Hailey's First Smiles at Week 5 (almost) and Halloween Fun

Hailey might has had her first social smiles ever this morning. I know this because I was able to repeat getting her to smile several times throughout the day. Oh, she's also holding her head up pretty well. I am starting to see a silver lining in these rough newborn days. In my opinion, once they start smiling it all becomes just more rewarding. 

 The first of many monthly photos.

Dear Nathan and Hannah,
Lucky for grandma and grandpa, they got  to join in on the fun and join in our family themed trick-or-treating costumes. This year, we decided to do Mario kart. It was a tough choice between plants vs. zombies (which we may do next year and if we are ambitious enough, we may even host a trunk for the trunk or treat...imagine throwing "peas" at on-coming "zombies" that should be fun) and Mario Kart. Once we could convince Hannah to be princess Rosalina (which wasn't too difficult) since you already had the dress, it was decided.

 The weather forecast didn't look good, but during dinner, the rain stopped, so we quickly ate, got dressed and went out to go candy hunting. Hailey got hungry last minute, so I stayed behind to feed her while the rest of the crew went out.

According to Daddy, you two covered lots of ground. He said that he has never seen you run so fast. 20 minutes later, I hear it start to pour outside, so I grabbed a few umbrellas to go meet you all outside.

 When we got home, I expected maybe a dozen pieces of candy in each of your buckets, but instead, I was shocked to find the amount of candy you two were able to procure in such a short amount of time.

We dumped all of the candy in one pile and you two took turns claiming your favorite candies. It was interesting to see which ones you two picked up. Nathan picked skittles and lollipops. Hannah picked lollipops and smarties (which I don't think you've had before).

 Ok, a break from the candy for a bit. Austin opened a new fancy library downtown, so after grandma and grandpa arrived, we all drove downtown to go to the grand opening. The architecture was very impressive, but the children's area was nowhere as impressive as the libraries around grandma and grandpa.

 There were lots of cool reading nooks,

 including one outside.

 The book work sculptures around the building were interesting. Nathan wanted to take a picture in front of one. I think you were plotting to climb it, but I quickly squelched that idea.

 Ok, back to more candy seeking adventures. Every year our church hosts a trunk or treat. This year, we left chinese school a bit early so we could spend more time at the event. (In the past I was teaching, so we couldn't leave early). There were lots of cool trunks, but Nathan, you were focused on the sweets.

 Hannah, was set on getting a lollipop and threw a tantrum because the first few trunks that we visited did not have lollipops. We eventually found a trunk that was passing those sweets on a stick out.

 While we did trunk or treating, Daddy stood in line for the swings, which took forever. Eventually we got to the front of the line and both of you got on. I was a bit nervous that Hannah, you would not like it and cry to get off, but you were smiling the whole time. When Daddy first got in line I asked if you wanted to get on the swing and you told me, "No. I don't want to because it's too scary."  I guess at some point, you changed your mind. After you both got off, you told us that you wanted to do it again. 

 The highlight of the day for Nathan was cotton candy! You told me that it was the best part.

On Monday, Daddy took the day off and we packed up a picnic and went to go hike the greenbelt. Nathan pretty much complained about aching feet the whole way and Hannah, you were proud that you were not tired (even when Nathan was) except towards the end when you would sit down on any large rock that we came across. But in the end, you made it all by yourself without being carried.

 Hailey stayed asleep for most of the hike, except towards the end, you woke up and were hungry.

 On Halloween day, your school had a costume parade.

 And at the end of the day, you all had cake decorating parties along with some games.

In the afternoon, we decorated 2 pumpkins that grandma and grandpa bought from the church pumpkin patch. Both of you were very excited to help.

 Especially with the cutting. Hannah just kept stabbing the pumpkin. Poor pumpkin. Both of you were not interested in touching the insides or pulling any of the "icky stuff" out. Grandma and grandpa ended up doing that part of the work and then at some point, Hannah, you wandered off to do your thing. 

 Nathan decided to carve a transformer logo, but found it to be tough. So, I ended up doing the cutting,

 and you pulled out the pieces.

 Hannah asked grandpa to make a spooky castle. So in the end, here were the final products.

It was a busy weekend and I was glad to be able to just stay home with Hailey this morning. Hailey is now sleeping about 15 hours a day, waking up 2 times a night, sleeping for about 2-3 hours before waking up to eat. For awhile, she was waking up 10 minutes after I would put her down, crying in gassy pain, which then took another hour to calm her and get her back asleep. I finally figured out that I needed to just walk around and burp her for about 10 minutes before putting her down and this increased the chances of her staying asleep.

People often ask how I am doing. I think physically, things are as good as they can be with a newborn. Emotionally, I'm better than I was with Nathan or Hannah. What I'm struggling most with is being ok with getting things completed in phases. Normally I am the type to get something completed. I really don't like "loose ends."  But lately, I'm finding that I just have to walk away and come back to it later.

Which reminds me of this...

I still have not made much progress due to the carpal tunnel in my fingers. Anytime I work on this more than 10 minutes, my fingers start to go numb. Now we have #3 to make. This time I wised up and I've already solicited help from grandma for Hailey's stocking. (She will probably finish it before I finish Hannah's) So, hopefully by next Christmas, I'll have this one completed.
...sigh...

Well, we actually have a pretty exciting weekend coming up. You'll have to wait until next week to find out about it.

Until then,
Love,
Mommy

Hailey's Photo Shoot

Does Hailey look more like Hannah or Nathan as a baby? 

