MISSING THEIR GRANDPARENTS

James and Cora's Grandpa and Grambot had to leave today and we're all missing them already. I know it will make them sad to read this, but honestly, when James woke up from his nap this afternoon he was a complete mess. Regardless of him being only 15-months-old, he knew they were gone and he was devastated. He cried the most pitiful, heart-wrenching cry. He had Jay nearly in tears, and you know I was crying (I had been crying since they left 3 hours prior though). I was able to calm him finally by taking him outside and distracting him, but as soon as we came back in, he looked into the kitchen and waved (he waved at them constantly while they were here). When there were no grandparents there to wave back (Jean had taken Mom and Dad to the airport, but she came back later this afternoon), he started crying all over again. Poor baby. We can't wait to Skype tomorrow. And Sunday. And as often as possible from now on...

On a happier note, we are just so glad they were able to stay as long as they did. The past 2 weeks have gone so smoothly thanks to them. They cooked. They cleaned. They kept us in groceries. And Dad even went so far as to prep and paint the computer room/guest room. Oh yeah, and replace the kitchen faucet and fix the sink with Jay. Not to mention all the quality time they spent with their grandkids. They are wonderful grandparents (and darn good parents too, even though we know we now rank much lower on the totem pole) and we are grateful to have had them here to bond with their babies. It's HARD living so far from family...

We took family portraits on Father's Day and managed to get a pretty good one of them with James and Cora:

Then today, before they left for the airport, we decided to take a 3-generation photo of the girls:

And one of Grambot with her little princess:
James and his Grandpa did a good job of getting us to smile through our tears:
Come back SOON! We promise you won't have to paint next time...

A BELLY BUTTON FOR CORA

That's right folks, Cora's belly button has arrived. Her umbilical stump fell off this morning, quite unceremoniously (we found it in her diaper during a change). We're excited that we no longer have to treat the area with alcohol during diaper changes, though probably not as excited as she is to see that end. In fact, this was her first diaper change in which she did NOT fuss:

And that little belly of hers is already filling out... We can't wait for her weigh-in on Monday!

STATIC

James woke up with AWESOME hair this morning...

ALL DRESSED UP

Cora tried out her first headband bow and dress today. I know, the bow is GINORMOUS on her tiny little head (32.5 cm at birth, for those who are curious), but it's darn cute, right?

We think this little newborn dress her Grandma bought her (complete with birds, of course), the first dress she has worn (and it almost fits with those big cloth diapers underneath!), is beyond adorable:

And yes, she is already learning where her fingers are. So far the index and pinkie fingers are her favorites...

NOT THEIR INTENDED USE...

James loves his toothbrush and his potty. He really does.

Just not for their intended uses...

Here he is using his toothbrush as a teething toy:

(He will, however, be glad to brush YOUR teeth for you. Just don't expect to impress your dentist...)

And here he is "driving" his potty chair around the house (this was GREAT fun last night):

He's even strong enough and coordinated enough while walking now to lift his toys (or potty, as it may be) over little thresholds (and gate bases):

SPAGETTI AND BLUEBERRIES

Not at the same time, of course.

We were just excited that James FINALLY decided to like pasta tonight. He even ate the noodles (rather than just suck the sauce off and spit the noodle out). Way to go Grambot! And they were even whole wheat noodles. (By the way, the kid has been a complete ham this week, really laying it on thick for his grands, if you can't tell by his cute pose)

Jay thought it was great that he dunked his bread in the sauce...

Also, the kid has been obsessed with dried blueberries this week. He ate half a bag the other night, as evidenced by his blue teeth:

1-WEEK-OLD AND BACK TO BIRTHWEIGHT

Cora went in for another bilirubin recheck this morning and we got some great news - not only did her coloring look good enough that they didn't cut her foot for a blood test, but her weight was up to 6 lbs 1 oz (a whopping 6 oz gain in just 2 days). That means she made it back up to her birthweight (well, actually 2 oz above her birthweight) by her 1-week birthday. Since babies are expected to regain their birthweight by their 2-week weight checks, we were super excited (and proud, we admit) to have reached that milestone a week early.

