2 Months Old

Well it's hard to believe 2 months have gone by and I'm sure I'll say that every month.  Miss Tessa has graciously marked her 2 month birthday with sleeping through the night!  Woohoo!  She has been doing great sleeping and giving me a consistent 5-7 hour stretch at night but the last two nights I have put her to sleep around 10 or 10:30 and she has slept until 6 or 7...it's incredible!  We moved her to the office attached to our room 3 nights ago and she did well but I was up many times on binky patrol so we moved her back to the side of my bed.  The last two nights, however, she hasn't made one peep so she might be venturing back to the office..we shall see.  The office is going to be her home until I'm confident she can sleep in her crib without waking Riley up...that might be sooner than I was ever thinking but we'll see!

Tessa has just made our family overflow with love.  She is such a joy and is giving some huge smiles that just make your day.  She's starting to talk a lot and I always tell her if she talks as much as her big sis we are in trouble!  Poor Jason...three girls who like to talk a lot and of all things talk about feelings..hehe!

Tessa is doing great eating...so far I haven't had to supplement at all.  She's eating 6 times a day usually every 3 hours and the times vary on when she woke up that morning.  She's also eating faster sometimes which is so nice and when she does she only takes 20 minutes...what a difference that makes!

Tessa still doesn't like gas...but really who does?  That seems to be the only source of her discomfort so I still give her massages and that really helps.  I can tell though it's starting to bother her a little less so I'm sure her little belly is just getting better at working through all of that.

She's weighing in at 9 lbs 8 oz so she's still a little thing but considering she had a slow start she's doing great.  Riley was over 11 lbs at this point and was getting all those good baby fat rolls so I'm sure that's coming soon for my chicken legged Tessa!

She's into her 0-3 month clothes and while they are swimming on her circumference wise they are just right length wise...she's long and lean.  It's fun to get to break into all new clothes but they don't all fit her great right now..she still needs to fill them out a bit!

She's wearing a size 1 diaper and we've had very little issues with leaks and/or blow outs...just a few here and there.  Riley is still always interested in watching her diaper get changed...especially the poopy ones..not sure why the obsession!

As for the sisters things are still so wonderful!  Riley has yet to express any jealousy towards her little sister and she's so affectionate and loving towards her.  Of course she wants to be right up in her face kissing her 100% of the time and we have to try and get her to give Tessa some space but at least she's loving.  Riley still talks to Tessa about all the fun they are going to have, how they are going to be best friends, and that she will share all of her toys with her.  It's so sweet.  Riley is allowed to carry Tessa while walking if one of us is right there and she's done great..usually just going very short distances.  She loves to pop the binky in for Tessa if she's fussy and just watch her sleep in her bassinet.  When I pick Riley up from school she runs and gives me a hug and then directly sticks her head in the carrier to smooch all over Tessa!  Although we are constantly on Riley about not being right up in her face all the time it doesn't seem to bother Tessa much...I suppose it's normal to her by now and she loves to watch and listen to Riley.  She also saves up some big smiles for her big sister and those are the best!  I just love my girls!

Here they are snuggled together in my bed one morning...so sweet!

And here's the comparison...I see lots of differences in these pics!

My CGO!!!

 Time to brag on Jason again!

The military is all about awards and recognition...it's evident by the many walls we could fill with all of the accolades Jason has received!

This year, however, he was given a huge honor when he was selected as a nominee for Company Grade Officer of the Year.

 He is very modest and honestly I didn't quite understand what a big deal this was...he told me we had an awards banquet to attend but I just assumed he needed to be there for one of his troops receiving an award.  Finally after a little more info from him and a lot more info from other spouses I realized what an honor this was.

So it was time to plan our first night out with no kids...a dress had to be found, kids had to be watched, etc.  Dress shopping was not exactly what I wanted to be doing just 8 weeks postpartum but I found a dress!  Nicki watched Tessa and Riley went to her friend Ella's for a sleepover!

During the day there was a medallion ceremony that Riley was able to attend and I knew she would love to watch her Daddy get a medal so we went.

Riley screamed "Go Daddy" when he went on stage..it was so cute...especially because we were way in the back of the auditorium so everyone heard it!

 Proud of her Daddy! 

 She was in love with his medal and wanted to go on stage and pretend she got an award too so of course Jason took her up when it was all over!

 Saluting!!!

 She had so much fun up there...love her zeal for life and her love for pretend!

