3 Year old Wren

Wren at 3 years old:

• Is such a little mother.  She loves to treat any and all of her toys as babies and will use anything as a blanket (towels, toilet paper, tissues, socks, clothes).  It is a daily occurrence for her to line up all of her babies on the floor and then cover them with tissues (blankets) for their naps.  She means business and will get so upset if you move anything.  
• Wren loves ice cream.  She is a a pretty picky eater, but is always up for some "nilla".
• She is a little sugar fiend.  She LOVES candy, cookies, donuts, cupcakes (but only the frosting), and on and on. Getting her to eat anything that isn't sugar or fruit is a challenge.
• She loves princesses (She IS one after all), and will never stay in the same outfit all day.  She loves to dress-up and comment on how beautiful she is. 
• She is still a hater of bed time and sleep in general. She's started getting night terrors, which is just the most awful thing!  Dave seems to be the only one who can calm her down when she has a nightmare.  
• She adores books and loves to read with dad at night.  She has started to memorize them and loves to "read" them to us.  Her favorite book is called "John James Audubon Painted Birds".  Hearing her recite that book word for word is just about the sweetest thing. 
• Wren is funny.  She says the funniest things and has the best delivery.  She really does make us laugh every day.  
• She is a pretty independent person, and is perfectly content playing by herself.

We love our Roo Bear!  She adds just the right amount of spunk, sass and sweetness to our family.   

Trey is 5!

Trey is 5 and we can't believe it!  Here are a few things about Trey at 5 years old!

• Trey loves preschool and has learned how to read!  He is so proud of himself and we enjoy watching him learn and grow.  He loves to spell out 3 letter words with the alphabet magnets.
• Trey is amazing at puzzles!  He will diligently work on 300+ piece puzzles by himself for weeks and loves to work on them a little bit each day.
• As always, Trey is a little helper.  He loves to be included in household chores and tasks.  He is always willing to help and feel like a "big kid".  
• Trey plays soccer and is really great at it!  We joke that he is the best player on his team (really!), and we have so much fun watching him excel.  The whole family comes to cheer him on and he just loves it!
• Trey loves to garden.  He always takes such special care with his plants.  He very carefully chooses what he wants to plant and is so responsible for making sure that they are cared for.  His favorite time is harvest time.  He gets so excited and asks each day if something is ready to be picked.  He is notorious for waking up early and sneaking out into the backyard to pick raspberries for his breakfast.  
• Trey is a morning person.  He is usually one of the first people awake each morning and is always so happy.
• Trey loves to play video games.  We recently got a Nintendo Switch console and he is obsessed with it.  He loves anything that has to do with gaming.  Nintendo games, computer games, apps..you name it, he loves it!
• Trey is a great big brother.  He has loved having Wren get a little bit older.  Wren adores him and it is fun to hear them play. 

Trey has grown so much, but is still our sweet little boy.  (And I still call him Treybies from time to time).  We love you buddy!  

2 year old Wren

A little bit about our Roo Bear at 2 years old...

• Her vocabulary is crazy. She shocks us daily with how many words she knows.  She's to the point now where we can sit and have a little conversation and it's so fun!  She loves to talk and sing and is rarely quiet. 
• Sleep is still her arch nemesis.  She still usually wakes up at least once, but has gotten better about self soothing.  She IS stubborn, though, haha.  When she isn't happy, she lets you know!
• Wren loves her "babies" and is a girly girl.  She requests daily to wear her princess dress ups and insists on walking around the house in her dress up shoes and "pretties" (bracelets, necklaces).  She will often say "I'm a princess!" "Pretty, pretty princess!" "Oh, that's lovely!"  "So beautiful!"  
• She is obsessed with Monster's Inc. and Cinderella and has both memorized.  She quotes them incessantly and can sing every song.  
• She loves music and will often sing to herself while playing.  She has the sweetest little voice.  We love to listen to her sing along to songs in the car.  Her current favorite is "Sing, Sweet Nightingale" from Cinderella.  
• She is a picky eater and would live off of chocolate milk if we allowed it. 
• She loves her grandmas and grandpas and many aunts and uncles.  Fun fact: she knows most everyone's names, but insists on calling aunt Beth "guys". :)
• She loves fruit leathers and calls them "neeboys".  We have no idea how she came up with that word, but it most definitely means "fruit leather", so naturally we all use that word now.  
• We often remark that Wren can be the sweetest little thing but then turn into a holy terror.  And as rude as that sounds, it's true!  Haha.  She melts our hearts everyday, but is not easily coerced, lol.  She is tough and definitely sticks up for herself.  Being a toddler has made her strong personality shine!  
• She loves books and enjoys having dad read to her at night.  
• She is pretty independent and can easily entertain herself with books, babies, cars, stickers, etc.  She also loves to play with Trey and copycat whatever he does.  

Wren is all around a riot to have in our family.  She keeps us on our toes, but shows us an incredible amount of love.  She makes us laugh every day.  We love you Wren!

18 Month Old Wren

Our little miss Roo is 18 months old!  She has grown so much, and has the most fun, feisty, sweet personality.  Here's a bit about 18 month old Wren:

• Her sleep situation has improved a lot, but she still has those bad nights.  We've recently put a night light in her room, and that has seemed to help. 
• We've been slowly transitioning away from the bottle, and this has proven to make nights/nap time hard.  We finally just stopped using bottles altogether, and her stubbornness is coming through!  Haha.  As of late, whenever we hand her a sippy cup, she takes one look at it and just chucks it across the room in disgust.  
• She has a temper.  (See above, haha).  We try really hard to not give in to her tantrums, but it is really hard not to laugh.  She throws major fits (throwing her head back, kicking and screaming over seemingly insignificant things ALL THE TIME).  Sometimes we have to just look at each other and laugh.  
• She knows a lot of words, and has clearly learned everything through imitation.  She will watch your lips very closely when you speak, and will undoubtedly repeat the last word you say each time. "Hi Roo"... "Roo"    "Should we get dressed?"... "Dressed"  "Sit down to eat."..."eat".  It's such a little thing, but it makes my heart melt all day long.  
• She absolutely adores Trey and wants to do everything with him.  They don't always play very well (learning to share is hard, haha), but it's been fun to watch their relationship grow.  They play with hot wheels cars a lot, and she loves it.
• She loves loves LOVES her baby dolls. They are by far her favorite toy.  She constantly walks around with them "shushing" them and putting them down for naps.  
• We read to her each night before bed and she always asks for more. "book....book..."  We have a few touch and feel books, so she assumes that every book is, and always touches the page and looks up at me like "What is this supposed to be?  These all feel the same!"

