Baby Face Friday: 7 weeks

This week Preston has started a love affair with his monkey wubanub. 

So much smiling & cooing. Keep it coming buddy! 

The person who can get the best smiles from Preston is Eloise. His whole demeanor changes when she gets close to him. One of my friends told me that Eloise would be like the sun to Preston and she was right. Of note, she loves it too! She lights up when he smiles back at her. 

Baby Face Friday: 6 weeks

New trick: Smiling!

 Happy Father's Day weekend everyone!

Fun Fact: I made this onesie when I was pregnant with Eloise and gave it to Brad on Father's Day in 2012.  Both kids have worn it now with love for their Daddy!

Toddling Thru: Eloise as a big sister

The Burning Question: How is Eloise doing? 

She's doing better than to be expected. She is absolutely obsessed with her baby brother. Just like any almost 3-year-old, she's a little bit of a drama queen these days and can be quite bossy. Lucky for us, Eloise knows everything - what to eat, where to go, how to do things and when to do things. It can be a challenging age at times but is honestly the most entertaining stage so far. She makes us laugh everyday. Whether she is reenacting a scene from My Little Pony or telling us a story, we are entertained.  

Since Eloise has started preschool, she has learned so much. She tells us the days of the week, the month & the year almost every day at dinner. She loves to tell us what her job is for the week in school. Her absolute favorite is being the line leader. A close second is probably the lights. She loves to turn our lights on & off now.  I've also noticed that she's really interested in helping us out. She will  regularly ask, "can I help?" or "can I go with?" 

I'm doing my best to try to make sure that Eloise feels special or at best just as special as she thinks her new baby brother is. Sometimes all it takes is to get her sunglasses that match mine.

#Matching

With all the baby gear making a reappearance, Eloise has adopted some items as new toys for her.  It often takes repeated attempts to tell her that these items are for babies to ensure that she doesn't climb into the swing or suck on the pacifier.  We've gotten to the point where she understands that she was once a baby and used to use all these things but now uses different stuff because she is big. We regularly talk about differences between her & Preston - big vs small size, baby vs big girl toys, baby's eating habits vs Eloise's eating habits. 

We are constantly answering 2 questions: "What are you doing?" and "What is baby brother doing?"  

Eloise has had many questions about nursing & pumping since day 1. Little by little, she has gotten it. I can't help but crack up when I see her imitate me so perfectly in regards to this. 

In all honesty, Eloise is a great big sister and is doing a great job adjusting to our growing family.  I can't blame every temper tantrum or naughty behavior on this adjustment because I know that it's her age or simply just her having a bad day. It's funny how we forget that toddlers can have bad days just like grown ups! 

I'm so thankful that I get the opportunity to figure out how to navigate being a mom to these two. I know how blessed I am that I get to wake up everyday to these sweet faces. We all know it's not 24/7 rainbows & sunshine, but it's worth it if all you get on some days is just one moment like this...

Baby Face Friday: 5 Weeks

Preston was 5 weeks on Friday! He had his official 1 month check up that day so we were able to get his latest stats. He weighed in at 10lbs 11oz! 

This past week we introduced the bottle. Preston took it like a champ. My goal is one bottle a day so he's used to them by the time he's going to daycare. 

Every once in a while, Preston will discover his thumb and suck on it. Who knows if it will be his thing as opposed to the pacifier. 

One last thing - look who's giving me some smiles! 

And one little video of some "chatter"

Baby Face Friday: 4 weeks

Preston's Stats: 

Weight: 10lbs 2oz

Wearing size 1 diapers & quickly growing out of all the 0-3 month clothes. Newborn clothes were history before the end of week 1. 

Likes: 

Laying on the changing table or pad. Just like Eloise, Preston loves to stretch out on his changing tables, look around, kick his legs & coo. 

Laying in bed with Eloise. These are very, very brief moments where Preston gets to lay next to Eloise in her bed while she showers him with kisses and talks to him. 

Fave photos & videos from this week:

I call this one "Double Grandma" duty 

One more...someone else wanted their picture taken on the chair

Baby Face Friday: 3 Weeks

Our big boy is up to 9lbs 10oz. Looks like he will grow into those big hands & big feet in no time. After a little over 2 weeks, his belly button finally fell off so we could give him a proper bath. Eloise was glad that his "ouchie" was all gone & thrilled to help out with his bath. 

Eloise's latest thing is to request that I take a picture of her & Preston together while laying on her bed. Fun fact - this scene occurs when I'm trying to get her dressed for school while keeping Preston content. 

2 weeks & counting

Preston is doing great since we came home from the hospital. He was back up to birth weight by the end of the first week and passed it up by his 2 week checkup. He is a good little eater and sleeper so far.  It didn't take long but I've officially been christened as a boy mom.  How'd that happen? I got peed on. Not once, not twice but three times in one day. Good thing I have a good sense of humor and lots of handy burp cloths!  So far, he has had a busy life with a newborn photo shoot, doctor's appointments & visits from various family members & friends.  He even had his first solo outing with Mommy to the best place in the world - Target. 

The bond between Eloise & Preston started the moment that they met. Eloise immediately referred to him as her baby and couldn't wait to have him come home. 

Over the past 2 weeks, we have heard the following 2 questions, "What are you doing?" and "Can I help?" many times each day from Eloise. She is so observant and curious about everything related to her baby brother. One of the most memorable moments from the last 2 weeks was Eloise expressing genuine interest in helping out with feeding Preston - like actually nursing him.  She came home one day from school and as she walked in the door, she took her shirt off, grabbed the pacifier and put it up to her nipple and said, "I want to help feed baby brother!" The same scene occurred the next day too. Use your imagination when it comes to her reaction to watching me pump! 

No matter what is going on, Eloise is thrilled to see her baby brother. She is normally pretty grouchy when she wakes up but magically brightens up when she sees Preston and immediately wants to give him a kiss with the hope that he will open his eyes and look at her. She loves that he has blue eyes that match hers and Mommy's. She loves to help give him his pacifier aka his "fire fighter" and check on him in the swing. 

2 weeks in and things are going pretty well. We are all adjusting to being a family of 4. Some parts of our days are harder than others but at the end of the day, we feel very blessed to have 2 beautiful & healthy kids.