However, the doc (the 4th pediatrician Cora has seen since birth: the Newborn Associates, her regular pediatrician, and 2 on-call pediatricians over the weekend and this morning) recommended giving her some time in the sun today, just to be sure. So I took her for a short walk this afternoon to catch some rays. She slept the whole time:

In other news, we used up the last of the disposable diapers we got at the hospital today, so Cora has moved into cloth. So far the prefolds are easy to use (and easy to clean, since breastfed baby poo doesn't even need to be rinsed off - it washes out like yogurt in the washing machine), but are a little big on our petite little girl...

She'll grow into them...

And that's a pretty cute little happy-about-her-clean-booty sleepy smile, dontcha think?

RACCOON!

Raccoons are thieves. But they're also funny. And great entertainment for toddlers...

DADDY'S DAY 2010

Last year Jay celebrated Father's Day with his 3.5-month-old son.

This year, he celebrated with his 15.5-month-old son and newborn daughter.

He may have his hands full, but there's no better man for the job.

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy and husband in the world! You are the cornerstone of our family and we appreciate everything you do for us all, big and small. We love you!

And we'd like to wish David a Happy Father's Day too...

...and announce officially that we are going to be an Aunt and Uncle again in early 2011. January 14th, to be exact! We are so excited for David and Taryn, and Eli, who is bound to be an awesome Big Bro:

A YAWN AND A SNEEZE

We figured we should post some video of Cora for her family that hasn't been able to meet her in person yet. As a newborn, Cora spends most of her time sleeping. And eating. And pooping. However, yesterday afternoon she was awake for 3 hours straight. During that time, we had lots of gazing, yawning, and sneezing. So here is Cora, in all her newborn glory:

TINY TOES

Yup, Cora has the same crooked left 2nd toe as James. And the same prehensile ability. However, she does not have his thick feet. Hers are dainty, of course.

AT THE WATER PARK

After his (relative) patience and good behavior at the doctor's office this morning, we decided to reward James with his first trip to the water park at Catfish Row. He had a BLAST, and really didn't want to leave when it was time. I thought it was so cute that he kept returning to the smallest of the fountains... just his size!

FIRST DOC APPT DUET

Team Lindsay made their first trip to the pediatrician with both kids yesterday. That's right - KIDS. Sounds weird to us too. Here are our munchkins loaded into the car together for the first time (James is wondering what Cora is crying about):

In the waiting room for 45 minutes (James had to have both his Snack Trap AND Sippy to pass the time):

Cora went first to show her big brother that there is nothing to be scared of at the doctor's office. That was the idea, anyway. Apparently she is equally unimpressed with being naked on the scale:

Cora weighed in at 5 lbs 9 oz, a drop of 4 oz since they released us from the hospital. Within range (babies tend to lose about 10% of their birth weight in their first days of life), but still a bummer. I had hoped that since my milk came in earlier this time that we would avoid the weight loss. Luckily, unlike last time, I did not flip-out over this news (although it wasn't as bad as the nearly 1 lb that James lost in the same time frame). I know Cora will put the weight back on, and then some. The other bummer was that her bilirubin count was at 15, so jaundice did catch up to us. Again though, totally common, and I wasn't too worried. Cora is a great eater and she had her first breastmilk BM at the doctor's office (right before her weigh-in actually, and I wouldn't doubt she lost 2 oz into her diaper).

James NEARLY had a clean bill of health. His appointment was for a recheck of his infections, and to get his MMR and DTP vaccines. His chest cold/infection is completely cleared, but his ears still showed some swelling and fluid, so he has ONE MORE round of antibiotics to go through. That make 4 rounds total since Mother's Day weekend when this all started! Hopefully this time we can actually knock it out. And perhaps he'll even avoid having to visit the good doctor again until his next well baby exam in 3 months...

