Two Months Already

 I'm way late with my 2 month post, but with the cuteness of these photos, I know that "better late than never" applies for sure.  I can't believe it, but Mara is 2 months old.  She has become so much more alert since last month, staying awake a large part of the day with more defined nap times. She continues to be a relatively good sleeper.  And her smile will light up a room.  We love her so much.  Big brother and sister are still smitten with her.  Lauren, especially, cannot get enough kisses.  But I love watching all of the kids enjoying each other.  I hope I have a lot of deja vu moments in the future, seeing the kids getting along well as grown children/adults, remembering the sweetness of the moments in these early days.

Mara is still quite small.  8 lbs even to be exact at her two month check up last Tuesday.  She grew from 20" to 22 1/2", but the slow weight gain is causing some worry.  We are now instructed to wake her up to eat no more than every 4 hrs at night (she was sleeping 6-7) and to feed her as much as possible during the day.  She ate quite a bit already.  We go back for a weight check on March 23rd and hope that she is pacing on her growth curve.  As long as she hasn't fallen off her curve, I'm told we will be fine.  With as hard as we worked to develop her into a good nurser, I'm really hoping that we don't have to change the program at this point.  But we will do whatever we need to do to make sure she is growing strong and healthy.

At this point, she is still wearing newborn clothes and diapers, although one piece newborn clothes no longer fit her lengthwise.  For fun, she likes to roll around on the floor and play under Aunt Libby's pink play gym.  She loves the Moby wrap and is in there quite a bit during the day.  (It's the only way I can get two hands free to do anything!)  She's a good car traveller most of the time.  Daytime naps are sporadic-long if she's being held, and can be as short as 15 minutes if you try to lay her down.  Night time sleep is great- especially in the Miracle Blanket- but we've been having to wake her.  I fear I may be ruining my good sleeper by establishing those habits, but we'll see.

She coos and smiles at us regularly now and is working really hard to be able to sit up and look around.  She doesn't like to be laying in your arms.  I think she is afraid of missing something interesting. 

I am so in love.  What a precious two months this has been.  I just want to soak up every minute and make them last as long as I can.  There is a song on the newest Selah album that sums it up perfectly- "I'm down on my knees, help me soak it all in.  I want all of this life that You'll let me live.  And when time flies by, Lord, remind me to breathe.  My Heaven on earth is moments like these."

It didn't take much convincing today when we got an invitation to join Emily, Cooper and Kinley at the playground this afternoon.  Originally the day was going to involve cooking, laundry and cleaning out the art supply stash.  Followed by refilling prescriptions for Jason and mailing our tax returns.  After a long winter of days inside the house, fresh air was calling our name, and we answered!  The girls and I picked up Joshua at school and then headed to Subway for some lunch.  We wasted no time and got on our way quickly to the park so that the fun could begin.  The big kids went running and exploring while the Mommies and babies sat and did what we do best-- oohed and aahed at the cuteness of the babies (especially Kinley's adorable pig tails) and solved the world's problems with our conversations.

We left a few hours later with filthy, exhausted kids and recharged batteries from the Mamas after some catch up time.  And I don't know about Emily and her crew, but we are ready to repeat this fun afternoon as much as possible.  We are more than ready for spring!  Here are a few pictures...

I'm just going to do it.

I'm just going to do it.  Skip ahead on my to do list and get right to "blog post", which incidentally has been on every to do list for the week, but I've yet to get that far.  Somewhere between the stuff that HAS to be done, like laundry and cleaning up and changing sheets and making dinner and lunch and breakfast, and feeding Mara...all of the time in the day is sucked into a black hole.  The things that are on the "needs to be done but no one will die if it isn't" list just never quite rise to the top of the priority list.  Never in a gajillion years could I have guessed how unproductive having a third baby was going to make me.  I fear that perhaps a switch was thrown in the delivery that took me from a to do list crosser-offer to an unorganized pile of mess, because most days I feel like the latter.  From time to time, I'm shocked by an abnormally productive stretch of time, but it certainly doesn't happen with regularity.  Truth be told, I'm starting to get used to it, but that doesn't mean I like it.  I keep reminding myself that we are 8 weeks into this new gig...there may still be hope.

I call this next picture my Leap Day miracle.



