Day 84

Why our little one freaks out before bedtime is just a mystery, but it's almost a nightly thing. :/ She'll sleep early evening until we're ready to go to bed-- then she's ready for her voice exercises! Tonight she only fussed for a short time, so Mama can get to sleep after this post. 

Luciana visited the Newport Beach Library with Mama & Daddy-- we were looking for interior design books, for ideas for the new house. She was a quiet little mouse pretty much the whole time. :)

Here's a pic Mana took when we got home.... Goodnight.

Day 83

Luciana got to visit with Mana & Cousin Lily today, they came over to play and help watch the girls while Mama ran errands & Dad fixed the outdoor fans. I'm sure they had a good time & hopefully weren't too much trouble! :)  (Thanks, Grandma & Lily!!) 

Later, Luciana hung out, awake, with Mommy & Daddy, so now that it's bedtime (9:21), she's tired and fell asleep great. I'm going to make it a point to keep her awake (if I can) late evening so that bedtime isn't a nightmare! 

So.... Goodnight! Hoping we all get good sleep. :)

Day 82

Luciana endured a very long day at our soon-to-be new home today-- we met with a contractor (to help us with the master bathroom) and for the inspection. All in all, we were gone 6 hours, and that's a lot with two little ones, anywhere! Lu napped a few times, nurses a few times, and hung out in her Bjorn. What a good baby! Now, Penelope on the other hand..... ;)

Luciana is waking up more at night lately, and so we're both super tired in the mornings. :/ Hope we both get lots of sleep tonight!!

Here's a pic of our new place....

Night!

Day 81

Our little fire chief!

Luciana is easy peasy in the daytime, but bedtime is tough. :/ She must've taken advice from her big sis-- how to stay up late and be grumpy! She's an angel as far as we're concerned, whatever she does. :)

Goodnight!

Day 80

My Lulu is almost three months old?! Wow... She's certainly behaving like an older baby, which is nice. She is a sweetheart, but for the last two or three nights, she's real fussy at bedtime. I think sleep training/sleep schedule time is nearing! :/ She goes down real easy for naps during the day, it's just nighttime that is tough. 

Baby girl had a bath tonight. Look how cute she is!!

Day 79

Man, God sure knew what he was doing when he planned for children to come from TWO parents!! I take my hat off to any and all single parents, it is a rough job, sure to make the most calm and reasonable person want to tear their hair out! Well, today wasn't especially hard until tonight when sweet little Luciana turned into screaming, red-faced, angry Luciana! :/ I'm not sure why this happens, but I remember this with Penelope also-- it's tough any time of the day, but more so when one is tired. Lu is doing well, though, in general. She is talking all the time now, and is growing like a weed. We are tired from raising these two beauties, but it's also fun, funny, sweet and amazing. Like this pic that I took when P woke up from her afternoon nap; Lu and I had been in me & Daddy's bed watching part of "Some Like It Hot" (with Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon, awesome movie!), anyway, I just plopped P down next to Luciana and snapped away. It's those moments (among many others) that refuel us and keep us smiling. :)

That's all for tonight. Luciana finally fell asleep after I walked her around. My turn. :) Goodnight.

Day 78

Today is Daddy's 37th birthday. We all went to look at our new house today, and Luciana was pretty happy for the whole trip! Later (after Mama, Daddy, Mana & Granddaddy had lunch & birthday cake) we had a real nice long family nap. Luciana woke up and wanted some snuggles, so I put her next to me in bed and we all got another hour of sleep! We all needed that nap. :) 

Luciana (and P, who was asleep already) stayed with Mana while we went to the movies for Papa's birthday. I heard she cried some, but I guess she got it all out because now (an hour later) she's sleeping like a sweet little log. :)

Here we are in the new house... Goodnight! And happy birthday to the best Daddy ever!!!!

Day 77

Lu was sleeping on Mama's lap...,

... Then she woke up!

So I wrapped her up & put her in her bouncer, to get some real sleep, but of course by then she's fully awake:

My angel!!! ;)

Goodnight.

