Visitors!

 We have been so blessed to have so many visitors since Sadie's birth. As mentioned before, my Mom, sister, and nephew all came before the holidays and the last 2 weeks have been a blessing of friends and family again.

Over MLK weekend, 2 of my very best friends came to visit from Auburn. They were willing to use their vacation time and money to be with me and my family.  Our long weekend together started off as any good girl time should, talking and catching up until 2 am (that's 4 am their time, whew they love me).

One night, we went childless to my favorite Thai restaurant for them to try and we all got yummy dishes. It was great to talk, encourage, and laugh with these sweet souls.

 We also enjoyed shopping in Bellevue and a day in down town Seattle. We got to enjoy the market, yummy seafood and the view from the Columbia building. I didn't realize it's the 9th tallest building in the world and we could not have asked for better weather. We were able to see all the beauty of God's creation including Mt. Rainier, the Cascades, and the Olympics.

 This was a fun shot Em got on their way back east. I could not have asked for a better visit with my friends. Good food, lots of laughter and even some tears, and wonderful memories I'll cherish forever. I am so incredibly blessed to have these prayer warriors as friends.

 A few days later, Justin's Mamaw Joyce came to visit. She is the first of his family to get to meet sweet Sadie. What a wonderful visit we had. We spent a great deal of time around the house, letting her love on the kiddos, but we did get to enjoy some lunches out, a trip to Target for her to get the kid (and me) some treats, time outside in the unseasonably beautiful weather, and church. We had some a great time with her and we were so sad to see her go.

My children are blessed to have 5 great grandparents, plus 2 great great grandmas, still here with us.

When Emily, Katherine, and Mamaw Joyce all left, Jude got really sad. He kept saying he misses them and who will be our next visitors. We have Nana and Papaw's visit on our calendar! I'm not sure what he'll do when they stop coming in waves, but by then, it will be time for us to head back east for some visits.

Again, great times with good people...couldn't ask for much more!

Sweetness And A Birthday

 It's hard to believe this sweet gal is 9.5 weeks old. She's not a newborn any  more, she's getting on a good schedule, and she's totally melting my heart over and over again every day.

 This was on her 8 week birthday. I really like her being born on a Sunday because we save her cutesie outfits for then any way. She truly is a doll. She enjoys watching Jude play, smiles a ton, especially when I talk to her, and loves her swing. She will stay in there watching the mobile and crack herself up. She continues to eat and sleep well, though I do believe she has had a growth spurt these last few days. She's been averaging 6 hour stretches and has slept as long as 8.5 hours once, but last night I had a 10:30 pm, 1:30 am, 4 am, and 6:30 am kind of night...definitely sounds like a growth spurt.

 Knock on some serious wood, but she's easy to get to go down. Jude fought sleep until he was about 6 months old. This gal wimpers for about 2 minutes and gets a little fussy, then conks out.

 At eight weeks we tried the Bumbo. She actually seems to like it. She does not prefer tummy time and has grown to like her play mat now that she wants to reach for the animals.

Sweet Sadie girl, we love you and your snuggles, laughs, and grins.

And, Eli Baby celebrated his 1st birthday today! Though we are so sad to miss out on the celebration, we have been thinking of you all day sweet boy! Yaya (that's me, he calls me by name!) loves you SOOOO much! My favorite things about you are when you look over your shoulder, grin and wave and say "hey". Precious. I also love how you love your Mommy, giggle, and sport your cool clothes. I am so thankful to be your aunt!

Next post will be about all our special visitors!!!

Check Up

 6 week photo (2 weeks ago)

 We like each other, most of the time

 Go Huskies! Yes, our children are marked by where their Daddy was in school during their birth. Jude is a HUGE Auburn fan and we'll see if Sadie gives 2 hoots about the Dawgs. She looks good in purple though. :)

 Um, she did not care for the hat portion of this outfit.

 Sweet girl still loves bath time, something her brother despised for a while. I don't think my 2 children could be much different at this stage of the game. She already seems a lot more laid back. Both are good eaters and sleepers, but she is a little more go with the flow. I guess 2nd borns kind of have to be.

 This picture cracks me up. Her sweet chubby cheeks hamming it up. We went for her 6 week check up when she was 7 weeks and 2 days old. We got a good report that she looks good. Here are her stats:

Length: 22 in. 46%

Weight: 11 lb 11.5 oz 76%

Head Circumference: 15 cm ?%

It's hard to believe she has already grown 2 inches and gained 3 lbs in only 7 weeks. Her newborn clothes are officially put away and she is in 0-3 months. We started her on cloth diapers this week too. As far as her schedule goes, at this time, she wakes up between 7:30- 8:00 am. She goes about every 2.5-3.5 hours through out the day (she tends to get more frequently in the morning and not as frequently in evening). She stays awake about an hour to 1.5 hours per cycle and then sleeps 1.5-2 hours at a time. She does prefer to be swaddled, but with 2 arm out because she likes to lick/such on her fingers. She does not prefer a bappy like big brother. She will suck on one, but only for a bit. She tends to get fussy in the late evening/early night time. She usually is down by 10:30 pm. She has been down as early as 9:30 but as late as 11:30 pm due to her fussiness. This has been a little hard for me because she is so well scheduled during the day, but after 6 pm, there is no schedule for her. If she doses off for a catnap, it could be for 2 minutes or 20. 

This is definitely different than Jude. He was pretty text book and kept to his schedule through the whole day. I'm not concerned about it because I know she is still so tiny and she's sleeping well at night. She consistently goes at least 5 hours at night and has even thrown in a few nights of 10 pm-5 am. (Any tips on how to help with a bed time routine, I'm open.)

And this sweet boy continues to be a trooper. He is so patient with me while I attend to Sadie. I am really loving being home with him. He loves his cars, books, and dinosaurs. Of course he still loves his animals, often putting them in time out when they push one another, but his Cars set is a favorite, this week...

Oh how the babes are growing...I can't believe Eli will celebrate his 1st birthday in less than 2 weeks and Jude will be 3 before I know it....