One Month Old

Happy 1 Month, Meli!!

Sleeping the day she was born and at one month!  She has not really gained a lot of weight and is not getting chubbier, but she is getting longer.  She is a long and thin baby!  She is still wearing preemie and newborn clothes but I am tempted to just put her in the bigger 0-3 months clothes so I can use them!  I only bought a few of the smaller ones.  The footed smaller ones are funny because they are too short for her but are very baggy on her.

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~

The B Family

Baby Meli: 4 Weeks

This is a little late but we have had a very busy week.  Meli was 4 weeks last week.  Seriously, the weeks are going by so fast.  Our baby girl is growing up! 

Some cute things this week are:

We all started singing Meli her own song: "Meli had a little Lamb" (since her name is a version of Mary).  We were doing it without knowing that all of us were doing it. Colin is so cute when he sings it to her.  He sings it to her when he wants to make her happy.

Meli has been making some adorable squeaks and "coos".  Baby noises are my favorite.  She has been moving her arms a lot more and is grabbing a hold of things and swatting at her toys. 
Here are a few pictures from Week 4 of Princess Meli's life.

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~

The B Family

More Gnomes Please!



Acquired from http://naturemoms.com/blog/2011/02/08/gnomeo-juliet/



For our Friday night movie, the four of us watched Gnomeo & Juliet.  I LOVED it!!  I am pretty sure that Colin really enjoyed it as well and Will...I think he was entertained by my enjoyment.  He gets a kick out of certain quirks to my sense of humor.  Part of my love for this movie probably comes from my tad obsession with gnomes.  I find them so...adorable!  I do not buy them for my yard or anything but I just think they are so cute and usually have to stop and look at them whenever I happen by one.  I did actually own one that my son (well Will) bought for Mother's Day a few years ago.  His name was Sebastian and he was a little miniature gnome that sat in one of my flower pots.  He sadly met his end at the fingertips of my then 2 year old.  I actually need to replace poor Sebastian but keep Sebastian II in a safe place, like my office.  I actually had the background to this blog a gnome one back when I first created it. 

Anyways, the movie was adorable.  Mostly due to the adorable little gnomes and also a cute take on an old story.  I do enjoy a good version of Romeo & Juliet.  Worth renting - the B Family will be adding it to our movie collection.

Another bloggers take: http://naturemoms.com/blog/2011/02/08/gnomeo-juliet/

Baby Meli: 3 Weeks

"Babies are such a nice way to start people." - Don Herrold

It is amazing the love you can feel so soon after meeting someone.  I know that I carried Meli for nine plus  months but as with Colin that instant you first lay eyes on them...the bond is miraculous.  I always knew I wanted a boy but I will admit a girl had me a little nervous.  Although, I have become more so in the last few years, I am not the most girlie girl and was definitely not as a child.  Since my mom is secretly (well not so secretly) hoping that I have the most girliest girl possible I am guessing I will and who knows how that will go. Spending the last few weeks with Meli, I find that I am becoming super excited for the challenge of raising a girl and for creating a mother/daughter relationship that will turn into a wonderful friendship once our baby girl is an adult.  I am excited to help Meli on her journey to hopefully becoming a confident, independent young woman.

Meli is 3 weeks now.  We have been having so much fun with her...as well as frustrations.  What else can you expect - we are all adjusting.  Colin still adores her and loves being a big brother.  Meli probably receives 10-20 kisses a day - just from C man. He has been helping her with tummy time and changing her many diapers. By the way, Colin is almost in underwear all the time now, except for night and if we are going on a long outing.  So proud of my little man.  He took some steps backwards after Meli's arrival but he is working his way back up.

I am so blessed with two adorable and wonderful children and an amazing husband!  I love my life!

Here are some pictures from our week:

Not liking tummy time

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~

The B Family

The Journey of the Belly Bump

Now that our precious little girl is here and I can finally start the process of losing any extra "baggage" I may have acquired a long this 9/10 month journey, I thought it would be fun to look at the belly bump pictures all together to see the changes. I did not post every week but enough to see the changes. 

10 Weeks


 

13 weeks



14 Weeks



16 Weeks




19 Weeks




22 Weeks




24 weeks





28 Weeks





30 Weeks



31 Weeks



32 Weeks




36 Weeks



38 Weeks



39 Weeks

Here I am 3 weeks since Meli's birth.  I have lost a good chunk of the weight the first week and am so excited to add to my exercise to burn the last bit.  Meli and I go for a walk each morning and sometimes in the evenings but now I think I should be able to at least add my stair stepper as long as I only do a few minutes.   I am so glad it is warm outside - that helps with motivation to get out and be active!!

Baby Meli: 2 Weeks

"Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit".  -Bill Cosby

Meli's Stats:

7lbs 14oz

Hobbies - eats, sleeps and makes funny faces at Colin

Bedtime Book - Pooh's Bees



Spending time with Grandma Liz



Meli is two weeks today!  It is already going by so fast.  In a blink.  A lot of things make this time around a lot easier.  For one, we have done this before.  We are not starting out on something new.  We have our own place and way more room to adjust.  Still...our life as we had it is changing.   We are having to adjust to this new, precious little person that has come into our lives.  Colin is actually doing pretty good with the changes.Way better than I thoughtt.  I can see some frustrations here and there, but overall he just adores his little sister.  I think he gets a little jealous that she gets attention all the time but he only seems to show that frustration when he is already cranky.  Plus, that is expected.

 It also helps that Meli sleeps better than Colin did and does not seem to any stomach issues. 



Getting ready for our walk



We have already started reading her stories.  At this age I stick with one for a few weeks and then will change to another one.  Right now we are reading Pooh's Bees.  We also try to listen to Colin's story time depending how Miss Meli is doing.

We are definitely still working on a routine. I am not yet getting as much done as I would like around the house but she is at the age where she needs to be held a lot.  So that is understandable.  Mommy and Meli did start our daily exercise yesterday.  Right now we are just walking around the block twice but will hopefully add some distance to that soon. 

"A Baby is God's opinion that the world should go on" - Carl Sandburg

Oh, and here is a recent picture of Colin.  He was fighting bad guys.

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family




Here are some other pictures from Meli's first two weeks.



2 Weeks



First Bath

Our Family

Big Brother Colin

Colin is infatuated with Meli.  He is always wanting to kiss her and just look at her.  He is also trying to teach her things already.  The other day in the car Colin kept repeating "peo-ple" over and over.  Will asked him what he was doing and he responded that he was "teaching baby sister words".  If she cries he has to go check on her and tell her that she is OK.  He is going to be such a good big brother.  It is so sweet to watch him with her. 

I will admit it can be a little tiresome during feeding or if she is sleeping to have a little monkey clilmbing all over you.  It is amazing how big he looks now that there is an infant in the house.  He looks like a big kid - kinda sad.

Colin had asked if Meli would bring him gifts when she came.  So, she brought him some big brother gifts, like some movies, books and new Chuggington train set.  Grandma Liz brought him the coolest Bumble Bee helmet.  Colin has been asking for a Bumble Bee costume, which was the first time he asked for something specific. 



Colin  trying to follow posing directions and making us laugh.



Meli's Nursery

Meli's room has been mostly done for some time but I have been waiting for some finishing touches.

Here is some before pictures:

My goal was to have a cheerful room. I also wanted to use the Winnie-the-Pooh decor I had but not go overboard with it.  So, I also focused on the butterflies and bees from the blanket.  A few walls still need something but that can wait for now.