Small Successes and One Crazy Day

Bill gave Summer her first bottle last night. I hadn't intended to do it quite this early, but I had put an emergency bottle in the fridge yesterday for my mom while she stayed with the girls. I didn't want it to go to waste, so decided to try it out. It took her just a minute to latch to the bottle and she quickly downed an entire 4oz! I never thought she would take that much! Even when Brooke was several months old she never took that much from a bottle. I don't know if Summer is just a better eater, or if I have these new bottles to thank for it. They were reviewed as a great bottle for babies that nurse and evidently they work. She had no problem going back to breast-feeding at her next feeding...so yay!

Today, I took both the girls out on our first major outing. What I thought would be a quick 1hr errand turned in to a 2 1/2 hour crazy-filled morning! I had been wanting to go to Lakeshore to look for some workbooks that Brooke would have fun with and I had some extra money so decided to go today. Lakeshore was insanely busy and maneuvering the cart was especially challenging with Summer's carseat blocking my view. I must have run into shelves and baskets a dozen times, but over-all, that stop wasn't too bad. Brooke was very well behaved even with all the inviting things for her to touch! While I did find one book I was looking for, they didn't carry the other brand so I decided to stop at Barnes and Noble since it's just next door. In the children's section, they have a Thomas train table that Brooke wanted to play with, so she did that while I browsed the books. A few minutes into, she said she needed to potty, and just as I turned to say, "okay, let's go," she is already going right there on the floor!!! UGH! I partially blame myself for this, because she hadn't gone since getting up this morning, and I hadn't asked her if she needed to go! It was such a mess, and of course, I left her change of clothes in the car and had nothing but wipes in the diaper bag. I couldn't leave her there to get paper towels in the bathroom, and couldn't take her with me as her croc's were full of pee which she would have trailed all the way there. I managed to find an employee and let them know and after what seemed like forever, we got it cleaned up, paid for our books and got to the car! As it was getting so late, and past lunch, we stopped at McDonald's for a bite. Geez, I just never realized how hard it would be to cart along two kids in and out of stores and such! We finally managed to get in, eat and get back in the car (I shoveled my food and made Brooke take hers with us), and I go to pour what's left of Brooke's milk into a cup that we had. Well, only half of it landed in the cup. The other half came pouring out of the straw that I left inside, into my lap: I won't say that at the end of the trip, I laughed about the absurdity of it all, but at least I remained calm and cool about it and just took it in stride. I guess this is the new normal with two little ones!

Sweet Moments, Splash Park, and Sleep

I meant to get this posted yesterday when this all occurred, but it just didn't happen. So Brooke did the cutest thing yesterday. I had Summer on the changing table and she was upset and crying. Brooke was in her usual spot during Summer's diaper changes; standing on the chair so she can watch and talk to Summer. In response to Summer crying, I said something like, "I know, it's almost over." Brooke got really close to Summer's face and began to rub her head and say, "I know Baby Summer, I know Baby Summer." It was just the sweetest thing to hear her trying to console her baby sister<3

Yesterday afternoon we all went to visit our favorite splash park. We haven't been since the weekend before Summer's birth. It was clear that Brooke had missed going. When we first got there, she went running laps around the whole pad going through every fountain and sprayer that she could. She and Bill had a good time as always with their water balloons, and even found some friends to share and have fun with.

Summer has not been sleeping well at night recently and seemed to have her days and nights mixed up a few days ago. She was impossible to keep awake at all during the day and wouldn't sleep unless held at night...ugh! Well, just before this started we had made the assumption that Summer didn't need to be swaddled for sleep since she seemed to do just fine without. So, we were just putting her to bed in a sleep sack. Well, last night, she was impossible to console and even after two feedings two hours apart, she would wake up soon after being laid down. I finally decided to try swaddling her, laid her back down, and gave her her paci. She went right to sleep and didn't make a sound for 5 hours!! HALLELUJAH!!! It was a great night, except for the fact that Summer and I spent the first half of the night sleeping on the living room floor....my hips paid a dear price for that. I must be getting SO old!! I'm crossing my fingers that tonight goes just as well sleeping in our beds!

Oh, and another silly thing Brooke has been doing today. She's been playing with these toy watches that somebody gave her and has been telling me all day that it's 10:12. Not sure why that time, but she's convinced that has been the time all day. The things they come up with!

2 Weeks Old

Summer is now two weeks old! It's amazing how fast time goes, and yet it seems like she's been here forever. It's seems so strange to look back and see that two weeks and one day ago, I thought I would never see Summer! She is such a sweet little girl and we all are madly in love with her. We think she hit her first growth spurt a couple of days ago, as she has been hard to console in the evenings and during the day she wants only to eat and sleep. She goes through an INSANE amount of diapers even for a newborn. Unlike her sister did at this age, Summer seems to enjoy her baths, or at least doesn't mind them.

Here are a few other pictures from Summer's second week of life....

Newborn photos

Our dear and talented friend Sarah took some newborn and family shots for us last week. Here are just a few of our favorites...

A few moments from the week

Our sweet Brooke is adjusting to life as big-sister quite well. She has her moments of course, but Bill and I are so proud of her. She loves to help out with Summer and just yesterday helped me give her a bath. She's very sensitive to Summer's cries and wants to immediately run and check on her the moment she hears her. This is usually not a problem, but during the overnight hours it can become a vicious cycle of the two of them crying.

I just don't know what to say about this picture, except...aww how cute! Summer is sleeping fairly well most of the time, but does occasionally (like last night) keep us up VERY late into the night before being content in her bed.


Summer likes to chill out with Daddy

Brooke vs. Summer

It seems a common question about second children is, "Does he/she look like the other?" So, here is a comparison of Brooke and Summer at about the same age I think. Brooke on the top and Summer below. It seems to us that Brooke had more blond in her hair than Summer. Summer's nose and chin are thinner and longer than Brooke's was. They are definitely sisters, but it seems only a little time will tell what Summer's looks will be.

Enjoying the nice weather

Yesterday Summer went to see her pediatrician for a newborn checkup. She is doing well, and has gained back an ounce of lost weight since birth. We're all still adjusting to our new family of four and trying to work out her eating and sleeping routines. Some night's are good, others, not so much.

Anyway, after our visit with Dr. Moore yesterday, we took some lunch and headed over to Will Roger's Park for a picnic. The weather was just fabulous and we had a wonderful afternoon.

Brooke and Daddy pose for a picture

Brooke enjoying her watermelon and cataloupe:)

Unfortunately, the playground here is NOT toddler friendly, but Bill helped Brooke on a couple of the structures.