Happy Happy Happy!

Happy 1 month Bday Ivy, Happy 1 3/4 bday Brooks, Happy St. Patricks day, Happy you are surviving to me.

LOL- if you can't guess things are crazy, but good.


St Patty's Day- we tried to take some pictures in Green- however a certain little boy refused to wear not only the leprechaun hat, but also his pants.




I love this picture for some reason


First he took her paci out, then tried to put it back in



This is just funny


I asked him to wear the hat, he decided to put it on her- she was not happy






B's 1 3/4 year birthday!!!
He is such a ham. He just climbed onto the chair and started grinning like a fool.













At 21 months B is doing so much. He still is not talking all that much, but he learns words all the time and is starting to use them. You can tell he is shy about it. He says please (pees) and thank you (gank) appropriately now. It is adorable- the worst though is when he wants something he can't have (like to run around with a fork) and is yelling please, please, please at you. He seems so confused about why he isn't getting what he wants when he says please.
He rocks Ivy, will do this little piggie to her, pushes her rocker around, shoves pacifiers in her face, takes them away, and loves to hold her hand.
He loves wearing big shoes- he tap dances in Eric's work shoes every night, it is hysterical.
He knows how to get to gymboree and runs up the street yelling boree, boree, boree on the way.
He is starting to play with other kids, not just next to them.
He can sometimes catch a ball
Favorite things are balls, umbrellas, etc.
He will stand in an empty shower and fake wash his hair, body, and hands.
He dances along & does the appropriate movements to songs (itsy bitsy, twinkle twinkle, wheels of the bus, etc)
He loves to help- he will grab you a towel while in the shower, will help 'wash' you with a poof, will sweep, will use tissues to wipe your nose, etc
(I will be adding to this list= too tired to think right now)

Ivy turned 1 month old on Wednesday- WHAT??? Where on earth is the time going- It is hard to believe that it has already been a month since she burst into the world on her own timeline. And yes- her birth was a sneak peek at what life with the little diva is like.
Ivy is a wonderful baby- but she is not an easy one. We are used to Brooks as a newborn- easygoing, happy, content, etc. Ivy is a bit more demanding. She is sweet and wonderful, but she has her needs and makes them known. One of those needs has been quite difficult- she likes to sleep while being held. So the choice is no sleep for anyone, or hold her while she sleeps. I have slept in a chair for the past 3 weeks. Thankfully the glider/recliner we have in the nursery is super comfortable, but I can't lie- I am looking forward to this stage passing and sleeping in a bed again. We still try every night, but when you are overtired and have a toddler as well as an infant needing your attention in full every day- you basically take sleep however you get it and enter survival mode.
She is becoming more and more awake and aware- and it is fun to watch her watch everything. I think Brooks is her favorite person to watch- he gets right down on her playmat with her. In fact- Brooks LOVES her. It is so awesome to watch. At times it is hard, for example when I get her calm and happy after a crying jig and then he runs over and yanks her pacifier out. Then he tries to shove it back in her mouth and it is rinse and repeat the whole cycle. But I couldn't ask for him to be any better- he beats me to rock her in her rocker if she starts crying, and when I change her diaper he will try to wipe her belly to help. He brings me diapers, loves to hold her hand, and will go up into the chair I try to take pictures of them in demanding 'baby, baby' wanting her next to him (not on top of him- that ends in pushing).
I think my favorite way to see them together is on her activity mat. Brooks is like King Kong on it because it is for bitty babies, but he makes himself fit.

Here are some pictures of the 2 peas in a pod:


Doting on each other







Teaching her some new things



Look at their arms in these pictures- so funny how they do the same things!





He loves to hug her



And Happy 1 Month Ivy
At 1 month old you are still pretty new. Your strength surprises me because you look like you are trying to roll and can get on your side.
You eat every 2-3 hours
You sleep a max of 3 hrs at a time
You do seem to have your awake time during the day- at least when we are up at night it is quick (so long as I don't dare attempt to put you down LOL)
You love your brother
You are beginning to start to show small smiles here and there
You are an explosive pooper- Brooks used to space it out all during the day at this stage, you go once or twice and have ruined many an outfit in blow outs
You are a diva- and we love you for it!

