Helena, 3 weeks old

Helena is 3 weeks old today! She continues to be an easy baby and is getting chubby. In honor of her 3 week birthday, I had lunch with Laura at the Hop and got a club sandwich, pink lemonade and fries (my classic college lunch!).

This afternoon, I decided to take some "artsy" pictures of her. Our friend Laurie took lovely photos of both her daughters when they were little babies by bringing them outside, placing them on a white blanket, adding some flowers and snapping away. I always thought they were pretty so I did it with Helena this afternoon. Unfortunately, I do not have pics like this for Sadie, although I do not think she would have liked laying in the snow as a newborn.






(not entirely happy with this last one because you can see the tag on the blanket; should have doubled checked that before snapping picture!)

Mommy Day

Friday is Mommy Day here and today was my first day with both girls and no other adult. It went really well. Sadie and Helena were both very good. Sadie was helpful and sweet all day long. Helena slept a lot and was easy herself. We had beautiful weather, following a week where it rained almost every day.

Sadie enjoyed playing by the fountain in Lebanon. We didn't have any coins, but she was happy enough to throw leaves into the fountain.


We went to the post office, got iced coffee and a scone at Salt Hill, played in the fountain, signed Sadie up for the summer reading program at the Lebanon Library, took out a big pile of books and one DVD, went to Library Lunch at the Norwich and came home. Sadie relaxed on our bed and watched her new DVD from the library (84 minutes long! Not one peep from Sadie!) and Helena napped.


(Helena weighed 8lbs, 5oz yesterday, she is getting nice and chubby!)

We ended the day with free ice cream from the co-op and then dinner at Margarita's with Isaac, Andy and Laura.

15 days old

helena, 8 lbs of seriousness
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Helena had her two week check up yesterday. She now weighs 8 pounds, so a full pound up from her birthweight. She is doing great.
We are seeing some cute little half smiles in her sleep, which are adorable. In another few weeks, we're looking forward to see some real smiles. For now, her awake face is very serious looking. We see a lot of resemblance between Helena and early pictures of Sadie.

Helena, 2 weeks old

striped sisters
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Helena is two weeks old today. She is starting to look more like a baby and less like a newborn. Sadie continues to adore her. The first thing she wants to do in the morning is check on Helena and kiss her, and she loves to hold her sister.

Last week, at 4th Trimester group, Helena weighed 7lbs, 9 ounces, so she gained 9 ounces from her birth weight. Tomorrow is her two week old pediatrician appointment and we'll see how big she is then.

We had a great time this weekend with visits from Jenny, Andy, Lauren and James. Lots of aunts and "uncles" to play with! Yesterday, it poured rain all day, but we still had a good day. Sadie decorated a large box with stickers from Bob Bob and she and Daddy had some buddy time at the Montshire.

Quotable Sadie

"Babies have a teeny-tiny little stomach and they have to eat 165 times a day."

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a busy couple of days. Yesterday, we went to the Lebanon Farmer's Market. Sadie wanted to wear matching outfits with Helena, so we wore these dresses from Auntie Kara.

(Helena looks funny, but Sadie looks cute, so I'm posting this pic anyway. Sorry, teenage Helena.)

Nana came to the Farmer's Market with us, spent the night and hung out with us today. We went to library lunch and played at home.




We ended the day with giving Helena her first bath. Sadie was very, very helpful and sweet. She was the "passer", which meant she sat next to me and passed me soap, washclothes and towels as needed.

Helena didn't really like the bath, but she needed one...it;s been a sweaty week and last night, I was wearing her while we were out to dinner and I dropped some lettuce, bleu cheese and dressing on her head.

Matched Set

My 3 Favorites
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

I swear, I didn't plan to dress my family all alike, but when I noticed Dan, Sadie and Helena were all dressed in yellow and green, I had to snap a picture of it.

We've had a few days in a row of beautiful weather. It's so nice to be able to just go outside and take Helena with us. What a difference from having newborn Sadie in December when we had to bundle her up and warm up the car before doing anything.

Dan put Helena in the baby bjorn and walked down with the jogger to pick Sadie up at school today. Sadie was thrilled.

One week old

Helena is one week old. Time is flying by and we are enjoying having our two girls. Helena fits into our family just beautifully.


Her face is filling out...nice round cheeks!


Helena likes to have her hand near her mouth.


Sadie is a sweet and doting big sister.

