Happy St. Patrick's Day! I had some fun ideas for St. Patty's day things to do with Gia, but didn't really get around to working them all out. But I did get these fun shirts made for the girls (see pic below)! Shortly after I took the pics, though, Joanna had a blow out and ruined her. Glad I took the photos as soon as I got them dressed this morning! As you may be able to tell by the light in the pictures, it is another dreary, gray, cold, ugly Indiana day. I'm getting pretty weary of this! But, there were a few days of sunshine this past week. In fact, Tuesday was so nice that we all got out to a nearby state park for some hiking and campground site scouting. Gia loved mucking around in the mud and puddles. I made a rookie mom mistake-- no change of clothing for either girl! Gia had to ride home in just her diaper, but it was 65 degrees outside and she didn't seem to mind. It was so nice to get some fresh air! Joanna experienced her first time at the Children's Museum this week, too. It was definitely tough with two kids... I feel like poor Gia didn't get to do as much there as she wanted to/normall does because I had to keep stopping to nurse Joey or change her diaper or something. Next time we go I'll definitely need a wing man to hang out with Gia when I need to tend to Joey. Also this week, Joey has gotten much better at reaching for toys and actually grabbing them for brief moments of time! She's been a bit fussy this week (and by fussy, I mean crying a little, which is more than usual but she's still such a great baby!) but I think its because she's in one of those infamous "wonder weeks" where lots of change and growth is taking place. We still don't have a great schedule, except for our nighttime routine. I'd really like to get a better routine going through out the day for her naps and stuff, but so far, no dice. We tried Gia in a big girl bed but she wasn't too thrilled so we let her get back in her crib. I'd really like to move Joey out of our room since she's sleeping 8-10 hours straight at night. But, we need the crib in order to do that! Gia's also been wanting to use the potty a lot more this week... that's a good thing except we'd finally decided to wait until we get back from a trip to Phoenix next month before we get hard core about potty boot camp. We may not have that luxury! We shall see....

This week more than any other so far, I really think Joanna looks like Gia. Not so much even in their 10 week comparisons, but as I was editing this photo I just kept thinking it was Gia! Crazy! Sean was really busy with work this week, and had a lot of meetings and extra obligations he had to tend to. We are going stir crazy with the cold weather still lingering about. How dare it stay this long into March! Hoping the next week brings some reprieve and we can finally introduce Joanna to the sun! We are trying to get Joey to take a bottle, but so far haven't had any luck. I need to try to borrow a few different types of bottles to see if there is one she prefers more but we really, really, really want her to be able to take a bottle. Gia never did, and it was quite draining. Literally for 14 months, I was the only source of milk. It got better around 8 months when she was eating enough table foods that she wasn't nursing as much but it would still be really nice to get a break every now and then. 

Joanna had her two month check up this week! She weighs 10 pounds, 3 ounces and is 23.5 inches long. Although I do think she's long, that measurement might be a little on the exaggerated side. There is one nurse at our ped's office whose measurements always seem to be a bit generous in relation to all the others'. Either way, baby is growing! And miraculously, she is still sleeping 6-8 hours at night routinely. She is starting to get a bit of a flat head in the back, though, from all that time lying down. I'm trying some new positions, like on her side, so that it doesn't get bad. We are doing a delayed vaccine schedule again with her (like we did for Gianna), so she only got the Rotavirus oral vaccine and the singular (not combo) DTaP shot. She didn't seem to have any adverse reactions to either, thankfully! Sunday was the Oscars! One of my favorite days of the year. Joanna was a great companion for watching the Red Carpet stuff.  She cooed at all the right dresses. :) Just today, Joanna seems to have discovered her hands!! She held them up in front of her face while I was changing her diaper and just stared at them as she moved them around. She still prefers sucking on her fist as opposed to a pacifier. 

This was the last week we had with my mom here. It has been so wonderful to have her with us for almost a month! Gianna has loved all the extra attention and we've loved having the extra hands. I can't beleive we didn't get a single game of Settlers in, though! Joanna is doing great! She has a bit of a diaper rash, which is so sad! Gia never had a diaper rash when she was little, but we're just keeping cream on it and trying to get it to go away. Joey is still nursing great. She had one day where she slept literally all. day. long. And that night, she was awake for several hours which was not so fun. But overall, I really cannot complain because she's been sleeping pretty great at night for the most part. I just hope she is still gaining weight as well as she has the past two weeks! We took Joey out for the first time yesterday... to (where else) Chick-Fil-A! It was about 30 degrees outside yesterday, which I realized was going to be the warmest weather all week. So I suggested we go out for one last lunch with Mom. It was nice to get out and Joey slept the whole time! I've been kinda crazy about not going out with her, but so far it has worked to keep us healthy. Indiana (and much of the country) is seeing really high rates of flu this season and I don't want to take any unnecessary chances. I am so ready for warmer weather, the end of flu season, and for Joanna to be a bit older. But for now, I'm relying on the goodness of breastmilk antibodies and leaving the rest in God's hands! (BTW, have you read up on the amazing components of breastmilk? Its absolutely fascinating.) More snow is coming our way today... oh boy. Mom has to leave tomorrow, so we will be on our own again... I'm nervous/scared/sad about mom leaving but looking forward to finding our rhythm as a family of 4. 

Our tiny sweetheart is growing! We had a weight check at the doctor on Friday, and Joanna has surpassed her birthweight! When she left the hospital, she was 6 lbs 11 oz (down from her 7 lbs 4 oz birthweight). Just a week and a half old, she weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz! They doctor and nurse were very impressed with her weight gain. Its good to know she's getting enough milk and that it seems to be doing good.  She is still sleeping pretty well... we generally get a 3 hour stretch at night, then its every two hours again after that. I don't know if its because sleep was so uncomfortable in the last trimester of my pregnancy, or because I know I can't just get in bed and sleep for hours on end, but my bed seems even more comfortable than I remember it being. A cruel joke, I say. Joanna experinced her first red carpet watching and awards show in the Golden Globes last night. I can't wait til she and Gia are old enough to stay up late with me and we can ooh-and-aaah over the gowns together! My mom is still here with us which is such a tremendous blessing. She is helping with Gia and cleaning, allowing me to rest, and its just so good to be together. We have her with us for one more week before she has to leave-- we will all be so sad to see her go! Gianna is still doing great in her new role as big sister. She's eager to help and usually asks to hold Joey a few times a day, though she doesn't like it when Joey stretches a hand toward her face and touches her. Silly girl! We're still going a bit stir crazy as its been super cold, but thankfully not in the negative degrees this week. Gia and I even go outside for a nice little walk this evening. Sean has a cold right now (hoping its nothing more than that) so he's in the guest room tonight, which means I am on my own with the babe tonight... I'm pretty nervous about it. She's been sleeping all day so we'll see what tonight holds for us.