 Ever since Mara's birth, Lauren has had no regular nap.  She's always been a difficult one to get to sleep, involving rocking and singing and a whole bunch of time.  So if I need any more explanation as to why this hasn't been successful, I suggest you scroll up and read that first part again.  Put another way, I'm lucky if I pee in the course of a day most of the time.  But while Mara ate yesterday, little Miss came over with her Dora pillow and with a little rubbing of her leg, she zonked.  I'd like to say it made her more pleasant through the evening, but that would be a lie.  But I did get dinner cooked last night, so it was worth it.

The real miracle was that Mara also laid down in her crib for a 40 minute nap yesterday afternoon.  Sadly, the  girls' sleeping time overlapped by only the amount of time it took me to take Mara upstairs and put her in the crib, but it was a glorious 2 minutes.

We'll keep working on it.

But this marked our first successful sleeping attempt in the crib.  She is still in the Pack & Play in our room at night time and is sleeping like a dream- usually 5-6 hours on her first stretch (normally 10-3 or 10-4) and then a feeding and back down for another 3-4 hours.  You won't hear a single complaint out of me.  Perhaps God gave me Joshua and Lauren so that I would deeply appreciate this sweet baby girl who seems to know that her Mama isn't a spring chicken anymore and might not survive a string of a year of sleepless nights.  She loves her Miracle Blanket and melts right to sleep in it.

And these are a bit out of order, but the other day we enjoyed some outside play time.  Mara fell right to sleep in her snowsuit and stayed that way once we came in.  I will say that it is good spring is coming because she is pressing the length limits of this cute newborn bear suit.  I cannot wait to see what she weighs and how long she has gotten at her 2 month check up on Tuesday afternoon.  I just don't have a good sense of her weight right now, and I'm anxious to know that our feeding program is working out OK.  I doubt I'd have the happy baby I do if she wasn't getting enough to eat, but until I see the numbers on the scale, I still worry.

And here were the other two, busy at work making chalk masterpieces.  They loved the chance to get outside for a few hours.  Can't wait till we get some nice Spring weather and can do more of that.  We all need it.

I attempted some pictures of Mara the other morning, and this is how they all turned out.  Lauren cannot stop loving on her baby sister.  Always doting on her, kissing her, calling her "pretty girl"...it's precious.  Difficult for picture taking, but I will take a million of these if it means I'll always remember how much these two loved each other, even in these early days.  And, it'll make for good leverage in the future years when Lauren says she "can't stand" her little sister bugging her.

Our day today has been spent nursing Joshua back to health.  The stomach bug appears to have invaded our home.  Poor buddy has been throwing up since about 1:45 this morning.    He has been a trooper and just had some soup and a popsicle, though, so I'm hoping he's on the mend.  Hopefully we can keep the girls free and clear or else it's going to be a long three days.  So, there have been a lot of movies and cuddling on the couch for Joshua today.  Hope tomorrow is much better for him.

More soon...

All signs point to a great day.

When I opened my eyes this morning and saw 4:57 on the clock, I knew it was going to be a good day.  I had laid sweet Mara down last night around 11:00, and this was the first time she stirred.  She had eaten well around 9 and then snacked a bit around 10, but this marked her longest stretch of sleep yet.  Do I dare to hope that this might be the start of something wonderful? 

So it is now 8:04.  I am showered, dressed, hair and makeup done (the latter being a miracle, as it is usually a scramble around 10:00 to get it done while feeding Mara while rushing out the door to school).  Joshua was off to school after eating all of his breakfast and getting his teeth brushed without me having to coax him.  Lauren is up, dressed and eating her pancake.  The laundry is started.  There are no dishes in my sink.

It's like Christmas around here.

This is not to say that the wheels won't fall off later today, but for now, I'm feeling pretty grateful for a good morning. 

 I am absolutely in love with this picture.  Lauren is always leaning over Mara's seat talking to her or  kissing her or loving her in some way.  Yesterday, Mara really seemed to get a kick out of her big sister and kept smiling at Lauren.  Lauren couldn't get enough!

And just moments ago, getting a bit more beauty sleep.  Don't tell her, but she doesn't need it.



It worked!!

 Our first real smiling picture from Mara!  Melts my heart.

 Meeting Great Pappy Ray for the first time. 

 Grandma Shirley, Aunt Pat and Aunt Karen got to come and visit with us for a while. I didn't get a picture of Aunt Karen and Aunt Pat, but Mara loved them both. Here she is with Great Grandma Shirley and Pap. 

 Great Pappy Fred and Freda (who needs a name for the kids to call her other than Freda, I've just determined) came over in the evening.  Even during her "I want to eat all the time" hours, she let them get to know her a little bit.  Pappy Fred stole plenty of kisses on her cheeks and forehead, just like he has always done with us growing up.

