A Jammed Packed Week and a Half

It's been really busy lately, so I'm going to try to get this all in before both girls wake up. Gabby had her one month check up on Monday and she weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 2.5 oz. and she measured 21 inches. Needless to say she is out of newborn clothes and her 2nd chin and chubby cheeks are coming along quite nice as you can see below! We are still surprised how strong she is and how well she's holding her head up. When she's on our shoulders she lifts up and looked around. She is starting to smile when she's awake...although she's been smiling in her sleep since she was born (Pappa says it's when the angels are talking to her).

Pappa, Granna, Auntie and Uncle Shawn came to visit this past week. Bella LOVED having them here and was quite the entertainer. Gabby just ate and slept like usual.

Bella and Granna coloring...we have lots of pictures of her coloring this week with everyone.
Uncle Shawn was a lot of fun.

And in true form...Bella stole Auntie's nectarine and claimed it as hers.
and Pappa played with Gabby.
I was brave and brought out the finger paints...it started good and stayed on the paper, but

eventually ended up on her arms, then legs, then face.

I went and got her a sandbox/water toy...however she was more interested in climbing in it than actually playing.
We also had a shower for Gabby while everyone was in town. It was great to see friends and get the family together.

Bella has also started a new phase of saying "no" to everything and when she's really mad she tries to hit us. Sometimes I have to bite my tongue to keep from laughing and other times it just drains me to mental exhaustion. I can't wait until this little phase is over...although my dad says it lasts until they're 19! I'm not sure if adjusting to Gabby has added to this, but according to Molly and Veronica, Logan and Cristian are doing the same thing (they are Bella's age). She is saying more words so that helps with some of the frustration, but I pray this phase will end soon.

Not to put this last, but the other event we just celebrated was our 5 year wedding anniversary. We went to Flemings (a fabulous steak house) and then pick up my new diamond ring that Joel (kind of) surprised me with. We don't get to spend time just the two of us very often so it was wonderful to enjoy each other's company. It's hard to believe that 5 years has passed, but in that time we've lived in 3 states, both completed graduate programs, and now have 2 beautiful girls....I guess we've been a little busy so the time has flown by. As exciting the past 5 years have been we look forward to what the future holds...and are trying to cherish the present since we know how fast our babies will grow.

Well...that's about it for now. Hope everyone has a good 4th of July.

Gabby's Newborn Pictures

Here are Gabby's 2 weeks pictures...I just got the disc from the photographers and I was so excited on how great they turned out...guess it helps when your baby is beautiful.

Happy Father's Day & A Fun Week

This is a long post...sorry!

I started out the week going to storage and getting the baby swing and Einstein mat. Not sure what I was thinking when I told Joel to leave the swing in storage because it is the best baby soother around. Gabby doesn't get fussy unless it's time to eat, but it's nice to occupy her when Bella needs me. I wasn't sure how Bella would react to her stuff now being Gabby's but she did great and showed Gabby all the animals and made their noises for her.

It is pretty funny...Gabby squeaks when she eats. This isn't a great video of it but it's hard to get it on camera so here's a small sample.

Thursday Gabby and I got to have lunch with Kari Lu (my great friend from high school)...it was so fun to catch up since we never get to spend time together. Then when we got home from school, Bella climbed back into the car and got into the drivers seat. She grabbed the cell phone and started talking (her favorite thing to do), but then she reached down and grabbed the storage keys and tried to put them into the ignition and start the car..it was amazing that she new exactly what to do...apparently they watch everything we do.

Then we were so excited to hang out with the Hodges that night. We always have so much fun and can't wait for Mason's brother to get here! Thanks for dinner and great conversations Brent and Jess!!! Bella was saying cheese but you can't see her smile through all her hair.

Friday Molly and Logan were going to come over and play, but Molly wasn't feeling well and didn't want to get Gabby sick...so I had the bright idea of keeping Bella home anyway. It was the first day I actually had both girls all day ALONE! Although by Bella's nap time I wanted to have a nervous breakdown...we ended up having a great day together. Bella likes to pat and play with Gabby's hair (we just have to make sure she's not pulling it).

Saturday, Joel went and got a new car and I took Gabby over to hang out with Papa T and Uncle Ryan while Nana and Bella and I went to get Bella's haircut. This picture was when we dropped Gabby off...Bella has started getting so excited she clenches her hands and squats down and squeals like she can't contain her happiness any other way.
Here's her haircut with bangs.

That night Gabby was loving the bunny that jingles (that happened to be Bella's favorite too). She would try and swing her leg over and get up on her side....she is definitely going to be rolling over a lot sooner than Bella did.
Sunday we headed to Nana and Papa's pool. Bella is such a ham lately for the camera and every time I have it out she gives me a great big smile and a "cheese".
We tried water wings for the first time and she did great.
Gabby even got dipped...but she was happier lounging in the shade with Papa.
Bella smiling with Papa T.
Daddy and Gabby hanging out.
Bella learned how to make her favorite meal...guacamole with Nana.


Hope everyone had a great father's day...I know Joel did...he got to spend time with his 3 girls, got a new car and cuff links made from the old seats from Yankee stadium. We can't wait for more fun this week when Pappa, Granna, Auntie Miriam and Uncle Shawn all get here!

