St. Patty's Day and GOOD NEWS!

I had a blast dressing the girls up in green and having a 'photo shoot' with my new camera for St. Patty's Day. I learn more and more about this camera everyday and I LOVE IT! I also downloaded a free photo editing program that I am now playing around with- I just love the special effects in these pics! As I type this...Im proud to announce (while probably also jinxing myself) that Miss Claire slept from 10pm-6am last night!! GO GIRL!! We PRAY this was not just a fluke..but that we are moving into a life with a full night of sleep.

We are also super excited that this week/weekend our good friends Leeann, Natalee and Jarred are here visiting! Its been crazy taking care of four kids together so far...but so FUN as well. Like I told Leeann last night- 'I'd rather enjoy the craziness with someone else!' Especially when it's such a dear friend of mine :)

11 weeks old!

Well Claire is 11 weeks old today! I went back to work last week and Mary has done great so far with both girls. Claire has started the medication Prevacid for her reflux and it seems to really be working. She still wakes up once during the night but is pretty good about going right back to bed after eating. We LOVE that she is smiling and *talking* to us now! Time is flying by and we are excited for Spring to appear so that we can spend more time outside. Enjoy the pics!

We are having a great Valentines Day Weekend here at the Nelson house! We braved the mall yesterday and took both girls out with the double stroller- that was a crazy but fun experience. Then Karl took both girls out again and I was able to sleep for 3 HOURS in the afternoon. It was the best Valentines Day present a sleep deprived momma could have ever asked for. Sunday we went out to breakfast and ran to Target- another successful trip. This evening we will be grilling steaks and watching the Olympics.

The rest of my extended family was in Portland OR this weekend for my Grandfather's memorial service...although I wish I could have been there- we made the best of being here at home. The best part of this weekend is that Karl is off tomorrow for Presidents Day!! :)

Keeping Layna busy

YUM!
Watching them bake!

Yep...we eat the batter!! DUH!

I'm not proud to admit that Layna has probably watched more TV this past month than ever before! She is really good at playing by herself and helping with Claire but every once in awhile she just needs to be occupied by a Barney, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse..or THE PRINCESS MOVIE!! Layna had been getting IN AND OUT of bed at night since Claire was born..and mommy..being the good social worker that she is- decided to make a sticker chart! If Layna stayed in bed ALL NIGHT then she got a sticker on the chart- if she got 5 stickers then daddy would take her to get a prize! Daddy was suppose to just get her something of the $1 rack at Target but instead came home with a PRINCESS BARBIE MOVIE. Well...lets just say that we probably watch this thing atleast twice a day. And Karl and I sing the songs from the movie in our sleep at night. Point being..this is a post about a few of the things I have tried to do with Layna this past month BESIDES watching the princess movie! We have made muffins...and had a great time with Play Doh. Here's the pics!

The Girls!

Daddy and 'The Girls'

Mommy and 'The Girls'

Mary and 'The Girls'

Its only been 5 weeks and I already find myself referencing 'The GIRLS' often! I love the sound of that! Things are going well here..Claire has a little bit of acid reflux and just started taking Zantac last night. We are hopful that this will make her a little more comfortable. Layna continues to be an excellent big sister and I am adjusting to being home with my two girls. Most days are pretty crazy..but we are surviving! Here are some more pics of 'THE GIRLS' :)

Photo Shoot- 3 Weeks Old

Claire REALLY looks like Layna in this one!!

When Layna was first born I signed us up for a years worth of photo sessions with a private photographer out in St. Charles. Although she was awesome..and we have great pics of Layna- we are on a limited budget this time around. My good friend Laura was nice enough to come over and help me do a photo session with Claire. She has two boys Nick and Michael- so the boys and Layna also took part in the photo shoot! Although they are not 'professional' I think we still got some great pics. So even though we dont have the time or $$ to get professional pics taken every few weeks...we still think Claire is the cutest thing ever and will keep snapping away with our own cameras!! Enjoy!

Family of Four!

The Nelson family is adjusting well to having become a FAMILY OF FOUR!! I have been blessed with wonderful help these past few weeks and starting Monday I will be 'going it alone' with the two girls! I only wish some of my mom friends who also have two kids lived a little closer :) Layna is doing well and LOVES Claire- We are getting sleep (some of the time) and I am trying to watch my diet as Claire seems to be very sensitive to the things I eat. Wish I had time to type more...but I hear crying upstairs- thus ends my blogging session. Enjoy the pics!