Deep Thoughts

This morning as we were all eating pancakes in our bed for a belated birthday breakfast in bed for Mike, Isabella asked us this question completely out of the blue.

"After dinosaurs were extinct, where did the first person come from if they couldn't come from their mama's belly?"

Seriously?!?!?!? Mike and I just looked at each other for a second before saying, "Well... some people believe that God made people and some people believe that people used to be like monkeys and they've changed," (or something along those lines). How do we really explain the whole Creation vs. Evolution debate to an almost five year old? Luckily, that answer seemed to satisfy her. I'm sure that this is only the first of many difficult questions that she'll have for us.

Isabella's class just finished a theme on dinosaurs within the past couple of weeks so she had talked about how they lived millions of years ago, but she hadn't asked us anything about where people come in to the picture until now. I asked her if they talked about it at school and she said no. Her program is part of the public school system after all.

1 Month Old!

Elijah is one month old today! He had his check-up with the pediatrician and he's doing great! At his last appointment about three weeks ago, he was 6 lbs, 11 oz and today he was 8 lbs, 8 oz!! I was afraid that he was sleeping too much and not eating enough, but he's gained almost 2 pounds in three weeks! He has also grown an inch since he was born so now he's 21".

Snuggling with Grandma

Elijah got to meet Grandma, Aunt Tracy, Uncle Jeff, Trevor and Sydney who are here visiting for a few days. Stay tuned for more pictures with our visitors!

Happy Easter...

...and happy birthday to Mike! We had a busy Easter/birthday weekend. Yesterday the girls decorated Easter eggs.




For a couple weeks Isabella has been asking for a nightgown. I was hesitant to buy her one because I personally don't like wearing nightgowns because they get all twisted. Since she didn't have an actual nightgown, she had been wearing her summer dresses to bed. I finally told her that the Easter bunny might bring her a nightgown. Can you tell how excited she was to finally get a real nightgown?!?! The Easter bunny pulled through for Isabella, and Nana gave her a second nightgown! It doesn't get much better than that!


Sienna loves puzzles so she was anxious to do her new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse puzzle this morning.

The girls are dressed up and ready to celebrate Easter with our friend, Tom's, extended family (as we have the past several years). They are nice enough to include us in their family celebration each year, and the girls love playing with all of the kids.

Elijah's first Easter!

Ready for the egg hunt!

Surveying the goods

All the boys-Chuck, Tom, Elijah and Mike

We celebrated Tom's Aunt Maureen's (Momo's) and Mike's (Petro's) birthdays with this cake. After we sang Happy Birthday, Mike said that his only wish was that the kids wouldn't have any cake. Tom's cousin's son, Brendan, started chanting, "No cake for Tetro! No cake for Tetro!" Sienna told Mike,"I'll share with you, Dada!" I think she was concerned that he really wouldn't get any cake!

Two minutes after we arrived, the bigger girls asked Isabella and Sienna if they wanted to play "school." They were both willing participants. This included "recess" and a "field trip" where they each held onto a rope to safely take a walk around the neighborhood.

This sums up our day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

...and happy birthday to me!! After years of celebrating a St. Patrick's Day birthday (especially in Boston!), I've collected some silly accessories! The girls are modeling some of these items.

Best Baby Gift

According to Mike, this is the best baby gift we have ever received! Our friend, Lorinda, knows him really well!!!

Click on the picture for a bigger view.

One Sleepy Boy

Mike and I don't remember either of the girls sleeping as much as Elijah does. He really only wakes up to eat at this point. I was a bit concerned until I consulted my What to Expect the First Year book which said that newborns are often only awake for a total of one hour a day. What a life!! Mike would sleep this much too if given the chance. We're hoping that Elijah keeps up these good sleep habits in the coming months!

Post-bath fluff head

So comfy

He's keeping an eye on me!

Half asleep "smile"

Ready for bed

The Many Faces of Sienna

I tried to take a nice picture of Sienna in her big sister t-shirt. Here's the result...

Aunt Sharon's frog face

The mad face

What a goof ball!!!

Quotes and More Pictures

When Mike first asked Isabella what she thought about having a baby brother, she said, "Maybe we can put him back for a little while and then a girl will come out." Now she's really enjoying having a baby brother and wouldn't trade him.

The first day that we brought Elijah home and he started crying, Sienna told him, "Don't worry, your big sister is here!" When this didn't immediately soothe him, she promptly covered her ears.

Now that Elijah is two weeks old, I finally got around to adding more pictures to Shutterfly. Click here to view the pictures.

Happy Birthday, Elijah!

To celebrate Elijah's one week birthday yesterday, the girls helped me give him his first sponge bath.

I'm not sure that he loved it!

It's a BOY!!!!

Apparently, we didn't have to wait long after my last post to welcome the newest addition to our family!

Elijah Michael

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

11:14 AM

6 lbs, 13.7 oz

20"

Although my due date wasn't until March 11, my doctor decided that it was safer to deliver him early via c-section since he was lying transverse (sideways) and ended up breech (feet and bum down). She attempted a "version" to try to turn him externally (OUCH!!-I don't recommend that!) with no luck, so we agreed that the safest option was to do the c-section. It ended up being a good decision because the cord was wrapped around his neck and it was a struggle to get him out as it was. There was a reason that he wouldn't flip around when my doctor attempted that. Thankfully, he's completely healthy and we're home and doing great!

For anyone who is wondering, Elijah is NOT named after Eli Manning, the quarterback of the New York Giants, although you may think so after reading this previous post. We had chosen the name Elijah (with the possible nickname, Eli) weeks before the Super Bowl. After the Giants won, Mike mentioned that there would be lots of new baby boys named Eli (just like there are lots of Brady's around here). Hopefully, most of those Eli's will be in New York and not in Elijah's class once he gets to school!

Father and son

One happy dad
(Just for the record, Mike and I would have been just as thrilled to have a third healthy girl)

Elijah meets his big sisters!

After about two minutes of looking at the baby, Sienna spotted my muffin that was left over from breakfast.
Isabella couldn't wait to hold him! Even though he was perfectly content, she kept stroking his head and saying, "It's okay, it's okay." She has some sort of innate motherly instinct.

Sienna keeps telling us, "My (I) like this baby!"
I often sleep with my arms over my head. At least he got something from me!
The girls got a kick out of eating lunch in my bed!

Our three kiddos

Ready to head home! (Thanks for the cute outfit, Margaret!)
When we pulled into our driveway, my mom and the girls were holding up this giant Welcome Home sign in the window! We were all happy to be home!

The last belly shot at 38 weeks -the night before Elijah was born. I was ready to pop!