8 weeks

Yes, eight weeks old! Almost 2 months old already! Can you believe it!? I cannot.

It seems I cannot luck out in any peaceful, non-eventful, good way during my maternity leave. The first time around Aaron ruptured his acheilles tendon when Kayla was 10 days old, couldn't walk for 5 days, had surgery and a cast, couldn't walk without crutches for 12 weeks, and then had a walking boot and physical therapy three times week for 12 more weeks. It put a lot of pressure and strain on me to care for TWO people full-time. It was not fun.

And now, this time around, this maternity leave is marked by an unusual amount of travel for Aaron. Typically he travels out of state one to two times a month, but in the last eight weeks he has been gone weekly. At one point he was gone eight out of ten days, again leaving the majority of the child and household care on my shoulders, with very little sleep. Having a newborn enter your world brings enough of its own chaos, but to do it alone night after night, week after week, is very exhausting and draining.

At least there gets to be a little Daddy & Daughter cuddle time. Everyone says she is a miniature version of her Daddy!

7 weeks

As you can see, we do a lot of swaddling around here. It probably seems most photos of Khloe are of her swaddled. Both my girls have loved it, and needed it. Khloe eats better and sleeps better when she is swaddled. In fact, I don't think she could sleep unless she was swaddled. And, since babies mostly just sleep and eat, she is swaddled most of the time. But that's okay, it just makes her more of a cuddly little peanut, and she isn't staying very little for very long!

6 weeks, con't

I think we're finally hitting our stride together, Beautiful Khloe. At two weeks I finally started feeling myself again, at three weeks I started understanding you who were a little better, but at six weeks - almost seven! - eveything is finally clicking and getting easier and better by the day. After cold and rainy weather for the first five weeks of your existence it sure does help that summer has arrived! The sun is shining every day and we're both enjoying the warm weather. You love to be outside and all I have to do to get you to calm down or get to sleep is stand by our waterfall and you're out. Fresh air and water? You're already on the right track to being a Faust! You prefer the outdoors when there are lawn mowers, weed whippers or anything related going on in the background. I get you down for your morning, afternoon and evening naps by being outside near our pond and waterall. It's refreshing for the both of us!

Your Dad and I say every night how lucky and grateful we are that we've had two great sleepers, first with Kayla and now with you. You're sleeping 10-11 hours at night and getting up once. You're also on a fantastic sleep/awake schedule during the day; you are like clockwork. I consider that pretty amazing for someone who's only been alive for 48 days. From what we can tell about your personality already, you are a happy, easy-going baby with a serious side and sometimes a high-maintanence side, but you are definately very laid back.

6 weeks old

I finally put away all your newborn sized outfits, hats and socks. You outgrew most of it a few weeks ago, but just yesterday I tried to squeeze you in one more dress one last time. It was too tight and too short so back into the bin it went. Even some of the smaller 0-3 month size clothing is too tight on you; it's because you're so long, so even some of those clothes had to go too. Here, you're already stretching out of a 0-3 month sleeper.

6 weeks

My how time is flying by Khloe! Seriously, where is the time going? Somehow you are 6 weeks old already. That is significant in lots of ways, including the fact that, as of today, I'm exactly half way through my maternity leave. That is sad to me! We have exactly 6 weeks left of our summer together.

Today I took you into work for the first time to meet everyone, your sister went to the beach with her friends, and then you came with me to my 6-week checkup at the doctor's office. Thankfully you slept through all this activity.

You are getting bigger, I can see it in your chubby little cheeks and arms. You are my BIG peanut now! Your eyes are still greyish/blue. I don't remember Kayla ever having this color of eyes and if she did I don't remember when they changed, but I think it was before now. I wonder when your eye color will change? I'm guessing they will either have to be brown (like me) or hazel (like your dad's). Guess we will still have to wait and see!

I'm so happy that you are sleeping SO much longer now! This makes Mommy very happy! Somehow you jumped, in one night, from about a 5-hour stretch of sleep to 9 hours! Whoa! We haven't achieved the 9 hours again, but you are up to 7-8 hours a stretch. Your nighttime sleep schedule looks like this: You fall asleep around 10pm and don't wake up until 6am for a feeding and fall back asleep until 9am. I'm hoping this sleep schedule only gets better and better!  Like my doctor told me today, a big baby is a content baby. Thanks for being such a great sleeper!

The scowl

Khloe, you have this face you make - "the scowl" - that you've pretty much made since the wee hours you were born. It's such a serious look you have about you! Coincidentally, its the same exact face your Daddy makes. You two look identical when he's holding you and unknowingly making the face and you are too - it's a cute site to see and gives us a little chuckle! At least now you'll know where you inheirited it from.

Memorial Day

This hot, hot, hot sunny first-official-day-of-summer day was spent relaxing at our house with Grandpa and Grandma F and Grandpa A. You missed most of it by sleeping, but not before you got some lovin' from your sister.

Meeting Sadie

Today we traveled to the Johnson's to meet thier newest little one, Sadie Rae. Sadie was born just 3 days after you! We know you both can't wait to grow up together and play; however, in the meantime, Sadie slept the whole time, but still shared her activity mat with you.

Two little bundles of joy

5 weeks

The sweetest, purest thing in the whole wide world has to be the breath of a newborn. I love the way it feels, the way it smells, and the sound it makes. There are times that I am sooo tired and can't wait to put you down to sleep, but then you turn your head into my neck and I hear, feel and smell that sweet breath of yours and it makes me want to hold onto you forever. And usually you do win the battle, because instead of putting you down right away I find that 30 mintues will have passed before I finally am able to release you from my arms and go to sleep myself. Please never let me forget these moments!

I think I have the same mental disease with you that also afflicted me with Kayla - not knowing when to move you up to the next size clothing. I had this disease with Kayla for at least her first 3 years and already its started with you. I look at you, thinking you're fitting nicely into your current size clothing - not even considering the fact that you may be growing and able to wear the next size up - and then I bravely pick out a bigger outfit, and voila! It fits. Case in point with this outfit today - a 3 month size. Its from a cute matching outfit set picked out for Kayla and Cassidy by Great Aunt Marie and now you're wearing Cassidy's hand-me-down. A very stylish little baby! Guess I better go through your drawers and closet and move the next round of clothing in before you so quickly outgrow all of those items.

March 2008 - Kayla 20 months, Cassidy 4 months

Fun with collages

If nothing else, I was procrastinating doing work I should've been doing. The questions we always get asked, and I think parents of any newborn do, are: 1) Does she look like her sister? and 2) Do you think she looks like her mom or dad? Of course its too early to answer any of these questions I think, but here was a fun way for me to do side by side comparisons. Most people say Khloe looks like Aaron (including myself) whereas most people agree Kayla looks like me. And then there are those that think that Kayla and Khloe look alike as newborns (I disagree!).