Polka Dots everywhere!

Taylor – 1 month old!

 

Baby Taylor (aka Taylor Grace) is doing splendid!  She turned a month old yesterday, which we just can’t believe.  At a month, she’s right at 7 pounds 1 ounce (3rd percentile – little peanut!) and is steadily gaining weight.  She is eating around 3 ounces per feeding and is nursing so well!!!  She is happy to take a bottle of pumped milk as well.  She’s eating every 3 hours during the day and after her last night feeding (between 10pm and 12pm) we’re letting her sleep as long as she will.  She consistently goes 4.5 to 5 hours between feedings at night and twice has slept 7 straight hours!!!  Last night she slept from 10pm-530am!  I’d call that sleeping thru the night!  Let’s hope its a trend!

She’s grown out of all her preemie clothes!  Newborn sizes fit her in the sleeve and pant length but swallow her in width.  Her waist is so tiny.  She is wearing mainly cloth diapers and still fits in a preemie, but is wearing some XS too.  When not in cloth, she’s wearing NB diapers and I think they’ll fit for another month at least! 

Taylor is super alert after her daytime feedings and is awake for 1-2 hours at a time.  She loves to look at our faces and is quick to respond to our voices.  She loves to be held and snuggled, to be warm, to suck on anything, to be talked/sung to, to be swaddled, to be on her belly, to take a bath, and to eat.  :)  She does not like to be wet or poopy, gassy, cold, tired, or to have shirts pulled over her head.  She’s also not a fan of the entry and exit into her carseat.  Who likes any of those things though?

 

Taylor has amazing head control and loves to be held in a sitting position.  She likes to sit in the corner of her crib and look around.  It’s so cute to watch her take it all in!  She looks side to side and up and down with great control.  She’s also able to pick her head up while on her belly.  She can look from side to side as well.  She enjoys being on her tummy and has taken a few naps like that too.  I think she’ll be a belly sleeper like her brother was.  

Speaking of her big brother… here he is!  He is a wonderful big brother.  So tender and compassionate.  He is quick to share a lap, book, hug, song, and attention with her.  He wants her with us where ever we are and he begs to hold her often.  When he holds her, he talks to her and touches her and nuzzles her.  So loving! 

      That’s all for now!!! 

my babies

Our impromptu fall family pics

 

“I thank my God every time I remember you.”

–Philippians 1:3

I am so blessed by these two!!!

  

4 weeks old

Wordless Wednesday

You’ve got the cutest little baby face… well you and your brother.

Big Brother Love

Nathan is loving being a big brother.  He, amazingly, shows no signs of jealousy, and is tickled pink to have Taylor around.  He is soooo gentle with her and talks to her in such a sweet voice.  Just this morning, I was getting ready, he was in the playroom, Taylor on my bed.  I hear him talking to her and walk in my room to find Nathan and Taylor on my bed, surrounded by a box of dinosaurs, a monster truck and 2 motorcycles.  Nathan was driving the monster truck around Taylor very gently and up over her head (in the air) and telling her that when she got bigger he would let her drive his blue monster truck.  Then he laid down in front of her, nose to nose, and talked to her.  I cried happy tears… thankful tears.  Thankful for so much love in such a little body.  Thankful that the Lord has handcrafted Nathan with abounding energy and tenderness.  You’re such a good big brother little man!!!

The new Saturday morning routine

Nathan or Taylor?

 

Which kiddo is which?

Sleep. Priceless.

Taylor – 3 weeks old

 

Taylor is doing great!  She’s gained almost a pound since birth and is weighing in a 6 pounds 10 ounces!!!!!  She’s still nursing like a champ and eats every 3 hrs during the day, and 4-5 during the night.  Thank you Taylor!  She is still a tiny little thing with the world’s smallest butt… okay, maybe not the world’s smallest, but it’s pretty dang tiny!  Her eyes could still change but they appear to be blue!  She’s awake after most feedings and loves to watch us up close.  She’s quite social and enjoys being talked to.  This little girl LOVES to be held and just can’t get enough snuggling!  She’s still sleeping in her Moses Basket at night, but we’re hoping that soon she’ll be in her crib and we will be in our bed (instead of on the couch).

