Maggie started smiling last Saturday (4/23/11). She would occasionally smile in her sleep, but she actually started smiling at us. She is very alert in the mornings, and that is when she gives us her best smiles. However, she is being more generous, and I was able to capture some with our camera today. 
When Grandma and Grandpa GG came for a visit last weekend, they brought some really fun things for the kids. They brought a rocking horse (the kids love it!), two step stools, and a Topsy Turvy with strawberries to plant in it. The kids LOVE all of the gifts. We get to water the strawberries every other day right now and when it warms up we will water them everyday. The kids get so excited about this chore. Here is a picture of the boys with their Topsy Turvy.
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa GG!
Do these kids look alike or what!?! The first picture is of Chase. The pink gives away the girl :) I don’t have Parker’s pics on this computer, but he looks just like them. Love the resemblance :)
Most of my friends are having girls lately. It has been fun to make some girly crafts. Here are some that I made. (sorry for the terrible photography)
My grandparents and my Aunt Lolly came up to meet Maggie and Jake on Saturday (Maggie’s great-grandparents and great aunt). We had such a great time visiting. We are so blessed to have so much family close by. We are also blessed that my kids have so many living great-grandparents (a total of 5).
Today Maggie is one month old. She is the perfect addition to our family. We are all in love with her. Her brothers think she is wonderful. In Chase’s words “she is the cutest baby in the whole world.” :) I love hearing from my husband “babe, she is just SO cute.”
I am trying to take in the newborn stage. This is my last baby, and the last time I will get to enjoy my very own newborn. The interrupted sleep/sleep deprivation, nursing every 2 to 3 hours, frequent diaper changes, and spit up on my clothes is not always fun. However, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Things I love about the newborn stage: the milk coma, the popeye/pirate one-eye (when they look around with one eye open), the tiny grunts and groans (Maggie sounds like a little goat), the smiles and frowns when they are sleeping, the tiny clothes, the baby smell, and I could go on and on.
Appearance: Maggie definitely is a mix of all our family. We have been told she looks just like her brothers. Others have said that she looks like my brother Brandon. My mom and aunts think she looks like me when I was a baby. She definitely has the almond eyes from my side. She has reddish brown hair that is coming in very slowly. She has a sweet little turned up nose just like my mom, Chase and Parker. Her eyes are getting bluer and bluer every day (yay!). Her hands are so petite and little. She is filling out, but she is different from her brothers in that she is very soft. They were very solid and muscular. She is very light and squishy :)
Sleep: For the first 4 weeks of her life she spent most of her night sleeping on my chest. She would just snuggle on my chest and slept very soundly. I on the other hand didn’t get the best sleep, but I don’t regret one minute of snuggling with my girl. She now likes to sleep in her Boppy or in the cradle hold. She still wakes up frequently, but last night she slept one 3 hour and 4 hour chunk. That was wonderful! I think she would be a tummy sleeper if we let her, but due to the risk of SIDs she will stay on her back. She is a loud sleeper. She makes little noises all night long.
Diaper Size: She moved from Newborn to Size One on 4/15. We were beginning to have blowouts. Fun times!
Clothing: She moved into 0-3 month clothing about 2 weeks ago. The newborn clothing was too short. She is a growing girl :)
Height/Weight:Her last Dr. appointment was on 4/4/11. She weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. Not sure how much she weighs now, but she is similar to her cousin Jake who probably weighs close to 9 lbs :)
Eating Habits: She likes to eat every 2-4 hours. However, I can tell when she is growing because she will eat about every hour in the evening. It is kind of rough, but I know she needs it.
Development: She is still very sleepy and sleeps most of the day. She does have times when she will be awake 30-60 minutes at a time. She loves to lift up her head and look around. She recognizes our voices, and we have even gotten a few smiles from her.
