First Family Photo

On Father's Day weekend we went for what was our first family photo with our newest addition, and was in fact our actual first family photo ever.  Eleanor surprised me by being actually awake.  And it was entertaining seeing the photographer try to get all the girls to look at her, but we actually got quite a few good shots!  And Avo and Uncle Dave were there to jump in at the end as well.

Lillian's expression here is too funny.  She does not seem impressed.

Lillian loves to give kisses to Eleanor.  I also was remembering this week that the first time Lillian saw Eleanor she called her Princess Eleanora.  She still insists on calling her Eleanora, and occasionally princess, which I realized was because of Eleanor's middle name, Frances.  She also called her baby beluga that first day, which is one of the girls' favorite songs for me to sing to them.  It was very sweet.

We have had another busy but good week.  Audrey had summer camp in the morning, and had her first ice skating lesson.  And then I had my first attempt at taking all three of the girls to our new pool by myself!  Thankfully the coming week will start off quietly so we can save up our energy for our visit with Auntie Chrystal, Cousin Adele & Jonny and Baba and then Papa too!  We can't wait to see them.

Lillian and Audrey doing crafts at the Strawberry Festival last weekend:

Exploring nearby neighborhood Narbeth:

 Enjoying our new swimming pool membership!

Fun at the park!

Eleanor and I took a break from the sun by hiding under the playground equipment:

 Banana snack time:

 At Maya's ice skating birthday party:

Dinner on the deck for the summer solstice:

Audrey having fun with crafts at home:

Audrey has been doing really well lately.  She is being very independent and a big helper.  She is very proud of doing things on her own and helping me.  Lillian is settling down into a routine and has been a little calmer.  She is still very excited about Eleanor and wants to hold and kiss her.  Lillian and I have been enjoying some special fun time when Audrey is at camp, we've been to the library and multiple parks.  There are so many great parks in our new neighborhood.  Lillian's speech is also advancing rapidly, and we are frequently surprised at what she can say and what she knows.  

Eleanor is also doing great.  She had her one-month check up this week and she had gained 1/3 of her body weight in the first month!  She was 8lb4oz this week, and is really changing in appearance and in how long she is staying awake.  We are all very excited about seeing her first real smiles and the girls and I are enjoying trying to get her to do it.  

I'm sure we will have fun updates after our visit with family this week and the Fourth of July.  

Welcome from the Three Little Leitaos!

We have had an action packed month!


We are so excited to have welcomed Eleanor Frances to our family.  Audrey and Lillian are both wonderful big sisters and are very loving with Eleanor.  Lillian has given Eleanor several bumps already, due to her energetic nature, but thankfully has not caused any harm.

Just before Eleanor arrived - in fact 13 days before she was born - we moved into our new house!  With a lot of help from friends and family, we are already feeling quite settled and love our new home and our new neighborhood.  The neighborhood is just awesome, with a lot of families with children who love to play in the back lane every day.  It's also been great to have a yard to let the girls run around safely.

Arriving at home:

Audrey had her kindergarten graduation on Eleanor's one week birthday, but Eleanor was already used to being out and about.  We've been on the go a lot!  Audrey had a wonderful time in Kindergarten, and is looking forward to starting Kindergarten again at her new school.  We are so excited about her school - one of the big reasons that we moved.  It's a really excellent public school with so much to offer, and thankfully only four blocks away.


One week old:

We've had tons of visitors so far - all the grandparents have come.  And we are looking forward to many more visitors this summer, as well as the arrival of our au pair Mathilde from France at the end of July!

The adjustment to three girls has been surprisingly easy, thanks in part to Eleanor being very easygoing, and all of our practice over the last 3 years.

Lillian has always been very interested in her baby dolls, much more so than Audrey ever was.  She is definitely watching everything closely and has recently started to nurse her dolls!

 A more recent photo - Eleanor's starting to get some cheeks!

Watching the World Cup with Daddy:

  Out for Eleanor's first restaurant meal at one of Audrey's favorite restaurants, Cracker Barrel!:

Bedtime snuggles.  Both the big girls love to give kisses to Eleanor.

 Out for Father's Day lunch.  Eleanor was easy as usual and slept through the entire meal.

 A few photos from Eleanor's newborn photo shoot:

 And one from this week:

I can't believe the Eleanor is already 4 weeks old.  It's sad to think that I'm already 1/3 through my maternity leave, but hopefully we will pack in as many adventures as possible this summer and I will be ready as I can be to go back.

I haven't managed to find my camera cable yet, but hopefully we will unpack it soon and I won't be limited to cellphone photos.