Photo Shoot

Before Mira was born we had a photographer come out to take pregnancy photos of me with Jason and Joshua. Today, the photographer was back out to take pictures of Mira with all of us and by herself. She was a trooper through it all. She was awake for the beginning and then fell asleep about halfway through. She had just had enough stimulation. The photographer took shots of her naked with her little tushie up in the air and we Jason holding her cradled in his hands. I am sure they turned out great! We'll see in a week or so. We are all pooped from the event. It was a challenge to get Joshua to behave long enough to have his photo taken and then to coordinate that with Mira. Jason and I both needed a strong drink by the time the photographer left.



Joshua received a set of 4 puzzles from Kim, Ryan and Ellie for Christmas that he has really taken an interest in lately. The puzzles each have 12 pieces and no 'frame' to put them in or match the parts to but he can pretty much put each one together on his own. It is one activity that keeps him quiet for quite a long stretch of time.



We went out to dinner the other night with my parents. The meal took about 2 hours and both little ones did great through it. I was very impressed with Joshie's behaviour since he has been a challenge of late. Mira slept through it and Joshua played and ate his chicken and fries quietly.

Time to do a few bills and head to bed. Mira wakes up every 1-2 hours to nurse through the night but twice a night for about 1.5 hours she is up eating, burping and being changed. Usually it is right when we go to bed and then once more about 4 am.

Snowy Day

It snowed a little bit more last night so schools were closed and the library didn't open until noon. Storytime was canceled but we ventured out after nap to try and have Joshie's hair cut and return library books. The barber shop was closed, too. So, when we came home we made snow sundae's with lots of fun toppings. Joshua is enjoying his now but eating everything except the toppings he put on, funny boy.

Mira is sleeping. She was awake and alert this morning for a while and then again after nap. She is already 'tracking' faces, turning towards sounds she recognizes and holding her head up. We had 'story time' at home for Joshua and she enjoyed the books as well, ok so she slept through them but she will enjoy them later :-) Her umbilical cord stump fell off this morning so we will give her a little bath tonight, probably.

We are hoping that Aunt Jill and Aunt Tara will make it down to visit tonight but the weather may prevent that. We'll see!

Mira's First Dr. Appointment

Mira saw our pediatrician yesterday (I think Joshua was thankful it wasn't his turn!) and weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz. She has already surpassed her birth weight. I imagine today she weighs even more. She is a very good eater and I already notice her becoming less wrinkly and more filled out. Her cheeks are getting bigger. She did great at the dr's and was pronounced, 'Healthy'. :-)

She is a very agreeable baby so far. She had a busy time between 10pm-2am when she likes to eat, poop, eat, eat, spit up, change her clothes.... You get the picture. During the day when she is not eating or pooping, we either hold her or put her in the pack n' play bassinet. She loves it and either looks around or sleeps. I think she likes the noise of the house. We have gotten a couple of 3 hour stretches of sleep from her and have hopes that she will be a better sleeper than her older brother.

Joshua is doing great as a big brother and adjusting really well to the change. The toughest time of night is bed time when he asks for a laundry list of things (more kisses, hugs, stories, water, blankets...you name it). During the day, however, he is most helpful bringing toys and other items, asking about Mira, playing nicely, etc. Daddy and I are doing our best to give Joshua one on one time throughout the day. Visitors have also been very good about saying hello to Joshua first, coming to play with him and bringing him gifts. I think he may think all this fuss is about him becoming a big brother.

Sounds like the boys are ready to go, better sign off!

Joshua has a little sister!

Mira Jean, our brand new beautiful baby girl, was born February 15th at 12:39a. She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz, is 20 in. long, and ended up with 11 fingers :-).



Joshua is not quite sure what to make of her, but he knows he's the "big brudder" and carries the little baby doll Mira gave him...

Daddy and Carie were there helping through the whole thing and experienced the amazing event first hand. Kimberly and Ellianna visited first thing Friday morning; Memaw and Joshua came Friday afternoon to visit shortly (since Joshua's attention wanders easily); Granddad stopped by after work on Friday on his way to join Joshua and Memaw; Christopher (aka The Godfather) came later Friday night (bearing much-needed survival supplies); and Tia Amy and Tio Omar visited with Dylan, Stephanie, and Noella Saturday afternoon.

Mom is still at the hospital with Mira, since the attending doctors want to keep an eye on the baby since she "lost so much weight." Ummm... it's quite normal to lose up to 10% (which is what she lost). Nevertheless, she eats like a fiend (absolutely no problem breastfeeding or taking a bottle), and poops like one too :-) We think they are over-cautious, but they put up a fight so we yielded (at least until tomorrow.) Daddy took over Joshua's care (Memaw had him since Thu. night!), and is now back home with him; hopefully, we'll be on our way to pick Mommy and sister up in the morning.

I posted a few pictures on Flickr, check 'em out!

Bit of a Cough

The sickness Joshua had last Monday seems to have just been car sickness so that is good. Now, he has picked up a cough that is going around. His appetite is a bit less and he is coughing a lot in the middle of the night but last night was better. He is a bit irritable but still active and playful. Looks like we have to just wait this one out.

Today, we are venturing out for some 'stock up' grocery shopping. It is REALLY cold out so I hope we don't freeze!

I picked up the book, 'Happiest Toddler on the Block' from the library. I haven't actually gotten a chance to read it yet but I hope it has some insights with how to help Joshua through this hitting and kicking stage. We had to leave story time on Friday because of his hitting and kicking. He is such a bundle of emotions right now that things escalate very quickly from happy, playful child to Tazmanian Devil faster than you can blink. But, I guess that is the age.

On the flip side, Joshua is really looking forward to being a "Big Brodder" (Big Brother) and likes to tell you about it. He is also really helpful now and likes to pitch in with just about every activity. He sets the table, feeds the animals, picks up his clothes and toys, lets the dog in and out, stirs when I am baking and wipes the table.

For updates on the baby progress check my pregnancy blog nettieann.blogspot.com

Chunks

Joshua and I went this morning to take Godfather to have his wisdom teeth pulled. Just as we were about 15 min from the dr. office Joshua threw up all over the place. It was a mess. Chris hopped in back and cleaned up as best he could but the smell and mess were bad. Josh wasn't acting sick so we continued on our way to the appointment. Chris had his teeth pulled and we made our way back home. I spent the afternoon cleaning up the mess. Ick! Joshua called it 'chunks' and talked about the event for the day but again seemed to be in pretty good spirits. He ate and played and so we figured that it was probably car sickness or something since he only had milk in his tummy.

He spit up a little more right before bed tonight so we will now be monitoring him. I hope it isn't a bug! That is just not something we need to pass around right now!