So we are officially about a month in as a family of four! Life with two under two has been going surprisingly well…maybe that’s because both Mike and I are on leave and because online shopping makes everything just a little bit easier…or because my parents have been here the majority of that first month…or because we have amazing friends and family who have made us meals, babysat, and brought us coffee and special treats?? Whatever the reasons, I’ll take them!

This month has been a blur of adorable baby snuggles, rambunctious toddler playtime, middle of the night feedings (followed by racing to get said rambunctious toddler to daycare by 9 am–when they serve breakfast), then online Christmas shopping, folding laundry, and cleaning up. I swear I drop off Caroline, feed Vivi, blink, and it’s time to pick up Caroline again. Where does the day go?

Honestly, much of it is spent with this little lady:

Because when you are that cute, who can help but gaze at you all day?

Vivienne’s first week home:

• She wore newborn clothes and newborn diapers
• Her first two nights sleeping were treacherous. Mike and I quickly figured out she needed to be swaddled arms out and that she was chilly, so we put a gown over her. Voila! Now she’s been sleeping in 3-4 hour stretches and wakes up only to eat.
• She slept allll day. And she doesn’t make a peep! We forgot all the time where we laid her down.
• Presents from friends and family came pouring in.

Here she is, three days old:

We had a special delivery come to our house:

Thank you Uncle Ed and Aunt Susan!

I bought Vivi her first brand new clothing item at Target, along with some wine of course:

How’s that for party pants?? They were so adorable that I went back and bought them in the next size up.

During week two, my parents arrived!

• Vivi outgrew newborn clothes and diapers and moved to size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes.
• She had a great 2 week checkup and weighed in at 9 lbs on the dot.
• We enjoyed the week with my parents, who loved meeting and snuggling Miss Vivi!

Vivi got lots of snuggles from her Big Sister Caroline!

Vivienne got to meet Eliza, her future best friend! I can’t believe Joy and I have little girls only 5 months apart.

We ventured out into the cold, to the awesome playground Chessie’s Big Backyard, so that Vivi could try out her new winter hat.

Vivi and I wrote a LOT of thank you notes. We have the nicest friends and family!

Vivi got her first at-home bath…in the kitchen sink! She screamed but I think she secretly liked it. Afterwards, she slept for hours and hours…

During week three:

• Vivi went out to lunch with mommy and daddy and ran errands to Home Depot, Home Goods, and Costco.
• She got her newborn photo shoot done.

Just look at these great shots, including one of her in a Santa suit I picked up at H&M in July for a steal!

During week four:

• Vivi stayed home for the first time without Mommy or Daddy and had her first “necessary” bottle with Meg while we went to the Carbon Leaf concert for my birthday!
• Vivi got to meet Aunt Carole!

Vivi slept through (most of) Mommy’s surprise birthday party that Daddy planned:

Vivi got to snuggle on my chest for all of Love Actually.

Vivi snuggled up in her rock n’ play with the cutest little sleepy door mouse face.

Here is a snapshot of Vivienne at 1 month:

• She is just the sweetest.
• She sleeps like a dreamboat.
• She is an excellent nurser. She eats every 3-4 hours all day and night.
• Her eyes stay closed for 23 hours a day. From what we can tell, they are a deep blue.
• She has long fingers and long skinny legs.
• She has lighter eyebrows than Caroline had but the same dark hair that’s incredibly fluffy when first washed. We both think she looks a lot like Caroline when she was born.
• She makes Daddy crazy with all the baby dinosaur noises she makes at night. He even set up a monitor to watch her to make sure she was okay.

Happy one month, Vivi Kate!