4 Weeks Old

Well, Today Chloe is officially 4 weeks old. We're still trying to figure out our routine but it's coming along. Sad, I know, but we're getting there. I'm so glad we travelled most of California to see our families while she was still little, but I think it definitely meant some time lost in the routine department. We're just now really learning her cues for sleep, gas, hunger, etc. I've also learned that despite the fact that she would rather be up partying, she loves a good nap between 8 and 10 am. Huge time gap, I know., but no matter what time I put her down, she's slept until about 1 PM! (just my luck that today she wakes up at 8:45; I should learn to never brag). She's still up by 5:30 am for good EVERY day... Oh well, I used to get up for work way before then. I should consider it sleeping in. But back then, I wasn't up every 3 hours for 1.5+ hours at a time at night! :)


She is soooo worth it, however. I love to see her stretch when she wakes up from her naps. She's definitely started making more noises and loves to go get the mail with me in her Baby Bjorn.



In not so fabulous news, it appears something has been giving Chloe a good amount of gas lately. I just tried the Mylicon drops last night after about 1.5 hours of her being fussy, but I'm not sure if they worked or she eventually just wore herself out. Either way she finally went to sleep. I'm not sure if it's something I've been eating, the formula or if it's just from sucking in too much air when she eats. Hopefully we'll figure it out soon. Makes me wonder if her baby acne is from a food sensitivity also...it gets so red sometimes! Poor baby.





Anyway - Enough blabbering. Here are some pics. And another video.

Please note her new Aden & Anais Swaddle blanket (she has 4!) She was getting way too hot in her other blankets and I've heard great things about them. They are SO soft. I'll let you know how they actually work for us...http://www.adenandanais.com/muslin-wraps.html

I know I'm Cute!

...Its just too bad I don't sleep!!







Have a good weekend!

Dear Time: Please Slow DOWN!

Chloe is officially 3 weeks old today!
Time has flown by so fast. She's already 8 lbs 3 oz!! I can't believe it. I had them re-weigh her twice. I just figured she'd stay around 7 lbs forever. Ok. Not forever, but at least a little longer!!

I've loved the last 3 weeks. It has gone by way too fast. I love that she's becoming more aware of Chris and I. She has always been really alert, but now she's focusing in on us. I can't help but just stare at her and kiss her over and over. I just wish I could make time slow down.

Well... she's waking up from her nap so I'll leave you with some pictures and a video to hold you over!

So much to say...

That's right. My baby wears her trousers up to her neck. Mhmm. Ok. So the 0-3 size is still swimming on her... I can't wait for this outfit to fit her! OK...the truth is I can wait. I love how little she is still!!

In devastatingly sad news, Chris went back to work today. Not only am I lost without the extra set of hands, but I really miss him. We haven't spent that much time together since our honeymoon! Miss you Monkey! Look how freakin' cute he is. What a good sport.

Some pics from our fabulous trip to the OC!

Chloe got to meet her ridiculously cute cousin (who should seriously be a baby model), her aunt Tracee and Uncle Chris and even her great aunt Suzy!! I'm so glad we made the trip down. It was so worth the friday traffic to get there. We even got to have lunch with Chris' cousin Neil and his wife, Misa. Not to mention I got to wander around Fashion Island for a little. It has changed from my Balboa Island days, that's for sure! The Santa Maria mall leaves a LOT to be desired!

Sorry the video is sideways; the important thing is that somehow we lucked out and caught our baby girl sneezing. Make sure you have the sound on; her noise afterwards is so dang cute! (proud parent perhaps? Geez.)

*During this blog posting, I would like you to know that Chloe had a major blowout. Yes. That is right. Too much information for you? I think not. Luckily Chris had arrived home for lunch JUST in time to lend a helping hand. Thank goodness. It should have been a 3 person job considering she got a second wind AS we were changing her diaper. Yes. I want to blog about this so we never forget; well at least so we can use it to make her feel guilty when we get older and need her to take care of US!!

*our little poopy pants princess*

On the ROAD again...

Well, we're off on another road trip this weekend... this time it is down South to Orange County. I can't wait for Chloe to meet her big (as in one year old) cousin Ashley, and her Aunt Tracee and hopefully even her great aunt Suzy! I'm sure grandma Lynn will even make an appearance :)

In any case, I'll update when we get back into town!

2 Weeks Old! (Late, I know!!)

It's hard to find time to update this darn thing when you have a newborn!

Yesterday was Chloe's 2 week birthday. She is becoming such a big girl now. She's much more interested in the world around her, and I even got her under her little play gym today for some fun! (That lasted only about 10 minutes, but I'm sure she'll grow to love it!)

