Why this random pictures makes me smile.

6 1/2 weeks in

I have really been noticing a change in Siena this week.  It is the change where they go from really helpless infant to helpless infant who wants to see what's going on.  She is really working on holding her head up.  At the park she is starting to fight facing me in the sling.  I don't blame her.  She already looks at my chest for the better part of the day.  I would imagine she will be turned around soon.  She also is using her feet and legs to push off of me.  She is a strong one!  She will sleep through the night if she is on her side and in our bed.  She wont sleep in her crib for more than 2-3 hours at a time.  I have also been noticing that she doesn't unexpectedly  pee or poop every time I change her diaper.

I would say that she is more difficult of an infant than Cole was.  She will not sleep in the swing or her crib for too long.  She has found her voice and if you don't feed her when she wants it watch out because she will cry (LOUDLY) until she gets to eat.  She is so sweet but she sure is feisty.  Cole was an extremely mellow baby and I would say that compared to most babies Siena is also, however compared to Cole she is not so mellow.  I am hoping that this means as  toddler she will be a piece of cake!  I can wish right???  She is also getting chunky, as chunky as an 8 pound (that's my guess on her weight) 6 weeks old can be.  It is so adorable!

I have been able to give her a bottle once.  She was super hungry so I heated up some milk and gave it to her in the cheepo $.99 target bottle, she refused the nice Advent ones.  She started sucking on it like a pro and with in 5 minutes had drank about an ounce.  I stopped her from eating and burped her since it seemed like a lot of air got in to her.  I go to give her the bottle back and she acts like she has never seen it before.  She acted like she did not know how to use a bottle and choked every time she tried to drink from it.  I think she was playing around so I would let her nurse....

I think Cole is really trying to be a better brother.  He hasn't tried to bite in 2 days (this a big stuff!).  He really wants to be around her, but he still prefers if we ignore her.  He love to assist me in exercising at the house.  He brought me my hand weights today (6 pounds total.  That is 1/4 of his body weight) and then pointed to the tv.  He wanted me to turn on the video so he could exercise with me.  He likes anything involving jumping and then he likes to assist me with push ups (by crawling under me) and with crunches (by sitting on me).

Cole's thought process seems to be developing more these days too.  The other day at the park I watched Cole pick up some bark and hold out his hand to an older girl.  I was walking by at the time (Mike was on Cole duty) and I heard him ask the girl "But what's that?" as he held out his hand.  The girl looked down at the bark and he threw it at her.  I don't think Cole has quite the thought process yet to have planned that out but it was sure funny.   It was like he had tricked her in to coming closer so he could throw the bark at her.

Waking the beast

Cole fell asleep in the car on the way home from grocery shopping.  When that happens then nap time is screwed.  Since it was so early (10:45am) when we got home, we woke him up and gave him lunch.  Then at 12:30 we put him down for his nap.....I guess I should of said we put him down for play time.  That kid did not sleep!  We went in there many times and put him in his bed and each time he would get up.  We removed toys, turned off lights, took away water, etc.. until we had finally had it with him not sleeping.  At 2:30 we let him out.  Hey if he isn't going to sleep, he has to at least rest in his room.  MOM NEEDS NAP TIMES TO RECOUP OR SHE GETS VERY UNHAPPY!!!!!!!!!

So we decided to go to the park.  It was little to windy and Siena wanted to eat the whole time so we packed it up and went home.  Well guess who fell asleep on the 10 minute ride home.  So it is now a quarter to 5 and if we let him sleep to long then it screws with bed time but he really seems tired.  So we opted for a 30 minute nap and that we would wake him up at 5:15pm.  

This kid would not budge from our tickles, pokes, calling his name, etc.. so we enlisted Onyx to help.  She started at the hands and then licked his face up and down.  He still didn't wake up!  I guess he really was tired.  About 5 minutes later we got him up.  He was cute at first but them he went into crazy mode where his is hungry, thirsty, crabby, hold me don't hold me, I didn't ask for food or a drink mood.  So I stuck him in his room because he was whining and screaming.  I held him down breifly since he was trying to hit me and told him if he didn't stop crying I was closing the door and he could stay by himself.  He responded with an "oh ya ya".  I got up, closed the door and walked out.  He continued screaming and I waited for the head butt on the door, but it never came.  Five minutes later Mike went in and he was still on his bed crying.  

It took another 30 minutes before he would not try to hit us.  He played alone and came out of his room when he was no longer grumpy.

Moral of the story:  Don't wake the sleeping beast unless you want to lose an eye.

Brotherly love

So he's not always mean to Siena.  He does like to hold her, squeeze her, and give her kisses.  I like how squished her little face gets.

