4 weeks old

Sylvie is 4 weeks old today. She celebrated by spacing her feedings last night a full 8 hours apart (10:30pm-6:45am). Hurray for Sylvie! Aside from that tremendous accomplishment, she is also tracking things, especially her brother and her daddy. Yesterday Jens spent at least twenty minutes doing dancing tricks for Sylvie. She watched intently the whole time, moving her head to follow his motions. After twenty minutes she started crying, probably because she was tired of hearing "Bling Blang Hammer with my Hammer," which Jens was playing over and over. I made the mistake of showing him the back button on the cd player. At least she got to go to bed--I stayed downstairs and enjoyed the song for another hour. She is growing so quickly--I can feel that she is heavier and it is pretty obvious just looking at her that she is filling out. I am also waiting for some cooing and smiling to kick in pretty soon--she almost did it yesterday, I swear.

Hope you all enjoy New Year's Eve--we are ringing out the old year by addressing Christmas cards and eating pizza, followed by early bedtime, I hope.

One more thing about Sylvie--I really do try to smooth her hair down, I want you all to know. It just won't lie flat. It seems to have a mind of its own.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve was spent in finishing preparations for the next day, but we did have a quiet hour in the evening where we watched the nativity movie from church (twice, at Jens's request), watched a MoTab Christmas program, and read the Christmas story. It was a very sweet time to remember the birth of Christ and to see Jens really thinking about it, although the idea of Santa and presents was never pushed too far into the background! He was pretty excited when it was bedtime and we worried he wouldn't ever actually sleep, plus he started coughing like a crazy person. After listening to him hack for an hour I finally got up at 4:30am and gave him some medicine which seemed to have a miraculous effect--it delayed all illness for one full day so he could really enjoy Christmas.

We had such a fun Christmas Day. We are very grateful that Grammy, Papa, and Peter were here to spend it with us. I think we would have been very lonely otherwise, and we missed all of our family who weren't with us, but it was so refreshing to NOT travel for a change. It seemed so easy to just put the presents in the closet and then move them downstairs--no packing them and dragging them across the country, and of course, the fact that none of us were sick on Christmas day was also a delightful change from the past three years. Jens has been battling asthma and a cold since then, but he felt great on Christmas Day. Some highlights:
We talked to Jens about how he needed to come into our room and not go straight downstairs. He came running in a little after 8, bursting with excitement. Stockings are always fun. You can see that Sylvie is really feeling the excitement of the day.
Jens also got fancy cereal, which he ate for breakfast. "It tastes like sugar!" he says. He was also thrilled because Sylvie got him Luigi!

I promised earlier to post a picture of what Jens picked out for Mike. He originally wanted to get him Dinoco Lightning McQueen (which is, incidentally, what Jens asked Santa for and what Jens wanted to get for me, as well). I told him no cars, so his next thought was a:Christmas tree. (If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see how excited Jens is about this present.) I realized later that Mike had spent a lot of time telling Jens to leave our little trees on the gingerbread house alone, so Jens must have felt that maybe if Dad had his own tree, Jens would be allowed to play with the other ones. He zeroed in on this the second we walked into Target. It was in the dollar bins and he picked the silver one out specially for Mike. What a treasure!

Jens was so cute and excited that opening presents was a blast, but there were a few especially joyous moments Christmas morning, and this was one of them.Santa brought Jens Dinoco Lightning and Guido. He was so excited that his hands were shaking while he tried to open the boxes and get the cars out. He also had to promptly run upstairs and get all the rest of his cars so they could all be happily united. We could have ended the presents right then and he would have been happy.

Another especially happy moment came when he opened: the expansion pack for his train. I wish that we had been videoing, but I can tell you what he said. Just think the words in tones of great excitement and joy:
"Oh! I needed another train!! I TOLD Santa!" He also loved the little station, which lights up. His cars spend a lot of time driving by it. The train expansion has a decoupler/coal dump feature which he has already spent hours playing with. He is getting quite good at timing the driving and button pushing.