The afternoon was a little crazy getting the girls to their respective places and getting ready...I was exhausted before we even left but it was worth it for a night out to honor my man!

All of your girls are so proud of you Jason!!!

Happy Birthday Nicki!

 We girls love a chance to get out and celebrate and for Nicki's birthday we did just that!!!

Last year we had a wild night dancing...this year she was preggo and some of us had just had babies so we had to tame it down just a tad!!!

We planned a special surprise night out for Nicki!

This was Jason's first night with both girls and they had just switched him to nights at work so everything had to work out just right.  He had slept the afternoon, I got both girls down for naps, dinner ready, and snuck out when they were ALL asleep!

We started out at Nordstrom's in Walnut Creek and did some shopping!

 The girls are so much fun!!!

 Then we surprised Nicki with dinner at Ruth Chris...her favorite place!!!

 We had a great night celebrating such a wonderful friend...Happy Birthday Nicki!

Valentine's Day

 Riley got to celebrate Valentine's Day a few times this year and we had a lot of fun making goodies and going to parties!

Our first party was with a playgroup from church and it was at a cupcake store!

We made butterfly treats for all her friends (thanks Pinterest) and she drew on all of them and wrote her name!  I love how she's wearing her Christmas jammies all year round :)

She got dressed all cute and we put all her goodies in a basket so she could hand them out to all of her friends!

 The finished product...we had to take so many that I ended up having to write her name on the last of them...she was so over it!

 The party was chaotic, crazy, and fun!  We had the whole store to ourselves and the owner ran a special so I got a big cupcake and coffee and Riley got a mini cupcake...it was just right!

30 kids eating cupcakes and running around was the crazy and chaotic part!  Somehow Cherish was able to get them all to calm down, sit in a circle, and hand out Valentine's to each other!

 Riley's bag with all of her loot!

 Sweet Tessa...who had no idea what was going on but just sat there and looked cute!

When February 14th rolled around Riley got to have a party at school and take more treats for her friends.  This time we made little make Peeps s'mores packages...each bag had a graham cracker, a mini chocolate bar, and one peep...the perfect s'more!  Again..thanks Pinterest!

 Unfortunately this particular week things sort of went crazy for Jason at work and on Valentine's Day he had to work all day, come home a bit early, and then switch to working the night shift that night so it was not exactly ideal...but we made the best of it!

He came home in the afternoon and brought us girls some goodies and we surprised Riley with her treats from us! She got a Strawberry Shortcake video, a fun cup, a new leotard, and a pick for her guitar...and of course balloons and chocolate too!

 Here she is so surprised!

 I sure love these two!

 After all the fun Jason had to go to bed and get some sleep before he went back into work.  I didn't feel like cooking so the girls and I went to Chick-Fil-A and got dinner...we made it a fun night!

A smile is worth a thousand words!

 Tessa was starting to try and smile around 5 weeks but it wasn't until Feb 13th that I saw her first big smile and caught it on camera!  There is nothing better than a baby's smile!

 Once she started smiling she decided to practice all the time!

 Big sister smiles are awesome too!

 She looks like a doll!

 My happy girl!

Tummy Time

 Miss Tessa does pretty good for tummy time...she's had great head control from early on and we have this fun playmat that helps keep her head off the ground!

 

 She likes to check herself out in the mirror...she thinks she has the cutest friend to play with!

 Smiling at herself!

 Here's a picture of Riley on this same playmat!

 Now Riley is drawing pictures for her little sister...she leaves them right on top of her while she is swinging!

 I just adore these girls!

Our big girl!

 

Riley had her 4 year check up WAY late...we were just a little busy with a new baby and all!  

I am so grateful for healthy kiddos and try to remember just how luck we are all the time.  Riley rarely visits the doctor outside her normal well child check ups...when sickness is going around at school she never gets it, when she's played with friends and they turn up sick the next day she never gets it.  Good genes I suppose.

Nonetheless she was overdue for her checkup and for some shots...yikes!  We saw a great doctor who I really liked since her previous doctor no longer worked at the base.  He was great with her, had a good sense of humor, and checked her head to toe and said she was perfect!  She is growing just like she should..still a tall and lean girl but moving right up the growth charts.  I couldn't remember if she had to get shots before the appointment and if so how many.  Sadly she had to get FOUR shots.  Luckily Jason was able to meet us for the appointment and after so much screaming and so many tears the shots were done...it was just horrible but we all survived and I took her down to the store for a super sugary snack after all of it.

So proud of our big girl and thankful the shots are over for a while!