Cammie

I realize how much I talk about how wonderful Allie has been since Cammie's arrival. It is true, and I am SO proud of her.  But, part of the reason that she is so good is because Cammie is such a great baby.  She has a fussy period every night at about 7, but otherwise she really only cries when she is hungry.  As a result, Allie still gets a lot of my attention and I'm not very stressed. The days are manageable.  I thought I should give Cammie some credit for things going pretty smoothly these last few weeks.  :)

All that to say, sometimes the days do get long.  Today it was 13 hours before I had a moment to myself, including using the restroom. But, Cammie went to sleep almost an hour ago and I've been enjoying some relaxing time before bed. It is so nice!

My pretty girl!

Thanks for the adorable outfit Gagu!  

Cammie smiled for the first time at me this week. LOVE!

Busy, busy!

Things have been going well as a family of four.  Allie is the best big sister. I really could not be more proud of her for her helpful attitude, her love and kindness towards Cammie, and her happy demeanor. Overall, Cammie is a really mellow, happy baby.  Dan has been great.  I have been sick most of the month, but am finally on the mend and feeling like I'm used to caring for two kids.  Life is good.

I am so thankful for all the help we have received this past month. My parents have been especially great about helping with Allie, cooking meals, grocery store runs, letting us come over to their house to get out of our cramped town home, and helping us adjust to a new baby. Barb and Craig took Allie and Bella while we were in the hospital. Mary has helped with Allie when I've been really sick. Countless friends and family members have brought meals, gifts, and spent time helping us to adjust. We are so blessed!

I haven't been very good about photos, so this post is really just a photo dump from my iPhone.

The next two photos show Cammie when she is hungry and wanting to eat. "Feed me mommy!"

And Cammie after she is done eating. She is so content!

I love this photo because it shows Allie's fun personality.  This day was picture day at school and I asked Allie how she smiled for her school picture. This is the pose she showed me. What a diva!  A mom in her class told me that she stayed for the class photo and that Allie actually did not pose like this, but had a nice, normal smile. I was relieved, but I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if she had done this pose for the photo.

Princess Allie with her best friend princess Claire!

Maybe the best part of a newborn are all the snuggles. I love the snuggles!!!

Dan and his girls!

This one is more accurate.

Gagu and Cammie! Gagu has done a great job of not only helping to take care of my girls, but to take care of me this past month. Thanks Gagu!

Cammie was so tiny at birth because of my low amniotic fluid, but you can really tell in this photo that she is growing fast.  She was 6 pounds 6 oz at birth and 9 pounds 4 oz at 4 weeks. She's a good eater!

Morning snuggles! The first thing Allie wants to do each morning is hold Cammie. She is such a sweet big sister!

Life with a newborn and a 3 year old is busy, but we are so blessed. Even in the midst of some tough days, I have been so thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful family! We are so thankful.

Camilla Grace

Camilla (Cammie) Grace Mauer was born at 12:16 PM on Friday, April 12 at 39 weeks 3 days.  She was my tiny peanut (in comparison to Allie) weighing 6 lbs 6 oz and 19 3/4 inches long.  

I have lots of photos on my camera, but for now, these are all just photos from my iPhone.  I'll update with better photos soon. 

I ended up having an emergency induction following a doctor appointment on Thursday due to low fluid levels and decreased fetal movement.  Basically, she kept failing her biophysical profiles.  We had been sent down to the hospital for a possible induction on Tuesday after a poor performance on a biophysical at the doctor's office. When it happened again on Thursday, the doctor made the call to induce.  I had low fluid with Allie starting at 30 weeks. This time I didn't find out I had low fluid until 38 weeks, but it was lower than Allie's ever was and actually ended up being more serious. We think the fluid issues caused Cammie to be so small, so I am especially thankful that she is out and 100% healthy. God is good!

I was so excited to see Allie when she came to the hospital. The hardest part of the induction for me was not being able to say goodbye to Allie and explain what was happening.  Barb and Craig watched her while we were in the hospital, so she had a blast. But, I had a hard time not being able to see her before heading to the hospital.

Nana and her grand girls.

Heading home from the hospital.

Relaxing at home the day we got home from the hospital. 

Allie is such a great big sister. She has been SO sweet and SO helpful.  I was nervous about the transition, but so far, it could not be going more smoothly.  Our beautiful girls!

Bella has been so nervous. She likes to keep her eyes on Cammie at almost all times and gets very nervous if Cammie cries.  It is so sweet. 

Everyone getting to know each other.

Cammie is so tiny! Here she is snuggled up wearing an outfit that only fit Allie for a few weeks after she was born.  Cammie is swimming in it! I thought I was in great shape with clothes for Cammie since Allie had so many. But, I had to order a bunch of NB and preemie sleepers since Allie's are WAY too big! But, we took her to the doctor yesterday because she has a little jaundice and she is already 6 lbs. 9 oz! It is very impressive she was above her birth weight at only 4 days old.  She is an eater like her big sister.

Allie is a daddy's girl and so is Bella. Both like to crowd daddy when he is holding Cammie.  He doesn't seem to mind! :) 

This is what it usually looks like as I get ready to nurse. Bella never wants to miss out on any action!

Daddy and his girls before bedtime last night.  He is outnumbered for sure! 

