Finley Claire

Before Finley was born, I couldn't imagine what she would be like, what she would look like, how she would smile and interact with our family. I only knew Charlotte and she was my baby. She was what was familiar. Charlotte and I are so close, that I didn't really know how this new little person would effect our relationship and our family. It has been such an adventure and such a neat experience to witness the world through little fin's eyes. She is so different from Charlotte. She is truly her own person. But at the core, they share such similarities. It reminds me of that poem by e.e. cummings. The seed of the seed and the root of the root. These two sweet girls will have each other forever and I am so grateful for that.

Finley is a calm and peaceful child. She smiles ALL the time and just this past weekend started to laugh. She is sweet. She loves to be massaged with apricot oil and hugged and held, which is a good thing b/c I never want to put her down. Her favorite person to look at is Charlotte.

Sleepy baby after yoga class with Mommy. I cherish this time together. Not so much a workout, but really great bonding/alone time with Fin. She seems to always be so relaxed at the end of class that she falls asleep.
2 month check-up with Dr. Treybig. Finley is already 9 lbs. 7 oz! She loves to eat and she is growing so fast.

Happy girl.

Always smiling.

Cuddling with Mom after yucky shots at the pedi.

Charlotte's First Haircut

So excited for our first haircut...it actually made C's hair curlier. She's now starting to have curly Shirley Temple hair and Mommy's jealous!

Ms. Margo at the Hair's Liar in Austin has been cutting hair for 30 years. It is a really special place. Charlotte loved sitting in her big chair and wearing her pink puppy apron. She needed to hold Mommy's hand, though, just to make sure that this lady with the spray bottle was okay.
After her haircut, Charlotte got to pick out a lolly from the special candy treasure chest.

Finley cried the whole time, so Daddy was a little distracted. Charlotte was so proud of her haircut. We ate lunch together as a family at Santa Rita afterwards.

Gigi's Beach House

We took the girls to Mustang Island for the fourth of July. Gigi bought a townhouse there in the fall and we've been excited to try it out! The girls really enjoyed it. Charlotte was a little freaked out by the waves - she kept thinking that they were going to get her. To her credit, it was a really windy weekend and the waves were HUGE. She's played at the beach many times in both Turks & Caicos and Hawaii, but the Texas beach just wasn't the same. We are really lucky to have such a fun place to visit so close to our house. It was only a 3 hour drive and both girls slept for 2 of the 3 hours. So, we got to listen to something besides the Music Together cd.!

Getting burried in the sand....afraid the waves were going to come and take her sharks away (read here: her most valuable possessions).
Finnie-Pie in her first swim suit.

Eating ice cream at Scoopy's on the pier, watching the sunset.

Playing frisbee at Gigi's pool.

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Bonnie Visit Texas

Eating a yummy brunch in Dallas.
Riding the carousel at the Dallas Zoo.

A hot summer day at the Dallas Zoo. Yeah for lemonade and shady spots!

Charlotte (and Finley) LOVED spending time with their grandparents. C asks to see them every day. We miss you guys!!

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit from Virginia. It was a really special trip. Grandpa Dave came early and was able to help out at Austin Dance Company's annual recital. It was a big show with over 800 people in the audience and Grandpa Dave sold tickets and helped out with whatever was needed. It was a huge success! We also went to Dallas to the zoo and the aquarium. The girls had so much fun with their grandparents.

Birth of Finley Claire

Sweet baby Finley. Born Friday, May 8th at 1:01 pm at Seton Southwest hospital. She was 19.5 inches long and had a head full of long, black hair. The old wive's tale about heartburn was true! Here is mommy holding her precioius girl for the first time - just minutes old!
Charlotte climbing into Mommy's hospital bed. She was a little freaked out by the fact that Mommy was way up high in a 'big girl bed' and not able to come out. Gigi explained to her that Mommy had a very big boo-boo and she still asks me, "Mommy - you all better?" Here Gigi is tickling C's feet and playing piggies.

Meeting Fin for the first time in the operating room. It was a wonderful, peaceful birth - just as we had been hoping and praying for all these months! They even played music for us - it really felt like a fun BIRTH day party. We were so happy to meet Fin. I even said that I would have 10 babies if the births could be like this - such a cakewalk! Nothing at all like C's traumatic birth. We were so surprised b/c she didn't look like Charlotte at all - TONS of black hair! Mommy is so excited that she'll get to use her stash of hair bows.

Hugs with my doula, Shelley, before heading down to the operating room. I was supposed to have the baby at 7:30 am, but Dr. Schneider had a scheduling conflict at the last minute. So, we waited and waited and finally at 12:30 pm we got to start things. During the down time, Shelley rubbed my feet with lavendar oil; we listened to Norah Jones and we both took naps. When we woke up, it was time for one more round of antibiotics and then baby time!

Mommy and Daddy on the way to the hospital - 4:30 am! We were excited to meet our little girl.

Hi Sweet Family and Friends,

I realize that it has been soooo long since my last blog - 2 months to be exact! I don't think its a coincidence that Finley is 2 months old now. The past 10 weeks have been magical in the Milam household. It has been a peaceful and relaxing adjustment to a family of four. I have often thought of snapping photos and blogging, but the moments seem to come and go so quickly that I find myself just living in the moment - enjoying the little interactions and sweet memories. I have spent the majority of the past 2 months simply looking into the eyes of my sweet girls. I am overwhelmed by these precious blessings. Hope you will enjoy the photos of some of our recent adventures.