Sunday, April 17, 2011

Big brother update

--Favorite things: He loves cars right now; it is probably his most-used word!  He points them out everywhere we go, and especially loves to watch the garbage truck as it comes by our place a few times a week.   Elmo is still big and he has to listen to his Elmo songs at least once a day. Other favorite songs: Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider (it is so cute to watch him try and do the hand motions), Old McDonald, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (he tries to do the motions to this as well).   We have a crucifix hanging above his crib and randomly throughout the day he drags us into his room to see "Jesus".  So cute!  I think I'll have to get him a plastic crucifix to play with :)

--His vocabulary is growing and it is nice to be able to communicate with him more.  He is starting to tell us what he wants with words instead of pointing and grunting.  Words he uses regularly:

dada, mama, Mary, ball (ba), bubbles, Jesus, car, no, hair, head, eyes, nose, knee, one, teeth, hi, bye, juice, horse (weese), cheese, dog (da), banana (nana), cracker, Nerds (the candy), balloon (boon), light, belly button (bee-bo), Elmo (ma-mo), shoes, bear, tree, bird, ear, baby, bees, keys, boat, waffle, water, flower (fower), out, moon, milk , color, block, bug, uh-oh and ew (don't know if the last two are words, but he uses them correctly)

--I think he is starting to develop empathy.  Sometimes when Mary is upset he pats her and says "Mary" over and over with a sympathetic tone.  This would be consistent with a major milestone of this age-- the development of a sense of "self", and the realization that others are distinct beings.  Or he could just be imitating :)

--Mealtime is hit or miss.  I know that toddlers can be picky, but it can be so frustrating when he eats something really well one night and won't touch it the next.  I feel like we have to serve him several items at each meal just to get him to eat something.  Hopefully things will get better when he is older, and he will actually enjoy eating :)

Here are some pics from the last few months:

Playdate at the Little Gym


7 Acre Wood Petting Zoo and Farm





 Ash Wednesday


St. Patty's Day!

We were letting him run around the tennis courts and he climbed up on the bench and fell between it and the fence.  He wasn't as distressed as it might seem by the look on his face; he was actually laughing!!






Friday, April 15, 2011

Family visit

My parents and sister came down to visit over spring break and meet the new addition.  It was great to see them, and little Alex loved having some new playmates to drag around :) Here are a few pics:

Playing at the newly-remodeled play area in the Woodlands Mall




 Carousel ride with Grandpa.  He was too scared to sit on one of the horses :(

 Waterway Taxi boat ride



Proud aunt with niece and nephew

 Naptime

 Grandparents with new granddaughter!



                              

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Alive in Christ!

We celebrated Mary Clare's Baptism on April 3rd at our parish, St. Edward Catholic Church.  It is so beautiful to watch your child being baptized, and to think of all the wonderful blessings God has in store for her, and that the graces she receives (in baptism and through future sacraments) will help her in her faith journey.  It was a beautiful day, and we thank her Godparents (Domenic and Nicole) for being there with us! We know they will pray for her always.  Here are some pics:

 Smiling!


 Isn't her dress beautiful?  It's been in the family for 50 years!  And I love the bonnet!


Kisses for little sister on her special day...



"I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"


Us holding the candle and promising to keep the light of Christ burning in her heart.


 Us with Father Joe...


 And a group pic :)

Godparents Domenic and Nicole.  They are getting married in 3 months!


The Lynch men (and St. Joseph and baby Jesus)

 Me and baby girl

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Mary at 6 weeks

Here are some pics of baby girl at 6 weeks.  Oh, how we love her!  She has a much more mellow disposition than little Alex did at this age (she usually calms down immediately when picked up, after a few weak little cries that just melt my heart), AND she is an excellent sleeper (she has slept 7 hours straight on several occasions).  This makes for a very happy mommy and daddy.  We have never had any bouts of inconsolable crying like we had with little Alex, and we are hoping it stays that way when she won't have 24/7 access to the breast when I have to go back to work.

Speaking of nursing, Mary has not been on formula since she was about 3 weeks old!  Yay!  We started supplementing in the hospital because they thought she had a poor suck, and it was hard to keep track of wet diapers since she was on an IV for the first 48 hours of her life.  I still gave her some formula once we got home, but even then it was only 2 oz/day at most.  I eventually got to the point where I just gave her expressed breast milk after she nursed and stopped the formula altogether.  Now I am only pumping a few times a day (enough so that I always have a bottle in the fridge if I need to run an errand or take little Alex to an activity) AND I already have a nice little freezer stash!  After the breastfeeding problems I had with little Alex, I am thrilled to be providing all the nourishment my baby needs!

Little Alex has been great with her, although I am still a bit nervous that he doesn't quite understand the concept of "gentle".  He loves to point out body parts, and sometimes not just on himself, so he will poke her in the eye sometimes when attempting to point it out to us.   He gives her lots of kisses and loves to imitate what we do with her.  I have a pic below of him and his "baby" in the bouncer. I can't wait to watch them grow up together!


On the way to Old Town Spring with my parents.  Love her face!


 Tummy time!

 I love this picture.  It looks like she is staring right at him :)


Her favorite place to sleep...


My baby in the wrap.  Just like little Alex did, she falls asleep right when I put her in.  One of my most favorite baby items!

 Milk tongue

  I can't believe there are four of us now!!


Baby Elmo getting some TLC from his "mommy"