Already a fan!

Paul is pleased that Teagan is already showing signs of being a hockey fan. If she gets fussy in the evening, all Paul has to do is turn on a hockey game and Teagan is mesmerized. I guess we shouldn't be surprised considering she attended quite a few hockey games while I was pregnant. We were even at a game just a few days before she was born. Now I know you are thinking, "but it isn't even hockey season." Thanks to Tivo and the NHL network, you can enjoy previous games again and again and again. It always amuses me that Paul can watch the same game multiple times and still be impressed with great saves or good shots. Although, he has been known to come home from a game that he has attended live and then rewatch the game on Tivo. But that's another story.

She's got a paw out

Teagan still sleeps best when she is swaddled. Now that she is getting bigger and stronger, she is sometimes able to work her hands out of the swaddle. When Paul first saw her do this on the video monitor, he said "She's got a paw out." This amused me that he was calling her hands her paws so now it is kind of our running joke. Whenever we see her get her hands out, one of us always has to say "She's got a paw out." Although I am glad she does well sleeping swaddled, it is getting harder now that she can get out of the swaddle. Yesterday her swaddling blankets with velcro were in the wash, so I had to swaddle her for a nap in a regular blanket. She quickly worked her arms free and took quite a short nap. She spent part of the nap waving her arms around while half-sleeping.

All Smiles

Teagan likes to give us a lot of big grins. We are also starting to hear a few more giggles out of her. She loves it when Daddy blows air on her face or raspberries on her belly. Sometimes when I am nursing her to try and get her to sleep, she will stop nursing and look up at me with a big grin. It's like she is telling me, "Mom, how could a baby this happy possibly need to sleep right now?"

Fuzzy Bunny

Paul's aunt gave Teagan these fuzzy bunny slippers when we were in Minnesota. Whenever she tells us her feet are cold, we just slip them right on her feet. Ok, so maybe she doesn't tell us her feet are cold. We just put them on because they are super cute and make a good photo op!

For those of you who have been trying to leave comments, I finally changed that setting so it works now. So go ahead, leave a comment about how cute Teagan's slippers are.

I'm the cutest baby ever!

Teagan really likes to look at her reflection in mirrors. It always keeps her entertained on her tummy and sometimes she will lay on her back in her crib looking in the mirror while I put things away in her room. I wonder what she is thinking. Does she think "I'm the cutest baby ever!" or "where did that baby come from?"

I used to play with this same mirror with my oldest nephew Connor. It is hard to believe that it was almost 5 years ago that I was laying on the floor with him playing with the mirror just like I am doing with Teagan now. Teagan's cousins are letting her borrow their baby toys so she has quite the collection.

Who's watching the baby?

You know how they always say that new parents will spend hours watching their baby sleep? Well, I have to admit that it is true. Thanks to our video monitor, I literally spend hours watching Teagan sleep. The video monitor is definitely the one baby item that we couldn't live without. It is so nice to be able to watch her when she is falling asleep or waking up. When she moves around or makes little noises, we can see if she is really waking up without having to go in her room. I just carry the monitor around the house with me while she is napping. If Paul is home, sometimes I will give the monitor to him with strict instructions to "watch the baby."

Red

Do I dare post this very red picture on Teagan's pink blog? I bought her two red & blue outfits for the 4th of July. One to wear and one for a backup in case of a major spit-up catastrophe. Since we never needed the backup I am just now getting around to dressing her in this one. I didn't want to have to add it to the pile of clothes she outgrew before we even get a chance to dress her in it!

We had a nice surprise today. Teagan gifted us with a 2 1/2 hour nap. Her usual naps are 45 minutes to an hour and I think she has only done a 2 hour nap 3 times in her short little life. I just keep telling myself that any day now she is going to start taking longer naps and shift her bed time back earlier. We'll see. It's amazing how much you can get done in 2 uninterrupted hours.

Going old school

Since using cloth diapers isn't exactly the most common thing around here, people usually are skeptical and have questions about how that is working for us. I had been quick to let people know that cloth diapers have come along way and aren't just the old school prefolds that my mom used when I was a baby. There are so many options now and they are really cute and easy to use. However, since the fancy new diapers range from $15-$25 per diaper, a lot of people still use the prefolds. Teagan has been outgrowing most of the diapers that we started with, so I have been searching for the new "perfect" diaper for her. This can get kind of expensive trying out lots of different things. At around $2 per diaper, I decided to go back to the basics and give the old school prefolds a try. I have been amazed at how simple they are to use and there are a lot of cute covers to choose from. Although I still like to use my fancy diapers for going out, I think I am going to stick with the prefolds for around the house.

Cow, chicken, & duck

Teagan has a little farm themed rocking chair with hanging toys that she seems to really like. This chair is great because it allows me to actually eat a meal without a baby on my lap. I call the hanging animals her "friends", but Paul calls them "cow, chicken, & duck." I don't know if he is just really trying to confuse Teagan, or maybe he missed preschool the day they learned about animals, but the animals are a sheep, cow, and pig. To further the confusion, I have been reading her the Sandra Boynton book Moo, Baa, La, La, La which has a line "three singing pigs say la, la, la." So now, not only will she be confused about what farm animals are called, she will also learn that pigs say "la." Oh well. Lucky for her I tell her the name of the animals while she is batting at them. Since I do this several times a day, I am counting on my influence being stronger than Paul's.

Better and better every day

Ever since she was a newborn Teagan has hated riding in the car. Newborns are supposed to love the car and fall right asleep, right? Not Teagan. I think it went along with her not ever wanting to be put down. She would fuss even if I put her in a bouncer seat for a few minutes. And the swing, forget it! Since it was no fun staying home all the time, and even less fun to ride in a car with a screaming baby, we decided to try changing Teagan's car seat. We stopped using the infant seat and switched to a larger convertible car seat. Well, I don't know if it was the change in seat, or just her changing as she gets older, but she is doing better and better with each car trip. No more screaming! Today I went out to the store not because I absolutely HAD to, but because I just wanted to. There was no crying and she even fell asleep on the way home!

Just like her daddy

People usually comment that Teagan looks a lot like Paul. Their looks aren't their only similarity. Just like Paul, Teagan loves to sleep in. She has always been a great night sleeper and ever since day 1, it has been really hard to get her out of bed before 9am. If we try, she is either very grumpy, or will just fall back asleep while you are holding her. It is really nice to be able to sleep in with her most days. The only downside is that she is up until at least 9pm every night. I remember when we were thinking about how our life would change with a baby, I thought the thing I would miss the most would be sleeping in on weekends. I know there will probably come a time when her schedule will shift and she will be up earlier, but for now, we are just enjoying it while we can.

Teagan's Blog

Welcome to Teagan's blog! Of course, as her parents, we certainly feel that she is advanced in all areas of development, but I must admit she can't type yet. Or talk yet. So, I guess this is really my blog, but it's all about Teagan. We think she is the cutest baby around, and we are still taking a ton of pics daily, so we might as well have a place to share them.

Cutie Pie is the nick name we call her the most. We call her "Teagan Cutie Pie" so often she will probably grow up thinking it is her middle name. "Teagan Cutie Pie" is also the name of, and not to mention the only words in her favorite song. I wrote it myself and sing it to her every time I put her to sleep.