2 months ago

It's hard to believe Clara has already been with us for 2 months! Sleep deprivation must make time fly by- except when it doesn't.

I was looking back and found these pictures of Lucy and I making sugar cookies, just as my contractions started. They are the last pictures of Clara inside me. :)

And here's a picture I took the next morning from our friend's house as I was still laboring. Look at all that snow! Matt had to dig the car out twice- thankfully some generous neighbors helped out.

Lucy was so excited when we told her that her baby sister would be arriving soon, as shown below. She's saying, I'm so happy to see my baby sister!".



And fast forward 2 months- here's our little joy, "talking" and smiling! We love her so much.

Farewell to Mimi

We've survived our first few days without Mimi. It's been bumpy at times, but overall we're adjusting pretty well. We miss her a lot- she was such a blessing during these challenging early weeks.

Lucy had a wonderful time with Mimi. After she left Lucy said, "I'm sad- I want Mimi to come back!"

All the girls together.

Lucy and Mimi did lots of grocery shopping. Lucy unloaded all of the bags this time (and stacked them up beind her)- quite a helper!

Lucy being towed on a sled by Great-Grandma. The only way to get to the backyard hill is with skis- otherwise you sink through the 3+ feet of snow.

Here's our little sweetheart. Clara has started smiling and melts our hearts each time. She's also "talking" a lot and we had quite a nice conversation this morning.

The amazing Papa- he has been a wonderfully supportive co-pilot on this adventure.

Lucy really likes holding Clara.

I love this close-up of their hands- and of Clara's double chin. She sure is filling out. :)

A note about the tickers on the right...

Lucy just helped me pick out her new "ticker" for the sidebar- she chose the background and the girl on it. When she saw the finished product she said- "my feet will be cold". :)

...they say it's your birthday!

Our little girl is 3! Lucy is a treasure and delight. She's really been blossoming and coming into her own recently. She's full of joy and spirit, loves running, climbing and jumping, is happiest when leading and directing, and always finds a creative way to do things. We love her so much.

Here are a few pictures of her from our little family party yesterday.

Clara at 6 weeks

Clara is 6 weeks old tomorrow! She has started smiling and "talking" to us, and has a beautiful smile. She has a great personality- her cries are often very expressive, and she has adorable pouts too. She is a big snuggler- we call her our hot water bottle. She is most content snuggled against us and peering out at the world. Here are a few recent pictures.

Reinforcements- familial and otherwise

My mom arrived a week and a half ago, and we are so glad to have her with us. Matt and I were both exhausted after the first 2 weeks, and in great need of some reinforcements. Mimi has been amazing- cooking delicious and healthy meals and snacks, cleaning, taking Clara during the early morning hours, and playing with Lucy the rest of the time. I really can't express how grateful we are for her help and support (and to my dad for sparing her for this long).

We've also received some reinforcements in the realm of precipitation. We got almost 1 1/2 feet of snow last week, and had another few inches the other day. Below is Lucy getting a ride on the sled from Grandma before the big storm.

And here's Lucy with Matt, on the big snow day, about to head down the "snow mountain" (as Lucy calls it- it's from all the snow the plows push out of the parking lot, and is taller than me) in front of our house.

The rest of these pictures are in reverse order- the more recent ones are in the front, as I don't have energy to reorder them. You can see how Clara's plumping up when you compare the first and last pictures!

We love Clara's expressions- she has a very expressive face (as shown in the picture below). A few other traits we've noticed- she "talks" a lot (ie, makes non-crying sounds). And she's a very sound sleeper- we can move her into her car seat and buckle her in without waking her up. Sometimes it takes her 5-10 minutes to wake up. She'll stretch and then go back to sleep every few minutes, until hunger finally wins out. Then she cries with a very grumpy "I don't want to be awake" cry. So cute.

Our silly girl with pretzel eyes.

Clara's first week

It's been quite a week. Not much sleep, lots of diapers and spit-up, a tad bit of sibling drama, but overall, abundant joy.

We love our new little girl so much, and are so blessed to have her in our lives. She's a decent sleeper so far, and very mellow and snuggly. She only cries when she's hungry or tired, and goes to sleep pretty easily, though she prefers our arms to the bassinet. She's having longer alert times, which is fun.

Lucy is getting used to sharing me- an adjustment, for sure. We've been having special reading and play times together, which helps. Lucy does love helping with Clara- burping her, putting on her hat, helping with her bath, getting her a blanket. And she often gives her kisses and hugs.

Matt's been a hero- full time with Lucy, cooking and cleaning, grocery shopping, getting snacks for me, rocking Clara to sleep...the list goes on. We've also been blessed with lots of meals and help from family and friends- we feel very supported and loved.

Here are a few pictures from the week, and a long video of her alert time on Monday.