Life with Kids

What do they say?... You have to take the sleep whenever you can?
Sarah is feeling increasingly comfortable taking the kids out and about.
And Tim makes this whole "father of two and a cat" look down right easy, doesn't he?

A Sisters Party (With A Dog)

And Aven's Great Aunt Janet made the trip from Richmond to see her "great" niece. Janet joined us for a lovely afternoon party. We also had Uncle Kevin and their kids Maggie, Katie, and Tom (who brought his girlfriend Hayden). Tim's siblings were also in attendance, and they brought tons of wonderful appetizers for the event.
We dubbed the event the "sisters party" ... a soiree in honor of sisters Aven and Rory, food by the sisters Chelle and Jenny, attended by the sisters Grandma and Aunt Janet, and featuring special guests Katie and Maggie Masterson (twins to boot).
For Rory, the hit of the party just might have been Wriggley, Uncle Mike's new "puppy". Or as Rory said: "Rig-uh-lee".
Good doggy! (Although Pippin may beg to differ.)

Uncle Allen

Uncle Allen has been a huge help these last few weeks. He helped Daddy with a ton of house work ...
... he has entertained Rory and Aven while Sarah gets rest ...
... although, yes, we have to keep him from snacking on the kids when he gets hungry.

Rory's "Special Lunch"

Rory is occasionally treated to a "special lunch" by her Daddy. This week, it was Smiley PB&J, with a grape nose and green bean lips!

Monkey Sisters?

Silly Monkey Aven
Silly Money Rory
Drunky Monkey Aven
Drunky Monkey Rory

Sisters, Part 2

A Little More Activity

Two weeks later, we are beginning to venture outdoors (with our two-seater stroller) and reclaim a sense of normalcy.
Aven, as well, has started to become more adventurous, especially with "tummy time" breaks.

Two Weeks, Twelve Ounces

Aven slept through her two-week medical examination on Friday, which is a shame, because her doctor gave her (and her Mommy) "flying colors" for her health, particularly her weight gain. Our little "chunky monkey" is now 6 pounds, 6 ounces ... almost a pound heavier from her discharge weight of 5 pounds, 10 ounces. This is a testament to Aven's eating and sleeping prowess, as well as Sarah's perseverence.

Thank you, Nonna

Sarah's mom (our Nonna) was a huge help during Aven's first two weeks of life. In fact, I'm not sure if Nonna did ever eat anything while she was with us. :)
Nonna helped Aven discover her inner rhythm, and she helped us see some of the early indicators of Aven's personality ... precocious, inquisivitive, atheltic, a snuggler.

Rory, Pant-less

Rory in her fancy "tea dress" (from Nonna).
Rory showcases her summer dress (from Aunt Sydney) and her black eye.
Rory plays with hr friend Greta.

Aven vs. Panda

"Who are you strange creature?"

"Feel my fists of fury!"

Aven's First Bath

Aven didn't quite enjoy her first bath the same way that Rory did.
Although it didn't help matters that Daddy accidentally splashed her right at the outset.
No, she was not the biggest fans at first.
Although, she finally calmed down and just gave us the "stink eye". (She learned that from Rory.)
"Ah, that's better ..."
"... and that's even better!"

Aven's First Week

Aven, age 3 days.
Aven, age 5 days.
Mommy and Aven get a good snuggle in.
More snuggles.
Nonna meets Aven.
Pops entertains Rory!
Nonna has enjoyed lots of time with her grandkids.
Rory and her two daughters.
The modern-day domestic goddess.

Sisters

One of the best things about this week has been watching Rory and Aven together. Rory has shown no jealously (yet), and instead showers tenderness and kisses and hugs on her little sister. Aven, in turn, seems to perk up whenever she hears Rory's voice. They are very cute together. When Rory returned to school on Thursday, she brought a framed certificate that Daddy had made for her that declared "Rory is a Big Sister" and included shots of Aven. All the kids swarmed around Rory to look at the pictures and hear the stories. I think Rory felt a real sense of well-deserved pride.

Sunday: Back to the Hospital

Well, as if our weekend hadn't had enough hospital-related drama, on Sunday evening, Daddy took Rory to the Emergency Room to have a doctor look at a nasty gash that Rory got on her leg. She had fallen on our back (brick) patio. Now, admittedly, I wasn't quite sure whether her wound required medical treatment, but it felt like the right thing to do. Six stiches later, I was assured by several nurses and doctors that we had indeed made the right decision.
Rory was a champ. She kept up-beat while we waited to be seen, and she braved a very painful series of lidocaine injections to numb the area around the gash. Daddy received quite a bit of sympathy from the medical staff when they learned what else I had been doing that weekend. And Rory received cheers from the attending female pediatrician who said, "Rory, you are the first girl that I've stiched up this weekend. Until now, it's been all boys. I'm glad to see that there are girls out there running and playing as hard as the boys. You go girl!". Indeed.

Aven: The Meaning of a Name

"Aven" (pronounced "Ay-vin") is a rare gem of a name found in many different languages and cultures. It is an anglicized version of an Irish name that means "fair radiance". In ancient Hebrew, the name means many things, including "mischief". The name appears in Confederate South, Old French, Middle English, and in gypsy culture (check out the Gypsy Kings song "Aven Aven").

Admittedly, we had some difficulty finding the right name for our second daughter, but "Aven" popped out at us when we first saw it (ask Sarah where, exactly). It was different, but not hard to pronounce. It had character. It was pretty. And like the name "Rory", it conveyed feminine strength.

The "A" name honored several members of our family, as did the "E" in Elizabeth (Aven's middle name). "Beth" was Sarah's middle name (before she got married), and so "Elizabeth" was fitting for that reason as well.

Now, both of our daughters have uncommon first names, with more classical middle names. Coincidentally, they also have names with the exact same number of letters: 4-9-5.

Sunday: Discharge

Although Aven looks strikingly similar to Rory when Rory was a newborn, our younger daughter has given us a strikingly different first weekend compared to Rory's stay in the NICU.
We enjoyed lots of time with Aven in the first 48 hours of her life, prompting lots of questions that are more typical of new parents ("oh, do newborns really sleep this much on the first day?")
Nonetheless, we were anxious to leave the hospital, and Rory accompanied her Mommy and Little Sister to the car. (Ask Tim about not having the infant car seat or his house keys on that fateful morning.)
Aven was almost too small for her infant car seat, and she was very determined to tell us about that fact.
Just as we did with Rory, we made a pit stop on the way home from the hospital (Baja Fresh, carry out).