Tired mom - life in a nutshell

Siena has been keeping me up the last few nights.  She won't go to sleep if the light is off.  She screams while nursing.  She has to nurse for HOURS....I think it is my fault.  I first stopped eating salad because I was having one for every dinner for the past week, still happened.  So tonight I did not have a diet cherry coke.  I don't even know why I am drinking them in the first place.  They are horrible for you, but I felt like I needed the extra boost or I'd fall asleep and then I'd wake up and find Cole cooking a meal or something and I don't want the extra calories.  So minus the diet chemical drink today and I can safely say I think it was the problem.  She is sound asleep in her crib (big shock since she has been refusing to sleep in her crib).  I should have known.  Diet drinks make me feel awful.  If my body would not freak out over espresso or tea I'd go that route but then I get sick.  Oh well.  The princess is sleeping and not being feisty.  That's all I can ask for!

Cole wants nothing to do with me unless I am the only option.  He has major fits when Mike's leaves for work and takes swipes at me.  Today he bit Siena on the cheek. twice.  I was so mad at him.  I was trying to cook dinner (It was 3 pm and you guys wonder why I start dinner so early) and I look over to the swing and Cole is leaning in to kiss her cheek and I see her flinch as he is coming back up.  And then the crying begins.  Cole walks away smugly.  Now what, let ground turkey burn, comfort Siena or punish Cole.  I push the pan off the burner, grab Cole, put him in a time out, kiss Siena,  put Cole back in time out, go to kitchen make sure nothing fell on hot burner, put Cole back in time out, debate whether to get Siena out of swing, put Cole back in time out, turn off burner and give up on dinner for awhile, retrieve Cole from time out circle, discuss why he can not bite Siena, go get a drink of water, see Cole biting her again, repeat time outs for the next 10 minutes, and then I ran away.  Ok kidding on the last part, but oh how I dreamed of locking myself in the bathroom, filling up the tub, and reading the entire twilight saga again.  That should be enough time to recoup, right?  But no, I still had an hour to go before Mike was home from work.  Oh and this entire time Onyx was trying to get me to feed her dinner so I had a 60 pound Lab under foot the entire time.  She has yet to realize that her meals are no longer my first priority.

Cole's secret sauce

Ketchup + Ranch Dressing stirred with a fish stick and topped with macaroni and cheese.

mmmm Yummy!

BTW - All I did was ask him to smile. 

Some snow and the park

This weekend we had some unexpected snow Sunday morning followed by a sunny afternoon.  Perfect time to go to the park and puddle jump, chase geese, and walk a few miles.

Don't you just want to pinch her cheeks?

Some more pictures of Siena at 5 weeks old!  It's already been 5 weeks.  It seems like a long time when I try to remember back to the hospital yet 5 weeks really isn't much of a dent in some ones life.  

I tried giving her a bottle last night.  She wanted nothing to do with it.  I am not surprised but I have to keep trying since I will be back at work in 3 weeks and she will have to drink out of one then.

The cloth diapers are fitting her better now.  Still big of course but no leaking so far with them.  She is a feisty little girl who still wants to nurse all the time.  During the day she will nap in her crib but at night she always ends up with us in bed.  It is easier for me to get sleep that way.  She is such a grunter and squeaker at night that it keeps me up.

So freaking cute!

I love shoes! I love flip flops! I love flip flops on little feet. How cute is this!?!?!?

More spring fun

You know spring is here when

The daffodils are out everywhere

Everyone's eyes water and noses run

It is 70+ degrees in March

You get to chase bubbles with a fly swatter

You know life if rough for Cole when...

he's riding on the tractor and he still pouts.

I hope some day soon this little guy gets over the fact that Siena is here to stay.  If he could verbalize what he is thinking I am sure he would be saying "take her back please.  I don't like my new toy any more"

What happens when the freezer door gets left unlocked.

Nice, real nice.

Poop does not belong on:

HANDS

FEET

FLOOR

WALLS

CHAIRS

MOUTH

Cole "What's that" showing me his hands.

Me: "Ah crap" as I smell his hands.

It is poop.  It is everywhere.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Life update

This little guy is finally "over" having a sister.  The presents have stopped coming, mom and dad are still paying attention to her, thus I must now act out.  He is desperate for attention and he will try to get it any way he knows how, whether it involves biting Siena (hard), stomping Onyx's feet, throwing his toys at anyone and everything, or just throwing the BIGGEST tantrums we have ever witnessed.  I feel bad for the little guy.  He seems sad some times.  I do my best to give him one on one time but Siena wont lay in her crib or the swing for more than 5-10 minutes with out screaming.  She has been going on these nursing sprees and she wont take a pacifier so if she is not on the boob she is not happy.  We did figure out that if we need her to nurse I just have to give her to Mike and she will be hungry in 5 minutes.  We aren't sure why?  

