Happy Birthday Mom

We celebrated my mom's birthday on Sunday. Happy birthday mom, thanks for all that you do.

Amber had to have her tongue tie cut on March 22. On March 18, she just stopped latching on. The doctor had told us that her tongue may be an issue in feeding, but up until this point, we thought she was doing fine. We had thought that she may have been colicky, but it turns out she just was not ever latching on well, and was not getting enough to eat! We had to start giving her a bottle as we had to wait over the weekend to see the doctor to get the tongue cut. She took easily to the bottle, then after the tongue was cut, she still preferred the bottle. So she is now being bottle fed and I am stuck to a pump multiple times a day (which is okay because at least she is still getting the good stuff). Leah loves to be able to help feed her.

My niece Thea celebrated her 4th birthday with a party at Chuck-E-Cheese.

Amber is now almost 6 weeks. She is smiling and cooing. It is so precious. She has been sleeping a bit more at night times. We usually get between 4 - 5 hours, but sometimes only 3. She loves to be held and bounced. She also likes to be entertained by her big sister!

Moo!

We are getting used to the new "routine" with baby Amber. She really doesn't yet have much of a schedule, but, the girl does like to eat... leaves the mommy feeling like a milk machine some days! Luckily she tends to eat frequently during the day and give me a few hours between feedings at night. We have had a couple of challenging nights where she just can't be comforted to fall asleep, but, this has not been the rule! Both Joe and I have spent the night with her in the recliner. Poor baby-- hate not knowing what is bothering her. Leah loves to show her off- but don't be fooled- Leah is fighting a little for more attention now that she has competition! I am tired, but so happy to have my family complete!

Leah started skating lessons on 3/13. She wants to know when she is going to wear a costume for skating!



3/3/10 Leah loves to hold her baby sister!


3/9/10 Amber's first bath


3/11/10 Amber shows off her neck control!


3/12 Me and my girls!


3/14/10 See, mom, she does open her eyes!! (a joke as Amber was always sleeping or eating the first few times that my mom would see her)

Locks of Love

Yesterday Leah cut off her hair for donation to Locks of Love. You may remember that this is not her first hair donation as she donated her hair in Aug 2008 to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. She has definitely been blessed with great hair, and I am so happy that she is willing to part with it for such a great cause. Length cut yesterday was somewhere between 10 and 11 inches, and, wow, does it make her look older!




Thea, Leah, Amber, Delila- first attempts to get a picture of the girls- not an easy task!


Leah's new favorite activity- holding Amber

Just love this picture of Amber

Home

Amber and I made it home yesterday 2/22/09. Everyone is healthy. Big sister is taking it all in. She is hugging and kissing Amber regularly. It is very precious. At the hospital, Leah said that she would be "very nice" to Amber. Apparently, though, she told Nonna that she wanted to name her "Emily" but that I wouldn't let her. Funny thing is- that was the first I had heard of her wanting to name the baby Emily. Funny.

Here are some more pictures. I just put together a comparison of Amber and Leah. Definitely sisters!

Fun Times!

We have had some fun activities going on in the past few weeks. Here are some snapshots from our recent outings.

2/6/10 Nickelodeon Universe with the Preiner's (Leah's buddy Michael)

2/13/10 Bowling with the Yzermans' (Kaysee- on table, Leah, Kurtis, Kaylee)

2/14/10 Sledding with mommy (don't worry, I did not get on the sled)

2/16/10 "Leah Day" as coined by Nonna. This was her day for her 5th birthday. A trip to the Mall of America with a stop at the American Girl Store where she got to pick out her first American Girl- who we helped name, Lorraine (Leah's middle name), followed by lunch at the American Girl Cafe, and even a stop at the beauty parlor so "Lorraine" could get her hair done. Then, as if that was not enough, Leah got to go on some rides at Nickelodeon Universe. It was definitely a good day for this 5 year old. Thanks, Mom!

So, tonight I went to an information meeting for KINDERGARTEN!! Crazy that Leah will be starting school next year.

Leah is FIVE!

Wow, how time flies. I can't believe that Leah is 5. Leah is...

• a great communicator.



• a girl who still loves her "baby" and likes to bring her places (however, most of the time we now make "baby" stay in the car). Sometimes "baby's" name is "Morgan."



• a girl who loves to play dress up and to wear her mommy's shoes.



• a girl who LOVES to dance and sing.



• a girl who loves to do crafts and play with dolls, but also loves to play in the dirt with "boy toys"



• active in swimming, dance, and gymnastics. She is also excited to start skating lessons- even after experiencing a fall that caused her to break her right wrist!



• a big fan of music, especially Taylor Swift. She is a sponge when it comes to music- anything from rock to country.



• able to recognize all letters of the alphabet.
  


• able to write her name, along with all the letters of the alphabet, but does need to see some letters before she writes them.



• able to tell you her phone number and address (but still needs a little help with the house number)



• able to tie her own shoes.
  


• able to distinguish left and right.



• still afraid of people dressed up in full costume- but this is calming down. After all, she was able to sit next to Santa this year!
  


• DRAMATIC.



• STUBBORN.


• LOVABLE.



• so excited to become A BIG SISTER...she told me not too long ago..."Mommy, I will always be good to her."

Happy Birthday LEAH (1 day early)!!

Leah's 5th Birthday Party

We had Leah's 5th birthday party last Sunday (1/31/10). We had it at Jam Hops. It was really a fun place to have a party. This is also where Leah does dance/gymnastics class. They had open gym time, followed by cake a presents, followed by more open gym. They had a jumping castle, a tramp, a vaulting pit, many beams, floor, ladder walk, and other obstacles available to explore. They even had their own coach, Tara. Everybody had fun, everybody was tired, and Leah got some great gifts! I can't believe that she is already 5 (okay, not technically 5 for 7 more days)! Here are some pictures, courtesy of my friend, Sara. Thanks so much for getting some great pictures!