2 weeks old!

Here are a couple of close-up pics of Serena. She's awake a couple of hours at a time now during the day. She wakes up only 2 or 3 times at night to eat, but she's a pretty noisy sleeper (a lot of grunting). Yesterday we got back into our routine by attending one of Shilah's play groups. And today I took a Jazzercise class for the first time since Serena was born! Shilah had fun playing with the other kids, and Serena pretty much slept through the entire class. I also went grocery shopping recently with both girls for the first time, and everything went smoothly. We used a shopping cart that has a little plastic car in front, so Shilah "drove" in that part and Serena stayed in her car seat. It feels great to be back in the swing of things!

Daddy & Daughter

What better place to sleep than on daddy's chest!

Big Sister!

Shilah has been a great big sister so far! She loves to play "mommy" with her dolls (and with Serena :)
Shilah taking a picture of Serena with her play camera.
Lots of diapers to change! I think Shilah's doll is bigger than Serena!

Double the Fun

Below is a picture of a double stroller I've been using (we lucked out and are borrowing it from a friend). It's a bit of a handful managing this big contraption along with Cosmo when we go for a walk, but it works!

Adjusting to 2

Shanti is back to work full time and we're all adjusting well!
Serena pretty much sleeps all the time. She is awake for maybe an hour first thing in the morning, an hour in the late afternoon, and an hour in the late evening. We're lucky so far in that she goes right back to sleep after her night feedings!
Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are whistling all over the Rockies this time of year! Here's a close-up of one at our feeder.
Shilah's bedtime ritual is to kiss all of our family goodnight before heading upstairs to bed (including pets). Here she is giving our cat Tinkles a hug.

Family of Four

Here's the first pic of the four of us together!
It was really nice seeing Gabe, Andrea & Emory this past weekend when they came over to visit for a few hours.
Shanti worked a full day today, but I didn't have a full day with both girls. I dropped Shilah off at Tiny Town to spend a few hours with Andrea & Emory. She had a lot of fun! It was nice having one-on-one time with Serena. I also try to make one-on-one time with Shilah each day.

Sisters

Here's Shilah first thing in the morning-- she loves to go downstairs and see Serena!
Today Shanti went back to work. He worked a half day, going in a little later and coming home a little earlier. That way it wouldn't be such a shock to have 2 little ones all by myself all day long! I got a little nervous when Shilah had a bit of a melt-down this morning, but luckily Shanti was still here. And everything was fine after that! The girls and I had a great day while daddy was at work, and we were all happy to see him when he got home.

Tea for Two

Serena's first bath

Serena had her first bath at home Saturday night! It was just a sponge bath, and will have to be that way until her cord falls off. As you can see from this post-bath pic, she's wide awake! Shilah had fun helping out.
Serena slept much better last night, only waking up twice! Hopefully it's the beginning of a pattern, but I'm not holding my breath :)

Bath Time!

Serena's due date

Today is the day on which Serena was supposed to be born! We're very glad she was early, though. Serena is starting to look around a little more, but mostly she sleeps and eats. She wakes to eat pretty often, about every 1-2 hours. It's hard to keep her awake to eat! Shilah likes to help keep her awake by tickling her feet :)

Serena & Shilah as newborns

Okay... time to compare these sisters! Serena is the top picture and Shilah is right below it.
Here's the opinion of the parents: Shilah's features are more dainty (that could be because Shilah was born 11 days before her due date, and Serena was only 5 days before her due date). The noses are different, but their complexions are very similar. We see a little resemblance in the mouth and face shape. Shilah's face is thinner, but she's also about a pound thinner than Serena at this point. It's hard to tell sometimes with newborns!


Serena Daryn

Serena means peaceful, and Daryn means precious gift. She has lived up to her name so far!

Shilah Danae

Shilah is a variation of Shiloh, meaning peaceful (just like Serena!). Danae means bright & pure. Shanti's name means peace also. So I'm the odd one out! (Aimee means beloved friend).

3 Days Old!

Here are a couple of close-up pics of Serena. We've been trying to figure out her features-- she definitely has Shanti's ears and long toes! Her complexion is just like Shilah's was when she was born. It looks like she might have my color hair, although we said that Shilah had Shanti's color hair and it's almost blonde now!

Shilah loves Serena (so far)!

Shilah has been a great big sister so far. The first thing she says when she wakes up is "Serena's downstairs!" Serena is a very mellow baby, as her name indicates. She doesn't have a fussy time yet, but it's still early!