It has been a busy 8 weeks but now that we are over the newborn hump I can't imagine going back to a single child household. It has been an adjustment for Emily but as Mark is getting older he spends more time awake and less time in my arms. Which means Emily gets to interact with him more and she really enjoys bringing toys and burp cloths to Mark, tucking him in, pushing him in the swing or taking care of her baby dolls while I take care of Mark. We are still working on jealousy issues during nursing sessions but we got some great advice from our doctor today and I will post more on that later after giving it a try.

We had Mark's 8 week check up today and he is 23.75 inches long and 10 lbs 15ozs. That puts him in the 87th percentile for height and 27th percentile for weight. He has settled into a great schedule with 3-4 naps, bed at 8, one night feeding and then up at 5:30/6:30. What a blessing!! My favorite development is that he smiles all the time now and coos and "talks" to me when we talk and sing to him. He loves going for walks and jogs in the stroller and stays wide awake looking around. That is a new thing for us because the stroller always knocked Emily right out! Mark likes his activity mat too and has started grabbing at the toys above him and trying to roll from his back to tummy - almost, he still needs to get that one arm out from under him to get all the way over. He shows no interest in rolling from tummy to back though. He actually loves tummy time and just curls up and would sleep there if I let him. Overall Mark is an incredibly agreeable, easy going, happy baby and I look forward to watching him as he continues to grow and learn.

Here is a video from our play date yesterday with Addison and Watson. I think it is so sweet. However, one of the moms in my bible study group brought up this week how blogging and facebook can make things appear much different than they really are because moms will only post the good stuff. So in the interest of full disclosure I will give you a description of how the play date really went down.

Emily woke up from her nap right after I sat down to nurse Mark. I can't remove Emily from the crib while nursing Mark so she just had to wait. She wasn't happy when I finally got her out. Addison and Watson arrived shortly thereafter. Emily got very upset as soon as Addison started playing with her toys. I had to pull Emily off of Addison numerous times. Picture Emily crying, saying "mine, mine, mine" while maintaining a very firm grasp on Addison's hair and/or sweater. Then of course there is her signature move which appears to be a hug but is really just her way of going in for the kill. Johanna and I both have to get really close to determine if it is a hug or an attempted tackle or bite. Towards the end it was just hugs - we think. Emily eventually warmed up and decided to share her toys but by then Addison had apparently gotten more comfortable too because she decided that she no longer wanted to wear pants or a diaper. So Johanna then spent some time chasing after Addison. Amidst the chaos there was this really sweet moment and Johanna caught it on video. I guess it's just much easier to take a photo or video when things are going well. After all, no one has a free hand when Emily's WWF alter ego comes out to play.

Here are some pics of Emily doting on Mark. She is a great big sister as long as I am not nursing. We are still working on that:) Some days are really hectic and exhausting around here but we are finally getting into a reliable routine (with the occasional "what the heck happened" day.) Mark has not slept through the entire night again but he is consistently sleeping through one of his night feedings so I usually only need to get up once to feed him at night now. He cried here and there last night but only needed to be fed once. Yay Mark!! Getting enough sleep is everything when you have a toddler and a newborn so I am very excited about these longer stretches. Mark's 8 week appointment is next Tuesday and although I dread the shots I can't wait to get his progress report.

We went to a super bowl party with our friends at the Kummer's house last night (thanks so much for Hosting!) We had a great time seeing our friends and the house was swarming with cute babies. Mark and Emily had a good time hanging out with their friends too and Mark was alert and happy the whole time. We left at half time so we could get home for bathtime and bedtime. I fed Mark at 8:15 and then he was asleep by 9. And then he slept until 5am. Yep, that's right, my 7 week old just slept through the night. Here is a picture of us taking Mella for a walk before taking Emily to school. It's going to be a great day!