Leah Jane

Can I tell you about this little girl? She's super sweet. But it's been a rough couple months! It started with a cold she caught from Ethan at about 4 weeks. She was pretty congested and was coughing and had a runny nose. She cried a lot. I took her in to the doctor after it seemed like she wasn't getting any better. Turns out her cold had turned into an ear infection. Because she was so little the doctor had to draw blood and make sure she didn't have any worse infection. Oh- and they couldn't get the first arm they tried to work, so they had to poke her twice! That was the WORST doctor's appointment I've ever been to!! She was screaming so loud and is just so little and helpless. Broke my heart. So she seemed a little better after that, but still cried for a couple of hours a day. After talking to some friends and to my doctor I wanted to try some acid reflux medicine. She didn't spit up a whole lot, but she was always so grumpy after eating, and when she did spit up, she spit up gallons! We tried the medicine and it seems to have made a big difference as well. And then to top it off I decided to go off of dairy completely. I had to do that with Ethan as well, but since she was sick and had other issues I didn't notice any improvement when I went a day without eating dairy before. Now it makes a big difference! I'm trying not to think about all the yummy desserts and meals I'm missing out on over the Holidays.

So, long story-- but now she's a whole new baby!! Just a bit of grumpiness at night before she goes to bed. But it's totally manageable. And now she's just so smiley and responsive! I love it! We're very happy to have her as part of our family.

Other tidbits: She does NOT take a pacifier or bottle. (Ethan loved both)
She still sticks out her tongue often.
She sleeps at least 6 hours in a row at night. Sing praises!
She does not spit up. (Ethan did a ton!)
She is loving to coo and suck on her hands.

I sure love this boy

Halloween!

So at first we thought it looked like he was in torture, then he figured out what it all meant: CANDY. He was lovin' the trunk or treat! We went to Olathe after and Ethan got to go trick-or-treating with his cousin. By the end of the night he had the routine down: he said 'trick o' treat', when asked what he preferred he said, 'gucker,' and then said 'dank you,' and 'ba bye.'

Next year we'll have to actually put some thought into a costume for him, since we've run out of donated ones now!

Oh, and I thought Ethan sharing his cars and 'mamimals' with
Leah was pretty cute too.

wholesome recreational activity

So I really miss our big windows in the old apartment. Sigh. Such beautiful light at pretty much all times of the day. Our apartment here is on the bottom level, with other apartment buildings and big trees very near by. So our apartment is pretty much dark all day. It's kinda depressing! The two rooms that get the most light are the kitchen and our bedroom. So I decided to take some pictures of Leah. Some are from two weeks ago, some are from a couple of days ago.

She sticks her tongue out all the time:

I just like her face in this one:

See? The tongue again:

So let me just say that I am BARELY surviving. Well, It's more like a roller coaster. Some days I feel like we're all crying all day, some days I feel so much love and so grateful for my two little babies. My shower's are made possible by Sesame Street. And Ross is usually home for one meal a day. He does a lot of other tasks around the house too. I'm a lucky girl. Every day gets better as we are adjusting.

Speaking of Ross, he has been interviewing for jobs over the last month for when he graduates. So hopefully by the end of this month or next we will know where we will be for the next few years! Exciting!

In transition

I spent the first couple days home from the hospital at my parents in Manhattan. Here's a few pictures from then.

Still at the hospital. Reality had not yet hit:

Ethan spent his time diving into the giant cereal bags:

My dad took these two:

Love this picture. Classic jealous older sibling:

Popcorn Popping

I thought this was pretty much the cutest thing ever. He actually knows all of the actions to it, but he gets so excited he just can't wait for the 'popping' part!