Baby Bear Update- 6 Weeks

First of all- check out how stinkin' cute my boys are in their (almost) matching ties! Bear's is actually sewn on to his onsie, but DMP's is the real deal (and he can tie it and everything!). Aren't they both handsome?

Bear is now 6 weeks old. He is really filling out (check out those cheeks and double chin!) his arms and legs are quickly losing their scrawny newborn look and he has grown out of some of his onesies! He is sleeping more- we are going on several nights in a row where he has slept 5 hours and only gotten up to eat and gone right back down for another 3 or 4. At this point, I'll take it!

He is still a sweet, mellow boy. This morning he smiled at EJ who was playing peek-a-boo with him. He smiles a lot, but usually it is at nothing in particular so to see him smile at her was pretty fun. He has a "fussy time" in the evening but the girls typically did too- Cyndi calls it "fussy thirty".

Happy Birthday to Me!

I know things are late around here, and it's been a while, but I had a great birthday that I want to tell you about. The girls decorated these beautiful cakes for me. The taste was, shall we say... interesting... with all that candy on top, but they were super proud of them. EJ's is on the left and Birdy's is on the right. My nice husband sent me some flowers. It was cute, EJ was very impressed and thought it was so cool!

The day after my birthday, we went to Shoga in Provo for some sushi. We took Bear with us and Cyndi was nice enough to watch the girls. We were hoping for a quiet, grown-up dinner, but Bear had other plans. He started fussing shortly after they brought out our appetizer and didn't look like he was going to quit, so we had to get our sushi to go. Oh well, maybe next year (and we'll definately leave the grumpy bear home!).

Baby Bear Video

Just a little video of Bear "in real life". Sometimes still pictures don't quite do it, so we shot a video of his cuteness!

Kool Aid Stand!

A couple of weeks ago, the girls had their own kool-aid stand. It was lots of fun and they were super excited about the money they earned!

Shave and a haircut...

Chester got a major haircut this week. We almost don't recognize him- he looks like a "normal" naked buggy-eyed chihuahua! Hopefully he enjoys his new, cooler, haircut!

Baby Bear is 1 Month!

It's hard to believe that it's been a whole month since Baby Bear officially joined our family! He is getting so big and putting on a little bit of chub :) He is sleeping pretty well- 4 hrs at a time. Only problem is that those 4 hrs are separated by 2 hours of awake time! He is also super sweet-natured and mostly content to be held and loved on.
Yep- this is our crazy new life. Sometimes he doesn't properly appreciate the attention from his sisters...

My handsome boys!

EJ was sooo excited to finally get to give him a bottle!

Holy Crap I'm 30!

Hmm. Best way to forget a milestone birthday (or at least diminish the importance)? Have a baby a month before :) Next, just for good measure, send your spouse for his first week of grad school which is all day an hour commute away.

To top it off, have your "strong willed" three-year-old decide to not adjust well to the transition to having mommy stay at home and test her boundaries by flipping out 6 or so times a day. Nothing like repeately getting hit or kicked and being told "I hate you, you are a stupid mommy" to make a happy, happy birthday!

The good news? The newborn is the best birthday present of all- super sweet and mellow!

First First Day of School

DMP donned his brand-spankin' new suit and headed off for his first day of school on Monday. This week is a business school "rah rah" week where they have leadership, networking and ethics classes from 9-5 every day. Next week, his "real" classes start.

Next up for a first day of school- EJ! She is so excited that her turn has finally come to go to "kitty garden" as she used to call it.

Just in case you forgot...

We do have two beautiful, adorable girls. Here are some recent pics in their church dresses!

The end of an era

Today is DMP's last day at his moderation job. He's been working as a discussion group moderator for just 1 month shy of 7 (!) years! It has been a great "student" job and has made it so he has been able to stay home with the girls all that time. It's been a great (if boring at times) job and a great blessing to us.

DMP has worked swing shift since I met him (with the exception of 6 months or so when we first moved to AZ). Hopefully tonight marks the very last time in our lives he'll have to work in an evening! Other things we won't miss about this job:

• never going to bed at the same time- DMP's shift has ended at 11:30 or 12:30 forever.
• "checking messages" during dinner, home teacher visits, TV shows (like Lost) and etc.- to be fair, at least he was at home to do all those things instead of somewhere else!
• Never being able to do anything as a family (or a couple) on a weeknight. Just think- we could go to dinner, the grocery store, or a ward party on a weeknight now!

So we are excited to start this new phase in our "real" life. It would have been better to hang on to his job until I was done with Maternity leave, but his late-night and early AM classes mean that the time is now.

Cute bare Bear!

A girl in my ward is working on her photography portfolio and asked if she could photograph Bear so she could get practice working with newborns. Here are some of the best shots! It was so fun- she showed up with all the stuff and Bear was a champ- he tolerated being moved and positioned well. I'm so excited- the pics turned out so cute!

Two Weeks Old!

Here are some new pics of baby Bear at 2 weeks. We went to the Dr. today and his current stats are 22 1/2 inches long and 9 lb 7oz- that's 13 oz since last Tuesday! Enjoy! This is his typical expression- surprise and annoyance :)

These next two were taken a while ago for his first (at home) bath. As you can see, he really likes it!

Birdy's Boy

A couple days ago, DMP and Birdy were hanging out with Bear. DMP changed Bear's bum, which he hates most of the time, and Bear got really, really angry with him. DMP left the very indignant boy with Birdy to throw the diaper away. By the time he came back, Bear was calm and listening to Birdy as she sang songs and told him all about the Barbie Princess move DVD cases she was showing him. DMP told me later that this kid is definitely not a "Daddy's Boy" so he must be a Birdy's Boy!

Birdy still loves playing and talking with brother. She loves when he grabs her finger and puts it in his mouth. She is forever kissing his head, patting his belly and giving him loves. She'll say "look at his little ears/nose/feet/etc." or "He's so cute!".

We're just really glad that she is so excited about him. We were kind of afraid that she wouldn't like him since he isn't a sister named Sparkle Shiver-Shiver!