Happy Thanksgiving!

Love and blessings to all our family and friends across this great nation! Happy Thanksgiving!

We give thanks for the blessing of our new daughter, and the love that binds us all together.

Our family is heading over to a friends house for our first Thanksgiving feast, then Tutu and Papa Keith are driving over from Bend tomorrow, and we'll be celebrating again on Saturday! Yumm Yumm! Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday of the year!

And a quick pic for fun: While Effie was preparing the traditional Savory Chestnut Stuffing this afternoon, and entertaining Sephira with song and dance, Sephira ended up falling asleep on the floor. Look close. Where's Waldo!? I mean, Sephira?

Sephira's First Trip to Bend

Nana Cris, Grandpa Cliff, Mommy Effie and Sephira all traveled together to go see family in Bend before the bad weather set in. This was Sephira's first trip over the Santiam Pass, and she slept the whole way!!! She even slept through the family dinner! She was a tired little munch-kin. Here are a few pics from our visit.

Auntie Skye loving on Seph

Nana Cris holding Seph tight

Tutu giving Seph a squeeze!

On top of seeing family we also got to see old childhood friends of Effie and Skye's who were having their only early Thanksgiving get-together in Sunriver. Between Audree and Alesha's family members there were 8 babies all under the age of 3!!! And with Sephira and cousin Max present, that made 10! Then Audree announced she was expecting again, so all in all 11 babies were present! WOW!

L-R: Effie w/ Sephira in sling; Audree Davidson w/ Amanda; Alesha Shemwell; Skye Williams.

And look! There's Seph sleeping!

Look Who's Talking

This 3 and a half minute video captures Sephira's first attempts at imitating sounds and cooing...with her Mother! What precious moments we shared! And now we're sharing them with you!!! Enjoy!




Sephira was 9.5 weeks old.

Sephira and Her Giggle

This video is for all our beloved family and friends. In this 10 minute video, Sephira is 8 weeks old and still discovering her "social smile" and giggle! She is such a gem! May this bless your day.

All our love,
Effie, Dirk & Sephira



Filmed by Effie on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008.

Sephira's 2 Month Checkup

Sephira had her 2-month checkup today.

Dr. Hokari reports that she is a healthy, beautiful girl...which we already knew! And Sephira weighed in at 13 pounds 14 ounces (in the 97th percentile), 23 inches in length (75th percentile), and a 39 centimeter head circumference (50th percentile). Big girl!!

Today was also the start of her immunization shots. We are doing a reduced immunization schedule, so today she received her first shots for DTap (Diphtheria, Tetanus (Lockjaw), and Pertussis (Whooping Cough)), Hib (Meningitis), and her first oral dose of the Rotavirus vaccine (severe diarrhea in babies and young children).

Let's just say she didn't like the shots at all!

She was a good girl though, and didn't fuss long. Maybe 5 minutes. She fell fast asleep as soon as we left the Dr's office, until we returned home 3 hours later. She had no desire to eat, so Mommy and Sephira took another nice long nap together. Her thigh did swell a bit from the shots, and she has continued to fuss a bit during the later part of the evening...but who can blame her. Even now she's quickly back to sleep - recovering from the ordeal!

All In The Family

Who do you think Sephira looks like? Which of each of our features do you think she has? Click image to enlarge. Leave us a comment.