Little Lady Lien

Sisters... the resemblance!

One Month Comparison:

Two Month Comparison:

Happy ONE month birthday Viv!

Here is a link to Viv's newborn pics on the photographers blog:: http://www.jstoiaportraitdesign.com/blog/welcome-to-the-world-miss-vivian/

You really know how to keep us on our toes. We can already tell you are a determined little lady who knows what she wants. Poor Eric, three of those in his house! Starting out almost a pound lighter than Stella at birth, Viv popped right up to over 11 lbs by the time she was a month old, a full LB bigger than her sister.

one week

bath time!

the chunky cheeks starting to form

her reaction after hearing thunder for the first time!

this just cracks me up...need to get the sleep where I can take it

When Viv is hungry, I am pretty certain all of our street knows it! Her "hawk" cries have even gathered a response from Stella to the tune of "Moooooommmmy what IS dat? Is dat Vivi cries? {said with the biggest bug eyes}. Poor Viv spits up quite a bit...the pro? We get to change outfits and wear more cute clothes. The con... laundry, laundry and more laundry! At three weeks she got a terrible case of baby acne, to which Eric and I had no clue what to do since we hadn't experienced it with Stella. It looked so painful, poor Viv. And sleep, or lack there of...how quickly your mind forgets this stage! This was a pretty typical scene prior to Eric leaving for work the first few weeks. After the early morning feeding, it would be tough to calm her down unless we slept together like this, which I certainly didn't hate!

Stella has adjusted so well to being a proud big sister. She is mommy's little helper and often loves to imitate whatever I am doing (including nursing...which is adorable at home until I get a notice from school that she is doing it there).

Some of Viv's firsts this month:
- Doc Appt - back up to birth weight after 1 week! Woo hoo.
- First family walk

- First Easter celebration

- Visit from all immediate family members including a trip from Uncle C all the way from Denver

- Walk with Auntie Heidi and Hallie

- And last but certainly not least was her first official acknowledgment from Jack that she was not temporary.

4.10.14... its a GIRL!

Much to our surprise (or maybe my surprise), our beautiful Vivian Esther graced us with her presence at 5:45 PM Thursday, April 10th. Weighing in at 7 lb 14 oz + 21 inches and the most beautiful eyes that opened right away to see her new world. I'll never forget the moment Eric told me it was a girl, what an incredible experience! I can't imagine anything more fun than these two little sisters growing up together.

These two very proud aunties didn't have to wait long this time in the waiting room. They left for a total of 15 minutes probably before they could hold their second niece!!

A proud daddy right after she was born.

Those eyes were open pretty much right after she made her arrival!

A few hours old and meeting her namesake, great-grandma Esther.

Stella couldn't have been a more proud big sister. After a big hug and lots of kisses from mom and dad (well and a few chocolate chip cookies), we introduced her to Vivian. Her first question, "who's dat mommy?". Then, adorableness ensued with lots of pats to her head, kisses and smiles!

Our first selfie as a family of 4!

Meeting Grandpa and Grandma Lien!

These moments with Eric are enough to melt my heart.

24 hours new and she was meeting Grandma and Grandpa Jolly for the first time!

We stayed in the hospital for just 24 hours and were ready to go home as a family! We packed Vivian up in her carseat, much less worried and nervous as the time we walked the same halls with Stella in that seat and headed home to Stella waving her hands at us through the window. Life is good.

2.27 ... TWO years later

Officially a two year old with a spunky + determined personality, a hysterical sense of humor, the sweetness of an angel and the sassiness of a diva all wrapped up into one perfect little Stella Lien at age two!

Current loves:

Elmo, Mickey Mouse, purses, sparkly shoes, dancing, signing her ABC's and other school songs, some "paapaa" - smack your lips together to make that sound, it means lip balm.

Happy 2nd birthday little lady!

Eric and I took her actual birthday off to celebrate the day with her... and all of her favorites. Pancakes for breakfast, a little photo session and then went to play on some slides at an indoor park and finally got to celebrate with ELMO cupcakes and the neighborhood kids.