Paige at 5 weeks

Yes, she's almost 7 weeks, but I thought this pic showed her features the best so far. Plus, the day after I took this picture, she broke out with really bad baby acne. :)

I don't see it!

I had a million people tell me at church today how much Parker and Paige look alike, but I do not see it. I even went back and compared their pictures--babies just look like babies to me. Yes, some do have very distinctive features (poor children), but for the most part they all look alike. Heck! I'm doing good if I can tell my baby apart from the baby sitting next to her! Anyway, I just don't see some special resemblance--it's all kind of generic.

So that people can see how much Paige has changed in the last while and so that you can see for yourself if they look alike, or not, I've made a little collage *wow...i amaze myself sometimes*:

Okay, I did just notice they both have HUGE cheeks. But that's it. That's all I see.

What do you think? Do they look alike?

"The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can't."~ Mark Twain

At the beginning of the year I made a goal (among others) to read at least one book per month--children's books don't count.
Here's what I've read so far:

• January-Supernanny, by Jo Frost *recommended by Ashley Walker Reno. My favorite sections in this book were about eating and discipline. Most of it is very common sense, but sometimes we get fed so much rubbish that it's easy to forget the common sense! If you live near me and want to borrow it, feel free!
• February-1984, by George Orwell *I strongly disliked this book. Perhaps, I just did not understand the full meaning of it. Enlighten me, if you can, please!
• March-Babywise, by Robert Bucknam and Gary Ezzo *okay, okay...I know this book is super controversial, but I love it! The biggest complaint I've heard about it is that people who follow the guidelines "starve" their children. However, multiple times in the book, it states "if your baby shows signs of hunger, feed them." I do not follow everything in this book, but I think it has some great counsel for nursing mothers and supportive fathers. However it is great even for people who don't nurse. If you like the demand-feed approach, you probably won't like it. If you're a schedule person, as I am, you will like this book! *read before, but wanted to read again*

Also read, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Marc Weissbluth. This is by far my favorite book. It is very scientifically based and has more flexibility for different types of parents. If your child has trouble sleeping through the night, read this book! I love it! *read before, but wanted to read again* p.s. Paige started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, and Parker at 8 weeks and I followed the counsel, for the most part, found in these 2 books--could be luck. could be the strategy. could be a little of both!

But my real book for this month is Why Marriages Succeed or Fail, by John Gottman. This is a book that I read in college that had some great info in it, so I decided to read it again. Gottman has done lots of scientific research based on physiological responses during conflict and how that can affect our marriages. In this book, he talks about warning signs and what you can do to strengthen your marriage. This is not your every day marriage book; it is not entertaining, but it is great!

• April-I plan on reading Bringing Up Boys, by James Dobson

But after April is where I need your help. I love nonfiction self-help type books (if you haven't noticed the trend), but I also love a good fiction book. Favorite fiction books are Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird.

So tell me about your favorite books that you think I would like--fiction or nonfiction! However, please don't recommend Twilight. I have no reason for not wanting to read it except for the fact that everybody is reading it. Maybe I'll read it in a few years. Then again, maybe not.

Obama Fan?

Tonight Parker wanted to say the blessing on the food. Well, he was doing so well as I was helping that I decided to go beyond just the basic thanks for the food and Daddy that I thought I'd try adding in a few requests. One of those requests was for a blessing to be on President Obama (I think he can use all the prayers he can get). From that moment on, all he would say was "Obama." Then, when I finally gave up trying to get him to say anything else, he still kept saying that all during dinner and even as we were heading off to bed. I had to laugh!
What a silly dude!

He's coming home!

We got some happy news: Parley will be coming home in April! This is at least 2 weeks earlier than what we had anticipated and we are so stinkin' happy!
It will take 2-3 days for him to get home. But basically, we have less than a month left! Let's hear a "YAHOO! YAHOO!"

Simple Pleasures!

It's 45 degrees outside--the equivalent of spring in Western WA--so we grabbed the lone bottle of bubbles and headed outside! Parker had so much fun and I had to capture it!

What a big brother!

I tried to post this last time, but it just didn't work.
Parker is so sweet with Paige. He loves to give her squeezes (sometimes a bit too hard) and loves to help burp her and comfort her when she is sad. It is so fun to see him being so loving toward her! However, when Brianna was taking these pictures, Parker was not very willing to cooperate; he was done taking pictures! So this is the only good one we could get.

real pics--our first!

I'm finally posting the pics my friend Brianna took for us! These are Paige at 2 weeks and Parker at 21 months! Thanks Brianna for doing such a marvelous job!