Visit from Wendy - the pictures

Okay, it was my fault and not Blogspot. Whoop-de-do. Here are the pictures from Wendy's visit.
Shushu and Ben.
"Ben avake! Ben avake!"

We've gone for lots of walks as a family.
Ben seems to enjoy them!
Wendy, Larkin, and Maya spent one morning at the Building Museum.
Maybe Maya is going to be a construction worker when she grows up. She is certainly rocking the look!
Here is Maya rocking another look (maybe a model is more in her career path.) She's wearing the dress that I wore to my 2nd birthday party!
Maya got gorgeous wings and a tutu as a birthday gift from Wendy and Larry Wexler. I can just envision a time in 6 months when she won't take the tutu off - ever.
Tatman and Phillip gave her a great thing of bubbles that blows "big bubbles" (to be said in a deep voice.) this provided hours of entertainment!
Wendy's cousin Nancy came to visit and brought us tons of goodies from her garden.

Wendy's visit

I've tried loading pictures from Wendy's visit several different times, and I can't get it to work. I'm pretending that it is Blogspot's fault (as opposed to mine.) I'll keep trying, though...

In the meantime, we had a great visit with Wendy last week during her visit. Maya absolutely loved having her Shushu around. The two of them went for walks, visited museums, read books, played, did art projects, and blew a lot of bubbles. Ben also enjoyed being with his Shushu - he ate, pooped, and slept all week long.

It was great having Wendy around to help with both kids (and provide me with adult conversation during the day), particularly when Larkin was in New York. We are looking forward to seeing her and Gene in Bakersfield in a couple of weeks. My sister Tracy came to visit for a night last week as well. Maya loved having her "Aunt Tacey" here - especially since Tracy wears heels and allows Maya to walk around in them!

Ben is doing great. He is starting to smile and coo, which absolutely melts me heart. We are getting into a routine, Ben and me. He is sleeping great - waking up just once through the night. Of course, I'm not counting the 5:30 am feeding as getting up in the middle of the night, as Maya and Larkin both are up and ready for the day to get started by 6. The hours that Maya is home and awake during the week (6 to 8 am and 5:30 to 7:30 pm) are sometimes chaotic as they usually correspond to Ben's awake (or as Maya says "avake") time, but we are surviving. May loves Ben; she won't leave the house or go to bed without giving him a hug and a kiss.

Will try and post the pictures from Wendy's visit soon...

More pics of Ben's first week/update on second week

Here are some more pictures of Ben's first week (from my mom's camera.) Ben had his two-week appointment this morning, and he is doing great. He already weighs over 10lbs and has gained an inch, so I must be doing something right. He is sleeping well (knock on wood) and is becoming more alert each day. Maya absolutely loves her little brother - she loves to sit with him and say "Hi, Baby Ben" over and over. She thinks it is hilarious when he looks at her or makes sounds. Larkin is in NYC for Broad stuff until Wednesday, and Wendy is here helping me hold down the fort. Maya and Ben (and I) love having ShuShu around and are super-thankful for her help!

Once Wendy has a chance to download her pictures, we'll post pictures from Ben's second week and Maya's second birthday party!

Ben and Grandpa
Ben and Grandma
Maya and Larkin off to meet Baby Ben in the hospital
The Littlest Longhorn coming home for the first time.
Benjamin Robert and Robert Melvin
I love having a little cuddler again!
The very proud big sister....
Counting the toes.... again.
Counting the eyes.... again.
Maya Drake.
Ben's first sponge bath.
Grandma taught Maya to play hide and seek - kind of.

Busy week

Ben turned one week old yesterday and his first few days on earth were action packed. Much of the excitement came from meeting new friends. Thanks to UVA and Georgetown scheduling their 10-year reunions right around the birth, Ben got to meet a ton of people, like Chelsea,


Bonzo, and

the Nolds.

Pop Pop Klingler also got some love, and


Claudia, Benjamin's future nanny and maestra de Espanol, dropped in.


Jack Dempsey from Little Rock stopped by with his parents to see Ben, but Maya was more fun.


In fact, Maya entertained Ben and the rest of us throughout the week.


She enjoyed comparing her nose to his and


snuggling Ben up to her "Baby."


In fact, Maya was so enthralled with mamma's breast feeding Ben that she tried it herself.


When Ben wasn't meeting new friends and hanging out with family, he slept. Unlike Maya, who slumbered almost exclusively on her back (so much so that it somewhat flattened the back of her head), Ben likes his sides.


We call this the thinking man nap.


Perhaps the highlight of the week was the day after the birth, when Maya visited Ben and mamma in the hospital. Although the end of the clip is somewhat anticlimactic as Ben is whisked away for his circumcision, Maya's excitement t0 meet her little brother and see mamma after a brief separation is pretty awesome.



Props to Grandma and Pop Pop Klingler for the huge help getting us settled back home, doing laundry, making meals, and allowing us to nap. We're looking forward to Shu Shu's visit later this week.