Sylvie was not so excited by Christmas this year, but luckily, she had an older brother who was willing to help her open presents. Probably next year she will be more excited, especially to play with the wrapping paper and ornaments. We enjoyed the slow morning pace and never did all sit down and eat a formal breakfast together. Jens played so happily the whole day. Apparently a few cars and trains is all a boy needs to be content for hours on end!

In the evening, Dad got our dining room presentable and Mom put together a delicious dinner for us, with sides provided by our friends, Laura and the Little family who all joined us for dinner. It was nice and festive, and it was fun to have people over for a real party. It was a nice evening and the kids had a great time running around and being wild, egged on by crazy Uncle Peter. Hope you all enjoyed such a wonderful holiday!

Bathroom Update

For those of you wondering about our downstairs bathroom, we have been working on it. Grammy made lots of progress for us. She painted the wainscoting and the walls. We were hoping to have the bathroom functioning by the time company came on Christmas Day, but we ran into a problem with the pipes under the sink. They don't line up right which will require some cutting and patching. Maybe this week. The red on the walls originally looked like gore and blood, but each day it seems to darken and improve. I think we are going to leave it as is for now. We still need to put in crown molding, install the light and mirror, put the toilet back in, and of course, fix the pipes under the sink. Oh, and baseboard molding. Okay, we have a long way to go, apparently.

Company

We have so enjoyed all of our continued company. Papa and Peter got here on December 20th, although they left us briefly to visit the sights of San Francisco on Sunday and Monday. They returned Tuesday to take Jens to Apple Hill and spend Christmas Eve and Day with us. Peter even held Sylvie and agreed that she was very cute, sweet, and good. He also spent a great deal of time playing with and wrestling with Jens, which Jens loved. Often things got so wild that Peter had to remove his shirt because he was overheated from playing too hard. Sylvie must take after her uncle a little bit because she likes having no clothes on, which is unfortunate since it has actually been pretty cold here lately.

Not to Brag

But we have the best new baby ever. And can you believe the cheeks on her? She is filling out at an astonishing rate and the size of her second chin is really VERY impressive. Three nights in a row of 5 1/2 hours (9ish to 3ish) between feedings has put me in a cheerful mood. Sylvie is getting good at going to sleep in her bed and takes about 25-30 minutes to eat (that includes a diaper change and burping). When she is awake, she is calm and interested in looking around. She looks at you with great interest when you talk to her and today I SWEAR she smiled at me. It was very cute. I hope she repeats it often. Jens continues to be an adoring big brother, and it seems like he is finally settling down a little bit.He and Mike went Christmas shopping together on Saturday and picked out a present for me. It is a secret--therefore I know that it is Flo, the car from the movie Cars. Jens has told me at least ten times, usually adding, "but it's a secret, so we don't talk about it." Today he picked out a present for Mike--we will see if he can keep this one under wraps, but as he has already told me about it several times, I have my doubts. This present is NOT a car, and once Christmas is over we will post a picture of it because it is such an awesome present. (Hint: it came out of the $2.50 bin at Target).

We have been enjoying Grammy's company. Jens has especially enjoyed their LONG bike rides, which are often punctuated with lots of yelling and screaming. He has gotten really good on his little bike and can ride pretty far before getting tired. One day they were gone for an hour! Grammy is also very helpful with Sylvie, who even allows for some multitasking.


We have continued to "lay low" as Uncle Peter puts it, but last week Mike and I got brave and took Sylvie to our friend Natalie's graduation. She is an official RN after two years of hard work! We really wanted to go to her graduation and decided that as Sylvie is so great, we could try it. I am glad we did. Sylvie was good and the graduation was really nice. Also, it was good for me to do my hair and wear real clothes, even though they fit poorly. Afterwords Mike and I even managed to stop and grab a late lunch/dinner before heading home to pick up Jens and Grammy and go to Jens's Winter Program for school.

I would like to say that we practiced Jens's song with him repeatedly and he knew all of the words, but he preferred to sit quietly on the stage looking cute and angelic rather than actually singing. He was very good, though, and had fun at the program, which ended with lots of sweet treats including a violently green cupcake that Jens chose for himself.

