Georgia & Palmer: November 2007

Cordless

Your umbilical cord finally fell off! It appears your belly button is the only part of you that looks like me.

Thankful

I'm Sorry You Stink

Your sister got a bath nearly every day when she was your age. I could count the number of baths you've had on one hand.

Sock Caper

I Love This Girl!

Making Strides

The first two weeks of being the parents of two children have been pretty tough, but things seem to be smoothing out as we head into week three.

Georgia - you have had a harder time adjusting than we expected. You began demanding that we rock you to sleep while you took your evening bottle, and when we refused you would throw HUGE fits. Then you would wake up several times throughout the night screaming inconsolably. Nothing we did would make you feel better, so we made the tough decision to let you cry it out yourself to see if that would get you through this phase. It seems to have worked. You slept through the past two nights and didn't cry at all when I put you down tonight (knock on wood). Your improved sleep has really helped your disposition, and we're recognizing you as the sweet (yet headstrong) little girl we knew was lurking behind the tantrum-throwing toddler.

We're still working on "gentle" with you. You tend to be very rough with your baby brother, but most of the time it's out of enthusiasm rather than spite. You simply can't control your excitement, so you hit and scratch him. You continue to enjoy gathering diapers and wipes, whether he's in need of a diaper change or not, and tonight we had a big breakthrough when you helped feed "baby brother" a bottle.

Palmer - I worried that you would be a pretty tough baby. Your big sister was such a delight as a newborn, and everyone I've talked to (including our doctor) says that if the first is easy the second is usually very challenging. Luckily for us that is not the case. You are absolutely wonderful! You don't cry all that much. In fact, we didn't hear you cry until you were three days old. You get upset when you're hungry, need to burp or need a diaper change. You are very patient and tolerant, especially when your sister hits you or pulls on your feet.

You are incredibly snuggly and love being held. You usually wake up when we try to put you down for naps but will fall right back to sleep once we pick you up again. I can't say I mind this all that much at this point, but there will come a time when you'll need to learn to sleep on your own. You have the biggest dark blue eyes and look so much like your daddy. You're happy all the time, and you smile a lot in your sleep. I think you're going to be quite competitive with your sister. We were amazed when she rolled over from her tummy to her back at ten days old. You did it at four days old.

The transition has been exhausting for your daddy and me. Tyler is sick with a cold and I'm taking longer to recover than expected. I don't know what we'd do without Nonny and Papa here to help out. We're hoping to get into more of a routine by the time they leave this weekend.

Nothing Good Happens At 4 a.m.

Dear children:
There is nothing more in the world that your daddy and I like to do than to spend time with you. We love playing with Georgia, listening to your giggles, interpreting your language, refereeing your interaction with your little brother.

Palmer, we could spend hours watching you make funny faces, marveling at your ability to pee a three foot arc, and playing with your adorable toes.

But there comes a time each day when we all need to sleep (preferably at least eight hours in a row). Please take this into consideration when crying (or screaming, or wailing, or any other synonym thereof) in the middle of the night.

With much love,
Mommy and Daddy

It Took Eleven Days

For you to pee on me.

Proud Daddy

Catalog Shopping

We've been getting a lot of toy catalogs in the mail lately and you've really enjoyed thumbing through them. Lucky for us you haven't realized that all the toys in the catalogs can be purchased.

You Do The Sweetest Things With Your Hands

First Family Photos

Although incredibly unflattering of mommy, these are the first photos of our new family. You absolutely LOVE your little brother. Sometimes you love him a little too much. We've tried to take pictures of the two of you together, but it's not safe to leave you near your brother unrestrained. You want to touch him, but you end up squeezing him really hard. When you try to kiss him you bonk heads. We love your enthusiasm about being a big sister, but it may be a little while before your brother is strong enough to play with you. Hang in there...it will all be worth it!

Riding Home From the Hospital

Friends Traveled From Near and Far to See Our New Addition

More Pix of Palmer

Pregnancy Portraits

When we were pregnant with Georgia we scheduled a pregnancy photography shoot with one of our fellow photographer friends at a local old west venue. We dressed up in western garb, complete with cowboy hats and six shooters. The whole shoot took a couple of hours and we made a cute photo album with all the pictures.

When we were pregnant with Palmer, we found out at noon on Halloween that we were going to have a baby the following day. So we took about four pregnancy photos in our bedroom that afternoon and called it done.

Halloween

We attended your school's Halloween party this year. You dressed as a peacock (thanks to Parker for letting you borrow her beloved peacock costume). You were the only peacock in the entire school!

You and your daddy walked in the Halloween parade. You weren't much interested in wearing your peacock hat, or in the parade, but you were quite excited about picking up little rocks you found along the parade route (aka the parking lot).