Special Treatment

Rhea has been working on her skills picked up a from her grandmother Judi.

Rhea - a flightless bird?

Mid-morning Lullaby.

Training for 2028

At this point it's really just pure fun to run in the breeze. Not doing it in the house every 30 seconds is the hard part. Jumping on the bed also might one day be an olympic sport - and one that she might actually medal in, if we maintain the current levels of training.

Pretend Paint

This made me think that it's time to try introducing water colors for the first time. I think we need to step back and actually try finger painting too as a matter of fact. So much to discover.

Toes and Smiles

Here is little sister with cousin Lorelei who is always around to lend a helping hand.

Sun Spot.

Try explaining the rotation of the earth to a two year old. Another great kite flying session at the seawall with Miss Taylor Marie.

Almost Comfortable.

Rhea can only be described as the model big sister. She is not expected to hold Hailey on her own but can manage it long enough for a quick picture.

Her attention and care for baby is something special to see. Lots of singing, gentle touches, and comforting words.

Moments of Magic

Middle Names

Once again, thanks Rhea, for lending space on this page so your distant relatives and friends can also stay in touch with your baby sister:

Hailey Joanna Amara

Joanna - after her Grandmother Joanie and Amara - after her Grandfather Ammar on the other side.

Rhea was able to speak to her Grandma overseas from the taxi on the way to register the birth of Hailey, just before the names were inked into the official form at Mercy.

Solo Artist

This is pure RTMT.

Collaboration.

Working in partnership with her big cousin Lorelei and her dad on this one. The new crayons and sketch pad are a big hit.

My baby sister

All pride, tlc, and tender kisses so far. A little baby acting on the side but so far doing really well with the new role.

Three ladies

Self Explanatory.

Sisters Meet.

Amazing experience for all. Lots of giggles and excitement - followed by an attention shift to the shiny helium balloon.

Thank you for the overwhelming amount of emails, calls, visits, messages, and #mentions from friends and family. We hope to get back to all of you soon.

Feeding Frenzy

Almost 24 hours old and already firing on all cylinders. We've seen a long list of firsts already.

Two highlights:
- woke (for the tenth time) this morning to some sweet serenadeing from a house wren just outside our window on a section of scaffolding

- our third dirty diaper in less than a day.

- her big shiny blue-ish dark grey eyes.

- three smiles that she served up only for Mother in a private moment together.

- basically she is a miracle.

Well that's more than two but we gotta run for a bath.

Thank you Rhea for being such a patient and understanding big sister and for letting us use your blog.