The 24th & 25th--In Review

The 24th and 25th have come and gone and our celebration as a family of four was nothing short of Merry. Jack was enthralled by all of festivities/presents that Christmas Eve and Christmas day held. Maggie basically slept the two days away with a brief appearance on the 25th. And Clay and I enjoyed every minute with our two little ones before the actual exhaustion of the holidays set in. So what better way to review the two most festive days in December than with lots of pictures. Get ready for a Cibula Christmas...

We started Christmas Eve with my new declared tradition...building a Gingerbread House. I must give credit where credit is due--(I stole this idea from Erica). Did Jack love it?...well, he definitely enjoyed it. BUT, I had to reprimand him several times for eating the candy instead of putting it on the house. Then about 10 minutes after all of our work--the house collapsed. I chalked it up to our 1st time and the fact that we will actually follow the directions next year.

Busted! Just like I said...eating all of the candy. He actually went as far as laying the candy on the counter where I couldn't see it and putting his mouth down on the counter and sliding it in. Little weasel!

Our first Christmas as a family of four. With no extended family in town, I actually had to solicit a neighbor to take this picture. And yes, you are seeing correctly--I am that tired these days.

Jack is truly in love with "his baby". He regularly asks to kiss her.

My Christmas kiddos right before Christmas Eve Mass.

Our Christmas Eve Angel-literally. I'm telling you this wee one did not make a sound during church or at dinner afterwards. She just slept on and off and looked all around so contently. Clay and I laughed at how we had to keep Jack's infant carrier in constant motion at church when he was this age--now we can laugh at it, back then--not so funny.

Christmas morning! Santa was good to Jack. He got all of his name brand favorites--Thomas, Little People, and Sesame Street galore.

Oh, and of course, lots of learning games. I promise he actually asked for an abacus for Christmas. It is not a product of his Mommy being a former teacher.

Jack "helped" Maggie open all of her presents and then proceeded to stack them on top of her.

I came to the rescue and helped arrange them. See that Napping House book? Well, Jack had it laying across her tummy. And when it wouldn't stay, he just pushed it down a little harder. Poor baby!

Pirate Playdate

Brrrr, It's cold outside...and unfortunately toddlers and their abundant amount of energy do not hibernate for the winter. So what were we going to do? We had to find an indoor venue to burn some of it off. AHOY, we found the perfect place.

It was a simulated Pirate's Cove complete with a sand island, skeleton jumpies, an octopus tunnel, and giant wooden ship play place. Arrgh, just perfect! Jack and I met up with our fellow shipmates, Miller, Sophia, Alexandra and their Mommies of course, and played the afternoon away.

Jack had a blast--as we were pulling out of the parking lot he said, "I want to play dere All da day and ALL da night!" (with a very animated arm sweep).

This was by far Jack's favorite feature. They are giant air guns that shoot foam balls. He figured out how to collect a bag of balls, load them, aim and push the silver button to shoot. Watch out!

A little bounce house fun with Sophia. Did I mention, my once cautious Jack even climbed to the the top of a bouncy pirate slide and slid down all by himself? I was quite impressed.

Jack collected lots of sand in his bowl...and in his pants, socks, shoes, shirt, hair, eyes, etc. He even brought some home with him. Since then, I've found it my car, the bathroom, his bed, and the washing machine. Ahh...gotta love a sandy island and a two year old.

The pirate pals themselves: Jack, Sophia, and Miller. The only other picture I got of all of them, Sophia and Miller were looking and Jack wasn't. And since this is my blog, I decided to use the pic with my little one looking. Sorry M and S! (and note how they all have on their Christmas shirts--we didn't even plan that)

Quiet Christmas Ahead

For the first time in, well as far as I can remember, I won't be with my extended family on Christmas.

It all started when Jack was born. Clay and I made a mutual decision that from then on out we would spend Christmas at our home. We wanted to start our own traditions and we knew it wouldn't be long before Jack started getting the whole "Christmas thing". So there it was...decision made. However, we also decided that our door would always be open during the holidays to anyone on either side of our families. And up until this year that's just how its been. Family coming and going from our house for the weeks leading up to Christmas and the weeks following. We've loved it!

But this year it's different. With Maggie's glorious arrival in November our families came and went all month long. It was very much appreciated and well needed. We couldn't have made it through the first month of Maggie's life without them. But now it seems all that help equals a very quiet Christmas at the Cibula cottage. I can't blame them, I suppose I would be a little traveled out too.

So next week we get to see what Christmas is like when it's just the four of us. Quiet may be a long shot with a toddler and a newborn, I suppose "quieter" would be a more appropriate term. I must say it's going to be weird around here with out extended family, whether it be Clay's or mine. But I can't complain, look who we get to spend the most wonderful time of the year with...

Jolly Jack

and Merry Maggie

I've already gotten the two best Christmas presents I could ask for. As my Grandma would say, "God is good!".

My Maggie: 1 Month

Well, we made it. Through the first month that is. Yes, my Maggie is a month old today. And by the time you read this she may be closer to two months--I'm thinking it may take me that long to write this post.

You see, my sweet newborn has woken up, so to speak. She has realized she is out of the womb and she's coming around. No more groggy days where Mommy can get everything done and then some. No my Maggie now demands a lot of attention. I knew it was coming, I fully expected it, but boy am I tired! Okay, let's be realistic...more like exhausted!

I know I mentioned in a previous post, that we were going to be schedule free around here until closer to 3 months. Well, that just doesn't work for my personality, little Maggie, and a toddler running around. So about 2 1/2 weeks ago I pulled out all of my books (my faves being the Baby Whisperer series by Tracy Hogg and Babywise) and I got to reading up on getting some organization around here. (there is a lot you forget between babies!). Since then we have been on a great "routine", notice I didn't say schedule. Maggie is adapting well, but she needs some guidance. And the best part is we all know what is coming next...I like that. So here is a summary of Maggie's "routine" and how she is doing at 1 month...


