Woo hoo!

He slept 7 hours last night! Not that I expect that to last....but I'll take it.

Annika loves to cuddle with her baby bro in the morning.

I've never seen this before

When we first started giving Declan baths, he really didn't like them. Can't say I blame them - we did them in our kitchen on the island and he wasn't allowed to be submerged because of his umbilical cord - so he was freezing. This is a kid that loooves to be warm, so he would complain. Loudly.

A few weeks ago I discovered that he could take a bath while I took a shower. I discovered this out of necessity since he would be screaming his head off every time I'd turn off the water and start to dry off. Most showers end with me soaking wet, racing across the room to get to him and staying wet and undressed until he fell asleep again.

So the shower thing really worked. He loves the sound of the water and he likes being warm and submerged (his umbilical cord fell out when he was nearly 4 weeks old). The last two times he took his bath, his eyes would start blinking heavily and he almost fell asleep. I thought it was the cutest thing - until this:

This is not a picture of him blinking - he's fast asleep. He slept for a good five minutes while I finished up my shower and Chris took pictures. He didn't wake up until Chris put him down on the changing table to get him dressed.

I wish I could say he could sleep anywhere...and often...but that would be a lie.

P.S. I blurred out some of the more controversial content of the picture....that's not really what it looks like.

Harder than it looks

...to get a picture of him when he's not blurry. He never stops moving!





Also, is it just me or does he look older than his 7 weeks of life?

He smiles!

He smiles...even on his sister's lap! This is big news...whether or not it seem so to you.

He is actually picky about when he smiles - you really have to earn it. He smiles most often for Daddy who works for it. Though last night I walked up to him just to say hi and he gave me the biggest little grin. Made my night.

Annika and Declan and I have been hanging out today. A day with both the kids is exhausting, but goes fast - definitely no down time. However, I do have to say that Annika has been a model daughter and model big sister. In fact, today she really came through by entertaining Declan while I was getting ready for us to go out and run an errand. He thoroughly enjoyed it and she was gentle enough with him not to freak him out. Success!

Happy birthday, Chris!

Chris is 29 + 4. Just to be clear, I am 29 + 3. I love June 12!

But seriously - happy birthday to the best husband and daddy ever. Love, love, love you!

How it is...

Right after he's been fed. More than happy to have anyone hold him ... Including his intense sister.

Annika, however, is ecstatic to hold him whenever he'll let her. She is a sweetheart.

But what about Annika's adventures??

This blog has been Declan-heavy lately, so let me catch you up on Annika's life.

She's a big sister and she takes the responsibility very seriously. She insists that he likes to be tickled on his feet (though I agree he is ticklish, not sure he likes it), wants to be patted on the back...vigorously (true, actually) and is awfully annoying when he cries and cannot be consoled (also true). She told us last night that "Baby bro keeps waking me up!" but I actually think she wasn't ready to go to bed.

Bed time is a little different for her. She had a monitor in her room until just last week, when we finally weaned her. Having two kids on a monitor wasn't something I was personally into, and she's old enough to get out of bed if the situation warrants. The issue is that she thinks all situations warrant it.

"Mommy, Declan is keeping me awake."

"Daddy, I want new stuffed animals."

"I have to go pee." (a legitimate reason to get up, but often times it's just a few trickles...another stall tactic).

"Mommy, I have just one thing to say to you....are there mummies?"

She has friends at school - two girls for the most part, but one that she is particularly enamoured with. She told me "I hug her soooo tight, and she asks me to stop, but I can't help it!!!" My baby has a friend crush! Literally. We had a talk about personal boundaries, but not sure it took.

Speaking of boundaries, according to her, Declan doesn't have any. Whether he's feeding, sleeping, crying, pooping, taking a bath...all of his activities are fair game for her to jump in and rub his head (vigorously) or hug him sooooo tight or tickles his feet, etc...you get the idea. She's madly in love with him and her preschooler ways don't really understand quite yet how to tone it down. But I am so grateful for how much she loves him. She is not jealous at all. She just wants him to be her toy.

We are trying to teach her to swim this year, but she really just wants to hang out in the pool. She's not a fan of ....learning. We'll keep trying, but thinking she might have to get group lessons so she'll succumb to peer pressure. Ahh, the American way.

She is very much into art. Loves to paint, play with Play-Doh and draw most anything. She's also into 3-D art where she'll glue an item to a paper and then draw around it. Her Nana says she has a great sense of color, and I have to agree. I need to get her a portfolio to keep these pictures...they're all over my house and I have no idea what to do with them.

Her 4th birthday is coming up quick and she talks about her birthday party a lot. She also knows what she wants to be for Halloween this year - a cat.