We have a one month old and a two year old big girl

Ana is a month old and I don't know where the last month went! It's been such a whirl wind of holidays and visitors and getting to know one another. I think we're finally into our groove now though. Every family member knows what to expect and has settled into their new role.

Ana has really bad acid reflux, so she's sleeping in her swing and on me these days. That's about the only way that I can get two consecutive hours of sleep at a time. Even propped up in the swing, Ana still refluxes and the milk from her stomach comes up into her throat and nose and chokes her. She sputters and chokes and wheezes and screams until one of us picks her up and clears her airway. It's really pretty frightening sometimes. I look forward to the day when she grows out of it so that we can get some sleep, she's not in pain, and so that we can put her down for more than five minutes without her wailing. Katen was the same way at this age. Thank goodness she turned into a pretty cool kid eventually.

On the positive side, Ana is definitley more alert now and spends more time awake. She's smiling a little bit and is especially fond of her daddy. He gets the most smiles.  :) She'll also coo a little bit if you catch her in a good mood.

Katen keeps herself busy while Ana eats by sitting next to me reading books, playing with toys, or coloring. The tag jr. and little touch leap pad have been wonderful for nursing time as well. The interactive storybooks are great at keeping Katen's curious mind engaged!

She's also learning some new songs. In her playlist is:  Row, Row, Row Your Boat,  ABC's, Little Teapot, 5 Green and Speckeled Frogs, the "Hot Dog" song from Mickey Mouse, and a few random songs that her toys play. It's really cute to hear her playing along and singing to herself. So sweet!

Christmas was a good one. We had another huge winter storm so we weren't able to make it to my family's Christmas but we did go the night before to attend the church service. I always enjoy singing the Christmas songs. Ana did okay. She only fussed a bit and then fell asleep for a while. Katen did okay until the candle lighting began. Everybody got a candle and passed along the flame. Of course Katen wanted a candle too and I flinched more than once as she whizzed past the family members in our pew narrowly escaping having her wild curly hair catch fire. Oy! Shortly after that "Mamo" Deb took her out to run back and forth across the church kitchen. A nice lady even gave her some cheese. Ha!   (Mamo is Katen's word for Grandma.) After church the drive home got a little yucky with slick roads and more snow falling but we took it slow and made it safe and sound.  All of our other Christmases were great too. It's always good to see family and share some yummy food.

Here are some of the funny phrases Katen is throwing around this week. It seems like each week she learns something new. 

Oh Wow! (this has been one of her favorite phrases for a while now, only second to "Yeah." which she says to nearly everything. )
Nice!
das Dangous (dangerous)  -not surprisingly we have to tell her not to do things because it's dangerous a lot
Okie Okie (okey dokey)
obendit  (open it)
bouce (bounce) she bounces everywhere, all the time! I'd blow out a knee.
Ana's kankey  (Ana's Cranky)   :)  Ask Katen how Ana is doing and that is what she'll tell you.
No way!
Way cool!
Bic girl  (big girl)
Das Mossy (that's messy)
... and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting. I love her little "toddler-ese" language.