The social activity of the evening was a walk down memory lane when Dad set up the slide projector and got out the old carousels of slides from when we were babies.  We had quite a few good laughs, just the same way our kids will one day as they make fun of our outfits, hairstyles and how young we looked.  And it's official.  None of the kids look ANYTHING like me when I was a baby.  Like not even at all.  The State Farm photo circa 1978 was me.  Need to frame that one for my office!

My war with the blog.

My frustration with Blogger continues, as none of the children are the color they appear in these photos.  And no combination of camera, cord and computer seems to make a difference.  I honestly have no earthly idea what to do about this.  But I wanted to post because I've been so lacking lately.

Truth be told, although we haven't been doing anything wild, the days fly by in a flash around here.  It  literally takes all morning to get the girls up and dressed, Mara fed and the van packed to pick Joshua up at 11.  Add in there starting a load of wash (that I have determined must be done daily or else I drown in it) and the morning is shot.  From 11:30-12:30 is a good window of time since Mara usually falls asleep in her  carseat on the way home from school.  But it is quickly filled with getting the big kids their lunch, doing one thing on my to do list and changing the clothes to the dryer and she's awake and hungry again.  The afternoons consist of refereeing Josh and Lauren as they fight their way through the transition to playing more independently with each other instead of a grown up since Mara wants to eat at least every 2 hrs through the afternoon and evening, and that may be generous. Sometimes it's more like....constantly.  And then it's dinner time, followed by the rush of feeding the baby, tubbing/showering the big kids, feeding the baby and feeding the baby.

We made our first trip to Lewistown this past weekend and Mara got to meet lots of her family there.  I have pictures, but I'll keep working on figuring out this photo issue and try again soon.

More soon, I hope.

Where did that month go?

Blogger and I are still not getting along.  See how  it uploads my pictures?  

Scary huh?

So we remain picture-less.  Which is a shame because I have some good stuff.  But what is a girl to do?

I thought I had better reflect on Mara's first month before the second one comes and goes.  But let me say, for the record, that I'm not sure where a whole month went.  I can't even blame it on sleep deprivation because all in all, that hasn't been so bad so far.  But it does seem that time is flying by.  I certainly don't want to take even a second of it for granted because I have never felt so much joy in my entire life.

At one month, Mara is by far the easiest going baby we have had.  She is OK with some alone time in her seat.  She is approximately 7 1/2 pounds based on a very unscientific measurement on the bathroom scale, but that's an increase of around a pound in just over 2 weeks.  It will remain to be seen whether her pediatricians find that acceptable.  Newborn clothes are still fitting VERY comfortably and probably will for another few months.  Good thing I stocked up on a whole bunch of small cute things!  We are obviously still in newborn diapers, and I don't see that changing for another month at a minimum.

Mara is a good eater, although I would not have classified her as such when we came home from the hospital.  After 2 weeks of bottle feedings of pumped milk and some formula supplementation (usually one bottle at night to give me a break from the pumping), she decided that she was willing to nurse.  So, with some patience and persistence on both of our parts, I believe we have it down now.  She is usually eating every 2.5-4 hrs during the day, and around every 3-4 at night.  She is a faster eater than her older sister, but the more I nurse Mara, the more I realize that I was Lauren's pacifier.  Mara takes a bink and seems to like it.  And when I get the sense that she's dozing and using me as her bink, I'm comfortable switching me for the pacifier and putting her down.  So far so good there.  We are seeing longer periods of alert/awake time between naps, and she seems (usually) to be quite a content baby whether she is held, laying on a blanket on the floor, or sitting in her seat.  There is certainly plenty of entertainment to see with the other kids running about.

I have done things with Mara that I have never done with the others, but for whatever reason it feels right to me this time.  Joshua and Lauren  spent their first night at home in their crib and never NEVER NEVER were in our bed.  Mara has been in her Rock & Play or Pack & Play in our bedroom, and despite Daddy's jokes about that expensive nursery we put together, I'm just not ready to put her there yet.  We also have developed a little habit of snuggling in bed while she falls asleep.  I absolutely love it, and so does she.  She especially likes it when my cheek is resting on the top of her sweet little head. Normally she drifts right to  sleep.

She has smiled at us more than a few times already, which melts my heart immediately.  She is beginning to coo a bit, and loves her big sister and brother to play with her and talk to her.  What a gift to see them all interact together, and I'm sure that only gets better from here.

