The Big Question

One of the questions we've been asked most often since Jack was born is if we're done because we have one of each. I don't know exactly how to answer it, and maybe we're not ready to give a response just yet.

I'm now in a position that I haven't been in since October 2007. I've either been pregnant or trying to get pregnant for the past two and a half years. To tell you the truth, I kind of miss it. I miss the possibility of being pregnant and actually being pregnant. Based on how I'm feeling right now, I'm pretty sure we're not done.

But who knows, maybe when the newness of having a baby around wears off and the postpartum hormones settle down, I might change my mind about having another and be perfectly content with two kids. At the same time, I've never been able to answer the question of how many kids do we want to have. So, for those of you who were wondering, we don't know, but don't be surprised if we have at least one more eventually.

The Scent of a Newborn

Earlier this week, I was reading this article that cited a study regarding the scent of a newborn, and it wasn't talking about the smell of poopy diapers. The part that stood out to me was where it states that "90 percent of moms were able to identify their newborns by scent alone after having spent as little as ten minutes with them. When the moms spent an hour with their babies, 100 percent of them correctly distinguished their own baby's smell from the smell of other infants."

People always comment to me that they love the way that babies smell, but I never really thought about each baby having his or her own scent. Jack doesn't really have a smell that I can describe, but it's definitely not the soap we use on him since it doesn't have a smell. His scent is unique to him. When I asked Mara what he smelled like, she said, "Baby. Because he is one."

I am definitely addicted to Jack's scent, just as the article stated we are designed to do. Ever since he was born, I constantly find myself smelling Jack – especially on the top of his head. A lot of times I do it without thinking. Even to this day, I still smell Mara from time to time, and her smell hasn't changed that much since she was a newborn herself.

The entire article was an interesting read. In addition to the science behind a newborn's scent, it also discussed the good feelings a mom gets when her baby smiles at her. Each time he smiles at me, it makes me happy and wants me to get him to smile at me even more. I can hardly wait until we get to hear him laugh. :)

More birthdays

Monday, April 19

We had a pretty relaxing evening at home tonight. Even though I've been out on leave for six weeks now, it seems like we rarely get one of those.

Tuesday, April 20

I went for my 6-week postpartum check up today, and everything went well. I wanted to get a picture of Jack with my doctor, but that didn't work out since John had to work. So, instead, I had to settle for a rare picture of Jack with me when we had dinner at Chick-Fil-A that night..

Wednesday, April 21

See Wednesday's post here.

Thursday, April 22

Jack took his first nap in his crib today, and then we celebrated Lani's 6th birthday with dinner at IHOP.

Friday, April 23

Mara held Jack and fed him a bottle all by herself tonight, but I don't think she's ready to do that on a more regular basis. :)

Saturday, April 24

Diane made a playmat for Jack to use on the floor, and he really enjoys laying on it and playing.

Sunday, April 25

Mara was invited to a double birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese today, so Jack made his first trip there. He slept through most of it while Mara had a fun time playing games, dancing with Chuck E. Cheese, and cashing in her tickets.

Sleeping through the night?

Jack fell asleep around midnight last night after getting a bath and bottle, and then he didn't really wake up until 8 a.m. He still sleeps in a bassinet in our room at night, and he stirred at one point because he got cold. But other than that, he was out. Not sure if this was a one-time thing or not. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. :)

First Smiles

Jack's been smiling in response to us for about a week now, and I was finally able to capture his huge, toothless grin.

Getting Back to Normal

Monday, April 12

Jack has grown so much that he's pretty much out of his newborn clothes (a size that Mara never wore). Today he wore one of my favorite onesies because it has a monkey bottom. I think I might have to find this outfit in a larger size just so he can wear it again. :)

Tuesday, April 13

See Tuesday's post here.

Wednesday, April 14

**Picture to come**

Mara has pictures at school today. These are probably the last ones she'll have taken at her current school.

Thursday, April 15

Today was Mara's last swimming lesson. She really improved greatly this time around. She'll even swim underwater for periods of time if she's wearing her goggles. I want to wait and see how well she does on her own before we enroll her in another class.

Friday, April 16

Jack really loves to cuddle, and tonight he took a nap on Aunt Myra while Mara and his cousins made brownies.

Saturday, April 17

Now that we're getting used to being a family of four, we're trying to get back to some of our old routines. One of those things include doing the special events on Saturdays. Today, we went to Toys R Us for the Thomas Playdate. Mara had a lot of fun playing with the train table.

Sunday, April 18

It's nice that we kept a lot of the stuff from Mara so we can reuse them with Jack. I finally pulled out Mara's swing, and Jack seems to love being it. He's also used her playgym, but mainly for sleeping.

Mara – 5 years old

Mara celebrated a milestone birthday a few weeks ago when she turned five, and this fall she'll be going to kindergarten. She is a beautiful little girl with my blondish hair and John's blue eyes. She's the tallest of her class and is solidly built. We like to think that Mara is pretty well rounded. She loves to wear dresses and skirts and play dress up with her cousin Lani, but she also likes playing with cars, trains, and bugs. While we don't have any trees for her to climb outside, we find her scaling the cat tree all the time.

She recently discovered Playmobil and Zhu Zhu Pet toys, and they are currently her favorite. But, she still plays with her Littlest Pet Shop and My Little Pony. She also loves to color and draw. She claims to not like cake or cupcakes, but she will rarely turn down a brownie.

Her favorite colors are pink and purple, and her favorite TV shows are anything on Playhouse Disney (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Chuggington, Jungle Junction, Happy Monster Band, and Handy Manny), Phineas & Ferb, and Wizards of Waverly Place. She also loves to listen to music. Her favorite song right now is "Naturally" be Selena Gomez, but she also likes Owl City's "Fireflies," Miley Cyrus' "The Climb," Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me," Hannah Montana's "Best of Both Worlds," and Allstar Weekend's "A Different Side of Me," and she sings along with many more when they're on Radio Disney. Her favorite animals are still whales, dolphins, and cats.

She is a very sweet girl. We still have to work on the whining and using listening ears, but we think that's more a cry for attention now that her brother is here. She's a great big sister, though. She loves to help out with her brother, and she's even helped change his diaper.

Jack – 5 weeks old

I realize I should have done this when Jack turned one month, but better late than never. :)

Jack's first few weeks were a little bit of a struggle as he refused to gain weight until we started giving him formula in addition to breast milk. Once we made that change, he has really grown. He's trying to talking with "goo" and "coo" here and there. He really likes to talk to the baby in the mirror when we're changing his diaper. He smiles quite frequently, but we're still waiting for his first "social" smile in response to us or something around him. We have heard him laugh a couple times in his sleep and can't wait until he starts doing it when he's awake. Big sister Mara likes him, but sometimes she gets tired of all of the attention he gets. She has influenced him on his choice of "loveys" as he already has started taking a liking to his burp cloths that are just like Mara's.

The time is just going by so fast. Before we know it, I will be returning to work and Jack will be going to daycare. We decided to go ahead and enroll him in a daycare closer to home. It will be a little difficult this summer with Jack and Mara in two different daycares, but it will be much easier on us this fall. Plus, we can us the daycare when needed for Mara, and they'll even pick her up from school.

Today, I was able to capture one of his partial smiles. And just to have record that he isn't happy all of the time, I took some pictures when he was tired of our photo session.

I hope to write something each month until Jack turns one year old to track his progress throughout the year. I realize now that I should do this for Mara as well, so look for me to recap her first five years in the upcoming days.

Spring is here

Tuesday, April 6

Jack is still sleeping in our room, and some mornings Mara wants to come in and cuddle with us. This morning she and Jack cuddled with each other while I got ready for the day.

Wednesday, April 7

At Jack's weight check today, he had a lot of fun laying on the table kicking and moving around. He also recently started cooing and trying to talk. He especially liked "talking" to the baby in the mirror.

Thursday, April 8

After swimming lessons, Mara played in her sandbox while John made pancakes for dinner. He made a special "M" pancake just for Mara.

Friday, April 9

We went and enrolled Mara in Kindergarten today, and then we had lunch with Shari and Allie. On the way home, we stopped by a field of bluebonnets to take pictures to mark Jack's one month birthday. At dinner, Mara and Lani had fun putting eye shadow on each other.

Saturday, April 10

Mara's not a very "girly girl," but she does have her moments. I bought her a fun skirt that she loves, and would spin and dance all day while wearing it.

Sunday, April 11

Mara went to another birthday party at Bounce U today, and she had a blast. She got to play with some school friends that she doesn't get to see as much anymore.