two months old

hellie belly is an extremely happy baby though the photo above doesn't necessarily reflect this. she's pretty much smiling and gurgling whenever she's awake. she still sleeps A LOT and has a total hibernation day every few days where she goes into power sleep mode [PSM]. other than that, she's perfectly content lying on her back for long stretches [at least 30 minutes or so] and every time we check on her she's chuckling to herself. then she'll be so tuckered out from all that lying on her back that she falls asleep. all on her own with no fanfare or fuss. this is especially amazing to me because i used to have to swaddle, shake and shush thea to sleep. sometimes i still do.

zack and i constantly thank her for being such an easy baby and encourage her to keep it up. we feel so lucky, though i think zack was secretly hoping she'd be difficult so i wouldn't want more children. in fact, i hate to rub it in but she's pretty much a dream baby. as i write this i'm cursing myself because i'm sure i'll jinx it but helen has been sleeping through the night except for one 15 minute feeding around 3:30 or 4am for the last month. she's got a sweet, slightly mischievious personality and is just the kindest, gentlest little soul. we've heard her cry twice - once when thea accidently bonked her on the head and once when thea accidently-on-purpose bit her hand. thea insists she couldn't resist because hellie is 'just so cute.' the first time she cried zack and i looked at each other and said, "oh, so that's what her cry sounds like," in amazement. by the way, her cry is totally different from thea's.

here's a video from january 26. helen started making some noises a few weeks ago and still gets really out of breath working them out of her not-quite-so-tiny-anymore body.

j.lo in training

we go to music class every week and while it's just not the same without miss crystal (boo hoo, we miss her!!!), thea still enjoys it immensely.

i've been playing her do re mi from 'the sound of music' quite a bit and every time julie andrews talks to the kids, thea says, "she's teaching me," with a huge smile on her face. if only sister maria von trapp was her music teacher. a girl can dream!

here are some videos of thea singing, dancing and making music over the last month:

at long last

here are a couple photos of the girls from the last two weeks:







thea says "this is my little sister helen. i love her," to anyone that will listen. she tells this to me and zack at least twenty times a day. helen looks at thea and just smiles. she's clearly already taking in every word that comes out of her big sister's mouth, which runs non-stop from the minute she wakes up until the minute she goes to bed... SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

one month old

can not believe how fast this month went....

squeeeeeeal

admittedly i have a huge backlog of videos, pictures and info to add here. while sitting and feeding helen eight times a day i write blog entries in my head. yet they haven't quite made it to print as i rarely have a free hand to type or minute to be alone with my thoughts.

people told me, warned me even, that two children were a lot of work but until i experienced it firsthand i didn't fully wrap my head around the chaos that life has become. i have taken to assembly line diaper changes and declared this 'the butt wiping phase of life.' i forgot just how tiring it is to get up multiple times in the night. by all accounts miss hellie cat is a very easy baby [two nights this week she slept from 9-2:45a and then wasn't up again until 6a!] but the compounded lack of sleep over four weeks equals sheer exhaustion. i don't know what i would have done without my parents here and don't know what i'll do when they leave!!

all of this being said, watching thea and helen together makes it all worthwhile. thea uses this high-pitch voice whenever she talks to the baby and squeals with delight every time she looks at her. she just can't help herself. and helen saves her biggest smiles for thea, clearly she already gets a huge kick out of her big sister.





i think they are going to be the best of friends.

goodbye to an extremely busy, eventful and fun 2010. here's to a mellow, joyful and healthy 2011. happy new year to all!

the little bird

helen indira randel [also known around these parts as birdie]
born december 3, 2010
3:40pm
6 pounds, 3 ounces
19 inches

thea walked into the hospital room and immediately demanded, "i want to hold my baby." we love her so much already!

as ready as we're going to be

we've been doing a lot of sorting, organizing, rearranging and getting things in order for bam bam's arrival this week. as soon as i put something away, thea takes it out again, which makes the entire process a wee bit challenging.

i know she's trying to help and something tells me she's going to be a great BIG SISTER!



nana and papa arrive tonight!! woo hoo!!

ps to the bubba: stay in there as long as you can, it's freeeeeezing out here!

two!

a couple pics from thea's second birthday party which was attended by the birthday girl, her dad and yours truly. we kept it very small this year and it was really nice...just us, a few presents and a homemade cake.





plus, a nicely wrapped present:





update on jan 5, 2011: i'm adding a video of thea blowing out the candles on her cake because it's one of her favorite videos to watch. she's obsessed with birthdays and blowing out the candles these days and i want her to be able to look back at this blog and have a record of all things thea. she's been watching the video from her first birthday and gets such a thrill to see us singing happy birthday to her when she was a little bubba.