April 3 months old

I couldn't get the picture to come up so I converted it to video... hopefully this works!

Well, sweet girl, you are 3 months old. We know you weighed in at 14 lbs 3 oz in early December so you are likely pushing 15 lbs easily by now! You fit perfectly into your 3-6 month clothes but pretty soon we need to get your 9 month clothes out and washed.

You are SO good. Everyone comments on how easy you are and how you love to just be held and talked to. When I went back to work, the nursery workers said that you just hang out and love to interact with people. I sometimes have to put you down, but as soon as I'm back you flash that beautiful full face smile at me and it makes me feel so special! (But, I've seen you give others that smile too.. it isn't just reserved for me!)

We've been comparing pictures and videos of you and Bethany when she was your age and you look very different. She was always moving and tended to screech if she didn't get what she wanted. You definitely want to be fed and held, but your protests aren't quite as loud and you are quickly calmed.

Bedtime is still a challenge because you wake up quickly after being laid down. You can put yourself to sleep just fine, but end up waking up a lot and in order to keep the rest of the family sleeping, I usually pick you up and you give me a BIG smile. I know you just want to cuddle and somehow you sleep so much better snuggled under my arm in our bed. This is something that we will need to address soon, but I think we'll wait until 4 months. It is also a reason why you might be putting on the lbs because you eat around the clock! A lot of babies eat throughout the day and then that allows them to sleep through the night. You may be bothered by your reflux still and so since you wake up, it seems like feeding you is what you want.

You are doing so well at holding your head up and we are trying to keep practicing more tummy time. We put you in your Bumbo seat last night (snuggly) and you played with a toy. When you concentrate on things you bite your lower lip, it is so cute! Both of your bottom two teeth are now in and hopefully we won't have to go through teething for awhile ago. Not that you fuss a lot, but I can tell it does give you a bit of pain and it is certainly painful for me feeding you :)

I can't tell you how special you are to us, April Faith. This last month has had some very difficult times that I'm not ready to process on paper (or blog) yet and I may never be able to. All I know is that you are one loved little girl and we thank Jesus for you.

December 2011

I'm having trouble uploading pictures, so will have to figure that out soon since I have so many to share! In the meantime, here is one of the girls yesterday when we had our first fire in our fireplace. Merry Christmas everyone!

April 11.5 weeks

My sweet April

You are so smiley and sweet! When it is just you and me on our Tuesday's together you love to look at me and coo. We carry on long conversations like that. You have such big, wide eye expressions and get so happy when someone talks with you. You are such an easy baby... just hanging out, rarely crying and waiting to interact with people. I know you love to be with me so night time is still a little tough with only one good stretch of sleep before you join me in bed to cuddle. We also might have a problem with the bottle since you don't seem to like try it or a pacifier. Tonight when I go to the Christmas Tea with grandma, hopefully you'll decide it is ok with daddy and papa though!

At 9 weeks old you are very facinated with your hand and even things further away. You also like to push up on everything by standing with your feet! Sister is by far your favorite thing to silently laugh at. Cuddling together in her bed or when she comes to lay by you when you do tummy time she is a big fan of yours! I'm so happy that you get a sister and can hopefully be close as the years go by.

I love you so much - thankful for our days together!

Bethany's view of how the Vikings are doing this year

At 2-7 the Vikings have had a tough season so far. But, each Sunday we all get our Vikings gear on to cheer them on. Bethany has picked up on some things we've had to do throughout most of the games this season when watching the games. She also seams to like watching the Bears instead because then we can talk about her cousins from Chicago.

You are too funny Bethany! You pick up on everything we say! Another favorite is when anyone leaves you say "Bye bye, nice to see you! Have a nice day!" You are such a cheerful little girl and you bring joy everywhere you go!

April is 2 months old!

We had April's 2 month apointment today and with it a few shots, boo hoo. She gave me sad looks the rest of the day and I could tell her little legs were sore. She is our VERY healthy little girl weighing in at just over 13 lbs which puts her in the 90% percentile on the growth charts. Bethany never has made it over 50% so I asked if there is anything to be concerned about (am I feeding her TOO much?), but they assured me that she is just a well-nursed healthy baby and that being full-term means she is always going to be bigger until they level off between 9 months and 1 year. She should be sleeping longer stretches though so they adjusted her reflux meds and hopefully we'll see a 6 hour stretch at night sometime soon!


She is all smiles for me and Bethany during the day and gives us little coo's to chat when we talk to her. Her head is getting very stable and she likes to push up with her legs on our laps when we hold her. She likes to look at her toys in front of her and has found her fist to chew on and look at when it goes by her face.
By far the cutest thing about her is still her cheeks. Now with the big smiles she has I just want to squeeze her and all those little chins and neck rolls! I need to capture the extent of her cheeks and rolls sometime but she doesn't seem to like the camera. She is all smiles and then the big black camera comes and she frowns and gets a concerned look on her face.


April you love to be held and talked to and just like to hang out with all the excitement in our house! You are a lot more laid back than your sister so we'll see if that continues, and how your personality will continue to develop.

2 month stats:
Height: 22 1/2 in. 50%
Weight: 13 lbs. 1.5 oz, 90%
Head: 39 cm. 75%

November 2011

Busy month so far! A few get togethers with friends and family, a trip to Willmar to see my Grandpa who is recovering from West Nile virus, and a surprise 40th anniversary party for Dan's parents. In January, Dan's sister Melissa started talking with us about the idea and throughout the year we talked about details. It turned out to be a wonderful event and many friends and family of theirs were able to make it!

Surprise!

Paul was the MC

Great-grandma Edna with April

Grandma and Papa with all the grandkids