Has it really already been 6 weeks??

I can't believe that tomorrow Anna will be 6 weeks old.  People always say that this time flies by, and I suppose I have to admit that they are right!  I'm not going to lie and say that I've been having the time of my life or anything...spending most of my day at home breastfeeding an infant isn't exactly the most exciting way to spend my time, but it is fun getting to know this little person.

She's doing great!  Eating well and maybe starting to figure out this sleep thing a little bit (we will occasionally get 5 hours).  She has started to smile at us, although eliciting those smiles often requires a monumental effort.

Here are just a few photos from the past 2 weeks.

A's morning nap (between 6-9am) is usually in our bed.  I'll bring her over to feed her and then quietly climb out to start my day.  She's always so sweet in the morning light tucked under the covers.  It's hard to not take her photo on these mornings.  :)

 I let Quinn stay home from school yesterday.  He's been wanting to have some time at home with us and I thought it might be fun.  I had the opportunity to observe him interacting with Anna during more of her quiet awake time.  

He's a great big brother and is always the first to try to sooth her when she gets fussy.  He's the one who discovered how much she LOVES her new toy from Heide in Germany.  She's even started to smile at it (more reliably than she'll smile at us!)  :)

I have sworn that I would not dress my little girl in all pink, but here is evidence that it can't be avoided.  We've received so many clothes from generous friends (many of which are pink) and this sweater was knitted for me by Grandma Smith (Biggy's mother) when I was a baby.  And I've gotta say that Anna certainly can rock the pink.  :)

And finally here's our girl having some tummy time on the rug that my Nana made for me.  I'll have to dig it out, but there exists a very similar photo of me on the same rug at about the same age.  

One Month Old

Mission Trails Family Hike

Jeff pointed out today that we haven't been hiking the way we used to.  In an attempt to remedy that problem we headed out to Mission Trails for a midday hike.  It was Anna's first and the first for Quinn in a few months.  We've got to be better about making the time to get out and enjoy nature!

Quinn started the hike full of energy!

The boys attempted to catch lizards, but were unsuccessful.

Anna's first hike...she was wide-eyed and really interested in the light coming through the oak trees...

....until 5 seconds later when she was completely over it.  

Q was really excited about our picnic spot...he did a bunch of climbing!

A pretty much zones out as soon as we put her in the babyhawk

Look what I found....lashes!  :)

Getting to know each other

Well our little girl is now three weeks old, so we've started to figure things out.  One thing is for certain...Anna loves to eat.  And eat and eat!  She will occasionally also sleep.  We've had a couple of longer sleeps (6-7 hours), but 3-4 is more the norm.  I guess it's to be expected.  :)  Below are just a handful of photos we've snapped over the past few weeks.  

Jeff with his magical thumb hold!

They sure do make some cute girl clothes!  

The sleepy smiles are one of my favorites!

 Some of Anna's favorite faces:

Not surprisingly, she seems to enjoy car trips.  Was crying as I put her in the carseat, but after a few blocks she seemed quite content staring out the window.  

Welcome Anna!

On Friday, February 14th our family grew by one.  Anna Kathryn Moore was born at 8:50am on Valentine's Day.  She weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 5 ounces.  She entered the world calm and collected.

Her birth was a very different experience than Quinn's.  She was born at UCSD's birth center under the care of the midwives.  Labor was only 6 hours long and we were able to move about and use a ball and tub during that period.  It was so nice to not be hooked up to monitors!  Things progressed quickly this time around and there was no need for any medication or intervention.  Once she was born she was placed immediately with us and allowed to bond/nurse for the next two hours before they came in to get her stats, etc.  My mom and Jeff were there for her birth.  The photo below was taken by the midwife when Anna was about 10 minutes old.  :)

She was even calm for the weigh-in :)

Our sweet little red-headed, chubby-cheeked girl!

Quinn has been an amazing big brother so far.  He loves to give his sister kisses on the head and is eager to help me out with her care.  I'm sure once she becomes more mobile his enthusiasm will wear thin, but for now it's such a pleasure to see him so excited and proud to be a big brother!

At 10 days old Anna has already surpassed her birth weight, which means she's eating like a champ!  She will occasionally let us sleep for 5 or more hours at a time, but those days are typically followed by a night of no sleep for mama.  For now I'll just take what I can get.

In the shawl made by grandma Smith for Andy or me.  :)  

Love the sleepy milk-drunk smiles!

Christmas 2013

So I survived my first Christmas away from my parents.  Pretty impressive to go 40 years spending every holiday with them...especially given that for the past 13 of those years Jeff and I have also been spending the holidays together.  Well Mom and Dad, I definitely missed you, but we still had a really nice few days.  We hosted Christmas Eve dinner at our house this year.  Our friends Suellen, John, and Emily joined us.  We ate like kings: Jeff made macadamia encrusted steelhead and mashed potatoes, John and Suellen whipped up some fabulous brussel sprouts, and Emily brought some delicious dips and an amazing coconut lemon cake.  It's a good thing we don't eat like this every day.  

After dinner we went out to the fire pit where Jeff read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to Quinn.  He loved it!

Quinn must have been a VERY good boy this year, because Santa was very good to him.  After running out to the livingroom to see if Santa had come he rushed back into our bedroom super excited exclaiming, "He came, he came, come and see, come and see what he brought me!!"  As he opened his gifts he kept repeating what a lucky boy he was.  He seemed to love everything, which was a pleasant surprise!  

For Christmas dinner we wandered up north to Wildomar to join the Sheas along with Kelly and Lee and her parents.  We spent a good part of the afternoon playing with the boys and then had a lovely dinner of homemade manicotti, meatballs and sausage.  Somehow I managed to not take many photos while we were there, but managed to get a few shots of the boys enjoying their Christmas gifts.  

Kellan with his new ball

Kyan and Quinn on a scooter ride!

Jeff with Lee, his father-in-law, and John 

Cannot resist taking the opportunity to play with lights and slow shutter speeds!

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas!!