New and Improved

Stacie, Anna, Aunt Rhonda and Lauren.....we had such a fun visit!

Wonder what she was thinking?

Joshua where he spent most of his day. On his "garbage truck" with everything he owns thrown into it. This made navigating the steps impossible, but he had a super time. Who was I to interfere? The day's only meltdown came when I forced him to clean up the trash before Jason got home.

I hope you enjoyed a few pictures from Day #2 of our "just the three of us" routine. It was a good day. Lauren was much more pleasant and far less fussy. Joshua played nicely most of the day and cooperated well. We had a good bit of time to play, just the two of us, while Lauren slept. I think he enjoyed that.

We had a super visit from my Aunt Rhonda and Stacie, and Anna too, during the afternoon. It meant so much to me that they took the time and travelled all the way from Lewistown to see Lauren. I've said it before, but honestly, my family never ceases to amaze me. They were amazed at how little Lauren in, and how big Anna looked even though she's really only 2 months older. The contrast was really something. I loved spending some time with Anna, watching her interact and smile, and although I won't wish these little days away, I do look forward to that first "on purpose" smile from my little girl.

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I also got thinking yesterday about a few new things (or at least they're new to me) since Joshua's birth in 2006. I really didn't think that things would have changed all that much, but I'll tell you what....I've found two new inventions that are making life a whole lot easier.

First of all, did you know that there is now a strip on the Pampers newborn diapers that will change color when it's wet or dirty? Honestly, I've been amazed by this technology. It allows you to just open one button on an outfit and peek in to see whether it's worth undoing the whole row of buttons to get to it. When you have a baby like Lauren who despises having her diaper changed, it saves fussing up a baby when it's not really necessary. And when counting wet and dirty diapers is really critical, it's a big help to give her credit for a wet one that I might have missed without the little blue stripe down the middle. Fantastic work, Pampers people!

And secondly, I will sing the praises of the Miracle Blanket until my dying days. I commented about Lauren's screaming fits in our first few days home, and thought we were really in for it with her. Until I endured the few minutes of fight that ensue when I put her into her magic blanket. This thing is like a Swaddle Me on steroids. Joshua was a wiggler too, and no matter how tightly I put him into the Swaddle Me, he could always get out. Lauren is far stronger than he was, and wouldn't last more than 1o seconds in that thing. The Miracle Blanket actually has flaps that hold her little arms down and a long piece of fabric that goes round and round and round her little tummy to keep her in it. It has changed my screaming baby into a sleeper--- and we're on a roll with two 4 hour stretches of sleep each night, with a feeding and a diaper change in the middle. I believe Joshua just started sleeping for 2 four hour stretches at a time about a month ago. This is, without a doubt, my favorite baby gear find so far. I can't quite imagine anything trumping it, either. Because, really....what's better than a few hours of sleep in a row when you have a newborn?