Wren has us laughing everyday.  We joke a lot that she is a little stinker, but she really brings us so much joy.  We love you Wren, Roo, Roo Bear, Roo Babe.   

4 year old Trey

Trey has had to grow A LOT this past year as he transitioned into being a brother.  He is such a BIG BOY, and sometimes I can't even stand how fun he is!  Once turning four, I feel like he is really starting to grow out the of the "hard toddler years" and it's been fun to watch his personality grow.  Here's a little bit about our Treybies (we still call him that sometimes. I'm not sure how long he'll allow that, so I'm holding onto it as long as I can! haha).  

• His personality has exploded and he loves his independence!  Because of this, some stubbornness has started to creep in (ha), but it's been so fun to watch him grow!  
• He loves to get himself up, get himself dressed and make his own breakfast.  He is very much a morning person (obviously got that from Dave).  There has been a lot of times that we get up for the day, and he's already made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone  He is always so proud of himself!
• He LOVES to cook and experiment with different "recipes"...which includes grabbing anything and everything out of the fridge and cupboard and making "meals".  
• He's recently started preschool, and he loves it!  It has been really good for him to be with other kids.  He loves to learn and is always so excited about going to school and daycare.  
• Trey really likes being able to help people, and do tasks such as unloading and loading the dishwasher, sweeping, mopping, taking out the garbage, weeding...he loves it all!  He's the best little helper and always wants to be busy doing something!  
• He loves to dance and will often request certain songs.  His current favorites are 24K Magic by Bruno Mars, Feel it Still by Portugal the Man, Wake Me Up Before you Go-GO by Wham, and Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant.  Listening to the radio is so fun with him.  He'll randomly ask "What is this?  I like it."  
• He is still very inquisitive and loves figuring things out.  He loves playing with Legos, Hot Wheels, and jigsaw puzzles.  He recently learned how to play Mario Kart, and he loves being able to "earn" games throughout the day to play with Dad before bedtime.  
• He loves any and all reasons to have a party.  All holidays are his favorite, and he looks forward to everything about them. 
• We have the best conversations, and he makes us laugh every day.  

We love you Trey! 

Wren is 1!

Our little Roo Bear is one year old!! This past year has probably been the longest in my life, and yet I can't believe she is already one!  She sure has come a long way in one year!  A little about Wren at 12 months:

• She still despises sleep and has a really hard time going to sleep, staying asleep, and waking up.  She usually gets up once a night, and is up for the day around 7:00 or 8:00.  I'm convinced that waking up is her absolute least favorite thing in the world (she got that from me), and she lets everyone know it!  
• She loves to walk with her walker, and is so proud of herself.  She has taken a couple of steps on her own here and there, but for the most part just likes to hug the walls/furniture to get around.  
• She loves to eat whatever Trey is eating.  She really likes applesauce, puffs, and noodles.  Most of the time however, everything we feed her just gets thrown on the floor, or squished in her hands.
• She has the sweetest personality, but has no problems letting you know when she is upset.  She's got a "look", and when she gives it to you, it's so hard not to laugh.  She is very weary about strangers and will always look people up and down before warming up to them.  
• She loves music.  The best way to cheer her up is through music and dancing.  She loves watching Trey dance tries to copy his moves.  
• She is so talkative and is always yammering on and on.  She very clearly has her own language and it is so cute.  She'll look at you as she's babbling on as if to say... "Hello, why aren't you understanding me!?" 

We love you Wren!!

11 month old Wren

This past month Wren has seemed to grow so much.  She's really starting to get a personality, and it's fun to see.  She sure is a feisty one, but is adored by pretty much anyone who knows her.  Here's Wren at 11 months:

• Your hair.....THAT hair.  We all love it so much.  She has far more hair than Trey did at this age, which is fun.  It's got a mind of it's own, though.  It's wild and likes to stay wild.  It's super, SUPER fine and strawberry blonde.  No amount of gel can get it to stay down. Those super fine strands love to just do their thing and it makes us laugh every day.
•  We've had a rough time with sleep lately, but I think we're finally getting better.  We've started her bedtime routine a little earlier and that has seemed to help.  She goes down at about 7:30, usually only gets up once to eat, and then up again at 7:30.  Can't complain!  She really, REALLY doesn't like waking up and screams the instant she opens her eyes.  It's really sad, and I wish I knew what was causing it.  I think she just doesn't like being alone.  Poor Roo.
• She has started imitating us.  She loves to click her tongue at us and grins wider and wider when we copy her and then she copies us.  
• She has started doing this evil laugh/shout thing that just has us in giggle fits all of the time.  It sounds like "ha HA!"  She laughs super loud and her face is so expressive when she does it.  We can't help but imitate her when she does it.  
• She spent most of this month learning to pull herself up and walk around furniture.  Now that she knows how, it's ALL she wants to do.  She got brave this week and started walking with the walker.  She loves it and is so proud of herself.  Her stubborn personality shines through when she hits into something and falls, or runs out of room.  She throws herself on the floor and throws some major temper tantrums!  We love her, but hoo boy, she's got a temper.  Haha.
• She's been eating much better since being over colds and whatnot.  She only really eats one "meal" a day along with her bottles.  Her favorite by far is mangos.  Most of the time she'll just have a few bites here and there, but she'll gobble up mangos.  She also loves chedda1r goldfish crackers.  Who doesn't?
• We've recently started reading books with her and she loves them.  She always uses her pointer finger to carefully point to everything on the page and babbles as she does: "uhda????  Babu???"
• She has several dolls and loves to sit and examine their eyes and eyelashes.  It's kind of weird, but she is just so fascinated by them.  
• She has started to show that she knows when she's doing something wrong.  She'll turn around and look at you with this mischievous grin as if to say "I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I'm going to anyway.  

She's our little Roo Bear, and we love her so much!

10 month old Wren

Wren turned 10 months old and it as been a whirlwind.  We moved into a new house and it's been so fun to watch her crawl all over the place and explore.  At 10 months....

• She has had cold after cold after cold which has just been the worst!  Dave and I also got the flu and I think she got it too....there were some hard days this month but I think we are finally over it!  Hopefully!
• Because of the sickness, sleep has been a distant memory.  Her "schedule" has gone out the window and she had a 2 week stint where she would wake up every hour.  NOT FUN.  Now that the sickness has subsided, we're all hoping to get more sleep.  Because if Wren doesn't sleep well, no one does. 
• Bathtime is her favorite time of the day, especially with Trey.  I believe it is their sole mission in life to get as much water all over their mother and the bathroom floor as possible.  Trey knows better, but how do you teach a baby to NOT splash!?
• She learned how to clap and she claps all day long.  She claps when she's happy, sad, hungry, mad...it's kind of funny actually. Sometimes when she wakes up in the middle of the night (royally pissed off, mind you), I'll pick her up and lay her down to change her and all while screaming in my face she's just clapping away.  If that doesn't put you in a good mood at 2:00 am, I don't know what would.  
• She has 6 teeth.  She got two more on top and she still has the two on the bottom.  She has the cheesiest grin and we just love it!
• She can stand, but you better old onto her and heaven help us if you let go, or she falls....she likes to stand but is terrified of the concept at the same time.  She hasn't been able to pull herself up yet, but she's content standing in one place.  As soon as you let go, even with one had, she screams and gives you a death stare as if to say "How dare you!?"
• She has vetoed pretty much any and all food.  I think being sick has really made her dislike food and she doesn't seem interested at all.  She just likes her baba's and snuggles...as always.
• She can say dada, baba, mama and a whole bunch of nonsense words. She loves to just babble on and on.  
• Her nicknames have morphed from Wrennie to Wren-a-roo, Wrennie the roo bear, Roo bear, to Roo...which is what we call her most of the time. Nicknames are so weird.  Roo doesn't even remotely resemble her given name, but it just fits.  

9 month old Wren

Wren is growing SO FAST!  We can't believe how big she is.  Here are a few things about our 9 month old Wrenny-Roo:

• She is FINALLY getting over her colds and is sleeping much better.  She usually goes down by 7:30-8:00 and only gets ups once throughout the night and then she's up and ready to go at 7:00. 
• As always, she is happiest in the mornings.  She is starting to talk so much and we love it!  She says "da-da" over and over and over again. 
• She crawls super fast and likes to get herself into trouble.  She loves door stops and any and all cords.  She's also loves looking down the stairs and gets so mad when I put the gate up.
• She has three teeth...soon to be four.  Teething has not been her favorite thing, but they sure are cute!
• She loves bath time and still loves to splash.  It's kind of surprising just how much water she gets all over the bathroom floor.  She'll splash water all over face and get it into her eyes, but she just LOVES it. Every time she splashes she cracks herself up and laughs and laughs.
• She adores Trey and wants to do whatever he is doing.  Trey gets the most smiles by far.
• She loves snuggles, as always and prefers to be held most of the time. 
• She can feed herself but pretty much refuses to at night.  You don't mess with her nighttime snuggle time.  Haha
• She does  this thing with her hands all the time.  She holds them out and then waves them around.  It's hard to explain, but if you know her at all, you know what I'm talking about.  It's like she waves her hands in circles as if she's stretching her wrists.  Super random, but she does it a lot when she's eating. 
• She has a lot of nicknames, but the current favorite is Roo-Bear.  Or just simply Roo.

She is so sweet and we just adore her!  Love you Roo!

Wren at 8 Months

Wren is getting so big and it's breaking this mama's heart.  At 8 months....

• She has never been a great sleeper, but at the moment she loathes it!  She has been battling cold after cold for the past few weeks and her sleep has pretty much become nonexistent.  Poor thing.  Back are the days of getting up several times a night.  She typically goes down at 8:00 and wakes up at 12:00, 4:00 and then 7:00....Hoping those 12 hour stretches come back soon!  She's also a pretty terrible napper.  20 minutes and she seems to think she's done!  It's a good thing she's so cute because she is NOT a happy camper when waking up.  We've tried to buckle down on routines and create good sleeping habits, but she's just not having it.  It doesn't help that she is the worlds lightest sleeper!
• She has two bottom teeth, and they are pretty much the cutest things ever.  I think now that she has teeth, she's convinced that she is ready for big people food, because she has pretty much refused to eat any and all baby food for the past few weeks.  She'll have maybe 2-3 spoonfuls and then refuse to open her mouth for anymore.  She does however love to gnaw on oranges, crackers, etc.  She always stares at Trey while he's eating as if to say "HEY! I want that!"
• She has started to crawl and it's been so fun.  She kind of sways back and forth on her tummy to get to where she wants to be.
• She can sit up and likes to just sit and put her toys in and out of buckets.
• She LOVES our phones and is constantly trying to grab them and eat them!
• She learned how to splash and it's all she ever wants to do during her bath.  She will get water all over her face and not even flinch.  She loves when Trey starts splashing with her and thinks it's the funniest thing in the world.  
• She can hold her bottle, but most of the time wants to be held to eat.  As always, she would be content being held every waking minute of her life.  She loves to snuggle.
• She is pretty happy in the mornings and gives the cutest little smiles.  But honestly after that, you'd be pretty hard pressed to get a smile out of her.  Haha.  We often refer to her as having RBBF (Resting Baby Bitch Face)...it sounds horrible, I know, but it's so true!  We love you Wren-a-Roo but you're kind of a cranky pants.  Family will often do anything in their power to make her smile and she'll just stare at them with this "Are you kidding?" face and look at us like we're crazy.  
• She has the cutest little voice and babbles on and on.  She says "dada" quite a bit, but I'm not sure if it means anything to her.  My favorite is when she talks to us in the morning.  Oftentimes after picking her up out of her crib first thing in the morning she'll babble really REALLY quietly so you can barely hear her.  It's so sweet and just melts my heart each time.  
• I feel likes shes's grown so much, but strangers will often comment on how small she is for her age.  I'm intrigued to see how much she has grown when we take her in for her 9 month check up.  Either way, she's perfect!
• She has the thinnest hair ever (maybe even thinner than mine!) and it shoots straight up on top of her head.  She has one strand that is about 2-3 inches longer than the rest and I just love it.  Her hair is always just a little poof ball and refuses to stay down.

She is so cute and it's been fun to see her little personality come through.  We love you Wren-a-Roo! (her most common nickname). 

3 year old Trey

"Oh Treybies"....."Oh mom!"  This is a common saying in our household and I know I'll forget it if  I don't write it down; so there you go.

Trey has grown so much since we brought Wren home and it is so sad, but so fun at the same time!  Once Trey turned three I felt like the saying "Terrible Twos" was complete nonsense, because three has been so much harder on us!  Trey is either an angel...or not so much.   Haha.  In all seriousness though, Trey is such a delight in our lives and has dealt with the chaos of adding a baby to the family really well.     Here are a few things about Trey at 3 years old:

• I cannot believe how much his language has exploded the last year.  He knows so much and surprises us all the time with words that he knows and uses correctly.  It's silly, but it really has been so fun to hear him use a word in the correct context and go "What??  Where did you even learn that?!"  For example, the other day he said "Mom, I think it is in a different location"  LOCATION???  Really?? I'm obviously biased, but I think he's pretty smart and it's fun to have "big boy" conversations with him.  
• He is REALLY shy and prefers to be with adults rather than children.  This is probably due to the fact that he has been the only little kid on both sides of our family.  He goes to daycare once a week and it has been really good for him.  It's so fun to hear him talk about his little friends.  
• He absolutely adores Wren and it's pretty much the sweetest thing ever.  He loves when she wakes up in the morning, so he can go into her room and say "GOOD MORNING!!!  Hi honey!!!"  He always says it in such a sweet little voice and it melts my heart each time.  He likes to be really involved in helping with her.  He likes to throw away her diapers, and pick out her outfits.  You'll often hear him say "Oh baby Wren....she's just so cute!"  
• He really loves anything car related and has more Hot Wheels cars than I can count.  He still loves reading and loves to read with Dad each night before he goes to bed.  One of his favorite books right now is "The B Book".  We've read it so many times that he has it memorized.  He loves to "read" it to Dave and is so proud of himself.  
• He LOVES going to visit family and far prefers his grandma's over anyone else. Grandma Eddy and Grandma Jo both take turns watching the kids each week and he gets so excited when he finds out that he's going to grandmas!  He also loves spending time at Grandma Calls house and often asks when he can go visit Grandma Call.
• He loves to learn and talk about new things.  He has been obsessed with places lately and wants to know where everyone lives.  He picks up on things so fast and it's been so fun to watch his little brain put things together.
• He loves to help anyone with anything.  He prides himself in being able to help adults with tasks like loading and unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry, fixing anything and everything with tools, cleaning, and so on.  He is the best little helper ever!  Trey just loves having something to do.  
• He is OBSESSED with Orange Chicken from Panda Express.  It's by far his favorite meal and he requests it often.  I love that way he says "Panda Express".  Whenever he asks for it he gets real quiet and then his tone gets louder and higher as he asks for it, as if it's the most exciting thing in the world. 

We love him and can't believe how much he has grown in what seems like such a short time.  He can be very trying (gotta love these toddler years), but he is hilarious and makes us laugh each day.  We love you Treybies!  (I don't think I'll ever stop calling him that....)

Wren at 7 Months

I can't believe Wren is already 7 months old!  She has been such a delight, and as always, we adore her.  Here's a few things to note about 7 month old Wren:

• She LOVES food.  But not all food.  haha.  She far prefers vegetables over fruit.  The sweetness and tartness of fruit is not something she likes.  She'll usually take a few bites, scrunch up her face in disgust, and then refuse to eat anymore.   However, she'll eat spoonful after spoonful of green beans.  She'll gobble up any vegetable, but green beans are by far her favorite.  
• She tries to feed herself her bottle, but really just likes to play around with it.  She loves to place her fingers in between her bottle and her mouth.  It's the weirdest thing and kind of annoying, because she is constantly breaking the suction seal she has on her bottle, but insists that she have her bottle AND her fingers in her mouth at the same time.
• She does not take a binky and she doesn't suck her thumb.  Luckily, she is a very calm and happy baby.  When she is really upset she likes to be swaddled and have blankets next to her face.  
• She's back to getting up in the middle of the night to eat, but for the most part goes to bed and 8:00 and gets up at 7:30.  She got her first tooth a few days ago so nighttime has kind of been a nightmare, but she's doing pretty well.  
• She has definitely found her voice and she sure likes to use it.  She loves to babble quietly to her toys, but then she'll just shout and squeal over and over again until you pay attention to her.  She has made the "mama" sound a few times when she is upset, but no "real" first words yet. 
• She absolutely loves Trey and wants to be around him and watching him.  He pretty much adores her as well and loves to help take care of her. 
• She rolls and rolls all over the place.  No crawling yet, but you can see that she wants to SO BAD!!  She gets very upset when she can't get to a toy by rolling alone.  
• She is very content most of the time, but she can sure be stubborn.  If she is playing with a toy and drops it, she'll scream out as if the world was ending.  Haha.  And if you put her down before she's done being snuggled, she'll be sure to let you know. 
• She is very smiley and happy in the mornings, but doesn't give out smiles very easily after that (unless you're Trey).
• She is growing SO MUCH and I can tell she's losing that "babyness".  It's so sad but so fun at the same time.  She is so chunky, but strangers will comment all of the time how little she is.  
• She is such a fun and sweet little baby.  Always up for a snuggle and just loves to be loved.  I think I've said that every month, but it's so true.        

Wren at 6 months

At 6 months.....

• Weight: 15 lbs 13 oz (42nd percentile) and Height: 2' 1" (15th percentile)  She has gotten so chunky and we love it!  She has the cutest little baby rolls.  
• We just started her on solids and she LOVES them.  It's been so sad to eat in front of her because she just watches you with her mouth wide open.  She's had squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, and carrots and has loved all of them!
• She's really good at rolling over and thinks it's the funnest thing on the world...until she doesn't know how to roll back over.  Haha.  
• Rolling over made bedtime kind of  a nightmare for a few weeks.  We had to stop swaddling her which was really rough for a few nights, but now she just rolls over on her tummy and self soothes.She started getting up again in the middle of the night to eat, but once she started on solids that has stopped and she usually sleeps 10-11 hours!  
• She's happiest in the morning and loves to just babble and coo.  She has started to be very vocal and we love it!  She loves to talk to her toys.  It's the cutest thing ever.  She grabs her toy and stares at it while just babbling and sometimes yelling at it.  
• Trey is still the favorite and gets the most smiles by far!  As always, she loves to be loved.  She would be happy being held all day long.  If she's not being held, she's on the floor on her tummy, rolling across the room to get what she wants.
• She really only cries when she is hungry, tired, or has a dirty diaper.  She does get fussy at times, but she is pretty easy to soothe and just so sweet.      

We get told by family members all the time how lucky we are to have such good babies.  We love our little miss and can't believe how fast these first 6 months have gone by!

Wren at 5 months

Wren is a doll and we absolutely adore her!  At 5 months...

• She eats 4-6 oz every 2-3 hours.  She's a snacker and likes her food!  We always joke that "It's not easy keeping up these fat rolls!"  
• It's so sad to eat in front of her.  She smacks her lips ans looks at you like "uhh, I would like some!"  We've given her rice cereal and she loved it despite the fact that 90% of it ended up all over her face and clothes.  Haha.  
• She still sleeps like a champ!  She's woken up a few times in the middle of the night to eat, but always goes back down and usually sleeps until 7:30 to 8:00.  Such a dream baby!  
• She takes pretty good naps which is so nice.  She'll usually be up for an hour or so and then go back down for a 2-3 hour morning nap.  It's been nice to have some one on one time with Trey in the mornings.  
• Speaking of Trey, she absolutely adores him!  He is by far her favorite person and he makes her laugh the most.  We haven't been able to pinpoint what makes her laugh as it's different every time, but Trey can get her to laugh more easily than anyone else.
• She as discovered her feet and it's the funnest thing to watch.  She loves to grab onto her toes and just sit there rolled up into a ball.  
• She loves to lay on her play mat and grab her toys.  Most of the time she is content just laying on a blanket and being talked to.  
• She's started to like the swing and loves to sit in it and listen to music.
• She is pretty quiet most of the time but has started this "shouting match" way of speaking and it's hilarious.  If she wants your attention she sure knows how to get it.  
• We all kind of have our own little nicknames for her.  I call her honey, little miss, and sweetheart most of the time.  Trey calls her baby Wren.  Dave likes to call her Wren-a-roo.  We always sing the Winnie the Pooh song but change the lyrics to "Roo bear, Wrenny the Roo bear". 

She really is so happy and content.  We got lucky with her!

Wren at 4 months

Wren is such a sweetheart and an amazing baby.  Everyone always comments on how calm and sweet she is.  Wren loves to be loved.  It's as simple as that.  She loves to be talked to and snuggled.

At four months....

• Started sleeping 10-12 hour stretches!  WOO!!!  We start her bedtime routine at around 8:00 and she is usually down by 8:30-9:00.  We still swaddle her, but she sleeps great and usually doesn't wake up until 7:30 the following morning!  
• She is so happy in the morning and loves to be talked to.  She smiles so much and we love it!  Sometimes you really have to work for those smiles, but they are worth it!
• She's started reaching for things and concentrates so hard on grabbing and holding on to things.  It's really sad because she gets visibly frustrated and angry when she can't do something.  Once she get's a hold of something she'll hold on for dear life and never let go as if to say "AHA!!  I got ya!"  She stares it down with such concentration and then gets really mad when she lets go and can't reach it again.  Haha.  I think she was born with my patience (or lack thereof) for things that are difficult for her. 
• She's getting better at tummy time and is getting really strong.  She has no desire to roll over though.
• She still despises the car (at least when it's not moving) and we avoid drive thru's at all costs because of it.  
• She's starting to get more vocal which is so fun.  She likes to squeal and make shouting noises.  Haha.  That's the best way I can describe it.  When she cries, she makes an audible "mama" sound, so I'm counting it as her first word. ;)  
• She still loves the bath and loves to furiously kick her legs and splash.

We comment a lot on how good of a baby she is.  She is adored by so many and we just can't get enough of her.  We think back on her first few days so much and are so grateful for the strong, sweet little girl she is now!  What a difference four months makes!

Wren at 3 months

• Weighs 12 pounds 15 oz
• Eats 3-4 oz every 2-3 hours.  She still prefers to snack on an ounce here and there.  
• Sleeps so well.  We were blessed with two good sleepers and we are so grateful.  We keep a pretty strict routine since that's what we found worked with Trey, and so far it's been wonderful.  We still call it "tubby, baba, seepy nigh night" time.  We have no life outside our children...lol.  She's ready for a bath at around 8:00 and is usually down by 9:00.  She does still wake up at least once to eat, usually between 5:00 and 6:00, but then she goes back down until 7:00.  It is SO NICE to have somewhat of an expectation for nighttime.  Obviously it's not always perfect, but she does really well.  
• Naps pretty consistently every 2-3 hours.  She still prefers to be swaddled to sleep, but will sometimes put herself to sleep without it. One of these days I'll get brave and try putting her to bed at night without swaddling.  She's a pretty light sleeper and wakes easily.
• HATES tummy time.  I try to put her on her tummy at least twice a day, but after 2-3 minutes she starts screaming.  Of course her cries win us over and we turn her over.
• She has a love/hate relationship with the car.  She's pretty content and happy as long as you're moving.  The second you stop the car she freaks out.  Trey often remarks that "Wren does not like the red lights" because she cries as soon as you stop and then stops crying as soon as you start up again.  And don't even try taking her through a drive thru.  I've never heard her cry harder than when she has to sit in the drive thru.  She really can be quite the little diva.  Haha
• All joking aside, Wren is truly a sweet baby.  That's the adjective I feel describes her best.  She LOVES to be held and snuggled.
• Her favorite time of day is first thing in the morning.  She is so smilely and loves to talk to us.  She's pretty quiet compared to Trey at this age, but she has the sweetest little coos.  
• Trey always calls her "baby Wren" and it melts my heart everytime.  We often refer to her as Little Miss, sweetheart, and Wrenny-Roo.  

Wren at 2 months

• Started giving smiles voluntarily.  She's the happiest in the morning right when she wakes up.  It's the sweetest little smile.  She gives her grandma's the most smiles with Daddy coming in at a close second. 
• Is slowly finding her voice.  She makes little coos here and there, but mostly just likes to listen to people talk to her.  
• Loves bath time.  It's a surefire way to get her to calm down at night (her fussiest time).
• We finally have somewhat of a nighttime routine, and it is so nice.  We usually give her a bath at 8:30 and then she's usually down for the night between 9:00 and 10:00.  She usually wakes up between 3:00 and 4:00 am to eat, and then goes right back down until 7:00-8:00.  Did I mention how nice it is!?  Her schedule loving parents are in heaven!  Haha.
• We found out early on that she prefers to be swaddled.  Such a change for us.  Trey HATED being swaddled so I'm surprised we even tried it.  I'm glad we did because it calms her down. She gets really overwhelmed at night and starts waving her arms uncontrollably, so she can't calm down.  She fights it at first and then quickly settles down and usually stays swaddled all night.  
• She slept in a little bassinet for the first 6 weeks but sleeps in her crib every night now.
• Eats 2-4 oz every 2-3 hours.  She likes to snack and acts like she is dying of starvation, then is content after 1 oz. Silly girl.
• Has the silliest fake cry.  It's so dramatic and Dave and I can't help but laugh when she uses it.  
• She's a pretty content baby...until she doesn't want to be. Haha.  She really only cries when she needs something, but oh my, when she needs something, she needs it NOW!       
• She looks so much like Trey.  It's crazy to me how similar they look.  We often joke that she is the girl version of Trey.
• She kept most of her hair and it's coming in pretty red.  We're thinking it will be strawberry blonde.  She has a ton of little tufts of hair in the back with pretty much nothing on top!  Haha.

One Month Old Wren

Wren is one month old, and we're so glad to have that month behind us.  She was on oxygen for 3 weeks, but is officially done with it!  YAY!!  It feels so great to not have to deal with all of that.  Now we can just enjoy our sweet little babe.  Wren at one month...

• Weighs 7 lbs 11 oz
• Is 20.5 inches tall
• Wears newborn clothes.  Anything else is HUGE on her.  Especially pants.  If they aren't newborn sized, they just fall off her nonexistent hips.  Haha.
• She's a pretty content baby and usually only cries when she's hungry or needs to be changed.  She has her fussy moments (around 8:00 pm to midnight), but she's pretty easily soothed.
• Isn't really down to a nighttime schedule yet, but she'll surprise us with 4-5 hour stretches sometimes, and it's awesome!
• LOVES to be cuddled and held.
• Gets hiccups all the time and HATES them.
• Won't take a binky...just like Trey.  She's found her thumb a few times, but doesn't really use it like Trey did.
• Has a REALLY hard time waking up.  It will take her a good 20 to 30 minutes to wake up from a nap and she grunts and cries the whole time, but never opens her eyes.  

The Birth Story: Part Four

As soon as she was born they took her away.  I was devastated that I wasn't able to do immediate skin to skin, but she had had a bowel movement in the womb and was covered in meconium.  She didn't make a sound, even minutes after she'd been born, and it was terrifying.  She had swallowed meconium in the womb and being born at 36 weeks her lungs weren't completely developed.  After working on her for a few minutes they brought her over to me.  I was able to hold her for about 30 seconds while they explained to me that she was having problems breathing and they were taking her over to the nicu.  

