A Month Old

I can't believe it - Avery is a month old today! She has been such a wonderful addition to our family. Lexi LOVES her. I think that they will become good friends and playmates. Avery is the perfect second child. She is calm, eats well, and sleep so much better than Lexi did. Avery only nurses once a night and I couldn't be more grateful for that. Avery gets cuter everyday. She is getting a little rounder, which I love. Her hair is continually getting lighter. Right now it has an auburn tint to it (Lexi's hair did the same thing before she went blonde). Avery smiles a tone already and she tries to mimic sounds that I make. Pretty much Avery is perfect in my mind. She is my little bundle of "Joy."

Getting Old is a Fire Hazard

Yesterday Sean turned 25!!!

I know that isn't really old but when I met Sean he had recently just turned 16 and had just got his driver's license. Time sure does fly. We didn't do anything too exciting to celebrate, we've just been so busy with the girls and preparing to move. We bought Sean some new work clothes. That's how you know you're getting old, when you get excited about work clothes. Andrea and Brandon came over to have pizza and pie with us. We also played some Wii. Andrea and Brandon gave Sean a 24 pack on Dr. Pepper, which was actually a great gift for Sean.

And now for the meaning of the post title: Sean, Andrea and Brandon were all lighting the candles (there were a lot of them). Brandon struck a match on the match box and half the match (the half with the flame) broke off and flew across our living room. The burning match landed on a baby blanket but didn't cause any fire or real damage because Sean stepped on the flame with his bare foot and save our family. What a hero!

We had banana cream pie (which always reminds me of my father-in-law). Lexi loved the pie, of course...

Avery didn't really participate in the festivities, she mostly just slept...

Happy Birthday Sweetie! I love you. Thank you for being the perfect husband for me and for being an amazing father to our girls.

Three Weeks Old Already!

Three weeks ago today Avery made her grand entrance into the world outside my womb. I can't believe how fast it's gone by. Avery is an amazing baby. She has a pretty easy going personality so far, she sleeps a lot, loves to eat and is adorable! We all love her so much! It's amazing how quickly a little baby can mean the world to you.

I took Avery in for a routine check up today. She is going great. She is now 8 lbs 7.5 ozs (41&%) and 20 3/4 inches (54%).

(I had the hardest time trying to decide which direction I liked this picture better, landscape or portrait, I'm still not sure)

Pictures and Videos

I was planning on uploading a bunch of recent pictures and videos to our blog but am too lazy. I've already updated our new family picture website. The link is on the side of our blog or you can also just click here to see all the pictures and videos.

Here is a sneak peak of what you will find on our site...

Second Mother's Day - Second Time Mom

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Happy Late Mother's Day to all the Women in my life: my mom (of course), my fabulous mother-in-law Kristi, my sisters-in-law who are like sisters to me, many fantastic church leaders and friends.

I was so excited to officially be a mother last year for my first Mother's Day. This was my second Mother's Day and this year I got to celebrate with my two girls. Next year for my third Mother's Day, I WON'T be celebrating with three kids!

I love my girls! Alexia and Avery are two of the greatest blessings of my life. I learn so much each day from them. Being a mom means sacrificing, exercising patience, showing unconditional love, and being a constant teacher. Just in the short time that I've been a mom, I've come to better understand what my own mother has done for me. I appreciate my mom more and I love her more now because I am starting to understand all that she has done for me. Just the fact that she delivered me, an almost 9 lb baby with no epidural, is enough reason to praise her!

And here are some pictures of the girls that make me a mom...

I love you Alexia Leah and Avery Joy! And I love my wonderful husband who helped me become a mother and who supports me in my role of being a mother.

22 Months and Being a BIG Sister

Alexia, who less than two weeks ago was my baby, is now my big girl. She turned 22 months old yesterday. Every since Avery was born, Lexi really does seem big. She seems so much heavier now! And she seems more like a kid than a baby.

Lexi has done well with being a big sister. She likes Avery. She kisses her sister and likes to help get diapers for us. She calls Avery, "Eee Eee." Whenever she wakes up she wants to know where Avery is. It's really exciting to see Lexi show love to her little sister.

