Cousins!

A big reason I love our new home is that it's big enough for my family to stay for a few days! Four kiddos to tend to was crazy, but oh so fun to have them here from Atlanta to spend time with us. We can't wait till next time when there will be 5 kiddos after my sister has her little one in December.

Mirabel getting some cuddles from Grandma and Grandma getting some "coos" from Mirabel. 

So sweet. 

London riding a horse for the first time at the Lincoln Children's Zoo. 

Miss Eloise is becoming a pro at this. 

The only time she looks small to me now. 

And Miss Maeve's first ride as well. She is a natural. 

Grandma with her grandkids. Awwww. 

All aboard!

Cuties. 

Goofy girls. 

Sweet face. 

Tuckered out after a weekend at Grandma's house. 

Big Parade.

There is an episode of "Oswald", one of Eloise's favorite shows about a parade. It's funny because in the episode, Oswald hears marching band music but cannot find where it's coming from, all along assuming there must be a parade happening. Well, it turns out it was just his friend listening to marching band music on a radio. Oswald and his friends at first are so disappointed there isn't a parade, but soon they just pretend to be in their own parade. Eloise loves this episode. So we were excited to take her to her very first parade on the 4th of July in Waverly. What a fun experience for her and for Justin and I to be starting some of these fun traditions for her to remember.

Waiting in line for the bounce house!

Mirabel preferred to enjoy the parade wrapped up with Mommy. 

Waiting for the candy.

Fire trucks are loud!

Daddy got her her first fire crackers, Snappers. 

Oh, life.

So my blogging has pretty much gone by the wayside. I have hundreds of photos taken since Mirabel was born that have yet to be put somewhere. Thousands of thoughts and emotions I'd love to spew out on a page but just can't find the time let alone the energy. This morning I'm sipping coffee, rocking on our front porch with Mirabel is snoozing in her bouncy seat. The only reason I'm able write this morning is because Eloise had a sleepover at her Gran's house. (God bless those grandmas a hundred times over!)

So this is life with two kiddos, huh? I am so, so blessed. Praise God from whom these blessings flow. But, wow. Life is cuh-razy! Having a second child doesn't just double the workload. I think it quadruples it, why is that? I have a little less than 5 weeks left off of work and feel I still haven't gotten into a "routine", if that is even possible. Mirabel will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. And I do feel like it's been 7 weeks. I can't say this time that, "time is going so fast!" But I am enjoying most parts about being a Mommy to Eloise and Mirabel. With a few rough weeks, Eloise has for the most part adjusted to life in a new house with a new sibling among her. Now that Mirabel is sharing smiles and reaching out for things, Eloise has been expressing her affection for her much more. Giving her kisses, telling her she loves her and my favorite is what Eloise calls "softing her" where she rubs her cheek on Mirabel's soft head. Adorbs.

So the next posts are just a hodge-podge of pictures over the past several weeks to get us somewhat caught up. Enjoy :)

Eloise loves looking at Mirabel's tiny fingers and toes. "Oh, look at her tiny hands! They so cute!" she'll say. 

Eloise helping Daddy feed Mirabel her first bottle. 

Grandpa Al meeting Mirabel.

Family picnic at the park. We've had some awesome "summer" weather here!

As if she doesn't seem grown up enough to me having a newborn around, Eloise loves to go on the big, twisty slide now!

Fantastic static hair. 

Spotted a huge bee on our trip to the Sunken Gardens. 

Eloise the Engineer. All aboard!

Mommy and Eloise fun time at the pool!

Sleeping the day away. 

A beauty. 

In love with her lips. 

Mirabel - 1 month

This little cutie turned 1 month on July 27th. 

Love, love, LOVE her. 

World, meet Mirabel...

Mirabel Olive Klemsz arrived on June 27, 2013 at 8:24pm. She weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces (the exact weight as her sister did, by the way) and was 20 inches long. A beautiful, healthy baby girl with dark hair and dark eyes. If you ask me, she does resemble her big sister, but I think she has her own look. Two beautiful and healthy daughters we've been blessed with.

Again, we chose to induce labor with Mirabel. Her due date was the 22nd and as each additional day passed, I figured we'd be doing what we had to do with Eloise and coax her out. Everything went very smoothly. Slow start but then labor moved into high gear. I didn't have to work nearly as hard with Mirabel and with just one contraction to push through, she was in my arms! Pure joy. So many things rush through your mind at that final second. Will she be healthy? Will she nurse well? What will she look like? Everything panned out well. She is perfect. Completely in love with her.

So far, life is treating us well. We were able to get settled in our new home before her arrival. Daddy has some time off of work and Grandma was able to stay with us while we got settled. A couple rough nights (can you say cluster feeding?) followed by a couple really good nights and I'm actually feeling refreshed. (Though many times I think, "What am I going to do when Justin goes back to work?!")

The first couple of times Eloise met Mirabel, she was a bit timid. A real, tiny, wiggly baby. She, being the sensitive one that she is, would get concerned when she'd hear Mirabel cry and tears for Eloise would usually follow. As we got settled back home, things have been going smoother. We've overheard Eloise call her baby sister "Honey" and "Sweetie". She loves to rub her soft head and "Awwwwww" has become a new word in her vocabulary. I wonder where she's getting that from? I'm so excited to see these two grow up together. Though I get exhausted even thinking about it. Life really is good. So many grandmas, grandpas, friends and family helping and supporting us. I can't even imagine this experience without an amazing daddy and husband. It's fun doing life with you, my dear.

So enough chit chat, here are some pictures of our newest addition. She is a keeper.