1 Month

We're a little late with this, but here is our little girl's 1 month picture.

Coming Home

It is amazing how quickly your life can change.  It's hard to believe that a month ago, our little angel came to our family.  At times, it seems like it was only yesterday.  At others, it seems like forever.  Jodie and Maile are doing really well and we're all starting to get used to our new routines.  Now that things are settling down, I'm going to try and get us caught up on one of the best months in our family.

With the c-section, Jodie had to spend a few days in the hospital to make sure that both of them were recovering well.  It was really nice for Jodie to have some one-on-one time with Maile, but we were all very excited to get everyone back together.  So, as soon as they both were cleared, Jodie and Maile jumped on the opportunity to come home.  Here is our little princess ready to leave.

After the reaction at the hospital, we were a little nervous how Joseph would handle having Maile at home.  During his second visit to the hospital, he definitely warmed up to her a lot, but still wasn't convinced he wanted her around.  As we walk in the door, Joseph was sitting on the couch and very excitedly exclaimed, "Mommy!"  Once he saw Maile, he jumped off the couch and ran over to her with outstretched arms saying, "baby, hold, baby hold."

Once I got her out of the car seat, Joseph ran and jumped back on the couch so that he could hold Maile.  We don't know where he learned this because we never taught him- he just knew it.  He was so excited to hold his little sister.

Again, to all of our surprise, he then leaned over and kissed Maile on her forehead.  We feel very fortunate for how the reception went and can already feel a very special bond between the two.

One of the more humorous moments was when Joseph pulled off Maile's sock and exlcaimed, "Toes!"  It was as if he had made one of the biggest discoveries of his life.

However, given that his little sister mostly just sleeps, it doesn't take Joseph too long to get a little bored and find somebody else to play with.

One of the most visible changes over the past month is the dramatic increase in the amount of pink items that can be found.  I have a feeling that this is only just beginning...

One of the best things that happened after Maile's arrival was that Jodie's parents were able to come stay with us for a little while.  Without their help early on, the transition would have been extremely difficult for us.  Thank you so much for all your help and the sacrifices you both made!

For the rest of the post, I'll just be going through pictures that are, for the most part, in chronological order.

One of the first things Jodie and Joseph got to do together was make dinosaur and train-shaped sugar cookies.  They are two of his favorite things and he is definitely a cookie monster- so we thought it would be a fun activity for him to do.

As expected, they were a big hit.

Like her brother, it didn't take very long for Maile to like being swaddled tightly, except for her arms to be completely free.  Very frequently, she sleeps in this position.

Maile's bilirubin levels were a little high during our stay at the hospital, so we had to get them checked regularly once we came home.  One of things they wanted us to do to help decrease the level was supplement her feeding with formula.  So, here she is taking her first bottle.

One of the things I quickly noticed was how much Joseph is aware of the attention that I give Maile.  For example, after giving her a bottle, Joseph didn't want to be left out of the action, so he quickly came over and asked me to pick him up too.

And then he asked to hold Maile.

Still a very loving big brother.

Sometimes a little too much, like when he gives her "hugs" with his head.

However, he is learning very quickly how to interact with her and is keenly aware of her feelings- he gets a little worried and concerned whenever she starts to cry.  And even though she mostly just sleeps, he's found his own ways to play with his little sister.  He decided to play snakes.

And left her a surprise for when she wakes up.

We had to take a special picture for our favorite Hermana's birthday.

We were very sad to have Jodie's dad leave, it was so such a special treat for him to be able to come stay with us.  Fortunately, Jodie's mom was able to stay a little longer and help Jodie recover from the c-section.  One feat that she was able to accomplish was to get Joseph to call her by a unique name- despite all our previous efforts, all grandparents and great-grandparents were called "pampa", regardless of being a grandma or grandpa.  As her prize, Joseph started calling her "poopa"- be careful what you ask for, you can sometimes jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.  We're going to have to work on the correct pronunciation of grandma.  Regardless, Joseph really enjoyed hanging out with his "poopa".

On a fun side note, Joseph decided to pick out Maile's outfit for the picture.

He did a pretty good job.

Mommy's little helper making some "muffin cake"- one of his favorite treats.

Uncle Chad getting some time with Maile.

We got a fun present from Grandma and Grandpa Maxwell that lead to a situation that really made me smile.  Joseph definitely knows what wrapping paper means and quickly went to work on his gifts.

 After taking a few minutes to play with his gifts, he graciously offered to help out his little sister.  However, upon finding only clothes and blankets inside, he quickly tossed them on the floor and started playing with the yarn that was wrapped around her gift and called it a snake.  We still have it and plays with it almost daily.

I could help but smile at the iron of the situation.  When I was about his age, Grandma and Grandpa Maxwell sent me a gift.  For the life of me, I cannot remember what the gift was.  However, I can remember the pink and blue yarn that was wrapped around the gift.  I must have played with that yarn for months- I took it to church and would happily play with it through Sacrament.  Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Even though Joseph wasn't very interested in the gift, Maile very much enjoyed it.

Here is mommy and baby hanging out together.

We also got a quick, but fun visit from my parents.  Joseph was very happy to hang out with grandpa and watch his new favorite movie, Planet Earth.

This left grandma plenty of time to hang out with Maile.

Although, grandpa did get to snatch her away.

But not for too long- Joseph had other plans.

And then he took over.

Grandpa got the last laugh though.

Taylor and Annie also came by for quick visit too.

It was so nice to have them come visit.

I've definitely forgotten how quickly they grow up and change- in about 2 weeks, she has put on almost 2 lbs.

I'm amazed how much I love these three.

Grandma definitely took on more than her fair share of burning the midnight oil to make things easier for us.

Practicing some tummy time.

She has a great coach who knows how tough it can be and is ready to console her.

Having some fun with Play-doh.

Thank you everyone for the love and support you've shared with us over the past month! We are extremely appreciative of everything you've done and sacrifice for our growing family- you've made the transition better than we ever could have imagined.