First Bath

Well, since Sylvie is two weeks old, Grammy decided she needed a full bath. I had washed her hair and washed her off at various times, but we hadn't done a full submersion until tonight.

Before: I admit, she was a little crusty, but she didn't smell bad or anything. This picture was before she realized what she thought about bath time. She quickly realized it made her feel like this:
The pictures do not express how lustily she was crying. The bathroom was reverberating with her yells, until she figured out how to stuff her hand in her mouth.
Afterwords she was all tuckered out. Grammy and I got her diapered and dressed, combed her hair, and she was done.



All clean, sweet, and sleepy.

December 16th

Hi Everyone--

I am putting up some more pictures. Life here continues at a sleepy pace, Sylvie continues to be calm and delightful, and Jens continues to be loud and full of energy. Yesterday I started putting Sylvie in her bed at nap times so she could work on putting herself to sleep. It isn't very fun because of course, she cries, which she hasn't really done at all, but she did put herself to sleep within ten minutes each time. She has figured out how to get her fist shoved up against her mouth, which she seems to like.

Betty and Letty left Friday afternoon and Grammy got here on Friday night. We are enjoying our continued stream of company, especially since everyone is so helpful and so willing to dote on our new person, who seems to enjoy sleeping anywhere.



Saturday Mike and Jens worked in the yard. They cleaned the gutters and raked up leaves in preparation for rainy weather, which has definitely come. Jens was thrilled to help Mike, even climbing up the ladder and helping to scoop pine needles out of the gutter. (Don't worry, Mike was behind him) Jens was especially thrilled to be wearing the new Lightning McQueen hat and gloves Grammy brought him. The gloves are way too big, but he still loves them. He also rode his bike around the block three times with Dad and Grammy, also on bikes. He is getting fast enough that walking isn't good enough to keep up!

Sylvie had her two week weight check today and is up to 9 pounds, 3 ounces. She has gained 11 ounces in the past week. The doctor said that clearly she is doing very well and we have no reason to feel concerned about her. She doesn't go back until her two month check when she has to get shots. This is her today, looking much fatter, apparently. Please notice the adorable bunny feet on her sleeper--Grammy got it for her yesterday and I fear she isn't going to be able to wear it much longer.

One little Jens funny--last night Mike, Jens and I ran a quick errand just the three of us. When we got home Jens said, "I want to write Santa a note."
"What do you want it to say?" Mike asked. We were both expecting a list of things he wants for Christmas.
"I want to say thanks for coming to our house," he answered. How cute.

Sponge Bob

Our poor child is so culturally out of the circle. Today I gave him a Gogurt with Sponge Bob Square Pants on it. Half way through eating it, he noticed the picture and said "Mom! This yogurt has a cheese on it! A cheese with eyes and pants!"

I am sure someday he will actually watch tv and know who all of these characters are, but for now is it wrong that I am thrilled that he thinks Sponge Bob is a cheese?

For Aunt Jessie

At your request, here are a few close ups of Sylvie.Jens being the proud big brother. Could his smile be any bigger?
I know it is just a reflex, but isn't that the cutest smile ever?

Our Adorable Children

Isn't that weird that we have children? As in, more than one? They are especially beautiful and wonderful when they look like this:

Big Brother II

Good news--Jens still loves being a big brother. He consistently refers to Sylvie as "My Baby." He loves sister so much that sometimes we are worried that he will love her a little too much. He loves to share things with her, piling cars and blankets and pillows on her. Earlier today he was being a "bridge" over her. He is always on the look out for dragons so he can protect her. He always wants to sit with her,and in the mornings he likes to entertain her, even if she is sound asleep, by climbing into her bed and turning on her mobile.

Projects with Grandma and Aunt Letty

Grandma came prepared to entertain our crazy three year old. She and Jens have done some very fun things, most of which seem to involve Jens licking his fingers. They have built puzzles, gone for bike rides, been to story time, made a gingerbread house, made and decorated gingerbread boys and girls, and generally had a good time together. Eating some
Decorating some


Tasting a little
And using the same knife to spread.