For the Love of Naps

Stella napping.....
......Jack napping
and miraculously at the same time.........aaahhhhhhh the house is quiet, at least for now........

Stella is 1 Month Old

In some ways it seems as though Stella has been with us for longer than a month, because you quickly forget what life was like without her, but on the other hand, it's hard to believe her first month with us has flown by so quickly. I need to find a way to freeze time right now and keep my kids little :) Stella's been starting to have more and more alert moments and her little personality is already starting to emerge; she's a little more high maintenance than her brother was as a newborn, Jack was more of a grunter, whereas Stella is a screamer......she can go from peaceful to very unhappy baby in a matter of a minute, but luckily it's only when she's "starving" or has a poopy pants, which I can't really say I blame her. We don't know what Stella weighs, but as you can tell by the pictures she's growing bigger.........she's finally filling out her newborn size outfits nicely! Jack is still doing well in his roll as big brother, there have been a few things he's been trying to do for attention, you know like crawling into the baby swing, coloring on the kitchen table & my favorite spitting on things.....all lovely I know.....but overall he's been a really good big brother so far and is doing well sharing the love & we're very proud of him. Lastly, Dennis &I are doing well too settling into our roll as parents of two kids, there's definitely not much down time but I wouldn't trade it for anything.....okay maybe there are a few moments when both kids are crying, have poopy diapers and need my attention and I haven't even had a moment to drink my morning coffee, but I suppose that comes with the territory and I'm just trying to appreciate every minute of this precious time when my kids need so much of my attention :)

Trains, Picnics & Sibling Fun

FYI, I am trying to find an alternative to these slide.com slideshows because I'm fully aware of how annoying those stupid super poke pet pop-up are!

Men

Beatin' the Heat

We've been staying cool through July in Wisconsin by either playing outside with water toys or inside in the comfort of the A/C! It's so hard to believe it's already late July - summer slow down!!

Brother & Sister

Here are a few comparison pictures of the kiddos - can't tell that their siblings at all can you :)

Stella Meets G & G Mott

Stella is 3 Weeks Old!

Stella's 2 Week Stats

Stella had her 2 week doctor's appointment this week and she's healthy and doing great and is already a whopping 7lb 6oz - almost a half a pound up from her birth weight - yea Stella!

Vogel Visit

Two Weeks With Stella

Well, we’re two weeks into having Stella as a part of our family and so far the transition of having two kiddos has been easier than expected. Stella has proved to be a pretty easy going baby so far and is usually sleeping for a four hour stretch followed by another three hour stretch at night. She’s a great eater, is gaining weight and doing very well. She’s such a pure joy & I’m loving having another girl in the house – all the pink is so much fun! She enjoyed celebrating her first 4th with great friends & family. Jack has been doing very well with the transition and is really sweet with his new baby sis………that is when he remembers she’s around. He’s so busy playing most of the time. We’re finding that becoming a parent the second time around is much more relaxing and enjoyable – we’re not so worried about everything, but instead just taking time to soak up the precious moments with our brand new baby, because we now know it’s true what everyone says about how fast the time flies and how quickly they grow up. Having a newborn again really makes us realize what a big boy Jack is becoming. He’s talking more and learning new things every day, which is so much fun to watch. He continues his love of cars and trains and now also loves to color and loves the alphabet. Whenever we’re driving in the car and we come across a big sign or billboard he starts spouting off letters (which may or may not be the correct ones)…..and for some reason he just love the letter S and O. He has also become quite the little negotiator (hmmmm, wonder where that comes from), if you tell Jack it’s time for bath or nap he will put his hand up, nod his head and say “five more minute” in a very serious tone. It’s really quite comical.

We'd like to give a shout out to all our friends and family for all the help & support and showering us with gifts – it won’t be long until Stella’s closet catches up with mommy’s! And a special thanks to Grandma Churness for staying with us and helping with Jack and all the housework – it really made the transition so much easier for us and we appreciate it so much!

Stella's First Week