Ronan's first month

A couple days ago, Ronan turned one month old! Here are some family photos from the past couple weeks, including Grammy and Kelly's second visit to help out (Thank you!). I realize that Ronan seems to have the same expression in each photo, and it is a common one for him. But we're excited to report that he's started having meaningful smiles! They happen when he first hears one of our voices and sees us for the first time in a little while. I'll post a photo the first time I capture it on camera.

"Hey - what about me?!"

Brielle has learned that the appearance of Grammy also means the appearance of yummy vegan cupcakes.

And when Kelly visits, she'll get the opportunity to "help" him make food, like vegan chocolate mousse.

Everyone has been giving Brielle extra attention, and she's actually gotten a lot of gifts too. We used some of the gifts as a potty training incentive, which is working really well. We're hoping that she's not getting too spoiled, though. She has many "requests" these days, like "I need roller skates." When we tell her we don't have any roller skates for her, so replies with, "You need to go to the store." Then she'll sometimes take our hands and try to guide us to the door as if we would actually go to the store that moment...After all, she "needs" them.

How are Mommy and Daddy doing? It's definitely been more challenging since our guest visits have ended. Sleep is difficult for me with all the nighttime feedings and changings. I've tried napping with Ronan during the day, but by the time I can relax enough to start to sleep, he's waking up again. I've never had so many 5-minute dreams, except for probably about 3 years ago. Kraig has been busy working on helping Brielle with nighttime issues (bad dreams, potty training) and waking up early with her. We're always underslept, which is to be expected.

It has been wonderful to be home with the kids, but you won't be seeing too many photos of me here because I always look half-asleep. (I might have edited this one a little...) Ronan loves to be on me, so I'm typing this blog entry and most of my emails with only one hand. I got pretty good at that with Brielle, but it still takes a long time.

Brielle still isn't taking out her frustrations on Ronan, but she does seem to try to test me, insisting she needs urgent help from me when she knows I'm nursing, for example. But she does seem to honestly love Ronan. She asks where he is if she doesn't see him, she touches him softly and says how cute he is, and she gets concerned and tries to get help if she hears him crying on the monitor. She likes to kiss his head. Everyone does.