The last 2 weeks have been amazing. She's such an easygoing baby (knock on wood). She wakes a couple times a night to feed and still hardly cries at all, unless you're trying to update her blog of course. Then she decides to cry.

Gotta Run!!

Mini Photo Shoot...

We're back home now and had a great getaway weekend. Chloe met her great grandma, her grandma Laura and Grandpa Dave, her uncle Jeff, Aunt Jennell and her cousin Kailynn! We had an exhausting and busy weekend... but lots of fun.
Please enjoy the pictures from the mini photo shoot that Grandma Laura and I had with Chloe yesterday. She was such a good sport!

Pictures

Some pictures from the last few days...

Ken met Chloe for the first time, we wish Sandy could have been here to meet her also!

Chloe is learning to love her baths, but she loves getting them over with even more...

Some Quality Father/Daughter bonding time... I love these moments!

And Lastly, the gown you'll probably never see in pictures again due to an unfortunate blowout that couldn't be fixed no matter how many stain removers I tried...

Road Trip!

Don't worry - we haven't fallen off the face of the earth. In fact, we decided to take a little road trip to grandma and grandpa Johnsons house to visit for a few days since they were only going to be able to come meet Chloe for a day and we can stay FOREVER! Just kidding, Dave and Laura. We promise we won't stay too long. I love visiting Valley Springs, it's so calming!! I promise to post pictures of our adventures soon!

Week 1 Recap.

Well, the first week really was an experience! I couldn't help but think over and over to myself that I'd be scared out of my mind if this was my first time around a baby! Thankfully, I got a good taste of the baby life when my niece Taylor was younger. Although, I have to admit, things are much scarier when they're you're baby vs. someone elses. I always felt confident driving Taylor around, helping her when she'd swallow her bottle too fast, etc. But when it comes to my own kid, it seems so different! I know I'm capable, but not having the security blanket of her real parents makes it ... well... real. Make sense?

I've also learned that just like having a well thought out birth plan (which I didn't have because I know they always go the opposite way when you have one), the ideas and beliefs you have about bringing home a baby soon go out the window and you do whatever you have to in order to get through.

Things that I thought I Wouldn't Do:
1. Give Formula. (She's only had a couple ounces and that was days ago now, I'm proud to say!)
2. Give a Pacifier (especially this early on!) It became a necessity, although she hasn't mastered how to keep it in her mouth. Once she falls asleep, she kicks it out and wakes herself up!
3. CO-SLEEP! I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd bring baby into bed. However, it made everything a lot easier on us not having to keep getting up to put her paci in, check to see if she's breathing, get her for feedings, etc. I will say, however, that she did sleep in her cradle last night although not nearly as well. I did enjoy being able to sprawl out last night, however, so hopefully she'll learn to self-soothe or keep her paci and she can keep up the cradle thing!

Things I've Loved:
1. The way she sleeps with her mouth open.
2. Hearing Chris talk to her.
3. Her little cooing noises.
4. Her Dimples.
5. Seeing how confident Chris has become with her. He's now the baby whisperer of the household.
6. Seeing a Poopy Diaper after 4 days without one. Go figure.
7. Watching her change. This morning she kept smiling in her sleep, a pretty new development. I'm ready for her to do it for real now!
8. Ok. I give up. I could go on forever. I love everything about her!

The Final Pieces...

Well, the final pieces have finally been added to Chloe's room. I can't believe I didn't put this in the blog earlier, but with having a newborn and all, lots of things have slipped my mind. I've been begging Grandpa Chuck to paint something for Chloe's room...I know how much the painting I have from him means to me and I wanted Chloe to have something she would always have from her grandpa (aka. the baby whisperer). I'd been saving a spot right over the crib for said artwork and when they came to visit last week, he surprised us with 2 paintings!


It means so much to me to have these; I love sitting in the glider in her room and looking at them. I can't thank you enough, dad. I hope you're enjoying your time in Hawaii, even though you have to work. At least try and work on your tan!

I love the painting below... It reminds me of the central coast. Chloe will always know how beautiful it is here, no matter where we end up! Note the moon...Grandpa Chuck has an interesting moon story from driving home from our house one time.

Happy 1 Week Birthday!!

Well, the last week has been quite eventful for our household! I've appreciated every moment with my new family and can't wait to see what the future holds!

Today I took Chloe to a breastfeeding class all on my own in San Luis Obispo. Let me tell you - driving in the car alone with baby for the first time is a SCARY hump to have to get over! I definitely like it better when Chris drives and I get to sit with her in the back seat. Despite my fears, our trip went great with the exception of me setting off my car alarm as I was running to the class (late of course)... I had no idea how to turn the stupid thing off! Oh well.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Day 6

Today is Chloe's 6th day of life!
Please enjoy some pictures from today...