The Boy who turned Two.

It's sad to me that blogging has fallen so far down on my priorities list, but thats just how life goes sometimes when you have two kiddos that need you. Plus I have been trying to devote a little more time to my body these days, and make it healthier so thats where a lot of my "spare time" goes to theses days.

But this post isn't about me this post is going to be about my Mr.Magoo! You see he turned TWO!

I really love my Magoo, he has adjusted amazingly well to having a new sibling, having to share my time and attention with her, and he has always been really gentle to our sweet little Stitch. He certainly has his moments where he lashes out at me or Jared, but never at Stitch luckily.

Magoo is my little helper/shadow and loves to be where I am... at all times. He gives lots of kisses and is into looonnnngggggg kisses these days, he will even hold my face with his hands in hopes to hold me in his kiss a little longer... haha. Must of got that off one of those movies I let him watch... hmmm.

Magoo loves the outdoors, and has definitely been feeling cooped up since Stitch arrived and since the cold rolled in. I have no problem taking Magoo out in the cold, but Stitch is just so little still, her snowsuit is still a little too big. And Jared is only home in the evenings and on Sunday's since school started and so I am having a hard time finding time to get Magoo outside just to play. One day I took him out while Stitch was napping, but only just in front of our door so I could check on Stitch, and she only let us play for 20 min before she needed us. But that is life right now. I hope that he always loves the outdoors.

Magoo's Birthday was on Wednesday, and on Tuesday night I decorated the house with streamers and balloons and a Birthday banner for him to wake up to. And just as I expected he loved it and was pretty wound up all day. I had a little party for him with a few friends. We colored Thank You/ Treat bags, played with some foam blocks, ate cupcakes, opened presents, and visited. The Mom's came too. I think it went ok. I wish I would have thought to do a singing game or something during the bit of nothing space that occurred. But really for being the host to my first kids birthday I would say it went just fine.

Jared surprised us all and came home a little early. it was so nice. He played with Kasper and his new birthday toys. I made Lasagna Roll Ups for dinner and had the Missionaries come as well. They had to leave quickly after dinner, so I gave them each a cupcake for the road. Then Jared and I sang a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday... haha, and Magoo successfully blew out the candles on his angel food cake the first time! And with such an exciting day he went to bed really well!

 (this would be his first non-family member girl kiss. And she fully participated, and there were more that followed...)

He is a pretty Stellar Boy and Brother and I think it's fairly safe to say that the three of us absolutely love him to pieces!

 Happy Birthday Magoo!

One, Two, Buckle my shoe.

Our little Stitch hit two months on Halloween, don't expect costume pictures though, we didn't even buy costumes for our kids this year never mind go out trick-or-treating. They are too young to even know they are missing out, it's cold out these nights, plus who needs all that candy? Perhaps next year we will. I didn't even hand out candy, haha.

Stitch also happened to get her first round of immunizations on that day and she did great, of course she cried and it broke my heart, but she recovered quickly. Luckily Jared was able to take a break in his studies to watch Magoo so I didn't have to bring him along.

 This little girl of ours is so strong. She loves her tummy time, and if she could just figure out how to get her belly off the ground I am positive she would be crawling, and honestly I don't mind it when my kids become mobile, my house is already "baby proofed" so I'm ready when ever she is, no rush though. She is starting to spin on her tummy and I sometimes find her facing a different direction then where I positioned her.

She also loves to stand and practice walking, whenever I am holding her so she can stand it will seem as if her legs are getting tired and she will start to squat/sit and then all of the sudden she shoots herself backup to standing, sometimes even making a little grunting sound because of the effort.

Stitch is a great sleeper, especially in the morning. Sometimes I get the feeling she is going to be my child that will be the hardest to wake up to get her out the door for seminary/school.  But don't think I am sleeping in while she does, Magoo is a morning person and so he makes sure I am being productive while she sleeps. (And boy have I been productive these days, thats to come in my next post).

She also sleeps with her mouth open pretty much all the time (she gets that from her Daddy). During the afternoon she usually sleeps right next to me, I "wear her" in a baby wrap. She sleeps best there and I can get quite a bit done without worrying if Magoo is trying to give her kisses and sharing toys while she is trying to sleep, he's a good brother.

At night she will normally start off in her own little bassinet (it also happens to be attached to the side of our bed) but by her first feeding she is in the bed, and we often end up cosleeping. And to be honest I don't think there is anything wrong with cosleeping. We are all happier in the day, and it's not like she will sleep with us forever.

Her Two Month Stats:

Height: 23 inches, 50-75 percentile

Weight: 11 pounds 13 ounces, 50-65 percentile

She loves bath time, hates her carseat, and is so patient with her brother. When she's awake she's super alert and loves to give me lots of smile. And I know she's very close to laughing already, I've gotten a weak giggle or two out of her the other day. She loves her daddy, and is best buds with her Mom. We definitely love this little stitch of ours! 

A Blessed Weekend

Last weekend was pretty awesome. I had been looking forward to it since we had Stitch. And now that it's passed it went way too quickly. We had family come to visit us for Stitch's Blessing. And it was so nice to have them here if only for a couple days. But I seriously miss them already and am trying not to count down the days till we are back in Alberta, for Christmas.

*warning: pictures overload. Some have been on Instagram and FaceBook, so some of you may recognize some of the pictures.

