Brotherly LOVE!

So...not long ago, Greg was playing in the playroom, and I looked over and he was in the laundry basket with all of his stuffed animals...ADORABLE! So what to do? Grab the camera ASAP!

HEY MOM!

Animal fun!

SO SWEET!

Maria woke up and so I thought...hmmm?? Let's throw her in there, too!

Kisses for Maria!

Hugs for Maria!

Picture Perfect!

After I snapped the last picture Maria stared fussing! Greg looks at her and she starts fussing some more. He then looked at her and shoved her out of the laundry basket. He had clearly had enough! :-)

Ball Pit fun!

We love having the ball pit that Jonathan, Heather, and Jack got Greg for his birthday! Greg loves to throw the balls out! Maria is also enjoying her time in the ball pit! Never too early for some good sensory activities!

Big Brother Greg helping Maria sit up!

Just checking her out...

Play time in the ball pit!

:-)

Watch Me Grow...1 month!

Better late than never, right?? Maria turned one month on Feb. 6th! As you can see from the picture, we will be using Tigger for our monthly comparison! I love how she is looking at Tigger in this picture! So what is Miss Maria up to?

*Maria is in size one diapers now...no more new born diapers for us!

*She is in newborn clothes...but moving into the 0-3 month outfits she has. I think I am in denial that she is already outgrowing some things!

*At her one month check up on the 7th: weight: 10 pound 6 ounces (75th percentile) We have quite the chunker! Height: 21 1/2 inches (58th percentile) The doctor said she was just perfect! She is super healthy and everything looks great! :-)

*Maria has a stuffy nose like her brother did. I am constantly using saline and an aspirator to clear out her nose! The doctor said this is normal, and to keep up with this...just part of who she is! Poor thing! To help with this we invested in a powered aspirator! SOOO much easier and quicker than using the manual one! What normally takes minutes to pull out of her nose, now takes seconds!!

*Maria holds her head up on her own already!! She is very strong! She also will push off and try to "stand" for a few seconds!

*She loves music...especially from her glowworm and the swing.

*She loves the vibrating on the swing!

*She eats every 3 hours during the day and demand feeds at night.

*At night she typically sleeps from 10/1030-230/330, eats and sleeps again until 7! I LOVE that she usually only wakes up once a night! :-)

*She sleeps for about 45 minutes to an hour and a half in between feedings throughout the day!

*She smiles in her sleep ALOT...she also snores!

Maria is a super sweet baby and we have loved having her in our lives! She is very sweet and rarely cries! Simply put...a wonderful joy!!!

How is big brother??

Big brother is adapting quite nicely. He loves on Maria often, with an occasional pinch or slap from time to time. He did scratch her face this past week. She will be one tough cookie with Greg as her brother! He gives her kisses all of the time. When I have them in the bath together, he likes to help wash her hair. He is very sweet with her, but still very possessive when he knows it's his time with Mommy!

Pagan no more!

On January 22nd we welcomed our sweet baby girl into the Catholic Church! It was simply amazing! I am so in love with my Catholic faith and was thrilled to have Maria baptized at SJN! The day was crazy, but simply beautiful! Deacon Mike baptized Maria as we were surrounded by family and friends! Jonathan and Heather are her Godparents and it was so great to stand with them and commit to raise Maria in the Catholic faith. We are so very blessed! After the ceremony, Greg, the kiddos, and I had a nice relaxing Saturday at home. That evening we had family and friends over to celebrate Maria's big special day! It was simply wonderful to gather with everyone! Here are some pictures from her special day!

The Godparents!

My little stud!

YAY BAPTISM!

Maria wore my baptismal gown! She was beautiful and didn't get poop all over it like I did!

"I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!"

Sealing her in with the Holy Spirit!

The light of Christ passed to Maria!

We love Deacon Mike!

Godmommy and baby without sin!

Family!

Friends from high school!

Mommy friends and families!

Zoe loves Maria!

Greg loves Maria, too!

Papa and Pappy just staring at their beautiful granddaughter!

The day on which she was baptized was also the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It brought tears to my eyes during the ceremony as I thought of all the friends, peers, colleagues, etc. that Maria may have had in her life, but whose parents did not choose life, but chose to live their lives selfishly without children. These children will not be forgotten, and each day on her baptismal day, our family will remember all those babies who have been aborted. Join me in praying for an end to this genocide taking place in our country each day, and for every woman who becomes pregnant and feels there is no other way out! Saint Gianna, pray for us!