Happy Birthday, Baby V!

Baby Violet would be very upset if we missed her one month birthday, and rightly so. Here are some long-promised pictures of her first month at home.

On a side note, this also appears to be the 100th post of the new baby blog. Thanks for reading and sharing your comments!

The House of Sickness.

Baby Violet is the only healthy person in this house. And it's only because she cheats and breastfeeds!

Wilson's had a high fever for three days running now, Josh has gagging coughs that have persisted for weeks, and I'm in the throes of a miserable cold. *ah-choo!* Add to it high outside temperatures and no A/C and you have the ingredients for one cranky family.

But I'm pleased to say that no divorce papers have been served, nor has CPS been called. Yet.

Monchhichi!

Violet May has a new nickname!

Tell me it doesn't fit.

I sing the song to her pretty much constantly...

Fit to Print.

What's new with the Demetrescus? In response to one very loyal reader's request, here's a brief run-down of the latest happenings in our house:

1. Mommy finished her classes, and is now "free" until either September (grad school) or Spring (more pre-reqs for next year's apps)
2. Wilson got a haircut. But he is so squirmy, he now has the world's shortest bangs. I think Josh called him a Roman
3. Violet May grew two full inches in length since her birth. Good baby!
   
4. Daddy went back to work as of today
5. Which means Mommy is a stay-home mom of two as of today
6. Which means Mommy needs a drink
7. And so does Daddy

Have I mentioned lately how very, very tired we are? I just opened our mail from three weeks ago, and remain behind on email. And pretty much everything else. Thanks everyone for your patience as we start the process of getting our lives put back together!!

Mean Names for Babies!

Here are some mean names that this little baby has had applied to her by her cruel, uncaring parents:

• Cheeto: Because when she was born she was lumpy and orange.
• Editorial cartoon: Something to do with the size of her head in relation to her body, as I recall.
• Raisin: Because she's plump, wrinkly and sweet.
• The Leech: As she's been attached to her mommy and stealing her nutrients for the last ten or so months
  

Other than that, it's been more of the usual "Baby Buttface" fare. Poor baby...

Yee-haw!

Wilson and I made a small jump out of a junk mail envelope and a block for his windup car today. A small one, perhaps, but a rite of passage for little boys. Here's to twenty-plus more years of ill-advised activity with bikes, skateboards, skis and snowboards.

Happy Birthday & News

Happy birthday to Baby Violet, who turned 1 week old yesterday!

In other family news, Nicole has started going back to school; it's a bit of a juggling act with a newborn, but she's only got another week to go and then is done with her UW prereqs. Good job, Swee: She started taking these classes more than three years ago.

Baby girl is mostly sleeping. A lot. Not that I'm complaining. As long as Mommy is around, this baby can sleep maybe 20 hours a day. She likes me well enough, but is definitely Mommy's girl now. She also likes to yell for food and look around at lights and people, especially her older brother.

Wilson is doing very well with the baby. He's about 95% gentle (and working on the other part) and is interested in what she's doing. He seems OK that, lately, when you get Mommy, you get baby.

More Pics

Here are some more pictures from the hospital. Hope you like them.

Oh, One Other Thing

Some people have asked about a good time to stop by and see Violet. Anytime is fine with us. Please give us a buzz first so I can wake everyone up; other than that, we're very glad to have you come by!

Houston, We Have Achieved Boob!

(and other news)

I am very happy report that Baby Girl has finally started latching correctly. Needless to say, this is a big relief to Nicole; her outlook improved considerably yesterday when it happened. Violet was having trouble getting all of the food she needed and this was making her (and therefore us) pretty agitated. It was also physically painful for Nicole. Happily, it straightened itself out and has been going well since.

Swedish Ballard (and probably other hospitals) schedules new babies to a two-day followup so that they can check body weight and coloring and see if there are any problems that the parents are having. We had ours yesterday; she's managed to keep her hospital-leaving weight and her fake-n-bake color is only a source of amusement, not medical concern. So, good news all around. A plug: Swedish Ballard is a wonderful place to have a baby and totally worth the drive.

Today we put Little Man in daycare and brought Violet to lunch, Home Depot and Target. I forgot how much easier an infant is to take around compared to a toddler. We'll get back to you on infant + toddler...