When Cole does get the attention he is seeking, he is the most loving, cuddling little guy.  He even lets me take pictures of him now, even though they all end up with a face like this.  Today I got him to do an exercise video with me.  He lasted through the warm up part but he was copying what I was doing.  It was so cute.  When I do let Cole hold Siena, he loves it.  He sits on the couch like a proud big brother and smiles.  He leans in to give her kisses a lot, but some times he sneaks in bites and I know because Siena will start crying.  Cole is also asking to nurse.  I wont let him for fear of being bit.  He walks up to me when Siena is nursing and points to my boob and then points to his open mouth.  I tell him "no, that is for Siena", he glares at me and then walks away.
Cole is still sleeping great.  This past week he has been getting up at 4:45 am but at least he was asleep by 9pm!  Cole is also hiding his fingers in his mouth when I ask for them (wash or cut nails, etc...)
This little girl has started to hold her head up!  Each day she gets better and better at it.  She feels so big to me now!  But when you think about the fact that she is still smaller than the average newborn it puts it in perspective for me.  I can't not imagine life with out her.  When she isn't being feisty and screaming for more food (her screams may not even be considered loud to some people) she is just staring at us with her big BLUE eyes.  I love how in pictures, like the one below, it looks like she has a mohawk.  That is the only spot her hair is thin in. We think she must have been wedged down there when the hair starting growing that that side didn't get the opportunity to grow hair.  Siena grunts all night long.  During the day she is pretty quite.  At night she is a noise making machine.  She has also started grabbing my hair which reminded me why I cut it off when I had Cole.  Siena's eye lashes are also more noticeable and looking like she will have her brother and fathers eye lashes.  Lucky girl!
Both Mike and I are doing great!  It does feel like we are constantly doing house work, but we always find time to play.  We both get way more sleep than anyone with a newborn and 2 year old should.

Auntie Andrea is here!

My sister Andrea came down from Montana for the weekend to meet her niece.  

Grandpa Tom with his grand children and great grand children.

Mommy and the aunties

Gardener for hire

With the economy the way it is these days we have got to find income where ever we can.  Cole is for hire to water your garden, shrubs, plants, lawn, what ever as long as it involves a hose.  He charges 1 tootsie pop per half hour.  If you pay him with a chocolate tootsie pop he may rip out a plant or two.

Melts my heart

A rare occasion where Cole was not trying to smother Siena with hugs and kisses.  Cole was super excited to take photos (what???) because he got to hug Siena and lay next to her.  Too many cute ones so I had to show them all.

Cupcake Birthday

I got this great idea from my friend Margaux to do cupcakes for every month on their birthday's date (4th and 12th).  Then you take a picture of them with their cupcake (of course) and you can see how different they look each month as they get older.  With Siena turning a month old yesterday it was time to get baking.  I chose to do both of theirs on the 12th this month because last week came and went so fast and Cole had his ice cream cake for his birthday.

For Cole I decided to make Space Aliens.  I got this great book - Hello, Cupcake! which has a ton of great ideas that anyone can do!  Seriously!  None of the recipes involve any type of special pastry equipment.  All you need is plastic zip lock freezer bags and the ability to follow directions.

The aliens look easy but they did have a few steps involving freezing and melting frosting to dip the aliens.  To make the alien body you use half a mashmellow and a donut hole (hey no one said they had to be healthy), chocolate covered sunflower seeds and black shoe lace licorice.  

Our aliens oozed slime.  The ones in the book were perfect of course...  Cole bit into the head and that was about it.  I wonder when this kid will like to eat cake?

For Siena I went with Daisys.  I wanted to keep it simple since I knew the aliens were going to take some time.  She did not taste her cupcakes but Cole did help her out.

Cavemen - The movie

An example of the "caveman" conversation from play group last week.  Cole even gets in a head butt, a gentle one...  Don't turn up the volume too loud.

1 month old

One month ago Siena arrived in to our world and I can't imagine life with out her.  She is just the sweetest little girl who hardly made a peep until today.  The most she had cried in her life was the day she was born so I think to honor that one month birthday she has chosen to nurse non stop all day long and cry if I set her down in the crib or the swing.  As soon as she is picked up her little lips pucker up and her head starts swinging looking for anything to latch on to.

She has gained 2 pounds and 1 ounce from her birth weight bringing her up to 6 pounds and 14 1/2 ounces.  She grew 1 3/4 inches taking her from 17 to 18 3/4.  The few preemie clothes that we had for her, have gone into storage as she is now too long for them.  She is still in the newborn size clothes and swimming in her 0-3 month outfits.

