Meeting Baby Cousin Arianna

We headed up on Friday evening to go meet our gorgeous little niece. It's a 7 hour drive to get there from our home, so we ate dinner and headed out. The girls did okay for the beginning of the trip, but Kara screamed through most of the gorge. She had just fallen asleep when we stopped for a potty break and to get gas. Then Jana started yelling around 10:30 because she wanted to go to sleep, but not in the car seat, and every time she yelled, Kara screamed again. We ended up playing their lullaby on repeat for the rest of the trip - too scared to turn it off after we got them to sleep.

Despite arriving and getting the girls to bed around 1:45 am, Kara was up and ready to go at 7 am. She was all smiles though.


And here is our gorgeous new addition to the family, "Baby Cousin Arianna" (as Jana calls her).


Uncle Dave and Jenny, who were once convinced that they hated kids, had a wonderful time snuggling with Ari.

We talked up the visit with Jana for days, so she was so excited to see Uncle Patrick, Auntie Sarah, and Arianna. She was so excited, that she insisted on giving Ari some love. She is, actually, giving Ari a very gentle hug.

I even got a chance to give Ari some snuggles. She's such a beautiful little baby and was giving me these wide-eyed stares.

Jana was such a good sport! We hung out at Pat and Sarah's, which provided little space to run around. While she had a great time entertaining everyone, we were able a quiet her down during Ari's naps with a little Dora or Diego.

Jana hasn't ever really been in to dolls or any of that. She was too young when Kara was born to pick up the "mothering", but after spending most of the day around Arianna, she succumbed to that instinct and decided that Arianna's bear needed clean pants. It was one of the cutest things I've seen her do, but she insisted on putting a clean diaper on the bear and dressing her up.

While Jana was entertaining us all, Kara happily got snuggles from everyone. Here she is hanging out with Uncle Dave. She was so funny. She wiggled her way down into this position and was having a wonderful time kicking her feet in the air and giving Dave smiles.

And then Kara hung out with Jenny and gave everyone great, big smiles.

And finally, it was time to go back to Sarah's parents' house for some sleepies. Jana insisted on carrying her own backpack (which she now calls her "Rescue Pack") full of toys to the car.



After a good night's sleep, we were back at Patrick and Sarah's to spend more time with the new family. Jana was such a champ for all the moving around - she was tired, under-exercised and so far off her schedule. However, she so loved little Arianna and kept wanting to be close to her and give her love.


Jana and I went on a long walk, to help her burn some energy and to let the noise of the house come down a bit. We then decided that it would be a great idea for Gapa, Daddy, Dave, and Jenny to take Jana to the park to play. It was a bit on the cold side and everything was a bit wet after the brief snow storm. They tried to put a towel under her bum to keep her dry, but it didn't work.


Jana enjoying the swings with Jenny.


And the bouncy toy with Daddy and Jenny.
And she contemplated the big slide with Uncle Dave.


In the end, the warm car, her quilt, and Daddy-bear combined to make the warmest ride of the day.

During our girls' nap times, Daddy got some cuddle time with his niece.


Once everyone was up again, it was time for the proud Grandparents to pose for some pictures with their lot of granddaughters.

And finally, here is one of my favorite pictures. After the pictures, Kara suddenly became very aware of her baby cousin. She was so interested in Ari. She pointed at her, reached over and patted her, and studied her little face. It was such a sweet moment.