the first 2 weeks

I know this post is a little late, but I wanted to put up some pictures and write about that first couple of weeks after Mia was born. Wesley was home with me for the first few days, then I had a few days on my own, and then when Mia was 10 days old (Christmas Day!) my mom was able to fly out and visit! I really felt so happy and surprisingly not too overwhelmed during that time. Mia was a relatively easy newborn in the beginning--slept easy, not too gassy or fussy, and nursed pretty well. Jake seemed excited about his sister, and was just happy to have his daddy home for a week! Thanks to my relief society and my mother in law, I didn't have to think about cooking at all, and felt so loved and supported by my family and friends. And then when my mom showed up, things got even better--it was pretty awesome having her take care of me again for a couple weeks--cooking, laundry, dishes...she was my slave. (just kidding...I wanted to help, but she just did it all before I could!...) Does it sound like I'm bragging? probably, but I couldn't have asked for a better recovery experience, and I just feel the need to express my gratitude for all the little blessings I received every day. Thank you to all my happy helpers :)

Mia at 5 days old. Thanks Sydney for coming over to take pictures!

First sponge bath at home! Jake was very concerned.

We didn't leave the apartment for about a week, so Jake found new ways to entertain himself. Here he is "feeding" each of his cars a fruit snack.

Jake set up his nativity blocks in the middle of the kitchen floor and just left it there. Apparently he thought that the duck should have been included.

Learning out how "hold" baby sister. We kept saying "be careful! Hold up her head!" and he took the instructions very seriously :)

I've been trying to put headbands on her often so that she won't reject them as she gets older. Unfortunately, this problem happens a lot.

We spent Christmas Eve with Wesleys family down in Salem (unfortunately, I didn't get any decent pictures! hate when that happens). Christmas morning we stayed at home. Jake was so excited to show his new sister all of his presents! I can't til next Christmas, when they can be excited together!

My absolute favorite part of the newborn phase: cuddling.

My mom meeting her first granddaughter!

We did a second Christmas morning on the 26th so Jake could open all the presents he got from Omi and Opi. This was his 3rd round after Christmas Eve and Day--spoiled little boy :)

My mom and Jake went with me for Mia's 2 week checkup.

I had also scheduled a check up for Jake, and

he got a free ice cream cone for being such a good boy!

Feels great to be getting caught up on my posts! Thanks for reading!

Blessing Day: post edit

We blessed Mia on January 2nd--She was about 2 1/2 weeks old. My mom came to stay when Mia was 10 days old, and my dad joined us a few days later. (more about that on my next post.) I was so happy that both my parents and Wesley's parents were able to participate in Mia's special day! And then the day before the blessing, my sister Jessica showed up with Sawyer as a fun surpise! It was so nice to have so much family all in one place. Since Mia was still itty bitty we decided to hold the blessing at home instead of at church. We kept the group pretty small, just family and a couple close friends that live in the area.

Thanks mom for preparing all the yummy refreshments!!!

Post Edit: I can't believe I forgot to mention that we blessed Mia in the same dress that I wore on my own blessing day! I'm so happy that my mom saved it all these years :)

It felt so wonderful to see my husband put his hands on Mia's head and give her a blessing from our Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful that Mia came to our family safely, and that Wesley was worthy to give her that special blessing. Thanks to those who were there to share in our joy on that day :)

mini update with pics

I'm hoping that at some point in the next week I will get all caught up on my blog. I have lots to write about, what with my parents coming to visit, Emilia's blessing day, and all the fun details and photos from the past 5 weeks. But for now I just want to write a little update, and post up some of the nice pictures that Sydney and I (collectively) have taken of my sweet baby girl.

Things are going really well! It's been a big adjustment going from one kid to two, but Mia has made the transition as easy as she could. She doesn't really cry that much (especially compared to the colic we experienced on round one with jake), and she's a great little sleeper at night. I'm feeling hopeful that she will sleep through the night sometime in the next few weeks. My recovery was quick, and other than the awesome post-pregnancy hormones (gotta love those), I'm feeling back to normal.

With Mia being such a good baby, and me having already done the newborn thing once, I wasn't too overwhelmed in those first couple weeks. Now that Mia is awake more often, my daily workload has definitely increased (possibly doubled?) since it was just Jake and I, but I've mostly been able to keep up my positive energy, and am just feeling so grateful each and every day for my two cute and healthy kids. Jake is so smart, and is such a sweet brother. He really seems to love Mia, and although he's become more clingy to his momma, I really feel that he's handling the changes around here like a champ! Wesley has definitely stepped up to the plate, and has been getting up in the morning with Jake every day, so that I can catch an extra 45 minutes of sleep before he leaves for work. So really, I couldn't ask for more than I have, and why would I? My house is more messy than I like these days, and I haven't cooked a square meal in weeks (sorry Wes), but we are doing well, and just taking things one day at a time.

I made a goal to get caught up on my blog this weekend, so hopefully things are quiet enough around here for me to take the time to do that. I hope everyone is having a great new year, and is keeping up with their resolutions! My resolutions--to keep my blog going, to lose 5 pounds, and to spend as much time hanging out with my hot husband, playing cars and trains with my little boy, and snuggling up with my sweet baby girl as possible. Cheers!

The first 3 were taken when she was about 2 weeks old

In the rest of these she was between 3 and 4 weeks old

Jake loves cuddling up with Mia on the couch--here he wanted her to "watch" Toy Story 3 with him. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures.