Preschool “Grajuration” Day! (Part 2)

Wearing Popsicle Buddies from le•top's 2009 Spring Collection

I forgot to mention…as Big Sister was graduating from Preschool, Little Brother was so elated that the only way he could show his excitement was by sleeping through the entire program! Is that the sweetest? He’s the best little brother EVER! 😉

Here is Little Brother wearing the cutest shorts and shirt set from le•top’s 2009 Spring Collection: Popsicle Buddies. I absolutely adore this line! The moment I saw it, I really, really hoped I would have a boy (I didn’t know the gender of my baby while I was pregnant). I love the subtle candy color palette and the embroidered zoo animals. And the best part of this shorts set is the monkey on the tush! (There is also a matching girls line, Ice Cream Kitty, which comes in pink.)

Don’t miss out! Check our store locator to find these sweet collections at a store near you, or click on either collection to shop!

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le•top Takes: Out of the Mouths of Babes!

No, I did NOT say that!

The Joy of Breastfeeding

I have been breastfeeding my newborn for the last two weeks, and one time I was teasing my 4-year old daughter that maybe one day Daddy and I can go see a movie while she stayed home and babysat her little brother. She said,

I don’t think milk will come out of my nickels.”

– Miranda, age 4

Editor’s Note:
Please spread the giggles by sharing your funny quotes with us!

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Big Sis Knows What To Do

Last weekend we drove down to Los Angeles (from the Bay Area) for my cousin’s baby shower. The drive there was a piece of cake. It took us about 8 hours with only 2 stops. Amazing, considering we had a newborn. Meanwhile, my 4-year old was her usual self asking us what number to count to before we get to LA, and repeatedly asking, “Are we there yet?” (Click here to read about our memorable trip to San Diego.)

The drive home was a completely different story. It took us almost 12 hours with so many stops that I vowed never to drive a long trip like that ever again! For some reason, my 3-week old was hungry EVERY HOUR. “Didn’t I just feed you?” And other times he would howl and cry, and we couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t hungry. He wasn’t wet. He wasn’t hurt or sick. He just wanted to be on Daddy’s lap or in Mommy’s embrace. I guess I’d rather have that, too. But after so many stops for no reason other than to take him out of his car seat, we’d had enough. Our so-called “solution” was to let him scream in agony — while we listened in agony! Then, miraculously, Big Sis saved the day. Miranda sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and Paulo stopped crying! The first time it happened, we thought it was just luck. But it happened a couple more times, and it worked every time. One time she even sang a different song (some song from “High School Musical”), but it didn’t work. So we asked her to stick to his usual request because that’s what Paulo liked. She gladly complied.

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Our First Day Home

Believe it or not, our family of four slept in our private hospital room. There was a chair that folded out into a bed where my husband and daughter slept, while the new baby and I slept on the oh-so-comfortable hospital bed. After a couple days/nights at the hospital, we were all looking forward to going home. We packed up our gear (Really, like we went on vacation or something!), put the baby in his “coming home” outfit and car seat, was wheeled down to the parking lot, and all buckled up in our respective seats. It was surreal to see Miranda sitting on one side of the backseat, and Baby Paulo on the other side. It was also surreal to actually see our complete family sitting together in our family car, and driving home. My husband and I reminisced that when we drove home from the hospital when Miranda was born, we were driving no more than 40 MPH on the freeway. But this time around, we were driving at normal speeds and couldn’t wait to get home.

That night, as we tried to get situated with our new family, we didn’t know what to do first. Our daughter was so tired and needed to get ready for bed. The baby was crying – either from hunger or a wet diaper. Miranda is a stickler for her routine, and with the new baby, my husband and I kept bumping into each other or passing the baby back and forth. It was as if we were running a marathon but we didn’t know the route to take. We decided on Daddy taking care of Miranda while Mommy took care of Paulo. Part of me was aching to read to Miranda because that was usually my job. Once the baby was asleep, I put him down and sneaked into my daughter’s room to give her a goodnight kiss. To my dismay, she was already asleep as well. My heart broke, and for a second I thought, “What have I done? Our lives were so perfect with just the three of us, and now we have a new person who is taking my time away from my daughter.”

The next morning, Paulo and I woke up Miranda. We went into her room and sat next to her in bed. “Good morning, big sister. It’s me, Baby Paulo. Wake up.” Then we gave her kisses. She opened one eye, looked at us, and smiled. Oh, to see Miranda’s smile that morning made it all worthwhile. So this is what I’ve done. I’ve made our lives more perfect by adding a new person to the family.

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Jamee Reports: It’s a Boy!

Happy Birthday, Paulo Antonio!

le•top welcomes Jamee’s newborn into the world…Happy Birthday! We had a little fun trying to guess when this little sugar policeman was going to make his world debut, so here are the actual stats on Paulo Antonio‘s birth:

Monday, March 30th
9:28AM
7.9lbs
21 inches

One person got the date right (Kristin), and seven (of 15 guesses) correctly guessed the gender. Matt came closest to guessing the weight (his guess: 7.8), and one person (Jen) came within 28 minutes of the time of birth (her guess: 9AM).

Since no one guessed correctly on more than one birth stat, we’ll have to wait until someone else who’s having a baby wants to have a guessing game with us to give away any prizes (yes, of course this was a secret contest!).

Meanwhile, we congratulate Jamee (very tired, but very happy), her husband and new big sister, Miranda! And, a big ‘Happy Birthday’, Paulo Antonio!

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“Is the baby here yet?”

You go on a road trip with a little one, and you will hear these infamous words, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” over and over, to the point that you yourself want to be there as soon as humanly possible because it’s so annoying to hear that question when you still have 3 more hours to go. This time, the words I hear are,

Is the baby here yet? Is the baby ready to come out?“

Now, that’s not annoying at all to hear. In fact, they’re my sentiments exactly! I wake up each morning, wondering if today is the day. We are all so anxious here at home, especially my daughter. At this point, I don’t think she cares anymore if she’s having a brother or a sister (she really wants a sister!). She just wants to meet her new sibling and be a BIG sister.

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Preparing To Be A Big Sister

Miranda holds her certificate with pride.

Over the weekend, we went to a “Sibling Celebration” class at my hospital. My husband and I thought that it would be beneficial for Miranda (and ourselves) to go to this class as preparation for the new baby entering our lives.

In class, we watched Miranda make a friend in 5 seconds! (I admire this about her.) All kids made baby photo collages and drew pictures of their new families. (Apparently, even after the baby has arrived, I will still have a belly bump. Also, you will notice that Miranda drew herself in her le•top Pink Leopard dress. How cute is that?) The class took a little tour of the nursery where the new big brothers and sisters got a chance to see a brand new baby!

We returned to the classroom and had circle time where the teacher showed the kids how to hold a baby, change its diaper, burp the baby, etc. I thought it would make me cry to see my little girl hold the doll, but instead, I felt the exact opposite. I was beaming with joy as I watched her carefully cradle the baby. She would even tickle the doll under the chin. She was a pro! She’s going to be a magnificent big sister. It all comes so naturally to her.

Our new family. (Miranda in her le•top Pink Leopard dress)

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Big Sister has the Magic Touch!

Miranda assessing the nursery for magic (in one of her favorite le•top dresses: Buttons and Bows)

Miranda has been very excited about being a big sister since the moment she found out — which was about when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Every day she’s been asking when her new baby was coming. So if I do a quick calculation, that’s 161 days of asking, “Is the baby coming today? Will the baby come tomorrow? When’s the end of March?” (And I have roughly 63 more days of questioning. Oh, dear, help me!)

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