The Loomis Eggplant Festival

Loomis Eggplant Festival 2011

The eggplants in abundance

 Interesting spot for an eggplant display

Got Eggplant? Serving up delicious eggplant dishes

Elise made a bee line for the bounce houses!

Happy Elise, locally grown produce and one sleepy newborn

First Trip to Fairytale Town Sacramento

Fairytale Town

Mother Goose, Cinderella, Jack & the Beanstalk
The Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe

She loved all the fun slides

The Three Billy Goats Gruff and The Three Little Pigs

Owl's Treehouse; she was in awe of the fun "twisty" slide!

Robin Hood, Little Engine that Could, Cheese Stands Alone

Such a fun day - she even got onstage to dance with grandma!

 Happy Momma and Elise!

Sisters

This is one of my favorite sister photos. I love how genuinely happy Elise is and how little Alina is gazing at her big sister in adoration. These two are just the cutest little girls ever! We love them both so much and look forward to countless more precious sister photos.

Realities of a One-Month-Old

Our little baby doll Alina turned one-month-old on 9/12/11. One thing we have really taken notice to is how incredibly strong she is. Alina has been holding her head up since birth. After I feed her, I always place her over my shoulder and pat her back to burp her. She will usually either burp or spit up, but afterwards if she is still hungry she lifts her head, slightly opens her mouth and starts bobbing on my shoulder, she will then push with her legs and arms and crawl back down to nurse! I guess I shouldn't be amazed by this, but Elise never held her head up or did this until much later, so it is a bit surprising to see her doing this so early. When Elise was hungry, she just smacked her mouth like crazy and flailed about. Alina doesn't waste time, she just bobs her head a few times and then decides to move herself to where she wants to be. It is so interesting to see all the differences between them, especially even in these early few weeks.

I'm cute, but beware - I spit-up...A LOT!

Another, not so glamorous reality of having a one-month-old is the non-stop baby puke. My arms, chest, stomach, neck, legs, clothes and even my hair have all become prime targets. Alina spits up like it's going out of style. She's projectiled on daddy and I more times than we can count. Elise is wise enough to know not to hold her after she eats because, as she so eloquently puts it, "she spits" - isn't that the truth! I know in the next few weeks it will start getting better, but right now she's our little puke machine. Nothing can prepare you for the massive amount of laundry you will be doing in the first month; it really is neverending and spit-up clothes have to be washed fairly quickly. I look forward to getting past all the spit-up accidents, but other than that Alina really is the easiest and sweetest little baby doll around.

Daddy got a chance to feed her the first bottle

Admittedly, feeding her has been more tiring this week. Alina tends to have on/off days. On days - she's more alert and nurses regularly while off days - she just wants to sleep and little will wake her, even at feeding times. While she's perfectly content with this, it is not exactly ideal nor comfortable for mom. Fortuntately, breastfeeding IS easier the second time around. I think I've only declared that I wanted to give up one time in the past month. The first time around, I said it more times than I can remember. Even through bouts of mastitis and thrush (which were both equally painful and discouraging) I've pushed through and am finally arriving at an easy/second nature attitude towards her feedings. I must say, that it is an incredibly rewarding feeling to know that your baby is content and feeding well. It makes the path there, and any struggles along the way, all worth it in the end.

Happy, sleepy girl

While I love spending each and every special moment with Baby Alina, the stickler in me is having a difficult time accepting that certain things just have to be put off. It drives me crazy to look at my floors right now, they are in desperate need of cleaning. The sofa has been transformed into a laundromat and Elise's toys are overtaking the most random parts of the house. Burps clothes are strewn across our bed and the dishes are calling my name. Also, work is piling up in my office inbox. Plus, I have a ton of pictures I want to post and photo albums I want to complete, but unfortunately working on photos is my last priority right now. Ultimately, I've come to a point of acceptance that this is the way things will be until I get Alina on a regular daily schedule. After all, taking care of her is my main focus and as exhausting as it may often be, I wouldn't have it any other way. Love you baby girl!

This little doll keeps me going strong!

...and this one reminds me to cherish each
moment because the baby stage goes by so fast!

Half Moon Bay State Beach - Labor Day 2011 Family Road Trip



Half Moon Bay State Beach

Enjoying the nice uncrowded beach

Family time and Baby Alina's first beach trip!

Lovely views and steep cliffs

This Labor Day, we all took a family road trip to beautiful Half Moon Bay State Beach. Elise suggested the idea for us to take a trip to the beach well over a month ago, and has been talking about it non-stop ever since. We enjoyed the trip, though getting out of the house took over two hours. Getting two kids ready takes an entirely new amount of preparation. I had to bring double the items, plus lots of changes of clothes and burp cloths for baby Alina, who is an absolute puke machine at the moment. Then there was getting together all the food, the pump and bottles, movies to entertain Elise on the drive down, plus beach towels, loungers, chairs and other items, the baby carrier, diapers, Elise's toys, wipes...wipes...and more wipes, and yes the list goes on!

It was full on chaos getting out that door for our first trip, but once we were on the road the day unfolded relatively smooth. Elise was well behaved, plenty entertained, and had enough snack options to keep her satisfied the entire road trip. Alina slept the entire drive! She was awake only long enough to down each bottle I gave her, and then on a sleepy milk high to dreamland right afterwards. It was amazing that both the girls did so well on the road trip.

