*feliz navidad

So I'm not sending out a Christmas card this year. It makes me sad, because I always really love to do it! I love picking a picture, choosing just the right song or verse, writing it all out, etc. I usually do a lot of it myself, painting in the colors, etc. It's way cheaper that way, but I also love the process. It's really enjoyable for me - always some mate and a quiet house and my little watercolor assembly line. I love to see them all stacked neatly, ready to go. Sometimes I even take pictures of the finished products all lined up [hehe, certain friend of mine].

This year though, I just can't do it! I made baby announcements and that took [is taking] any creativity and any free time I may have. Cards seem obsolete now with email, blogs, facebook, texting, etc., but I still love to send them and love to receive them. I will definitely do a grand Cater Christmas card next year!

The above picture is the one we'd probably have used. Or maybe this one:

But definitely not this one. Oh, Ben:

*2 meses

Edie will be 2 months tomorrow! I'm going to write things down so that next time I'll remember how hard it still is :) I seem to have forgotten anything about Vera's sleep habits, etc. at this age. I think I remember it a lot better than it might have been... same thing happens when I ask my siblings things, like how they had the 2 share a room or something. They always seem to remember it not being a problem. ANyway. This is all kind of boring. I really do want to just write it down so I remember next time.

First the difficult parts:

So the last week she has developed some colicky behavior around Vera's bedtime, usually lasting until about 10 when she falls asleep from exhaustion - usually in my arms, me asleep from exhaustion too [ben was out of town :(]. It's really frustrating because I feel like I must be doing something wrong, or at least missing the right opportunity for bedtime. Miraculously she's asleep right now - in the swing, which she's only ever done once. I'm typing fast to beat her waking up :) She's also not napping in her bed hardly at all. She looks sleepy, I swaddle her up, falls asleep, laid in crib, awake in ten minutes. A couple times I've been able to get her back to sleep re-inserting the binky or even sitting under the bassinette rocking it. It's hard with another child to be very consistent about it all! Also, she's pretty fussy during the day especially after eating, always seeming to have a tummy-ache :( Our pediatrician suggested we try probiotics, I'll report back if it works...

Not really difficult, but different than Vera.. she seems to be sleeping or trying to sleep all day long. I remember Vera being a lot more aware and alert at this point - maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just that Edie is always sleepy!

Positives:

She's nursing! It's still not 100% pain-free, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was. I pumped exclusively for about 2 weeks and then again on one side for a little longer to heal everything up. She does seem a little affected by all the bottle-feeding and isn't very efficient at nursing - some frustrations to work out :)

She has the cutest little smile that contorts her whole face, makes her kick her legs and really just makes my day. I only get to see it a few times a day and it's like a little gift every time.

She sleeps a great stretch the beginning of the night (once finally asleep), usually waking around 1-3 and 5-6, then we sleep 'till 8. The first feeding I can just re-swaddle her and lay her in the bassinette without any rocking back to sleep - it's amazing! and strange how she won't do it that way any other time of day/night.

She weighed 11 lbs. 4 oz. today which means she's growing! Our office never gives the percentiles and I forget to ask.

In the middle of writing this she woke up in the swing, fell back asleep in my arms and I've put her down in her bed... so far still asleep, thank you LORD for small miracles.

*

Ben and I always used to ask each other what our favorite thing about Vera was. Currently my favorite thing about Edie is her little legs. So cute and soft and little: little knees, little thighs, itty bitty rolls. If she's excited about something [say I smile at her] she kicks them frantically. I can't handle it, it's too cute.

*al parque

Yesterday and today we 3 walked to the park - not sure if I'd done that yet? I haven't been outside much with Edie, but it finally wasn't too cold. The fresh air felt SO good. Also it made me happy to see Vera skipping around - she needed to get outside too.

*8 weeks

*amorcito

Meet Becca - will this be her Bunny??? I hope so :)

♥

[Becca is the name she came with... I guess we'll stick with it since there can't be 2 "Bunnies"]

*muchas gracias

There is so much to be thankful for! Ben's family was here for Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful time - mostly cozied up indoors with it cold and snowy outside. There was lots of baby-holding, picture-taking, appetizer-snacking and napping in front of the fire. Highlights were working together to make a deeelicious Thanksgiving dinner, seeing everyone meet and love Eden, seeing Vera play with and look up to everyone as an ever bigger little girl [less baby-like, does that make sense?], an afternoon at the SPA with Rosie and Jessie and... having so many people to hold a baby who likes to be held! We really love to have family visit and are always so sad to see everyone leave.