Don't you love my "Hey...I was woken up by my water breaking and didn't even bring a comb" hair?  Haha  

She was so beautiful and reminded me so much of Trey, but she was so quiet.  It was such a mixture of emotions.  I felt FANTASTIC physically right after giving birth.  I had prepared for that natural birth and I've got to be honest, I felt like a rockstar.  The pain had completely gone away and I felt great, but I was so worried about her (and Dave...I knew he'd been stressed to the max through that delivery...and now having to worry about her).  All I wanted was to help her and be with her and Dave, but I couldn't. They took her away, and Dave went with her.  

I had tore just a little bit during delivery and needed to be stitched up (which honestly seemed more uncomfortable than the actual birth).  The on-call doctor had arrived at this point and helped stitch me up while the nurse talked me through some paperwork.  Then, it was like all of sudden, everything was cleaned up and I was left alone.  I'm sure I was only by myself in that room for a minute or so, but it felt like forever and was so strange.  Here I had just had a baby and there was all this chaos, and now I was sitting in this room all by myself.  No baby. No husband. No doctors or nurses. 

I had yet to see Wren for longer than a minute or so and just wanted to be with her.  After what seemed like forever they wheeled me over to the nicu and I finally got to see her.  They had her on a warming bed and she had a bunch of tubes down her throat and oxygen on her face and wires all over her.  It was truly the saddest thing I've ever seen and I just broke down.  I couldn't hold her, so I just sat there stroking her hands.  We were told that she was doing well, and that she just needed some help breathing due to being born 4 weeks early and swallowing meconium during delivery.  She was not staying in the nicu, but they were sending her to the TLC nursery which is just a special unit next to the postpartum nursery where babies can be closely watched and monitored.

I was taken to my room while they transferred her to the TLC unit.  Once all was settled, I walked to the TLC unit to try to feed her.  That was the best thing ever about going natural.  I was obviously sore, but I could walk and felt pretty great.  Thank goodness my recovery was so good, because that's really the only positive thing I can remember from her first week.  I had had such a horrible experience breastfeeding with Trey, but wanted to give it another try.  She was a champ and latched right on...thank goodness!  We were told we had to supplement with a high calorie formula because she was premature, but we were fine with that.  After her first feeding I went back to my recovery room and had to leave her there.  It was so weird to not have her with me.  

After the whirlwind of the morning, I finally got settled in my recovery room.  Our families had come to visit us and to see Wren but we weren't able to show her to them, except through the glass window to the TLC unit.  We had been told by the nicu nurses and doctors to be extremely cautious with visitors.  She was born 4 weeks early, having respiratory problems, swallowed meconium during delivery, AND I was gbs positive and wasn't able to get a full does of antibiotics before she was born, so they were worried that she may have gotten an infection during delivery.  ANY kind of infection, even the slightest cold would be a serious problem for her; so we limited those that could see her to Dave and I.  Dave was feeling sick, so he himself didn't even hold her until she was a week old!

It was really hard to not let anyone see or hold her in person.  I was devastated.  All you want to do when you have a baby is show them off because you love them so much, and they are so beautiful and everyone has been looking forward to meeting them...And although it's petty, I was so sad that we couldn't get any pictures of her with Trey at the hospital.  No "first time meeting the sibling" pictures, or "first time with grandma and grandpa" pictures...it just sucked.  But we had to put our trust in the doctors and do what was in the best interest of Wren.

Later that evening when everything had settled, I sat in my recovery room and it was like everything just hit me at once.  I had this overwhelming feeling of guilt and I felt responsible for the mess that we were in.  (And isn't that sad???  That the birth of our daughter just felt like a gigantic mess?).  I began to go over my pregnancy in my mind looking for things I could have done differently to fix it.  "I should have eaten better and exercised more"..."I shouldn't have picked up Trey as much"..."Maybe I should have gone on maternity leave sooner...maybe my job stressed me out too much"..."I shouldn't have done this or this or I should have done this..."  I felt terrible and was mad at myself that I couldn't keep her in longer.  I like to have things planned, so I was completely out of my element.  This WAS NOT how her life was supposed to start.  

During those first few days, I had serious moments of denial where I thought "Ok, if I just would have done this then I wouldn't have gone into labor and I'd still be pregnant.  Ok..let's do that...I can still fix this."  It's hard to explain, but I just did not want to accept the fact that my baby wasn't doing well.  I wanted to fix it, but there really wasn't anything I could do.  Not to mention, I knew Dave was also feeling pretty much everything I was feeling AND he was driving to and from the hospital and home, making sure Trey was being taken care of, and taking care of me. It was quite honestly the worst week of our lives and I don't ever want to relive it again.  

We knew that we had to stay in the hospital for at least three days since I was gbs positive.  And so began her first week...every 2-3 hours I would walk to the TLC unit to feed Wren and then return to my room to pump.  She was a really good eater, but struggled with her breathing during feedings.  It was like she just could not get the "suck, swallow, breathe" pattern down.  She would eat and then just forget to breathe.  She was hooked up to a monitor that would show her oxygen levels and they would just plummet every time she started eating.  It was horrifying.  I kept having to kind of "jostle" her to get her to wake up and remember to breathe.  Feedings took at least an hour or more because we had to pause so much.  It was exhausting both physically and emotionally.  I tried so hard to stay positive those first few days, but it was hard.  It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions.  She would seem to do so well, and then the next day just get worse and worse.  She was wearing herself out trying to eat and her poor lungs were working overtime just to breathe.  

She hadn't been on any oxygen while in the TLC unit and after a few days she just wasn't getting any better.  When she was three days old they decided to admit her to the nicu.  I had been discharged from the hospital, but was thankfully able to stay in my room and pay a daily fee to rent the room.  I couldn't imagine going home and leaving her there, especially since I was nursing her every 3 hours. Once admitted to the nicu, she was put on oxygen and did so much better.  She was able to eat and her oxygen levels would stay constant.

