Sisters!

So this two kid thing is pretty fun. It's been so nice to see that Elianna can make Marielle smile, even when she's feeling bad. It's also nice to have Elianna's first question in the morning be about Marielle. I have to confess that when we found out Marielle was coming, I was a bit dubious about how another baby was going to fit into our lives. Elianna seemed to be thriving on being an only child and we were loving spending so much time with her without any other distractions. Another child just didn't seem to fit in that picture. To be sure, Elianna has rolled with the addition of another person to the mix, much like she rolls with everything: New city? Sure. PacknPlay instead of crib? Not a problem. Sleep sack instead of swaddle? Bring it on! Tiny creature who makes a lot of noise and takes my mommy and daddy's attention away from me? Absolu...uh, what? No, she actually has done pretty well but sometimes I find myself wondering...is she okay with this?

Yesterday, however, any lingering doubts I may have had about how Elianna has adjusted to a sibling were dispelled. Marielle was lying on the ground near us and we all laughed really loudly at something and startled her. Her face crumpled and she started wailing. I picked her up to comfort her and much to my surprise and great pleasure, Elianna stopped what she was doing, came over, gave Marielle a hug, patted her on the back and said, "It's okay, little girl, don't cry!" As an aside, Elianna saying 'girl' is the cutest thing; it's more like 'goyle'.

My heart just got warm all over, seeing Elianna be so loving and concerned about her sister. I know they are going to fight, and often, I know they'll wish the other one wasn't around but that small display also gives me hope that they'll be there for each other when they need it and will view the fact that they have a sister as a blessing.

And then there were 4...

It's been awhile and it's not like you all don't know already but we have a new addition to the family! Marielle Kathleen arrived August 5th and although it wasn't quite as big a bang as her sister's arrival, it was momentous nonetheless. We were told on Thursday that due to low fluid levels, we should induce delivery. We were skeptical of the necessity but after hearing the doctor throw around words like stillbirth, etc. we were convinced. I checked in on Friday at 730 and pitocin was started around 830. A mere 5 hours later, the divine Miss M made her appearance...loudly!

We moved to a new room and Elianna made her sister's acquaintance a few hours later:

note how much pinker Marielle got in the interim...I was a little concerned!

We are settling in nicely and Elianna seems to be adjusting reasonably well to her sister. She loves looking at her and kisses her head a lot. She's almost stepped on her head a couple times and likes to cover her face with blankets so we watch them carefully but it's all innocent.

Sleep, however, has become hit or miss which I was expecting. Marielle has her days and nights mixed up and I'm not really sure how to fix that. Also, Elianna has had 2 colds since bringing Marielle home and that always messes *her* sleep up so sometimes Miss M will be crashed out but I'm still up because Elianna is upset. This too, shall pass...or so I'm told. *yawn*

A couple more pics of my cuties!

That's it for now. We're doing well and hope to get some more posts and pictures up soon!