Family updates

Well, Serena is definitely smiling these days! She looks right at us and flashes her cute little dimple. Shilah, on the other hand, is going through a bit of a hitting phase. I hope "phase" is the key word! On the positive side, Shilah has had much more attention for reading books. We recently took out all of her non-board books now that she's old enough to not rip the pages (hopefully), and she loves them! Shilah has also gotten much more talkative. She will read books aloud and talk on her pretend phones, using hand motions and everything! Shanti just got honored for 5 years of servive to NREL. And I have a new semi-part-time job keeping minutes for my ex-school's governing board on which I used to serve.

A Day at the Zoo

Yesterday Shilah's playgroup met at the zoo. It was a beautiful morning! Notice the bear in the upper left corner of this top picture. We went into this neat bird exhibit where birds fly around. For a dollar you can buy a little cup of nectar that the birds drink. They come right up to you! Shilah was scared if the birds flew near her, but if they were just perched she was okay. It was neat to hear Shilah name a lot of the animals! She also had fun on the train and merry-go-round, as well as running around with her friends. Serena of course slept through most of the trip!

Feeding a bird

On the train ride that passes by a few animal exhibits

On the zoo's merry-go-round

Back to daily routines...

Yesterday morning Shanti's mom, stepdad, & sister flew back home. It was so nice having them visit!

Aunt Anica is a natural at taking care of kids!


Here's the gang last Saturday when we had eveyone over for dinner.

We spent Sunday morning in Evergreen. Shilah had fun watching the ducks (and the fire hydrant)!

Serena's first party

Gabe & Andrea threw a Meet the Baby party for us on Sunday. It was a lot of fun! Good food, and lots of peaches! They have a couple of peach trees, so everyone helped pick peaches after hanging out with Serena. Thanks for a fun day, Uncle Gabe & Aunt Andrea!
After the party, Shanti's mom treated us to a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Denver called the Watercourse. Thanks, Grandma Evie!


Auntie Deb & Alex with Serena

Uncle Keith & Aunt Lauren with Serena

The Pless Daddies!

Harold & Lauren with Serena

Cousin Tiffany & Tommy with Serena

Bear Creek Lake Park again!

Saturday we went to Bear Creek Lake Park to swim in the resevoir and hang out at the beach. Shilah had a great time putting sunscreen on Aunt Anica! It was Serena's first trip to the beach, and of course she slept most of the time.

Reynolds Park

Yesterday we went to Reynolds Park for a picnic and short hike. It was Serena's first time in the Snuggli, and she seemed to really like it!
Tonight we had everyone over for dinner.
It's been so nice having family around to hold Serena and play with Shilah!

Grandma and Auntie are in town!

Shanti's mom, stepdad, and sister are visiting! We've been keeping very busy. Wednesday evening we had a fun dinner at Old Chicago. Yesterday morning Evie and Anica took a Jazzercise class I taught, and we all later went to Gabe & Andrea's house for dinner. Anica is staying with us, and Shilah has been taking full advantage!

Grandma Evie with Serena

Aunt Anica with Serena

Pless siblings Anica, Gabe & Shanti

A smile?

Serena seems like she's smiling sometimes, but it's hard to tell-- it might just be gas :)
If you look closely, you can see a cute little dimple on her left cheek. Serena definitely has a range of facial expressions now! Our favorite is when her eyes are wide open. It's so neat to see her look at the world!
The bottom pic is of our finch feeder-- there is often a waiting line to perch :)

Friends

Shilah had her friend Maddy over to play this past weekend. They're only 2 months apart. As you can see, they had a lot of fun!

One month stats

Serena had her one month appointment this morning. She jumped up a couple of curves for weight! She weighs 7 lbs 14 oz and is in the 25th percentile. Her height is in the 10th percentile. The doctor said it's totally normal for babies living at high altitude to be on the smaller side. And he said everything else looks great too!
Below is a picture of our 2 cats, Rhea & Tinkles.

Lunch time

Shilah loves to eat lunch outside in the company of her dolls. Notice our dog's neck in the lower left corner of the picture-- he loves waiting for food to drop!
Below is another cool pic of hummingbirds-- there are 2 of them. They often fight for the right to drink from the feeder.

Playground Time

Shilah had a great time visiting some of the local playgrounds when my parents were here! And Serena had a great time sleeping...

One Month!

Serena is one month old today! I'm a little sick, so I'm hoping she doesn't catch what I have :(

Rainbows

Shilah continues to be a great big sister! Check out the cool pics of the rainbows as seen from our deck-- one has a hummingbird in it.

Two Uncles

This past weekend we invited my brother Keith, his girlfriend Lauren, Shanti's brother Gabe, Andrea, & Emory over to hang out with us and my parents. It was fun! It's neat to see Shilah interact with her two favorite uncles :)

Serena with Uncle Gabe


Shilah & Serena with Uncle Keith and Aunt Lauren

Uncle Keith with Serena

A fun visit!

My parents left this morning to go back to Buffalo. We all had a great time! Below are some pics from when my parents took Shilah to Tiny Town. See you soon, grandma & grandpa!