Dr. Seuss' Birthday

Keira heard on TV last week that it was Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2 so she has been counting down. Yesterday we did lots of things to celebrate, mostly because she insisted. We watched some Cat in the Hat on TV in the morning, we got out all of our Dr. Seuss books and read them all day, Keira made him a card and we baked a cake. Keira wanted to deliver her card to him and was bummed to hear that he was dead. We had a fun day and the cake was pretty good if I do say so myself.

Oh, Keira picked the frosting color and we decided it was the same color as the cat ring on the bath tub in Cat in the Hat Comes Back. :)

Big Sister, Little Sister

I took some pictures of the girls with their big sister, little sister shirts on today and these are my two favorites. Rhianna wasn't thrilled because I was sort of interrupting nap time but they are all still cute pictures. They girls love their baby sister and are such good help with her most of the time. I will feel a little better when Rhianna is a little bigger and can stand up to her sisters a little bit because Elaina's loving can be rough at times. I was quite surprised when I wanted the girls to hold Rhianna between them when I took these pictures and Elaina took her in her arms and held her very gently. Miracles happen every day!

Firsts

Rhianna's umbilical cord finally fell off yesterday afternoon so we were able to get some more firsts in this weekend. She had her first tummy time yesterday evening. She laid there so calm for a really long time. I don't think I have ever seen a little baby so calm during tummy time ever. They usually don't like it much.

This morning we gave her the first real bath. She has just had little sponge baths before now. She wasn't very happy with them. I don't know why Elaina doesn't look happy in the picture. She was never crying. I think she was imitating her sister's face. It is a funny picture though. Keira helped me bath her and put lotion on her. My two older girls have never really cared about baby massages, they either cried or wiggled around until I stopped but Rhianna totally zones out if I message her legs or feet. It is insane how well it works. Last night she was screaming hard (I think she had a gas bubble that would not go away) and I undressed her and started massaging her legs and she immediately stopped crying and zoned out. I hope this trick lasts!!

Playtime

Blogger is seriously getting to be a pain. These are the only pictures it will let me post. I really don't know what the problem is.

Anyway, I put Rhianna on the floor for some play time a couple of days ago. It was the first time I had done that. Elaina is SOOO rough. She doesn't know how to slow down or be gentle. She doesn't mean any harm, that is just how she is. So I had to sit right next to Rhianna the whole time. The girls thought it was so fun playing with her. She was so alert, just looking around at everything. She is going to have to be a tough girl to survive her big sister Elaina though.

Great Grandmas

My girls are so lucky to have so many great grandparents that they are close to. I don't remember any of my great grandparents but my girls get to spend time with some of their great grandma's quite often. This week my Grandmas Inman and Williams both came over to see Rhianna. We love having them around and were glad they came to visit.

(You can see Keira getting some goodies in the background. My Aunt Colleen came over as well and brought the big girls a bunch of presents. Sometimes it really works in your favor to have a new baby sister!)

Feeding "My Baby"

Keira was begging to feed Rhianna all day, so I finally let her. She was so proud and excited to do it. She has started referring to Rhianna as "my baby" (or sometimes she shares and says "our baby" instead). I am so glad that she seems mostly happy to have the baby around. She is not the best when it comes to change. She was even worried yesterday that I was going to leave the baby at the doctor's office. What a good big sister!

The Girls

Keira and Elaina are so excited to be big sisters. They have been holding and kissing and talking to the baby non stop since they got home yesterday afternoon. They were so happy this morning when they woke up and Rhianna was still here. We get to keep her and everything! Keira really wants to help feed her, so we are going to have to let her give her a bottle soon. Rhianna is such a good baby. I am feeling pretty lucky. Once we got some stuff worked out (I am bottle feeding again. I tried the old fashioned way and it just doesn't work for me. I am SOOOO impressed with all of you moms out there that can do it!) she has been so happy and content which means I am happy and content. Life is good. :)