Day 76

What a relaxing day at home-- we slept in, Luciana and I, while Daddy & Penelope went on an early morning walk. After breakfast, we had a good old family nap, it's been so long since we've had one of those! We've been busy every day Papa is home from work looking at houses, either online or in person, no time for luxurious family naps!! ;) Luciana loved our afternoon walk to Fairview Park. We even went to Trader Joes, just Lu & I, moving slowly through our day, not rushing for once! Tonight baby girl went to bed straight after her bath-- and has been asleep since (its 10pm!) I hope she decides to sleep through the night. 

Goodnight! 

Day 75

Luciana, Penelope and Mama spent the day/evening together since Daddy was out with his friends for an early birthday celebration. The girls were great, as usual, but Lu is just the easiest baby to take care of, so that makes my life easier! Baby girl is "talking" lots now-- no more quiet newborn, she's a real baby now, talking, cooing and smiling a ton! Here's Lu yawning before she passed out in her bouncer this afternoon.

Goodnight.

Day 74

Luciana behaved herself very well on today's house hunting trip. We were out from noon until around 5, and she only really cried when we left her by herself somewhere when we went to look at another room, and who can blame her?! She wanted to be with the group, NO PROB ;) 

Baby girl is going through having a big/little sister problems lately, meaning Penelope is her bigger, adoring sister who wants to kiss, hug and basically man-handle her, but she's also a little girl still (Penelope) and so sometimes these "love pats" can be a bit... Heavy handed. :/ We have to keep a very close eye on the girls, we don't want anyone getting hurt, but when P gets it right, it is very sweet. :)

We have our eye on two houses... Hopefully I'll have some good news in a few days! Good luck, us! 

Night.....

Day 73

It's been a very long day... Luciana came along to an inspection at a house we thought we wanted to buy-- I carried her in the Bjorn for the 2 hours we were there. She slept a lot of the time, which was nice. I guess we are still on the hunt, and we are hoping to find something great soon. 

Here is a pic I took of Daddy, Penelope and John walking in the backyard of that house. 

Goodnight.

Day 72

Luciana is such a happy baby, she was especially happy today, though. She woke up smiling, and pretty much hung out all day content. We are so lucky our girls are so sweet and happy! 

She is asleep next to me now, and I'm already missing her thinking about the day we'll put her in her own room. :'( But, if she's anything like her sister, she'll be happier in her own bed, and sleep like a log once we aren't in her ear snoring (Daddy) and moving around! I think the day is near, though.... :/

We are happy that Papa will be home tomorrow, and for the next four days: YAY! :) 

Here are a few pics from tonight before bed. Goodnight!

Day 71

Luciana had a good day today-- she got to see her Daddy, be was home from work. Once we all ate breakfast, we headed out to the area where our new house is! We wanted to see how the neighborhood was, and we found out its pretty nice! Luciana slept most of the time, but having both girls with us was really nice, since usually we have to leave Penelope home on these trips. We are all excited to (hopefully) be in that beautiful home-- we are in escrow now, and hope everything goes well.

No pictures of our baby today, but tomorrow is a new day, and I'll be sure to post some then.

Night!!

Day 70

Today Luciana slept until about 10:00 am!! She usually sleeps until a little after Penelope and I wake up, and joins us at breakfast. So funny, she was just sleeping in today! :) We had a slow day around the house today, and didn't do much besides stick around while we had an inspector out-- it was something we had to have done before the new owner of our house takes over. Also, we found our new home! It's in Anaheim Hills, and it's beautiful. It's schools have great scores, and there are lots of young families. We can't wait to get ourselves into the house and get to know our new area. So happy!! :)

Here's a pic of Lu looking very cute in a kimono style onesie. My angel is a little geisha today! ;)

Night.

Day 69

(Post is for yesterday... I fell asleep before getting a chance to post last night!)

Luciana had her two month physical today!! She impressed Dr. Lau by hitting all her milestones early, mostly. Whenever she goes, Dr. Lau will write all her "stats" in a little blue book (see pic), so we can keep track of her growth, immunizations, and sicknesses (none yet!) Speaking of immunizations, Luciana got a few shots... I didn't think she'd notice them too much, but boy, was I wrong!! :/ My poor baby cried out right away, and cried until her little face was blotchy and red. I was able to nurse her in the doctor's office, and that made her feel better. I guess the Tylenol the nurse gave her helped also! We were at the doctor's office for almost two hours-- Penelope had her physical too, so when we got home, she just passed out for a nice long nap! The shots didn't ruin her day-- she napped well, and slept great, thankfully! 

