Happy Easter!

It is a little hard to believe that Ryen will be three weeks old tomorrow!  Slowly, we are making some progress and we are enjoying every little victory we can.  Here's what's going on with her now.  At her 2 week checkup, she weighed in at 7lbs 7 oz- that was up 9 oz from the week before!  (I think it took Avery about a month and a half to get that big!)  She is healthy as can be.  We have already put Ryen on medication for reflux and it turns out she has a milk protein sensitivity.  Avery had the same things so we were familiar with the symptoms and able to get her some help as soon as possible.  Because of milk protein issue, she is now on special formula to help her process it a bit easier.  We have seen some improvements but it can take up to two weeks for any major improvements to show.  We can't wait for that to happen.

Ryen is sleeping a lot of the day, and thanks to the reflux medication, she can do this laying down on her own.  She sleeps in 2-3 hour chunks all day and night.  The last few nights, Dave and I have actually managed to get about 8 hours of sleep....divided up of course.  Although, I think we are slowly adjusting to it.  My mom and dad will be here tomorrow through Sunday so we are looking forward to our last week of help...and some extra sleep.

Avery has also adjusted really well and is going back to the pre-Ryen version of Avery.  She has been a big help and loves being around her sister.

She loves holding her...

She loves feeding her...

She loves playing her music...(I love that Ryen looks like she is singing!)

She loves snuggle time with her Daddy and sister...

She loves holding in the pacifier.  She really thinks it's funny when Ryen chews on her finger!

And of course, she loves just cuddling up with her.

The weather this past week has been from one extreme to the other.  First, we had a huge snow storm so Avery got to build a snowman.

Then, it turned much nicer and we took Ryen out for her first walk.  Thanks to her Aunt Jamie, she was nice and warm with her new hat!

 There was just enough snow left to have a snowball fight!

This past Sunday we celebrated Easter with our little family and then Dave's parents joined us for dinner.  First, we took Avery to a giant egg hunt on Saturday at the local minor league baseball field...along with 4,500 other people!  She had so much fun!

All ready to go on the field

Check out what I got!  She kept saying, "I won, I won!"

That night we decorated Easter eggs...

 ...and then Avery threw up and needed a bath and a whole mess to be cleaned up.  But then she was ready to get back to decorating.  We are hoping it was just something she ate because she is back to herself today!

The next morning, the Easter bunny had come to visit!  There were so many eggs to find!

And then there was the Easter basket full of chalk, stickers, playdough, a kite and a brand new little sock monkey!

An attempt at a family picture... :)

Overall, we are doing well.  It has been quite the adjustment that is for sure.  We are looking forward to the weeks ahead when things begin to become more routine and the hours of sleep increase for everyone!  Although this one looks like she is doing ok in the sleep department!

We also had pictures done of the girls together with our favorite photographer Bridget!  Here is the link to the blog...

http://imaginatephotography.com/2013/03/29/newborn-baby-girl-ryen-newborn-photography-bloomington-il/

And then to see and/or order prints, here is the link to that as well.  You will need to enter your email and create a password.  Then the password for the proofs is Ryen-1

http://imaginatephotography.com/proofs