Joshua and Lauren continue to surprise me with how well they are adjusting to life with another baby.  They both declare their love for her daily and think  she's "so cute". Lauren insists on holding her no less than 10 times a day, and Joshua has even asked to do so a few times.  Lauren is a champion burper and loves to rub/pat Mara's back when I'm burping her.  She loves to help at tub time and changing time, and has a step stool stationed at Mara's changing table so that she can see exactly what is going on.  It is beyond sweet, and I love so  much that we  have given Lauren a sister to love. 

Mara, you are so loved.  And a complete joy to us.  My heart is full to overflowing. 

Too Long!

I have a camera full of cuteness to share, but it doesn't appear that either of my computers are going to allow me to do that this morning.  They're uploading in technicolor-- and not in a good way.  So until I figure out the cause of that little surprise, I guess we'll be pictureless.

We have had a great week around here.  As we're getting more and more comfortable with navigating our larger family, I can honestly say we are beginning to settle in to a bit of a groove.  I am not so confident as to suggest that we still aren't a hot mess from time to time, but I have surprised myself at how often we aren't.  Unfortunately for me, the messy times usually tend to be when there are witnesses, which is unfortunate, but I accept the reality of our life at this point.  The funniest "messy" story came early last week when someone from our church had called to tell us that she would be bringing supper for us that evening, but that she would be coming around 4:00.  It was one of those days that I had no schedule pushing my "getting ready" time in the morning, and as one thing led to another, I found myself just getting my hair done and putting on my makeup around 2.  The big kids were a disaster- running all over the place in costumes, Lauren naked for most of the afternoon.  I was sitting on the couch with one of my eyes mostly done and still in my sweats when a naked Lauren came running to tell me there was a car in the driveway.  And so, our church meal deliverer got the distinct pleasure of seeing my scantily clad 2 year old and my half done makeup.  I'm pretty sure she prayed for me all the way home and probably thought, "Oh Lord, please help that poor girl.  She is a mess."  And on that day, I was.  We were.  Some days, it's quite the opposite.

I had some cute pictures of a little Batman parade we had at our house last week when the Casners came for a visit.  Ridge and Lauren shared the costume- Ridge had the mask while Lauren donned the rest of the getup.  They were so cute.  With only a little more than 2 weeks age difference between them, I love to watch them play.  Mara quite enjoyed their visit- sleeping through the entirety of it while Cory and Shannon held her.  I think she really liked them!

This past weekend we braved our first ever trip to Target with all 3 children.  All things considered, I'd say we did great.  Mara slept (surprise surprise) and Joshua and Lauren both walked right beside the cart with only minimal reminder that they had to stay right with me.  We managed to get our whole list (minus a lightbulb, but I was in the checkout when I remembered that and I promise you I wasn't about to go back in the store at  that point).  This trip had two purposes- most importantly, to give Daddy some quiet study time at the house, but also to prove to myself that I really could manage the three of them without total chaos.  I was relieved to have that maiden voyage under my belt.

Sunday was a fun day for the kids and I.  Daddy needed some serious cram time for his exam on Monday morning, so he had  planned an overnight in Harrisburg for Sunday night.  After church, he took off for cram-ville, while we settled in here for our first alone overnight.  I was nervous.  We passed the time in the afternoon with a special visit with Aunt Libby and Brooke, and a quick pass through from Nana and Pap.  It was loud, crazy, giggly and super fun.  We were lucky because they were able to stay through supper time, so we enjoyed all the time we had to play with them.  Brooke continues to be smitten with Mara and is such a great cousin to her.  She loved holding her and talking to her.  It was so sweet to watch.  We tackled the solo night time routine and managed pretty well.  The big kids were good helpers and went to bed without a fight.  Mara, on the other hand, in her newest phase, has decided that 12 am- 1 am is an appropriate bed time for a 3 week old.  She cluster nurses from about 6:30-11:00 wanting to eat about every hour for at least a half hour.  (This complicates the bath/story/pajama routine with Joshua and Lauren for sure.)  And then she is wide awake from 11-1 when she finally gives in to my tight swaddle and dark room and closes her eyes.  The good news is that once she goes to sleep, she has been sleeping soundly for 4-5 hours.  So now we just have to work on getting that bed time worked out.  Mommy needs a little more than 3-4 hours of sleep a night.