Day 68

Lying in Mama & Daddy's bed, playing.  Happy happy girl :)

Day 67

Luciana went on a house hunting trip today! She did awesome-- we were out from 9am until 5pm, it was a LONG day. The best part about it is that she is just an angel throughout all the traveling and in and out of the car! I have a trooper baby... But tonight at home she's being very fussy. I'm not sure why... :/ This is why my post will end here.

Goodnight! (I hope) These pics, by the way were from tonight... P kissing Lu is just too much!! :)

Day 66

Our little Lulu stayed with Mana for a couple hours today while Mama & Penelope went out on a few errands. She slept, drank a bottle (Mommy had to pump), and went on a walk in her stroller. Later, she had a really long nap, I think, because I put her in our bedroom with lights out, shutters closed, and the door halfway closed-- 3 hours in the daytime is amazing!!! Especially with Brutus around (what we jokingly call P sometimes, being that she's a normal loud, heavy handed 15 month old!) 

Tonight, after Penelope had her bath, Luciana had one. She looooooves bath time. She's like her Mama, both the girls do. I pour the warm water over her and let her relax, it's so sweet, she smiles and laughs! :)

She's asleep right next to me now... I'll put her in her Moses basket once I'm ready to go to sleep, and she'll usually sleep 3-4 hours until she wants to nurse. I love it, she's a good sleeper already. :)

Oh! I made Luciana an email account -- a place where we (and that means anyone who wishes to) can write her notes, letters, share memories and funny things, and also photos. It's: Lucianarindge@gmail.com. Papa and I will have the passwords, and will make sure we keep it going as long as we can. We'll see how it goes....

That's all for today. Mama is tired, and so ready for Daddy to come home. Night!

Day 65

Me & Luciana today..

Long day... Goodnight :)

P.S. baby girl had a good day, and is as happy as a clam, as usual.

Day 64

Luciana and Mama watching Dexter:

I know she can't see super far, and that the colors and motion are all that I Teresa her, but it is still pretty funny-- it looks like she's watching the show with us! :)

Lulu was a good girl today (she always is), but today she was relieved. That's all I'll say here! ;) 

Goodnight. 

Day 63

Well! One of the many benefits of breastfeeding Luciana is that when she wakes up at midnight to eat, I can post a blog entry 'cause I forgot to earlier! :) Seriously, though, the nursing is going very well. Luciana is nursing about 7 or 8 times daily, and is growing like a weed! There have been many times when a formula feed would have been more convenient, or less awkward (Mama is very modest, and nursing in public is very hard!) but it is the best thing for our baby girl, so that's what she gets. Daddy is a huge support system for us, too... He helps us get comfortable, will leave his food at a restaurant table to keep Ma company while I nurse in the car, or just remind me that it's time for her to eat. ("When has she last eaten?" Means "Feed her, please!") :) It's rare to have a Daddy so involved, and it's awesome. Luciana has been such a trooper lately, we've taken her house hunting lots, which is exhausting for anyone. We hope the search is over, though, as we've set out sights on a place very near Huntington Beach. Turns out we may not have to be away from family here, which is awesome. We'll see how it turns out..... :)

I'm listening to Luciana breathe deeply next to me, sleeping like a log. What music to my ears! Goodnight!

Day 62

Today we took Luciana along with us (and our friend & realtor John Leffler) looking at houses. She was, as usual, a perfect little angel. That is, until that moment when Mama is about to eat. It never fails! Luciana will always cry and fuss-- it's funny, Daddy & I laugh about it. She was either asleep or just quietly watching the whole time. We were able to whisk in and out of house after house, and little Lu was as quiet as a mouse. (Heehee. A rhyme.) After our day out, we came home and Luciana spent a little time with Mana. They just snuggled awhile. :)

Now she's fast asleep in her Moses basket right next to Mommy & Daddy's bed. It's still just more convenient while she's nursing so often and waking up multiple times throughout the night. We do hope to transition her into her own room very soon, though! :) 

That's all for today... Goodnight!

Day 61

Luciana is a happy baby. As long as she's fed, has a dry bottom, and isn't having gas or whatever, she's a peach! :( All we have to do is smile and talk to her, and she talks and smiles back. I just stroked her head and kissed her cheeks and she started smiling... I caught it!

Dark, but there it is. :)

Not much to say about today, but we are ALL happy Daddy's home tomorrow. We always miss him when he's at work. We'll take Lu out house hunting with us tomorrow. I sure hope she's ready for it!! 

Night.

Day 60

I'll say it from the start: no pics today! :/ We were dealing with lots today, including the sale of our beautiful home!!! We received five offers, and chose a very nice man to take this place over. We feel good about it, and are just so excited to find our next home, a place where we can all grow together. We were disappointed our offer was rejected from a place we really wanted, so from here out, it's all business! I sure won't be planning on room decor until we're out of escrow! 

Luciana was feeling good today, she wasn't crying all day, so that's a relief. She does have her moments, so it can be hard to tell. She had her first visit to Costco tonight, and she slept through the whole thing! Imagine that. We bought her a box of size one diapers-- no more newborn size!! :) Our baby girl is now 9 lbs., at least, so she was just bursting out of those little ones. 

Luciana is doing pretty great, and in about one minute, she'll be on her way to dreamland. Good thing, we're beat! 

I hope I remember pics tomorrow! Goodnight.

Day 59

Luciana is almost three months old?! Wow. Time has really flown with this little one. Poor baby wasn't feeling so great the last few days, but seems more herself again today. She was crying tonight, but that's normal baby stuff. Lu is doing well, and I don't think we'll have to see Dr. Lau until our next scheduled appointment. 

No pics of Luciana today... :/ I guess maybe because she was sleeping so well today, and was happy in her crib. I'm just happy she's happy. :) 

Goodnight.

Day 58

It's day #3 of Luciana not feeling so great, and it was harder for us all being so far away from home. :/ We hung in there, though! Lu's been crying & fussing lots lately... We are hoping she feels better very soon. Here's a pic of baby girl today:  

That's all for today... Mama needs. Some SLEEP! :) Night!

Day 57

Another house-hunting day today! We got up early, packed up the family van & headed out to Mission Viejo (gorgeous place & one of the safest cities in America). We had a "small" list of houses today-- 5, since we had both girls with us. Luciana was a trooper, she was happy most of the time, but still seems to wanna be held most of the time. Babies are meant to cuddle, so I guess she's just being a normal baby. 

We were out about 4 1/2 hours, and this is her staring out the window on our drive home, totally worn out!

Here's a few pics Daddy took of her today... He can always make his baby girl smile & laugh!

That's all folks! Goodnight.

Day 56

Our sweet little LuLu is having a hard time these last few days. She is crying a LOT :/ We aren't quite sure what happened, and whether or not it's that she wants to be held, or gas, or what, poor baby! :( Once we pick her up or give her attention, she's okay, so we think it just may be that -- she knows if she cries, she gets lovin'. :)

Today we went to Mission Viejo to explore a neighborhood of a house we are interested in, and also our home was being shown, so we kinda had to be outta there. We chose a very hilly area, and were tapped out after walking up & down the hills, then playing in a park we found, and then walking back to our car. After we stopped for sandwiches, us ladies all fell asleep while Papa drive us home. We do love him so!! :) Anyway, I fed Luciana in the car before we came home, and the pics you see today are from that feeding. :/ Good one, Lu! You got Mommy good!! ;)

We are all beat today, and we still have more houses to look at, another open house at our place on Sunday (day after tomorrow), and keeping the place spotless in the meantime. It's a busy time right now... We can't wait until we're in our beautiful new home, wherever it is!!

Goodnight.

Day 55

Luciana was especially cranky today-- we think she's learning the old saying "the squeaky wheel gets the oil". We have our hands full with Penelope, I guess she is demanding attention!! :) Or it's gas. 

She cried a lot today, but after three long bedtime feedings, she's much more calm. 

Here she is crying. :( Our sweet girl. Also, I took a couple pics of her in the Bjorn with Daddy while he watered the backyard-- she was happy there with him, except when her binkie fell out. 

Goodnight. We had a very long day cleaning for our first (broker's) open house tomorrow. We hope our pretty home gets some great offers!!