Big A and Little J

What do you get when both kids are napping (or at least having 'quiet time')?  More blog posts...

Here's a cute comparison of the two kiddos at about 3 weeks each.  Matt was holding Josephine on his lap the other night and it reminded me of a photo we have of Annabel at about the same time when Poppy was holding her.

Annabel

Josephine

Annabel was much smaller than Josie - she's wearing an adorable newborn sized dress that Josie never even had the chance to wear she grew out of that size it so quickly.  Annabel also had a lot longer hair, that stood straight up all around.  J's hair stands on end mostly in the back.  We think J's skin will be a bit fairer, more like Matt's, while A is clearly a brown bear (though from this photo she looks pretty pale.)  J's face is much rounder than A's, though also hard to tell from these photos.  A had a tiny pinhead but J's head it much larger. 

So far there are other differences between the two from their eating habits to their temperaments.  We can't wait to see and learn more about Josie as she grows!

Potty Training - and update

I know everyone who views this blog has been waiting on the edge of their seats to find out where Annabel's potty training is at these days.  So let me put your curiosity at ease and provide an update...she's well on her way to ditching diapers! 

This would be the time in the training process we'd actually go cold turkey and just go with underwear, but with a newborn around I just can't take that leap this week. We set up a positive reward system - aka the infamous sticker chart - that garners her a 'surprise' (supposed to be prize but she insists on calling it a surprise) from a prize bag when she's used the potty a certain amount of times.  She's really into surprises.

I think she's also really into all the positive attention she gets from it too - something that she's been getting less of now that you-know-who is around.

Here she is picking out her surprise, clad in her training pants (worn over underwear).

Swimmer

Speaking things we didn't know Annabel had recently advanced in skill-wise...her swimming is really coming along.  She's been visiting the pool with Grandma and Grandpa and both them, as well as some of the other kids at the pool, have been helping her coordinate her big arms and big kicks. We put swim lessons on hold for a little while when she started to get a bit 'swimmed out' but clearly she can learn anywhere. I guess her interest has been renewed, just in time for summer!

Way to go Annabel!  We're so impressed!

Our Little Monkey

One day Annabel showed Matt she's learned how to use the monkey bars.  Holy upper body strength batman! We honestly had no idea she was able to swing like that - she picks up things so quickly.

Sisterly love

I'm sure this won't be the last time we dress these two alike, but this is the first. 

As you can see Annabel has no personal space issues. 

Project Bunny Part 2 - week 2

Uh oh, night owl?

First pic is Josie at 9 pm, the second at 2 am. 

Successful Friday morning

Gymnastics with all four of us followed by  lunch at Jeffery's. 

Hipster

Mommy sandwich

Day 13 with little j

Went to the doctor's today and weighed in at 8lbs. 11.5oz. !!  I'm storing a lot of that in my cheeks.  Annabel was 8lbs. 11oz. At her 4 week appt. 

San Mateo County Fair

Since Lisa has her hands full with Josie these days, Annabel and I have been going on little adventures around the Bay Area.  On Wednesday, we went to the San Mateo County Fair to see their petting zoo, ride some ponies and of course ride a roller coaster.

Annabel got to pet a Giant Tortoise

 

And a Giant Scorpion (this species is very tame and very rarely stings...please don't call social services)

Yeeee-haw riding a pony!

It was quite the petting zoo.  They had deer, pot-bellied pigs, llamas, goats, sheep and wallaby's.  Here is Annabel feeding a wallaby who was going for a little swim in his watering dish. 

Practicing our cow milking for when we go to Mimi's and Poppy's

Annabel washing her hands from Annabelle the cow

Eating or special snack at the end of the day.

We had a great day together and have continued to go on special adventures.  She is very excited to be big sister and I look forward to taking both my girls on special trips soon.

Newborn photo session sneak peak

Can't wait to see all the images!

#superdad

Palo alto children's museum and zoo

Where did we leave off? Here are a couple pics of an adventure we had with grandma and grandpa right before the birth. I had to sit down every 5 minutes so thankfully the grandparents had a lot more energy. And yes, she is wearing her cow boots with her tutu. 

Jess & Jen

Jess and Jen came over for a visit yesterday. Annabel got to play with Bailey and Adelaide reminded us how big the babies grow in just a few months.  

Day 6...hmmm, baby is still here...

Today we went for a walk and enjoyed the lovely weather. Josie enjoyed just being outside for a bit. 

Big sister Annabel still loves to hug and kiss her sister, but is a little upset at mommy right now for not being able to pay her as much attention as she used to, which has manifested itself into some very devious behavior. And the baby's crying, which admittedly is quite loud (no newborn whimpers here) supposedly wake her up so she's been up at the crack of dawn. Annabel is still trying to understand why the baby is so (frankly) incompetent...like why we have to support her head and why she can't crawl.

This transition is difficult on her more than any of us, I think. I'm trying to see things from her perspective but maintain some reasonable boundaries.  I hear myself saying "no, don't do..." and "no, we can't..." and "stop that..." an awful lot which bums me out too. It is a learning process for me too.  

In the meantime we're trying to enjoy little J while she's still little.  

Behind the scenes of our newborn photography shoot

Day 3 with J

Big sis is at daycare so the rest of us are just relaxing at home, catching up on some sleep from last night and enjoying the few morning moments we get with her eyes open. 

Josephine Francis Murray

Born Friday, June 7, 2013 at 11:28am. She was 8lbs 5oz and 19 inches long. A few hospital pics from my iPhone. 

The one of her "smiling" is Annabel's favorite. The random guy in the photo is my OB, Jags.