Hand-me-downs

WHO'S WHO

This was one of my many favorite dresses of Natalie's. It was a shower gift from Jordan's mom. It's kind of a spring/summer dress but I put Ruby in it for church today and threw a sweater over it because I just love it.

Ruby's on the left side, Natalie's on the right

Little Helper

Last night, I changed Natalie's diaper and put her pajamas on. I thought I'd let Natalie prove to her daddy how good of a helper she is during the day. So I gave her the dirty diaper and told her to throw it away. She started heading to the kitchen trash (which I knew was kind of full, and therefore more tempting to go through) so I say, "no, go dump it in the bathroom." So she turns, swinging those little arms like she's on this big mission, and goes into the bathroom. Jordan and I exchange proud looks that seem to say, "oh yeah, we have a pretty smart little girl!" But then, a "splash" is what we hear and this is what we see....

I quick grabbed the camera and we didn't even have to tell her to pose. I guess she is just as smart as we thought she was because we've been trying to teach her that this is where our pee goes!

More Pics

Ruby seems to change a little everyday. She's awake a lot more now and she's been sleeping better at night. On Friday, she was 3 weeks and 2 days old and she rolled over from stomach to back! Natalie was 6 weeks when she did that so I was quite shocked! Ruby seems very strong already. She lifts her head good and pulls herself up to sitting position while holding onto my fingers. And twice now when I'm talking to her she has smiled at me...so it can't mean gas! She'll be 4 weeks on Wednesday already. I can't believe that I thought being 4 days overdue was such a long time to wait for her! Where has the time gone now?!

Natalie helps feed her a bottle every once in a while. I'm actually nursing but Ruby takes a bottle so well that I make one up every now and then for daddy or Naynay to feed her. Natalie's got her pinchers out and is going in to "honk" Ruby's nose!

Ruby's first pictures

My Girls....

Ruby is almost 3 weeks old now and Natalie is almost 17 months old!! Why does time have to go so fast?! We are adjusting to the new baby so great! Natalie adores Ruby and loves to help out. She brings me diapers when I ask her to, she tries to give Ruby a pacifier every now and then when she's not trying to sneak it into her own mouth, she tries to share her sippy cup drink with Ruby, and she's constantly coming up to me and saying "baby!" while holding out her arms to hold Ruby. Natalie's actually very gentle with Ruby and loves to give her hugs and kisses. It is the most precious thing to see.

Natalie is actually adjusting to Ruby slightly better than I am! I've been trying to live off of less sleep as Ruby has me up at all hours of the night. She's a tad on the fussy side...not terribly but we had it made with Natalie when she was a baby. When she was hungry, she ate; when she was gassy, she burped; when she was tired, she slept. Ruby gulps up her meals as fast as she can and, therefore, is gassy. We go through every motion of trying to relieve her of that gas which can sometimes take an hour...or two! And by the time we've gotten the gas out, she must feel traumatized and in need of some 'rocking to sleep' motion because whenever we stop rocking, she stops sleeping! It really goes good around here during the day. She gets fussy at times but Natalie's been such a 'big girl' that it really hasn't worn me out. And at night when Ruby is fussy, Jordan's around to help me out or give me a break. Ruby's such a sweetheart at the same time, though. She's very ticklish so it's pretty easy to get a slight smile out of her. And she's just got such chubby cheeks (chubby everything) that you can't help but kiss her a million times a day...or I can't help it anyway! When she's awake, she's usually alert and following your every move. It seems like she gets bigger, stronger, and more active everyday. We went to the doctor last week for her 2 week check-up and she was 20.5 inches and 9 lbs 5.5 oz which put her at the 50th percentile for height and the 95th for weight. I think Ruby looks more like Natalie everyday.

It amazes me so much at how 'mature' Natalie seems now that we have Ruby. She seems to get smarter by the day. She talks so much and a lot of the time, we can figure out what she means. The other night I put her down to bed and gave her some milk, and she said her version of "thank you" and "na-nigh" (night-night)!! She's also so playful and such a tease. Lately, she's been shrugging her little shoulders and it's just the cutest thing! It's amazing how much Natalie has learned in her almost year and a half. Children are truly a miracle and such a gift from God!!

I feel like I've just completely bragged about my girls, because I have...but isn't that what blogs are for?! It's what by blog is for anyway!! Thanks for reading!

Welcome Ruby!!

Ruby Louise Barkel has finally arrived!! And she's already 6 days old :(. I've been meaning to write about her but I wanted to post pictures and I can't find my usb cord, so they'll come later. I was induced on Wednesday at 7:00 after a few hard contractions, I got the epidural an hour later, and at 11:24 she arrived! Talk about an easy labor, it was awesome!

So Ruby was eight pounds, nine ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. She has dark brown hair, darker complected skin, and blue eyes. She looks just like her daddy!! Hopefully it stays that way! Once again, we went to the hospital with a bunch of names but she looked the most like a Ruby. Louise is after Jordan's amazing grandma.

Natalie loves Ruby so much. No jealousy issues so far. When Natalie came to visit for the first time, she gave Ruby kisses and just kept saying "baby!" Both girls have been keeping me busy. Ruby eats about every 2 hours and I've been trying to give Natalie attention yet, too. I can't believe how old Natalie seems to me all of a sudden. Not only is she huge (compared to Ruby), but just so smart. She's such a little mother to her. Natalie is strong-willed and I find myself arguing with her already. I'm not always able to just snatch her up and away anymore when she's doing something naughty so I'll say, "come here" or "stop" and she'll shake her head and tell me "no". It's kind of cute because she understands and she's going to have it her way but it might be a challenge! So far, things have been going well with having 2 kids. Although, for now, Ruby sleeps a lot. Also, I haven't even had to make dinner yet! We are so blessed with great family and friends and the meals just keep coming in!! Thanks everyone!

I'm so happy that Ruby is finally here, that the labor went good, and that she is a healthy baby. It's overwhelming to have 2 kids in so many ways but I think mostly in the way that I love them both so much! There is no other feeling like it! We are so blessed!!

Welcome to our family, Ruby Louise! We love you!