I forgot to mention that last Friday the home healthcare nurse weighed James. When he was born, he was 9 lbs 8 oz. When he was discharged from the hospital, he was 8 lbs 10 oz. Friday, he was back up to 8 lbs 13.5 oz. He had gained 3.5 oz. and my milk had only been in 24 hours! I'm hoping at his 2 week well baby check up on Monday that he's back up and even surpassed his birth weight. It's not that I want him to get any bigger than he currently is, because I don't. I want him to stay my itty bitty little baby forever. But, I also want him to thrive and grow. He's already filling out some of his 0-3 month sleepers!

The past couple days have been busy, obviously with a toddler and a newborn, but they have also been really, really good. Annika continues to be a wonderful big sister. She loves James so much, giving him kisses, holding him, always concerned when he cries, etc. And I think she's listening a bit better the last couple days too. She hasn't had any time outs yesterday or today. And she and I have had some good cuddle time in the mornings and at nap time. And tonight Baby James was content so I could play on the floor with Annika too. We put her floor puzzle together and made a tower with her blocks. She had Kris and I cracking up today. This morning she picked up her Grover doll, called him baby James and then lifted her shirt so he could drink his milk from her nipples! First one side, then she burped Grover and put him to her other nipple. Then she cradled him and talked in low, hushed tones to him. Someone's been paying attention! She's been very interested in breastfeeding. She always wants to see the milk come out. Yesterday she asked for a drink of milk from Mommy and Kris and I had to explain to her that only babies drink milk from mommies and that big girls like Annika drink milk from a cup. If we were extended breastfeeding, that would be one thing, but since she's been weaned for almost a year now, I don't want to go backwards with her. This afternoon she decided her Baby Nika doll needed a diaper. So she grabbed one of James' diapers and we had to put it on her doll and then put the doll's clothes back on over it. And she was dancing this afternoon so funny! First she would slide to the right, then slide to the left, then stomp her feet really fast. It was like she had a choreographed routine and she kept doing it over and over again. Kris went to get the video camera but of course by then she was done dancing. She's also been singing the Doodlebops theme song a lot lately. She's pretty good at it too! We're going to try to get that on video too.

James continues to be an excellent little baby too. His sleeping at night is pretty good. Two nights ago he slept four hours, ate, then slept 2.5 hours, ate and then slept another 2 hours. I got some good chunks of sleep in there! Of course Annika woke up during the four hour stretch so it wasn't totally uninterrupted. Last night he did pretty well too. He slept for 3.5 hours but then was up every 45 minutes to an hour after that. It was like he couldn't get his belly full enough. He kept falling asleep while eating and I couldn't get him to stay awake long enough. Oh well. I got a good nap this afternoon so I'm feeling pretty good. Yesterday James' belly button cord stump fell off so today he had his first bath. He wasn't much of a fan of that. He doesn't like having his diaper changed or his clothes changed though either. He just doesn't like to be cold I don't think. Kris had the video camera out for the first bath and I'm sure James was screaming during most of it. It was a pretty quick bath and then we wrapped him back up and got him nice and warm again.

And finally, a shout out to my Valentine. Kris has been so amazing the past nine days. He takes such good care of all of us. He's patient and loving with Annika. And he does his best to soothe and comfort James even though sometimes all James wants is to eat. And he is doing the absolute best job of taking care of me. He makes sure I get a nap with Annika when I've had a long night. And he always asks in the morning how the night went since he pretty much sleeps through most of it. And he's been doing most of the cooking and cleaning too. He is just the best. I am so lucky! Of course, he is lucky that I'm not a bigger hormonal mess than I am. Monday I was telling James how lucky we all were to have Kris as our Daddy. I said "I wonder how we got so lucky James." And Kris teased to James "You're mom used to be hot." I faked shock and horror but laughed with Kris. He thinks he's so funny!

OK, I must go now. I heard some rumbling from James. Time for a diaper change! Tomorrow I'll try to get James' birth story written.