Elise had so much fun at the beach, despite the fact that it was very cold weather. She built sand castles and enjoyed the company of mom, dad, baby sister, grandma, Uncle Colin, and Aunt Darcy. Our little three-week-old Alina was bundled up like a baby burrito and slept the entire time. She did so well on her first travel adventure!

More views of beautiful Half Moon Bay State Beach

Spending time with Uncle Colin

Enjoying the day with family

Playing in the sand with daddy

Proud of her Tinkerbell sand castle

Tiny Fingers

I love this photo and had to share! Alina grasped on to daddy's finger and just didn't want to let go. Her hand is so tiny next to his. One day, we will look back on this in awe of how little she once was. These are the moments that are keeping us busy as of late, and they are oh so enjoyable.

Adorable Alina at Two-Weeks-Old

She's already grown an inch!

Posing for photos

We love those chubby cheeks!

Alina and momma

Alina is such a great baby! I think she's cried all of about five minutes since the two weeks she's been home. She is content, easy to please, and sleeps most of the time - this probably describes the majority of newborns, but I'd like to think we just got super lucky.

Her cry sounds like a little kitten. It is a pretty mellow cry in comparison with Elise, whose cry was more like a high-pitched squeal or yell. To my surprise, she has already slept five hours a few nights this week! Right now (..and I do stress those words - because I know what to expect in the upcoming weeks) she is just so easy, and I love it!

Cute pie girl, wide awake

I've already been back to work for a week and half, and must say that so far it has been fairly easy to get back into the swing of my routine. Elise is in daycare, newborn Alina sleeps most of the day, and the fact that I work from home makes things very accomodating work-wise. The older Alina gets, the more difficult it will be, but I am determined to keep her home until she is at least six-months-old.

We've all enjoyed our time bonding as a new family of four. Elise has continued to explore the novel experience of having a baby sister. She is constantly patting her head, fetching her pacifier, laughing and giggling at Alina's funny faces and noises, notifing mommy of when nature calls with phrases like, "uh-oh, she spit", "I smell a dirty diaper", "baby sissy is crying", etc. I can always count on her to bring me a burp cloth, blanket, change of outfit, or toy. She is such a great little helper!

Alina had her first newborn checkup this week and she's doing great. She has already regained a few ounces over her birth weight and grown an entire inch! Her pediatrician commented that she looks, "healthy as can be".

Weight: 8 lbs 6 1/2 oz

Length: 21 inches

How adorable are these three?!?

Big sister Elise is so happy

Holding little Alina; I love these moments

Newborn Alina's First Week

Alina at one-week-old - she's our little baby doll!

Sleepy baby, tiny footsies

Bonding with mommy, plus her very first birthday cake

The past week has been an indescribably wonderful experience. We feel the most immense joy and happiness that our beautiful and healthy newborn daughter, Alina, is now here with us. Alina is such a little doll! She rarely cries, sleeps most of the day, and makes the sweetest little baby faces that draw plenty of smiles from us. She's awake maybe 2-3 hours during the course of a day and when she is I make sure to have the camera ready. Of course, I've taken tons of photos. Alina is a super photogenic little one. I have so many favorites from her first week, that it was hard to choose which to post. We are just so in love with her!

Cutie pie Alina - already posing for photos

Showered with love and enjoying her first week

Even though it was just two short years ago that we brought home our first newborn, it's amazing how much we've forgotten what it was like and also how easy it is the second time around. With Elise, I remember feeling overwhelmed by my emotions and on top of that constantly critiquing everything I did. It was all new to me, and while it was exciting it was also a bit much to process. Having a newborn again, I find myself calm and at ease in everything I do. I'm more relaxed and taking time to just enjoy her and shower her with love. Right now, I feed her every two-three hours, change a few non-messy and non-stinky diapers, clean up after spit-up, take tons of photos/videos, cuddle with her, and that's about all I have to do to make her happy. I also find myself in awe of just how tiny she is! I've been carrying Elise around for the past couple years and she is now over 30lbs. Holding our fragile little 8 pound Alina has really put things in perspective. It's like holding a little baby doll and I absolutely do not want to put her down.

Proud big sister Elise! She loves her so much

Alina's first bath - big sister helped out

Elise has been an absolute ANGEL around her new baby sister! She has been so interested and helpful in taking care of Alina. She even helped give Alina her first bath. I can tell that they are going to be the best of friends. Elise has already taken on such a nurturing role. The cutest thing is when Elise tries to calm Alina from crying by patting her head and saying, "It's ok baby sissy, don't cry". The first time she said that, my eyes welled up with tears of happiness. It was just the sweetest thing ever to see how much empathy and love Elise has for her baby sister. I know that Elise will take the best care of her and set a great example for her to follow!

Newborn Alina doing what she does best; sleeping :)

Happy Birthday...

Alina Madeline

Born: August 12, 2011

At: 10:46am

Weight: 8lbs 4oz

Length: 20 in

Status: A perfect little brunette doll with the cutest chubby cheeks and rosy lips!

Mommy, daddy and big sister are so in love with our sweet bundle of joy :)

Warm Summer Days

Our little swimmer

Cheese face + bubbles

Enjoying the pool

We've spent the past few warm summer weeks outdoors and swimming with Elise. Elise loves the sunshine and has become quite the little swimmer! It's been a nice way for all of us to relax and unwind on the weekends, and of course pass the time while we wait for baby sisters's arrival!

Watch out

Water balloon fun!

Little lounger