Gwen's Turn to Wear "The Hat"

Two years ago, we posted a photo of a Morgan sitting on our leather chair wearing an orange outfit and her yellow sun hat. When Ariella put Gwen in the same orange outfit the other day, we were amazed at how much our two girls look alike at this age.

Here's the proof:

(Just in case you're confused, Gwen is the photo on the bottom. Morgan is the photo on the top.)

Time Flies

A week ago, Andy thought, "Whoa... I can't believe I've got another whole week of paternity leave before I have to go back to work!" As of tonight, he's thinking, "Whoa... where the heck did my two weeks go!?!"

Needless to say, the two weeks have gone by fast. But, luckily, it's given us time to introduce Gwen to her family (both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins), time for us to watch her develop (she's becoming more alert every day, and she's starting to hold her head up by herself), and time to watch Morgan show everyone what an amazing big sister she'll be.

It's hard to believe that Gwen will be one month old on Thursday. Time flies.

Here are some more photos from our whirlwind couple weeks...

And, while we're on the topic of "time flies", check out the photos below. For the past two summers, we've taken a photo of the Saucier/Coleman cousins on the dock at the Lake. This year, we had to move the photo shoot to our front porch. But the change in location can't hide the fact that they're all growing up so fast.

Monkey-Face Cookies: the Next Generation

25 years ago, a young Brownie scout named Ariella Sakraida became a media sensation in the Asbury Park Press by taking a traditional molasses cookie recipe, adding some raisins for eyes and a mouth, and re-naming them "Monkey-Face" cookies. Her creation took top prize in the notoriously competitive Brownie Scout division.

Last weekend, another fresh-faced, aspiring chef from New Jersey took her first stab at her Mom's championship dish.

Morgan took some creative license with the raisins when making her faces. But, according to head cookie judge -- and belated birthday boy -- P-Pa (Andys' Dad), the cookies were a delicious success.

Earth to Belly Button: We've lost contact

After nearly 3 weeks, Gwen finally jettisoned the remnants of her umbilical cord this weekend. (Thanks for getting us this far, umbilical cord, we'll take it from here.)

Because of a small hernia above her navel, Gwen is now sporting a classic "outie". Although, our doctors tell us that as the hernia heals itself, there's a good chance Gwen's belly button will go from outie to innie.

(Before)

(After)

Odds & Gwens

It's been a busy couple of weeks here at the Saucier household. So much so, in fact, that we haven't had a chance to post any pictures of Gwen since she came home from the hospital. (No, this isn't a case of "2nd child gets ignored". If you want proof, just look at how many photos there are below... there's almost a dozen. See? We're really busy.)

Hectic schedules aside, the first few weeks as a family of four have been great. At night, Gwen is sleeping 2-3 hours at a time, so Ariella and Andy have both been able to get some rest.

Gwen guzzles formula like it's her job. At her 1-week pediatrician appointment, she weighed 8 lbs, 10 oz -- up 6 ounces in her first week. By now, we figure she's close to 9 pounds.

Here's a rundown and photos of what's been going on...

First Bath:

Meeting the Family:

Nanna (Sheila) and P-Pa (Joe) visited for the first 2 weeks of Gwen's post-partum existence. And Aunt Aimee, Uncle Russ also made a hop down the Jersey Turnpike to meet their new little niece. Throw in a couple visits with the Fricke clan, and Gwen already has a whole bunch of potential friends for whenever she decides to sign up for Facebook.

Tummy Time:

Just like her big sister, Gwen is taking to tummy time like a fish takes to water. She's starting to get the hang of picking her head up, and seems to like seeing things from a vertical point of view. (Of course, she can still only see about 18 inches. But that's beside the point.)

Learning the Ropes from Big Sister:

Morgan has been a huge help with Gwen. She shows Gwen her toys and sings songs for her. She likes to give Gwen hugs, or pat her on the head. And she's always there with a soothing binky whenever Gwen needs to "take the edge off".

Take a little off the back, please

Morgan finally went for her first haircut this morning. After carefully weighing her options, she ultimately decided the giant green frog was the best seat in the house.

While Gwen watched from her car seat on the floor (okay, technically she slept through this whole event), the hair stylist wet Morgan's hair. (Before the stylist had even made the first clip, Morgan declared "I want a lollipop".) Five minutes later, Morgan's hair was 2-3 inches shorter. It's not a huge difference -- but, for the first time since she was bald, it's all the same length.

After a couple of quick photos with Mom, Morgan got her First Haircut Certificate and checked out her new look in the mirror. (And, yes, she finally got her lollipop.)

5 Years Ago

With all the baby business we've been up to lately, we almost forgot that Friday marked our 5th anniversary. So we now interrupt this baby blog with a quick flashback to July 30, 2005.

For our wedding, Syracuse graced our guests with great weather and scenery --along with a heavy dose of college nostalgia, a mountain of Dinosaur BBQ, and a beautiful reception at Belhurst Castle on Seneca Lake.

More important, our wedding set in motion a chain of events that, over the last five years, has brought us new jobs, a new city, a new home and -- best of all -- two new little people to share our lives with. (Not a bad start for 5 years, eh?)