What a week

Needless to say I haven't gotten much sleep since Wednesday. Even trying to nap is hard since I just keep waiting for Zona to jump up into bed and snuggle with me...which then leads to me thinking about how much I miss her which leads to more crying. Cosmo also gave us a scare on Friday when Joel and I realized we hadn't filled his food bowl since Wednesday. Luckily by Friday night he was eating again...but I was regretting heading back to the vet with him. It's been a roller coaster of emotions since this is such a joyous time with Gabby and Bella.

Well onto happier moments of the week. Gabby had another check up to make sure she was gaining weight...the assistant asked me if I thought she had started putting on weight and I said yes, since she has gained a double chin from the previous week...she's going to be chunky like Bella was. She had gained 12 oz from the previous week and weighed 7 lbs 14.5 oz on Thursday. The doctor said she had the feeding thing figured out...just like her daddy!

It is so strange looking at Gabby and seeing Bella as a baby. Joel was laying on the ground with her last night and I kept having flashbacks of him laying on the floor with Bella...it's so deja vu. When I was holding her last night I looked at the wall that had Bella's 6 week old pictures and they look exactly like Gabby minus her hair being longer. Here's a picture of Bella at about 2 weeks... And here is Gabby. They even sleep the same.
After bath time we noticed how curly Gabby's hair gets...Bella's never was curly until now...so I brushed it out and it turned into a nice little fro.
Just checking things out from her chair.
I love her feet and when she stretches out.

She loves tummy times and is so strong already. She lifts her head and turns it from side to side...she even gets her legs moving like she wants to crawl.

Sunbathing
Bella decided she wanted to lay down like Gabby. We've had a few instances where Bella wanted to be the "baby" instead of Gabby...but she's getting better with her.
I love this one of her smiling... she makes the best faces...usually when she's sleeping she's so happy and smiles a lot.

Bella decided to help with the laundry...and by that I mean throw all the clean clothes on the floor and then walk all over them. Bella is always the helper when it comes to giving Gabby her "Nu Nu". Friday we were driving home from picking Bella up (pretty close to eating time for Gabby) and Gabby started to cry...Bella kept saying Nu Nu...like Mom give her the Nu Nu it's what she wants...too bad I couldn't reach her while I was driving. Then today we went out for hamburgers for Papa T's birthday and Gabby spit out her nuk...Bella goes "uh oh"...I said "what is uh oh"...and she replied..."she dropped her nu nu" (Bella's first sentence).

Zona (aka Wiggles) 2003-2008

It is with a heavy heart that we have to share that Zona was put to sleep this afternoon. She had rapidly developed an auto-immune disease over the past few days, which basically means her red blood cells were attacking themselves. This left her anemic and her liver started to fail. Even with treatment there was only a 50% chance of survival. She will be missed more than words can describe as she was definitely more than a pet. We are just glad that she did not have to suffer this over a long period of time and that she is now looking down on us. We will miss you sleeping in the middle of us and snuggling on the couch...and wiggling around to greet us when we got home. Bella will miss her buddy to get into trouble with and play catch with (as she was looking for you tonight to play with)

Cosmo will no doubt miss being your pillow. You had good times chasing squirrels in Michigan and playing in the snow.

Letter to Auntie Miriam from Cosmo

Dear Auntie Miriam -

I know you love your nieces, and I know Bella loves stickers...but please stop sending her so many as I am old and Bella takes advantage of me laying around. I know Bella would disagree and say to send more...but please give an old man a break!

Congrats on the wedding. Love - Cosmo!

We've come a long way in a week

We've come a long way in a week. As you can tell by the video, Bella has become a little closer to Gabby. Since Daddy was gone in Indiana this weekend, she had plenty of time to spend with Gabby and Nana. Although she still has her moments, she worries about where the Baby is and wants to help feed her and give her blankets and her "nu nu" (pacifier/nuk).



Thursday was a trial run to see how life would be when daddy went back to work. Well, it didn't start out that great...after Bella had her breakfast it was time to feed Gabby. This was the first time the three of us had been alone...and Bella decided that she had to have my undivided attention...so she got on top of the ottoman and started to stand on it (which she knows she is not allowed to do). I precede to tell her to sit down and started to count after I got to one...she finished my sentence with a loud "two, three" and then started dancing. This of course led to my fear of her slipping...which she did and landed on her head. I saw her neck go sideways and time seemed to stop. I laid Gabby down and ran over to her. Luckily she was fine and was just shaken up and was crying...then of course Gabby was crying because I had taken her bottle away when I laid her down. We finally got everyone calmed down and in the car (another experience with two kids and all the stuff you have to bring with you) and off to school. Bella did pretty good dropping her off until the other kids wanted to see the baby...and she got very protective of her sister...and then cried when we had to leave to go spend time with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Shotton at Nana's house...where mommy got a nap! It was an interesting morning...I'm hoping this week will go better!
I love this picture with Gabby holding Uncle Ry-Ry's finger.
Friday night Nana, Papa & Ry Ry came over and we had pizza...of course Bella didn't wants her cut up but has to eat like an adult now. She also entertained all of us playing peek-a-boo with everyone and dancing around being silly.

Saturday we got out the pool and went swimming.

This morning Nana came to take Bella to church. She had on her princess dress and jelly shoes...and of course had to bring her new baby along, since Baby Gabby was sleeping and couldn't go with her.

Daddy came home early today from Indy...and even though he was exhausted he loved hanging out with his girls.

Gabby even got in a little tummy time tonight.