Thanksgiving Day

Some of Levi's family came to have Thanksgiving with us and meet Carrigan. We had a wonderful time and are so glad they came!

My beautiful, beautiful niece Madi
Football is always fun on Thanksgiving!

Carrigan and Grandma
My precious girl!


Carrigan with Daddy, Grandpa and Uncle Andy


NaNa tried hiding from the camera, but I got her!



Gavin and his best doggy friend, Baelin

1 Month of Blessings

Today Carrigan is 1 month old. How can that be? Seriously. When she turned 2 weeks, it felt like she was 3 days old. Now I can't believe ANOTHER 2 weeks has passed. I want time to slow down! I love having a newborn and am going to miss this phase so much. She has brought so much joy into our home and I am glad God has his own plan for us. I am much happier having her in our lives now rather than waiting another 2 years!

Over the past 4 weeks we have learned quite a bit about our little Care Bear. She is very particular about how she wants to be held when she is awake. If you lay her on her back, she is very likely to get mad. She prefers to be sat on your knee with her head resting in your hand; just like she is being burped. She is not one to be passed around.

She is a very light sleeper. Any little noise wakes her up. When she wakes, she is fully awake. Carrigan reminds me of one of those dolls that has her eyes open when she is help upright, then close when she is laid down. Carrigan is just the opposite. She could be sound asleep in my arms, and I lay her down and her eyes pop open!

She smiles! They are the sweetest little grins you will ever see!! She is also getting to be a little chunky monkey. I can touch my thumbs and pointer fingers around Gavin's waist, but I can't around hers!

Carrigan will not take a paci. She has a hard time drinking out of a bottle. The fastest way to make her mad is to put a hat on her or swaddle her. She can wiggle out of socks and gloves in seconds.

My daughter is a Mommy's girl and I love it!

I will have her stats after her 1 month appointment.

Here are some pictures from today. Every time I look at her pictures I get a little frustrated because they just don't do her justice! She is beautiful!

The picture is blurry, but it was Carrigan's first grin of the day, so I had to post it. Gavin woke up just in time for Carrigan to eat a little bit of his shoulder. He seemed to be quite annoyed that I put little sister right next to him! That paci has not left Gavin's sight since he became a big brother. He never seemed to mind if he had it or he didn't, unless it was bedtime, before Carrigan came along. I wanted Carrigan to stay asleep for this picture, but like I said, I lay her down and she is awake! Their diapers poking out from both of their pants is one of those little things that makes their mommy smile. :)

My Darlings

I like this picture. It is as if he is daydreaming of the day he will be playing on the baseball fields.


Carrigan has become so alert in the past week. She holds her head up super well and wants to look all around. It is hard to get face time with this girl! She is a curious little thing already.

After she was born, Levi and I thought her eyes would turn brown because of how dark they were. After the first week they started getting a lighter blue. Her eyebrows are also very blonde, so she may end up with features like Gavin since he was born with dark hair in the back also. It is too early to know, but it is fun to wonder. :)

-- and have you ever noticed that Gavin has no eyebrows? Well he does, but they are barely there and almost white. I wondered who in the world he got that from, then it hit me that my dad had black hair, but barely there light eyebrows. Strange the things we inherit!

What a face

While this may seem like the same picture over and over, I figure the grandparents who haven't yet met this little angel might enjoy seeing her face.

Life as I now know it

When I hear someone ask me how I am handling 2 under 2, I feel cheated of the reality of my day to day life these past two weeks.

Two years old is still 9 months away for Gavin. I not only have 2 under 2, I have 2 under 18 months... 2 under 16 months! Two Babies!!

They wake up at the same time in the morning and after naps. Two babies hungry at the same time. I would say those times are the most stressful part of my day.

The last thing I wanted to do was make Gavin into a "big boy" I have read that is the last thing you want to do to an older sibling when a little one comes into the home, and I completely agree. The only problem is, he sort of has to be one because I am too busy with Carrigan to give my usual attention and cuddle time. Not to mention I can't lift him up for 4 more weeks. *sigh*

So as you can guess, that makes a 15 month old boy jealous.

Carrigan takes about an hour to nurse. She is hungry every hour and a half sometimes. I have decided to pump at least once a day. It takes 10 minutes to get enough for a bottle and a half and 10 minutes for her to drink a bottle. This makes for a much happier mommy and babies!