Siena is becoming more alert these days and she seems to be awake more during the day.  She naps in the morning after waking up to eat (which she has also been doing all night so I don't understand how she can be hungry).  She naps again after she wakes up to eat and check things out for awhile.  Pretty much naps a lot.  We have not put her on a strict schedule yet because she is still sleeping a lot.  Eventually I plan on getting her on to a napping schedule where one of her naps will be at the same time as Coles.  Wish me luck with that one!

She has the cutest spiky baby hair that gets very soft after baths.  So far she has enjoyed her baths with out complaint.

Siena loves to nurse.  She nurses all the time.  So much that it will cause her to spit up / projectile vomit depending on how much she has OVER consumed.  She knows when I enter the room too.  We can put her to bed and then leave the room.  If Mike's goes back in to get into bed she stays asleep. When I enter the room, quietly I might add, she starts making the eh,eh, eh sounds and the lips start smacking.  I lay in bed ignoring her for a little bit, hoping she will forget about me and fall asleep but that has yet to happen.  So needless to say, I don't get to actually go to sleep till almost 11.  Thank goodness for nursing on your side.  I think this is the only way I can actually get some sleep and make it through the day.

We started Siena in cloth diapers 2 days ago and she seems to be doing well with them even though they are huge on her.

Over all Siena has done amazing this first month.  She fits in perfectly in to our family (Cole might not think so) and we are so grateful to have her in our life.

Can I please have an iphone.

Maybe this is why Cole is sleeping on the kitchen floor...

A moose is asleep. He is dreaming of moose drinks.

A goose is asleep. He is dreaming of goose drinks.

That's well and good when a moose dreams of moose juice.

And nothing goes wrong when a goose dreams of goose juice.

But it isn't too good when a moose and a goose start dreaming they're drinking the other one's juice.

Moose juice, not goose juice, is juice for a moose. And goose juice, not moose juice, is juice for a goose.

So, when moose gets a mouthful of juices of goose's, they always fall out of their beds screaming screams

SO...

I'm warning you now! Never drink in your dreams.

If that was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep, I might be disoriented also and think the kitchen floor looked like a nice place to sleep.

Conversation with Cole

Scene: I am drinking a blended soy, double shot decaf mocha.  Cole reaches for my cup.

Me: Do you want some?

Cole: Oh yeah yeah

Cole: takes a big sip - What is that?

Me: A mocha

Cole: It's gowa (good)

Me:  It's good?

Cole: yeah

Me: Do you want some more?

Cole: naw

This morning at 2 am I found Cole sleeping on the kitchen floor.  Our floor is slate.  That had to be uncomfortable.  I walked out to go to the bathroom and I almost tripped over him.  He was curled up with the butt in the air and he had a few blankets with him.  I have no idea how long he was there.

Best way to spend the morning before heading off to work

Siena's first bath

Siena got her first official bath tonight.  Yes I know she is almost a month old, but I refuse to put them in a bath until that cord is gone. The only thing worse than the gross cord is an infected cord.  She was such a trooper.  I fully expected her to let out even a small cry when she hit the water but she said nothing.  No peeps, squeaks, or cries.  Cole was super interested in why she was in there and he wasn't.  He went from fully clothed to t-shirt and socks only in a matter of minutes waiting to jump on in the tub.

Cloth diapering Siena - Day 1

I still can't get over how dang cute these little diapers are.  I might like their cuteness more than saving the world...

Now that the disgusting snail shell is off and I gave her little belly button a day to dry up, I am attempting to cloth diaper Siena.  I plan to go through the day but put her back in regular diapers at night because I am not in the mood to wash poop off of a diaper at 2 am right now.  Maybe in a few weeks.

She seems to like them....  I will give an update in a few days.

The ultimate lap warmer

Way better than the snuggie!  Don't you wish you had one?

Cole's 2nd birthday party

Nothing says Happy Birthday like singed nose hair!

We celebrated Cole's 2nd birthday this past Saturday.  It was a small party with the four of us, all of Cole's grandparents, great grandpa, uncle, and his buddy Dylan and his parents.  We had pizza and ice cream cake from Baksin Robins which Cole's would not eat!  Cole got tons of great gifts like a nerf basketball hoop, a set of sports balls, puzzles, books, play dough, a bubble lawn mower, and a bead maze.  Cole truly had a wonderful time.  He actually fell asleep during reading / bedtime which never happens and it was before 9 pm!

So soon?

I thought for sure that this didn't start until they were teenagers.....  He knows where everything is too!

How much trouble (fun?) can this kid get into in an hour?

I think he is testing me today.  I am not sure yet how I will pass but he is still alive....

That would be cream cheese Cole.

Why he can pulls those out is beyond me.  I guess I just need extra stress in my life.

Gotta go.  I sounds like things are breaking in his room.  It is supposed to be nap time!