Another week without posting. I really need to write more. I'm forgetting all the cute and heartwarming stuff that happens on a daily basis. Last Sunday we went to Grandpa and Marcia's house for a visit. It was a really nice afternoon. They had the most delicious brunch made out for us. It was yummy, yummy, yummy! Annika had a great afternoon playing and James slept most of the day on Grandpa's shoulder. When it was time to go that evening, Annika made a bit of a fuss. She didn't want to go! I promised her we would come back soon to play again and then she was okay with going.

Tuesday we all went over to Amanda and Dean's (fabulous!) new house. Kris helped unload some furniture and boxes from their storage unit and the garage. Annika was super excited to see Dean and she repeatedly would run over to him and grab his leg to give him a big hug. Once she was upstairs by herself and I asked her to come down. I told her she had to come downstairs by Mommy and Daddy and she said "Downstairs by Dean?" I said yes and then she wilingly came down. It was only to be by Dean though. We went out to lunch (thanks Dean for treating us!) and Annika was insistent that we go back to Dean's house some more. We did, but only because there was more work we coud help with. My girl, she is smitten with Dean!

Wednesday was dentist day for Kris and I. Yeah, that was so much fun. I made appointments for our next check ups in 6 months and I made an appointment for Annika too. Our dentist recommends children start going to the dentist regularly at 3 years old. My little girl is growing up too fast! When I left for my appointment in the morning, Kris was sitting down to feed James a bottle that I had just pumped. We're trying to do bottles a few times a week to make sure James will continue to take them. This was the first time I saw James with the bottle, and just like with Annika, I cried. I always cry when I see my babies drinking from bottles. Does anyone know why this is? I think it's because it's so unnatural to me. My babies always nurse from me when I am with them, even if we are out and about. I will find a discreet place to feed them if needed. So, after I took a deep breath I said a little internal prayer thanking God that James will take the bottle (what a nightmare it would be if he wouldn't and I had to be away at work/commuting for 9 hours a day!) and then I left.

Wednesday night I dropped Annika off with Grandpa (see, I kept my promise!) so Marcia and I could attend a PartyLite party at Aunt Kathy's house. My Aunt Diane was there and as soon as she walked in she asked to hold James. And she didn't give him back to me until it was time to strap him back into his carseat and go home. She held him the whole time! And James loved every bit of it. And it was nice for me to be able to sit there with my arms free for a change! Usually I either have Annika or James in them.

Yesterday Annika had a playdate with her friend Madalyn from her ECFE class. Madalyn and her mom Michelle have been in a couple of Annika's classes, including the first one Annika attended when we moved here. She and Madalyn were just turning one during that first class! Michelle is so nice and Madalyn is a little doll. Madalyn was a bit shy, being in a new environment. And Annika followed her around wanting all the toys she was playing with no matter what it was. Before we knew it, they had to leave. We had such a good time though that we readily accepted Michelle's invitation to a playdate at their house next week Thursday. Michelle wants Madalyn to have more exposure to kids her age, other than the once a week ECFE class and we want the same thing for Annika so it works out great!

Today we attended the children's Easter service at our church. It was a nice service Ithought although Kris is less than impressed with the children's minister. After the service though there was cookies and juice and an Easter egg hunt. Everything was a big hit with Annika. For kids 2 and under, they had an indoor egg hunt. I'm so glad they did too because it was only about 25degrees outside at the time. Annika was a champion egg hunter, scooping up every egg she saw. She had a huge bag full of them. She exchanged that bag for a goodie bag filled with a juice box, fruit snacks, teddy graham cookies and a couple suckers.

James spits up once in a while. This is a difference from Annika as a baby. I don't every remember her spitting up. Anyway, I rarely have a burp cloth around me as I'm still not used to this. Annika has seen James spit up and has heard Kris and I asking for a cloth to clean up. Fast forward to Annika and I in the bathroom getting ready in the morning. I get the lotion out of the cupboard. Annika asks to put lotion on too. I had her the bottle and she presses the top. Lotion comes out on to her hand and she says "Oh, a little spit up!" It's hilarious every time. Every time she gets lotion now she calls it spit up.

Annika is still a big fan of her little brother. And I haven't seen many signs of jealousy. Her biggest problem time is nap time. She wants to sleep with Mommy or have Mommy hold her when she's tired and I can't always do that. Then there will be tears. I'm proud of how well she's handling this big life change.

And James is still such a good baby. He's pretty mellow, rarely fussing or crying. He typically sleeps 3+ hours at a stretch at night. I wish he'd go back to the 4-5 hours at a time! But 3+ I can deal with. I think he could go longer at night. He sometimes wakes up between feedings and wants his pacifier in order to go back to sleep. I think he wakes himself up by flinching or flailing his arms. But even when he wakes up to eat, he doesn't usually eat much. Usually by morning I'm so full of milk that I feed him and then go pump right away. This is nice for making a milk stash in the freezer, but if he's not going to eat very much, couldn't he just stay sleeping? That would be much nicer!