Sleeping Beauty

Marin has discovered that she can roll over onto her stomach in her crib and that seems to make all the difference in the world. I knew she preferred her side to her back but now that she can roll over with some control (not flailing around or having her arm get lodged underneath her), she sleeps longer and doesn't wake up as much at night. Every doctor, hospital and baby book says "Back is Best." Even her sleep sacks have them embroidered on the front to remind parents to put the babies on their back. Too bad Marin can't read yet. Now when we put her down on her back, she winds up and flips over onto her belly. How can I blame the kid? I do the same thing. My pregnancies were killer since I'm a tummy sleeper. Marin seems to be a better night sleeper than a napper at this point but we are still holding out hope. She naps fine at daycare. I think they put a magic spell on her there to get her to nap! Here is the little face that greets us when we walk in the room.

Four Months Old

Marin is now four months old! I took her to the doctor last week and she weighs 13 lbs 7oz and 25 inches tall. She did a great job and showed off all of her baby skills to Dr. Cleary. She was vocal, rolled over, did some tummy time and was very cooperative during the exam. The doctor said she no longer detected the heart murmur she heard last time. Nice job Marin!

The weekend before Marin’s appointment, we went down to the Cape again. Katie left a few days early and got to have a special sleepover with Nana and Papa.Chad, Marin and I came down on Saturday morning. They went to the beach, had pizza and went out for lunch. At lunch, Katie spotted a "very scary" mime which was the talk of the weekend. I don't know if it was the white face or the fact that he didn't speak but she was still talking about it when we arrived. Very traumatic!

Mid-day we headed to the South Cape Estates Association's Annual Picnic. It was a beautiful day. They had the picnic near the dock which provided a nice, cool breeze. It was nice to meet all of Nana and Papa’s neighbors. Then we were off to Jack’s 6th birthday party. Jack is my friend Sheryl’s son. Sheryl and I went to UNH together and now she lives near Nana and Papa. There was a huge bouncy house, ice cream and cupcakes. Katie was in heaven. She is now telling people that she's having a “UGE” bouncy house for her birthday. Since I was already planning on having a very small come-by-for-cake-after-dinner party this may be something of a pickle.

After that, we went back to Nana and Papa’s to recover from the day but Katie wanted to head back to the swing set which is right near the dock where the second wind of the picnic was in full swing. The weather was perfect and although our visit wasn’t long, it was a gorgeous, long, summer day.

Rolling along...

Marin rolled over for the first time on Friday. She also discovered her feet and toes! She seems pretty psyched about it. It take a lot of concentration as you can tell from her expression.

We Love the Beach!

We headed to the Cape for 4th of July weekend and had a very relaxing time. It’s always helpful with Nana and Papa around to give me and Chad an extra set of hands. Chad headed down with the girls on Friday morning and I came down Friday night with Abby. We both managed to avoid traffic which is an art form when driving to the Cape, especially when you try and time your travels during naps. Katie hit the beach for the first time this year. She is definitely a beach baby! She went with Nana on Saturday and with me and Chad on Sunday. Marin stayed home. I’m not taking any chances with the fair skin that runs in this family! The weather was great and we really enjoyed it. In spite of the fact that I recently took 3 months off of work, I really NEEDED the long weekend. Another great thing about the Cape this time of year- Hydrangeas! Too bad I killed the hydrangea bush in our back yard. I'm sure these would look great on Cedar Street. This past weekend, Katie and I went to Ogunquit to visit with Diane and Jake who flew all the way from California for a vacation in Maine. It was kind of a wet weekend but we were able to enjoy ourselves. Katie said “I had a real good time, Mom” as we were leaving Ogunquit. Diane and I were exhausted by the end of the weekend chasing around two toddlers. We went to Moody Beach on Saturday morning. I knew it was going to rain but I wasn’t expecting it until the afternoon. We were sitting on the beach and I looked over my shoulder at a big, black cloud. I got up and started to pack up and just as I did, the skies opened up and all 4 of us (along with many other beach goers) got drenched! I mean SOAKED. Katie was hysterical because I wouldn’t let her put on her shoes before I dragged her off the beach. Jake was silent and totally fascinated by the weather. Diane said he doesn’t see many big rain storms in California. Here they are enjoying the beach before the flood. We went back to Diane’s place, stripped the kids down, fed them and put on Dora the explorer while we tried to recover. After a failed nap attempted, we joined Diane's sister Jeanne and her daughter Allison on a trolley ride. It was still rainy but Katie really enjoyed the trolley. We stopped and got ice cream which ended up being dinner and Katie picked out a Lightning McQueen kite for when we come back to Maine for our week-long, family vacation. Marin stayed home alone with Dad for a couple days. This was her reaction when I told her that she and Chad were on their own for the weekend. We are headed back to the Cape this weekend for a short visit. As you can imagine, the yard is full of weeds and the house isn’t that clean but summer is only a few short months so we are trying to make the most of it.

Three Months Old

Marin is now three months old! I can’t believe it. In the last few weeks, she is eating less often, sleeping more and growing bigger and bigger. Here's a few things about Marin: She is very happy and content: a very, easy-going baby. She sticks her tongue out when she smiles. She likes to sit in her chair and take in the action. She watches the ceiling fan in the kitchen while I cook. She expends most of her energy trying to get her hands in her mouth. She recently had her first 8 hour night…and we are hoping for more nights like that! That night was follow by a record 8oz bottle but she averages closer to 6oz. Her most ticklish spot is under her arms. She beams every time Katie comes over to talk to her. Katie will often say “Marin wants her big sister.” We call her Marinade and Bug. Marin Jane sounds like Marinade when you say it fast: Our Sweet Marinade! Or we call her Bug for our Little Snuggle Bug. She still doesn’t have a lot of hair. In fact, I think she has less hair now then she did when she was born. She likes her bath, especially when Dad gives it to her. She isn't a huge fan of long naps. She prefers the short, one-hour naps. Ugh. She’s beginning to roll over. She lifts up her legs to wind up and gain momentum but she never gets all the way. She makes a funny gurgling noise when she tries to talk. She is very chatty. On Friday, her daily report card from daycare said “a love to have.” I couldn’t agree more! Here are a few outtakes. She was more interested in eating the sign...

Father's Day 2010

A big shout out to Josie and Kelly at daycare who helped Katie make this cool hat for Chad as a Father's Day gift. It looks great and Katie was so proud that she made it. The hat has "Dad" and her handprint on the top. It's very cool. I went with the not-half-as-cool Best Buy gift card. Chad is one step closer to something else he wants - a bigger, better TV!

Ga-Ga-Ga-Gastroenteritis

Katie is really into learning her letters and sounds. Her daycare spends a lot of time reinforcing this when they teach the kids how to talk and learn new words. It’s great and most of them consider it a game. Katie loves to name as many words as she can remember when she picks out a letter. G seems to be a favorite. We were having dinner at my Dad’s last week and she sounded out Ga-Ga-Ga Grammie, Ga-Ga-Ga Grampa, Ga-Ga-Ga-Gastroenteritis! I was a little shocked at first but then remembered that she has been watching the same Sesame Street (on DVR) over and over again because it features a segment on gymnastics that she likes. The episode was all about the letter G. When I watched it the next day, Anderson Cooper was reporting for the GNN (Grouch News Network) and said gastroenteritis during his segment. Now instead of requesting Sesame Street, she asks if she can watch Anderson Cooper on TV. Move over Barack Obama…Anderson Cooper is taking over.