Maternity Leave is Over...

I cannot believe that my 12 weeks of maternity leave have already come to an end. Time just flew by, yet it seems like years ago that I was waiting to meet my little Tessa during the big Ground Hog Day Blizzard! It makes me so sad to think that I won't be able to sit in my pajamas and play pretend with Kyri all day or watch Tessa's face light up as I talk to her all day. I know there are just 6 short weeks until summer so I'll survive. But, I have a little bit of anxiety about how the morning routine will go these next few weeks. I feel like we've finally gotten things figured out around here, and now I have to go back to work and change it all up!

Some updates on Tessa B. ...

* She has been sleeping through the night in her own room for a little over a week.

* She's a great eater - 5 bottles of 5 ounces a day. (We don't have to play the guessing game of how much she's going to eat at each feeding and there's no force feeding like we had to do with Kyri.)

* At 2.5 months she was up to 10 pounds and 22 inches

* As I mentioned above, she smiles at me as soon as I start talking to her (unless she is hungry and waiting for a bottle). She is pretty smiley for others, too, especially Kyri.

* Tessa has become very alert and is fascinated by the world around her now.

* She has started batting at toys and grabbing onto them at times. She also tries to pull them into her mouth!

* Her hands are always in her mouth, unless the pacifier is. And she has been studying her hands quite a bit...trying to figure out what these things are that are always in front of her.

* She pretty much hates being on her tummy, but is laying on her back for longer stretches of time now. (At night she still sleeps in that "Nap Nanny" lounger, but we put it in her crib now.)

* And she has become content to just chill and watch her big sister or whatever else is going on around her.

These past few weeks have been so much fun now that Tessa's crying has calmed down. Just in the past two or three days Kyri has really taken an interest in Tessa. She loves to comfort her and talk to her. Today, while Tessa was in her bouncy seat, Kyri came over and covered her up with a blanket, put her pacifier in her mouth, talked to her (in the same silly voice I use) and turned the lullaby music on for her. It was so sweet. Kyri has also become really interested in wanting to hold Tessa. Two days ago she came over to me as I was finishing up a bottle with Tessa. She started talking to her and making her smile. Then she asked, "Want me to hold Tessa?" She's held her before, but only when we've told her to for a picture or something. This time she really seemed to want to play with her. So I got her all set up on the couch, and she LOVED being responsible for her little sister. I ran and grabbed my camera and got some adorable shots of the two of them interacting. We must have spent an hour doing this little impromtu photo shoot as I sat back and watched the two sisters interact. I couldn't help but think that it was the perfect way to end my leave... a rainy day, no T.V. blaring in the background, no crying...just the sound of my Kyri's giggling and my Tessa's cooing.

Here are some of the pics. I only wish that I had better outfits on them. They look better in black and white because their outfits clashed with each other and with the red couch they were sitting on! (Those of you who are on Facebook, these are the same that I posted. But for those of you who are not, here you go....)

And here are some videos of the past few weeks. They are kind of boring, but I mainly post videos for our out of town relatives and friends so they get a chance to see the girls in action.