My parents and sister Arrived in town on Friday night. We kept Magoo up just to see them.

Saturday Morning we headed to the park. It was pretty darn cold out, but this was definitely one of my most favourite activities of the weekend.

 I love how my parents are so willing to play and have fun!

My Mom didn't think I could do the monkey chain things. I could, with a baby wrapped to my body. Booya.

 

Playing in the leaves and going shopping was our afternoon activity.

Dinner at AppleBees. Not the best restaurant in my opinion, but they had no wait and are super kid friendly. So they win.

Aunt Em's whipped up some super tasty and lovely cupcakes for Sunday. 

And Jared's sister Melissa and her husband got into town on Saturday night. Once again Magoo stayed up way past his bedtime...

Sunday morning getting ready.

Arriving at the church. I was SUPER tired. and had gotten very little sleep all weekend. 

I got little Stitch ready at the church so there would be less of a chance of her getting dirty before the blessing. 

     

 I absolutely love her dress. My Mom found in in Utah while she was there this summer.

It was kind of a neat feeling as I got her ready to be blessed by her Father. I felt privileged to be her Mom, truly I am blessed to have her. I am so grateful for the spirit she brings into our home, she is such a happy girl, always full of smiles. Jared gave her a beautiful blessing. She will be a great example to those around her as she grows. We love you so much Stitch!

Six Weeks Young

Well I thought I better get this post up since we are past the six week mark with Stitch and inching closer to the seven week mark!

Stitch's Stats at Six Weeks:

Head Circumference: 38.5 inches

Length: 23.5 inches (97 percentile)

Weight: 10 pounds 8.5 ounces (50 percentile)

 (courtesy of her Aunt Em's)

Stitch is a pretty happy girl. She always seems to have a smile on. She is starting to get a little fussier in day and really likes to be held while she sleeps. But I usually just wrap her to me when I'm trying to get stuff done and that solves that problem.

One BIG thing she started doing just this weekend was rolling from tummy to back! That is something babies start doing around 3 plus months! And she has done it 10 plus times since the first time so it isn't some sort of fluke. She has always been really strong. She's always loved standing (with support of course) and I wouldn't be surprised if she hits many milestones early.

Jared doesn't like her moving so fast, but I am torn. I kinda like it in some ways. I love little babies, but it is hard having someone be so completely dependent on you.

And if you are wondering on what ever happened to Magoo when it comes to posts on the blog, well he's around. He will be TWO next month! So you can expect a big post about him coming soon. He really is such a good boy and loves his little sister. He is always very gentle and nice and I am very grateful that I have been blessed with that. Of course he has things that test me, but non that involve his sister, thank goodness! If anything is overdone it's the kisses and being right in her face trying to give them to her, that or butterfly kisses (you know blinking eyelashes together) he thinks its hilarious.

Stay tuned, next post will be all about Stitch on her Blessing Day.

Sibling Comparison.

Thought it would be fun to do a little comparison between Magoo and Stitch. We have been told lots that Stitch is Magoo's double. I do see some similarities, but I also see alot different. Personally I think she looks more like me and Magoo definitely looks more like Jared. But I'll let you decide for your self.

(For all the pictures to come Magoo will be first and Stitch second)

 hours old: eyes open

 hours old: eyes closed

 about 1 week old:

 

a couple weeks old:

Man, Magoo had tons of hair. And stitch has more than it seems, it just is all in the back. ha. 

Heres some differences I've noticed so far.

1. Magoo was an intense cluster feeder, sometimes I would sit there for 2 hours going back and forth trying to satisfy his hunger. Stitch is sometimes good after one side and then will sleep for a couple hours.

2. Magoo cried more, Stitch rarely cries and is pretty easy to calm down.

3. Magoo took to a soother really quickly, Stitch will take one on rare occasions.

4. Magoo is a boy. Stitch is a girl. haha.

5. Stitch has the "Van Bruggen" droopy eye. Magoo doesn't

(See picture below. I took this the other morning. When I'm really tired my one eye is a lot more closed than the other, naturally. My Mom's eyes do the same thing. This is the droopy eye)

6. Overall Stitch is a much more content baby than Magoo was. Hopefully it lasts.

7. Stitch has always loved the bath, even the first bath (at home) was a hit. Magoo took some getting used to the bath before he really enjoyed it. 

8. Magoo rarely puked after feedings. Stitch often pukes, well I guess spits up milk when she burps. 

9. Stitch poos ALOT. I don't honestly remember how much Magoo poo'ed as a baby, but I swear it wasn't this much. She is a super pooper! 

One day she'll really love that last point being all over the internet...

I think that being a second time Mom has it's perks. I am a million times more laid back this time around and it makes such a difference. I think it even effects my milk supply in a positive way. Perhaps thats why Stitch pukes and poops as much as she does, cause I got more than she needs. 

The one thing I can't really compare with my two babies is the love I feel for them. I feel the same intense amount of love for each of them. It is a feeling I cannot put into words. It amazes me. 

One of the best parts about it all is that I better understand the love my own parents have for me, my childhood, my parents strengths and weaknesses, and their relationships with each of their children. And my respect and appreciation has grown for them. So thanks Mom and Dad, I think we'll keep ya around. haha.

I am trying to wrangle up some baby pictures of Jared and I hopefully next post will be a family comparison. Stay tuned!