Happy Birthday Maeve!!!!!!!!!!

There has been a LOT going on lately, and a bunch of updates are queued up, but we'd be remiss in not recognizing little Maeve's 2nd Birthday! If you've met her, you know what a bundle of joy she is to be around. If you haven't met her, what the heck are you waiting for!?

Happy Birthday Maeve. We love you sooooo much!!!!














Maeve and baby (God help us all if baby ever gets lost).




















Fear? Maeve doesn't know the meaning of the word!

Lederhosen Part II

We got good news at Anya's last Doctor's Appt. Her hip is coming along nicely and we've been able to take the harness off during the daytime hours. She'll still wear it at night for the next month or so. We're hoping for more good news at her next checkup. It was great to hold her without the harness on. Additionally, the Doctor put a new harness on her at the checkup. Thank goodness, the first one was stinky!




















Anya minus the harness. She still keeps her legs out like a frog!














Take the picture already Daddy, I'm not holding this pose much longer!














Anya. Love Bug.

Hol' baby (Maeve Speak)

Maeve is fond of saying "Wanna Hol' Baby!!!!" Here are a variety of pics of people doing just that.














Teaghan hol' the baby.














Teaghan and Maeve hol' the baby.














Mommy hol' the baby. (see where this is going?)














Papa Jack hol' the baby.














Papa John hol' the baby.














Great Grandma Joanna hol' the baby.














Daddy hol' the baby.














Maeve and Teaghan supervise while Mommy hol' the baby.














Anne hol' the baby.














Olga and Marina hol' the baby.














Carla hol' the baby.















Tami hol' the baby.




















Marisa hol' the baby.




















Auntie Nora hol' the baby.














Uncle John hol' the baby and gets a headstart on his "who's your favorite uncle?" campaign.

First Bath

The harness made this a bit tricky, but Mama and Grandma Joanie figured it out and got it done!














The bath crew in action.














Ooh. This warm water isn't so bad.














Aaahhh. All clean.














Teaghan followed suit and gave her own baby a bath.

More pics on Thursday

I promise!

Lederhosen

We had some nervous moments during Anya's first week. On the last day in the hospital, the pediatrician noticed a pop in her right hip, which can be an indicator of hip dysplasia. Two days later, our family doctor was able to replicate the pop pretty easily. She was able to get us scheduled to see a specialist two days later. Thankfully, she has only a mild case of hip dysplasia in her right side. She'll have to wear what we're calling 'lederhosen' for at least 6 weeks, but hopefully that will be it. After just a week of wearing her harness, the doctor noticed improvement, so things are looking good. She has to wear the harness 24/7, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all, and although it's a chore to change her clothes, diaper changes aren't that big of a deal.

Also, it doesn't affect your ability to hold her, so if you get a chance to see her over the next month, don't be shy!!!

Here are some pics.














The Lederhosen (and Cookie Monster).














The harness keeps her leg at this angle so the hip can grow and strengthen itself. It seems to be doing the trick.














Teaghan and Maeve say 'hey' to their sister.














Teaghan shows off her new hairstyle.




















Maeve demonstrates what she considers to be proper baby holding etiquette in an effort to gain the privilege of carrying Anya around the house. Close. Oh so close. But not quite, Maeve. Not quite.

Coming Home

We seem to be getting the hang of three kids now. It wasn't easy with Daddy getting the flu the day Anya was born, but we made it. Anne is hanging in there as far as lack of sleep goes, and is having a blast getting back on the exercise bike and going out for runs. Teaghan and Maeve are wonderful big sisters and haven't asked to send her back yet.

So let's go back a few weeks and see some homecoming pics...














Teaghan and Maeve act as the security detail as Mommy gets the first class treatment on her way out of the hospital with Anya.














It's always shocking how small they are (which is easy for Daddy to say...)














Great Grandma Joanna and her namesake.














Papa Jack and Granddaughter number three.














Grandma Bernie and her latest Grandchild.














Papa John is loving his little Anya, and she's throwing that love right back at him.