Monday morning was our biggest challenge yet.  Getting out the door on time has been difficult.  Let's just say my Business Logistics class at PSU comes in handy- not for moving freight from point A to point B, but figuring out the timing and all potential obstacles to getting out the door.  Since Daddy was away, it was my job to do preschool drop off for Josh at 8:00. We needed to leave by 7:40. Luckily, it was an office work day for me, so Grandma was here to stay with Lauren.  By the grace of God, Mara's feedings were timed right and we were out the door at 7:44, and pulled in to Meadowbrook at 7:56.  I felt as though I had climbed Mt. Everest after having been up since 4 am when Mara woke to eat until 5, which is shower time for me.  But everything got done.  I may or may not have been struggling to keep my eyes open on the couch at 9:00, but something has to give I guess.

This is a busy week, and I hope to straighten out this picture situation. Trust me- the kids are as cute as ever!

What's been going on around here...

Here's a quick photo recap of the last couple of days.  It hasn't been overly interesting, but I am pleased to report that we're holding our own.  There have been no major meltdowns (on any of our parts), and I consider that quite an accomplishment.

 Daddy's idea of getting a Kinect system to keep everyone occupied on these cold, dreary, wet winter days has been a very good one.  Santa thought about bringing this for Joshua for Christmas, but until we saw how much he loved his Nintendo DS and how he is starting to get a grasp on the whole hand-eye coordination thing, we weren't sure if he was ready.  The kids love to play the sports games (especially bowling and boxing), but their favorite part is when they get to make the characters dance after doing something good.  So when Jason came home with the Nickelodeon dancing game the other night, we knew it would be a hit.  And boy, was it ever!  The kids were hysterical.  And, for the record, Joshua has some moves!  We're thinking this is Libby's genetic contribution because he surely doesn't get it from either of us. 

On Thursday, I got my driver's license back at the two week post surgery mark.  And Mara and I didn't waste any time getting OUT of the house!  I needed some time in the office to get things re-organized after our quick exit on the night of the 5th. We also had a list of stops to make- gas in the van, checks to the bank, stuff to pick up at the accountant's office, groceries at Walmart.  It was a jam packed day, but oh so nice to be out and about.  To make matters more complicated, my easy, breastmilk by bottle baby who goes 3-3.5 hours between feedings decided she wanted to go a more conventional route on Thursday morning and nursed like a champ before we left.  So, that changed the whole routine, although I was pleased at her progress and happy to ditch the pump for the day.  We made it back home around 4:00 with mostly all of our list accomplished.  What amazed me was how much I had missed Joshua and Lauren while we were gone.  And I quickly remembered how much I hate the re-adjustment back to work after being home with them so much.  Although they make me crazy sometimes, I count it such a blessing to have the flexibility to have this time with them at home.  That is due mostly to my team at the office and how wonderful they are.  And don't think that I take a moment of it for granted.

 Lauren and I have been enjoying our "girl time" in the mornings while Joshua is at school.  She is such a sweetheart, and continues to love her sister to the max.  We spent a lot of time this week reading books, putting together the same three puzzles that she absolutely loves (note to self, for sanity sake, get to Target and find some more of those!) and playing games like "I Spy" and Hide and Seek.  She has been an excellent bath helper with the baby and a very big laundry helper.  We've had great conversations and I'm absolutely cherishing the time to spend with her one on one while the baby is sleeping as much as she is.

 This beauty continues to melt my heart a little more each day.  The falling in love has been extra special this time, with a super sweet baby who makes it oh so easy.  All of the worries I have had (and trust me that there have been multiple freak out sessions over the past 42 weeks) about whether or not I could handle being a mother to three children, and how we could possibly find a balance in our little world here where everything managed somehow to get done, and what adding a third child to our family would do to Joshua and Lauren have turned out to have been a silly waste of time....but isn't most worrying?  In the midst of these little hissy fits I've had, people always said that we wouldn't remember what it was like without Mara here once she got here, and that she would complete the picture for us naturally.  And they were all right.  We are so very blessed.

And since all of my posts seem to include some sort of nudity, check out what I found yesterday afternoon when I finished folding a load of laundry.  Batman on the DS and a just-about naked Lauren playing on my iPhone.  Lauren had updumped an entire smoothie all over the kitchen floor, in her hair and on her clothes and smelled distinctively like a strawberry until bathtime last night.  I did finally convince her to put on some clothes before supper, but she would have been perfectly content to sport just her Dora underpants.  Batman turned back into Joshua at suppertime too.  Which was good because I was a little intimidated about sharing the dinner table with a Superhero of Batman's caliber.

