November

    October was not my month. November, on the other hand, is! I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to wake up on Monday knowing it was November 1st. I was relieved and ready for some change. I know it seems odd that I would be that anxious to change months, but its made the biggest difference! My attitude is different and things are going much more smoothly. Granted, it is only the first week of November but I have a wonderful feeling about this month!

   I'm also really excited that its November because that means my baby girl will be celebrating her 2nd birthday on Thanksgiving! Eek! I think we're going to throw her a birthday party here in Monterey and in L.A. I'm excited:) She keeps saying "Happy Birthday Riley!" It always blows my mind that I'm Riley's mom. That two years ago she was still in my tummy and Leif and I would talk about what we thought she'd be like. Its weird that there was a time when she wasn't here, wasn't part of our family. I can't imagine life without her. She's the perfect mix of Leif and I.  She's loud like me, but cautious like Leif. She observes a lot like Leif and loves people the way I do. She's very nurturing, wanting to take care of everyone. When someone hurts she hurts as well, ready to comfort. While shes caring she's independent and likes to do her own thing. She'll watch something you do once and repeat it perfectly. Many times she wants nothing to do with other kids but would rather sit with the adults "talking" and doing what they do. She would rather hang out with Beck though... Anytime she sits anywhere, eats anything, takes a bath, etc she asks for Beck or to share with Beck. I hope this continues!

  Leif and I are in constant amazement of Riley. She picks things up fast and puts so many sentences together but we have no idea that she knew half of the words she says. I love watching her personality develop as she gets older. Its weird because its like she was always like this. From the beginning. Its just much more obvious now. So amazing!

23 months old!

      
    Today dear girl you turn 23 months old! Daddy and I couldn't believe it when we realized the date. Only a few more weeks until you are a 2 year old! AH! I love asking you how old you're going to be because you always say "TWO!".  I hope that I pull my self together to plan out your birthday party. I think you deserve to be celebrated.

   Thank you for waking us up every morning with a "Hi daddy! Hi mommy!". It makes getting up so much more pleasant:) Thank you for doing everything and saying everything with such joy and enthusiasm. I definitely have two of the happiest children. Thank you for that. Thank you for sharing your snacks with your brother and taking such good care of Charlie. You are such a caring and gentle soul. You take it upon yourself to make sure everyone is taken care of. I love that about you. I also love that you are a mini version of your father. Lately you've been reading his art books and getting so excited over the paintings. You flip through, and tell me how pretty the paintings are.

  Somedays I get bummed because your grandparents, aunts and uncles aren't here to watch you grow. You've been changing so much and I hate that they have to miss out on it. I want them to see you wash dishes with me, and listen to you put sentences together. I want them to know how much you love baby Beck and love cuddling with daddy. I think theres only so much a photo and some words can translate. Know that you are so loved, and not just by family. But our friends as well. So many people love you and care so much about you!

  I wish you weren't napping (kind of) so I could give you a hug and kiss, and tell you how much I love you. My favorite is when you say "I love you too!" Or when you hear daddy come home and you rush to the door shouting "Daddy! Daddy!". I know it makes his day:) I think its cute that ever since you were a baby you have looked forward to daddy coming home from work. I hope you always will. He loves it. And he loves you so much.

  We all do. Beck thinks you're the best sister in the world and admires you so much. If he could he'd cuddle with you all day, and share snacks with you. Thank you for being such a great example to him already. I'm happy that he has you to look up to for the rest of his life!

  When you wake up we'll celebrate this day with cookies and apple juice. &lots of hugs and kisses!

    

Happy 12 Weeks!

Beck is 12 weeks old today! 

     I feel as if I blinked and suddenly, my son, you're no longer a scrawny little newborn.  You're taller, you've filled out, and you're always smiling and laughing.  You have joy! I love it.  As soon as you hear my voice or Riley's you start to kick and wave your arms around. You get so excited! Watching your face light up is amazing! I never get tired of it. And the giggles.  Oh.my.gosh. They're precious. 

   Beck, I love having you in my life.  I love your calm and joyful spirit.  I think you're the cutest little man and I want to hold you constantly.  I will never get tired of feeding you or changing your diapers.  Its for such a short time I get to do this.  I already miss so many things I used to do with your sister.  She's so independent these days.  I will always cuddle with you and sing to you.  Even when you ask me not to.  I'm going to be your biggest fan forever.  I promise.  

  You're sleeping right now but I'm going to kiss you a few times anyways.  

Sweetest Words.

This adorable little girl just told me she loved me for the first time.
I can't even begin to describe the feeling I got when she said it.
I wanted that moment to last forever. 

I'm so blessed.

17 Months!

This little lady just turned 17 months.

Yes, I still celebrate the monthly birthdays:)

  

Happy 2 Months!

Time has flown and you my little man are already 2 months old.

