Sleeping Beauty

Last night Beatrice went to bed at 8:30 PM and woke up at 6:00 AM. We are all hoping for a repeat performance tonight!

Lost my camera and track of time...

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few weeks. Our lives have been actioned packed and I swear I have been documenting every moment, and I would post pictures from all of those moments if I had not left my camera at my cousin's house over a week ago. Thankfully my sister and mother-in-law have sent enough photos to give you a taste of our adventures. More to come.

The most exciting news to share is that our Au Pair, Marianna, has arrived from Brazil. She has been with us for three weeks now and things are going very well. Elliot is in love and Beatrice is quite content in her arms. Marianna has been quite the trooper, as the basement remodel is not exactly complete (hopefully it will be on Friday). As part of the remodel the kids will have a big playroom to spend their days in. Since I am working from home, this will make all of our lives easier.

Shortly after Mariana's arrival Beatrice and I left for Colorado to attend Stacey Farnum's (sister in law) baby shower. Stacey is having twins in July and we are all very excited about having two more cousins. Beatrice was a great traveler and we had great time hanging out with Grammy, Papa, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Stacey.

About a day after we returned home from Colorado, we all took a little trip to Williamsburg (everyone but Daddy). I was able to spend two days in the office in Richmond (my first week back after maternity leave), Elliot and Mariana spent their days riding the golf cart and playing at the beach, and Beatrice had lots of time with her Mimsey.

We went directly from Williamsburg to my grandmother's, Mom-Mom, 90th birthday celebration. Most of my cousins and aunts and uncles on my dad's side (the Heller family) were there. It was great seeing everyone and Elliot had a blast playing with his third cousins (my cousins' kids). His first cousin, Natalie, was also in attendance. She and Beatrice are 2 weeks a part. Of course we dressed them up in matching outfits and took lots of pictures.

Last weekend we went to a cookout to celebrate the engagement of two friends and say good bye to two others who are moving to Nebraska. The party was hosted by the McGinty family. They also have a newborn and a 2 1/2+ year old, Connor. Needless to say Elliot had a great time playing with Connor and Beatrice enjoyed being passed around and snuggled.

Phew... that's a lot of stuff. Enjoy the pictures, I promise to post more as soon as I get my camera back.

Social Butterfly

This week marked two milestones for Beatrice; her first smile and first playgroup. She has been flashing little smiles during her alert times since Tuesday and I am pretty certain that they are not caused by gas bubbles. One of her favorite things is the little bear mobile on her pack and play. Elliot loved it too. She stares very intently at it and makes little cooing and squawking noises at it. Sorry the picture of her playing with it is blurry, but it was the only shot I managed to get of her flashing a little smile.

Today I hosted the first gathering of a playgroup that I helped organize through DCMoms.com. Three other babies and their mommy's came. We has a lovely time and are planning to get together again next week. The babies pictured with Beatrice are Sara (on the left) and Ella (on the right).

Mommy's Day 2010

This weekend was spent at home hanging out as a family. Brian and Elliot ran a few errands on Saturday and Sunday, but made it home in time for naps and afternoons filled with family fun. On Mother's Day Daddy made me a lovely breakfast and Elliot gave me a card he made at school. After Elliot's nap he and I spent lots of time working in the yard. Elliot is a great helper and he and I had lots of fun digging for worms, breaking up dirt in our soon to be planted vegetable garden, emptying the pond (which we are planning to remove), and watering plants. I think watering plants is his favorite activity.

Beatrice spent most of her time sleeping. When she is awake she is usually pretty content. I finally managed to grab the camera during some of those alert moments! Elliot loves when she is awake and constantly asks "what is he doing" when she makes little baby sounds.

No Excuse

For some reason we haven't been as good about taking pictures of Beatrice as we were when Elliot was a baby. Unfortunately, I think that's just the way it goes with most second born babies. Life as a family of four, especially when there is a pre-schooler in the mix, is just so busy that we frequently forget to take pictures. I did manage to snap a few pictures of Beatrice the other day doing what she does best, sleeping. I also got a couple of shots of her with her Grammy and Papa during their visit.




Elliot continues to be an excellent big brother. We had to spend most of the weekend out of the house due to our basement remodel; which made for lots of car time and, at times, a very unhappy Beatrice. She is not a fan of being strapped into the car seat. During one particularly loud crying session Elliot tried to help by saying, "its okay Beatrice, don't cry." He even tried to hold her hand but couldn't reach it from his car seat. This morning while she was in her bouncy seat he noticed her feet were not covered so he went and got a blanket and covered them up. He also gave her one of his favorite trains " to play with". Today we rewarded him with a fun family day at the mall where we rode the train, went to lunch, saw How to Train Your Dragon (Elliot's first movie at the theater), and went to the Disney store (where he picked out a Nemo plush toy).

See what I mean by busy? But that's really no excuse not to document all of Elliot and Beatrice's adventures by taking pictures.

2 Weeks Old

Beatrice is two weeks old today! She has a very sweet temperament (much like Elliot did as a baby) and only gets upset when she is hungry or cold (e.g. during diaper changes). She has quite a set of lungs and she put them to good last night use after her first bath. She seemed to like the actual bath but was not happy to be removed from the bath.

Elliot gets very concerned when she cries and happily kisses her goodnight every night. I am so amazed by his love for his baby sister, especially considering how demanding she is of Mommy's time. I know that having his grandparents (Grammy and Papa) here helps, as he has two people willing to give him their undivided attention when ever he craves it.

Bringing Home Baby

As of yesterday, Beatrice is officially a week old! She has been home for 5 full days now and we are all adjusting to our new life as a family of 4 well. Elliot has been such a wonderful big brother and is very curious about his little sister. He was so excited when he came home last Thursday. The first thing he did when he saw that Beatrice was with me was run into his room and get one of his old pacifiers. He was beaming with pride when he came back into the room with the pacifier. He promptly threw it at me and said, "this is for baby sister!" He also gave her a pair of pink slippers that he picked out for her (without any prompting or assistance) while shopping with Mimsey. Elliot is getting more used to Beatrice's presence every day and has taken on the role of Mommy's diaper changing helper with great enthusiasm.

Mimsey left on Sunday night. Having her here was such a help. Elliot asks me every day when Mimsey and Gramps are going to visit again. Elliot's Grammy and Papa arrive tomorrow and we are very excited to have them visit.