Art, Music and Fun in the Sun

This post is about some recent weekend activities (trying to catch up!). A few weekends ago, we went to the Phillips Collection where they were hosting Jazz Days. There were art activities, jazz performances and an instrument 'petting zoo.' Tigger had lots of fun and Tilly just slept through it.

Here's Tigger enjoying the crayons. They had paper on the walls so he got to color on the walls. Luckily he hasn't tried that at home yet!

Checking out the drum sticks (as I protect Tilly):

What's that!?!?!

Trying himself:







This past weekend, we visited one of our local pools. The day was hot and Tigger enjoyed the water while Tilly enjoyed the shade.

Wearing Momma's hat:

Chilling in the shade:

She Smiles!

Tilly is smiling!! We've finally gotten to see her beautiful smile. Papa Tigger saw it first. She smiled for him while he was making faces so I gave it a try....


Finally, success!!

Sleeping Progress

I'm happy to report that Samantha is really mellowing out - she's sleeping more and crying less. Yipee!!

The first six weeks were kind of rough. She cried quite a bit - I think mostly because her nervous system and digestive system were still immature. I once read a doctor describing the reason newborns cry as because 'our world is too still and quiet' after being in utero for 9 months. I think that is a very accurate description.

Samantha is now doing much better. She cries a lot less and is actually happy to hang out in her crib. She's sleeping better at night too; we've fallen into a pattern with a solid 5 hours in between feedings. We've timed it so I only get up once in the middle of the night - I feed her at 11 pm, then again around 4 am and then she sleeps until the morning (7 or 8 am).

The funniest thing about all of this is that Papa Tigger and I were bemoaning how much more difficult she was than Tigger - why won't she go back to sleep? why is she crying? Then I went back and read some old posts and found this one about Tigger's early months. He was exactly the same! An excerpt:

I'm not going to lie; the first 6-8 weeks were a bear. Tigger needed to eat every 3 hours, though that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was getting him to sleep! He rarely wanted to go down in the evening and would rarely go back to sleep after those middle of the night feedings

I can't finish a post without a picture of our beautiful kids, so here's a few:

Siblings!

Even though you're not supposed to compare your children, Papa Tigger and I have inevitably been comparing Tigger and Tilly. It's been so interesting!

Let's start with how they differ. First, Tilly refuses to take a pacifier; Tigger still loves his. Also, Tilly cries a bit more than Tigger, though that's not saying much because he was a pretty mellow baby. And finally, I'm finding that Tilly is a lighter sleeper than Tigger. I guess I'll have to keep vacuuming while she sleeps to break her of that!

Now let's talk about how similar they are! We can start with how adorable they both are:) Even though lots of people say Tigger looks like me (which I agree with) and Tilly looks like Papa Tigger, I think they look very similar at the newborn stage. Here are some pics to prove it....

Tigger:

Tilly:
Tigger's 'Elvis hands':



Tilly's 'Elvis hands':


Tigger sleeping with his mouth open:


Tilly sleeping with her mouth open:


And finally, some pictures and videos of them together (yes she's a little unhappy in the first picture). So cute!!


Helping to soothe her:



At first uninterested in helping to burp her....



...then he comes around

Dinnertime Fun

I know we haven't blogged in over a week, so here's a quick video of some dinnertime fun from tonight. Papa Tigger was teaching Tigger about music!

Fun with Water

The other day it was particularly hot so Papa Tigger took Tigger outside to play with the water hose. We had just returned from walking around town and we were all hot. The hose was a quick and easy way to cool him off - no pool required!

Picnics and Exploration

Papa Tigger and I decided to spend Memorial Day weekend chilling in DC and avoiding travel and traffic. It was a fun, low-key weekend. On Sunday, we ventured out for a picnic at Rock Creek Park. We all got some fresh air and the dog enjoyed running around a bit leash-less.

We set up under a tree to have our lunch. I think Tilly enjoyed it too, though she slept the whole time!





Tigger is naked (except for a diaper) because he had fun exploring the creek. It was a messy experience, but kids need to explore the world so we let him explore!




I think he's starting to realize how dirty he is and is ready to be done:

Enjoying lunch, stripped down after his exploration:

Visit with Meema

Recently, Meema came for a visit to see Tigger and Tilly. Tigger had great fun playing with Meema and Tilly enjoyed sleeping in Meema's arms! Here are some pics from the weekend...

Fun at the park:


Legos!

Tilly meets Meema..

...then sleeps the rest of the weekend. So comfy!

1 Month Checkup

Today Tilly had her one month checkup. Everything looks great; she continues to grow like a weed. Her measurements (all 50% percentile) are:

• weight: 8 lbs, 13 oz
• length: 21 1/2 inches
• head circumference: 14 1/2 inches
  

Last Thursday on her one month birthday, Papa TT took the crib comparison pic.

Here she is at home, one day old:

And at one month:

You can already tell how much she's grown!