Perfect Day!!!

Today has been a perfect day. I got woken up at 6:30 by Miss Aliya Juel and got to sit with her for an hour while the rest of the house was sleeping. She has been smiling a little bit for over a week. But this morning she was smiling the whole hour. It seems as though she finally got that she can respond to me with a smile more than just random times. She has continued to smile all day. It was so nice to just be able to enjoy my baby without any interference. It didn't bother me that she woke up early. She fell back asleep at 7:30 so I decided to take advantage of the free time. I cleaned all 3 bathrooms, cleaned all the floors, vacuumed, did 2 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, emptied all the garbages and had my hair done by 9 AM when Jaxon and Aliya woke up for the day. I made Jaxon breakfast and fed Aliya. Then Jax and I read some books and played quietly for a little bit. We then ran a few errands. Came home for lunch and put the kids down for a nap. I even got to take a20 minute nap (only second one since I had Aliya 4 weeks ago). Now Jaxon just came down from his 3 hour nap and is cuddling with Aliya and I. I love productive and relaxing days like these. I wish I could be more organized and motivated to have more of them.

3 1/2 weeks old

3 weeks old... 3 years old (almost)... TOES

Jaxon's toes. He wouldn't let me take Aliya's toes without taking his too.

Aliya's toes.

Aliya's first bottle feeding

Since I was pregnant Jaxon has talked about feeding Aliya Juel. He has not understood why he couldn't feed her until now. On June 21 I told Jaxon he could feed Aliya a bottle. He began running around with excitement. It was very cute how excited he was. While he was feeding her he kept kissing her. She ate an ounce and did great... until I moved her and she spit it all up. I love watching Jaxon love on his sister. It starts from the second his eyes open in the morning until his eyes close at night. He always whispers to her that he loves her and that she is his best buddy. I am so excited to see my two children grow up to be great friends. I love being a mom to two adorable children.

3 weeks old (almost)

I was sitting on the couch and looked over at had to grab my camera and did a little photo shoot of sweet little Aliya. She is such a beautiful sweet girl. She has been sleeping in her crib already because she grunts so loud at night that I can not sleep. This is a huge step for me since Jaxon still sleeps with us. We decided to move Jaxon's mattress into our room. He has slept on his mattress (against his wishes) the past two nights as well. We figured it will be a slow process for Jaxon but seems pretty easy for Aliya with our SIDS monitor and video monitor.

Photo shoot in house... Aliya Juel is 2 weeks old

Story time

Jaxon makes sure that Aliya is next to him anytime we read him books. He doesn't want her to miss anything. He is so sweet. It is so much fun to watch him sing to her, kiss her, and just love on her. It never gets old to see him shower her with love and attention. He truely is the best big brother to our baby girl. I feel so lucky that the transition has been so positive. One thing is that he hates her to have a binki. He says she doesn't need or want it. I have banned him from taking it out of her mouth. Well Jaxon has outsmarted me and will put Aliya's finger behind the binki so that when she moves her hand it pops out her binki. I can't get upset because it technically isn't him taking it out. It is quite amusing to see him position her tiny finger just right. I am so in love with my children. I love watching Jaxon be a big brother. I am enjoying my time with them. I can not imagine ever wanting to return to work. 

Zoo

Dylan, Aspen, and Jaxon

When Aliya was 1 week old I took the kids to the Zoo. Jaxon was ready to get out of the house and Aspen and Dylan were willing to help out with Jaxon. Aspen took Jaxon into the bird show, which he loved and talked about for a few days. It was a nice day and a much needed break from being stuck in doors with all the rain we have been having.

Bath time

3 days old. Jaxon helped bathe and massage Aliya.

I made a dress for Aliya Juel

I made my first dress. Katelyn bought Aliya Juel a Shabby Apple dress and I was determined to get her monies worth. My first dress was so tight on her I thought I was gonna have to cut it off of her. The second was for a sumo baby. The third was Perfect! I love the ribbon, she looks like a little ballerina. I am quite impressed with my sewing skills. I am starting to improve more with everything I attempt. All my sewing has been baby related. I just can't justify sending lots of money on baby things when they are so easy and inexpensive to make.

Siblings

I love swaddled babies. Aliya is such a sweet girl. She wakes up 1-2 times a night to eat and goes right back to sleep. YEAH!!

Jaxon loves his little sister, he wants to cuddle with her immediately after he wakes up. He is very soft and gentle with her. We are still working on the holding area. He will just pull his arms out from under her and he really wants to pick her up all by himself. He is such a good big brother. Jaxon always wants to be by Aliya Juel.

Beautiful Girl (Jaxon calls her this)