Happy Holidays 2013

Sending you all our love this holiday season. We are thankful for the family and friends that live nearby and miss all of you who live far away!

Josie 2 months

With the busyness of the end of the semester and the holidays I'm a little late doing Josie's 2-month update, but here it is. Of course the main thing is just how much bigger she's gotten. At her doctor's appointment on the 17th she was 13 lb 10 oz (92nd %) and 23.5" long (89th %). I love how chubby and squeezable she is! In case it's not obvious, she eats well. She is a very good sleeper, usually waking up only 1-2 times between going to bed around 8 pm and getting up between 5-6 am. We are lucky! She prefers to nap during the day while one of us is holding her. She will sometimes nap in the baby wrap or Bjorn too. She's much more alert this month and enjoys looking at toys and watching us (especially Oli). She was not a fan of being bathed early on but thankfully doesn't mind it anymore. She has been smiling a lot and even laughing a little. Baby smiles and laughs are the best! (In the photo below the pink bandaids are from her 2-month shots. She, of course, cried but seemed fine the rest of the day so we were happy about that!).

And some more photos from this month. Love this little one!

Oliver 2 1/4

What can I say about this toddler? He is such a great kid! His speech is pretty adult-like these days, he loves music and likes to sing, loves reading, and is developing his sweet tooth. Of course I'd be lying if I said living with a 2-year old was all sunshine and rainbows. He has his frustrating moments (e.g., doesn't want to get dressed or have his diaper changed, says something we don't understand, etc.) but the highs outshine the lows for sure. He's been spending a lot of time doing things with Chris while I have been home with Josie. I miss him but know the two of them have fun on their adventures. I got to take him to his swimming lessons the last few weeks and we had a blast. Here are some photos from the last month or so.

siblings

I love seeing these two together. Makes me so happy. And because I couldn't choose a favorite, six very similar pictures of sibling togetherness. Which one is your favorite?

Josie 1 month

It's both hard to believe Josie has been with us one month and hard to remember what it felt like to not have her here. This family of 4 thing is going to take some adjusting but so far it's going pretty well.

She has grown so much and so quickly that it's incredible. Oli stayed little for quite awhile so I wasn't prepared for her to get so big so fast. A few days after she turned one month, she weighed in at 10 lbs 10 oz, nearly 4 pounds above her birth weight! Oli wasn't this size until he was 3 months old! Needless to say, she's a good eater.

We are also lucky that so far she is a pretty good sleeper (another way she is different from Oli). She is usually up 1-3 times at night and takes at least one long nap and several shorter naps during the day. She has her rough nights too where she's up a bunch but so far these have not been the norm. Yay for sleep!

In the last week or so she has spent more awake alert time and is now able to focus her eyes and look at us and other things. Oli likes to look at her, and has recently wanted to hold her. She seems to like watching him and listening to his voice. 

Her eyes are looking pretty blue these days and she's balding. She still has a long tuft on top that sticks up and it's long in back too (hello baby mullet). Her cheeks have definitely gotten chubbier too. We sure love this little one! Below are some photos of her from about 2 weeks to one month.

Josephine

We welcomed our daughter, Josephine Scout Ayres Bock, into the world on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 11:40 pm after a quick but intense labor of just over 3 hours. She weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 18.7" long. We love her already!

Oli has been doing well despite all of the change. He calls her "baby Josie" and reminds himself to be "gentle" with her. Too cute.

proud big brother

It's hard to believe she's 11 days old already. The past week and a half have been pretty exhausting but we're all doing well and adjusting to our new family of 4. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel complete.

Dear baby

Dear baby aka #2,

I have now been pregnant for 41 weeks and 3 days. Because it's not unusual to give birth 2-3 weeks early, that means we've been expecting you "any day now" for about a month! In that time, the leaves have turned and are starting to fall and the weather has turned cool and crisp. I was just telling your dad today that it's been a little nuts to be on high alert for so long, wondering if each day is the day or just another day. While it is nerve wracking, I've also found that it feels a little like each day is the last day. Last day to...
... go out to eat relatively easily.
... go out anywhere relatively easily.
... take a long bath with Oli.
... lounge on the couch and watch TV with your dad after Oli falls asleep.
... get a (nearly) full night's sleep.
It's been good to just live life a little slower for awhile. But, we are getting increasingly anxious and excited to meet you. Any day now would be great!

xoxo, Mom