God bless MARIE!

Marin had her two month doctor's appointment last week. She's tipping the scales at 10lbs and 1oz. and is 22 inches long. The doctor discovered a heart murmur but was confident that it would resolve itself as her blood vessels developed and matured. One side of her head is a little flat. We think it's because she clearly favor one side when she sleeps on her back. Now we make her sleep on her side most of the time. The doctor said that should help fix it. She also feels that her birthmark won't grow too much bigger than it is now. All in all, a good appointment. She's been chatting up a storm lately. She responds to your voice and it's fun to see her little personality come through. She also managed to roll onto her side the other day. Look out! Only a matter of time before she makes it onto the belly.

Last weekend, we had Marin baptized. When we went up to the baptismal font, the Deacon started referring to her as Marie. Just as he was going to anointed her, I leaned in and corrected him. Awkward! My favorite Katie quote from church was "Look at all the Ts!" meaning the crosses and crucifixes in the missilette. Also, when she said priest it sounded like police which made her questions sound funny: What is the police doing? Where is the police going?

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We celebrated our niece Ella's 4th birthday on Saturday. Her grandmother brought sunglasses for the kids!

The Herolds came over on Sunday. It was great to have a few beers with some good company. Remy was nice enough to personalize some flip flops for Katie. It's hard to find Katie without these now. She really wanted some and I hadn't gotten around to picking up a pair. She's still getting used to wearing them so she shuffles along like and old lady.

Katie and I went to the Memorial Day Parade on Monday. She clapped as the veterens and current servicemen and women marched by. I was very proud. I was also very proud of my cousin Steve. He is president of the Massachusetts Military Heros Fund and the organization planted 20,000 flags in honor of the Mass residents that have died in service to their country since World War I. He also had many columns placed in newspapers around the state asking people to reclaim Memorial Day by taking the time to remember why the holiday was establish - to remember those who died for our country and its citizens. Marin may be taking after her father. I may have a future sailor on my hands...

Dr. W and More

Yikes, it's been a few weeks so let me try and catch up on a few things... Dr. W We saw Dr. Weisberg who is Marin's opthamologist (eye doctor) on May 3rd . He came recommended to us by her pediatrician regarding the hemangioma near her eye. He was great. Chad and I really liked him. He gave her a comprehensive workup with photos, measurements and an exam which included dilating her pupils. Hello bug eyes! We were there for a couple hours but Marin was a trouper. We all agreed that at this point we should just observe it and come back in 6 weeks for a follow up. I have a feeling that since its benign and almost always goes away in time, we won't be doing anything but it made me feel better that Dr. W had a baseline evaluation and got an early look so that he can compare it in the future. I even liked how he would dictate notes to his assistant in these complex terms all while gently rubbing the bottom of Marin's feet. All-in-all, it was worth the $20 co-pay. Mother's Day I had a great mother's day this year. We went out to breakfast with Grammie and then relaxed at home. My favorite part was when I was tucking Katie in for bed and thanked her for the great mother's day. I said that I loved being her mom. She said "I just love you being my mom." That was better than any gift. But don't get me wrong. I will be enjoying my new radio/CD/iPod/iPhone player and UV filter for my camera lens. Here are my two lovely ladies. K-A-T-I-E Oh! and Katie can now spell her name. I'm so proud! I'm sure it's more memorization but it still impressed me. And she can spell MARYLAND too. Go Terps! Fear the Turtle!

Life is a Highway...

...where is the next exit? Katie's love for the movie Cars has now leaped into the music genre. So much so that I created her own playlist on our computer so that I can put it on and hit repeat. "Life is a Highway" is the favorite song and it's constantly played in our house which is making me wish that my car would drive off that highway and into a ditch. As much as I'm sick of this song (and some others), I see the pure joy on on her face when it comes on and that makes it a little easier to endure. We've managed to integrate a few more songs to the playlist including Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z and John Denver. Some of these were iTunes downloads and some Auntie Mary contributed...um, thanks Mary. She was singing a song all weekend that we finally realized was a Lady Gaga song. I couldn't figure out were she was hearing these songs since our time in the car is minimal and that's usually when we listn to the radio. Last week, when I picked her up at daycare, one of the kids was performing Beyonce's "Single Ladies." Mystery solved. Here is Katie dress as part of Lightning McQueen's pit crew. Life is a Highway!

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.