Andrew and Mae

I want to preface this post by saying that I don't expect any of you to find this particularily interesting or entertaining (except for the first thing below), but these are just a few things I want to remember so I am documenting them here. 

The first time Andrew saw me nursing Mae, he was staring at my chest and said...
"Ooohhhh, you got new ones!"
"Uh, yes Andrew, I guess I did."
"I yove (love) them!"
"Uh thanks."
...Andrew continues to stare...
"I firsty (thirsty) too."
"Go ask your father for milk."

 Andrew loves it when I give him a job to do with Mae, such as changing her diaper with me or giving her a bath. He also loves to do tummy time with her. "You need toys Baby? Okay, I get them for you." Sometimes he forgets that she is fragile and throws the toys on the floor. Sometimes they hit Mae. Andrew is very sweet, and says sorry and gives her a kiss. 

He has finally started calling her Mae.  It took him a while to get the hang of it.  I think it was a bit confusing for him to have the doll Charlie - so for a while he was calling her Charlie.  Sometimes he calls her "Baby" which is pretty adorable. 

He loves to hold her.  "I hold baby now."  He holds her for about 5 seconds, then throws his arms up and says, "I all done!"

 

In the morning, he peers over the bassinet and says "Hi Mae!"  The other day he turned to me and said, "I yove her!". 

He also told me that he loves her "crazy hair."  Take a scroll through these photos and let me know who you think has the crazy hair!

More Mae

 Here are some more photos of Mae...

Finally, I caught a smile.   I know it wasn't a "real" smile, but I loved it anyways.

Gracie's Dance Recital

A few weeks ago, Gracie had her dance recital.  She took ballet and tap through the rec department from October to March.  The recital was super cute. 

 

Check out Gracie.  She is the one not standing with her hands on her hips....we had her skip three of the last four classes, so she didn't exactly have the choreography memorized. 

Mae's First Week

Mae has spent most of her first week wrapped up like a burrito.

She had her first bath, and didn't like it too much.

 

We have been changing a lot of diapers.  Look how tiny she is!

I am not sure I noticed this with Grace and Andrew, but I have experienced a few moments where she is laying on my chest or stomach and makes a movement - a kick or shift of her body - that is exactly what she did when she was inside me.  It is the weirdest and coolest feeling. 

See that foot?  Before she was born I used to grab it just like that and move it back and forth.  Perhaps that is why one of her baby toes is smushed into the other toe.  Whoops.

One day, I propped her in our armchair in front of the window so she could get a little vitamin D.  She looked a little worried.  I think she thought I was going to leave her there.

Mae has also had some good sibling bonding time.  Gracie is very, very, very excited to be a big sister.  And very, very, very hands on.  Andrew is being great, just not as effusive. 

 Luckily we have had only a few minutes of this...

 

And a lot more moments of this....

I have taken hundreds of pictures of Mae, trying to capture all of this precious newborn stage.  Here she has had enough.  If she could talk, she would say "Give it a rest Mom!"

Finally, the highlight of her week (besides my milk coming in) was meeting her cousin Ben! As Gracie pointed out, Mae is 1 day older and will always be older than him.

Getting Ready for Baby

A few days before my induction, I decided to get my act together. 

I have always thought those pregnant belly pictures are so cute, so I had Kevin take a few pictures.  This was not so much fun.  Or very successful.  This was the best we got....

And I finally cleaned up the nursery.  Since we didn't know if Mae would be a boy or girl, I attempted to create a gender neutral nursery.  I succeeded in creating a very girly blue nursery.  Good thing we had a girl.

I had to buy a new crib because I broke the old one when I was taking it down in Andrew's room.  That was annoying.  But the new one is much sturdier and safer, so it was a good thing.

This armoire is from my parents.  It is from my dad's side of the family and has been used for generations. 

Meet Tina.  She is my giraffe that Kevin bought me a few months ago.  She is over 4 feet tall and the kids have a lot of fun with her.   Andrew has a wild imagination and sees Tina poop on the floor.  He feeds her.  And sometimes she bites him. 

And here is Andrew, sleeping with his baby doll "Charlie" the night before Mae was born.  When I went in his room to check on him, he was still awake.  I said, "Andrew what is happening tomorrow?' and he goes, "Baby coming." in a little whisper.  So cute

And here we are heading to the hospital.  We took pictures like this with each of the kids. 

Mae's Birthday

Checking out her handsome daddy!

Big sister Gracie introduced Mae to Apple products. 

Looking like her big brother....

Looking like her big sister....

And heading home!