Updates from all of us

We haven't blogged for awhile. We've sort of been in survival mode so the fun stuff has been relegated to lower on the to do list than things like laundry! Thought I'd do a quick update on how each of us is doing now that we are a family of four.

Little people first - Teia:

Teia is doing great. She is eating well and sleeping well. She isn't a big fan of morning naps and she much prefers to sleep on warm bodies than in her bassinette, pack n' play or bouncy chair, which aside from the sore arms and shoulders, Mommy and Daddy are enjoying. We at least have the perspective this time that they're not little for long so we're indulging her a bit :-) I'm going to knock on a big, solid piece of wood here as I write this next line - to paraphrase my friend Jenny, I think we might have won the baby lottery. Aside from some "windy" episodes each day, our Teia is remarkably chill. She really only cries if you don't notice her early warning squeaks and snuffles and she loves to just look around and take it all in. So far, she doesn't even cry during diaper changes and when we wash her hair, she looks at us as if to say "this is interesting." She is not a fan of being alone and she senses right away when someone has left the room so we're learning to be super stealth when we need to get stuff done. But really, we couldn't ask for things to be going better where miss Teia is concerned.

Kai:

This is a picture of Kai's eyeball as he peeks out from his "bunny house." Granddad Dave fashioned it one afternoon while Kai was napping out of one of Teia's many gift boxes. To say Kai was thrilled is a bit of an understatement. This box house has become a beloved toy and a great bargaining tool for mom and dad ....."eat your broccoli and then you can play in the bunny house!" Kai has had a harder time adjusting to all the changes in his life than we were prepared for. Not only did mommy and daddy disappear for a few days and then come home with this little person who consumes alot of time and energy but he bonded closely with Grandma Barbie for a few weeks and then with Granddad Dave, only to have to say goodbye to each of them. So our mild mannered little man has been a bit of a goblin these past few weeks, with something to say about pretty much everything and that something usually involved the word "No!" But methinks he is beginning to settle down and get used to the way things are now in Fennell world. This morning he excitedly came into the bedroom when I was feeding Teia, climbed up on the bed and happily offered Teia his soother (pacifier). We were pretty happy to see that first peace offering and feel confident that Kai will soon love his little sister as much as we do. In the meantime we're doling out as much Kai time and TLC as we can muster.

There'll be no pictures of the parents, who at this juncture look, in the infamous words of my cousin Diane many years ago, like baggy eyed devils.

Dada Fennell: Seeing as he isn't home right now, I'll speak for Greg and say that he is doing an admirable job of being an involved parent, supportive spouse and surviving grad student. He doesn't get a 1/4 of the time he needs to get his work done but he is managing to juggle his many roles. I really don't know what else to say except that I think back to my grad school days, look at him, and think I could never do this....but he is doing it.

Mama Fennell: Well let's just say, I'm a little T-I-R-E-D. But you know, I think I'm coping with the sleep deprivation better this time. But it is early days yet so that is all I'll say about that for now. I seem to be bouncing back pretty well now after a tough few early weeks. The body wanted to lie down but family demands made it tough to get the rest I needed in those early post-birth days. I've been doing some post-natal yoga, riding my bike and walking and am slowly beginning to feel a little bit like my pre-pregnancy self, although I've got a long way to go. I can't remember when I started running again after I had Kai and have been musing about whether or not its time to start. Yesterday Kai and I played a game outside in the leaves called "Run Mommy Run" and I discovered that the answer to that question is unfortunately, most definitely, NO. So I'll stick to yoga, biking and walking for now. My wonderful parents have both returned home now so we're really on our own in taking care of two kiddos. I'll report back to the blogosphere on how that is going later this week.