Family of Five -- No time to blog!

Mom told me I should use that title. And it is so true. I wasn't sure if I would even put pictures of our sweet June up because then, I thought, "at what point do I stop?" But Mom said I need to at least do it for her first year so she can have her own book. So, June, you can thank your Mimi for not letting us leave you out! 

Where to I start?  I will just recap the last three months and let the pictures tell the rest!

January 15th, 2015. June Adalynn Ross arrived at 1125am, 6lbs 12oz, and 19 inches long. The exact same as Eli! She had a head of beautiful red hair (strawberry to be technical...wink wink). She was just perfect. The delivery was very smooth. I was scheduled to be induced that day, was to go in at midnight. However, around 6pm on the 14th I started having contractions and they continued on all night. By the time I would have been given medication to induce, I was already in full active labor. So my girl was on the same schedule as me! We did go on in at midnight but they just hooked up the fetal monitor and observed the contraction pattern until about 6am when they started my IV fluids and then around 9am I got the epidural...the anesthesiologist was my hero once again! I think I pushed for about 15 minutes and she was out! I am so grateful that we have been able to have three smooth deliveries and three healthy babies! 

The next month went by fast as I was in a blurry fog and confused most of the time. :)  We knew by the third day that she wasn't as easy as our Eli. She definitely has a temper and likes to vocalize her opinions, like Jay! I would say she is a good mix of both of them though. She is has some fire in her but is also pretty easy to console...as long as I am around to feed her. She took a bottle well at the beginning, however around 6 weeks, started fighting it. We still cannot get her to take one unless she is in just the right mood. Most of the time she screams until she passes out. The girl would rather go hungry than use the bottle!

The second month was a fussy one. This is normal and I was reminded how spoiled we were by easy-going Eli. She was fairly easy to handle at home but if I had to run errands or go anywhere, she let us have it!  Her swing was about the only thing that would calm her down and obviously I can't drag that thing around with us. She will not take a pacifier either!  I didn't have this issue with the boys so it is driving me crazy that she refuses it. She is starting to suck on her hand. So she may take after me and suck her thumb once she finds it!

One thing I can brag on her about is her eating. She nurses so well and goes 3 hours in between feeding for the most part. On her two month check up she was 10 lbs 4 oz and 23 in long. She is growing like a weed and I'm sure, by now, she is over 11 lbs. She is an easy burper too. And poops all day long!  And even with that was gassy and fussy until just a few weeks ago. We use gas drops a lot but gripe water is what we've noticed helps the most. It is ginger and fennel mixture and we give it to her at night (when she was most fussy starting around 3 weeks). It calms her down quickly and she goes on to sleep without a fight. We joke that "our old lady" needs her ginger and fennel before bed.

As far as sleep, she is settling in to a pretty good schedule. She takes three naps a day (either in the swing or carseat). Takes her last feeding around 1030 and then usually sleeps until 5 or 530am - this started just last week. I am enjoying that stretch of sleep that I get but will be even happier when she makes it until 6 or 7am!  She never liked the swaddles (like the boys did) but loves her sleep sack. She can stretch and move around all she wants in that so I guess she likes her freedom!  She goes on to sleep by herself as well. But the catch is, after I feed her at 730 I have to put her in the swing (not the crib). Then she swings and stares at us wide-eyed until about 930. She falls alseep, I wake her at 1030 to eat. Then she lets me lay her in the crib for the night. It is so funny to watch her watching us, she shakes her head back and forth in the swing, over and over. I guess trying to stay awake. All of our kids have had a different way of bedtime and this is her unique system of settling down for the night. So funny!

We are all so crazy about her (well, Eli goes back and forth---he really liked being the baby!). But Jay is obsessed and loves to hold her and talk to her. Between the four of us she gets constant attention. She is spoiled already! I have loved all of the girl stuff too!  The bows, tights, dresses, and hats are so much fun! I am still trying to learn how to accessorize and the difference between pants, tights, and leggings and then matching bloomers and socks....girls are much harder to dress than boys!!

She is three months today!  Here is what she is doing now.

- Coos, ahhs, goos. She love to talk!  I predict she will be as social as our Jaybird!  When any of us get close to her she smiles and goes to talking. It is so much fun!

- She smiles very easily. It started with the fan around 6 weeks. By two months we could get her to smile at us with some work. Now as soon as we start talking to her she lights up!  It is so pretty too!

- She loves the infamous rainforest mobile that we've had since Jay was born. It is starting to make weird noises so we are hoping it lasts a few more months!  We have gotten the money's worth out of this thing for sure!

- She watches the television and fans a lot. The colors and movement keep her very entertained.

- She likes her carseat more than either boy did. Poor third child never had a choice...she is in that thing every few hours. We just put a mirror in the car for her to watch herself in and she like that also.

- Love to nurse, hates the bottle!  Hopefully we can convince her otherwise before I loose my mind!  I would like to be able to go away without her for more than two hours at a time!

- She likes the bouncy seat and to just lay out on a quilt and stretch. She is an active little thing, always kicking and moving her arms. She is close to rolling over. She doesn't like tummy time and really just wants to lay on her back. It is too much work to play on her tummy!

Now for pictures. There is a lot!  But shows how she has changed over the last 3months! 

Before she was born

alert right from the beginning!

i love Jay's expression here! notice his outfit. He wanted to "dress up" to meet June...full camo!

The nurse insisted that she have "skin to skin" time with Wes too. If I had known the boys were about to walk in I would have made him put his shirt back on!  haha

he adores her!

Mama Ross and June

Mimi and her grands

isn't that bow so cute!?  Our sweet L&D nurse made it for her!

beautiful hair

a smile before she really "smiled"

Jay kept asking to hold her for a little longer...he finally crashed. So sweet!

Jay brought this dog home from school about a month before June was born. He wanted her to have something from him when she came home from the hospital!

matching shirts!

she loved to sleep curled up in the boppy for the first month

Eli is so goofy!

watching Daddy

Jake meets June!

passed out while eating!

First family outing...to Lowes

it blew my mind that she could sleep with the lights right in her face and the boys screaming all around her but would not sleep in her dark, quiet room at night!

This thing saved us in the first 6 weeks. She would only sleep in an elevated position and this "pello" held her just right

first bath!

not impressed

first lunch out

Eli is helping burp her

first ride on Papa's Kubota

Papa and Mama Ross

1 month!

June and her great-granny Curry

Smiling with her big brother!

that's a good nap

her pout face!

She had a bad cough so we gave her some saline mist through a nebulizer for a few weeks. June loved it, she smiled and licked the air the whole time!

getting some yogurt...we let the boys watch her. It was a funny sight, seeing people do a double take wondering who left these kids alone with a baby.

Meeting Aunt Jewel

Wes thought she'd like a bike ride...I decided she was too small!

her nursery. Wes made the "crown" on top

she likes to poke that lip out!

talking to the mobile

2 months!

I need to put this one next to Jay screaming in his 2 week photo session!

precious

this is her staring at us from the swing every night!

These sweet girls making her laugh at church

pretty girl!

showing off her tutu and bow that Wes' cousin Becky made for her

smiling in her Easter dress

Jay likes to carry her around....not so good for my nerves

this is the bouncy seat she loves

talking to Mimi

tummy time

no so happy anymore

in her sleep sack before bed last night

3 months!