Grandma Kathy and Maya

There is nothing finer than seeing a grandmother and her new baby grandchild together for the first time.

Meeting Grandpa Jack and Grandma Barb

3/22/2011...

Having Grandma Kathy at home with Xander afforded us extra time and flexibility with our travel, so with another "quick" hop we were in Southport for 24 hours to visit Jake's father and Barb Farley.  (Thank goodness Maya is a very good little traveler and doesn't seem to mind airplanes!) It had been far too long since we'd seen them last and it was a really good visit, even if it was very short. We even took the opportunity to get Maya to the ocean!

Anything you can do, I can do better!

Maya is already proving that she has no intention of letting her older brother hog the limelight or the superlatives in the family.  It is said that it is dangerous to compare kids, and parents should try hard to avoid it.  Since that is nearly impossible, I'm going to give in and share a few examples:

Nesting with Xander resulted in new hardwood floors and a new custom staircase.  My nesting phase for Maya resulted in a finished basement and bathroom.  Both big projects, but Maya edges out Xander slightly on both scale and cost.

Xander put on a whole pound in his first two weeks- that's12% of his body weight, moving from 8.5 lbs to 9.5 lbs.  Maya has accomplished the exact same feat- but since she started at only 6 lbs, 6 oz, and therefore grew a whopping  16% in the same time period!  (And, by the way, she is already up to almost 9 lbs at 4 weeks!)

Xander didn't let me sleep for 3 hours in a row until he fully a month old (37 days old)... Maya, 31 days old today, has been sleeping 4-5 hours at a stretch for a week now.... as long as she's sleeping with us.  We haven't been able to convince her that the bassinet is really where she belongs. 

Xander took his impressive first flight at only 2 months old for his Baby Book Shower in Virginia.  Before she turned 4 weeks old, Maya completed her first flight (5 of them) to accompany me  for my latest U. Michigan MBA residency, followed by very brief visits with Grandpa Charles, Aunt Meg, Cousins Nathan and Morgan and Grandparents Jack Lewis and Barb Farley. 

On our trip we added another first for Maya- a dip in the ocean!  Maya beat her brother for this one too.  Maya's almost 4 weeks vs. Xander's 3 months. 

Now, Xander still retains his bragging rights over first kid and youngest trip to Moab.  Only time will tell if Maya continues to try to best her big brother, but regardless of the milestone or the timing of it, I'm looking forward to seeing the kids grow, learn, and share our joy.

Meeting Grandpa Charles, Aunt Meg, and Cousins Nathan and Morgan!

It was a very brief stop in Charlotte airport, just long enough for a little breakfast and some photos, but we couldn't pass up the chance to see how Nate and Morgan have grown, and to introduce Maya!

  

Saint Patty's Day at University of Michigan

Erin has class this weekend so Maya and I have come to Michigan with Erin, leaving Grandma Kathy at home with Xander.  Maya was perfect on the flight out, she slept the whole way!  We got ourselves settled in at the residence and later that evening headed out to the Blue Leprechaun to meet Erin's classmates.  Think back to your college days, do you remember ever seeing a 3 week old baby at the bar?  We were quite a novelty!  Maya managed to sleep through the whole experience, despite the noise.  After a little bit of fun, we headed back to the residence to try to get some sleep.  Luckily our little leprechaun obliged us and slept really well last night.  Based on the bleary eyes at breakfast this morning on some of Erin's classmates who remained at the bar long after we left, I am quite sure we got more sleep than they did!

Grandma Kathy's here! Time to Play!!

The newly finished basement is our new guestroom but also Xander's playroom.  This means, of course, that Grandma's bedroom is also now the coolest place to play!  Xander and Grandma Kathy have been getting lots of time together while I take care of Maya or study and they've been able to bond really well.

We take advantage of as many opportunities for outside playtime as possible in the variable but often warm spring weather.  Last weekend we all took a walk to the park and had a really amazing time.  Xander loved chasing the dogs while they chased Frisbees, and Dad and Xander and Grandma all had a blast climbing all over the equipment.  I had an equally good time simply photographing them from the sidelines (still healing from Maya's birth but getting stronger each day).

Xander the photographer

Xander has been imitating Jake more and more.  He wants to shave like Dad, eat Dad's food (off Dad's plate, not his own), sit in Dad's lap, fix things like Dad (preferably while lying down under the item to be fixed ala Jeep repairs) and now?  Photography.  Xander has found the flash button and we've been going through a lot of batteries while he takes dozens and hundreds of "pictures."  Between the two of them, I'm fairly certain you'll be tired of our photos before they are tired of taking them.

Drawing!

more recently...

My Cute Kids!

Maya, looking very small!

Xander and Friends Jayden Cooper and Jack Fossum

Xander practising his "sumersaults"

Xander looking very Xander!

A little catching up to do- fun photos to share

We have lots of *NEW* photos to share, but we realized we had failed to include a few favorites.  Here they are!

Erin, Audra and Amy received belly henna together in late January.  We each chose a design that was especially meaningful to us.  You see on my belly the tree of life, or as I like to call it, Maya's tree (also painted on her wall). It was lovely and a wonderful way to celebrate our pregnancies, all due within days of each other! 

As of today, both Audra and I have delivered early (Audra with her son, Didier and of course we are blessed with Maya) and Amy is still holding strong but due any day. Can't wait to have a pic of all three babies together!  In the meantime, here are Didier and Maya!