A Mommy Obsessed

...with capturing that beautiful smile in photos!

And just so you don't think I am excluding MJ, here is what I got the other day, trying to take his picture!

Pizza and a Movie Night

We are still doing our weekly pizza and a movie on Fridays.  This week, being Valentine's weekend, we ordered our heart-shaped pizza!  Fun!

May be taking the site private

I might be taking our other site private.  I have been getting a lot of unwelcome visitors there. They have been signing the guestbook, which I have to keep deleting, and hacking in somehow and sending out e-mails.  I will let you know when and if that happens.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know I am a little early.  But things get so crazy here that I may not get it posted on time later!  I usually send out photo valentine's, but I did not get them done in time.  I guess that is what happens when there is a newborn in the house.  But I did manage to take the photos!  Enjoy!

Smile!

Yes, that is a hint of a real smile!   I was giving her cheeks kisses, and she would give me this slight grin each time!  So it was not gas-induced!  LOL!  I think in another week, we will have BIG smiles!

You can also see she is breaking out a bit.  Hope that will clear up soon!

It's About Time!

We have been trying to convince Michael for quite some time now that pull ups are diapers for big kids, and he needed to quit wearing them! He only wears them at bedtime and nap time, but that was still too much for us.

Finally, last night he proclaimed that he did not want to wear them anymore! So we had a long talk about getting out of bed and going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It was a talk we have had with him many times before. But since he seemed like he was really wanting to be successful this time, we really tried to drive it home with him.

He fell asleep around 9 pm, and Mike went and woke him up at around 11 to take him to the bathroom. He was really sleeping hard, so Mike had to carry him to the bathroom. He stood at the toilet, but nothing happened, so Mike told him to go ahead and get back into bed. Here is the funny part. He turned towards the bathtub and started to climb in! LOL! Mike had to grab him and turn him towards the door, and he eventually went the right way!

I also took him to the bathroom once while I was up with Allison. That was around 5 am. He was still dry, and he went potty in the toilet! Woo hoo! When he woke up a couple hours later, he was still dry. It was a successful first night without a pull up! We gave him lots of praises, and high fives, and told him we would have McDonald's for lunch to celebrate.

He said he wants to do it again tonight. But we did let him know that we would not be having McDonald's every time he was dry. That was just to celebrate the first time. But we did tell him that we were very happy that he wanted to try it again, and we were so proud of him. I hope this is the road to no more pull ups!!

Go Colts!

One Month Old!

We made it! One month old!!

So, how has it been? Well, let's just say that I am glad Allison was our second baby! She has been a lot more challenging than Michael was at this age. Now, Michael has been more of a challenge as a toddler & pre-schooler, so let's hope Allison does a flip-flop too, and she gets easier as she gets older!

We keep reminding ourselves to not compare the two kids, but it is hard not too! I mean, we thought we were pros, and our experiences with Michael would make raising this new baby a piece of cake! Right? HA! What they say is right! Each child is sooo different! But we are constantly comparing them anyway, and saying, "Michael wasn't like this!" But we have to face the fact that Allison is who she is, and we have to learn all new parenting skills!

Here are some examples:

Michael was laid back, and was very content to sit in his papasan chair, and just take in everything around him. I could walk away from him to fix dinner, or check e-mails, or brush my teeth. Allison on the other hand, is always wanting to be held. Walk away from her in her seat, and 30 seconds later she is not pleased. I have to make sure daddy is around, or wait until she is asleep to do anything. Sometimes I put her in the Beco carrier, and she is content in there for a while. That has helped me get laundry done quite a few times!

Michael never spit up until he was over 4 months old, when he went to formula. Allison spits up after each time she nurses. After I burp her, if I don't hold her upright for 15-20 minutes, she loses everything she just ate. Even if I sit her in an upright position on her back, she spits up quite a bit. Then she gets the hiccups. Then that ticks her off.

Michael was in his crib right away, and was quite comfortable there. He was also very easy to get to fall asleep and stay asleep. I could put him down while he was still awake, but almost asleep, and he would be out soon after that. He would also sleep for 3-4 hours before wanting to be fed. Allison, because of the above spit up situation, is very uncomfortable while flat on her back, and doesn't care for the crib. It also takes a long time to get her to sleep. We have to hold and rock her and wait until she is completely out before laying her down, and then she still usually wakes up 5 minutes later, screaming and wanting to be held. We then repeat the process about 3 more times before she finally stays asleep. Daddy is really good at getting her to sleep. He is a lot less stressed when she is crying, and also he is naturally a hot box, so she likes how warm he is!

Last night at bedtime, I fed her and put her in her swing to keep her upright. She ended up sleeping the entire night in her swing, and she slept for 7 hours straight! That was a very unusual night. She usually is up every 2 hours, and wants to eat at that time too. But yesterday she did not nap for longer than 10 minutes at any given time, and it took us 5 hours to get her to bed. So I think we had her exhaustion working in our favor to help contribute to that long duration of sleep. I am sure tonight will be back to schedule.

Don't get me wrong! I know it sounds like a lot of negatives, but I am not complaining! I love my daughter sooo much! We waited for what seemed like forever for her to come, and we feel so blessed to be given this gift. I think right now I have been running low on sleep, and I have been beating myself up trying to figure out how to make her a happy baby. A happy baby makes for a happy mama. It seems like we are having our first baby all over again, because she is so different, and also because they were 4 years apart.

Other than her challenges, she has been making great progress! She was given an "all clear" with her hip. They took several measurements of both hips at her ultrasound last week, and they were perfectly normal!

She is also holding her head up very well! She still doesn't have good control, but she is very strong! Her brother was the same way!

I think she is getting close to giving us smiles! We keep seeing hints of one now and then, but nothing "official." Michael was 6 weeks old (sorry, comparing again!) when we could get him to smile when prompted, so I am hoping we are just around the corner from Allison showing us what she's got! We have seen some "gassy" smiles, and she is just beautiful when that happens. I can't wait to see her face light up with a true smile!

Oh, we ventured out to dinner for the first time as a family of four last Thursday! I was nervous, so I picked somewhere that I wouldn't get stressed out if Allison busted out with some screams. So we went to Applebee's. Turns out I was nervous for no reason, because she slept the entire time. Whew!

Michael is still doing very well adjusting to his life with a baby sister. We have not noticed any big changes in his behavior. He is a very curious kid, and is always asking questions, and we are doing our best to answer them. He is a very smart boy, and seems to be soaking everything in. He is still going to daycare everyday, which was tough when Allison first came home. He didn't understand why he had to go to school when everyone else in the family was home, and we struggled getting him out the door. But he now goes without a fight, and happily tells us about his day when he comes home.  Some of his recaps are quite interesting!

Ok, well, my time has run out. Someone is up from her nap!