Apple Hill Orchards

With the fall season upon us, the Sacramento family ventured out of our little boroughs into a much hyped area north of Sacramento, Apple Hill. There we could do a number of outdoor activities from apple picking, hay rides, pumpkin patches and phenomenal picnic areas serving a number of delightful goodies.

Astrid and the girls had an amazing time rolling down the hill together, checking out the corn maze, basking in the October sun. We brought a fantastic spread and sipped on wine while oohing and ahhing at all the serene nature around us. It was a perfect family retreat and we're sure to be back next year, if not sooner!

Little Big Sister

Astrid has been our family star for close to two years now. She gets spoiled by Mom and Dad with affection and our entire attention and is our near constant companion. We weren't sure how she would respond with the arrival of little Stella, but we prepared for the worst and hoped she would tolerate the new addition. We did our best to tell her who was coming and the role of Big Sister she would soon occupy. We got the big sister themed books, the game of kiss the belly and a present for her when she met her little lifelong friend. Now 5 weeks into Stella's arrival, she's exceeded our greatest expectations and has impressed us with her willingness to care for and love her little sister.

When Stella needs a diaper change, Astrid fetches us a fresh one and disposes of the dirty one. When Stella doesn't have a blanket on her, she grabs any available square like item from a tissue, a burp cloth or her actual blanket and drapes it delicately over her. When Stella cries from the other room, Astrid usually runs into the room to see what's the matter. When Mom or Dad are holding Stella, she usually snuggles up close by and gently pats Stella's head (or sometimes whacks in her the back as whether she needs to burp or not. And last, but not all, just before bedtime, Astrid gives a little kiss to her forehead, a gentle stroke of the head and in her own little language tells Stella that she'll be alright and big sister is looking out for her.

Every now and then, while Jen is usually breastfeeding, Astrid will cry at the thought of having to share attention from Mom, a normal toddler streak of jealousy, but that has subsided quite a bit in recent weeks. All in all, Astrid has been far and away more mature, kind and loving than we thought possible.

It's truly beautiful to see the lifelong sisterly bond form new connections every day into the love that will carry with them the rest of their lives. We can only hope the trend continues as Stella learns to crawl into Astrid's toy bins, closet, diary and so much more in the years to come.

Stella - 5 Weeks Old

With many a new baby, there are the sleepless nights, the havoc on your daily routine, the million little decisions that need an answer and of course a gorgeous sweet thing that makes it all worthwhile.

And then we were four

Our little family of Jen, Astrid, and I is my favorite thing about waking up these mornings. Astrid gets up quite early and we'll scoop her out of her crib and into bed with us. She'll tumble around and crawl over Loulou, or sometimes she'll bring a doll under the covers and play the game of putting the parents to sleep by whispering "Down" and placing a blanket over our chest.

Then it's on to breakfast, where a hungry toddler happily eats her morning mix of eggs, fruit and dairy. After breakfast, it's time for "school" and Astrid hurries to get her clothes and shoes on, before hanging on the doorknob to partake in her favorite game of opening all the doors and gates to get to her carseat. A few hours of daycare later and she's ecstatic to see us at the pickup gate, lunging at us with a running hug, where we'll maybe go for a quick dip at the kiddie pool or hit the slides at the park nearby before heading home for dinner.

Our almost two year old

At dinner, she babbles excitedly about her day, pausing to laugh at the best parts while Jen and I ask for more stories and listen intently. Sticky and crunchy from the day, she rushes to the bathtub as soon as she hears the water start. Doing the butterfly stroke across the porcelain and dumping half the water out of the tub, she lets us know when she's ready to get out and run the naked baby marathon around the kitchen and living room, or if she's exhausted and can barely keep her eyes open for a few bedtime stories. Either way, she's always sure to give Mommy, Daddy and Loulou a little bedtime kiss while clutching her teddy and water sippy cup.

It's these parenting routines that run like clockwork, but change in slight ways as she grows from infant to voracious baby to inquisitive toddler to fearless two year old, no matter where we are in the world.

Over the course of two years we became a tight knit unit of three through all of these places and patterns. Those memories will always be special and we'll forge a million more with the introduction of Stella Malin Steene-Connolly!

Born on August 29th at approximately 8:30 am, we welcomed an adorable, hefty little baby, weighing in at 9lbs 6ounces (sorry Jen!). The delivery went incredibly smooth and mother and baby are perfectly healthy, albeit sore and exhausted.

Moments after delivery

We had a hard time choosing a name, since we had a lot of ones that we loved and wanted to wait until we met the little lady. Stella, derived from the Greek origin for "star", was a perfect match to our little Astrid, also derived from "star" in a different language. We imagined ourselves having to say Astrid & Stella together repeatedly for the rest of our lives and we thought they sounded like quite the dynamic duo already. They'll be our little constellation of bright, fierce and probably pretty big superstars in the years to come. Malin is my godmother who officiated Jen and I's wedding in Paros in 2014 and holds a special place in all our hearts.

We'll look back on the days of when we were three, but we could not be more excited to see what happens with Stella in the mix.

A little jetlagged from that trip

Astrid and the Aunties came to visit the next day and fawned over the latest addition to the family. Astrid came rocking her big sister shirt and some gifts. She gave Stella a little teddy bear and a kiss on the forehead. Something tells me they are going to get along just fine.

Aunt Mimi getting weepy with another niece to spoil and love forever

Astrid giving Stella her little teddy bear

A full face of baby

Aunt Julie looooves her babies and seems to approve

We've had a lovely few days in the hospital taking our time to recover and do the dozens of health checkups that follow in the coming days. Meanwhile, Astrid is having sleepovers with her Aunt Mimi, Julie and her incredible cousins. She couldn't be happier over there, but we assume she wants to see us too, maybe.. someday? Ice cream and dancing til your heart's content? Kinda heard to beat!

Being "haa-ed" on by Zoe while getting ice cream

Big Kid Checking In

Astrid had her 18 months check up today. Weighing in at 28.5 pounds and a reach of 35" inches, Astrid Steene-Connolly is competing in the toddler heavyweight group. For kids her age, she places in the 99.5 percentile for her height and 96.7 percentile for her weight.

The doctor estimates that she'll likely be 6' or taller after puberty. Being the tallest girl in the class isn't always easy at the middle school dance and has Mom getting some flashbacks of being the early bloomer, but I hope she'll carry herself with grace and joy, because Daddy thinks she's going to be a rockstar one day, or at least someone who can see over the crowd easily.

PS: Sorry for the double chin photo beautiful.