Two Months Old!

Our growing girl is really starting to come out of her shell and is full of smiles at two months old! She weighed in at 10lbs 4oz and 21 1/2 inches long at her check-up (which also included three shots and an oral vaccine...frown). Dr. Freeman was happy with her weight gain and she's moving up on the growth chart to a whopping 23%! We'll take it, considering she had dropped to 15% with her weight-gain issues in her first month. She's sleeping 4-6 hours at night, feeding every three hours (not a second longer!) during the day, and really starting to smile and coo like crazy. I'm trying to take in this time when she still wants to snuggle on my chest, while also trying to get her on a good sleep-schedule. When everyone says that there is a "second-child syndrome," it's really true. With the first, you follow the books and advice religiously, and with the second, you sort of just do whatever works! She's happy, growing and tolerating a sassy sister, so I couldn't be happier. Life with two is busy, but I wouldn't change it for anything!

 

 

Until next month...

 

I'm a Big Kid now!

We've been trying (as hard as you can try with a newborn!) to work on potty training with CE...can you tell she's pretty proud of her big girl "Dora Diapers," aka: Easy-ups. She does pretty well with reminders throughout the day, but may still be a while before we've tackled bedtimes and #2's!

{What We're Eating} Hawaiian Chicken

With the chaos of having a newborn and a busy toddler, I've tried some new recipes that require only throwing ingredients in a baking dish or crock pot and letting them cook. This is a spin-off of a Pinterest recipe that I've simplified. Enjoy!

Hawaiian Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can pineapple chunks in 100% juice, drained (save the juice!!)
1 bell pepper, diced (I prefer red or orange)
1/2 cup shelled edemame
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp honey
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to season

In greased baking dish, place the chicken breasts.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder then add diced peppers and pineapple chunks over top of chicken. Whisk together BBQ sauce, pineapple juice, soy sauce, and honey then pour over top of the chicken, peppers and pineapple. Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes or until juices run clear. Serve with brown rice.
Like it spicy? Add 2 tsp of Siracha to sauce mixture and get your sweat on!

Numero Uno

Paige is one month old! She has finally gained some weight (we struggled to get out of the 5lb range for a few weeks) and is weighing in at 7lbs 6oz (20%) and 20 inches long. She is a good eater, sleeper and an overall happy baby just like her sister was. The only difference we see so far is that Paige is a bit noisier...doesn't take much considering CE was the quietest baby ever! We are thankful that she is gaining weight, her jaundice has finally gone completely away, giving smiles here and there, and is absolutely adored by her big sister. Not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but the "Paigey-pie" nickname is here to stay in Claire's book! Sorry, girlfriend...

Paigey-pie

A few photos of our newest Kruse that I took while we were in the hospital...she looks a lot like her sister, only smaller and with darker hair. She has her daddy's button nose and she's an absolute blessing for our family! We love you and can't wait to see what your future holds, Paige Abigail!

 

 

Paige Abigail

Our sweet miracle was born on October 17 at 6:03pm (weird that Claire was also born on a Wednesday at 6pm, right?!!). She weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. Labor and delivery brought some unexpected twists and turns, mostly epidural related, but she was delivered in only two pushes once I dilated from 4cm to 10 in just 30 minutes! Recovery after a second baby has already been much quicker...although also a necessity when chasing around a sassy big sister! Paige is working on gaining weight (she was 5lbs 15oz at our weight check last Thursday), so we're hoping to be back up to birth weight by our next check on Wednesday. Claire is adjusting well and finally wanting to hold, burp and kiss miss "Paigey-pie," as she has affectionately named her. I can't wait to see these girls grow up to be best friends. I can't imagine my life without my sister, and I'm so thankful that my girls will have that too. My cup runneth over...

3cm...pitocin is flowing!

 

 

 

Happiest day!

 

 

 

Nine Months...

Someone is ready to be a big sister...nine months and counting!

 

Claire's First Haircut

Goodbye baby mullet, hello big-girl haircut!

Prego update

As is typical with second babies, the craziness of life has sort of overtaken this pregnancy. I'm enjoying and cherishing every second, but also feel like time is flying by! The need for weekly belly photos and meticulous cleaning has gone by the wayside, and with just six or seven weeks until number two arrives, I've started to come to the realization that I need to get my act together, so as to not have a nervous breakdown when I go into labor! So, here are a few belly shots, and a blogger's pledge to myself and cyberspace to face the reality of what the next couple of months has in store for this thankful and blessed momma!

28 weeks (Chesney and McGraw concert)

31 weeks (at CE's second birthday party!)

 

32 weeks (dear friend Katie's baby shower- she's 34 weeks in this pic!)

 

 

33 weeks

 

And just for comparison, here's what I looked like at 33 weeks with Claire-bear:

 

 

Two-year Tribute

Thought I would share CE's age 2 "tribute" photo.  I created one last year for her first birthday, and I love looking back at it and remembering all of the things that she was "into!" Hoping this is a tradition I can keep up on, with all of my munchkins...because as we all know know, time flies by entirely too quickly. It's these small things that I want to cherish forever!