Happy Days

Aurelia has had some fun days this past week. Emily and Rachael came to visit and Becky and Henna, Whitney and the Ingrams came over to play. How do we know Aurelia had fun? She has started to smile, REALLY smile at us. It is a sight to behold and it never fails to make my heart skip a beat. See for yourselves . . .

Here are some pictures of Reli's fun times with family and friends:

It has been a while since the last picture of Aurelia's hair. This one is perhaps misleading because I think we had given her a bath the night before and her hair dried looking quite curly. But it does show how much hair she has in the back (the front is still a little lacking but we'll get there!).

Here is a short video about her hair as well. This one was shot pre-bath:

And finally, just a cute picture of our girl.

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

Too many days have passed without an update. Aurelia is changing ever so quickly. The changes are incremental, but evolutionary. She talks to us now. Two days ago she really started using her voice more consistently. When I would talk and sing to her, she would make her own sounds back to me. We had some nice little conversations.

Yesterday, she smiled at me. At least I believe she smiled at me. We were sitting in the doctor's office, waiting for her one-month checkup and she locked in on my face and smiled - more than once. It was so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. Earlier today Aurelia and I Skyped with Henry and Marcia and they got to see her smile too. Dreamy. Hopefully I will catch it on video one day soon.

She had her first real bath on Sunday and she enjoyed it! (thank goodness). Her little arms and legs and tiny toes are so beautiful. It is too easy to go days without really seeing or appreciating all of her beautiful body parts, because it is cold and they are usually so dutifully covered up to keep her warm. When we bathed her and gave her a little massage we got to bask in the glory of every detail of her infant skin. SIGH.

Pre-bath:

The Bath:

Post-bath:

We have also been introducing her to toys. Her cousin Koruna has been kind enough to share her toys with Aurelia. Here she is playing with one of her new toys.

Speaking of Koruna, Jeri Lynn brought her over today so we could have a play date with Robyn, Sunny and Wills. We had a lovely time even though Aurelia slept through almost the entire thing. She did wake up briefly before Koruna left and we had to get some pictures because Koruna showed up in an outfit that matched Reli's perfectly. It is like they are best friends already! I LOVE these girls, and it looks like they are going to love each other.

Finally, here is a video from over a week ago of her "kissing" her daddy's nose.

Little Changes

Aurelia is doing well, changing every day of course. It is lovely watching her grow incrementally, each day bring something slightly different and new. Her eyes can focus slightly better on our faces, although they still spend a good deal of time crossed. I am sure that will change too. She can lift and hold her head up for long periods of time. She loves to look around when you have her over your shoulder. Here are a couple more photos from the shoot Shana did a couple of weeks ago.

Whitney started nannying this week - Yippee! Here is Aurelia enjoying some time with her Aunt Nitney and Robyn and Wills.

When she spends time on her tummy, she works her feet and legs like she wants to crawl. (I don't think she knows that she is too young for locomotion).

One big change that happened on February 6th was that the remainder of Aurelia's umbilical cord finally retired. She can wear real clothes, and she looks so cute!

Now that she can wear onesies and pants, Aurelia has so many new wardrobe options. Yesterday she was a true Roller Derby Superfan. For those of you who do not know, my good friend Molly is the famous Sindra Dee of the Austin Hellcats (their colors are pink and black). Molly/Sindra is currently in Manchester getting her MBA. We miss her dearly and were thinking of her yesterday. The ladies (my wonderful lifelong female friends) gave Aurelia some personalized onesies as a shower gift, one of which says "Support Your Local Rollergirl". Also, please note the fabulous pink cowgirl "boots". Sindra, these are for you . . .

Speaking of changes, Momma got a haircut! The stylist dried my hair straight and Yano thought it was picture-worthy.

Goodnight and Good Morning

Last week Aurelia had her 2 week checkup with the pediatrician. She is growing steadily and is the picture of health. She is already up to 8 pounds! Her doctor recommended that we go ahead and try giving Aurelia a bottle. On Sunday night, Jonathan watched our little girl so that I could go out with Jeri Lynn and Whitney. None of us could remember the last time we sisters went out, just the three of us. We had a wonderful (albeit brief) time out together. I arrived home just in time to watch Jonathan to give Aurelia her first bottle.

Mornings are our favorite time with Reli because she has a lovely couple of hours where she is awake and mostly alert. We tend to do a lot of reading together and singing to her during this time. It is so awesome in those few moments when you capture her full attention and she looks you in the eye (okay, well in the general direction of your face). Our hearts just melt.

On Saturday, our friend Ashley McNabb came over and spent the better part of the day with us. We had a great time catching up and it was wonderful to introduce her to Aurelia.

Photo Shoot and the Home Stretch

Shana Berenzweig came over when Aurelia was 8 days old and we did a family photo shoot. For those of you who are not on Facebook, Shana posted a sneak peak of some of the pictures which are posted below. You can view more of Shana's work at http://ideallightphotography.com/idl/enter.html

Reli has a beautiful way of stretching after her naps. Once released from the confines of her swaddle she raises both hands into a V and proceeds to stretch her whole body before waking up (or going back to sleep as is sometimes the case). Aunt Whitney and Koruna came over yesterday and we got it on video. Enjoy.

The Home Stretch

Up close and personal

Aunt Whitney came over for some Reli time yesterday and Aurelia felt inspired to dance. Here, in her debut performance is Aurelia. (Performance assistance and accompaniment credits - Whitney Heald).

Uncle Ian stayed up last night putting together a lovely organic breakfast casserole filled with love. (Um, De-Licious!) Jeri Lynn brought it over to us this morning and got to spend a few minutes loving on Aurelia.

Uncle Ian is fascinated by how teeny-tiny Aurelia's face is. Aren't we all? Here is her face, framed by Ian's adoring hands . . .

Father Daughter Time

The rhythms of fatherhood are setting in and finding their place in our dear Aurelia's heart. Jonathan sings to her night and day and I harmonize when I can. We think she recognizes some of the songs from when Jonathan sang them to me while she was still in utero. Here on the outside, the father daughter duo have developed their own little dances in some of the precious moments when she is awake. Here is one of their first . . .

One of their other favorite ways to spend time together is reading books. While most of the time they read Atlas Shrugged, sometimes they go for something a little lighter - Dr. Seuss. Thanks to Dad and Becky, we can choose from a number of Dr. Seuss stories. Here is an excerpt. . .

Honey left today to go back home and we are all sad to see her go. It was lovely having her here for the weekend and we will miss her dearly. Now, it is just the three of us at home. We will all continue to find our rhythm as a family - our night rhythms, our day rhythms, our rituals, our moments of wonder and of course exhaustion. We are looking forward to every minute.