Obviously the biggest news of the month was the arrival of our precious Luke on the 22nd. Things are going very well and, up until two nights ago, we were still amazed at how much sleep we were getting considering we have a newborn in the house. 6-7 hours a night (in shifts, of course) and a 45 minute nap each day were pretty good to me, especially considering I've been suffering from insomnia for the past 9 months. However, Luke is starting to wake himself a bit more at night plus we had terrible storms on Friday that kept Audrey awake, so the past two nights have been as exhausting as I recall the early days can be. Still, we're in better shape than we were with Audrey. I think a lot of that is due to the fact that we got more rest in the hospital this time around and Luke didn't have his days and nights switched like Audrey did. So far, at least. Also, experience tells you to rest, rest, rest every second you get, so we have been.
In other February news:
On top of a million OB appointments and final to-dos, this month also seemed to be full of last-minute socialization efforts. As if we knew we were going to be stuck indoors for quite some time, we lined up play dates and meals with friends like crazy. We went to Catch Air and INK Children's Museum, both of which I highly recommend. I had two lunch dates with two sweet women, we had two double-date dinners with two of our favorite couples, and we had a family lunch with some of our oldest and closest friends. One of the most special meals was David and Audrey's Daddy-Daughter Date Night at the beginning of the month. It's an event sponsored by Chick-fil-A in an effort to encourage strong father-daughter relationships. We talked it up big time and Audrey felt so special getting dressed up and taking pictures with Daddy. I gave her my deep motherly advice before they left: use your manners, engage him in good conversation, and eat as much as you want. They both came back excited about what a great time they'd had, with a pink carnation and two chocolate chip cookies to prove it. I hope we can be intentional about continuing to plan those sweet and important times for the two of them.
Another special event for her this month was a Saturday that we deemed "Audrey's Special Day." I honestly can't remember whether I've posted about this yet or not, so forgive me if it's old news. We wanted to soak up some last "family of three" time and really make her feel doted on before she had to share the spotlight. So we headed to Build A Bear Workshop and let her build two bears - one for her and one to take Luke in the hospital when he was born. She had such a blast doing that and still talks about giving the bears, Teddy and Barry, "baths" in the store. After that, we let her ride the merry-go-round, ate Chick-fil-A (her favorite) for lunch, tossed pennies in the fountain, and got a cookie for dessert. She loved every minute of it and we did too.
In other February news:
On top of a million OB appointments and final to-dos, this month also seemed to be full of last-minute socialization efforts. As if we knew we were going to be stuck indoors for quite some time, we lined up play dates and meals with friends like crazy. We went to Catch Air and INK Children's Museum, both of which I highly recommend. I had two lunch dates with two sweet women, we had two double-date dinners with two of our favorite couples, and we had a family lunch with some of our oldest and closest friends. One of the most special meals was David and Audrey's Daddy-Daughter Date Night at the beginning of the month. It's an event sponsored by Chick-fil-A in an effort to encourage strong father-daughter relationships. We talked it up big time and Audrey felt so special getting dressed up and taking pictures with Daddy. I gave her my deep motherly advice before they left: use your manners, engage him in good conversation, and eat as much as you want. They both came back excited about what a great time they'd had, with a pink carnation and two chocolate chip cookies to prove it. I hope we can be intentional about continuing to plan those sweet and important times for the two of them.
Another special event for her this month was a Saturday that we deemed "Audrey's Special Day." I honestly can't remember whether I've posted about this yet or not, so forgive me if it's old news. We wanted to soak up some last "family of three" time and really make her feel doted on before she had to share the spotlight. So we headed to Build A Bear Workshop and let her build two bears - one for her and one to take Luke in the hospital when he was born. She had such a blast doing that and still talks about giving the bears, Teddy and Barry, "baths" in the store. After that, we let her ride the merry-go-round, ate Chick-fil-A (her favorite) for lunch, tossed pennies in the fountain, and got a cookie for dessert. She loved every minute of it and we did too.
Here are some other quips, quotes, and stories from this month:
- AJ loves talking on the phone to people now. Every time I'm about to call David she wants to do it herself and actually holds a pretty decent conversation!
- She also loves mazes these days and I am aMAZEd (ha - get it?) at how well she can do them by tracing with her finger.
- There is a song I sing to Audrey called "Oh Be Careful" and it fills in parts of the body ("little eyes what you see", "little ears what you hear" etc.) One line says "...little heart whom you trust." She asked what that meant and I explained that God can help us tell the difference between someone that could be a good friend and someone who may not be so nice. She immediately said, "Like Gowieff? (Goliath) Gowieff would not be a good friend." True.
- Her prayers are becoming increasingly personal and hilarious. Just some examples of things she has prayed about lately: the planets that no one lives on, the number four, that her cousin Annelise gets to watch a show on the long drive up to visit us, learning her letters, and that Luke won't cry.
- New things Audrey is learning: the planets, the color wheel (which primary color combinations make what colors), and coins/money. We're also continuing to work with her on sight words and have about 10 things labeled downstairs (clock, lamp, chair, window, etc.) but I must admit that's not getting a whole lot of reinforcement right now. Hopefully just having them out is doing some good.
- I have NO idea where she picked it up, but twice this week alone she's said "Nobody cares about me..." It honestly makes me feel more angry than guilty because she's said it with such blatant intent of manipulation. We try not to show too much of a reaction so we don't reinforce it.
- Funny vocabulary words she's picked up: Cooperating ("Mommy help! This blanket is not cooperating!"), nocturnal, instructions, directions, and transportation. For several months she's also been calling binoculars "noculars", which I find adorable.
- Another cute phrase we've taught her is "cut a rug". Now she'll exclaim as she's dancing, "Come cut a rug with me, Daddy!" He never can resist an invitation like that.
I have to admit I don't have a lot of Luke stories just yet. He's stinkin adorable, yes, but not incredibly active thus far. I hope to write a separate post very soon, so check back.
February pictures have already been posted in the Picasa gallery, but feel free to revisit them for a guaranteed pick-me-up. :)
Happy March, Everyone! I am so excited about the warmer temps and the fun Spring days ahead.
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