Growing up

As I put Brie to bed tonight all I could think about is how my little baby has grown up. Marcus and I decided that as of the new year the bottle is gone and Brie does not seem to care. Granted she has not had any formula in two days, but the bottle to bed ritual was getting old. Hopefully we can get her drinking pediasure out of a cup during the day to prevent weight loss and continue our small gains. Tonight she went to bed without much fuss. Marcus was working so I was alone with the girls. I fed Sophie a little early in anticipation of a fight, as many of you know daddy does bedtime and has for some time, and got her to sleep in the glider in Brie's room. We read Brie's story and she refused her cup of formula, put her head on my shoulder and settled down for the night. Sophie started to fuss so I put Brie awake but sleepy in her crib. I explained to her that I would stay with her until she fell asleep. She laid down with her covers and baby and after 5 minutes was fast asleep. What a wonderful end to a day.
Also Brie has taken a significant interest in potty training. She actually started asking to use the potty. So out I went and bought some training pants for her. Now as many of you know there are a lot of changes coming up so it is not the best time, but the past two days she has used to potty 5 times. She is very proud of herself when she goes and loves to flush the toilet.

These are a few of my favorite things!

Brie and Sophie have had a good holiday so far. Brie has enjoyed getting to see family and friends again and Sophie has met many people for the first time over the last few weeks. It has been a wonderful holiday season with both Marcus and I being home. We are not looking forward to the return of work for both of us. I am planning to return the first week in January and Marcus will be starting a full time job the end of January. There will be a lot of adjustments for our little ones, but they will do fine. We have been interviewing Nannies and think we found one that will work out. Over the next 2 weeks we will have her over to get used to the girls before I return to work. It is an expensive route, but with our two preemies for the best.

Both girls are growing and getting more opinionated. Sophie now has a voice and cries to be held at times, but she is still a good baby. She continues to eat well and sleeps a lot, though mostly during the day. She is over 8 lbs already and seems to be getting longer and has nice full cheeks. At one month she was 7 lbs 10 oz and 2o.5 inches long so she has gained almost 2 lbs and grown 2.5 inches in one month. Brie, despite the stomach flu, managed to gain weight in the last few weeks. She was 22 lbs last week which is about a pound in one month. Hopefully she will continue to gain and get taller. She is in the 5% for height and weight at this point, but at least she is on the charts.

We have celebrated 3 Christmases already and have one more to go. On Monday Marcus's dad's side of the family came down for a visit. Everyone seemed to have a nice time and Brie loves the playhouse and ironing board she got for Christmas presents. Who knew that the kid liked to iron. I think that will come in handy in a few years. At least maybe our dry cleaning bill will decrease when Brie is old enough to actually iron.

Last night we spent the day with my family. Brie got to open presents and play with her cousins Brandon and Christian. She had a great time and at the end of the night the three of them got to share a bubble bath before getting into their pjs and getting into the car to await Santa's arrival.

This morning we spent the morning "ride, riding" Brie's new tricycle. She loves the little bike and her new "helm" and was very willing to be pushed around the house and where her helmet. We had to take a ride around the house between each present. The tricycle has a little basket on the back and every present had to be put in it and go for a ride. It was very cute. Sophie was even awake for some of the present opening and I am sure when she gets older she will love playing with her new toys and books.

A visit with santa

Sophie's first visit with Santa:

Brie's second visit:

As you can see it went well.

Making of a gingerbread house, our should I say eating of a gingerbread house!

Well after many unsuccessful attempts to get pictures for a Christmas card, we decided to make a gingerbread house last night. Brie is obviously feeling better because she did more eating of the candy and icing then actually putting them on the house, but she did have a good time.

We did manage to get a few good shots of each of the girls so our Christmas cards are ordered.

Could this still be the stomach flu?

Well after 5 days of vomiting and diarrhea, Marcus and I have gotten a bit concerned that Brie may have something more then the stomach flu. Off to the pediatrician who says it is likely the flu, but she is very close to being dehydrated. She is down 2lbs in one week which is 10% of her body weight so she was a little bit concerned. Brie is still making tears and is not lethargic so she was okay sending her home, but any more vomiting and they want her back for IV hydration. So far we are without vomiting and she has not had diarrhea since this morning so hopefully we are almost through this illness. Her appetite has been awful, but tonight we managed to get some cup of noodles into her and some jello so hopefully a few calories and she will be back to her old self. It has been very difficult to watch our little ADHD toddler laying on the floor and actually asking to watch elmo. She has never sat still for more then 5 minutes of sesame street and now she will lay on her pillow and watch almost the entire hour.

Stomach woes!

So this week we got a taste of what the stomach bug is like with a toddler. Brie got a pretty nasty case this past Friday and is finally starting to feel better. We are not sure where she got it from as well have been pretty isolated at home, but she defiantly got it somewhere. Nanna Miller came to visit with Brie for Friday while daddy was working and thank goodness she did. Mommy could have cared for a sick Brie, but add in a 3 week old who we are trying to prevent from getting it and it would have been a disaster. Hopefully mommies antibodies will protect Sophie so that she does not get it. On a positive note my house is now all clean and got a through cleaning this morning with Lysol on every surface. I guess Brie knew that the floors had not been mopped in a few weeks so she made sure to christen every room.

Our little Sophie is doing well. She is a very content baby. She does enjoy being held, but is happy to sit in her swing and look around. Sophie likes to eat and occasionally gets her days and nights mixed up, but the last 2 nights she has only been up twice, sleeping in 4 hour increments. A wonderful change from the 2 hours she was getting up the previous nights. I think she knew mommy needed a break. Last night we weighed her and she is up to 7 lbs 3 oz already. She looks bigger and her cheeks are getting chubby. It is a welcome change from when Brie was an infant. Brie grew very slowly, was always difficult to feed, and had colic. Sophie does seem to have some reflux and is uncomfortable after feedings so tomorrow we will call the pediatrician to get her started on something. I don't want to have her associate eating with pain as Brie did. I hate to put her on medication at such a young age, but if it makes her feel better it is worth it. She seems to want to comfort eat instead of causing an aversion. This is fine right now, but makes it difficult for mommy to get anything done. We have yet to introduce a bottle to Sophie, but will have to very soon.

Thankful!

This year as the holidays approach I am realizing all of the wonderful things in our lives. So much has changed this year and we have so many things to be thankful for. We went from Marcus traveling into NYC and almost never being home to him being home 4 days a week. We moved from a tiny expensive apartment in the suburbs to a large, old Victorian house with lots of room. Brie changed from a baby into a busy toddler.

And finally we became a family of 4. Since Sophia's arrival we have seen changes in Brie and have been able to spend lots of quality time together as a family. So we truly are blessed this year.