Eat
We start our day between 7:30-8:00 a.m. This is when she takes her first feeding. She only nurses for about 10-20 minutes...she is very efficient and very good at it. She eats approximately every three hours at 10:30, 1:30, and 4:30. From 4:30 on we do a little cluster feeding for the evening hours. So I nurse her again at 6:30-7:00ish and then at 8:30-9:00ish.

Activity
After eating we do an activity. I know your thinking "activity with a newborn?". But yes, it's the way we separate eating from sleeping. I want her to learn to fall asleep on her own. Her activities are very newborn friendly, like...a diaper change, staring out the window, staring at the wall, sitting in her bouncy seat while I sing or talk to her, etc. Her awake time is only about 30-40 min. (including feeding) and we just started pushing it that long. After those short minutes and that little bit of stimulating activity, she is ready for a snooze.


Sleep
At the sign of her first yawn after her activity time, we set the stage for sleep...close the blinds, turn the sound machine on and swaddle tightly. I hold her for a minute, sing her favorite song "You are my sunshine" and then lay her in her crib drowsy, but not asleep. Generally she falls asleep on her own in about 10 minutes for a good hour and half to over a two hour nap. Note I said "Generally". Oh trust me, we've had a couple naps were she has needed some extra soothing to stay asleep and Mommy hasn't had ONE MOMENT to herself. This my friends is why it will take me days to write this post. But, I gently remind myself this will be worth it when she's a great sleeper. Right? I must admit sleep training is the number one thing that makes me think we are done with babies around here.

The evening are a whole different story. From her 4:30 feeding, she usually only takes about a 45 min-1 hour catnap. The rest of the evening is hit or miss with sleep. A couple of catnaps, lots of fussing, two feedings, and a bath. She stays downstairs with us during these hours because it can get exhausting go up and down trying to soothe her during the "witching hour". At 9:00ish I giver her her last feeding before putting her down for the night. This session of "putting down" requires a lot of soothing!!! Clay and I begrudgingly share this task. But, once she's asleep she is down until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. in the morning. Love it! (If only I could get to bed when she does:) Then she's up again for another feeding at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. After that we start the whole day over again at 7:30-8:00a.m.


Little Tidbits
Even with the "extra soothing" and the fussy evenings, I still think she is a jewel. Unlike another baby we had around here, *ahem*, I won't mention any names, she doesn't cry and spit up all day. Which the pediatrician believes at this point we are in the clear for acid reflux...still holding my breath though.

Speaking of pediatrician, we had her one month appointment on Friday. Here are my Maggie's stats:

weight: 10lbs 8oz 90th percentile
height: 21.5" 75th percentile
head: 37cm 50th percentile
Another big baby...just how I like them!

Among other things, Maggie has some loves already. She loves her bath, she loves looking out the window, and she loves to nestle up on my chest below my chin (which I love too). And of course, she has dislikes too. She's not crazy about diaper changes unless I go pretty slow and talk her through it, she hates cold wipes (I had to invest in a wipes warmer due to this), and she really doesn't like getting out of the tub. We have to turn the heat up to a blazing degree around bath time to make the transition out of the tub smoother.

Big brother is still madly in love with her. He greets her every morning and reminds us throughout the day, "shhh, don't wake the baby". Although he is the loudest one in the house. And last night he even shared his toy steam roller with Maggie right across her sweet little forehead. Way to make the fussy evening even fussier big brother:)


Well, thank you for reading this far. I'm sure it wasn't that exciting, but if you have number 2 on the way, it is a little insight into whats ahead. More so, this post is for me (a little time to myself) and for Maggie (so she can see how much work she was and therefore, how much I must love her).

Off to feed a hungry baby!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

The Cibula Cottage is strung up with lights,

I must say it is quite a beautiful sight.

The stockings are hung by the fireplace with care,

there is even one for our new little Maggie up there.

Jack and Maggie each have a matching Christmas tee,

if you look closely at the picture with Santa, you might be able to see.

Jack and Maggie got to sit on Santa's lap,

we ALL followed that with a much needed nap.

The tree is decorated- the presents are wrapped below,

and our sweet Jack is wearing a festive Christmas glow!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!

Bathing Beauty

What's new with our sweet Maggie? Well, we've added a bath to her bed time ritual. I almost thought for a minute that we were going to get her first real smile in the water. Yes, she loves it!

Welcoming Maggie--The Slideshow

We had Maggie's newborn pictures taken last Saturday. She was only 12 days old and absolutely perfect. I, however, was already 12 days tired and looking rough, but that comes with the newborn session territory, I suppose. (Oh and as for my hair...ugh! --I obviously haven't had time to get a haircut recently, so I started taking snip its myself here and there--well, when I finally took my hair out of a ponytail for the first time in 12 days, I saw the result of my hair cutting ability--awful! Note to self--haircut is first on to do list when I can drive!) Good thing this session was all about Maggie;)

Anyway, I wanted to share the slide show from Lisa Russo with all of you. I am so pleased with the images of Maggie and especially surprised with how great the ones are of Jack. He was so happy and loving his little sis that day! I have a feeling I'll end up ordering as many of his images as I do of Maggie.

Also, my Gma and Mom were having a shift change that weekend and it just so worked out that we were able to get a photo of all 4 generations. Completely not planned, but such perfect timing. Pretty amazing, huh?

Well, turn up your speakers and enjoy the show. It does take a couple minutes to download the first time,but after that it's a breeze. Please tell me your favs. I'm going to have a VERY hard time choosing and I could use all the advice I can get...as always.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW...

http://www.lisarussophotography.com/Slideshow/Cibula/