It's a boy!

We found out a few weeks ago that Gwen is going to have TWO brothers. At the 21 week ultrasound they couldn't get a clear view of the heart, on a second ultrasound they found a 'spot' (echogenic focus) on the heart, so a third ultrasound was scheduled at the perinatal clinic at the hospital a week or so ago. Fortunately all is well and we were lucky to get to see a 3-D ultrasound of the little guy. Those things are amazing! We can already tell that he has a jeffrey mouth.

Gwen is aware that there is a baby coming but she's convinced the baby is in her belly and it's coming soon (at christmas...even though we keep saying AFTER christmas). She'll lift up her shirt, pat her belly and say 'little brother'. She is fully in her terrible two's now, having mastered the tantrum, but as long as what she's doing is her idea all is well (James and I are working on our persuasion skills). She is such a smart cookie...she has full-blown conversations (7-10 word sentences), knows all the words to Lady Gaga's song you and I, loves Clifford, My Littel Pony and Strawberry Shortcake and always has a book in her hands (which she reads to herself...it's not really reading yet but she likes to think she can do it on her own).

For halloween we tried all kinds of costumes for Gwen but she just wasn't into it...until we found the pony costume. It's not one where she is dressed up like a pony, but it's a costume that makes it look like she's riding a pony:

She LOVED it.

Our Snowed In Weekend

Ugh, snowed in all weekend. We got about a foot of snow on Saturday...while I hate being stuck inside all day long, I really enjoyed having a full day of Gwen time (and staying in my PJs all day). Gwen is 4 months, 1 week now and she's doing great. She has started to get sick of her play mat and she wants to be sitting upright all the time now. The bumbo seat works great for a little while but James and I decided that it was time to invest in one of those baby gym things. It's hysterical. Her little toes just touch the ground but she can get enough momentum to bounce and spin so she bounces and tries to grab the little toys on the ring around her but the bouncing inhibits her coordination a little...I suppose it's a learning experience!

Gramma and Happa sent Gwen an adorable valentines day outfit so we took advantage of the day inside and took some great photos...enjoy.

Gwen in the 'wind tunnel' (James blowing on her...she loves it)

Gwen in her valentines day outfit

On her play mat

....still has that boufant hair. stylin. It's starting to lay flat(er) though.

Gwen's 4-month check-up

Gwen had her 4-month doctors appointment yesterday. It included her second round of immunizations which meant two shots for her and an oral goop. She did MUCH better with the shots than she did at her 2-month appointment...she cried during the shots but was back to smiling and cooing as soon as they were done and unlike the last time she didn't feel yucky and lathargic afterwards. She did sleep a bunch all day and was running a slight fever before bedtime but she was still smiling, playing and eating like a champ. She continues to be a long skinny baby despite all of my efforts to fatten her up:
Weight: 12lbs 13oz (33%ile)
Height: 25in (87%ile)

Apparently she's quite the advanced little tike though with all of her rolling over (both ways) and her ability to hold her own weight on her legs when held in the standing position...to me that just means that I'll need to child-proof the house before I thought.

Gwen's newest discovery...her feet. She can't take her eyes off of them. She grabs them and it looks like she really wants to put them in her mouth but she just can't get them there....either she's too tall or her diaper is in the way. I'm sure she'll figure something out eventually.

She's started to hold her own bottle...big steps for a little girl!

She loves Margot...cause she has lots and lots of hair to hold on to. Fortunately Gwen hasn't tried to put it in her mouth yet...it's only a matter of time though.

This isn't the best photo but it's the only one I have of Gwen and her giraffe lovie which she LOVES. She'll rub it all over her face before falling asleep.

Gwen update

Well folks, the little monkey is officially sick. It's only a cold so it's nothing major at this point but she's full of snot (I had no idea so much snot could come out of such a small nose) and had this tiny delicate little cough that wakes her up at night. When Gwen doesn't feel good she just gets very quiet and kinda lathargic rather than crying which somehow just makes me feel horrible for her. She's getting plenty of rest and she's still eating well so I'm sure she'll pull through like a champ.

She is officially FOUR MONTHS today...can you believe it! She has her 4-month dr appt on Monday which means more shots for her. yuck. But I'm excited to see how she's doing from a growth standpoint...she's one long baby (she's in her 6month clothes already)!

Here are some of her latest and greatest:

Gwen loves her little fuzzy bunnies in her car seat. She's a tactile baby...loves to run her hands over anything soft.

Her favorite new snuggly towel (thank you Marilyn!!)

Out on our walk on Monday. her hair is getting lighter!

James and Gwen playing airplane, one of her favorites.

Gwen not feeling so great last night...aw.

Gwen's new trick

On new years day Gwen discovered how to roll over from her back to her belly. Now, this would be a great thing if she actually liked to be on her stomach but she lasts about 3 mintues before getting irritated. The problem is that while she used to know how to turn over from her stomach to her back (which was aggrivating when we were trying to make sure she got adequate tummy time), she has since forgotten so we now find ourselves in a constant cycle of laying down on paymat, flipping over, crying, returning her to her back, flipping back over to her tummy, crying...and so on. Super.

Fortunately Happa bought Gwen a bumbo seat.

Gwen feeling pretty proud of her ability to roll over

Still pretty happy on her tummy

In the bumbo seat after getting frustrated on her belly (I love that look of concentration....she's going to get that stuffed bird!)