My chart topper

Anna had her 2 month check up yesterday. She weighs 13lbs and 9oz. and she is 25 inches tall. This puts her in the 99th percentile for weight and height!! She is such a good baby! When I take her to the doctor, I have no questions about her and a million about the twins. I know it is just because they are always going through stages that are new to us. We have done the baby stuff and I am way less freaked out this time around, but the toddler stuff is always keeping me guessing.
In addition to being a big beautiful baby, Anna continues to be a great sleeper and eater. She is so strong and people are always commenting on how she holds herself so well. She still has a great head of hair, which I am so happy about. She has these gorgeous curly lashes and the most beautiful smile. She is generally easy going and content and loves to be outside in the evenings (as do the rest of us). She has started using baby talk lately and I just love it. Today she was jabbering pretty much nonstop while she was awake and not eating. It is so cute and Allie and AJ love to hear her. She loves her swing and her own bed. She still hates her car seat and won't take a pacifier...this makes shopping less fun than it could be. She is discovering her hand now and I have a feeling that she will be a thumb sucker before too long. The other day I had her on her tummy and I guess she was really hungry because she began sucking on her arm and gave herself a little hicky.
We are sure enjoying having our baby Anna with us and watching her grow and change.

The moments that take your breath away

So, tonight we were driving home from my parents house and that new George Strait song was on the radio, "The Moments That Take Your Breath Away". I was listening very closely and started thinking of some of those moments in my own life. My first thoughts were of all the excitement and emotion I felt on the days I had my babies. I remember both times lying on the operating table shaking and smiling like a clown just waiting for our babies to arrive. It seemed like so long waiting at the time and now looking back, it was all so quick. Seeing each of them for the first time was truly breath taking. Looking into their dark eyes and holding them close for the first time was breath taking. Watching them discover the world, grow and learn...
I can't believe my Anna is already 2 months old and the twins are almost 3! It goes so fast and all night I have been thinking, I need to write this down so my babies know that from the moment they arrived, they have been my world. I can't imagine more love than the love of a mother for her child.

Baby Anna's Blessing and A few weeks before

Today was Anna's blessing! It was such a special day and Alberto gave her a beautiful blessing. It was so nice to be with family and good friends and celebrate our precious girl. She as usual was such a good baby and although she was awake during the blessing she was quiet and nice. After the blessing we had a fun lunch at our club house. I took a few pictures, but nothing too great. Thanks to all who were able to make it out to support us and spend time.

I included some random pictures I have taken lately. In the past couple weeks Anna has been changing so much. She is smiling a lot more and so alert. She hold her head up and looks around like she just can't wait to figure this world out. I love how she stares into our eyes and when she smiles it makes me feel like I am the greatest thing in the world to her.

Last time the kids and I were at my mom's house we decided to make them a fort to play under. They put their Lightening McQueen and Princess mattresses under it and we read books and attempted an unsuccessful nap. It was fun though and I enjoyed reading with and chatting with them under our little fort.

Baby Anna's Newborn Pictures

I am so pleased with the way Anna's newborn pictures turned out! They were worth the wait!! Now the hard part is deciding what to enlarge and where to put all of them!

Thank goodness for Books

I have posted more than once about how much I love when my kids sit down and look at books. Lately, I love it more than ever. Allie and AJ are in this phase where they are super whiny and they fight a lot. Some days can be really long with 2-two year olds bickering and throwing fits over every little thing.
However, I think they love books now more than ever. Several times through out the day they will empty the bookshelf or a basket of books and quietly look through them. It is heaven on earth.
Every night we read a few books (or Brazilian comics in Portuguese)as a family. Both Allie and AJ are starting to like to pretend to read too. It is so cute. AJ will open a book and say, "Once upon a time there was a dinosaur (or whatever the subject of the book happens to be). The End." They both LOVE the "If you give a..." books. They can finish every page now that they have caught on to the pattern (our kids are so smart).
Tonight we read, "If You Take A Mouse To School". Allie wanted to read it to me after I read it to them. She opened the book and said something along the lines of, "If you take a mouse to school, he'll probably want your lunch box. He will play soccer and skateboard and chances are if you give him a snack you will take him back to school." She "read" this to me as she turned through pages using picture cues. I am sure she could have told me the whole story if she wasn't skipping pages as she flipped through, but the cutest part was how proud she was of herself. She was just beaming as she remembered the words from the book.
I love how learning comes so naturally for little ones. It is amazing to see how they take in EVERYTHING!!

Anna's Birth Announcement

The photographer, Errin Andrus, just sent me these today and I just love them!! I can't wait to get the actual announcements and to see all of her pictures. We have the most beautiful babies in the world!!

Front of the announcement

Back of the announcement

Update-One Month

Baby Anna is over a month old now! Where does a month go? I have to admit, I have the best baby in the land. She has been a dream! She hardly cries except in the evening at times and when I try to go shopping. Allie and AJ are adjusting well to life with a baby. They are definitely pushing every button they can and seeking a little extra attention, but who can blame them??
Here are a few facts about each of our babies:

-Anna-

1. She is a great sleeper. I only have to get up with her once in the night and sometimes she will even sleep until 6:00 am!

2. She loves to be held and she LOVES to eat!

3. She HATES binkies! Occasionally Alberto can get her to take one, but it only lasts a minute or two then she will pop it out with her tongue...it is kind of funny.