Today was our first day without a grandmother around and it went very well. Sadie had a great time at daycare, Helena took lots of naps and we all feel relaxed and happy. Laura went above and beyond and brought us dinner again. Tomorrow, we're going to bring Helena to Ann's office to see her co-workers. On Thursday, Mommy and Helena have 4th Trimester Mommy and Baby group and Nana is coming to visit us.

Seven Weeks from Now?

Helena and Jonah
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Jonah is 8 weeks old. Helena is 6 days old. Will she be so grown-up in just 7 weeks? Seems impossible to believe.

We've had so much help and lots of great visitors since bringing Helena home. Lots of thanks to Nana and Grandma!

Also, a very big thank you to Andy, Laura and Isaac for the macaroni and cheese, salad and homemade ice cream on Thursday night and to Beth, Jake, Sam and Jonah for the quiche, salad and ice cream on Friday night. Can't have too much ice cream!

Fun at the Fair

Fun at the Fair
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

We went to the Norwich Fair today after the Farmer's Market. Of all the summer fairs, this one is the best for Sadie's age. There are just a few rides and she is tall enough to ride most of them. She rode the motorcycles, the carousel and the crazy bus rides, but her favorite was the giant slide. She and Daddy went twice.

She also loved winning a glittery wand at the shark catch game and Grandma won a little stuffed dog at balloon darts.

Helena slept in the stroller the whole time. It was a fun morning.

A Little Chat

sister secrets
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Sadie was thrilled that we let Helena come into her bed for a little while. They listened to Daddy read a story and then we took Helena out so Sadie could have room to sleep. Helena was awake and calm the whole time with her eyes right on Sadie.

It is very sweet to see the girls together. Sadie loves Helena and wants to hold her and kiss her a lot. She is being very helpful and is great at getting diapers, wipes and anything else Helena needs.

We're home!

family at home
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

We are home from the hospital, and Sadie loves having her sister here! We will work on getting more pictures up tomorrow!

Hello World!

More pictures later, I promise!

She's Here!

Helena Beverly Mielcarz

Born 11:40 PM July 7, 2008

7lbs, 19in

Hooray for Kara and Kyle!

Best one
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Congratulations! Auntie Kara and Kyle got engaged on the 4th of July! We're so happy for you both and excited for another wedding.

Now, we just need baby sister to arrive to add to the excitement for Nana and Bob-Bob. We'll see what we can do...

Happy 4th!

Sadie Sings
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Later we'll get around to telling Sadie that this isn't necessarily a patriotic song, but for now it is just too cute not to share.

Preschool!

1st day in the preschool class!
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Today, Sadie moved up to the Preschool Room at daycare. She was so excited this morning and thrilled to go straight into the preschool when she arrived. Her teacher Jennie knows how much Sadie likes to cut and glue and she had set up a table with a cutting activity because she knew Sadie would like it on her first day in the new room.

Day to day, things will be pretty much the same because in the summer, all the kids spend a lot of time playing outside on the playground and with the water, but she'll be exposed to lots of new things in the fall.

Daddy's Girl

IMG_2259
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Sadie and Daddy always have special times together. She loves being with her buddy. On Saturday, we were walking in Hanover and Sadie wanted Dan to carry her.

We're enjoying giving Sadie lots of attention and snuggles in anticipation of baby sister's impending arrival.

Strawberries!

Sadie and I went to pick strawberries this morning. We had a great time. Sadie was hoping to see a bear (like Sal sees in the book Blueberries for Sal) but she wasn't too disappointed not to see one. She liked walking between the rows and filling up her little quart container with berries.

Sadie was great about carefully choosing only the red strawberries and leaving the "green babies" to keep growing.

School Picnic

This year, we had lovely warm weather for Sadie's daycare picnic at Storrs Pond. She had a great time playing in the water and sand with her classmates.



Another child's grandfather made an amazing sand bridge/river/pool thing. He let all the children work on it. Sadie really enjoyed helping. Sadie loves this purple bucket from Nana, but when it's full of water, it is so heavy! However, she persevered. Actually, we're frequently surprised at what heavy things she manages to lift or move. She can easily open the fridge and remove the entire gallon of milk...luckily, we had always been able to catch her before she tries to pour herself a glassful, but I'm sure I will be mopping milk off the floor one of these days!