We're tucked in for the day today, although wishing that Daddy didn't have to run out this morning for a funeral.  As the first real winter snow falls outside, I am so grateful for the good weather we have had recently and for the fact that we brought our winter baby home from the hospital on a 55 degree day instead of one like this.  There is probably 4-5 inches on the deck now with a few more hours of steady snowfall expected.  Josh and Daddy have a special evening planned tonight with Earl and Cooper to go to the Bucknell basketball game.  I'm excited for them to have something special to do together- just the guys.  Joshua has been sure to point out lots of times that there are no girls allowed.  I'm not so sure that's going to fly with Lauren when it comes time for them to leave, but we'll see.

Getting into the groove...

So the kids and I are on day number two of our solo flight during the day since Jason headed back to work on Tuesday morning.  Grandma has been helping with getting Joshua picked up from school until I get my driving privileges back (tomorrow, yay!) and that has been a huge help.  I will say, though, that today has been a marked improvement from yesterday.  Yesterday, although I was up and showered before Joshua left for school, my hair remained undone and I never quite got around to putting any makeup on.  Honestly by the time I had time to do it amidst the other list of things that needed to be done, I figured there wasn't much use.  I'd just be washing it off in a few hours.  And that stuff isn't cheap.  (How's that for rationale?)  Mara was in her pajamas until approximately 2:00 when I was finally able to get her cleaned up and free of the previous night's spit up.  We did manage a hot dinner on the table last night, as well as all beds made, three loads of laundry that had piled up in our bedroom put away, and a new load washed.

Today, though, we're settling into our groove.  I made it up, was showered, dressed, hair and makeup done before Joshua left for school at 7:40.  The girls and I hung out here this morning, reading books, doing puzzles, drinking milk or coffee, getting cute and cleaned up and even started some more laundry and did some cleaning up/organizing around the house.  By the time Joshua was home from school, I had most of my list accomplished and had breathing room for the rest of the day.  We were blessed by a meal dropped off by Emily that is going to be seriously yummy!  The kids have been good- playing all afternoon together with very few spats.  And Mara....sweet, sweet Mara....she continues to do what she has done since she was born, eat, sleep, smile and cuddle, and then repeat the whole cycle all over again.

I have been so blessed with phone calls and visits today from people who have been checking in on us, wondering how we're doing and showing love to us.  It has been good for my spirit to have a few adult conversations with people I admire and respect for their opinions, and who have been such a great support.  So thank you to everyone who has helped to celebrate Mara's arrival with your time, your thoughts, your prayers, your calls and your visits.  We appreciate them so very much.

I also promised I'd report on Mara's trip to the pediatrician on Monday at 11 days old for her goopy, yellow, glued shut eye.  As it turns out, she has a blocked tear duct (A+ on your diagnosis, Emily!).  We were prescribed some drops to clear up the infection that she had and they have worked wonders.  Apparently this is likey to rear its ugly head again and again over the next few months, so we'll keep the drops on hand.  Evidently these usually resolve on their own by 6-8 months, and if not, we'll be referred to an opthamologist for a surgical procedure to open it up for her.  I choose not to think much about that until we absolutely have to.  Another worry for another day.  The good news was that, even though we were short of two weeks by a few days, they did her 2 week appointment for us.  She was exactly back to her birth weight at 6 lb 10 oz and was still 20" long.  After the big weight loss she had, getting her back to her birth weight by 2 weeks was a major win.  All signs of jaundice were gone and evidently our hybrid feeding model is going OK.  (I rue the day I suggested that I was going to try the "hybrid" model this time--- Joshua had been a formula baby, Lauren a very serious nurser.)  But regardless, all that matters is that we got the opinion that Mara appears to be perfect (which we knew) and super sweet (which we knew).

 This was Joshua and Lauren's fort this afternoon.  They told me they were taking a trip to Nana and Pap's by boat and needed marshmallows for food.  They were happy and playing nicely, so if they needed some sugar to keep things that way, I'm totally cool with that.

 Lauren continues to be absolutely smitten with her baby sister.  She refers to her as "pretty girl" (a definite take away from me).  Any concerns I had about how Lauren would adjust to life as a big sister was a total waste of energy (at least so far).  Every bit of sweetness and tenderness in her personality has been poured on to Mara.  It absolutely warms my heart to see the two of them together, knowing what a special gift a sister is.  I'm not so naive to think that this isn't going to turn ugly at some point-- after all, I did live through most of the 80's and early 90's with my own sister, and definitely recall some periods of...shall we say....tension among us.  But for now, I'm loving how this is working out so far.

And really, how much cuter can she get?  I am so in love.