Big & Little Baby Cousins

Here is the photo of Finn and his 1-day-old (in this photo) cousin, Lily Kate. He looks gigantic and she looks teeny!
Two quick Maggie stories -
Yesterday there was a mosquito in the house and Maggie wanted Grant to kill it. She said, "Die that mosquito, Daddy! Die it!" After Grant took care of it she immediately said, "Why did God make mosquitoes? I can just imagine someone telling Him, 'make mosquitoes, make mosquitoes, God.'" Grant and I thought it was a good question. Why DID God make mosquitoes?

The same day I had put an outgrown baby swing in the back of my car to give away. Maggie and I were looking out of our window and saw the swing rocking back and forth by itself. I said, "We better go investigate that swing." She asked why and I said, "Well, it's swinging back and forth by itself and either I accidentally turned it on, or it's possessed." She said, "Oh! It's possessed, I know it's possessed. What does possessed mean?" I don't know if that one translates well to being read, but her delivery was just perfect. She was so confident it was possessed, even if she didn't know what it meant!

What a debut!! and Finn update

Well we sure have had an exciting few days in my family! My older sister, Erin, was due yesterday with her second child, and started having contractions throughout the night of August 16. They went to her midwife's office Monday morning, August 17, and were told she was only 3 cm dilated and it would be a long night and the baby might not even come until the next morning. They went home for Erin to continue laboring. A few hours later Erin quickly went from contractions 8-10 minutes apart to transition (the part of labor right before you are ready to push!). They headed to the hospital as quickly as they could but Erin said she was wanting to push before they even left their street. They got to the hospital 7 minutes later (normally about a 15-20 minute drive) and Lily Kate was born IN THE CAR with the assistance of two bewildered EMT's right outside of Vanderbilt Hospital. Good thing Erin was planning on going without drugs anyway! My poor mom, Jim (Erin's husband), and Erin all were a bit traumatized and in shock for a while but everyone is doing well and they are even going to be released from the hospital today. Lily Kate weighed 7 pounds, 9 oz, and was 20 inches long. I think she looks like her brother, Jack, but I guess we'll have to see how she'll change over the weeks and months and years. Now that everyone is okay it makes me laugh because it sounds like Lily Kate will have her mother's personality - dramatic (in a good way), full of surprises, in a hurry, and not wanting to miss out on anything.
Here is a photo of the two girl cousins together:
This morning we had an appointment with Finn's geneticist, Dr. Summar, who happens to be at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, so we were able to walk over to see the new baby and my sister afterwards. Maggie thought she was going to get to go last night but it didn't work out, so she basically cried herself to sleep and then woke up TWICE, crying, because she was so sad to miss out on seeing her new cousin. Needless to say, she was quite excited to meet and hold her this morning.

Finn is 5 months old today and weighs 17 pounds, 5 oz, and is 25 inches long. That's about 1/2 lb less than Maggie was at one year. He's wearing 9 month clothing! It's crazy. As usual he was the hit of the genetics clinic and everyone came into his exam room to see him. They were all impressed by his strength and size and just how well he's doing. He gave everyone lots of smiles and giggles. Dr. Summar recommends that all of his genetics patients be screened by TEIS (Tennessee Early Intervention Services) just as a matter of course, as they check for any type of developmental delay so they can intervene early (imagine that!). Today Dr. Summar and his colleagues agreed that to get them involved at this point would be a waste of our time and TEIS' time, as he is right on track or ahead of all of his milestones. This might be something necessary down the road but we've put it on hold for the time being. It's a huge relief for us as we're always on the alert for some type of developmental delay due to the brain swelling he had in the hospital.

Also, it's hard to be excited about this but Dr. Summar has been asked to take over the Pediatric Medical Genetics department at National Children's Hospital in D.C., and will be moving there in about a year to do just that. When he told me I said, "They asked, but you said 'no', right?" I am excited for him but of course we just adore him and it's hard to imagine Finn's care without him. Fortunately we also LOVE Dr. Summar's colleague, Dr. Lanpher, who will take over when Dr. Summar leaves.

We took a photo of Finn next to Lily Kate at the hospital today and the size difference is hilarious, but I can't get it to load right now. I'll try again later.

Back from TX

We just got back from a great week in TX with Grant's parents. Every time we go we are spoiled rotten. Carol, my mother-in-law, gets up with the kids in the mornings and lets me sleep. She cooks delicious meals and packs picnics for the pool. She washes our clothes. She takes us shopping. When the kids go to bed at night, she and my father-in-law, Rusty, shoo Grant and I out of the house to go see a movie or go out for coffee. It is ridiculous and wonderful. They definitely win the In-Law of the Year Award.

Here are Finn and Grandma (Carol) at the pool:
They also took us to the circus, where cotton candy was going for $12 a bag. It was Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey, and it was so much fun. I was literally biting my nails and on the edge of my seat when the motorcyclists did their thing in the round, steel cage. There were 7 in there at one time! Every cliche about having kids is true, i.e. you get to live your childhood over again and see things through their eyes. If you are ever feeling down, just take your child or borrow one and take them to do something fun. Here is Maggie seeing the tigers for the first time.
On the way home, in the Memphis airport bookstore, Maggie saw a "Lion King" book. She pointed at it and said, "Look! Hakana Matoota!" (In case you didn't know it's really "Hakuna Matata." I like her version better.

Random story (Isn't this whole blog rather random?): In the last 6 months Maggie has started taking showers by herself with minimal assistance from Grant and I. It's been great. She does this funny thing where she'll get all lathered up and then open the curtain and say, "How's my style?!" or "I'm doing my style!" It cracks us up.

A Lotsa Bit

I just can't stop taking photos of Finn sleeping. I think he looks so much like his sisters here.
Maggie and I were driving home tonight without Grant. Out of nowhere she said, "Mama, I love you a little bit, but I love Daddy a lotsa bit, because I'm not with him as much but whenever Daddy dies, I'll love you a lotsa bit." I wasn't offended in the slightest because I was laughing too hard.

All right. Did your parents always warn you that tattoos are tacky and that if you got one you would regret it? Mine, too! Of course I ignored them because I KNEW tattoos were cool. When I was 18 I went with my friend to get one, and came home with a black Celtic cross on my lower back (I'm sorry, Grandma. And I'm sorry mom and dad. You were right.) About five minutes after the ink was dry I regretted getting it, but what could I do?! They're pretty permanent if you don't have the money to have it removed, which I don't. The other day Maggie was noticing mine (not for the first time), and I thought it would be a good time to start indoctrinating her against tattoos. I gave her a quick little spiel about why it wasn't a good idea, why it's permanent, that I wished I could get rid of it, etc. As son as I finished talking Maggie said, "But, mama, I already LOVE tattoos!" Lord, help me!

Here she is showing off her long pigtails: