Two Months Old

Here's a glimpse of Anna Reaghan at two months old:

weight:  11 lbs. 3 oz., 75th percentile

length:  23.5 inches, 90th percentile

head circumference:  15.5 inches, 75th percentile

• diapers:  size 1

• clothes:  the newborns are packed away (already?!) and she is in 0-3s!  We are even getting to try out some long-sleeved outfits and sweet cardigans with her dresses now that there is a touch of Fall in the air.  Some 3 months one piece outfits are barely long enough or too short--especially in the legs.
• she has not lost her newborn hair, although it is getting lighter and with reddish highlights (Asa's did the same thing).

• her happiest time is still in the morning after her first feeding, although she now usually wants to nap again about an hour later (Asa did the same thing).
• still loves to be swaddled for naps and nighttime.  I've even seen her smile a time or two at the sight of the swaddling blanket.  That's my girl!
• has made peace with the bath tub and seems to now enjoy it's warmth.
• still usually wants to go back to sleep 1-1.5 hours after waking/eating during the day.  Occasionally we get an awake stretch of 2 hours.

• naps are sometimes down to 45 min.-1 hour which I was reminded in my reading is normal for this age.  Her afternoon nap that often coincides with Asa is the best chance for an extended nap and sometimes she'll go up to 4ish hours between feedings and nap extra long.  I love extra quiet time or extra time with just Asa when that happens. :)
• eats about every 3 hours during the day, unless she's having that long nap mentioned above.
• night time is usually a 5 hour stretch at the shortest, up to a 10 hour stretch at her longest.  The average is closer seven hours between feedings for the first stretch and then about 4-5ish for the second stretch.  Woo hoo!
• we have had some nights all she has done is woken up ONCE to eat.  Those are UNBELIEVABLE.  Then we have nights with air in her tummy that are a bit more demanding. ;)
• naps have been in arms (during wonder week type behavior) or the swing.  Nighttime is in the bassinet.

• she loves the Beco Butterfly II baby carrier.  She falls asleep in it quickly.  I LOVE IT!!!
• her eyes are still blue
• unless she is overtired or hungry, she is pretty happy in the car seat (but do try to keep the car moving, please)
• fussy time has narrowed tremendously in the last month.  She's pretty content unless gas strikes usually in the 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock hour.  We often get to put her in her bed and go to bed TOGETHER ourselves.
• mylicon and gripe water are still quite helpful

• started playing with her ocean fishy playmat right around 2 months.  She just looks at the hanging toys for now, but Asa and I like to make the different parts sing and talk to her during the day.  He loves the toy VERY much. ;)
• she is a pooping champ (compared to Asa)--sorry, it has to be said. :)  Regularly 2-4 times/day.  Still blows out the back at least 1/week (that's much better than multiple times/day like she used to though!)
• smiles at us every day.  I love that she clearly recognizes Matt, Asa, and me--all three of us!
• Asa is still completely enamored with her.

• Is lifting her head up at least 45 degrees when you place her on her tummy
• had her first time in the church nursery during Bible study on Wednesday.  There are only 2 other babies, so it's a calm time to slip away.  I didn't think I'd leave her yet, but the sweet nursery ladies were so excited about having her that I decided to try it.

Five on Friday

1.  I'm so glad this was a 4 day work week :)  Hooray for the weekend arriving again already

2.  The nesting instinct is really settling in full force.  I have the urge to clean and organize EVERYTHING.

3.  I tried a Chick-fil-a banana pudding milkshake yesterday.  Two thumbs up. :)

4.  We've had a break from highs in the high 80s and have had two glorious days in the low 70s.  Loving it.

5.  I gave Asa a haircut.  His hair was way too long, so I went for the summer cut--NOT a buzz, but much more tapered to his head.  Oh my goodness he looks entirely too old.  The following picture is right after he got up, so his hair is tousled and messy.  I can hardly stand how much older he looks though--I miss his fluffy head!

Five on Friday

1.  I accomplished several pre-birth to dos this week, including some crafting

I made bloomers and 2 hairbows to match the dress I sewed earlier.  One hair clip is a polka dot bow and the other is ribbon shaped into a strawberry.

Matt hung Anna Reaghan's name letters above the crib

 

The flash kind of washed out the E and H in Reaghan, but I promise it's adorable in person! :)

And I made 2 important phone calls.  I confirmed with our pediatrician's office that Anna Reaghan can be added as a new patient.  Thankfully Asa's been so healthy, we haven't been to the office and our ped didn't know I was pregnant!  I wanted to give them a heads up. ;)  I also called the hospital to see if they prefer for patients to pre-register.  Not only was I able to pre-register over the phone (in FL, Matt & I both had to be present in person, answer a zillion questions, have photo ID and all sorts of things--this was obviously more stream-lined than that, so hopefully Matt's up for answering all those questions when I go in in labor and need to focus on slow, controlled breathing ;)), but the hospital also gives a 30% discount for pre-registering!  They ran our insurance through to give an estimate of what our responsibility for labor and delivery will be, and we got GREAT news!  Our doctor's fees meet our deductible!  Woo hoo!  We're free and clear from here on out for the rest of the year. :)  We have a small co-insurance for the hospital, but it's measly compared to Asa's birth (which was still a smaller amount than I thought it might be, and TINY compared to the portion insurance pays.... especially when you have room and board fees for a DAYS long induction).  This was very happy news to me.  We have a higher deductible here, so I don't know how it worked out that we pay less for the birth, but I'll take it!  And we have an HSA to cover the deductible/co-insurance we ARE responsible for.  I am praising God for the provision.  It was kind of scary to go into this with new insurance and hope we had interpreted and understood it all correctly.  YEA!

2.  I also received a call this morning that our new couch is in and ready for delivery!  As you might recall, when we ordered a new comfy reading chair for Asa's room, we browsed for a couch or love seat for the basement as well.  We found one we both liked, but it was on back-order.  It's in even earlier than they thought it would be!  The salesman said he though it would be mid-June before we'd get it.  Woo hoo!  Now we just need to decide if we want to hurry and get carpet ordered this weekend before we have the couch delivered (we have carpet picked out, we just need to purchase it).  Decisions, decisions. :)  I, for one, am very thankful we'll have a nice place to sit in the basement very, very soon.  Getting up and down is an increasingly cumbersome task as the weeks fly by. ;)

3.  Earlier this week I saw a listing on Craigslist for a now-discontinued Fisher-Price washer/dryer/laundry station.  My parents have one that all the grandkids love to play with.  The seller was asking only $5 and she lived less than 10 miles away!  I was so excited to receive an email reply that it was ours for the taking!  Asa is loving opening the washer compartment, putting things in the dryer compartment, and carrying the "in-ron" all around the living room.  I also think it's amusing and cute that whenever he puts something into the washer, he tells me he's "washing diapies."  Yup, we have a cloth diapered kiddo over here, all right. ;)  You see, our actual washing machine has a transparent window on top (it's an HE top loader), and he loooooves to sit on top of the washer while it fills and when it starts agitating.  He knows we wash his diapers about every other (sometimes every 3) days, so that's what gets washed most frequently and what he ASKS if we can wash several times/week. :)  The things he'd never know or say if we didn't use cloth! hehe

4.  Asa got some new shoes in the mail yesterday.  They are a brand that includes an optional squeaker.  I kind of feel like we're probably past the age of that being adorable out and about (the squeaker is supposed to encourage heel-to-toe walking as it's in the heel of the shoe), but he was HILARIOUS running around the house in them.  We had a pair back around Christmas that had squeakers, and he liked them but I'm not sure he tooooootally made the connection that he was in control of the squeak.  Does he EVER "get" it now!  He immediately starting bouncing up and down to make them squeak.  He'd start to walk and then run really fast to make them squeak more quickly.  I was cracking up and Mom could hear him squeaking all over the downstairs when we chatted on the phone.  The ones I ordered are for a few sizes from now, but I am certain he'll be thrilled when they come back out of the closet to wear all the time.  He couldn't stop grinning and giggling, and neither could I. :)

5.  We are sooo excited for a long weekend!  I can't say we have any big plans, but just knowing we have 3 days with Matt sounds WONDERFUL!  Tonight we're actually helping set up a fund-raising garage sale for a family at church.  The husband/father sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident about a year ago (visit supportjeff.com), and the garage sale is to help support the family.  It's part of a larger, huge neighborhood garage sale that I hope we can peruse tomorrow morning (it's over near the townhouse we rented).  Then Saturday afternoon Matt's helping finish and clean up the garage sale.  Sunday we'll have church.  Monday Matt has off.  The only thing I know for sure is that he'll be grilling us burgers :), and Asa and I will both LOVE having him home an extra day. :)

We hope YOU enjoy time with family this weekend and the sweet freedom that has been won for us... not only here in America, but in Christ!

Wordless Wednesday

Anna Reaghan's Room

Anna Reaghan's room is still lacking the wall art we have planned, but we finally moved the glider into her room and rearranged the furniture.  I figured enough of her room was in place that we ought to give you a sneak peek. :)

This is your view to the left as you walk through the doorway.  You are seeing the changing table immediately on your left, past that is the glider, then the new table, closet door, and the curtains we made (going counter-clockwise)

Straight in front of you as you walk through the doorway:  crib and curtains.  A bookcase will be going in the "blank" wall space between these two.

A better view of the reading/rocking/nursing area :)

Better view of the changing table wall

Standing in front of the window looking back at the doorway

This is the basket I found on clearance at JoAnn's and made a liner for which matches the curtains

Anna Reaghan's crib

Another view

Dresser drawers:  sleepers, onesies, and swaddling blankets

bibs, shoes, socks, tights, and hair bows, oh my!

A peek in Anna Reaghan's closet

Asa checking out Anna Reaghan's bed

He's dancing with her owls

Showing Anna Reaghan how to lay down in bed :)

;)

New House Pictures!

I uploaded pictures of the new house to our Shutterfly photo page.  If you've visited it in the past, it probably looks a little different now.  I made some tabs and rearranged a few things so there are sections for Asa AND Anna Reaghan now.  The house pictures are front and center on the main page though, so they are easy to find. :)

Long Weekend Rewind

We were so excited to remember Matt had Monday off!  As a teacher, I usually had President's Day off when I was working, but Matt has never had it off before.  Even though I know he's really busy at work with some deadlines and projects coming together, I think the extra family day came at a great time.  It was refreshing for me to have an extra day with him (and I KNOW Asa loved it!) before a hard core week of making deadlines this week.  It filled me up in preparation for the long hours that are likely ahead of us the next few days. :)

The weekend was not without its surprises, but we'll get to those in just a minute. ;)

Last week had some glorious days.  The highs sometimes made it out of the 30s!!!!  WOO HOOOO!  I never thought I'd be so happy to see temperatures in the 40s!  :)  Days on end of snow as far as you can see sure can change a (former Floridian's) person's perspective. ;)  In anticipation of the beautiful weather continuing through the weekend, I asked Matt about going to a park with Asa on Saturday and to some outlets on Monday.  The plan was set, and we didn't really anticipate any weather complications (yes, that's foreshadowing). :)

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a great park nearby.  It will be only 3 miles from the new house!  It has a sweet little kid playground, a GIANT amazing big kid playground, and lots of fields and trails for walking, running, and playing.  We just didn't expect the temperatures to drop and the wind to HOWL in.  Oh my!  It.was.so.cold.  Asa really enjoyed sliding on the little kid playground, but Matt and I were just about frozen stiff.  We knew he wanted to run around, so before calling it quits we walked over to see some geese and give him an opportunity to run around.  Thankfully, we went down a small hill that seemed to block much of the wind after we were on the other side!  Asa was intrigued by the geese and made lots of bird sounds at them, mostly "quacking,"... so I guess we need to work on duck vs. goose. ;)

 

  

We made our way back to the car where Asa was very, very sad to be leaving the park.  He was tired, he loves being outside, Daddy was with us.  Who would want to leave?!?  But we did, and I worked, somewhat successfully, to keep him awake on the short drive home.  I took him straight upstairs to bed when we arrived at home, and he took a short nap.  Asa had an early bedtime as result, but at least he napped enough to make it til then. ;)

On Sunday we attended Sunday school and church.  Asa's separation anxiety, particularly from me, is peaking significantly right now.  He cries if I am out of sight for even a moment, so I was concerned how dropping it off at the nursery would go.  He started to get upset, but the teachers know him well enough that they took him into the room and got him engaged with something he likes before he actually lost it.  Praise the Lord!

Monday was our other big adventure outing day.  I found out there was a Gymboree outlet not too far away, and they were having a baby sale + President's Day sale over the weekend.  We had not bought anything for Anna Reaghan, and I thought it would be fun to let Asa walk around the outlet mall and maybe find an outfit or two that we really liked.  When I checked the forecast, it started calling for several inches of snow.  I was so disappointed, but Matt said we'd go anyway and the forecast had been wrong even a day or two earlier.  Off we went.  We went to Gymboree first, and Matt almost immediately spotted an outfit he loved.  I suggested some matching hairbows, and it was a done deal. :) 

I continued to browse and found an outfit of my own choosing that I loved.  Several years ago, Gymboree had a girls' line of clothes with a goldfish theme that I thought was adorable.  I was excited to check out the outlet, because I *thought* they brought back a version of the goldfish line to sell at the outlets RIGHT NOW.  And they DID!  How sweet is that?!?

We ventured into a few other stores.  Asa loved the Carter's outlet.  He scurried this way and that, looking at this rack of clothes and that rack of clothes.  Squeezing into tiny spaces between racks like he was hiding.  It was really cute. :)  He also really liked some puzzles they had in the store... that he already has at home. ;)  We looked in more stores, ate some lunch, tried a couple more places, and then picked up a soft pretzel before heading out.  Asa tried my cinnamon and sugar pretzel, and he liked it!  I have no idea how the likely dairy ingredients will affect him today, but it was worth the special treat on our special extra day with Daddy. :)  Of course it DID start snowing while we were at the outlets.... and not just a dusting.  It was SNOWING.  It became harder and harder to see the cars on the highway running right past the outlet!

This is really just the beginning.  We have close to 6 inches now.

Matt wonderfully navigated the snowy highway--nothing was plowed yet.  Praise the Lord we got home safely AND when we did as the snow continued to pour down!  We got the most snow at once in the whole time we've lived here so far!  Matt figured the roads would be plowed by dinner time and went out to pick up a bite to eat for us to cap off the weekend, but nothing was plowed yet after all!  He ran into roads blocked by spun out cars almost every way he turned.  Thankfully when he gave up and headed home, he got behind a salt truck and made it back just fine. :)

We packed a lot into our weekend, but we had time to rest too.  I love weekends and family time! :)  And next weekend is the beginning of the big move, so it was an extra blessing to have a fun-filled weekend right now. :)