Week One...

of our 2.5 weeks in Minnesota is over. We've had such a blast.

Ainsley and Connor are now officially "bffs". She says "See Connor. Play Connor" ALL the time. There is nothing cuter than watching two rambunctious toddlers make mischief together. It's the first time they've really interacted with each other rather than just the parallel play. A taste of things to come!

The girls have both done really well adjusting to different sleeping arrangements, noise and excitement levels, and a new environment. Ainsley is sleeping in the biggest big girl bed of her life (a king!) and has only escaped her room twice. Every time I tuck her in for nap or bed I just want to snuggle down with her forever. She is so precious and snuggly and CALM at these times. I love it.

Louise now goes down right after Ainsley giving me a solid 2 hours of baby-free time before I go to bed. This has been such a blessing. I've been able to catch up with my parents, watch a few good shows, take baths and delve into a novel (a NOVEL! not just a magazine!). It's been amazing.

Louise is sleeping in my room with me and when she wakes up around 3 or 4 to eat I just bring her into bed with me, let her latch and we snooze away until Ainsley gets me up around 6. At home I put Louise back in her crib and it's been fun to get some extra snuggle time with her in bed. She is growing so fast!

On that note Louise is now officially exiting the "4th trimester" and really showing us her colors. She is very vocal and loves to coo, laugh, giggle, and smile. She responds positively to so many sounds and stimuli, finally getting really into rattles, krinkle paper, and things hanging above her head. She still opposes tummy time vehemently but loves sitting up like a big girl on laps and is ALMOST ready for the bumbo on her own. When on her back she'll roll to one side but hasn't attempted getting all the way over yet. She seems very content to be on her back most of the time, just squirming around and taking everything in. I love that baby.

It's been hard being away from Ian for a week. Before we left I made the mistake of saying to him "this is the first time that we're going away and I already miss you"...sounded WAY worse than I meant it to. It's just that before I was always SO excited to see family, be around people I love, have help with Ainsley, that I hardly thought about being away from home, and Ian. But now we're this little growing family. It's amazing how much more I feel like a familial unit with Louise now in the picture. We have a routine. The girls LOVE their dad and it's clear Ainsley really misses him. I do to.

I'm looking forward to this next week to see old friends, get some much needed Christmas shopping done, and just relax and enjoy my favorite place, our Minnesota home!