Hannah at 1 month

Nathan at 1 month

Fall Time In Austin: Hailey is 4 Weeks Old

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

We have been enjoying this amazing fall Austin weather. On Saturday, we had a MOPS brunch at church, so we went to the pumpkin patch beforehand. There were tractors available for kids to ride and you guys definitely spent your fair share of time riding them around. 

 Here is Nathan posing in front of who you have deemed to be the "Best Dancer in the World!" One day we were leaving school and you said in a very serious/admirable tone, "woah, that's the best dancer in the world." I look over to see what you are looking at, only to find this orange dancing man. I pretty much burst into laughter because you were totally serious when you said it because you pretty much dance like that man.

 This may be our very first family picture as a family of 5! 

 The post is a day late because yesterday, I was too tired to stay up and write a post. Hailey has been going through a growth spurt. As of last night, she has officially gained a pound over her birth weight. This morning, she looked and felt bigger, so I weighed her: 8 pounds 11.5 oz.

Hailey has been causing nights to be quite rough. The longest stretch she will sleep is 2 hours, but she has been averaging 90 minutes before waking up for a feed.  On top of that, she will take about 45 minutes to feed, but then stay awake for as long as 3 hours before falling asleep.

Last night, went well, we had a 3 hour stretch, followed by immediately falling asleep after feeds. Let's hope this behavior continues.

Hailey continues to enjoy baths. She no longer cries when I take her out (due to cold).

 Nathan, you've been so helpful with the baby. You find it your mission to make sure I have enough water, so that I can make enough milk for Hailey. You try to find ways to make her stop crying and you discover and teach me how to use the new features on the baby swing.

 The weather has been absolutely beautiful. We've been spending it outside on the driveway as much as possible.

 At Gymnastics, you guys have been practicing on a ninja obstacle course. The teacher actually asked me to come in to watch Nathan one morning. They were very impressed with your speedy skills as you swung from one thing to another.

I can tell that Hannah is slowly developing the motor skills needed to keep up with the other older kids. It's really neat to see you do rolls and other gymnastic rolls so confidently.

Your teachers in the ducks class have told me that you are quite bossy, in a fair way. For example, when asked to put something away, you would walk up to the person who was playing with that particular toy and ask them to put it away because they were playing with it. I feel like you will be a lawyer someday. your sense of justice and negotiation skills are quite admirable for a 3 year old.

Well, that's it for now.
Love,
Mommy

Productivity During Hailey's 3rd Week of Life:

Dear Kids, 

This week was the last week that Daddy stayed home and we  you all have been really productive. I have been sitting at nursing Hailey pretty much all the time. 

On a side note, I have now figured out why you all take forever to finish a nursing session. It's actually my fault... apparently let-downs, which are periods of time where milk is released from the breast more quickly, don't take 2-5 minutes to occur for most women. I've been asking around and most of my friends' let downs happen in less than a minute. The quickest one being from 7-15 seconds, to about an average of 30 seconds. This explains why most moms can finish a feeding in about 20 minutes and it takes us twice the time to finish a feeding...which also explains why you guys also eat so slowly. 

While I've been fulfilling my role as a set of portable udders, you guys have been working hard, cleaning up the yard. Nathan even got a chance to use the blower. Very exciting. 

 Nathan, you've caught up on Chinese homework, which you actually really like to do. You can easily finish a week's worth of assignments in one sitting and when you are finished, you actually want to do more. I hope this attitude about homework continues!

 Hannah's been trying to get in as many cuddles with Hailey as possible. You've been super helpful with getting things for the baby. If I ask you to get my water bottle, you may not agree to help, but if I say it's for the baby, you are very willing to help. Funny how that works...

 You guys have also been working on our Halloween costumes. Nathan has done most of the painting on these cars. Daddy paints the outline and you've been filling in the rest with the appropriate color.

Hannah, you tried to help a few times too. But usually you don't last too long due to loss of interest, or you end up with paint all over your tummy, or inside your mouth...how it got there, still remains a mystery to me. 

Hannah has also been helping out with Hailey's bath time.

 Monday was Daddy's last day to stay home for this round of paternity leave. Since you both didn't have school, and the weather was beautiful, we decided to meet up with Hope, Mateo and Lucas at the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm to visit their pumpkin patch.

 While it was fun, I think it is not as good as the other pumpkin patches that we've been to around Austin.

We rode the tractor train.

 And there were lots of little games for the kids to play.

 The duck races were Nathan's favorite activity.

 And there were a few farm animals to look at. Pigs, alpaca, bunnies, and maybe some goats.

There was also a hay ride.

 El Tigre,
This is the week that El Tigre gets to come home with Nathan. You are so proud of El Tigre and you treat him like he is real and alive. On Tuesday, he at dinner with us,

and went outside to play with us.

Today, El Tigre lies abandoned on the living room floor. Poor El Tigre.

Today, Hailey and I went to visit you guys at gymnastics school. I was so impressed with how much stuff you guys do. You all are literally bouncing off the walls, running around, rolling, flipping, doing head stands, nonstop.

 I can tell that Hannah, being the youngest in the group still has to catch up with some motor development skills. Nathan, while very athletic, also rushes through his routines, often stumbling. I'm not sure if you are trying too hard to show off because I was there, but kid, slow down!

Newborn Shoot

Yesterday I spent the morning taking lots of pictures of Hailey. I have yet to edit them, but here are a few of my favorites as a sneak preview. 

The quilt shown in the first two was made by my dear friend Alicia, owner of stitch-a-story. Isn't it beautiful? 

 Of course, I had to include a sheep in a few of the shots.

Well, that's about it for now. Until next week!
Love,
Mommy