Happy New Year!!

Well, 2013 was pretty great!  Mama and Papa got a new house and a new baby all in one year!  Not sure that can be topped, but looking forward to all the wonderful things that await us in the year to come.  Wishing you all a happy and prosperous 2014!

Not the greatest family picture, but when you have a 6-week-old and an exuberant Lexi Lou, this is as good as it gets. :-)

Sleeping arrangements

Tonight when I wasn't looking Lexi Lou stole my Boppy. 

It made me sad.

But I got her back and stole her blanket.

And we all had a good laugh about it later.

Eat, cry, sleep, repeat

It's been another fussy day for me.  I'll be 6 weeks old in two days and I'm in the middle of another growth spurt.  They only last a few days, but they sure make Mama and Papa frustrated.  I get hungry every hour and then I fuss and fuss until it's time to eat again.  I decided to take a little nap in the evening to give them a break, but I have a feeling Mama and I are going to be spending a lot of awake time together tonight!

More friends and family

Today Mama's friend Laura and her son Owen came to visit.  Mama and Laura have been friends for over 30 years!  I sure hope I have friendships that last that long some day.  It was pretty special to meet her, and I bet someday she'll have some funny stories about Mama to share with me!

In the evening, we headed out to Huntington Beach for a surprise birthday party for Mama's cousin Christina.  I got lots of attention since I was the youngest one there.  A lot of it came from Mama's Uncle Willy and his wife, Susan, since it was my first time meeting them.  Here's a picture of all of us together.

This is the whole family from Opa's side, including cousins Serafina and Christina, and Christina's daughter Marisa.

Buddha belly

Sometimes after I eat, my belly looks like this.  Papa calls it Buddha belly.

He also says that when I sleep I look like Mama, minus the drool.

I found my hands!

I'm becoming more and more aware of things as the days go by.  I'm starting to discover my hands and what they can do for me.  Today I pulled my binky out of my mouth so I could whine and cry for a few seconds, but then I pushed it back in all by myself.  And here's me holding on to my WubbaNub.

I'm also getting really good at making eye contact.  I could stare into Papa's eyes all night long.

My 1st Christmas

Today was my very first Christmas!  It was everything I thought it would be and more.  Mama tried to get a cute picture of me in the morning, but I didn't feel like cooperating, so this happened:

Eventually I let her take this one just so she would stop bugging me:

When Grandma and Opa arrived, me and Opa settled in for a movie before opening presents.

Just before dinner, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa stopped by to meet me for the first time.  They brought me the cutest little teddy bear that sings lullabies for night-night time.

After dinner, me and Aunt Stacey snuggled up on the couch for an evening nap.

I'd say it was a pretty great day!  I hope you all had as wonderful a day with your families as I did with mine!

Waiting for Santa

Yep...no way I'm sleepin' tonight.  Santa Claus is coming to town!

Can't wait for my first Christmas tomorrow!  Aunt Stacey, Grandma, and Opa are all going to come to my house to celebrate.  Papa's grandma and grandpa are coming up from Temecula too, so I get to meet them for the first time.  It will be a great day filled with family, love, and joy!  Merry Christmas, everyone!

Merry Christmas Eve eve

I spent all morning with Grandma today while Mama ran around to finish up her Christmas shopping. After she picked me back up, we drove over to Aunt Stacey's and the three of us attended my first Christmas church service.

Then we headed over to Auntie Awesome's annual Christmas Eve Eve open house. There was lots of yummy food and even a bagpiper!  Here's me, Mama, and Auntie Awesome:

Mama's friend Genevieve was there too with her son London. He's a cutie!  Here we are with our matching Santa bottoms:

Merry Christmas Eve Eve everyone!!

Men

Something about the men in my life makes me feel safe and secure.  It's so easy for me to find a comfy spot and fall asleep in their arms.  Papa gets to snuggle me every day, but today it was Opa that provided my safe haven.

Walks with Lexi

Shortly after Mama and Papa moved into their new house, they found a fence opening around the corner that leads them into a part of the Green River Golf Club that was flooded out several years ago.  They're in the process of rebuilding it, but in the meantime it's just dirt and rocks.  When I was still in Mama's belly, they would take Lexi for walks there so they could let her off her leash to run free.  Today I got to go with them for the first time.  I can tell how much Lexi Lou loves it there and I hope it takes them at least another year to rebuild it so I'll be big enough to run around with her!

