Vivien is Three Weeks Old!

This little sugar bear turns 3 weeks old today! In many ways, it feels like she has been a part of our family for a lot longer than that but, when we look at her, we realize that she is still so tiny and new to this world.

At three weeks, she is starting to become more aware of her surroundings as well as her big sister who LOVES to "hold her" (always asked with two hands cupped together).

She is an official tummy sleeper having slept on her tummy for eight days now.

She is finally starting to be a heartier eater and is getting closer to taking 2-3 ounces at most of her feedings. She is typically eating around 6:30am, 9:30am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 6:00pm, 8:00pm, and 10:00pm with a couple of middle of the night feedings. Last night, she went from 11:00-3:00 and then had her next feeding at 7:30 because I overslept. The night before, she went from 9:30pm-4:00am. WOO-HOO!

Happy Valentine's Day 2010!

Guess what happens when Daddy does the Valentine shopping? Well, you get a little girl that looks like this! :) Dennis brought home several little gifts for his girls including an apron set, necklaces, bracelets, Sesame Street books, and Sesame Street stickers for Amity and a Valentine t-shirt and stuffed bunny for Vivien.

Amity knew exactly what to do with her apron, chef's hat, and pot holders. She immediately got to work in her kitchen.

I should have taken a picture of Dennis's smile. He was SO proud of himself and his gifts (as was I)!

Vivien seemed to like her new t-shirt too. She was such a sweetheart that she treated me to SIX straight hours of sleep on Valentine's Eve. Dennis gave her a bottle at 9:30 and she didn't wake up until 4:00 am! That was her longest stretch so far and it was wonderful!

Before they went back to Oklahoma, my mom helped me take the girls to Sears to get a portrait taken for Dennis's office as his Valentine's Day gift. It didn't quite turn out as I had imagined but it sure has character! Unfortunately, due to the snow, the pictures didn't come in on time but I will be sure to post them when they do.

For my Valentine's gift, I got a card with a handwritten poem written by my super-creative hubby along with chocolate truffles and a lunch at Tin Star after church. Amity was in rare funny form at lunch. Unfortunately this picture does not capture the crazy funny faces that she was making. You can see that she had a carbo-loading lunch complete with fries and ketchup, chips and salsa, and Teddy Grahams!
Valentine's Day still strikes me as a rather unnecessary holiday but I am SO grateful for the privilege of loving on these three very special people and hope that I will celebrate that every day!

Sisters, Sisters

Sisters, sisters
There were never such devoted sisters,
Never had to have a chaperone, no sir,
I'm there to keep my eye on her
Caring, sharing
Every little thing that we are wearing...
All kinds of weather, we stick together
The same in the rain and sun
Two different faces, but in tight places
We think and we act as one
Those who've seen us
Know that not a thing could come between us.
Many men have tried to split us up, but no one can.
Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister,
And Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man.

It recently occured to me that all of my former roommates came from families of all girls (Colby, Allison, Bonnie, Sonya, and Ella). I love my brother (especially because he reads this blog :)) but the whole concept of sisters has always mystified me. For example, I remember how Bonnie and her two sisters loved to break out in their own rendition of the above song, among other Broadway musical hits.

We had no idea what to expect from Amity once Vivien made her appearance but, thus far, she has LOTS of love for Baby Vivien. I can't wait to watch the two girls enjoy their sisterhood! Here are some recent videos:

This was at Amity's second visit to the hospital when Vivien was almost one day old.

This was Amity's first chance to "hold it".

Amity woke up the other morning and heard Vivien crying in our room. As soon as I got her out of her crib, she ran into our room.

Vivi Leigh is one week old!

Guess who is ONE WEEK OLD! That's right! Little Miss Vivi Leigh!

This week, we have started waking her up at 6:30 in the morning and trying to get her to eat every three hours during the day. That has been a bit of a challenge as she is DEAD TO THE WORLD during the daytime but loves to throw parties at night, especially between 12 am-6am. I have stopped nursing and she is taking bottles so GG and KK have been a huge help by taking shifts in the night to party (a.k.a snuggle) with Vivien. Other than those midnight hours when she just can't get settled in her bed, she is a very mellow little baby and hardly cries. When she does cry or makes the slightest whimper, her big sister comes running and says "Her crying!"