Monthly Pictures:

Brooks was a little jealous of you getting to do the monthly pictures and tried to take over



But we ended up getting some good shots of our pretty girl!
The chair: newborn vs. now



Bunny picture newborn vs. 1 month




Some other cute shots:


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Life with 2

Life with 2 kiddos- is HARD.
It is especially hard since one is needy all the time and wants to sit and nurse and the other is running around, getting jealous, and getting into everything.

Brooks- is doing alright with the transition to not being an only child any longer. We have our good and bad moments. He is sweet in that he tries to rock her (which is scary to watch b/c those swings propelled by a toddler are not safe). He will try to jam pacifiers in her mouth even if she already has one. He will pet her head and give her kisses. But he also wants what she has. If I am nursing her, he wants on my lap. Suddenly he wants carried up and down the stairs even though he can do it himself because I am carrying her. It is an adjustment and I have to say he is doing well.
Other news with him- while he is still not talking much, I have noticed he is trying more and more to say things and gaining words. He has added Nana, Elmo, Ernie, Gymboree (bo-wee), and more to his vocab. He is still not clear and strangers would not always know what he is saying. But the strides he has made have been great and I can see that in the next weeks/months he is going to get there (I think).
Cute thing- now that Ivy is here, he goes up to every child and says Baby LOL.

Ivy.
Ivy is great. She was 8lb at 6 days old!!! That is an entire half a pound up from her birth weight and 11 oz up from her discharge weight just 4 days prior. She is a nursing champ!
However- she is a gassy nursing champ and is not the content newborn Brooks was. She screams- a lot. I am losing my mind with it. She seems to scream in pain, nonstop, multiple times a day. This is often followed by loud pooping or burping, but it is horrible. Her belly is hard and bloated until she gets it out of her system, and the poor girl is just so miserable. This is especially awful on the days I am alone with them, because I need to care for her and it takes a lot, and Brooks wants attention too. So then it becomes 2 needy babies. We are trying mylicon and gripe water- seems to have helped a little- but goodness I cannot wait for her digestive system to right itself.

Pictures!



This is the 3 of us standing pretty much where she was born- within a few feet of it anyway :)



Here are a bunch of pictures from our first weekend home as a family!








Yes we already took her to a restaurant at 4 days old. We had to go to the hospital with her for bloodwork since she was slightly Jaundice. Her bilirubin levels came back fine so she is in the clear- and we had brunch right nearby the hospital.
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Checking each other out


Pretty Baby


If the bow didn't flop on her face this pic would have been a favorite





And of course- just like we did monthly pictures of Brooks next to the monkey and on the chair- we are doing the same with Ivy but with a bunny in lieu of a monkey. I actually ordered a teddy bear and was sent this bunny. I was in the process of dealing with the returns department when she was born, and so now- we are just going to keep the girly bunny :)










First Bath





We have ordered a lot of dinners- one of which was sushi! B ate some Philadelphia roll- cooked salmon & cream cheese flash fried with some yummy sauce





B and Daddy both got haircuts together- seeing Daddy go first seemed to help, no major meltdown!





Little miss Ivy holding her daddy's fingers


So sweet


B is a pacifier thief!



B's new favorite toy in the basement- the bathroom shower! He stands inside and pretends to wash his hair and hands while shrieking to hear his voice echo.


Our sweet girl- B has warmed up to her enough to show her toys and give her smooches!











And her nursery- it used to be B's room decorated with jungle animals. We are keeping the blue and it is a work in progress- but I love how it is coming together



oint)
Smiles from a cutie (or gas- whatever)

Look at the ruffle butt!

Beautiful children- both of them if I do say so myself!









Tried to get a good shot with the 2 while Nana was here to pick up the camera- it is hard to get 2 kiddos looking!