Meeting Uncle Brian and Ms. Kathryn

Brian was away on business for most of April and the beginnning of May. While I'm sure he's grateful to have a job, the amount of traveling has to be getting old. Unfortunately, he was out of town for Eli's birthday and Keira's arrival. Last Sunday, we had Brian and Kathryn over for dinner so that they could meet Keira and see Eli. They took their requisite pictures holding Keira, she was very alert while they were holding her. Then they spent most of the night rough housing with Eli. Eli had a ball! He gets especially excited when we have visitors at our house, since he's on his own turf and can play with all his toys.

Our Active, Yet Blissfully MELLOW Baby

Keira moved around a lot by the end of my pregnancy and I was secretly worried that it might mean she was high strung. Thankfully, I was very wrong. Our girl is MELLOW! She lets Eli handle her without complaint, she generally has no reaction to loud noises, she can sleep through most anything, she is amazingly patient while I change her diapers and only creaks her complaints, and she is still sleeping most of the day. Yet, even though she is surprisingly mellow and easy, nonetheless, she is a mover and a shaker. She is starting to make adorable cooing noises, she's really focusing and tracking with her eyes, and she's about to smile at us. She smiles all the time now, but they seem to be random and are usually while she is sleeping. She's still not interested in sleeping alone in her crib or bassinet, but she loves sleeping in her little blue vibrating chair. I think if we were allowed to put her to sleep on her tummy she'd probably sleep fine, but since she can't even lift her own head yet, that's out of the question. Eli slept with us until he was almost 2, so Scott and I aren't concerned about where she ends up sleeping. Honestly, I think we both love cuddling with her at night. Here she is in her favorite blue chair showing how much she can move (and randomly smile).

Snoozing on Daddy

As with most babies, Keira's favorite thing in the world is "Num-Nums" (our word for nursing nourishment). It's the easiest way to soothe her, gets rid of her hiccups and puts her to sleep almost every time. However, when I'm busy with Eli or just need a break, getting cozy on Daddy's chest comes in a close second. If she's really fussy, she'll suck on Scott's pinky while he pats her back, but often just laying on his tummy is enough. Truly, Keira is an amazingly mellow and easy baby -- thank God! But, it's still wonderful that Daddy has a "Num-Num" substitute to use when the need arises. Eli used to love cuddling up on Daddy's chest, too. In this picture he was coming in for a quick hug, but I asked him to stay for a quick size comparison. As everyone said before Keira was born, Eli now looks huge to me.

First Family Dinner and Bapa Holds Keira

On Memorial Day (yup, I'm still catching up -- it may be a constant state now), we had our first family dinner. All four of us sat around the table. Our high chair tilts back, so Daddy put a soft, squishy blanket inside and Keira happily snoozed through our meal. The MOMS club brought us dinner for two weeks -- it was wonderful! On this particular evening, we ate fried chicken, watermelon, potato salad, and for dessert chocolate cupcakes. Of course, dessert was Eli's favorite part. He loves chocolate cupcakes, but he truly just loves the icing which he scoops off the top and eats with a spoon (or in this case, a fork).




That same night, Dendi and Bapa stopped by for a quick visit and Bapa held Keira for the first time.

Six Flags White Water

What a find! As I mentioned earlier, we got season passes to Six Flags and Six Flags White Water. While Eli loves Thomas Town at Six Flags there aren't an abundance of other attractions suited to us. So, in that way, Six Flags was a slight disappointment. But, Six Flags White Water, the water park, was even more exciting and appropriate than we first thought. They have three separate kiddie areas that are great. They are developmentally appropriate to different age, ability and comfort levels. Yet, they are all theoretically within Eli's reach this summer. So far, he loves the first area and tried the second area, although a significant head bump in the second section brought us back to the first area. The first area is called Little Squirts Island. As the name suggests, it has all sorts of different things that squirt water. Eli doesn't like water in his face or most especially his eyes, and that's one of the reasons I'm excited about the water park. As Jumping Jelly Beans improved his confidence with climbing and jumping, I think this water park will make him more confident and adventuruous around water. His favorite attractions in Little Squirts Island are the walking river, the turtle that squirts water...




and the little, fast slides...



As she does at Six Flags, Keira spent most of her day in the sling alternating between sleeping and nursing. Have I mentioned how much I love the sling? Babies are so much happier and more portable in them.

Favorite Keira Closeups from Her Second Week

Here are some of my favorite Keira closeups from her second week on Earth...

Proud Big Brother

Eli continues to be a wonderful, and very proud big brother. Of course, he's continuing to get used to his new place in the family. But, all in all, things seem to be going smoother every day. Fortunately, Scott is now out of school for the summer -- yay!!! So, that should really help to make sure that everyone gets enough attention. This morning, it was wonderful to sit and nurse Keira and let her peacefully drift to sleep on the Boppy. Often, when it is just the three of us, I feed her in the sling, supporting her with one hand while using the other hand to play with, cook for, or generally entertain Eli.

Even when Eli gets annoyed with the fact that he has to wait for me, he's never anything but sweet with her. He loves to wear his "I'm a Big Brother" shirts. Here's a few pictures of Eli showing off his personalized big brother shirt which he loves.



Eli always wants to hold and cuddle her. He says, "Keira is so cute" and "I love my baby sister" or simply "I love my baby" while cuddling her. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of them cuddling.