At this point, my body was done.  I hadn't slept for more than an hour at a time for four days and I'd been living in a hospital room with nothing to do but walk to and from the nicu to feed Wren and pump.  I missed Trey terribly and honestly just wanted to GET OUT OF THERE!!  I decided to go home for the night to try to get some sleep and just de-stress a little bit.  It was really hard going home without our baby, but I HAD to get out of that hospital room. The next morning we drove up to the hospital and were told that she was doing great on the oxygen and that she was being discharged.  It was like a mixture of "Hooray!  We get to go home!"  and "What?  You're sending her home?  But she can't breathe!"  We received all the training for her oxygen and monitors and just like that, we were out of there!

We were so grateful to finally be home.  It took a good few days, but we seemed to finally find our groove and her oxygen tubing and monitors became just another part of our day.  We are so SO grateful for our families who helped us out those first few weeks.  Trey had been sick and was unable to be home with us, so he pretty much lived with both grandparents for three weeks after she was born.  We relied heavily on both mine and Dave's families and honestly could not have gotten through her first few weeks without them.  Little miss Wren came with some drama for sure, but she is the sweetest little thing, and we love her to pieces.

The Birth Story: Part Three

Upon realizing that my water had broken I had a huge rush of adrenaline.  "Oh no...oh... crap...why???  Now??  REALLY???  I'm only 36 weeks!  This is the worst timing EVER!!"  But I knew that none of that mattered now.  I was so surprised because I hadn't been having any contractions.  At least nothing that woke me up.  And I certainly knew what to look for this time because I had been having braxton hicks contractions for weeks.  

I immediately found Dave on the couch and calmly told him "Uh...hey.  Sorry to wake you, but my water just broke."  He shot up off of the couch faster than anything I'd ever seen. Probably not the most peaceful way to be waking up.  Haha.  

It was 5:00 am Sunday morning.  I was so glad that it wasn't in the middle of the night.  Thankfully I had started packing the hospital bag the day prior, but "started" constituted a take home outfit for baby and some items I thought I might like for labor.  No clothes for me or Dave, no toiletries...I quickly got dressed and stuffed a bunch of crap in the hospital bag.  Dave woke up Trey (poor thing) and called his parents, who thankfully were able to meet us at the hospital.  Our drive to the hospital was pretty uneventful.  I had a few contractions here and there, but nothing too painful and I could certainly talk through them.  I called my parents (4:00 am Mesquite time)... and with a little chuckle told my mom that my water had broke.  So much for waiting for them to get home from their trip to have the baby.  

We arrived to the hospital at about 5:40 am.  When we drove up to park, Trey was wide awake and remarked "NO...I don't want to go to Walmart!"  Haha.  He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he was happy to see "ama Jo".  We said goodbye to our little boy and headed up to labor and delivery.  Once in triage, we found out that I was dilated to a four and having consistent contractions.  I got all changed in my *awesome* hospital nightgown...hate those things, and tried my best to prepare myself mentally for labor.  Contractions were coming every 3 to 5 minutes at this point and were definitely uncomfortable.  I couldn't believe how different it was from my labor with Trey.

My doctor was out of town...yay...so they contacted the on call doctor and got me all set up in my labor and delivery room.  I'm not quite sure, but I believe it was about 7:00 am by this time.  I knew I was gbs positive so I had to be put on antibiotics during labor.  Once the iv was set I was able to be off the bed which brought huge relief to me.  Laying down during labor was by far the most painful position for me.  They asked if I wanted an epidural but I knew that I wanted to go without any pain medication.   And just like that it was like "Ok...we're actually doing this.  Hopefully all these months of preparation will pay off."  

I spent the majority of my labor standing up and pacing the room.  Each time a contraction came, I would just bury my face in Dave's chest and focus on my breathing.  I had read over and over how important it was to stay relaxed and not tense up during contractions, so that's all I could think about.  It's definitely easier said than done, but that's what got me through it.  Dave was so great and supportive. We had been in our labor and delivery room for about an hour when the nurse returned to hook me up to the monitors again.  At this point, I was seriously doubting myself.  I remember thinking "Oh my goodness, I was only four centimeters when we got here, and it's only been one hour!...I can't possibly do this." I could not get comfortable and it seemed like the contractions were coming one on top of the other.  After hooking me back up to the monitors, the nurse left and I. was. done.  The next contraction came and I just leaned across the bed and cried.  I tried so hard to breathe through them but it seemed impossible and I was exhausted.  I am so grateful for Dave.  He was so kind and would calmly just whisper to me that I WAS doing it and that it would be over soon.

All of a sudden I felt like I was going to be sick.  I knew I was getting close.  I had relied on Dave so much through each contraction, but at this point I was like "STOP!  Don't touch me."  Haha.  I felt so bad, but it was seriously like I was having an out of body experience.  The next thing I knew, I was on my hands and knees on the hospital floor telling Dave that he needed to get the nurse because I HAD to push.  I'm not sure how long it took (Dave would tell you too long)...but the nurse finally came in and was like "Oh my...you should not be on the floor!"  Dave helped me up on the bed and the nurse checked me and calmly said "Oh yeah, you're ready."  I remember thinking "Yeah, no shit I'm ready.  She's coming. Like now."  (After the fact, Dave remarked to me that he couldn't believe she even checked me because the baby was CLEARLY coming.  Lol.)

They called the on-call doctor, but there was no way that he was going to make it.  My body was having this baby.  I could not NOT push.  I remember being so annoyed because the nurses were all calm and like "Oh sweetie...don't push.  Just breath."  I was ACTIVELY trying not to push, but it was just not working.  A doctor finally walked in and literally right when he sat down, she was born.  It was so surreal.  No one was expecting it to go that fast.  It was definitely a dramatic few hours.  She was born at 8:44 am, less than 4 hours after my water had broken that morning.  

6 lbs 7 oz 19.5 inches long