Kindergarten Regisration

Last Wednesday we signed Nathan up for Kindergarten! The way they do it in KPS is open house style. All five of us went to the sign up, which was held in the gym.  Both kindergarten teachers were there, and Nathan seemed to like both of them. We took a tour of the school; Nay was thrilled to discover that there is a library INSIDE the school! :). He is so excited to take this next step in life. His mom may have been a little teary. :)

One Month Old!

Last week marked Danielle's one month birthday. Time is such a crazy thing. On one hand it seems odd that D has only been in our family for a month, and on the other I can't believe she is one month old already! Baby D's main occupation is being adorable and eating. She eats every three hours almost to the minute, with an occasional four hour stretch, and an occasional two hour stretch. She is a great nurser, and luckily for me she is pretty efficient since I have two other kiddos to tend and also a few minutes of sleep to grab here and there.  All of her eating is paying off--at one month, Danielle weighs 9lbs, 12oz--more than two pounds over her birth weight!!

She is such a sweet baby, and starting to have longer periods of alertness during the day where she makes eye contact. She is starting to smile and make some coos, but doesn't yet seem to know how to do it intentionally although she seems to want to. I love her! 

First Bath

Danielle's umbilical cord fell off a little early, when she was only 6 days old. I waited a day and then couldn't resist the urge to celebrate her one week birthday with her first bath.

First impression: the water feels nice, as does the sunshine through the kitchen window.

Second impression: NOT amused by Mommy disturbing her basking with the actual bathing process.

Things improved dramatically when bundled up in a towel.

All fresh and clean and sporting her new monkey pjs from Aunt Erin!

Early Visitors

In addition to family, in the first few days of her life, Danielle was lucky enough to meet some of the women who are more like sisters to me than friends.

Becky came to see Danielle at the hospital the day after she was born.  Becky lived in CT for the birth of Nathan and Natalie, so it was awesome that she was able to meet Danielle right away.  In addition to being a dear friend, Becky is the amazing professional photographer whose work has been referenced many times on this blog.  She brought her trusty camera and took these amazing photos of baby D's first hours of life.

This photo is from her second visit, but Suzanne also took time out of a super hectic day of work to come and meet Danielle at the hospital.

Grandpa John and Grandma Gail came to the house the day after we were discharged for some more cuddle time with Danielle and to spend some time with Nathan and Natalie as well.

By delightful happenstance, my friend Jenn was in town the weekend after Danielle was born! Actually, Jenn specifically requested that Danielle arrive prior to her visit, and apparently baby D was happy to oblige. Fast friends already!

Hillary came over on Monday on her lunch hour to meet Danielle.  Not only did she bring food, but she gave up a coveted on-campus parking spot to come and visit! :)

Hospital Homecoming

We had initially hoped to go home from the hospital the day after Danielle was born, but since she has a blood type in opposition to mine (which put her at a higher risk for jaundice) and she was born about 18 hours after my membranes ruptured (which put her at a higher risk for infection), the pediatrician wanted to have us stay an extra night just to keep an eye on her.  Luckily Danielle was fine, and she and the nurses even gave us a crazy four hour stretch of sleep!

Sweet baby cheeks

Realized I didn't have a picture with my baby girl yet, so thanks to the iPhone selfie cam, I remedied the situation. :)

Sleepy, post-milk smile. LOVE.

Final in-hospital check-up from the pediatrician. All is well!

 Danielle's going home outfit, which fit her for approximately 36 hours. Sigh. 

Baby girl was NOT amused by her first encounter with the carseat.

All ready to go home!

All of my loves together at home.

"Mommy, this is MY baby [named] Danielle. You need to be VERY quiet!"

Ozzie is not amused that there is yet another baby monopolizing my lap.

Nathan wanted me to take a picture of him holding his baby sister to send to his Pre-K teacher. :)

Aunt Erin meets her new niece!

Uncle Stu and Natalie are buddies. She loves him SO much and talks about him all the time. :)

Uncle Stu meets Danielle.

Nathan, Natalie, and Grandma Nancy made birthday cupcakes for Danielle. We all sang her happy birthday and then ate the cupcakes on her behalf. :)

Danielle Meets Her Family

As soon as Danielle was born and we looked at the clock, we realized that it was early enough in the day that she could meet her brother and sister that day! Todd and I were so excited for Nathan and Natalie to meet their new baby sister, and we wanted them to be the first people to know her name.  

Dan and Nancy arrived with the two Ns, proudly sporting their big brother and big sister shirts, about an hour after Danielle was born. I was still getting stitched up and Danielle was getting weighed and bathed, so it was a little hectic when they first arrived, but there was a lot of excitement in the air.  Natalie was pretty overwhelmed by the whole scene, and spent most of her time snuggling with one of the grown-ups, but Nathan, having been through the experience before, was less intimidated.

What an amazing experience to see these kids meeting their newest lifelong partner in crime!!

Danielle got to meet Grandma Nancy and Papa at the same time. It was awesome to be able to tell Dan in person what we had named his new granddaughter.

The next morning, Grandma Gail and Grandpa John came to visit. It was a lovely, peaceful window of time, where they got to get lots of one-on-one snuggles with baby D.

What a lucky baby to join a family so full of love!!