Happy 50th Anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa Yak!

The only unfortunate thing about the timing of Caroline's birth was that it happened to fall less than a week before John and Veronica Sustar (aka Grandma and Grandpa Yak)'s 50th wedding anniversary bash up in Wisconsin. We figured that unless the baby arrived early (or at the latest, on her due date), she and I would be unable to attend. This ended up being the case of course, and so the day after we returned home from the hospital, Joe loaded up the three older girls and set off for the 7-hour drive to Wisconsin by himself. Is that amazing or what? My husband is way braver than I. The drive went smoothly (so he reports -- only 2 stops the entire way!) and the girls had a blast with all of the Sustar clan. It turned out to be a win-win situation for all of us, as Caroline and I had four days of rest, relaxation, and recovery from childbirth in an empty house with Winnie providing meals. Happy, happy 50th anniversary, John and Veronica! We were so sorry to miss the festivities but are thrilled for the amazing milestone you have reached. You are an inspiration to us all... Lots of love to you, and here's to many more happy years ahead.

Sisterly Love

Although the majority of Caroline's day is still spent sleeping and eating, on those occasions when she isn't doing either of those things you will likely find at least one sister less than 6 inches from her face. Case in point:

Who does she look like?

It's fun when you have multiple children to see family traits start to repeat themselves. Up to this point I think our girls have each looked fairly unique, with a few common features of course. With Caroline, however, it was pretty evident as soon as she arrived that she looks a LOT like big sister Libby as a baby, at least in the nose, mouth, and chin. Her eyes are different and her eyebrows, hair, and olive complexion remind me a lot of Siena, though. She'll have her own look of course (and is already changing a lot), but there's no denying that she's one of ours!

Caroline

Libby

Siena

Two Weeks

It's hard to believe our little Caroline is two weeks old already! She's already growing and changing so much... We're having a ball with her and are overjoyed by our new addition.

Gain a Sister, Lose a Tooth... and Other Milestones

It's been quite the week for Siena, who not only became a big sister for the 3rd time but also lost her first (and second!) tooth!  Her bottom middle teeth had been wiggly for a couple of weeks, and the first one finally popped out in the car ride up to Wisconsin with Daddy.  Siena had very specific plans for her tooth, and opted to keep her first one and give her second to the tooth fairy.  I couldn't help but get a bit nostalgic seeing those teeth come out -- it doesn't seem like very long ago (or maybe it does!) that we noticed those same teeth for the first time on Easter morning in Colorado in 2009.  These kiddos just keep growing up...

Another huge milestone for Siena has been learning to ride her bike without training wheels!  Joe has been a great coach and it only took a couple of brief sessions around the track near our house.  I still have yet to capture her riding on video, but she's already a pro.  Fun rides around the neighborhood (and beyond!) in store!