Passover /16 weeks

Gloria has really been finding her voice these past weeks, vocalizing with all kinds of new and big sounds. She has also finally mastered falling asleep by herself- no more rocking and shuckling- we can just put her in her crib awake but tired and she'll lay there talking to herself for a while and then fall asleep. Magic! She's also become a slobbery mess between the discovery of her tongue and constant hand eating, so a bib is definitely necessary.

We celebrated Passover this week and actually kept it for the first time in a long time. Lotsa matzah! We had a great Seder with the family, super kid friendly with lots of props. And I had fun making Jewish food all week- brisket, borscht, tzimmis, matzah brei, yum!

Charlotte recently learned to write her name which is pretty exciting- we made cards for her teachers for teacher appreciation week and she wrote their names, too. Big girl!

15 weeks/ Spring Break

Gloria has been growing leaps and bounds and is becoming a very social being. She likes to be right in the action and resents having to nap or nurse when there is fun to be had. She can now reach for toys and bring them to her mouth, but she really prefers to just eat her hands. We've had a good week sleepwise, fingers crossed it will continue to improve.

For Charlotte's spring break we headed to Alderbrook Lodge on Hood Canal, and my parents joined us for 2 nights. Delicious food in the restaurant or room service in our cabin, gorgeous views of the Olympics, a glassed in pool, playground, beach- it's a lovely place for families, our second time here. Charlotte just loves it. She ate oysters freshly shucked and BBQed, made smores at the fire pit, went kayaking, swimming, hiking, beach combing- nonstop fun. Gloria was a real trooper, she even nursed in her carrier during a hike in the forest! And she had her first swim.

Easter/ 12 weeks

Gloria has been killing mama this week with her night sleep schedule. Her long stretch is in the late evening hours- 8pm to 2 am- and then she's up at 7am, then a 2 hour morning nap that I try to nap along. I have to be asleep by 10pm to catch more than 4 consecutive hours of sleep! Working on it. Luckily she is very cute, lots of smiles and giggles.

The twins turned 2 this weekend and we had a fun time celebrating. Charlotte is starting to really play with them- she and Eleanor have a running game that is super adorable.

Easter egg hunting had to happen indoors due to weather but that did not put a damper on Charlotte's candy eating. So many gorgeous kiddos in our friend community.

Charlotte has really turned a developmental corner lately. She is so independent and self sufficient, very articulate about her feelings and able to solve problems and compromise. She is really an amazing kiddo, and has been adjusting to big sisterhood very gracefully. We appreciate her so much!

Baby Naming

Gloria turned 11 weeks just in time for her Brit Bat, the ceremony at which she is given her Hebrew name. All of the family came up from Cali, plus 20 years worth of Seattle friends gathered - it was amazing looking out to see so much love surrounding us as we blessed our new baby girl. Tata presented a special turtle that holds a tiny piece of her umbilical cord, her connection to her matrilineal line; Poppi was too choked up so Nanni read his blessing; Liz and Eric were named as godparents; Matt and I both cried while we read our blessings- no way we were going to keep it together! And Charlotte gave Gloria a special big sister hug and kiss. Gloria had her first taste of Maneschevitz- she licked her lips. She was an angel the whole ceremony and all evening, smiling and snoozing and charming everyone.

Nanni made a zillion hamentashen and we had lots of snacks followed by family dinner and cake. Charlotte, Sarah, and Abigail played hard all weekend and had so much fun together. It was a lot of work to put everything together, but so worth it!

10 weeks

Gloria is a very happy baby. Even when she has just woken up and hasn't eaten for hours, she is all smiles and giggles, just happy to see me. She absolutely loves having her diaper changed- it is pretty much the highlight of her day. The mobile above the changing table just blows her mind, and when I kiss her toes and give her a zerbert on her belly button she is beside herself. She nurses with great gusto, saying mm mm mm every time she latches on, nuzzling and luxuriating in each breast. A glance from Charlotte is enough to make her coo with joy- she already adores her big sister. 

She has been sitting in her bumbo now that her neck is strong enough, and she is getting to be a real tummy time pro. She even rolled over from front to back, her big head pushing her over the edge into a startling tumble. We are trying to spend as much time upright as possible because Dr. Lindsay said her head was getting a little flat! 

Charlotte had a fun week with double birthday parties- Isabel and Audrey- plus a Fancy Nancy ballet with Nanni.

9 weeks

It was already time this week for Gloria's 2 month check-up. She was 10 lbs. 1 oz and 22.5 inches tall. She's outgrown her newborn and 0-3 month clothes so we had to dig into the sea of boxes in the garage for some new outfits.

Gloria has been sleeping 8 hour stretches at night, but still cat napping during the day- I'll take it! And she discovered her hands this week, lots of sucking and slobbering.

Charlotte also had a fun week, she had play dates with Llila and Carrie Ella, plus we went to a mom kid yoga class which was a ton of fun! And she was a super helper getting Gloria to bed when mama went to Wednesday dinner with the ladies- as you can see she takes closeness very literally.

8 weeks

This week started with a fun outing for big sis: we left Gloria with Nanni and Poppi and went to see Kung fu panda at the movies. Candy, popcorn, and out for ramen after, we had a blast.

Our nap honeymoon seems to be over as Gloria does not sleep more than 45 minutes at a time during the day. But she throws some longer ones in here and there, so we are just waiting it out and trying to remember that C went through a similar stage. It is pretty frustrating, though, for a mama who really needs a break!

Purim is coming up, so we had the twins over for some Hamentashen making with Nanni. The twins did some dough rolling, Charlotte did some folding and filling, and everyone enjoyed the final product.