So far there haven't been many issues with having 2 so little. The biggest problem is that there is no where to put Carrigan that Gavin can't get to her except in his crib. We tried bringing the bassinet into the living room, but Gavin shakes it and throws his toys in. When he can reach her, he pulls off hats, socks, gloves and blankets. He knows how to be gentle, but still isn't gentle enough for a newborn.

So what do I do all day long? I either put Carrigan on the couch (I can see her from there anywhere I go downstairs) and drag Gavin around trying to bribe him to stay with me, or I carry Carrigan which makes it impossible to get anything done.

And I do mean IMPOSSIBLE.

You should see how many baskets of laundry we have that are full of clean clothes. They are folded but that's as far as I get. I have to turn my back to put away clothes. I don't have time for that!

Some days I don't get a chance to eat until dinner time. Some days I am overwhelmed with love. It all evens out. :)

Gavin doesn't seem to mind his little sister when she isn't nursing. He originally called her Baby. Now he calls her Girl. If she starts to get upset, he runs over and starts yelling, GIRL GIRL GIRL GIRL, while pulling off anything he can. He has gotten a few good hits in though. One day she will give him a whopper of a goose egg and it will all be even. :) .... and you can probably imagine why I don't have any pictures of the two of them alone. Well I do, but Gavin is sleeping. :)

There are far more good moments in my day than stressful ones. I love when Carrigan is awake. I know her smiles aren't real yet, but she has the cutest little smiles in the world. I love when Gavin tries to help and offers her his paci. I love when Gavin stands by during diaper changes so he can throw away her diaper. Levi and I crack up at our little boy. He is on a mission when he throws away his diaper. Its the only time he is allowed in the kitchen alone, and certainly the only time he is allowed near the trash.

Life will get easier as time goes by and we develop a routine. Even though having 2 so close in age is not what we planned, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Levi is taking Gavin to the doctor today. Saturday night he had a fever of 101. Last night he was drenched with sweat. Whatever it is, I hope it goes away quickly.

Look Grandma...

My Booties Fit!!

Gavin the Dinosaur

This Halloween we of course weren't able to do much with a 1 week old, so Levi took Gavin to Trunk or Treat a few days earlier. He came home with his face painted and was too cute. On the actual day of Halloween Gavin got his shots, including a flu shot and wasn't the happiest boy, so his special Halloween treat was an extra long bath given by NaNa.

When I put him in his costume he started chasing me! It was too cute. He was also crawling around. It was as if he knew what to do as a dinosaur!

Oh and the best part of the week was: HE WEIGHS 19.11 LBS!!! GOOD JOB GAVIN!!

Oh and excuse the messy house... you understand right??

Carrigan the Friendly Ghost

Carrigan's 1 week appointment was Friday and she is in perfect condition! She was born weighing 8.1 lbs, left the hospital weighing 7.13 and now weighs 8.5! I am very pleased that she is gaining weight so well.

She is still a very content baby like her brother was. She however does not like being laid in her bassinet and does NOT like being swaddled. She has to be out cold to swaddle her and not get a fuss. She also has yet to cry at night and only gets upset for diaper changes when its cold in the room. She does a short, one second wail when she isn't getting fed quickly enough. It is the saddest, cutest, little sound we've ever heard.

We also cannot believe she is a week old already! Time is already whizzing past!

I have had wonderful help since I have been home. Everyday I have either had Levi or my mom here to help. My mom has been great. Doing laundry, dishes, taking Gavin out, bringing me breakfast in bed (can't say I'm not going to miss that!) and anything else I need. I don't know what a girl would do without her mother!

My first day to go at it alone is Tuesday, so be thinking about me! I am not to pick up Gavin for 5 more weeks and that is making things VERY hard on both of us. Tears have been shed from the 2 of us on numerous occasions. It is so hard not being able to carry around my baby boy. :(

Pictures of Gavin the Dinosaur soon to come!


ISN'T SHE BEAUTIFUL??? She looks like a little porcelain doll. She has her Momma's long fingers. That is for sure! Being cuddled in Nana's arms.
She looks so much like Gavin did at this age in this picture.