lily will immediately start singing "Hush Little Baby" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It is beyond sweet.

Lily had to take a 2 week photo too!

PreK

My (original) baby started PreK on Monday!! It seems like just yesterday I was blogging about my uncertainties in sending her to preschool at age 2. It has all gone by way too fast. Her school is known for their PreK program -- it is one of the best in the area. She has class Monday - Friday, which is a pain to get ready for everyday (even though Chip has been getting her ready so far while Danielle and I sleep in), but she is home by 11:30, so it is not too bad. She is loving it. She loves her school and especially her friends -- of course the usual gang is together again -- Lily, Carys, Matthew and Makayla. She has already learned how to say "Hello" in Japanese, Spanish and French. I think she is off to a great start!

Here are pictures of her from her first day:

So excited to go to school!

She looks SO grown up in this picture. It is so bittersweet.

Makayla and Lily

Off to class!
(Jenn was nice enough to send me this pictures since Chip brought her the first day while I stayed home with Danielle).

Life Around the House

So far we are 2 for 2 on efficiently getting out of the house. Thursday morning, bright and early at 8:15 we had 'meet the teacher' at Lily's preschool and then I had a follow up doctor appointment for me at 9:30. I am proud to say we got up and out of the house on time! My mom came to stay with Dani since I didn't want to bring her to school. The meet and greet went great. Lily was SO happy to see all her friends and is beyond excited to go back to school! Once we were done at school, we switched kids with my mom and headed to my appointment. No problem at all! :)

Here are some random photos from the last few days:
Lily is taking a tap/ballet combo class this year and she is loving the tap part! She's been wearing her tap shoes around the house and trying to tap all the time. Thankfully, she agreed to keep it on the quiet carpet. Of course, she had to also make herself a stage out of a blanket.

Ta Da!

Dani actually slept in the bouncer for awhile which was great since it gave me some time to blog and get some stuff done around the house. It is impossible to get much done with her curled up in my lap all day -- not that I am complaining.

Lily adores her sister! It is so sweet.

Playing Hi Ho Cherry-O with Lily while Dani sleeps in my lap.

Hanging with Grandma and Grandpa.

We had to take a family picture real quick since Lily needs to bring one to school. Every year they hang family photos in the class. We didn't have any with the three of us and Dani (where I looked half way decent) -- so I had to throw some clothes and make-up on and get it done!