4. She looks more like her big sister than anyone else. They have so many features in common! The biggest difference is that Allie had very little hair as a tiny baby and Anna has a whole lot of hair!

5. She does the cutest pouty lip just like Allie and AJ and she has a little fake cry when she wants attention.

6. She loves to be wrapped tight for sleeping.

7. She is starting to smile and it melts your heart.

8. She loves her crib

9. She HATES her car seat and gets really hot and sweaty in there no matter what!

10. She is very strong-she can hold her head up pretty well, she enjoys tummy time and she
has even rolled over a few times when she is upset.

-Allie-

1. Loves to help take care of baby Anna and every other baby she is around.

2. Can't stand for me to not attend to baby Anna crying or if I don't wipe her drool or spit up immediately.

3. Likes to give me directions on how to wrap baby Anna in her blanket.

4. Loves to wear dresses and have her hair in "ponies tails".

5. Loves to play pretend..pretend to: cook, go to work, be Millie from Team Umi Zoomie, sing songs (especially the Beatles, country songs, and songs she learns in nursery).

6. Likes princesses and recognizes most of them, even though the only princess movie she has seen in Snow White.

7. Loves books

8. Is obsessed with Team Umi Zoomie and likes Dora, Elmo and Clifford.

9. When asked who she likes better, Mommy or Daddy, she will always say Mommy.

10. Screams, whines and cries like a true girl over nearly everything if it doesn't go exactly how she wants it to.

-AJ-

1. Loves to ask, "When I be a baby..." meaning when I was a baby did you do that for me? He asks this when we feed Anna, change her, wrap her, put her in her bed or pull out any new interesting baby gear.

2. Is a tough guy...sometimes too tough, but always sweet.

3. Loves cars and trucks and loves to race them, crash them and line them up all around the house.

4. Has a great baseball swing. Nana taught him one day and he is really good.

5. Loves to play pretend..pretend to: cook, go to work, be Geo from Team Umi Zoomie, sing songs (especially the Beatles, Jason Aldean, Lightening McQueen, and songs he learns in nursery). AJ will even combine parts of different songs and make up his own.

6. Loves to say, "Shoot that BANG, BANG" in a really loud and low voice...Don't ask me what it means, but he says "It's only for boys" to say.

7. Loves books

8. Is obsessed with Team Umi Zoomie and likes Dora, Elmo and Clifford.

9. When asked who he likes better, Mommy or Daddy, he will always say Daddy.

10. Loves to tease, torment and pester Allie all day long.

Life so far with baby Anna

Baby Anna has been with us for 12 days now. She is such a good baby and we are all doing well. Allie and AJ have been really good with her. They love her and show interest in what she is doing, but so far have not tried to be overly involved, which has been a relief to me.
It is crazy how quickly Anna is changing and begining to look more and more like our family. She sleeps really well at night and loves to eat during the day. She is remarkably strong for a new born. She will hold up her head at times and can get her arms out of any swaddle if she wants to.
We all love her and we are enjoying having a baby in the house again. Here are a few pictures since we have been home.

Welcome Baby Anna

Our new baby girl finally made her arrival on July 14th at 7:10 am. I ended up going in for a scheduled c-section as the birth process was just not happening and I was 5 days overdue. The c-section went really well and Anna weighed in at 10 pounds even and 21.5 inches long!! She is one big baby and so beautiful and healthy! We took bets the night before on how big she'd be and Uncle Brad was the closest guessing 10lbs 3oz and 21.5 inches. I thought that was a little extreme, but I was wrong.
Anna has been a dream baby so far. She is eating well and sleeping well. She hardly cries. Allie and Aj love her already and are anxious to take her home. Mommy and Daddy are so proud and happy to have such a wonderful family!

Update

Well to start with, I am officially overdue! I never thought this would happen, I am not sure why I never thought this would happen, but I didn't. Watch the papers because I just might give birth to the largest baby ever if she doesn't come soon :) While we wait, I decided I could post a few pictures from some of our recent activities. On Father's Day, we made a quick trip to Pine Valley with my family. It was lots of fun and the weather was PERFECT. I think I love Pine Valley more than any other recreational place. Nana and kids hiking around.

A few weeks ago, we made a spontanious trip out to Quail Lake to ride around in the boat. Alberto and the kids and I got there a bit early, while my family had to figure out some last minute boating dilema's so Alberto and the kids swam in the lake while I watched. We had a little bbq and then once my family got there, we cruised around in the boat for quite a while. The kids just loved it and haven't stopped talking about going out on the boat since. We were all hoping a bumpy boat ride would put me into labor, but clearly it did not.AJ driving the boat with Papa.
Allie driving the boat with Papa.




We (Alberto) continued the follow the World Cup faithfully until the dreaded day that Brasil lost, but we know they will redeem themselves in 2014(???) This is me between 38 and 39 weeks. I wear that outfit everywhere I go :)


As for the 4th of July, I was certain baby Anna would be here, but since she was not, we went to my parent's house, went to the park with friends and then had a bbq and went to our usual spot for fireworks. It was fun. I always think 4th of July is fun. The kids looked cute as ever in there patriotic outfits and we enjoyed the holiday falling on Sunday so we had a whole weekend extravaganza with more fireworks at my parent's house on Sunday and then Hurricane fireworks on Monday night, which were AWESOME. Way to go Hurricane City.