One Month Old!

Marin is one month old now! She seems really excited about it if you can tell from this picture. We went to doctor's on Friday and she is weighs 8lbs. 6oz. which is 2lb. and 4ozs. more than she weighed when we left the hospital. I could definitely believe it since I hold her alot (getting heavier) and feed her alot (getting hungrier). She's becoming more alert and aware of her surroundings. I know she has smiled at me a few times. She's becoming stronger and likes to look around to see what is going on. Her looks are starting to change from a newborn to an infant as she grows. The only hiccup is that the doctor recommended we make an appointment with a pediatric opthamologist because she has a hemangioma near her eye, which looks like a red tear drop. When I asked the doctor for a translation (and a spelling), she said it's a cluster of blood vessels, similar to a birthmark, that can appear after birth. The doctor's said that it commonly follows the growth pattern of the baby so it could get bigger but typically goes away after a year or so. It's mainly cosmetic but because of the location near the eye, we agreed it would be a good idea to see an opthamologist in the event that it gets bigger and impedes her vision. Overall, she is doing great!

Mr. Tim

Katie loves The Little Gym class we signed her up for. She especially likes Mr. Tim, the instructor. I think everything she does in class is to impress Mr. Tim. She talks about him ALOT when we are not at class and she reminds us often that Mr. Tim refers to her "Katie-kins." I'm not sure if Katie even realizes there are other kids in the class because Mr. Tim is the main attraction. In fairness, that is how most of the kids act. Mr. Tim is the modern day Pied Piper. It's funny to watch all the kids come in and greet him. It must be nice to be so adored. I'm beginning to think that this gym class may be one of the best and worst thing we've done. Katie loves it but she likes to practice on our furniture, her bed, outside, in the bathroom and on the hardwood floors. If she could climb up the walls and hang from the curtain rods, I think she would.

Unfortunately, The Little Gym is on vacation this week so there is no class. This is hard to expain to a 2 year old. Sorry Katie, we have to wait until next week to see Mr. Tim again.

He Still Down There?

For those of you who have heard me tell the story of Katie's Christmas morning (or her recap), you may remember her response to me telling her that Santa came and left her some gifts was "He still down there?" Once Katie saw that this tale got a good laugh, she began retelling it with a big exaggerated tone and funny face on the "He still down there!?" part. She is much more fascinated with the idea of Santa and fearful of actually seeing or (God forbid) running into him in the living room. Now we know that same reaction comes with the Easter Bunny. When I told her that the Easter Bunny had visited last Sunday, she instinctively said "He still down there?" I'm hoping that Marin's presence will make Katie less fearful of these guys. Doesn't a buddy make everything easier? And isn't the second child supposed to be the dare-devil, carefree one? There is hope that the fear of holiday visitors will subside over the years. Here are a few pictures from our Easter holiday.

Splish Splash

Marin had her first bath last week. I know how much babies hate being naked and our Marin is no exception. She is a snuggle bug and loves to be warm and cozy. It makes wanting to give her a bath as appealing as banging your head against the wall. Picture a screaming baby accompanied by sympathy moans and cries from a 2.5-year-old sister and a 6-year-old yellow lab. Fortunately, we were given a reassuring tip while at the hospital. The nurse said that when they have a fussy baby in the nursery that they wash their face and head and it calms them down. Since they said sponge baths are fine for now, we washed Marin in the sink while Katie took her shower. She doesn't really shower. She takes a bath and we run the water while she gets in. I guess shower has more cache than bath in Katie's world. I wouldn't say that Marin was too upset when we got her undressed but, I have to admit, the face and head washing really did soothe her. She was calm yet very alert while we sat in the bathroom and finished up Katie's shower.