Weeks 2-4 with Becca

Ellie holding Becca right before going to bed on her Birthday. A great way to end a great day.

Becca looks kinda happy in this picture, but really she was getting ready to cry.  Abby was happy though!

 First time wearing a headband

 3 weeks old

 I tried to get Duke to look up for the picture but he would not move. At all. 

 Becca really enjoys her baths now.  That's 4 for 4 babies that love the water.

 Big sisters getting pushed on the swings by Daddy.

 Not sure what this look is about but it makes me laugh.

Ready for bed time.  Becca usually has 2 good nights out of every 3. 

 I finally remembered to take a picture of all the girls when no one was napping

 Becca was fussing while I was doing the dishes and Kate asked if she could pick her up.  Once in Kate's arms Becca settled down right away.  Kate is such a great help and a great big sister.

 I often look at Becca and think that she looks so big but after glancing in the mirror at this baby I'm holding, I remember how tiny she really is.

 The girls enjoy eating ice to try and stay cool while having fun outside.  Kate happily put her ice down so she could hold Becca for a little bit.  Sisterly love, it's wonderful.

 Cheese!

Catching some morning snuggles with my 4 week old.  

 And that's 4 weeks!

Becca's First Two Weeks

  Time does not stop for anything.  This baby came into the world and the days just flew right on by.  Here are some pictures documenting her first two weeks of life outside my belly.    

All of the girls love to hold Becca.  Depending on how well Becca is doing, Kate and Abby have held her for 30-60 minutes.  This picture was taken on my bed.  Abby held Becca for a good 45 minutes, if not more, and then passed her onto big sister, Kate.

6 days old

 

Abby requested a picture with Rebecca after seeing me take so many of just Becca. 

Abby was still happy to hold Becca even though she had just held her on my bed.

Ellie's turn next

And then Kate

Daddy got down on the floor to clean Duke's ears.  Ellie decided she was going to help.  Cleaning ears, or really anything with Q-tips, is one of Ellie's favorite things to do.

 Here is one of my favorite pictures of Abby and Becca. I love the sweet look on Abby's face as she smiles at Becca.

All bundled up.

Hanging out in her swing for a nap

Sweet kisses from Ellie Mae

Fist pump!

Holding up her head

All four of my sweet girls.  My world.

My view most mornings when I wake up.

Cuddling with Becca while watching a movie. 

First bath.

I think Becca looks darker in these pictures.  I'm curious as to how dark she will be.  Her skin looks fair to me, like all the time, but in quite a few pictures she looks rather tan.  Maybe somewhere between Kate and Abby?

Ellie has got the adorable cheese face down pat.  I love my little 2 year old.

Jungle time!

Holding a sleeping baby is the best. 

Looking a little sleepy

Picture taken by Abby.  I had a couple hundred more just like this one.  

Enjoying the beautiful day outside for Ellie's birthday.

Becca likes the warmth.  She was content for quite a while outside.

 And that's 2 weeks! 

Grammy's visit

  The day that Kiersten left was also the day that Grammy came into town. It was nice knowing that no matter what day the baby arrived there would be someone to take care of the girls.
  That first weekend Grammy was in town was also Jared and Kristen's last weekend. We went to the beach Saturday afternoon to soak up some sun, sadly, something Jared and Kristen won't be able to do at their next assignment. 
  While lounging in the sun, I saw a school of tiny fish swim by.  I picked up our net, swiped through the water and caught two fish on my first try!  I've spent a whole lot of time trying to catch fish at the beach before, all to no avail.  I guess these two little fishies were meant to be.  And Ellie loved them.  I finally convinced her to let them go while they were still alive.  After she set them free, Ellie looked at me like, "what have I done?!" 

  That evening we were able to leave the girls with Grammy so Andrew and I could go out on a double date with Jared and Kristen. We went to The Gulf and had great food as we enjoyed the weather and watched the sun set. 

  On Monday we went out again as it was Andrew's only available evening to go out that week.  We went to McGuire's Pub, a popular place to go for anyone visiting Pensacola.  For whatever reason it was our first time eating there together, and Andrew's second time there. The food was great and the restaurant had a very cool atmosphere.  Dollar bills were everywhere.  You can't see hardly any wall, including the ceiling, because of all the dollar bills.  They also have an 18 cent soup that you can order.  Eighteen cents because that is how much it cost back in 1977 when the founder of the restaurant first opened his doors.  

  The following week we hung out and tried to get baby girl to come. I went to the gym at our local rec center, something I have never done since living here. ..mostly due to their lack of child care, but still.  I went twice that week. Annnd I went on a crazy long, HOT walk around our neighborhood. It took an hour to walk 3 miles and I was dying by the time I got home. Still no baby.
  Kate had her last week of swim lessons that week. I took her Monday and Wednesday. She did AWESOME!!  She can swim so well now.  As a part of her lesson she dove into the deep end and swam to the other side of the pool.  I was super proud.

  Wednesday afternoon was my doctor's appointment where I had my membrane stripped. That is what started my contractions that night and baby girl arrived the next evening.

  Grammy and the girls came to visit Friday and then we brought Rebecca home Saturday.  Walking in the door was quite the ordeal. As soon as we set foot in the house Ellie started wailing and saying "baby, baby!".  It was like watching a preteen girl see Justin Bieber for the first time. Ellie was so excited she couldn't control herself. We plopped her down on the couch and let her hold "baby". She was in baby heaven.
  Over the next few days there were lots of tears to hold Rebecca.  Each day there were less tears shed and now only every now and again will the girls cry to hold Becca.  But only because they are in the mood to cry about almost anything.

  We had a lot of doctor appointments the first 10 days off Becca's life. It was nice to have Grammy there to play with the girls while we were out with Becca.
  The only other exciting thing we did while Grammy was there was celebrate the 4th of July. We look forward to seeing her and Paka in August so we can all go out and have some fun together.

  Oh, and I found this behemoth in our backyard. The thing is as big as it looks. About 4 inches long.  Its' web spanned the entire back corner of the fence.  Like, a total of 10 square feet or so.  It was huge.  I told Andrew to take care of it.  I don't mind the thing staying alive so it can catch bugs, but it needs to at least be thrown over the fence.  I can only imagine how terrifying it'd be to run into that web.  There's no way I would risk my life to save Duke if he ran through it.  I would be hesitating like crazy if one of the girls ran through it.  I get the hebe-jeebies just thinking about it.