When I was little, I remember always having to make place cards for everyone. Vera loved having her own job! They were so cute, especially the ones she wrote herself:

Uncle Ben:

Daddy - she did this without any help at all!!

yum:

brothers:

posing for pictures:Family photo - sorry, Edie, you're a little blurred:

*

I put Edie in the big crib the other day [she's in a bassinette in our room now] and wound the mobile for her for the first time. It was so cute to see her little look of wonder and curiosity. I love each new awareness in her and can't wait to see more :) Yesterday I blew little puffs of air on her face and she was sooo cute, surprised and happy - definitely the most exciting thing in her little life.

Anyway then Vera came in and wanted to show off her new hello kitty toothbrush. I love Edie's expression:

and I just love this one ♥

*desayuno con papi

I saw Ben sitting here at breakfast with Edie the other day and it reminded me of a picture we had with little Vera:

*

This first month has been ... difficult. It's hard for me to deal with this stage of a baby where there is no real predictability, their schedules are unorganized and they demand so much time. I'm slowly learning to let it go and just be in the moment, do whatever she or Vera needs and NOT WORRY about what I need/want to get done. I took this video a few days ago when I was having a rough day, wanting to get something accomplished and not being able to. I was sitting on the couch and Vera was playing in front of me and it was just so nice and fun to see her happily entertaining herself - and us. I let myself just watch her and let it go that I wanted to do whatever it was. I think it's really important during this time too to do just that for Vera - give her my attention! Anyway...



and this was from a couple weeks ago. I have SO many dancing videos that I never get around to uploading. Our friends were over for lunch and Vera put on a ballet show - she was so very serious and proud. She also took a break every other minute to carefully comb her hair. It was pretty darn cute.

*no llores!

"Edie can't cry anymore!"

Vera wrote this "list" several days ago. She'll cover her ears and loudly remind her baby sister that there is a note that says she can't cry!

*tummy time

*

♥

These are over a week old now - a lot in the life of a 5 week old - but they're too cute [I think] to not share. I was trying to get a good photo for her birth announcement, but she reminded me too much of Vera in this outfit. She needs something of her own :)

* my favorite *

*las calabazas

Our pumpkin vines - from 3 different plants - spread all the way from one end of the yard to the other. I love how they turned out! They came from the seeds of a decorative pumpkin my sister brought to Thanksgiving last year. Some of the seeds I washed, dried and stored in the fridge. The other half of the original pumpkin I left in the garden bed over the winter and one seedling came up there. There were about 10 pumpkins total, though they didn't all ripen properly - next year I'll cut them earlier so they can sit in the full sun. Here they are just a wee sprout.

*

We went out last night for a post-pregnancy/birthday sushi fest. You might laugh since we do live in Utah, but people say this is the best sushi they've had outside of Japan! Such a treat :)

*sonrisa

Edie was 4 weeks old yesterday! So far I'd say she is definitely different than Vera was as a newborn. For one, she sleeps all the time, usually taking a good 3 hour nap in the middle of the day, lots of little ones here and there and then goes to bed around 8-9 and sleeps till 1-2am. I have no idea how she knows it's "nighttime" and should sleep long then! I hesitate to write it here, thinking I'll ruin my luck [but I don't believe in luck right?!]. She is as fussy as any other baby, but definitely seems a little less feisty than Vera was and doesn't think it's the end of the world if I set her down for a moment. In fact, I can sometimes lay her down awake and she'll go to sleep! It is crazy. She's smiled 2 or 3 times in the last couple days at very random times - making me wonder what was so happy :) I was snapping these photos yesterday and happened to catch one! Little sweetie, we can't wait to see her little personality develop.

*bedtime and the power of a sticker chart

So the very night I posted about Vera and her horrible bedtime struggles she happened to have one of her good nights and went to bed easily. The next day I dug up a sticker activity I'd bought this summer and told her that since she was such a good girl going to bed peacefully, that she got to put a ballerina on the stage. If she went to bed peacefully [meaning no calling for us, no crying, no asking for snacks, no asking for more books and only one question along the lines of "what does ____ start with?" We review it all every night.], she'd get to put a sticker on in the morning and after 6 we'd go out for ice cream. This picture is from last week - we are now 9 for 10!! It's crazy how well these reward systems work for her. The one night she didn't go to bed peacefully wasn't even that bad, but I had to draw a hard line :)