Sisters at Four Weeks

Everyone says how much Kennedy and Mara look alike but I have to be honest, I think they look pretty different!

Kennedy at four weeks old 

Mara at four weeks old

Mara at One Month

Our little snugglebug is one month already! Mara is a fantastic baby and we are enjoying her so much.

At one month, Mara:
- weighs about 7.5 lbs (we weighed her ourselves on our home scale so this is an approximation)
- still has a head full of dark hair (crossing my fingers it sticks around as I think it is so darn cute!)
- drinks between 3-4 oz of formula every 2-3 hours
- sleeps 2-3 hour stretches at night (in her bassinet)
- loves her swing
- has a moderate case of acid reflux so we have to keep her upright for 15-20 minutes after each feeding
- does not care too much for the pacifier at this point- she likes the real deal :)
- seems to resemble my side of the family at this point - she and Kennedy both have my nose and mouth but Kennedy has Sean's eyes. Mara seems to have my eyes... she will change so much over the next year though that it is hard to really know...
- is a content, easy baby!

Love you baby girl!

Thanks to Katie for these cute stickers for her monthly photos. Love them!



Namesake

When we were choosing Mara's name, we wanted to choose a special and significant middle name for her as Kennedy's is very special and significant (Renee, after my mom). We chose LeeAnn after Sean's grandmother. She has been a very special person in Sean's life (and mine too for the past 10 years). We wanted to honor her in a special way and thought this would be perfect. So I was happy to snap this photo of Mara LeeAnn with her great-grandma LeeAnn!

Life With Two

Wow. I can safely say that I underestimated life with two kids. Mara is almost a month old and I am just now feeling like maybe... maybe... I will be able to handle this. Between the raging post-pregnancy hormones, sleep deprivation and just generally feeling completely overwhelmed, the past few weeks have been a bit ... okay a lot... difficult. There is light at the end of the tunnel though and I can feel it beginning to shine through.

Today I did the laundry. And, I even mopped the kitchen floor and  vacummed. Sad to say that these felt like major accomplishments while caring for a toddler and a newborn. I am generally an efficient and capable person so the past few weeks of feeling so inept and unable to do the things I normally do have been difficult, to say the least. The phrase this too shall pass keeps running through my head as I muddle through the days in a sleep-deprived haze.

It isn't all tough though. I am absolutely in love with our new baby girl. I think she is precious and I love her to pieces already. It feels like she has been with us longer than 3 1/2 weeks. I am trying to savor these newborn moments because she is growing already and I know... this too shall pass. 

Kennedy suddenly seems older and though she is demonstrating some challenging two-year old behaviors, she is a fantastic big sister.

And with that, I am off to try and catch a few hours of much-needed sleep and so I leave you with a handful of photos from the past few weeks.

Rachael is 7!

I can't believe my little sis is already seven years old! Rachael was born the summer before I graduated college and her arrival into our lives was and is such a blessing. It is so fun watching her grow and mature- this past year has seen a lot of both. She understands so much more about the world and seems so much more mature than she did even a year ago. She is a smart, beautiful, spunky girl and I can't wait to see where life takes her. Love you Rach!

Mara at One Week Old

Sister Love

We are love, love, LOVING our two little girls. And it is fun to see these two together- in the early days of their life-long relationship. Kennedy is adjusting well to her new little sister (thus far anyways!). She has been spending a lot of time with daddy since he has been off of work - they have been to swimming lessons, the park, papa's car race, Lowes, Fred Meyer and on Tuesday they are making a trip to to the zoo. It has been a nice distraction for her as I am learning to breast-feed and care for a newborn again. :) Sean returns to work on Wednesday and I suppose this will be when reality hits. But for now we are enjoying time together as our new little family of four.

Mara

We are so excited to introduce our new baby girl, Mara LeeAnn McKenna.
A few details about our new little girl:

Weight: 5 lbs, 11 oz
Length: 18 3/4 inches
Date of Birth: June 28, 2011
Time of Birth: 3:38 p.m.

My labor was great! No complications and relatively quick. I chose to be induced four days early as I was dilating and progressing. Had I known that she would be so little, I probably would not have chosen to do that but in all reality, a few more days probably wouldn't have affected her weight too much so I am trying not to dwell on it. I was induced at 8 am and my doctor broke my water shortly after. I began feeling painful contractions about 8:30 am. I received my epidural around 10:30 am. At about 3:25 pm, the nurses had a difficult time finding Mara's heartbeat- they quickly discovered that she has dropped low and was ready to be delivered immediately! My doctor came running in and 3 pushes later, she arrived!

What we know about our little one so far:

** Lots of beautiful black hair

** She looks a lot like her sister

** She has mommy's nose and lips (or lack thereof!)

** She is small but mighty- she is eating like a champ!

We are feeling pretty blessed with our two beautiful daughters!