Stats

Ann Elizabeth and I made the trip to the pediatrician this morning and she is doing very well.  She weighs 10lbs 6oz and was 22inches long.  I can tell that she is starting to chunk-up a bit, but she is still coming in the 25th percentile which is about where she was when she was born.  It is just so odd, after having hefty Sterling, to have such small baby.  One day she may catch up to the thunder thighs he had, but for now she is still a petite little girl.

Swaddling Blanket

Ok, I know I am behind the times a bit, especially considering this is my second child, but someone gave me these Velcro swaddling blankets and they are amazing.  I had one with Sterling that I someone gave me as a gift. I'm not sure what brand it was but it was way to big/didn't work right so I never really gave them any chance.  This time around I was given several Kiddopotamus brand blankets by a friend who has had two girls and was getting rid of some baby stuff.  Since someone just gave them to me I gave them another shot. 

Kiddopotamus is the way to go!  They are great.  Ann Elizabeth has had very strong arms from the beginning and was breaking out of the flannel swaddling blankets from about two weeks on.  So I tried the Velcro ones.  She can't get out of them (well, maybe every once and a while).  She sleeps so great since her spastic arm flares don't wake her up (mothers you know what I mean).

I've been all about these blankets, and they were really easy to figure out how to use because of course these used once didn't come with directions; however, there is this slit in the bottom that has been puzzling me for weeks.  We couldn't figure out why there was this slit about two inches long right at her seat.

Well, I was looking online to order a few more, and saw this diagram showing that you could use them in the car seat.  "What a brilliant idea," I thought, "I wish I had known this for the beach trip."  I was again puzzled because I was thinking that of course you could only swaddle the arms though because you've got to be able to put the buckle between the legs.  But this picture clearly shows you can use the foot part, too.  Then I realized that that is what this mystery slit is for, you put the buckle through it in the car!  Of course if you have one of these brand new you are thinking I'm an idiot because I'm sure they clearly explain this in the directions, but remember I had none.

I love this blanket, and definitely ordering more.

Two Months Old

It's amazing how quickly one grows in the first two months of life.  Ann Elizabeth is starting to fill out nicely getting those chubby cheeks and legs that her brother came into the world with.  She still seems so tiny and petite but certainly not so fragile.  We go to the doctor on Wednesday, so we will see how much she has grown.

She is such a sweet baby, I'm so surprised how much she is like Sterling was.  I was totally prepared for a colicky baby this time around, or at least a more difficult one.  It is definitely more difficult with two rather than just one, but she certainly is making the transition easy for us.  Which I appreciate, because as I have mentioned before, she came right in time for her brother's "terrible two's" stage of life. 

She is still doing a lot of this.  She is actually becoming quite the nighttime sleeper.  Giving her mother at least 8 hours a night of sleep.  Of course that doesn't count the times I have to slip her paci back in her mouth, but she never really wakes up and if she were in her own room she may not even need me to do that (her restlessness just wakes me up).  So, maybe we will move her to her crib soon.  She even slept 10 -11 hours two nights in a row last week, but that was with some strong coaxing from her mother.

 And she has also been doing a lot of this lately.  I finally caught some good smiles on camera.

 We've also seen lots more of these pretty blues lately.  Ann Elizabeth is getting into more of a sleep-wake pattern resulting in many more awake/playful hours.  She even enjoyed a Baby Einstein video yesterday while I got ready for church.  Alex had to be there early and I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to get ready in time with a wide awake baby.  But thank you Disney for creating a mother's best friend, it worked like a charm and she was completely fascinated.  I guess it's time to break out all of those old Baby Einstein and Praise Baby DVDs.  Maybe it will make car rides easier.  (Which she normally does perfectly on, but every once and a while of course she doesn't enjoy sitting in that car seat).  Speaking of pleasant car rides see my next post for an amazing discovery.

If you care, I finally fixed the sideways beach pics on the previous post

The Swagger Wagon

On our way home from the beach we picked this up. . .
My 16-year-old self would be a bit shocked, but I must say I've been wanting one for quite some time.  There are so many advantages to a minivan one being auto doors which means all I have to do for Sterling is buckle him in.  He can climb in the car and into his carseat all by himself now, which is very helpful with an almost two month old.  Another advantage is space, no more little boy kicking me in the back.  But the best advantage is the storage.  If you aren't familiar with the term Stow-n-go let me define it for you, AMAZING!   It means that the middle seats, and the back ones for that matter fold flat into the floor board.  When the seats are up it means that you can store an insane amount of stuff under the floor board.  I just wish we had had it before the beach because we were a bit crowded in our Xterra.

It isn't a technically a "Swagger Wagon," it's a Dodge, but the swagger wagon video has been playing in my mind since we got it and it pretty much sums everything up.  It makes me laugh every time I watch it.  http://youtu.be/ql-N3F1FhW4

Beach Bums

We get to tag along with Alex's parents to the beach every year.  After loading up the car on Thursday we attempted the five hour drive.  We made it there amazingly only stopping once!!  Sterling had so much fun, as always, with his cousins.  I think he kind of overwhelmed them a bit, but not having siblings (or one that is old enough to play yet) he gets so excited to get to spend every minute with kids his own age.  He even got to sleep in the same room as Tripp and Georgia this year.

Unfortunately, my blog is being weird again and won't leave my vertical pictures alone.  I'm tired of dealing with it so just tilt your head, I've got more posts to do.

Bathing Beauty!!  Don't worry she is under the umbrella shade

 Having fun on the beach.

It's hard to get a good picture of six kids five and younger.

Thanks Nanie and Pop for a wonderful weekend!!

I don't know why he wouldn't smile, 2-year-olds

I thought this one was sweet

My babies