Shea is three weeks old. That is unbelievable to me. Now that the boys are back home, I feel like we are beginning to find a rhythm (well, as much of a rhythm as you can have with a newborn!) and I'm truly (TRULY) enjoying my family. Sure, I am more than exhausted by the end of the day and am SO looking forward to D.R.'s paternity leave and the end of studying for his radiology boards (only six days to go!), but I love seeing the boys pouring over their little sister. I love seeing them romp around the living room together while I'm nursing Shea. I love the way Shea smells, how soft her newborn skin is, how much she loves being held and cuddled... and despite the fact that it was so helpful having the boys with my parents last week, I LOVE having them home.
Shea had her two-week doctor's visit last week, so here are a few of her stats. At two weeks, she weighed 7 lbs 5 oz (25th %), was 20 1/2" long (50th %) and had a head circumference of 13 7/8" (25-50th %). I need to look up that information from the boys' two-week check-up. I'd love to compare! Just like her brothers, Shea was born with Harlequin Color Change Syndrome. I'm so glad we knew what we were seeing this time around!! She actually went split-colored far more frequently than the boys did, but has seemed to out-grown it now. What an interesting phenomenon. She is slowly falling into a more regular sleep pattern, which is just lovely. She is nursing like a pro and amazes us with her ability to just sit and chill, despite the noisy nature of her big brothers. In fact, she seems happiest when Dex and Jax are nearby, keeping her company with their giggles and loud stories and songs. Somehow, she doesn't even seem to mind when they insist that they "need" her. It's adorable how they insist on holding her and cuddling her several times a day.
Anyway, I have a few more photos from the week before Shea was born... our last memories as a family of four.
For D.R.'s 31st birthday, he took us on an impromptu trip to the zoo. In all honesty, it was one of the highlights of my summer. The boys were in seventh heaven and I got to enjoy a sunny day with the three loves of my life... of course, now there's one more!
The boys' fascination with superheroes continues... Almost nightly, they insist on choosing a Batman or Spiderman to bring to bed with them... and thanks to their cousins Jake and Henry, they have the coolest jammies around!
The boys loved playing with Sis and cousin Ollie. Too bad they had to go back East!!!
Such tiny toes!
A proud Grandma and Grandpa meet Baby Shea.
Oh-so-cozy...
What a big stretch for such a little girl!
And, of course, Mimi and Granddad are also quite proud!!
Making faces at Daddy...
So content in Daddy's arms...
And who can't get enough of his little girl? Daddy!
For D.R.'s 31st birthday, he took us on an impromptu trip to the zoo. In all honesty, it was one of the highlights of my summer. The boys were in seventh heaven and I got to enjoy a sunny day with the three loves of my life... of course, now there's one more!
The boys' fascination with superheroes continues... Almost nightly, they insist on choosing a Batman or Spiderman to bring to bed with them... and thanks to their cousins Jake and Henry, they have the coolest jammies around!
The boys loved playing with Sis and cousin Ollie. Too bad they had to go back East!!!
We set up a painting table, however, the boys were too busy running around with their birthday lollipops to sit and paint!!
What a great group of friends! What lucky boys...
Dex enjoys his lollipop.
Jaxon thought it was completely necessary to have two lollipops. :)
Opening presents is so much fun!
Jaxon, showing off his sticky face at the family party.
Dexter and Auntie T, making silling faces for me...
Mimi and Dexter taking a break to read from the boys' Batman coloring book.
Dexter, showing off his three-year-old crown (Thanks, Mimi!) and Batman balloons.
The boys LOVED the attention of singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles! (You can see cute little cousin Henry sitting behind the boys.)
Cousin Ollie kept trying to corner the boys. Too funny!!!
Letting Sis and Mimi join the party...
A rare photo of D.R. and me together. See, we DO actually see each other sometimes!!
Granddad and Grandpa! Yay!
Dexter enjoys showing Daddy one of his gifts.
Ollie helps Jaxon. What a good little cousin!
Shortly before Shea was born, my friend Elisa came over for a visit. It had been ages since we'd seen each other, so it was so fun for me to re-introduce the boys to her and watch the three of them play! Below, she becomes the ideal playmate, reading Entertainment Weekly to the boys (their all-time favorite... what goofballs) and helping them climb trees!!
Jaxon-left, Dexter-right
Elisa actually took some of these photos with her phone. Amazing!
After decorating most of the boys' birthday cupcakes, we let them do a few themselves. What fun to see them get so excited about adding sprinkles!! 
Despite the fact that we occasionally have to go through major degotiations to get the boys to stop playing for bathtime, once they're in the tub, they never want to get out!!