The food is always yummy at the picnic...it's a potluck and people bring really good things. One of Sadie's teacher's does catering on the side and brought pulled pork and coleslaw. A family brought two big trays of homemade dumplings, one tray of fried and one of steamed. Someone else made mini cheesecakes with fresh fruit on top. I took the easy route and Sadie and I made rice krispie treats.


She got a lot of compliments on her swimsuit...thanks Grandma!

Off on Errands

2 hats
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Sadie and Daddy went off together bright and early this morning to do some errands and give me a chance to get ready for Sadie's school picnic, tidy the house a bit and drink my iced coffee in peace.

They are getting garden stuff and more mulch for under the swing set.

Annual Tradition

Dairy Day 2008
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

We love to bring Sadie to Dairy Day at the Co-op...lots of yummy free samples of cheese, butter, yogurt, pudding and of course, ice cream! In addition to the samples, there are wagon rides, balloons, baby water buffalo and lots of other fun things for kids. We had a great time.

Upon Request

There have been some requests to see more pictures of my belly, so I am going to oblige with these two.



We went into Hanover on Friday night to see if we would run into any friends who were around for reunion. We didn't see anyone, but we still had a nice evening walking around town.


Baby sister should be arriving some time within the next 3 weeks. We're all looking forward to meeting her.

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Happy Father's Day to Daddy, Grandpa and Bob-bob!

We went mini golfing for Father's Day after seeing an ad in the paper that dads golf free on Father's Day. Sadie is under 4, so she's free too...only Mommy had to pay. We all had fun, although 18 holes of mini golf is too many for Sadie. She was ready to be done around the 10th hole.

Sadie is so lucky to have such a wonderful Daddy and two amazing grandfathers. We love you!

(Please note Sadie's footwear..."I will be the same as Daddy and both wear our birks!")

How Big?

IMG_2145
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Sadie tried to see if she was as big as this pretty plant at the Norwich Farmer's Market. She was a little bit smaller.

She has chocolate all over her face from an Umpleby's cookie (or, as Sadie calls it, "Uncle Bee's")

Mountain Adventure

On the way back from Pete and Danielle's wedding, we decided to stop at Wildcat Mountain Ski Area and ride the gondolas to the top of the mountain. We all had a lot of fun.


Sadie climbed all over the rocks at the top and chose a few for her rock collection.


We walked around and saw some snow on the ground!




Sadie's favorite part was riding in the gondola. She wanted to go again and again!

Congratulations Pete and Danielle

We spent the weekend in Maine celebrating Pete and Danielle's wedding. We had a wonderful time. Sadie was remarkably good spending the weekend with about 25 adults and no other children. There were two dogs, but Sadie spent most of her time avoiding them. The house had a big swimming pool and it's own small playground, so Sadie was in her element! There was even a Little Mermaid life jacket in her size among the pool gear.



As Dan walked up the aisle escorting one of the bridesmaids, Sadie yelled out, "Why my Daddy walking up the aisle with another woman?" Everyone laughed. She is very much a daddy's girl these days and was very clingy to him the rest of the night.



Congratulations, Pete and Danielle! We wish you many, many years of happiness together.

Sheep Shearing Weekend

Memorial Day weekend was also Sheep Shearing Weekend at Billings Farm. We had a great time, even though it was very crowded. It was the first time that we have been to Billings Farm and encountered a full parking lot.

Sadie enjoyed playing with the old time toys that had been put out on the lawn for kids to play with.

She also had a sample of maple ice cream and a cone of chocolate chip ice cream. We watched the sheep being sheared and looked at the chickens and cows. They were not offering wagon rides this weekend and Sadie was a little disappointed, but she got over it. She really enjoyed watching a woman spin wool with a spinning wheel (it reminded her of Sleeping Beauty), trying to card wool and making a little sheep craft with paper and real wool.

This hoop tossing game was not as easy as it looked!

Happy Belated Birthday, Grandma!

swingset with grandma
Originally uploaded by Dan and Ann

Happy Birthday, Grandma! Sorry it has taken us so long to post birthday wishes for you. We love you a lot!

Sadie and Grandma had a wonderful time playing on her new swingset last weekend. The four grandparents thought we needed a swingset for our back yard so that Sadie would have somewhere fun to play on days when we didn't necessarily want to drive over to the big playground with the new baby in tow. She LOVES this swingset and we love it too...plus, you can see it from our deck and Sadie is happy to go down and play by herself. Thank you so much, grandparents! And thank you to Daddy, Bob-Bob and Grandpa for actually putting it together.