My magic blanket

Mama got this blanket as a gift for me before I was born.  She didn't know it at the time, but it has magical powers.  Every time I get swaddled in its warm fleecy softness, I fall asleep for hours.  Mama and Papa say it's their favorite blanket...I wonder why?

Happy birthday to me

Can you believe it's already my one-month birthday?  Time is going by so fast!  Before you know it I'll be sitting up on my own and sleeping through the night.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Here's a few pictures to show off how big I've gotten.

My model pose

Wait, I'm not ready!

Put your hands up in the air, and wave 'em like you just don't care

...and I'm spent!

A few of the pictures from my photo shoot with Tira J are up on her blog!  You can check them out HERE.  Please don't forget to leave a comment when you visit the blog to let Tira know what a fantastic job she did!  (Of course, she did have a pretty cute subject to photograph!)

mamaRoo

I have been a fussy, fussy girl lately, and Mama and Papa have been trying everything to get me to quiet down.  Mama's friend Genevieve let us borrow her mamaRoo a while ago, and last night it worked like a charm.  I was fast asleep after just a few minutes!  We tried it again today, and while it didn't make me sleepy, I sure enjoyed the ride.

Versace ain't got nothin' on this

Mama's pretty fashionably challenged.  She shies away from jewelry and makeup, and her idea of getting dressed up is dark jeans and a cute tank top.  But today she stepped up her fashion game and found the perfect accessory to make any outfit ten times cuter: ME!

Bottles

Mama and Papa had a plan to wait for my 4-week birthday to give me my first bottle.  It was three days shy of the goal, but this weekend I got to give it a try for the first time.  I didn't really like it at first, but once I realized it was full of Mama's milk, I gulped it right down.  I still prefer feeding time with Mama, but it's pretty cool that Papa can feed me now too!  Grandma thinks that she'll be able to kidnap me more often...we'll just see about that.  :-)

Thor

Who woulda thought that at less than 4 weeks old I would get to meet my first superhero?  Today Mama, Aunt Stacey, Aunt Stacey's friend Michelle, and I all went to Disneyland.  There were so many people there!  I didn't go on any rides, but I did get to meet Thor up close and personal.  I even got to take a picture with him!  He's pretty handsome, don't you think?

Tummy time

Today I had my first official tummy time.  I have to admit I did pretty well.  With a little bit of practice each day, I'll master this neck control thing in no time!

 

I'm famous!

Okay, not really, but I am currently being featured on the home page of the website for Mama's new job! 

The wine club

Mama and her friends get together once a month for dinner, fellowship, and wine.  Tonight we headed over to Auntie Allison's for the event.  I was so excited to finally meet Auntie Amy and Auntie Awesome!  Lucas came too.  I think he's scared of me cause I'm so little, but I bet it won't be long before he wants to play with me!

A good night's sleep

Since I've been around, Mama and Papa haven't been getting as much sleep as they used to, and when they do, it's pretty uncomfortable in their old bed. So today Mama and I surprised Papa with a brand new bed!  Here we are trying it out for the first time. I think he likes it!

Three weeks

I am three weeks old now, which means I'm going through a growth spurt. Mama has to feed me almost every hour or I get super fussy. Last night I was so grouchy and instead of sleeping, I just kept crying. Mama tried everything to calm me down, but I wouldn't give in. She finally broke down and let me try a binky for the first time. It worked for a minute, but ultimately Papa was the only one who could get me to sleep!

Sleep

Yep...this is how I spent the day:

San Diego Safari Park

Mama and Auntie Allison spent the day with me at the San Diego Safari Park. 

We got to see lots of animals, ride the safari tram, and watch a cheetah run 60 miles an hour!  It was pretty cold and Grandma was afraid I'd be chilly, so she bought me this warm outfit to wear.  It's a little big pretty ginormous on me, but it sure kept me warm!

Here are some more memories from this fun day:

If you look real close, you can see a lion sleeping in the background.

Me and Auntie Allison with the rhinos.