hannah banana

After a long wait, our little Hannah Banana Fofanna is here! She is the second daughter of Mike's sister Tara and her husband Rickey (aka our niece and Ainsley's cousin). After you have one kid, it's very hard to comprehend that a completely different mix of the two of you will come out the second time around, so we were all waiting with bated breath. The verdict? Her dad said it best, she looks exactly like her sister and completely different. In a weird way, it's true. I can't wait to go visit in a couple of weeks - look at those cheeks! They need to be experienced in person. There is also a stunning shock of hair under that hat - hair you could probably BRAID, it's so long. Hannah's sister Ava was (and is) such a tiny beautiful little angel baby, it's kind of cool to see that Ainsley has a Colorado doppelganger. They were almost exactly the same size at birth (um, giant), and both kind of have that intense frosty look down pat. Until Ainsley started smiling, she'd always look at us like, CAREFUL mom and dad, or I will EFF you up! Just a very intense, furrowed-brow kind of thing - even when they aren't angry or sad, just thinking hard (it's actually from Mike's mom's side of the family - called the Hofland Scowl or Tovaas Smile, depending on who you ask).

It's weird - after you have a new baby, all other new babies give you such a different feeling. Before mommyhood, new babies were obviously anticipated and exciting, but also very curious, like an exhibit in a museum. After mommyhood, new babies make you feel more like you just want to steal them for the day and snuggle, snuggle, snuggle. Yes, Ains is still a baby, but already when I try to cradle her like a newborn she squirms and kicks and stares at me like "HEY LADY! There are THINGS around to LOOK AT and POTENTIALLY STICK IN MY MOUTH! SIT ME UP NOW!!" They grow up so fast. The whole labor thing is different, too. Knowing what that's like. It's so exhausting and horrible and beautiful and way more special than you could ever know before you actually get to experience it.

So ... welcome to the world, Hannah Rae.