The first six weeks...

Here's the update on our little miss. Her hair has lightened up considerably since she was born, and we think it may have a bit of red in it, but we'll just have to wait it out and see. She's got Owen's mouth and chin, and definitely looks a lot like Owen did as a baby. She has bigger cheeks and a differently shaped head than he had, but we think she's going to look a lot like him as she gets older. She's got lots of dimples, including one on her chin, just like Owen. She loves to be held and cuddled, and especially to be wrapped up and held tightly. In fact, we can hardly put her down all day long, which means we've gotten really good at doing things one-handed. :)

She's had tummy problems pretty much since day one. She has a lot of gas, and is difficult to burp. We've finally found a product that seems to work - we give her gas drops every time she eats, and it helps her get all the bubbles out of her tummy. In addition to having tummy troubles, she is not very good at soothing herself or getting herself to sleep. We've had a couple weeks of her screaming for several hours usually in the afternoon or evening, and difficulty getting her to sleep (even though she's exhausted). We're finally seeing some improvement (due to the gas drops and also to the fact that she's getting older and finally learning that it's ok to go to sleep), but we've still got a ways to go before she mellows out. I have a feeling she'll never be as mellow a baby as Owen was. We don't have nearly as many pictures of her as we do of Owen, mostly because we spend most of our time trying to sooth her.

She is beginning to smile and to make sounds. She's got a great smile that shows off all her dimples, but we're still working on getting a picture of it. She is a pretty clean baby - she doesn't spit up a whole lot, especially compared to Owen who was the spit-up king. We are really happy about that. :) Despite the major lack of sleep, we love this little girl and are so grateful for her. Owen loves her so much and is a great big brother.

Waiting for a bath. 

Skinny little legs.

Caught a smile while she was sleeping.

Funny crossover toes just like Owen's.

Check out those cheeks!

Owen making his crayons talk to each other. :)

Watching movies on the computer.

First real bath in the bathtub!

Owen in the middle of his running commentary during Nora's bath.

Love this crazy kid.

Nora's first Sunday, 10 days old. This is pretty much the only picture  she didn't scream in.

....and this is O-boy, 30 seconds after church. :)

We took a couple days off and went with my parents to Monterey.

Owen and Matt built a great sandcastle.

Nora's first trip to the beach. Hanging out with my mom.

Almost done! Decorating the castle.

All done!

No trip to Monterey would be complete without a trip to First Awakenings for breakfast. :)

My cute mom and dad.

Catching a caterpillar in the ocean house.

Exploring the "rocky beach" with Owen.

Nora's first secret hideout experience.

Love these two squishies.

This is how Owen feels about Nora's screaming.

Trying to get another cute church dress picture....

Nora is definitely fatter than Owen. We love her big cheeks and double chin. :)

She's really good at eating everything.

....and this is what the little miss looks like most of the time. :(

This cutey boy has gotten much better at Lego building in the past few weeks.

I am so grateful for my little family. These past few weeks have been tough trying to figure out Nora's tummy issues and calm her screaming, but I have the best husband in the world - he is so helpful and always willingly and cheerfully takes a screaming baby when I can't do it anymore. In fact, most days he's better at calming her than I am. He also took a day off of work this week and let me sleep as much as I could when I got so exhausted that I made myself sick. I love him so much. I'm also grateful for my sweet little Owen. He's so good at entertaining himself and he is so patient and helpful. Nora is slowly getting better, and I am excited to have a sweet happy baby rather than a sweet screaming baby. :)