So, due to Cora's bili level, she had to go in this morning for a recheck. The good news is that her bili count was down by almost 2 points AND her weight was up by 2 oz, in one day's time! However, a bili level of 13 still requires another recheck, so we go back again on Monday. Considering she has nursed like a madwoman today (and had the BMs and wet diapers to go along with it), I expect she'll be in the clear by then. Maybe she'll even be back near her birthweight...(She looks more jaundice in this photo than she really is, by the way. It was taken with my iPhone under harsh lighting. Gotta document for her just as we did for her big brother though!)

GRADUATION DAY

Well, we missed 1 day due to thunderstorms, 1 day due to sickness, and 4 days due to the early arrival of his baby sister, but James still managed to make it to the pool today for his final swim lesson. And no, there wasn't actually a graduation. No certificate. Not even a real class - it was "free swim". We were so glad we went though! James got to get out of the house, have some fun with his Daddy one-on-one, and cool off. And the grandparents got to watch him kick and blow bubbles, and even "jump" off the side of the pool into his Daddy's waiting arms (he was technically sitting, and just scooted overboard - it was a goal though, so we were glad to see him do it). We did NOT dunk his head underwater today, just in case...

Here he is with his Daddy, getting the lesson started with a smile:

Here he is "jumping" into his Daddy's arms:

And here he is practicing his kicks (please note the adorable Plumber's Crack):

Many thanks to the 'Burg Swim Team for making lessons such a fun experience for us - we really loved hanging out with you guys on a regular basis. We'll have to keep the playdates going! And thank you for Cora's roses too, they are so beautiful and fragrant!

SLEEP SHEEP = SWEET DREAMS

And not just for Cora, but for her Mama as well!

Hooray for bassinet sleeping!!

FLOWER BOTTOM

Just testing out tummy-time for a few minutes this afternoon. She went straight to sleep...

And no, she is not sucking her thumb already, it just looks like she is. She does get her fingers into her mouth quite often though. They don't stay put, but she sure tries!

SHARING ALREADY?

After 2 nights of Cora refusing to sleep anywhere but in our arms, we decided that no matter how cute and cuddly she is, she can NOT be held all day long by her adoring grandparents (and parents). We enforced 2 solo naps today: one in the bassinet (with her new Sleep Sheep to keep her company - and it WORKED), and one in the stroller (which I used as a "mobile bassinet" with James around the house when he was a newborn). When I took Cora out of the stroller this afternoon, James thought it should be his turn. So his Grambot complied and placed him in, sitting up and holding on like he does to his Radio Flyer wagon, since the stroller is positioned in the bassinet setting. This was right before his noon nap, and he was getting sleepy. However, he refused to get out of the stroller... So, for safety's sake (so he wouldn't tip over and fall out the back), his Grambot laid him down, legs dangling over the front, and continued to drive him around the living room. Within minutes he was passed out and his Grandma was able to take him out and put him into bed properly. But not without taking a picture first (of course):

48 HOURS OLD

...and drowning in her newborn-sized clothes (but at least Grandma fixed the gnome hat so it fits). (For anyone interested in Cora's birth story, it is now posted below under June 14th)

BABY DOLL

Just for fun, we thought we'd get a photo of Cora in her doll cradle, since she obviously fits.

Our own little baby doll...

MEETING GRANDMA

Cora just turned 1-day-old, and her Grandma just so happened to arrive nearly to the moment...

MEETING GRAMBOT AND GRANDPA

My parents arrived on the first available flight out of San Fran tonight and were able to meet Cora as she turned 9-hours-old.

MEETING BIG BROTHER

Cora met her big brother this afternoon. They even wore matching hats...

And many of you have asked us throughout the day "Who has James?", so we thought we'd let you all know that he had a great 20 hours under Michelle's attentive care. We believe they've bonded over the experience of Cora's arrival:

Thank you Michelle! Today was a truly wonderful day for us and you played a huge part in that by keeping James safe and happy, bringing him to visit us and meet Cora, and holding down the fort at home.

(We'd also like to thank Sandy and Team Kennedy for being on call for James-duty)