meeting mae

Mae's first visitors, her Grandpa and Aunt Kelsey, came to meet her in the hospital when she was just one day old! Mae was very sweet and sleepy and let both hold her without too much fussing.

Grandpa even brought props to make sure Mae doesn't end up with the same weird phobias as me. He wore his Vineyard Vines shirt (with a scary whale logo!) and brought the cute Halloween spider mug that he gave Kelsey and me a few years ago as "step 1 on our 12 step arachnophobia recovery program." So silly!

Aunt Kelsey did a great job holding Mae. I remember visiting Kelsey in the hospital when she was almost exactly 1/4th the weight of Mae!

Grandma stayed at our house until Tuesday to help care for us while we cared for Mae. No way could we have survived without her cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry! I'm sure she'll be back soon to get more time with her granddaughter!

Dan's mom flew in to town Wednesday and his dad and sister drove in after work on Friday. I love this family photo with Mae... so much love here!

Mae was happy to be snuggled all weekend. She loved being held by everyone, especially GranE who had the magic shoulder hold that calmed fussy Mae immediately.

Mae also got some quality time in with her Grandad and Aunt Colleen. So sweet.

We received an adorable little flower arrangement in an elephant planter from my parents while still in the hospital and more flowers and a teddy bear from my work group when we got home. Kathy and Jason sent a fruit bouquet (with pineapple ducks!) which was both pretty and delicious. The chocolate covered strawberries were my reward for getting through the millionth night time feeding.

Dan's parents sent me a silver heart charm with an "M" which matches the one they gave me last year after Nolan was born. I love this necklace... Such a good way to keep both my little ones close to my heart.

second blogiversary

Happy second birthday, blog! Your first birthday doesn't seem very long ago, but you've accumulated 51 new posts since then! I had them all bound into a Shutterfly book so one day, Mae can sit down and read about all the wonderful things she got to do while floating around in my belly. Unfortunately, I omitted most of the crummier parts like not being able to put on my own socks, the constant Braxton Hicks contractions, and that one week where I couldn't put any weight on my left hip, so she'll think it was all sunshine and roses and won't listen when I give her a hard time about those 9 long months I suffered through for her!

Thanks to everyone who checks in on the blog regularly. I'd probably keep writing for myself even if no one ever read this, but you make it much more worth it!

P.S. If you don't already get email notifications when I write a new post but would like to, just enter your email address in the box on the right side of the window where it says "get my new posts to your email!" Then go check your email and click the link sent to you by Feedburner (it could end up in your junk folder). This confirms your email address, and you're all set!

her first walk

Is it weird if I get almost as excited about my firsts as I do about Mae's firsts? I mean, yeah, Tuesday (one week old!) was Mae's first walk around the neighborhood, but it was also my first time wearing real clothes and makeup since I checked into the hospital. That's a big deal!

It took 4 tries to get Mae in her carrier without her screaming and flailing everywhere, but eventually we made it out of the house and all the way to the ice cream parlor down the street. She even let us enjoy our treats in peace and quiet while she napped in the stroller!

Mae has also been enjoying some tummy time on her quilt with Daddy. How cute is this??