It has been a wonderful few days as a family of four.  Dan has been home all week from work and has been a huge support. I am so blessed to have a husband who is such a hands on dad and who takes such great care of all of his girls.  I think next week could be a bit of a shock when he goes back to work, but for now, we will just enjoy our time as a family of four! 

A Random, Catch Up Post

It has been awhile since I've posted and I really hope to be better about it in the future.  The baby is coming in less than 3 weeks (hopefully!), so I may fall behind again.

 One really nice thing about living in MN is that we get to spend holidays with family.  My parents came over with gifts and cards for us on Valentine's Day.  I love both Allie's and my dad's facial expressions in this photo.  

My adorable girl in pink, her favorite color!

A couple weeks ago we went out to dinner. I tried to capture the amount of butter on Allie's mouth, but it didn't work so well.  She basically had a little bread with her butter!

Craig is very good at decorating birthday cakes, so that is his job for all his grandchildren's birthdays.  Allie loves all things princess, so Craig decorated this Ariel cake for Allie.  Allie LOVED it! The boys (Brennan and Gavin) weren't sure that they wanted to eat a princess cake, but in the end they discovered all cake tastes the same, even princess cake! :)

Dan traveled A LOT from the end of December through mid-March. It was exhausting for all of us. Allie never naps, but on this particular day she put herself to bed in the baby's room, on the baby's changing pad.  I love that Bella went in to sleep with her. She is such a sweet dog!

Disney on Ice with cousin Mercy! They both had a blast.  The only complaint was that there were not enough princesses...go figure. 

My beautiful puppy!  She has no idea what is coming with another baby, but we'll be sure to still spoil her too. 

The last week Dan was gone we had a major snow storm.  I was not thrilled, but my girls sure loved the snow.

Allie's first trip to the dentist. No cavities! 

We had a bit of a rough time while Dan was gone so much. I think because Allie survived so many transitions; saying goodbye to all her friends, moving from Canada to my parents' house for 2 months, moving into the town home, moving out of her crib to a big girl bed, starting school, having a mommy who is slow and tired, and a dad who was all of a sudden gone 50% of each month. It was too much and at the end of February/beginning of March she started to have some behavioral issues like hitting and biting (she was also no longer potty trained, but thankfully this only lasted a week). I'm happy to report that Dan is no longer going to be traveling very much and, now that he is around, Allie's behavior is perfect normal for a 3 year old. 

Anyway, this photo was taken while Dan was on one of his trips. When I asked her to put her boots on so that we could go home she refused and, in one of my best parenting moments, I yelled at her, and gave myself a time out so that I could cool off. I came back probably 3 minutes later and rather than putting her boots on, she fell asleep by the back door. She slept there for 1.5 hours!  I took this photo because it reminds me of a story my mom tells about me being so stubborn, and refusing to eat my soup at dinner. Instead of eating my soup, I ended up falling asleep in my bowl after who knows how long of sitting there.  Allie is strong willed just like her mommy! :)

When I was 35 weeks pregnant I had a week of lots of cramping and contractions and was forced to take it easy.  Here is my sweet girl resting with me, watching the iPad.  I love this photo because she still looks like my baby and not like the big girl she looks like most of the time these days.  The nuk helps her to look more baby too. We just don't have the heart to take it away from her with all the transitions she has dealt with and the biggest one (arrival of baby) still to come!

I took this photo yesterday at 37 weeks pregnant. Almost done! I would love to say that I'm cherishing the last little bit of pregnancy because it will be my last time pregnant. But, let's be honest, I don't love being pregnant and I'm so excited to meet baby girl and be able to keep up with Allie again. So, I'm not really cherishing these last couple weeks. I am ready to be done! But, it has been a good pregnancy and I'm very thankful for that!

And finally, here are some updated photos of our house.  The siding is going up.  It looks light tan in these photos, but will be painted a kind of blue/grey.  We have an online project management tool that says we are about 55% done with the project.  Can't wait until move in day!!!

From the front.

From the back.

Settled

Last weekend we finally got settled in our town home! After 2+ months it is so nice for Allie to have all her own toys, for us to have our own space, and to be able to get back into a routine.  I took this photo the other night after dinner when we were relaxing and watching a cartoon before Allie's bedtime. 

                           

Once we moved to Minnesota, Allie decided it was time to switch from her crib to a big girl bed. Poppy and Gagu had a bed she could sleep in, but she needed one for our town home and her room in our new house.  Here is her big girl bed.  Our baby looks SO small in such a big bed, but I know she will love having it as she gets older. 

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  The morning started by Allie opening a gift that Aunt Robbie sent her. It was a princess coloring book--perfect for Allie!

About an hour later flowers and a teddy bear arrived with a card from daddy wishing his girls a Happy Valentine's Day.

Allie promptly named the bear Dora and she has slept with it and kept it close by since Thursday.  Here is the bear watching Bernstein Bears with Allie.

And, our house continues to move along quickly.  All the windows are in and they are putting in heating duct work and plumbing at the end of this week into next week. It is so exciting to walk through the spaces and be able to see how the rooms are going to feel. 

Overall, life is very good. After a few months of transition, we are so thankful to be settled. Baby girl arrives in less than two months (hopefully) and now I feel like I can finally focus a bit and get organized for her arrival. We are looking forward to our first relaxing weekend at our own place since mid-November. We hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend as well!