FIrst Thanksgiving as a Family of 4!

We headed down to Sharon to share our 2009 Thanksgiving with Emmy and Sabba--Oscar Kitty too, Auntie Sam and Uncle Derek, and Lynn and Doug Johnston. The ride took a bit longer than we would have planned on, stopping in Reading to feed Maya, then in Westwood to change Maya's diaper and soothe Jenna (with some D.D. munchkins and a baby doll to hold!) We arrived and the girls immediately were swept up in the excitement--Jenna playing rounds of baby with her new toys from Emmy and Sabba and Maya sleeping peacefully in her grandparents' arms.

The meal was choppy for the 4 of us, taking turns eating/changing/feeding/playing, but when asked the following morning about Jenna's favorite part of Thanksgiving, she immediately shared "EAT!" Her favorite foods appeared to be the ever traditional "mac cheese" and some of Emmy's bread. She did polish the meal off with some of the delicious fruit Lynn and Doug brought and the trifle mommy made.

The ride home was sprinkled with an extra stop in Westwood yet again, but at a gas station--to feed Maya. Jenna fell asleep about 15 minutes into the ride home and slept soundly, despite Maya's "attempts to rouse her!"

Next year will be a new adventure-as it always is... FUN TIMES! We have SO much to be thankful for!

The Girls...

Here are a few photos of the girls--Jenna at 20 months and Maya at 7 weeks!!!! WOW! Time is just flying by!!!! Jenna is quite into dressing herself-""GA" do it!" She has mastered putting her own shoes on and getting one leg into her pants. Her shirts are on upside down these days, but she is determined to do it herself-hence the "birthday suit" shots! Maya is ever the smiley girl--showcasing her toothless grin often and even providing us with a small and gentle chuckle-usually from something Jenna has done! :)

Two is...

As a mom of two under 2, this list is created in no particular order, nor is it ever complete!

-Two is so fun!
-Two is lots of diapers.
-Two is remembering how crucial organization is.
-Two is loving your husband.
-Two is not sweating the small (and sometimes the medium sized) stuff.
-Two is patience.
-Two is asking for help is okay.
-Two is a juggling act.
-Two is oh so rewarding.
-Two is lots of laundry.
-Two is twice as many special moments.
-Two is incredible bonding.
-Two is double strollers.
-Two is twice as much hand-washing (or more!)
-Two is double the amount of time to leave to get somewhere.
-Two is routines are key.
-Two is love.
-Two is busy.
-Two is sharing.
-Two is never going to the bathroom alone.
-Two is eating/drinking on the go.
-Two is savoring me time.
-Two is appreciating couple time.
-Two is silly.
-Two is still no t.v.!--they said I'd give in... :)
-Two is lots of singing, bouncing, dancing.
-Two is amazing yourself.
-Two is giving more, when you feel as though you have nothing left to give.
-Two is flexibility.
-Two is stopping to take the time to notice small moments.
-Two is quiet.
-Two is loud.
-Two is being proactive.
-Two is enjoying the nights eating dinner at 8pm or after.
-Two is middle of the night wakings and changings.
-Two is having deep conversations with your spouse at 3 am!
-Two is tearing up watching your husband be an incredible dad.
-Two is lots of gear.
-Two is sharing-yourself, your toys, your time, your food, your body, everything!
-Two is wonderful!
-Two is more laughs.
-Two is less room in the car.
-Two is first smiles and first words.
-Two is pride and adoration.
-Two is so blessed.
-Two is pediatricians.
-Two is pacifiers, lovies, nightlights, fans, sound machines and more.
-Two is matching outfits.
-Two is bliss.
-Two is family.
-Two is sisterly love.
-Two is growing up.
-Two is sitting back, watching and enjoying.
-Two is documenting memories.
-Two is challenging.
-Two is being a team.
-Two is photos, videos, recordings.
-Two is special.

The girls and their grandparents!

Jenna and Maya are lucky to have three living grandparents and even some great-grandmothers too! Here you will find Sabba holding Maya, Emmy baking cookies with Jenna, Nana sharing some time with both girls and Sabba reading with Jenna!

Maya's First Smile!

Alright, these photos are honestly not of her EXACT first smile, but that did occur earlier in the week. Maya continues to amaze us with her responsiveness to our voices-particularly Jenna's. She clearly recognizes each of us. TOO CUTE!

Visits with grandparents!

Jenna and Maya are so fortunate! They have 3 living grandparents and nearly all of their great-grandmothers alive too! The girls are able to visit their Nana, Emmy and Sabba frequently. Nana is known for her singing, Emmy for her cookie baking lessons and yummy snacks, and Sabba--plays a "mean game" of baby and "Ohsie Dog!" Here are a few photos of the girls with Emmy, Sabba and Nana.

Jenna and her baby saying "CHEESE!"

Here are a few "snaps" of Jenna (and her baby) saying CHEESE! Note the enormous smile! Mommy tried to grab a few shots of Jenna without her baby, but she was not having it!

Maya's first bottle

On Sunday, November 8th, Maya without any real issue, sucked down 2 1/2 ounces of pumped milk from her daddy! I am not sure who enjoyed it more, Maya or Scott. (He had been yearning to spend time with her when she was awake and now was his chance!) Maya is either a "go with the flow" kind of girl, accepting the first and only type of bottle we offered or she was just so hungry, she didn't care.

Please note, that despite what the photos appear to show, Scott is not feeding her in the buff! She and the blanket are nearly covering his "outfit" entirely! Placement!

Candids

Who doesn't love photos? We sure take a lot of photographs--shocker I know! Here are an assortment of photos that we just couldn't pass up posting!

Jenna and mommy bake cookies!

Over the past few weeks, Jenna's language has been skyrocketing! Her vast vocabulary is blowing us away! She now says words like "Scuse me" for "Excuse me," "Sabba" instead of "Sa," and topping her list now is "COOKIES" instead of "Cook-cooks!" Jenna and mommy decided to test out our baking skills again and baked chocolate chip cookies. Jenna really enjoy the prep part, especially being able to sneak in a few chocolate chips at 8:30 in the morning---sound familiar auntie Sam? :)

Maya is 1 month old officially!

Maya turned 1 month old on Tuesday, November 3rd, however, mommy (and daddy) didn't realize the date until she was asleep for the night! (When you are home with two little ones each day blends together I guess! :) ) Daddy left for CT for the night, to mark our first overnight alone as just the girls. Just as mommy and auntie Sam used to do when they were little ladies, Maya woke up at 3 am and Jenna at 4:45 am for the day--guess they wanted to continue the celebration of Maya's first month!

Most people say these days that Maya looks like mommy and Jenna is daddy's female version! Her bright blue eyes are gazing into our faces nowadays for longer times and she is getting very strong at lifting her head up. Maya has been a wonderful baby-doing all she is supposed to and quite well. She has her 1 month check up tomorrow a.m. and gets to finally meet her pediatrician, Dr. Burba. Mommy and daddy are placing bets on Maya's weight. Somewhere in the 8-9 lb or more! Maya is a love!

Fall fun!

Daddy's dream! A kid who likes to rake!!!! Although Jenna had fun being placed in the pile of leaves--she wasn't all for jumping in herself. She find it hysterical when daddy jumped in himself as well as when the rake hit daddy in the head!!! :)

Making Pizza

A newfound fun activity for Jenna has been baking/cooking. She has enjoyed baking chocolate chip cookies with Emmy, baking pumpkin bread with mommy and now making pizza with daddy. Seeing the photos brought mommy back to making pizza as a little girl with her maternal grandpa Norman---boy could he make a great pizza! I will say though, Jenna and her daddy did a pretty amazing job too!