Brianna - 1 Month Old

Our sweet Brianna is already 1 month old! Actually, she's now 6 weeks old, I'm just really bad about finding time to do new blog posts lately. 

Of course Maya was in attendance at the photo shoot.

To be honest, I was a little nervous about how Brianna might be as a baby, only because Maya was such an angel. I have a lot of friends/family that had a great baby and a really hard baby, so I figured I was in for it with her. I was quite mistaken and silly for worrying! Brianna is just as great as Maya was.

Maya and Brianna already have a great bond. Maya loves to hold her sister and tries to be as helpful as possible when Brianna is crying. Brianna is pretty patient with her young older sister when she is getting smothering hugs. :)

Brianna sleeps great. She takes good naps during the day and sleeps about 12 hours at night, waking up 2 or 3 times to feed. She nurses much more quickly than Maya did. Each feeding is only 20-30 minutes instead of 40 minutes. She is already a pro at falling asleep on her own. She doesn't even cry when we lay her down awake - she just falls asleep! Let's hope that lasts!

She does, however, have the same problem when I eat chocolate. I even got to experience projectile spit-up one day. Imagine a hose spraying out of a baby's mouth 4 times in a row, and you have a pretty good picture. I'm not finding it too difficult to avoid chocolate after that happened!

She still has all of her hair! No bald spots at all yet.

Everybody says she looks like her daddy. I definitely think she has Ryan's brow. When she gets upset she gets a little ball of skin between her eyes, just like Ryan gets when he furrows his brow. I think it's so funny!

I love this little girl and her very content personality! I am looking forward to watching her grow up!

Ryan's Birthday

I have so many things I have been needing (ok, wanting) to blog. There are lots of cute pictures in my actual camera (including Brianna's 1-month photos), but time so quickly slips away these days. But tonight I have time to write a post with pictures on my phone. Yay for 4 AM feedings with a newborn!

This past weekend marked Ryan's birthday. We had buttermilk waffles for breakfast, and then decided to go hiking! Ryan found a trail he wanted to try about an hour away. 

We gathered all of the necessities and headed out. Maya got to ride on Ryan's back (I think it looks like she's in something used to ride an elephant!), and little Brianna rode in my lillebaby. 

The path was beautiful. I told Ryan I wanted to build a house there and pretend I lived in a fantasy story. He looked at me kindly and patted my head. I don't think he is interested in a fantasy life!

We stopped for lunch by the river. Maya did a little dancing. 

After lunch we decided to hike back, which turned out to be a good decision because it started raining. 

Seriously fantastical!

Maya was great. We got back to the car an hour after her naptime, but she remained in good spirits. 

This was my view for the hike. I love this tiny girl. 

It was a really fun day and a great way to celebrate Ryan's birthday!

Since A New Baby Came

Things around here are a little different since we brought a new baby home. I am trying to get into a new routine with having 2, and so far it is going okay. 

Right now the girls are napping in the afternoon and going to bed at night at about the same time. Miracle!! Brianna is officially moved into her own room for sleeping, including at night. I love peaceful and pretty she looks while she's sleeping. 

We have been able to go for a couple of walks! This walk was four days after she was born. I was desperate to get out of the house. I also took the girls on a walk to the library a couple of days ago. It was my first outing by myself with 2 kids, and it went very well. 

Being confined to the house got old pretty quick. And Maya was so completely bored. Ryan was home from work the full week after Brianna was born, and we decided to do some fun things as a family. We went to a splash park and saw How To Train Your Dragon 2 (so cute!!). Maya loved both and it was really nice to spend time together doing fun things. 

At Brianna's 2-week appointment she weighed 7 lb 1 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She gained almost a whole pound and grew 1 inch since leaving the hospital! Wow!! We are thinking she might end up being a little bigger than Maya. 

I made Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I was rather surprised I actually got it all assembled and ready to bake with no stress from a particular 20 month old. 

We like to watch movies and cuddle with each other. 

Some days get pretty boring. Not a lot to do when Mama is scared to leave the house with a toddler and newborn. Thankfully, on this particular day, my older sister and her family were in town. Ryan came home from work early and we went to Fort Collins. We went to an amazing park with a splash pad and huge play set, Cafe Rio for dinner, and then she got to play with her cousins for a little while. Boredom cured for one day!

When Maya wakes up from her nap she is always so happy! 

We also went to the Wow Children's Musuem by our house with my family. Maya thought her dinosaur tail was funny. Boredom cured for another day! :)

Maya really loves her sister. She cuddled, kissed, and "played" with Brianna like this for 15 minutes, with no coaxing from me. It thrills me to pieces that Maya is so accepting of Brianna already!!

(You may have noticed that Brianna always has a burp cloth pillow. She's a spitter upper!!!)