Beatrix 2 Months

Two months!  Yay!  

The last couple of weeks I've been able to notice a big change in Beatrix.  She really is starting to feel less like a newborn and more just like a baby.  One of the biggest changes is that we have been able to get her on a schedule of sorts.

She doesn't follow it exactly, but I've been trying to feed her at the same times every day and put her down for naps at consistent times.  She basically eats every three hours, is awake for an hour, then goes down for a nap.  Eat, play, sleep, eat, play, sleep...

It is much easier for me because I put her down to nap in her "bed" (pack and play in our closet and then I have a little bit of time to get things done before I need to feed her again.

The first week of trying to be more consistent went pretty poorly.  But the next two weeks it started to get better.  The hardest part was getting her to sleep during the sleep times, and she really started getting the hang of it.  I think consistency is key!  Always putting her down in the same place at the same times was most helpful in getting her to learn to sleep without being held.

We sure do love her.

Leon's 6th Birthday Photography

Where better to take pictures of a six-year-old boy then his neighborhood park?  We snuck out Saturday morning while everyone else was doing chores to take pictures.  Leon was pretty easy to get to do a natural smile.  I just had to pretend to tickle him or tell him not to smile and it worked every time.  He is really such a happy little guy.

We made sure to do lots of playing pictures between posing pictures.  They might be my favorites because they show how Leon actually is.  He never just stands still and smiles.

He is always playing.  Either by himself or with one of his siblings.  Usually Tucker.  They wrestle around quite a bit.  But he isn't against playing with one of the girls either.  Leon can even be pretty helpful with Calista.

True to most six-year-olds Leon can get pretty upset over what seems like small things.  I think he has little brother syndrome because he is always so loud.  He has to be loud to insist he gets a turn or his fare share.  I feel like I'm always asking him to calm down or quiet down.

I made Leon wear jeans for these pictures.  He usually always wears sweats and a t-shirt with tennis shoes.  It is almost like these shoes go by the front door instead of by the other shoes because he cannot remember to put them away, and he is always taking them off and on to run outside.

Leon is very sweet and likes to give me lots of hugs.  Like lots and lots of hugs.  Ok, probably just a couple a day, but they seem to come out of nowhere and sometimes I have to resist pushing him off of me and asking what he is doing.  I have to slow down and remind myself that he is just trying to give me a hug and he is not trying to make me spill the food I'm making for dinner.

These we Leon's favorite pictures.  He just played on the bar for a little bit while I took photos.

It is cherry blossom season here in Japan meaning his birthday pictures will probably always be near the pretty sakura trees.

Happy Birthday Leon!

Family Photo

Our first pictures all together as a family of eight.  

It was getting hard to fit all of us on the bed.

Kids Pictures

Being a mom of six kids is hard!  Now that Bob is back at work I don't have time for anything.  I've been so busy trying to take care of a newborn and homeschool everyone, it is crazy!  Bob is back to working a ton so our lives feel pretty hectic at the moment.  On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Bob and I don't really get to see each other until 7:30pm when we put the kids to bed.

I squeezed in a little time to take pictures of my pretty babies because I know it is important and they won't be little for very long.  

Calista is so happy to see Beatrix everyday.  I wasn't sure how she would handle getting less attention from Bob and I but it is going well.  She looks for Beatrix throughout the house all day and says "baby," in a way to loud and urgent sounding voice, whenever she sees her. 

Sometime she cries when I don't let her hold Beatrix.  She also gets upset when Beatrix is crying.  She has tried lift up my shirt to get me to feed Beatrix when she cries.  She has also lifted up her own shirt and pointed at her belly shouting baby.  When I tell her that only mom's can feed their babies she just cries and screams baby. 

Calista always wants to pat Beatrix on the back or give her kisses.  It is really sweet and I hope they will be best friends in a year or two.

Scarlett helps a ton with Beatrix.  Whenever I need someone to hold her I can count on Scarlett.  I know she will do a good job and actually try to calm her down and take care of her.  Scarlett is a pro with her.

Penelope is also super great at taking care of Beatrix.  She has the older sibling symptom where she tells all the other kids what they are doing wrong, and she makes sure everyone else is holding Beatrix correctly.  Along with taking care of Beatrix I've really needed help with Calista.  Penelope is great at playing with her and keeping her out of trouble while I am busy with Beatrix.  I'm not sure how I ever had a toddler and a newborn at the same time before.  It is so hard and I'd be lost without these big sisters to help out.

I seriously can't believe I have four girls!  I kind of thought I'd be a mom of lots of girls, but then when Leon was born I had two and two and thought I was done.  It turned out that I did have a lot of girls after all.

Leon is very sweet with Beatrix.  He likes to hold her but I am a little hesitant so I like him to sit and hold her.  Sometimes he does get bored of that and he wants to take her upstairs or different places but I never let him.  Maybe when she is a bit older I'll let him do a little more.  Beatrix is just so little right now.

Tucker will hold and take care of Beatrix whenever I ask, but other than that I didn't think he was that interested.  Then when I was at his basketball practice with Beatrix he came over and asked me how old she is.  Then I heard him walking by with his friends saying, "She is three and a half weeks old."  I thought that was cute that he was talking to his friends about his new baby sister.

Ok, now I can check off that I got individual pictures of each of the kids with Beatrix while she is still a new baby.  Now I need to hurry and take family pictures before she grows anymore!  I'm hoping to do it after church tomorrow so we will all be looking our best (meaning, I'll be dressed and have make up on), but the rain outside has been making it a bit difficult.

One Week Old Photography

We survived the first week with a newborn!!  Beatrix is really sweet, but honestly taking care of a newborn is so hard.  I just have to remind myself in the middle of the night that the first week is the hardest and that if we can make it through that we can make it through this next week as well.

I feel like the first few nights were easier than the rest of the week.  Nursing got harder and more painful and she seemed to want to be up more at night.  I'm hoping nights will start to get better as time passes.  We still can't really get her to sleep anywhere but in someones arms.  I know that if I just wait a month or two that will pass as well.

I had to work hard to get her to sleep in her basket for these pictures.  Everyone else is at church so I had at least a good two hours to get these pictures done.

Bob had a work thing last night and so it was the first time I felt on my own with the kids for dinner and bed time.  Actually, bob made dinner before he left, so we just had to eat and clean up and then get the kids to bed.  The older kids did amazing!  Beatrix cried a significant amount of time, but everyone was so helpful it worked out.  We all cleaned up the kitchen while one child held Beatrix.  She was fussy, but I knew she wasn't hungry, and she was being held so I didn't feel neglectful.  Then I went and fed her again while the kids did the last bits of cleaning.  Lastly the kids took turns holding Beatrix while watching TV and I took a shower.  It was great!  They were then able to pretty much put themselves to bed.  I love having older kids to help out.

I think everyone is adjusting well to having a newborn in the family.  I was concerned about Calista but she seems just fine.  She loves Beatrix and is always saying "baby" and pointing at her.  Calista is really a daddy's girl these days and Bob has been spending lots of time with her.  I'm hopeful that she will still be ok when he goes back to work in a week.

 Newborn yawn. 

This is really such a difficult but special time for our family.  Having a baby really forces everyone to bond together.  I'm excited to see how our family dynamic changes as Beatrix gets older.

Beatrix Valentines Photography

Happy Valentines Day!