Lucy One Month

Miss Lucy Lavelle is already one month old and we can't believe how much she's changed!  She is growing so quickly and we are enjoying her so much!

She is around 7 pounds now and has probably been the best eater out of all the girls.  I just remember having to wake the other 3 up during the day to eat every 3 hours, but Lucy tends to start stirring before that 3 hour mark comes!  She is not going to miss a meal!  She has also held on to those 2 during the night feedings longer than the others.  Last night was the first night she made do with only one ;)  She ate at 10:30, then around 3:00 and woke up at 7:00.  We will take it!  She's had a few rough nights mixed in with good ones.  Seems to have some gas/tummy trouble every now and then.

For the most part though she is a happy, content baby.  During the day, she enjoys her swing, bouncer, boppy pillow and play mat.  Her eating schedule is typically 7, 10, 1, 4, 7 with a night time feeding between 10:00 and 11:00.  She's a fast eater and nursing has been so easy this time. She has been a natural! Like Kate, she gets the hiccups every time she eats!

We experimented with not swaddling her overnight a week or so ago because she seemed to not enjoy it.  From even her sono pictures, she likes having her hands up by her face.  We went back to the swaddle last night though and since she slept so well, we will probably resume that ;)

Even though she's a pretty content baby, she does appear to love being held.  If she is fussing and is picked up, it typically stops immediately and she just stares up at you with those big, blue eyes.  She likes being cradled in your arms more than being up on your shoulder (although I still like snuggling her like that sometimes:)  She has been lifting her head since one day old and if she is up on your shoulder, she will hold that head up and look around.

Noise definitely does not bother her which is a good thing for this crazy household.

I wish I could sit on the couch, snuggle her and stare at her all day, but being #4, that just doesn't happen! I do, however, take as many opportunities as I can while making sure we still have clean clothes, the house isn't falling apart and the big girls are getting their school done :)

She is a precious gift that our entire family is enjoying so much!  The big ones hold her as much as they can and they are all so sweet and gentle with her.

We love you, Lucy Lavelle!

Sweet friend from the girls school made us a personalized chicken pot pie!

Mommy and Daddy's first post-baby date night.  Miss Lucy decided she was hungry too right as the food arrived ;)

First Sunday at church

February 12th

Kate's 2 Year Stats

Kate turned 2 and is in full blown toddler mode!  She makes me tired ;)  She still has such a sweet, compliant spirit, but she is EVERYWHERE.  Actually reminds us a lot of Macy at this age (oh boy!)  

At 2, Kate weighed 22 pounds (6th%) and was 2' 9" (35th%).  She wears a size 5 shoe and we just moved her from a 4 to a 5 diaper although they are pretty generous.  Speaking of, she goes in the potty quite a bit but we are just not ready to get into full blown potty training with a newborn!  Dr. B noted that he was starting to see some signs of prolonged paci use (!) so we will try to eliminate those when we get back from our Spring Break trip.  We learned with Eden to never take a paci away right before a hotel stay!

When the big girls are around, she is basically their shadow.  She will copy and mimic every single thing they do.  It's actually really sweet and funny to see!  The big girls continue to be so patient with her and let her in on whatever it is they are playing with.  She will "play" rock, paper, scissors with them and try to repeat chants they learn from school.  It cracks me up.  Just wants to be just like them.

Her vocabulary has absolutely exploded and we have full blown conversations now.  Some of my favorite words or phrases: 'wuv 'ooo (love you), sowry (sorry - which she says anytime something happens whether or not it was her fault), "I know baby" (she says to Lucy since she's heard us say it), It's ok sucy (another she's heard us say to Lucy), -old me (hold me), Daddy loves KK, Mommy loves KK (and then every other family member she can think of.  We say this when we are laying her down at night), -tep -tool (step stool.  She carries this folding step stool all over the house and it's hilarious!), I DO IT (independence runs STRONG through our offspring!  She is no different and absolutely wants the freedom to do everything herself), I no -ike dis (I don't like this.  She will automatically say this when you turn a show on or a song in the car.  Then she realizes she actually does like it :)

She really has been so sweet and gentle with Lucy.  She kisses her on the head and pats her so soft.  And she genuinely loves her and asks to hold her often.  We are thankful her transition has gone so well.

We try to work around school pick up and piano, so she typically lays down for a late afternoon nap around 3-5:30.  Even then, she's still ready to lay down with the big girls around 7:45/8.  And she sleeps until 7:30/8 in the morning.

She is bubbly and loud around the house, talking non-stop, but she's been pretty shy around others lately.  If someone asks her to give them five or a hug, she typically will look down at the ground and get very still.  However, if Macy or Eden interact with that person, then she will do exactly what they do.  She also cries when we drop her at the nursery right now but she calms quickly.  I was teaching her Sunday School class until Lucy was born so I think that's made it harder on her that I'm not in there right now.

She loves her cousins Kallie and Selah and will hug them continually when they are together.  These girls have a lot of fun years ahead of them!

Her laugh is one of my favorite things about her.  It is the sweetest little chuckle and she just has so much light in her eyes.  She's a very fun-loving, happy-go-lucky, laid back personality.

Her favorite foods are cheese and crackers, chow mein noodles, pizza, turkey / chicken, grapes, bananas, apples, oatmeal, rice / beans, yogurt, and the meat from our tacos at Don Juan's :)

This precious gift, we can not believe she is 2 years old.  The joy she brings to our family can not be summed up in a blog post!  Watching her grow and change is bittersweet for this mama's heart.  I will always remember those precious early days and weeks after bringing her home from the hospital.  There was an immediate light in our family upon her arrival.  As with Macy and Eden, 2 was always a harder milestone for me than even 1.  The fact that she is leaving that baby phase and acting more like a toddler breaks my heart!  I love her to pieces and wish we could keep a camera on her 24/7 right now.

We love you, KK!

Showing me her boo-boo from getting her finger pricked at her 2 year check.

She also has an avid love for bandaids right now.

Josh and I gave her a jump house for her birthday.  I really wanted her to be the first to use it, so one day while the big girls were at school, I set it up inside!  She had a ball!

"Hiiiii Sucy!"