Mama's Day

It was a special Mother's Day this year with Grandma G in town. 

We started off the day with brunch and bowling. 

And it ended with this sweet girl giving me the best Mother's Day present ever: 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. 

And of course we can't forget to wish a very special Mother's Day to Eliza and Z's Nana and my wonderful Mother. I don't know what I would do without her. Thank you for teaching me how to be the best mom I can be. I fill truly blessed every day to be the Mama of my two little girls. 

3 Months Older

In the past month Eliza took her first Red Eye flight to Chicago, her first bottle, and was left with Grandma for a couple nights. She did fantastic with it all! 

She is such a happy baby that loves to smile and laugh. But at the same time she is my little fire cracker. When she is mad, you know it. She will go from 0 to 10 in seconds. 

But we love her and think she is perfect just the way she is.

Z of course had to get in the picture.

Z loves her "baby" as she likes to call her. 

Z was playing peek-a-boo to make Eliza smile for the camera.

Easter Celebration

Happy Easter! (a couple days late)

The Easter Bunny was very good to Z this year. Besides lots of books, she got a vet kit and Duck and Goose stuffed animals.

But her favorite thing was the Easter eggs filled with fruit chews. 

The Easter Bunny didn't forget about Eliza. Z was nice enough to go through Eliza's basket herself and made sure she approved.

Then Z gave it all to Eliza.

Even the dogs got a couple toys, and guess who had to play with those first.

Z loves her Duck and Goose books. She got Happy Easter to add to her collection.

It wouldn't be Easter without a light up chick.

After nap, Z had a little Easter egg hunt with Danny in the backyard. 

She was very excited when she found the eggs.

But disappointed when they didn't have fruit chews inside.

Second Month

2 months and we are getting more sleep, figuring things out and life in general is getting easier with 2 under 2. Eliza has gained 2 lbs. 5 oz., weighing 10 lbs. 6.4 oz. and getting longer with a height of 24.5 in. 

We couldn't take pictures with out Z jumping in. It seems like Eliza adores her big sister just as much as Z adores her little sister. 

ONE

Month one and Eliza is starting to smile when you talk to her. She is very active with her arms and legs, so that's why the swaddle is my best friend to get her to sleep. I have found that things that I eat are making her have a stomach ache. So no dairy and spice for this mommy. She has started to suck on her thumb, but I am pushing for the pacifier considering I already have one finger sucker who makes it impossible to take a picture. It is very hard right now to tame the red hair and the baby acne. She loves to be held and I spend every chance I get snuggling with her. We feel very blessed with this sweet girl and hope the other months don't fly by as fast as this one did.

And we are done ...

Goodnight 

2 Under 2

Everybody continues to ask how it is going with 2 kiddos so close in age. With the help of both grandmother's the past 3 weeks, it hasn't been too bad. A few days that I was by myself with the girls, I thought at first it was difficult to manage my time between both of them considering Z still has so many needs herself. It would help if I had four hands. But each day continues to get easier and easier as I learn how to handle both girls at the same time. I just have to take it day by day if not hour by hour and minute by minute.

This picture was taken by our photographer, Carmen and was part of Eliza's newborn session. 

I usually lay Eliza in Z's crib while I am getting Z dressed in the morning. Z decided she wanted to sit beside the crib and hold Eliza's hand. Z sat there for several minutes watching Eliza and holding her hand as my heart melted. So far Z has been a very sweet and helpful big sister. Z doesn't seem to be jealous of Eliza getting my attention. But the adjustment to a family of 4 definetly has left Z acting out at some points. Hopefully it is just one of the many phases I have to look forward to.  

Welcome Little Eliza Shea

Or should I say BIG Eliza! She came into this world at a whopping 8 lbs. 6.6 oz. and 21 in.

Eliza was born on Jan. 8, 2015 at 12:42p.m. Exactly 8 days late, which was the same as Z. She gave us all quite the scare when making her appearance. Due to me going from 7 to 10 centimeters in 20 minutes, she did not have time to turn properly and her shoulder got stuck on my pelvis (yes, as painful as it sounds). The doctor's took 3 minutes to get her out, which seemed like eternity to me and was definitely the scariest moment of my life. But the thing that matters the most now is Eliza is ok and we are adjusting to a family of 4.

First family picture, minus Z.
No, I did not craft myself a necklace before giving birth. It is a bead for every birth my doula attended this past year. My doula put it on me and I completely forgot that I had it on. 

James cutting the umbilical cord.

 

I was totally shocked by the red hair.