You’ve gotta love this crazy outfit.  It was laundry day, so the trim diapers were in the dryer, leaving us with the huge ones.  Her clothes were in the wash, so I broke out the baby legs (thank you Annmarie) and this cute onesie, and we called it an outfit!    She’s cute any way she’s dressed!

Look below!

I've been adding updates and posting them on the date they happened (ex. one week photos on 10/21) to help us keep track of things since this is our online memory book. Be sure to scroll down and look at older posts to see the "latest" updates. Eventually we'll get caught up, but until then, be sure to check the older posts. :)

Wordless Wednesday

 

Tummy time with the fluff.

 

Taylor LOVES to be on her belly!!!  She spends a lot of time here on her belly, snuggling with the cloth diaper fluff, basking in the sunshine from the window.  Nathan likes to pull up a chair and stand on it and talk to her.  So sweet!

Happy Halloween!!!

This Halloween was so much fun!  Of course we took a trip to the pumpkin patch and Nathan loved all the bumpy pumpkins.   He had to test his strength and try to pick up every pumpkin… testosterone at its finest.  :)

The next day, we carved the pumpkins and Nathan drew on his.  He and Chad carved a happy pumpkin which I hate I didn’t get a picture of, and Nathan and I carved a pumpkin for Taylor.  Nathan loved scooping out the yuckies inside!  Bailey kept trying to eat them!

 

Well, in 2008 we started a tradition… on our kiddo’s first Halloween, we carve a pumpkin for them.  Not just in their honor, but to actually place them in! :)  Hee Hee!  Nathan was not a big fan of this at all, but gradually warmed up to the idea… at least for the sake of a photo. 

      

This year, it was Taylor’s turn.  Much smaller, younger, and less opinionated, her photo shoot in the pumpkin went much more smoothly.

Precious… simply precious!  Thank you BumGenius for making an orange diaper too! 

We asked Nathan if he wanted to get in the pumpkin and he quickly told us he was too big.  Just for fun, I urged him to give it a try.  He was right, and indeed was toooooo big.   :)

  Halloween night we got the kiddos dressed and ready for a cul-de-sac potluck/trick or treating/hanging out with the cul-de-sac family.  Nathan was spiderman… and a cute one at that.  The funny thing is that he hasn’t ever seen the cartoon spiderman.  We call my dad “spiderman” because he always knocks down the spider webs on the dock in the mornings at their lake house.  Nathan wanted to be like PaPa and be spiderman.

Taylor was happy to be snuggled into a fleece ladybug costume, which was way way way too big, but super cute nonetheless!  Plus it kept her warm all night long!

We had a blast hanging with our neighborhood family and those who came to the potluck.  The kids had a blast trick or treating together too… The fun ended for Nathan, who got really scared of some of the decorations, about 3/4 of the way through the neighborhood, but he enjoyed being a snuggly spiderman the rest of the night.  I wish I’d gotten more pictures of the 7 families celebrating life together in the center of our culdesac.  More food than you can imagine, a fire pit, everyone sitting around in beach chairs, the table of 7 candy bowls – the candy buffet, everyone’s pumpkins, the fun, the fellowship, the friendships… such a blessing!  This is a tradition for us now, it’s how we spend Halloween… long into the night… enjoying our neighbors and the fun that getting together brings.

   Izzy, Taylor, Alaina, Piper, Nathan… 5 of the 19 kids in the culdesac.  Next year, I’ll definitely get a group shot of everyone!

Happy fall!!!

Daddy’s teeny tiny girl

We still find that Taylor Grace’s clothes swallow her!  She’s long for a preemie, but so thin as can be!  Don’t get me wrong, she’s healthy, gaining weight well, and getting bigger, she’s just really lean.  This is one of her new outfits (that I tried and tried to shrink) and even though it’s huge on her, the length in sleeves and pants is right.  She’s so sweet!  Nathan really liked this outfit because it is purple and that’s his favorite color!

  

Her carseat is another thing that swallows her up!  It’s hard to tell from this picture, but she looks so tiny in it!  The chest clip is wider than her head, not to mention her chest.  The bottom buckle is so wide between her tiny legs.  Thankfully it has great built in support (plus a little pink extra cushion), that keeps her snuggly and safe. :)