Summer

We've had a good summer. The kids have kept busy and I've kept busy with the baby.

Elena is so loving and she enjoys Adelina so much. It's really precious to watch her.

We celebrated Elena's birthday. I bought this kids camera several months ago and I've had it in my closet, waiting to give it to her on her birthday. She's never showed an interest in having a camera, but I thought she'd have fun with it. Then on her birthday she said, "I want a camera." I was really excited to give her the gift. She loves it!

 We've eaten a lot of frozen yogurt.

 One of the things I love about newborns is the way they stretch. I'm going to miss that.

We had some weird weather. This isn't an area that normally has rain in the summertime, but we did have rain once this summer. It was a good thing because of the drought. The drought's so bad that I said, "Look, Samuel! This is rain!" Both kids loved it. It was neat because normally when it rains here, it's really cold and we stay inside.

I love Elena's drawings. This is a picture of our family. Notice that I'm holding Adelina (there are no arms, but she's about where I hold her). I love how happy we all look.

There's been a lot of snuggling.

It's funny how each kid has a position they prefer. This is how Adelina liked to be held from the beginning. We call it her "gorilla position." She'd be perfectly content and fall asleep.

She's interacting more with everyone around her now.

 

Samuel and Elena play so well. Almost daily, Samuel will spend a good amount of time in his bed looking at books. They read all the time (Elena can actually read, she's awesome at it). They play doctor, babies, restaurant, and pretty much anything else that crosses their minds.

 

 

 

Summer's almost over and Elena's going to be starting school. Things will become a lot more structured. It seems like there's constant change right now, but it's all good change, and we're happy with it.

Adelina is 2 Months!

This precious girl is 2 months old! 

She weighs 10 pounds, 11 ounces. She's in the 33rd percentile for weight and 88th percentile for height. 

She is so special. She cooed at the camera the whole time I was taking her pictures. This is what she looks like when she coos. She puts her little hands under her chin and tilts her head to the side.

 

She coos far more than the other kids did, and started way earlier. She's very interactive, and especially likes to talk to Elena.  

 

She doesn't fuss much and is pretty calm and content most of the time. 

She got her immunizations today and it was an experience taking all 3 kids. Elena was teary-eyed after the shots, but Adelina didn't cry for long at all, and Elena got to give her a kiss to help her feel better. 

I'm enjoying every stage so much, I love it. Having a baby is so special and precious.

Elena's 5th Birthday Party

Elena is such a special little girl. She's compassionate and has a tender heart. She's silly, sweet, cuddly, smart, and just full of love. She cares so much for other people. Not long ago we had to take Samuel to get his immunizations, and Elena cried with him after the injections because it was so hard for her to see him in pain. And she's appropriately known in our family as "Sweetheart."

We had a small birthday party with her friends to celebrate her turning 5. The party was the week before her birthday, then on her birthday she had a playdate, we had cupcakes, and we went out for ice cream. And we still have our family get together coming up to celebrate with them. So she's had a lot of celebrations. Here are some pictures from her party.

Life with Baby

Days have been busy, even though they may not look that way to an outsider. It's a juggling act, but the transition from 2 to 3 kids has been going pretty smoothly. Going from 1 to 2 kids was pretty hard for me, but this time it just seems more manageable. Jorge took off a whole month from work, which was awesome. He took Elena and Samuel to all of their activities, and they just loved all of the quality time. I think the hardest adjustment out of all of this is Elena getting used to Jorge being back at work. The kids do an art class together, Samuel does soccer, and Elena does swim lessons and gymnastics. Also, last week Elena had Vacation Bible School every day. Many days I just stayed in with the baby while Jorge took the kids out to their activities or for ice cream. Some days I'm in my pajamas all day. I'm looking forward to not being so busy from having really frequent feedings, diaper changes, and responding to all of the other needs of a newborn and two toddlers, but I'm glad to be able to have relaxing days at home, and I'm incredibly thankful that I'm able to stay home with them. 

Here are some pictures from the last month, since Adelina joined our family.

Nana came for a visit.

 I just love baby feet and have to take pictures of them.

 

Jorge has become a good juggler, too, and he's really enjoyed all of his time with the kiddos.

 

 

These kids love books! And Elena is actually an awesome reader already. She reads a book every day with me. 

 

Here are some pictures of me and my littlest one.

 

Elena actually took these three pictures. 

 

 

 And more pictures of little Adelina.

I can't put into words how much the kids love having a baby around. It's the sweetest thing to see.

Elena and Samuel stay pretty busy playing. They play together really well. And as you can imagine, a lot of their play has been about babies. Samuel now calls his bear a baby. He told me he was feeding it one day and held it to his chest. And today we had to put a doll diaper on it and dress it in a onesie. Pretty much daily they play that they're putting their babies to sleep. 

 

 

Here they're playing with their marble run.