Thank you for lighting up my life & being so adorable all the time.

I never get tired of the smiles and I can't get enough of your cooing.

I love your snoring and the way your face lights up when you hear your sisters voice.

Its cute watching you hold your head up and I adore the way you stretch when you wake up.

When you look up at me with those big eyes and smile, I melt.

You and Riley are such blessings.

I love being your mommy.

8 weeks!

My little man is 8 weeks old today!

Celebrate!

Whenever he's awake he is smiling and cooing.

Especially when Riley talks to him.

He's always watching us so intently.

I love it.

I love watching him get excited.

He waves his arms all over and kicks.

Its adorable.

I can't imagine life without him.

All I want to do is snuggle with him.

On Monday he'll be turning 2 months.

Where did my newborn go?

Happy One Month!

My baby boy is one month old.

He turned one month last Friday.
Normally I would have blogged but I had two of my best friends staying with me
and so who has time to blog when theres catching up to do?

I have fallen behind on blogging so I'm hoping to catch up this week!

Becks First Bath

Loving bathtime.

Grandma Jacobsen gave Beck his first real bath today. Last week Leif gave Beck a quick sponge bath but we didn't really count that as his first bath:) He loved it. He wasn't very happy when bathtime came to an end. Once he got wrapped up though he was content again.

Upset that bathtime is over.

All clean
Notice the curls starting to form? So excited!

After his bath.

I was happy I was able to get pictures of his first bath. I love these moments... The "firsts". That's the best thing about having a new baby again. Being able to watch and participate with my child as he experiences different and new things. It was so much fun with Riley, and in a way, its even more fun with Beck. I know what to expect, and when to expect certain milestones and events. I'm loving it.

It almost makes me want to have another baby... Almost;)

Happy 15 Months!

Riley is 15 months today!

This time last year she was just turning 3 months old.

Ever since bringing Beck home, Riley seems even bigger than she was last week. I keep wondering where my little baby went. When did I get a toddler? I ask myself this often. I'm still excited by her walking, and being able to feed herself. I love that she can let me know what she wants through some words and odd sounds/noises.

I know I've said this before but I'm still always surprised by the things that Riley will do. Just last night she saw something on the floor that she thought was trash so she took it to the trash can. It wasn't trash, just a white ice pack that I use after breastfeeding:) She was so proud of herself though. She mimics everything Leif and I do. It makes for a lot of entertaining moments around here. I love having her in the bathroom with me when I wash my face and put on lotion because she'll do the exact same thing and then look up at me and smile like "I'm just like you!" Oh, those moments are my favorite and I can't get enough of them.

I'm really proud of the way she has responded to Beck. She's always trying to give him her stuffed animals, hug him, kiss him, attempt to hold him. I think Riley's doing a wonderful job at being a big sister... I love watching her interact with him and love on him. While at the doctors yesterday, Riley watched over Beck with such seriousness while the doctor checked him. Beck screamed most of the time since he had to be naked and Riley kept glaring at the doctor, upset that he was making her baby cry.

I can't believe that I was blessed with such a wonderful daughter. I love that I get to be her mom and share so many amazing moments with her. Just a little while ago, she gave me a kiss just because. So blessed!

Trying to make her little brother feel better.

The day so far.

Today is Day #1 of being home with both kids. Luckily, my first week alone with the kids I'm not really alone. My mom is here helping out. Not that I'm letting her help out... I'm so particular about how to clean the house, do laundry, fix food, so forth. My poor mom is being so patient with me. She keeps trying to force me to sit down and rest but I keep finding things to do. If my mom offers to help out I tell her I can do it myself. According to her I've been telling her that since I could talk.

Just because I have a newborn now doesn't mean we can't be ready by 8 anymore.

This is Beck's nighttime food. Its ridiculous how much milk I pump.

Todays Breakfast: Quiche. Thanks to my mom and the Paris Bakery.

So far the day has gone nicely. Beck spends most of his time sleeping, and Riley spends most of her time playing. I've been able to play with Riley while Beck sleeps in my room, and then spend time with Beck during feedings and Riley's naptime. I'm assuming that the easiest time with two kids under 2 has to be when one of them is a newborn. For some reason I remember never getting anything done with Riley when I first brought her home. Now with a newborn, and a toddler I'm finding myself able to get a lot of things done. Maybe not as fast as when it was just Riley but I'm still accomplishing things. I'm pretty sure that when Riley first came home I sat with her on my chest for hours and neglected housework. Telling Leif that I didn't have time to make him dinner because having a new baby was so hard and tiring.

Riley shared her toys with Beck.

Kisses for her little brother.

Showing me that she can get on and off her elephant.

Playing "Where is Riley?"

