Our first two weeks as four

Our first two weeks with our newest addition Lucia

and our little boy

have been a whirlwind of family, friends, sleepless nights, baby and toddler cuddle sessions and recalling Dr. Karp's baby soothing techniques (swaddle, side, shhh, swing, suck).  We are finding ourselves happily exhausted while soaking in Lucia's first smiles, Harrison's curiosity with his sister and fleeting moments of calm.

We have been blessed with several visits from friends and family, in addition to the amazing support of my Mom who stayed with us for the first few weeks.  Thank you Gigi for the extra love, play dates with Harrison, great food, and the countless things you did to help ease the transition from 3 to 4.

Our lovely friend Kacie and her adorable daughter Gwyneth flew down just after Lucia was born to share in the celebration and capture some precious first moments together as a family.  Kacie not only took a slew of photos,

but cooked up deliciously, healthy enchiladas and helped out with everything from grocery shopping, to entertaining Harrison and waiting on me :).  Thanks Kacie!

We were also graced with the presence of Andy's Mom who flew in for the weekend to welcome Lucia into the family.  Harrison loved his snuggles with Nana and Lucia was really excited to meet another member of the family.  It was so wonderful to have both Mom's here to share in our excitement!

Harrison continued to amaze us with his acrobatic skills (here practicing a bit of trick riding) and developments in language.  I find it fascinating to be a part of Harrison's process as new communication skills emerge, and within the past several weeks he has started linking two words together...our favorite thus far being "big poo!" which we fortunately caught on video.  Other favorites are "baby Lulu",  "big truck", " Mama sit" and "throw ball".

Our first outing as a family, aside from visits to the doctor, took the form of a breakfast stop at Swammy's

for the much loved acai bowl.  This delicious frozen concoction of acai berries, soy milk, granola, fresh fruit and bee pollen tops my list of crave able delights perfect for any time of day.

Harrison enjoyed the adventure...sitting outside watching birds fly overhead and turning his face into a canvas just begging of a photo.

Plenty of laughs were had....

especially as Uncle Gump (aka Jeff ) joined us during a respite from his job in the mountains to make the outing that much merrier.  

We loved having Jeff here to share in our joy, and Harrison soaked in every minute with Uncle Gump...from playing with "big trucks" to being pulled around in the wagon, little H couldn't get enough.

Although it's a process of adjustment for all of us in finding the best way to juggle two little ones, the extra love afforded is so incredible.  

Harrison has really taken to baby Lulu as he calls her, and loves to hold her hand and enjoys having another friend in the backseat on car trips to the beach.  

Little H has also been rather helpful around the house, especially when it comes to taking care of the dog's water bowl.  Apparently he thinks it is far better suited as a personal bathtub for toddlers than as a drinking bowl for dogs.

Throughout the remainder of our first weeks together, we tried to spend as much time goofing around and relaxing as possible.  From blanket forts,

to silly family moments, 

and more long board lessons,

this has been such a treasured time.

And thanks to much inspiration from my Mom's new, incredible camera (the Canon Rebel digital SLR), I couldn't resist throwing in a few more shots of Lucia at two weeks...