Milestones

Little Brother is 7 weeks old today - it's amazing - I still can't believe we have another little life in our family and he's been here almost two months! Well, he is a fantastic eater and has pudged out significantly in the past two weeks. He has also tripled his vocabulary - ooh, ahh goo, and this shrill type excited thing. He has different cries now too "I'm hungrrrrrrryyyyyyy NOW" ; "I'm bored how could you guys just leave me here"; and the dreaded "OUCH" when he's gassy or mama nicks him with a fingernail (sorry buddy). He smiles, and laughs full chuckles with snorts in his sleep - it's pretty hilarious. He is a gassy chap - able to combine multiple bodily functions in a single "blow" (I blame his father). All in all is a total joy!

Update: at his MD appt today he is 12# 12 oz (90%), 22 1/2 inches(50%), head 15 1/2 cm (50%)

LuLu is solidly cruising into her threes. Her vocabulary is amazing- she has started initiating similes which is fun. She is a prized negotiator...able to weasel a video out of just about any hardened parent. She loves to explore, run, jump, dance and is recently exploring the idea of dress-up. She will now let us brush her hair, although getting dressed and brushing teeth require expert cajoling. She is exploring dressing herself, but is not shy about expressing her opinions about her outfits and choice of shoes. She takes great care of little brother, picking out his diapers, soothing him, and making him "snug as a bug in a rug." She kisses and snuggles endlessly. Her temprament has evened out this week - we've added some mommy and LuLu alone time, and been much stricter about enforcing other rules - let's hope the improvements continue.

Me, well tonight is my first night alone with them and lets just say someone is looking out for me. We had plans all afternoon so LuLu was good and tired and ready for bedtime...our favorite neighbor showed up just in time to head off the royal fuss she was about to give me for waking her up when she fell asleep at 4:15 pm. She ate two helpings of her dinner, chicken and dumplings loaded with veggies (carrots, celery, onion, broccoli, and zucchini), no fuss changing into pajamas - admittedly I forgot to brush teeth (oops!) and is now fast asleep. Little Brother has been asleep since 8:20 letting me watch my favorite and only TV show Chuck. He also was fairly well-behaved in the bouncy seat while I did the bedtime routine with LuLu. Phew! It's nice to have this under my belt....

Daddy E - well he went to the movies last night for the first time in ages. In fact he was able to bugger out a bit early and catch a bit of the World Series and sunday night football game at a bar while he waited for his friend. Not a bad time! He also got to sleep in until 8:30 this morning (although he needed it - apparently Lulu kept him up for several hours in the wee morning).

So I guess we've officially made it out of "the cave"! Thanks to everyone for your help and support through this first 6 weeks - it's amazing what it takes to keep going!