Lexi has started throwing a lot tantrums since we got home from the hospital last week. I know she had a hard time being away from us and I think she may feel a little insecure. I also just think it's her age. She is going to be two soon. She is stubborn and has an opinion and doesn't like it when she gets her way. But the majority of the time she is so fun to be with and is well behaved. She just has been learning to adjust to our new family dynamics.

And of course some pictures...

A typical sassy Lexi face.

Lexi likes to do whatever Avery does.

She wants to wear a baby bib if Avery does. She even tries to put on Avery's clothes!

Giving her sister kisses.

To Celebrate Lexi, we took her to Artic Circle yesterday so she could play on the toys. She hasn't been able to go outside the past few weeks because of the extreme weeks, cold and snow.

She was so happy to get french fries and share a shake with Mommy and Daddy.

A typical Lexi pose.

My neighbor Ailinh (pronounce "Eye" "Lean") took these pictures of Lexi while we were in the hospital.

I love that little face! I love you Lexi!

For My Mom

Next to Sean and myself, my mom probably loves my girls more than anyone. They are her only grandchildren and she spoils them. Unfortunately my parents live in Washington, as well as Sean's parents, so they don't get to see us very often. So I'm trying to take lots of pictures of the girls for them. So I've added a link on the side of my blog with a link to a new family photo website. You are all welcome to enjoy!

Name of the Game: SURVIVAL!!!

Life has been CRAZY at the Christensen home, to say the least.

First, let me just say that the recovery from this delivery has been A LOT harder than I thought it would be. When I had my c-section with Lexi the recovery was easier than I thought it would be and this time around it has been harder than I thought it would be. Of course this time around is easier, I just wasn't prepared for pain. I thought having a VBAC would be no real recovery. I tore really bad and got episiotomy. Needless to say, I am not moving as easily as I used to. And I have been SO engorged. I've been trying to not go an infection all weekend long, I think I'm in the clear now. Sorry, probably TMI for some people.

Lexi has been good. She hasn't tried to hurt Avery but she sure wants to make sure she isn't forgot about. Within 10 minutes of us bring Avery home from the hospital Lexi started saying, "me" and "mine" all the time, something she has never done before. I think she is having a really hard time getting less attention from me. She has been throwing some good tantrums. She testes our patience everyday a few times. But she is still such a sweet little girl.

Avery is AMAZING! She is the perfect second child. She sleeps ALL THE TIME! The only time she seems to be awake is when she's eating. Today we took her to get her first check up. She is now 7 lbs 14 ozs (52%) 20 1/2 inches (77%) so I'm pretty sure they didn't measure her correctly at the hospital because I don't think she's grown 1 1/2 inches since Wednesday.

Everyday is getting better and eventually we'll get into our new routine of being a family of four but then of course, we'll move and change it all up again.

Here are a few pictures from the last few days...

Avery with her flowers from my mom. (Avery spends a lot of time in her car seat. This is where she sleeps during the day and at night.)

She falls asleep when I'm nursing her. This kid is just always tired. I thought this was just so cute.

When she is awake she makes the funniest faces.

Yeah, I know this picture isn't facing the right way but I'm just too tired to care. This is Avery's first bath at home. She didn't cry once in the water just when we took her out. Maybe we have another fish on our hands.

Sean wearing the Moby wrap. He takes care of both girls at once. Super dad! (Avery REALLY loved the Moby wrap, she loves to be swaddled.)

I was taking a picture of Avery and Lexi started saying, "Me." She wanted to ensure that she got a picture too. She wants to do whatever Avery does: be in just a diaper, wearing mittens, a bib use a binkie.

This picture shows that Lexi really does love her sister. She gave Avery her two favorite animals to sleep with.

Today we tried to get some pictures of the girls together.

Aren't they adorable!

These smiles make it all worth it.

Avery had her eyes open and she wasn't eating. I had to get a picture.

I love newborn faces. I wish I knew what she was thinking.