The one thing that seems to take up a bit of time are the feedings. I feed Beck for about a half hour to an hour then I have to add pumping on top of that. Because Riley was always given a bottle I'm used to feedings being 15 minutes-30 minutes long. I'm learning to adjust to it and so far its been working out fine. Even with Riley running around. Although its just day one, I think I'm capable of being at home with two children. I doubt it will be easy, in fact it will be very trying but I think I'm up for the challenge!

Upset that I woke him to eat.

First Night at Home.

Leaving the hospital

First, let me say that I feel so rested and full of energy. I feel completely refreshed, like a new woman. Getting 6 hours of sleep as opposed to only 1 hour does wonders for a person. Now about last night...
It was like any other night for the most part. Except instead of just kissing mommy and daddy "goodnight", Riley also kissed Beck and grandma. And then Riley woke up at around 1 and decided that she was done sleeping in her crib. So the battle began. She fell asleep in our bed then we moved her, but then Beck woke up and we took awhile getting his bottle, so in turn he woke Riley up. Of course by the time we got the bottle Beck was over it and Riley was in our bed. Again.

We got the idea that maybe if we put Beck in his crib Riley would want to go in hers. But she didn't. She simply waved "bye" to Beck when we put him in his crib and expected us to take her with us to bed. Finally, we decided to leave her in her crib. Sure, she cried and screamed but eventually fell asleep. Thank goodness.

I really expected Beck to give us a hard time at night, not my toddler:) It really wasn't that bad though because I did get some hours of uninterrupted sleep. And Beck did a wonderful job. He mostly slept through the night. Woke up twice and probably would have gone back to sleep if we didn't make him eat. At 5 this morning, Riley was up and watched as Leif changed and fed Beck. She was amazed and kept smiling at her little brother. I was sitting on the floor pumping... It was one of those moments I wanted to last for a long time. Even if it was early in the morning.

The babies this morning.

I'm liking the change.

Every week, as Riley changes, she becomes more alert and responsive. Its hard for me to remember when all she could do was sleep and eat. She's constantly interacting with Leif and I. Mostly with smiles and loud coo'ing. She attempts to laugh but so far its just this odd noise. The picture above is actually her in the middle of laughing. Riley totally scrunches up her nose while she laughs (or whatever you would call it) and I think its the cutest and funniest thing ever.

While she matures so many things change. Her sleeping habits. Her eating habits. She's becoming her own person with her own dislikes and likes. Its fun to watch and be part of. Everyday is like a new adventure. You're not really sure what you're going to get from her or what exactly to expect. We'll have a routine down and then suddenly a new routine will emerge.

I have to say I'm liking staying at home with her a lot more now. Before it was boring and I was running out of stuff to do. Now I can take her on walks in her stroller without the big carseat and play with her and have her respond to me. Don't get me wrong, I loved having a newborn and I can't wait to have another one. But I'm also loving having an infant who smiles whenever I talk to her and can play with me. I know its going to keep getting more fun as time goes on. While I'm looking forward to all the milestones ahead, I'm making sure I'm enjoying everyday. I know that before I know it she'll be walking and talking and feeding herself. Until then I'm going to enjoy changing every diaper, waking up with her at night and carrying her around in her carseat.

8 weeks, almost 2 months!

Riley turned 8 weeks old today! I can't believe how fast time has gone... While it feels like it was just yesterday that we brought Riley home, it also feels like we've had her with us forever. These last 8 weeks have been more than amazing, and it makes me so excited for what is to come! I can't believe that every week Riley does something different... Like her latest accomplishment has been smiling back at Leif and I. She started smiling a little when we went to Oregon and now its been almost anytime we smile at her. Every time she smiles back at Leif or I, it feels like the first time and we get so excited!

She's also gotten to the point where she can keep her head up without dropping it at all. From day one she's always held her head up. Obviously when she was a newborn she could only hold it up for a few seconds, haha. But now when she's on her tummy she can hold her head up the whole time, and when we sit her up, her head stays up and doesn't drop. Its so funny how little things like seeing the first smiles, hearing the first coo's, watching the first baby push-ups, make a parent feel so proud and excited. Riley has never ceased to amaze us:) And continues to do so every day! What a blessing she is.

Smiling at mommy:)

Smiling at daddy:)

For more photos visit our Flickr.

Three weeks old...

...And this is what Riley did when she didn't get food when she wanted:

Sometimes I can't help but laugh a bit when she gets so worked up when she's not fed right away. My mom says I was exactly the same way when I was a baby... I don't believe her:)

For more pictures from today visit our flickr: Here

Riley's first bath

So here are some pictures and a video of Riley's first bath:) She didn't like it so much at first, but eventually she began to enjoy it.

More pics and videos of Riley...

Here's a few more pictures and videos of Riley. The first picture is from the hospital, when Riley was a day old. The second one we took while taking polaroids for our baby announcements. Riley prefers sleeping in our bed with us, and she's already starting on tummy time. It's crazy how far she's come in just a week. :)




First time on her belly: