We lost Mara this morning. Kris and Annika went down to get her out of the kennel and she was limp and hardly breathing. Kris sent Annika upstairs and grabbed the phone to call his mom while also lifting Maa out of the kennel and laying her upstairs on the couch. He then changed clothes quickly, I wrapped her in a blanket and he brought her out to the car to rush her back to the vet clinic. I knew it was bad and Nana reaffirmed that. Kris was only 10-15 minutes away from home when he called and said she was gone and that he was going to keep going to the farm to bury her. I burst into tears then for the third time this short morning. I tried to get it together as quickly as I could because Annika gets to sad when I'm sad. But I'm just so sad! My puppy is gone! She was such a good dog. She was so tolerant of the kids and she was so friendly and she never barked or jumped on anyone. And she was so protective of us. I remember one time when another dog came running over to us growling as we were walking by its' house on the sidewalk. Mara immediately went into defense mode and put her body between us (Annika and I) and the other dog and then did a low growl. The other dog stopped dead in it's tracks and then it's owner called it back. I don't know what happened to Mara overnight but I'm assuming it was another seizure or something. And she was doing so well. We were stepping her down off the steroids and she seemed to only be doing better! She even started wagging her tail again just a couple days ago. My poor puppy. I hope she's healthy and happy now, running all around heaven.

I weighed James this morning and he is 15.8 pounds.

Another week has gone by without a post. I feel like so much has happened this week too!

Happy Birthday Auntie Carrie!!!!! I hope it's a good one and good luck with your PhD defend on Monday. We can't wait for a phone call saying it's done and you're officially a doctor!!!

James is still growing at an amazing pace. I want to do the "unofficial" weigh in tomorrow morning and I promise to report back with what I find. I'd do it right now, but he's sleeping. I'm guessing he's over 16 pounds by now though. James hasn't repeated the 10pm to 6am sleeping trick but he did pretty well for a few days, sleeping from 10pm to 4am. I was hoping, praying, pleading for this to stay his routine but the past two nights he's been up at 2am again, then again at 5am and somewhere between 6am and 7am he's had enough of the bassinet and ends up in bed with me until he wakes for the day between 7am and 8:30am. This was his routine before the sleeping miracle so while it's disheartening, I'm not all that surprised by it. I just hope that he decides to do it again and soon!

James has also started playing with toys this week! He swats at the toys hanging above him in the bouncy seat and in his baby gym. That is so fun to watch! Kris and I both encourage him and praise him every time he does it. And last night he even took a toy from my hand and waved it around a little before letting it drop to my lap. He is just so amazing. And he is still a mellow, calm baby. We've really hit the jackpot twice now with our kids.

I say that even though Annika has been quite the handful lately. Between playing in the toilet water (ew, ew, ew!), having all out tantrums complete with throwing herself to the ground and screaming (only at home though - THANK GOD!), and telling both Kris and I no countless times a day, we are feeling a little frazzled. I think a lot of this has to do with her age (duh - she's 2 1/2!) and the fact that she is trying to not nap anymore so she is more tired than usual. We've tried having a quiet time during the day where she sits and watches a movie or plays quietly and alone in her room, but by the end of the day she is still just a mess. And it's not always at the end of the day that she'll melt down. It's fairly unpredictable actually. We're hanging in there though. However, if someone wants to babysit so Kris and I can have a night away (dinner in a restaurant sounds heavenly!) - please, please, please let us know! :)

I don't want Annika to sound all bad though. She also has her heartbreakingly sweet moments too, like earlier this week when she and I snuggled in her bed. I pulled the covers up over our heads and we giggled like schoolgirls under there. It was heavenly. And last night when she fell asleep (at 6:30pm - see above tired tirade) in my lap with one hand laying softly on my cheek. Her new favorite activity is coloring too. We color all the time now, multiple times a day and in multiple locations. If it's nice out we let her color on her small picnic table on the deck. She loves being outside so it's a nice treat for her as Kris and I can be inside with James or making lunch/dinner or putting away the dishes or something while still keeping an eye on her. And she does amazingly well at staying in the lines while coloring. And I've never told her to stay in the lines. She must have just picked that up from watching Kris and I color with her. She is the smartest little girl in the world after all. She amazed Kris today at the zoo. Last week we went to the Minnesota Zoo. At the tiger exhibit, there is binoculars so you can get a better look at the big kitty. Well, today we went to the Como Zoo and they, too, have a tiger. Annika asked where the binoculars were (even pronouncing the word correctly!) so she could see him better. We were amazed that she remembered and put 2 and 2 together.

We did a bunch of other fun things this week too. We went to ECFE class (my last one with her - boo!), to the park, to my work where they threw us a baby shower - so nice! I've enjoyed my last week home. I'm sad to have to go back to work, to the hectic pace, to not seeing Kris as much, to solo parenting, to real life. My maternity leave has been great. If only, if only, if only...

Oh well, Monday is almost here - I better get ready.

Two big things:

1 - Mara is home! Yay! She's a little slower on the stairs and I've seen her bump into a few pieces of furniture so she's not totally herself, but she's doing so much better! She's still on medication but we're going to try and wean her off in the next week or so.

2 - James slept through the night last night! He was in his bassinet by 9:30pm or so. He woke up shortly after 10 but just needed some repositioning and he was back to sleep. And he didn't wake up again until 6am! Woo-hoo! And I only woke up once, when Annika woke once during the night. Annika went back to sleep on her own and I didn't even have to get out of bed. Now, I wonder when James will repeat this sleeping miracle! I wonder if it will be days, weeks or months!

Yesterday Annika and I played outside while Kris was inside with a sleeping James. At one point Annika wanted me to join her in looking at the tree on our front lawn. Then she laid down next to it and asked me to lay down by her. We spent a few minutes laying next to each other on the grass, staring at the cloudless, brilliantly blue sky above us. It was pure heaven. Then we looked at each other and smiled. The love between us was palpable. Then she rolled over, gave me a kiss and up she got to go play some more. Couldn't you just melt? I surely did. I remember laying on the grass, staring at the sky when I was a kid too. I would watch the clouds go by and wonder why I couldn't feel the earth moving. (I was in 4th-6th grade I'm assuming when I did this.)

Mara is doing better. We're still not sure what exactly happened or why she had the seizures, but she seems to be slowly but surely recovering. She's responding to commands and her name, is moving around pretty well and may even be regaining her eyesight in her left eye. If she continues to improve, she may even come home on Thursday! Woo-hoo! Thank you for the prayers and concern. Our puppy will most likely have to be on some medication, but she's going to come home and that's all that I want.

I have enough stress going on right now thankyouverymuch. Along with our puppy drama, we've also decided that we need to find our cat, Tigger, a new home. Tigger has never done well with children. He used to hiss and hide from Salix and Acer when they were smaller. And he did the same thing with Annika. Then as Annika got bigger and rougher with him, he started swatting at her with his declawed front paws. We've repeatedly shown Annika how to pet nicely and we're constantly disciplining her for being mean to the cat (pulling fur and tail), but she's two and it's going to take her a while to learn. I think Tigger has had enough though because this past weekend he bit Annika. It wasn't hard enough to break the skin but Kris and I took it as a warning shot. One of these days he's going to bite her for real. So, yesterday I sent out an e-mail to some family and friends to see if anyone would be willing to take Tigger. My brother, Mathias, jumped at the change. He adores Tigger, always has, and his roommate agreed to let Tigger live with them. I'm so happy. Tigger will be much happier with Mathias. I'm just really, really sad to let my kitty go. I know it's better for him, but it's still sad.

And then, of course, there is the stress of going back to work. I go back on the 30th and I've already broken down a few times when talking about it. I'm hoping this time is easier than it was with Annika but I know there are no guarantees. We've got all the logistics planned so it's really the emotional hurdles that I now have to navigate. I even cried at ECFE today when talking about it and that was with strangers practically! I just don't want to leave my babies. I want to stay home with them. Ok, so getting away to Target or a some other errand occasionally is nice, but those are breaks, not a full time job! I will still be working from home on Wednesdays so at least I only have to leave them two days at a time but still my heart hurts just thinking about it. Thank God I like my job and my co-workers. I just can not imagine going back to a job I hated!

Yesterday we went to the park again. This time Annika made a friend and they played chase and tag for a while. I think the key to this was the other little girl was there alone so they both needed someone to play with. I was happy to look up from my book (I was on a bench holding James while Kris played with Annika) and see Annika shrieking with joy on the tire swing while Kris swung her and her friend around.

Today was ECFE class. I took Annika this week and we had a good time. First we planted some seeds in a cup which we then forgot at class. I hope they were keeping them and we can pick it up next week! Then we played with some animals and puzzles before circle time. Circle time is when we sit in a circle and sing songs. After cirlce time the kids wash hands and have a snack and the parents leave for parent education time. After snack the kids do other craft activites and have play time while the parents discuss different topics. Today's parent discussion topic was supposed to be brain development but there was so much chatting and other discussion going on that we never got to it. Maybe we will next week. I talked about my stress. It was hard for the other moms to understand, of course, since they are all stay at home moms and obviously I'm not. They don't really know what I'm going through. And we filled out some questionaires. One of the moms asked about ECFE class for next fall and what the kids should register for. I told them we were trying to get Annika into preschool and the instructor and all the other parents agreed that they too thought Annika was advanced and ready for preschool. It is so great to hear other parents/educators tell you that your child is smart. Of course Kris and I think she is but we really have no one to compare her to on a regular basis. So, we'll see if she gets in or not. She's still on the waiting list since she won't quite be three as of September 1st. James stayed home with Daddy while Annika and I were away. I was happy to hear that he slept most of the time and then drank a bunch from his bottle. Thank goodness he'll take that! That's one less thing for me to stress about!

Speaking of the smart thing - Annika can now count to 100 practically! OK, that's a stretch, but she can play the game where if someone says 1, she'll say 2, they say 3, she'll say 4, etc. She for some reason skips 13, 15 and 19 which she didn't use to do - weird. But if the person gets to 20, she'll respond with 21 and the counting continues. She doesn't know what comes after 29, 39, 49, etc. but if you give her the next sequence, she'll continue the counting. I'm thinking we should get out some blocks or letters or something else we have in massive quantity so we can actually count objects. Maybe that will connnect the concept of counting to, say, 50 and the game of saying the numbers. This morning Annika also put 2 and 2 together and said Brianna and Madalyn's mommy are both Michelle! She knows they're not the same person but connected that they have the same name. I think that sort of reasoning and logic is another sign of her intelligence. I am just so proud of her!

James has a new nickname, courtesy of Annika. When Kris and I decided on James, we thought we could call him JD for short. Well, James just isn't a JD to me and I haven't been calling him that. I just cal lhim James, as does Kris. We really didn't have a nickname for him. Annika, however, has taken to calling him Jamesy. It's only when she's referring to him affectionately though. Otherwise he's James to her too. I think it's adorable. Jamesy!

And James is growing and developing so fast! Yesterday I noticed that James was actually playing with the toys hanging from his bouncy seat instead of just staring at them and hitting them accidentally. He had purpose in his movements yesterday! And he smiles up a storm now. He's especially happy in the mornings when he wakes up. I love this time with him and then get sad that I'm going to miss most of those in a couple weeks. And James is so strong! He can lift his head so high when he's laying on his tummy. He's almost at a 90 degree angle sometimes! Annika rolled over right after her 3 month birthday and James might be just about on that schedule too.

Before I get to any of the happy, fun things we did this week, I have to talk about my dog, Mara. She's sick. Please pray for her or send good vibes into the universe or do something. Thursday night Mara was foaming at the mouth and making hiccupping motions. I thought she was going to throw up so I hauled her outside. I had James on the changing table, changing his diaper when I noticed that Mara wasn't throwing up outside, she was laying on her side having a seizure. She was foaming at the mouth, convulsing and paddling. I scrambled to get the phone and call Kris at work, panicking and telling him he had to come home right now. Now Mara was walking in circles on the driveway with a noticeable limp in one of her front legs. Kris told me to get her back inside and keep an eye on her. He'd come home as quickly as he could and he'd call his mom (who has worked in a vet clinic for as long as I can remember - at least longer than the 15 years I've known Kris!). A few minutes later, Nana called and asked me to describe what happened. Kris came home shortly after that and we kept an eye on Mara, trying to get her to eat in case her glucose levels had plummeted. She kept bumping into cupboards and furniture and I told Kris I thought she was blind in her left eye. Throughout the evening and into the night, Mara kept getting worse again. She was drooling and was starting to get more agitated. Around 1:45am she had another seizure. This one was a little worse as she lost some bodily control. After that she just kept walking in circles in the bedroom. Kris couldn't get her to calm down. And she was panting and panting. Around 3:30am, Kris decided enough was enough and he carried Mara downstairs (she couldn't go up or down the stairs on her own) and put her in the car. She was burning up with fever and drooling/foaming more and more. She was really agitated and not herself. Kris and Nana took her into the clinic where they gave Mara an IV, some valium and an ice bath followed with some anti-seizure medication. Mara's been at home with Nana and Papa since Friday afternoon where Nana and Linda (a veterinarian friend who's staying with them) could keep a close eye on her. Nana and Papa have been wonderful, giving us regular updates on our poor, sick puppy. It looks like she either had a stroke or she has a tumor. Right now she's just on steroids, no other medication and Kris said (I make him talk to his parents whenever they call - I just can't talk about Mara without bursting into tears - like I am now) that she may be getting a little better with each day. It looks like she'll make it back home with us, but she'll never be the Mara that she was. My puppy! I just want to hold her and pet her. She's going back into the clinic tomorrow for another evaluation. We don't know how old Mara is, but we think she's in the 9-10 year old range. We've had her for six years.

OK, let's move on to some happy, fun topics. First, I uploaded 200 pictures last night! The first 100 are in the album labeled 3-16-07 to 4-5-07. The second 100 are from 4-5-07 to 4-14-07. Have fun browsing! I didn't fix red eyes or anything since it took me hours to go through the 400+ pictures on the camera, rename them, file them away and upload 200.

Last Tuesday was ECFE class and Annika decided that Daddy was going to class with her that day and Mommy was going to stay home with James. Kris tried to convince her that Mommy could go to class, but she was having none of it. She only wanted Daddy to go with her, so he did.

Wednesday we went out to lunch with Gramme and Auntie Krystle to celebrate Gramme's birthday. Annika was so excited to see both of them, talking about them all morning as we were getting ready. Happy Birthday Gramme! After lunch we browsed around the bookstore and then went to the library. Annika played with the stuffed animals there while Kris and I picked out some books for her. As we were getting ready to leave, Annika started melting down. She wanted to go to the conference room where they do story time. I explained to her that no kids were coming that day and that the library lady wasn't going to read any books that day. Luckily she didn't melt down to a tantrum but accepted what I said and willingly left to go get in the truck. I'm glad she likes story time so much! When it starts back up again in June, Kris will have to take the kids again. I think he's dreading that though - having to take care of both on his own out and about.

Thursday was our play date with Madalyn and her mommy, Michelle. This time it was at Madalyn's house and I took Annika over. We stayed for almost two hours and Annika had a great time. She played with Madalyn's Little People toys, her dress up clothes (check out the pictures of Annika as a bride) and her doctor kit. I think I need to get Annika more dress up clothes. She has a couple boas and some necklaces but no clothes, really. And Annika had fun playing doctor too and asked to play that again on Friday. She had such a great time that she started crying when I told her it was time to go. These great big crocodile tears streaming down her face from her big brown eyes. It was heartbreaking! Michelle and I assured her that we could come play again some time and that we would see Madalyn again on Tuesday at ECFE class. Annika willingly got in the truck to go home but once we were on our way, she cupped her face in her hands and started crying again. I felt terrible! My poor baby just wanted to play some more with her friend! We will definitely have to schedule more days to play.

Today, after church and lunch we headed to our big park in town to play. It was a gorgeous day today, a perfect day for the park. Annika had so much fun! She chased a couple groups of older kids. They weren't sure what to make of this little girl running after them yelling "Get back here! I'm gonna get you!" That's what we say to Annika when we play chase at home. She also really enjoyed the swings, going on them multiple times. She especially liked the tire swing because it swung her in circles too. And of course she went down a bunch of slides a bunch of times. Slides are always a big hit with her. We were there for over two hours and it still took some convincing to get her to leave.

Kris got both motorcycles running today. We've renewed our tabs online so as soon as they come, we're ready for our first ride! I've been jealous of all the other motorcyclists I see on the road!

James is just the greatest little baby. Friday night I had a CAbi party and James was great throughout the whole thing. Deb, my consultant, even commented on how he didn't cry once all night long (and she was there from 6:30pm to midnight!). He really is that good too. As long as his needs are met, he is the most content, happy baby. He even wakes in a good mood most of the time, giving me great big gummy grins as I change his diaper and prepare to nurse him. We are just so lucky to have two amazingly great kids!

Saturday Annika and I left Daddy and James at home so we could have some girl time by going shopping. And Annika is now the proud owner of some hot pink silk curtains for her room. I love them! After some other errands (grocery store, bakery, and of course Target!) we headed home to find Daddy up and bouncing a now content James. Apparently James was none to pleased that his girls were gone. He was pretty fussy and only drank about 2 ounces from his bottle. Kris thinks he had some trapped gas. My poor little baby! After a nice long feed from Mommy, he settled into a nap.

We had a splendid Easter yesterday. We started the day by finding all the treats and goodies the Easter Bunny left us. He filled 3 baskets (one for Annika, one for James and one for Mommy & Daddy) with candies and hid them as well as 10 real eggs and 10 chocolate and jelly bean filled plastic eggs. Annika had fun hunting for all the loot and Kris videotaped it. Two funny memories: 1 - When Annika found the first plastic egg, the first thing she did was open it and immediately eat a jelly bean out of it. Then as she found more eggs, she continued to sneak candy. We were trying to limit just how much candy she ate yesterday and it wasn't starting off too well! Then when she found her basket I asked her what was in it. She responded with an exuberant "Candy!" I asked her what else and she said "Chocolate!" She was totally ignoring the Peter Pan movie the Easter Bunny had given her. She also ignored the Charlotte's Web movie in James' basket, instead pointing out the candy again. Then, after church we headed to Uncle Dusty's house. Nana, Papa and Uncle Dusty has prepared another Easter egg hunt for Annika there. She found about another dozen eggs hidden around the living room. And my little engineer in training insisted on putting the eggs back in the carton in rows, not haphazardly, thankyouverymuch. We had a lovely brunch there and a nice afternoon. Of course, Annika had a great time chasing Babe, the bulldog, around. She also had fun playing with her Easter gifts, especially liking the sticker book! Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and leave for Grandpa and Marcia's house. Luckily, Annika & James slept the whole way there (as did Daddy - not fair!). Grandpa and Marcia and Auntie Krystle and Pierce had some Easter presents for Annika too. Annika's favorite was the bug catcher. She spent a lot of time "catching bugs" in the living room. It was a really nice, low key evening together. James spent most of it sleeping in Kris' arms.

And then James rewarded me by sleeping from 10pm to 3:45am! That's almost six hours! OK, so he woke up at 10:40pm but Daddy quickly rocked him back to sleep. It would have been even more wonderful if Daddy hadn't woken me at 12:30am and Annika at 2:30am. It's amazing how the body can handle broken sleep like that. I actually didn't feel too bad this morning. We'll see if James can repeat that sleeping thing again tonight. Today was his 2 month appointment and he received 5 vaccinations, one orally and four shots, two in each thigh! My poor guy! He handled the shots fairly well. His face got really red and he screamed bloody murder while the nurse quickly administered them but then he calmed down pretty quickly aftewards. I picked him up and cuddled him for a few minutes until he was calmed down enough for me to finish getting him dressed. And the pediatrician declared him perfect. Enormous, but perfect. He weighed in at 15 pounds, 3 ounces which is off the growth charts. And he is 25 1/2 inches tall, also off the charts. Hey, at least he's proportionaly large! Our infant car seat goes to 22 pounds and 29 inches. We'll have to see how big he is at his 4 month appointment. He may grow out of that car seat sooner than I think! What impressed the doctor most was when James raised his eyebrows at her while she was listening to his chest through the stethoscope. It must have been cold or something. Anyway, she said that was impressive for a two month old. And she said he looked more like a 3 1/2 month old, he's so big. It was a good appointment.

It's not a surprise that Kris and I think Annika is just the smartest little girl around. Today she started "reading" Go, Dog, Go word for word. She was about half way through when she noticed Kris and I watching her. Then she got embarrassed and stopped. I guess we've read that book so many times she has it memorized! And this afternoon, Annika picked up her new Peter Rabbit book from Auntie Krystle and started reciting the Peter Rabbit song/story from a different book. We've only read that book a couple times in the last week and already she has it memorized! What really impressed me tonight though was when Annika got out her new coloring crayons and book (also from Auntie Krystle) and started coloring - in the lines! Usually she does the traditional toddler scribbling all over the page. Not tonight though. Tonight she was actually coloring in the lines. I'll have to date that page and keep it. I think that's a huge milestone! It is so fun to watch my children grow and learn.

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!