2 Months old

Xander turned 2 months old last Thursday. He is doing really well. He is cooing lots and lots and smiling and even doing a baby laugh. He has gotten better at getting his thumb in his mouth too. It looks like he is favoring the left thumb. His sleeping is going well too. He is letting me put him down for naps in his cosleeper during the day and at night he is only waking up once at 4 amish to feed and is basically out cold between 7:30pm and 7 am. Pretty impressive for a 2 month old. Heck Aisling didn't sleep that well until she was a year old. Also, Xander went to his first movie. He saw Mama Mia at Mommy Movies with Grandma B and Grammy and Ais and I of course. He slept through the whole thing. Well, I guess it was a chick flick. I think he really wanted to see the Dark Knight....

We had his two month Dr. appointment and he is a whopping 14 pounds 1 ounce and 24 1/2 inches tall. The Dr. Says he is the size of a 4 month old. I guess we grow them big in our house. I don't know how we are going to feed him when he is a teenager.

Here are some pictures from the previous weeks.

Lunch with the gals. Ais, Becca, Grandma Kettle, Aunt Joan, Grandma B and Xander and I. Yummy Cheesecake Factory. Dairy is back on the menu and Xander is doing great.

Aisling wishing Benjamin a happy 1st birthday. They are becoming great buds. We did have to leave the party early when Ais had a fit after the cake come out, but she had fun while it lasted.

Aisling learning that static electricity can wreak havoc on your hair.

Xander and Aisling playing on the baby gym. They already like playing together, Xander loves to watch her bounce around the room and Aisling loves entertaining him.

Who needs a bippy when I have this amazing thumb thing....

I do it

So I think we have officially entered the terrible two's. Aisling has been on a roll lately and is starting to assert her independence. She is in the I do it stage and heaven forbid if you try to help her do anything. It is pretty cool all the new things she is mastering, but it can also be a bit frustrating when you are trying to get out the door with a screaming 2 month old and a 2 year old who insists on climbing into her car seat on her own. A task which takes about 15 minutes. With her new independence has also come some pretty impressive temper tantrums. She has been practicing her impersonation of Jekyll and Hyde as she switches between angelic toddler to screaming wild child. I guess it is all part of the learning and growing process for both of us. She has also become quite the entertainer too as she sings us songs all the time and offers us bites of invisible chocolate (her favorite flavor).

So you may ask what are a few of Aisling's favorite things. And here they are:
1. Favorite color: Orange
2. Favorite Song: Tiki Room
3. Favorite TV shows: Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Club House and Babar.
4. Favorite Movies: Dumbo, Cars and Wall-E
5. Favorite Foods: Anything chocolate, Cupcakes with Sprinkles, Mac and Cheese, Hot dogs, fries and chicken Nuggets (or Muggets as Aisling calls them), puffs, and Peanut butter pretzels.
6. Favorite Games to play: Bubbles, Playing with her Play Kitchen, Playing ball with Daddy
7. Weird behaviors: She likes to lick things, especially the back of her wooden puzzles.
8. Favorite characters: Cinderella, Wall-E, Mickey Mouse and friends.
9. Favorite Places to go: Disneyland, the pool and the park.
10. Favorite little brother: Baby Alex as she calls him.

We're still doing it

7 weeks now as a family of four and we are still doing great. We have been busy busy busy the last few weeks. We have had lots of visits with family and friends and lots of outings too. We have been home for the last two days working on Xander's naps. He doesn't like to be put down at all, but we are working on it. At the moment, both the kids are asleep, so I count this as a big success.

Xander is getting so strong now. He can stand if you just hold onto his hands and he is getting good at lifting his torso during tummy time. He is starting to talk a lot now too which is so sweet. He loves it when you tickle his cheeks, you usually get a huge smile and a gurgle. He has been sleeping pretty good at night lately too. He has even made it to 4 am a few nights, a huge difference from little Miss Aisling at this age. Now if we can just get him napping well we will be set.

Aisling is doing well too. She is really growing up fast. She knows all her colors now and can recognize the numbers 1-10. She loves to sing right now and is really getting good at her songs. Her sentences are great too. It is crazy how much she understands. She loves her baby brother too and loves to hug and kiss him and especially to hold him. She laughs like crazy when one of his flailing arms touches her. He smiles at her too when she is holding him, it is so cute.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks in no particular order. I am still too sleepy to worry about that now. :)
More on the other site too.


Fairy Princess Aisling with her dress from Aunt Angie and wand and crown from Grammy. She loved them, although she did call the wings dinosaur wings at first.

Aisling with her buddy Jake from Texas. Jake and his Mom Kathy, who is pregnant with her 2nd) came for a nice visit yesterday. We miss them so much.

Xander showing off his muscles during tummy time.

Ailsing and Grandma enjoying (or wearing) a chocoalte cupcake to celebrate Grandma's birthday.

The kids resting in the playpen.

Ais and Mickey on a recent lunch trip to Brian's work.

Xander showing off how well he can stand. It is his favorite thing. He loves standing.

Aunt Angie and Xander. Xander just loved her and couldn't help giving her all sorts of smiles and love.

4th of July / 6 weeks old

Xander is smiling now. And oh what a cutie with his big dimples. He has also started to coo and can be quite the little flirt when he bats his eyes and flashes a huge gummy grin. We are all doing well and getting used to being a family of 4. Ais still loves her baby brother and is doing great being a big sister.

We have had a fun past week. We took Aisling to the Wall-e lot event at the lot. She loves Wall-e and had a great time seeing all the Wall-e related stuff. Brian took her to see the movie last weekend. She loved the movie and had a great time sharing popcorn with her Daddy.

Uncle Mike (or muncle Mike, as Ais calls him) also came to visit us last week. He was a big help and Aisling had a great time with her Uncle. They played lots and lots. Aisling came down with a cold so she slowed down a wee bit, but they had a good time none the less. Xander likes his Uncle too and can't wait to join in all the fun and games.

I also had my 6 week checkup with Susan my midwife. Ais was sick so she stayed home with Uncle Mike while Brian, Xander and I made the trek to UCLA one last time. It was great to see Susan and have her meet Xander officially. She was so great and has been such a big part of two monumental moments in my life that I have gotten pretty attached to her. I will really miss her, but I won't miss being pregnant and having to shlep myself down to UCLA every week.

And last but not least, we celebrated 4th of July down at Brian's folks house. Aisling had a great time with these big bubble wands that Grammy got her. We had a yummy BBQ and lots of fun. Uncle Jack and Aunt Laurie also came over to meet Xander. We didn't get to see any fireworks as the kids were both asleep at home by the time the shows started. Heck, I was half asleep myself.

So all and all we are good and busy and loving our 2 kids.

At the Wall-e Lot event.

Uncle Mike with the kids.

Susan "Best midwife ever" at our final checkup

4th of July fun