During These Cold Winter Days...

...the kids stayed inside and did puzzles.  Over the course a few days, Stella and Des, with a little help from Dada and Amamma, completed all of these puzzles that you see in the above picture.  I should also mention that Stella had the whole week of Thanksgiving off from school.  It has been really nice having her at home!  It has also been really nice having Amamma here who tends to Stella's and Des's needs while I tend to the baby and get some much needed rest in between.

Sasha's First Photo Shoot

I wanted to create those professional newborn photos you see out there with Sasha.  But because I am so paranoid about germs and Sasha getting sick, I didn't want to take her to a professional studio to get the pictures done.  Instead, we propped Miss Sasha on a blanket-covered Boppy and Dada just snapped away.  Luckily, Sasha was in a good mood and cooperated well and we got some really good shots of our young model =:).  The above picture is my absolute favorite and that's the shot we used for her birth announcement.

In addition to the above picture, I want to share some of the other cute pix from Sasha's first photo shoot!

Check out these two pics of Sasha below and....

...compare them to the one of Stella.  Don't they look similar?!?!

I love these two pix because we caught her smiling on camera.  She is not smiling socially yet, but I don't know why she was smiling here since usually, she only smiles when she is sleeping.  It's cute nonetheless!!

The following 4 pictures are some of my most favorite ones from the shoot.  

 

A big shout out to Dada for taking such awesome pictures of our little Sasha!!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

We had an awesome Thanksgiving thanks to Amamma and Dada who did a great job cooking all of the food.  We had turkey, gravy, creamy scalloped potatoes, crunchy yams, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie.  My next door neighbor and good friend, Emily, also brought over homemade crescent rolls and pumpkin bars. 

Stella was really excited about Thanksgiving this year, especially since she learned about the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims and the Indians and the first Thanksgiving.  She really enjoyed the pumpkin pie, something she never wanted to try before.

It was also Sasha's first Thanksgiving but as usual, she slept through most of it.  Interestingly, Thanksgiving day was Sasha's due date, but she came 10 days early!  We are especially thankful for our little bean, for Stella and Des, and our loving and supportive families and friends.  Unfortunately, we didn't take a single picture that day.  Oh, well, too many other things going on.

Our Little Whopper

So we took Sasha in to the doctor's today so that she could be weighed again to make sure that she was gaining weight just fine and our little bean went from 5 lbs, 4 oz (on Nov 18th)  to 6 lbs, 1 oz in a matter a 4 days.  The pediatrician was ecstatic with her weight gain but couldn't believe she had gained 13 oz in 4 days.  Since it was the nurse who weighed her at the beginning, he said that he would like Sasha weighed again after he was done examining her just to make sure the weight was correct.  Well, after her first weigh-in, while we were waiting for the doctor to come in, Sasha ate a little bit, so when she was weighed at the end of the visit, she was up to 6 lbs, 1.5 oz.  She had gained half an ounce in between the weigh-ins. LOL!!!  The doctor said, "Hey we'll take it!" and called her a little whopper!  And everything else checked out fine and Sasha was given a clean bill of health!

Sisters

"For there is no friend like a sister

In calm or stormy weather;

To cheer one on the tedious way,

To fetch one if one goes astray,

To lift one if one totters down,

To strengthen whilst one stands."

-Christina Rossetti

Sasha's First Sponge Bath

Sasha got her first sponge bath at home today.  I don't have any pictures from the big event to post because I was too busy videotaping it while Dada bathed her.  Sasha did great during her sponge bath.  We were anticipating a scream-fest because that's what Stella and Des both did during their sponge baths, but Sasha surprised us all by staying calm with occasional whimpers here and there. 

Here are some pictures of her after the sponge bath with her fluffy hair.  Her hair is ridiculously soft...it is as smooth as silk and I love the feeling of it against my cheek whenever I am holding her and she nuzzles into my neck. 

You can really see how light her hair is when it is fluffy like this.

After her sponge bath, she ate and soon was in a food coma sleeping away in the swing.  Sasha seems to be a good sleeper for now, sleeping through all of the flurry of activity and loudness that is Stella and Desmond.  Here's hoping she stays that way.

We took some pictures of Miss Sasha later on in the night just because.  She is pretty strong and can lift her head up off of my shoulder whenever I hold her like this.  She was also hungry at this time and rooting (right picture) and anytime my cheek touched hers, she would try to gum me.  I loved all of her slobbery "kisses".

For such a tiny little bean, Sasha has extremely long and very skinny feet.  She got that from her Ommy!

Amamma Is Here!

Amamma flew in today to see her newest grandchild as well as to help us with the transition of having a new baby around.  Amamma will be here for two weeks. Unfortunately, Appached couldn't come because of his work, but we Skype him whenever we get a chance so that he can see his little Sasah bear, Stella, and Des.  Ommy, Poppa, and Des went to the airport to pick her up.  Ommy and Poppa will be going back to Pittsburgh tomorrow.  We so appreciate all of the things they did to help us out while they were here.  We hope to see them soon!