Lexi's dreams

Jake & I were watching Lexi sleep & noticed that she smiled.  I said, "She must be dreaming." Jake said, "Maybe she's dreaming of princesses and castles.  I really want to build a golden castle for you and make you a princess...but we don't have any wood."  Oh man, too bad. :)

First Days with the Boys & Lexi

I am so proud of Jake's sweetness toward Lexi! He just loves her so much! He told me on the first day we brought her home, "thanks mom for getting us this baby sister! She's so cute & little & I just love her!"

He's very sensitive to her needs too. A couple day ago I was putting Levi to bed & Lexi was downstairs. Jake came up to tell me she was crying. I told him I'd be down in a minute. He came up 3 times to remind me she was still crying in a 5 minute time period. By that point he was crying too & told me she must be sad because she thinks we're all dead! I said, "No, she's just hungry." So then he asked me, "well, did you do your pumping today?" Yes, I reassured him we had plenty of milk for her. :)

He's also very worried about her umbilical cord. It looks like an owie to him & he's very concerned that it hurts her. I have to reassure him at every diaper change that it doesn't bother her, everyone had that when they were babies, and it will fall off soon & we'll get to see her belly button.

Jake likes to hold her too. He's very responsible - he knows an adult has to sit with him & he has to be so careful because she's so fragile. He held her last night for 45 minutes while watching tv & what I really loved was seeing him periodically lean down to kiss her head. :)  At one point though, Lexi let one rip! Jake looked down at her, then at me, and asked, "What was that?" I smiled and told him she just pooped - silly girl, she poops in her sleep! He slowly started moving the hand that was underneath her bottom away and said, "Let's change her diaper." I said, "I'll change it in a couple minutes." Then he told me, "Um, let's change it NOW!" :) I think he was a little grossed out. :)

Today we were eating lunch while Lexi was napping in her swing and she let out a whimper.  Jake quickly looked to Michael & I and asked, "Could somebody calm our baby sister down?" A couple minutes went by & she started to wiggle and fuss a little more. I was in the process of getting her bottle ready, but since I wasn't fast enough, Jake thoughtfully went over to her swing to give her the passy and hold it in her mouth until I came over.  When he saw me he told me, "Nevermind, I'll do it myself."

Basically I could document something every day to show how he looks out for her! I love it!

And Levi has done really well with her too! We're pleasantly surprised :)  He likes to pat the top of her head and say, "Soft". And he likes to keep tabs on where she is.  If he can't see her, he'll ask in a questioning tone, "Baby?" and want to see where she is.  He's done really well about not taking her passy - hers are pink and purple and his is green and he's been very accepting of that.  He does think she should have her passy at all times; he seems concerned if she doesn't and tries to push it in her mouth...just trying to be helpful :)  And yesterday he started giving her kisses on the cheek, which is just the cutest thing ever!  I'm so proud of the tenderness displayed by both of the boys!!!

Grammy & Papa

Our kids are so fortunate to have such a great Grammy & Papa!  The boys went to stay with them for the week when Lexi was born.  Grammy bought special treats, Papa blacked out a bedroom so Levi could sleep better & built a water fort in the backyard for them to play in! The boys had a great time!  They watched lots of Shaun the Sheep, Papa & Levi took naps together, Jake helped Grammy bake & decorate cupcakes for Levi's birthday & they spent a lot of time in their water fort!  Jake was so excited knowing he got to stay there for 6 days, but partway through got a little homesick.  They came to visit us in the hospital and came home on Levi's birthday to celebrate.  Grammy made a nice steak dinner & we had cupcakes & ice cream. Levi was so cute as he sat smiling while we sang "Happy Birthday" to him & blew out his candles.  I'm sure he felt special and we just love his cute face so much!!  Then on the day they came home (the 17th) Jake told Grammy he had fun but he was really excited to go home and see his...baby sister! (No mention of Mom & Dad :)) But he reassured her that he'd like to come back another time and stay for 100 days!  Not sure if I could go for that...although it was nice to have a couple days at home with just Michael, Lexi & I, I missed my boys!!!

So Refined

Jake remembers our trips to Hawaii & Virginia Beach last year and has been talking about flying on a jet again lately.  He told me the other day, "Mom, I'd really like to go to Paris."  I had to laugh - how refined!  Forget Disneyland!  The same day he was requesting strawberries with whip cream at lunch.  I guess he's already interested in the finer things in life :)

Sneaky, Sneak

So, lately Jake has been working on his pick pocketing skills...not sure if we should be concerned :)  Most often the preferential items are Michael's cell phone or wedding ring.  He told us the other day, "I tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe & take the things I like best! Sneaky, sneak!" Little thief :)

Best Brother

I am amazed at how responsible and thoughtful our sweet Jake is for just being 4 years old.  He loves Levi and is totally looking forward to having a baby sister too!  The other day they were outside playing basketball.  Levi was too short to make a basket, so Jake assisted him by picking him up so he could reach...many times!  I love that he wanted to make sure Levi was having fun and was able to play instead of just wanting to entertain himself!  He loves to give him hugs and kisses and he always volunteers to get Levi from his room when he wakes up from his nap.  And Levi loves Jake & always does his best to imitate him.  Of course we have issues when one of them does something naughty & the other just escalates it, but I suppose that's to be expected :)  And sometimes it does feel like we're raising monkeys, bears or some other type of wild animals when they're wrestling, screaming or just being crazy, but I can't say enough how much we love them!!!

The other day Grammy & Papa were over visiting and Grammy offered Levi a drink of her water.  Jake leaned over and asked, "Does that have peanuts in it?" Puzzled, Grammy said "No." Jake said, "Good, because Levi can't have peanuts, he's allergic." That's that responsible side I mentioned!