Month 3….more fun, more smiles, and MORE SLEEP!!

There is something wonderful about the third month. I love that Harper has become social and interacts with us. She cries less, smiles more, and best of all sleeps more! The first three months are rough, but you forget how rough until you are going through it again. I feel lucky to have a toddler like Ava. She has been so wonderful since Harper arrived. She brings me diapers, burp clothes, blankets, wipes, and anything else she thinks will help when Harper is crying. If I am doing something and Harper starts crying she will run over to me and inform me that Harper needs me right away. And if I take a minute to get to Harper she will go over to her and start singing or telling her that it will be ok and mommy is coming. I could not ask for a better kid! Harper is one lucky girl to have Ava as her big sister. 

Here's a little Ava update before I get into Harper. Ava not only is a great big sister but she has become quite the social butterfly in the last few months. She now says hi to everyone and anyone on the street. She will go up to random strangers and ask them questions, only if mommy is with her of course, but I guess we should have that "stranger danger" talk soon. She is into climbing, building, reading, Frozen, playing make believe, and making up words (Do-Lay-Lem is her favorite made up word right now and it means something different every time we ask). She makes us laugh every day and when I think about her growing older and leaving this wonderful toddler stage it makes me so sad. I just LOVE this age! She has her own opinions and makes sure to let us know them! Here are some pictures of our beautiful, spunky, almost 3 year old, Ava. 

Snuggling with her sister. Such a good big sis!

Getting ready for Christmas has been so much fun this year with Ava. She is into everything about Christmas and I love watching the magic of the season through her eyes! 

A little fun with the lights before they went up on the tree

Hot Chocolate date with Asher to see the Christmas lights and Santa. 

Using her imagination. Going on a car ride with Anna. You can't tell in this picture, but she even made Anna a car seat since she isn't big enough for the "car." 

Having fun at Art Zone.

We got the bumbo out for Harper, but Ava ended up loving it more. 

We might have a future cheerleader over here. She loved learning the cheers from one of the cheerleaders at the football game. 

My Gym with daddy.





We had our first professional pictures taken as a family of 4.  It was definitely challenging to get everyone to look at the camera, but I guess that doesn't matter because it is the candid shots that always end up being my favorite. Shockingly there were a ton of pictures that I love. Between Ava being in a "mood," Harper only wanting to nurse, and waking up 30 minutes before we had to leave for the shoot, I was sure this was going to be a disaster, but somehow our amazing photographer captured us all pretty well! 

<3 this little girl more than words can explain!

Ok now onto Harper. At 3 months she weighed in at 12 pounds 9 ounces and was 23 1/2 inches tall. She is cooing, smiling, interacting, and loves to be with people. She is starting to try and grab for toys but isn't always successful. She dislikes tummy time just like her sister and because of that she may skip rolling tummy to back just like her sister did. She can almost roll onto her stomach from her back, just can't get all the way over. She likes her activity mat, swing, and loves to watch the mobile on her crib. She is sleeping in her own crib now at night and although I was sad to see her go, it has made us ALL get more sleep. She is waking up once a night, most nights, we still have a few nights a week with a couple wake ups.  She still loves to eat, although in the last week it seems to be spacing out some which has been nice. For a while there she was nursing every 2 hours all day long. The doctor recommended we start her on probiotics as she seemed to be having some gut issues. The probiotics seems to be helping, but I can tell there are certain things that if I eat too much of it will bother her. The doctor just thinks her gut has a little more maturing to do and assures me that it usually works itself out by 6 months. I love that she isn't one of those doctors that jumps to put mom on some crazy diet to make sure the baby isn't allergic to anything in the mother's milk. 

My smiley girl. You sure do warm my heart. 

First swim on Thanksgiving day. It was 80 here and since the food was in the oven and we had time to spare we made a trip down to the pool. SHE LOVED IT! 

With her baby crew. I was able to join a mommy and me class since I am home most of the week. It was a nice way to meet other moms and get some good ideas for raising the little ones. 

 

Santa and Harper look equally as thrilled to be with each other! Big sister would be in the picture, but she wasn't so keen on the big bearded guy in the red suit.

Month TWO…..more smiles, more wiggles, still not much sleep.

Month two highlights…..

 - Harper enjoyed her first Halloween as Olaf, the snowman from Frozen. (Chosen by her sister) Ava was Elsa and continues to be Elsa almost every day since Halloween.

Pumpkin Patch 

Halloween celebration at Mommy and Me. Can you find Olaf? 

Carving pumpkins with daddy. 

Halloween morning. Telling her sister everything she has to look forward to about the day. 

Harvest Festival at her preschool. 

Getting ready for trick or treating with Auntie Beth

Most adorable Olaf I've ever seen. 

Auntie Beth and Harper (I mean Olaf)

Our neighborhood's halloween party was more like a Frozen party. 

Elsa and Olaf were exhausted after trick-or-treating. 

 - We got to spend a week with Auntie Beth and then another week with Mimi (We were really sad to see them go)

- Mommy went back to work (only one day a week, thankfully). Very thankful that I get the chance to be home with my girls for most of the week. On Fridays Grandma and Grandpa fight through the LA traffic to drive over an hour to us to watch the girls. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!! The girls enjoy their time with you and mommy and daddy love knowing they are being watched by loving family. :)

Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa after their first Friday with the girls. 

- Harper has become quite social in her second month. She loves to look at faces, smile, coo, and wiggle around.

- She still dislikes her carseat. We've learned to try our best to tune it out and take very short car rides (as much as possible).

- She continues to have a very healthy appetite!  The pediatrician agreed with my philosophy to nurse on demand, so we eat about every 2 hours (sometimes every hour in the evening). I tried the every 3 hours schedule and it was not successful. She doesn't eat much in one sitting, which is why we think she eats more often. Might be her tiny tummy or an immature digestive system that will mature with age. She spits up a ton (way more than Ava did), which is another indication of an immature digestive system.

- 2 month stats: 11.2 pounds - 50th percentile, 22 1/2 inches - 50th percentile.

- Rolls to her side and dislikes tummy time.

- Discovered her hands and chews on them as much as possible.

- Wakes up 2-3 times a night. (Mommy is a little tired these days, but knowing how short lived this stage is keeps me smiling throughout the sleepless nights).

We could not be more in love with our baby girl! She is already so personable at 2 months old and loves to just play. She is overall a happy baby and only gets upset when she needs food (which is often) or is over tired.

Two month photo shoot was a lot more fun than the one month. 

Love this cute little grin

Waving to the camera

Making silly faces

Harper about an hour after her 2 month shot. 

2 hours after her shot. I have never heard her cry like this before. I just held her , nursed her, and tried to comfort the best I could. Luckily Auntie Beth was here to help out. 

FINALLY, the worst is over! About 5 hours after her shot she started to act like herself again. Not happy that we have to go through this again in a month. (Our doc splits up the shots so they don't get more than one at a time, so we end up going in every month until she is 6 months old.)

Had to capture her preferred sleeping position in month 2.  Although I love cuddle time with her, I am a happy she is starting to sleep in the swing and bassinet a little more since she hit the 2 month mark. 

Ava on the right at 2 months, Harper on the left. Both as adorable as can be, but I do not see a resemblance.