Esme and the dog / cat crew

Spot

Mrs.Pao: I think Esme really likes and can recognize Spot the Great Dane. I think this is because he actually stops and waits for her to notice him when he is coming to take a look at her - then gives us the biggest clownish grin and 'laughs'. It's the dog equivalent of going 'goo-goo-gaa' at a new baby and making funny faces. He is a very gentle giant, and often asks us for permission before he approaches - which is both sweet and amusing to watch. I'm very grateful he sets a good example for the others.

Esme actually sees him now and I think recognizes him as another 'person.' The other day I was bringing her in the door in her car seat carrier, and Spot came to meet us. He gently sniffed her and Esme made that same happy 'Ah' noise I was talking about earlier, but to the dog, and started to wave her arms.

Esme doesn't know the cats very well -- Pogo keeps wanting to tell me she can sit right next to her and be 'safe' but I'm not ready for that and have told her to hold off. The other day Esme was waving her arms and legs on the bed and Pogo was asleep nearby. I was sitting right there watching them both and Pogo got nudged by a baby foot. She let it happen a few times then very gently nudged back -- but I'm very nervous about even letting her get away with that and tried to tell her Esme was MY baby and she had to not do that.. I'm wondering how to deal with her in such a way that she will play nicely with Esme later and not feel like she has been replaced.

Esme at one month

First off: Happy Birthday Mark! He is very glad to be home and is thinking of writing up a narrative of his trip. There are a few places he was interested enough in to go back to for a more detailed look. He is really happy to be home and 'no longer rolling' constantly.


Esme at one month
9 lbs, 12 oz.
She can grab my necklace, hair and things off the side of the bassinet now, like when I'm changing her diaper and put a blanket or piece of clothing up there for a moment. She can lift her head up for short periods of time while laying tummy-to-tummy but has a harder time on a flat surface. I think she has begun to recognize both us and the dogs and makes little happy 'Ah' noises sometimes when we come into view.


Pogo among the shipping supplies

Pogo continues to be a great help in the shipping department of our little online store.

Mark is coming home today!

Some of you were out of the loop, sorry about that -- but I thought it best not to post that Mark had left for his trip until he was on his way back. He is coming home today in a few hours :))

He went over half the midsection of the country - through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. He did a stopover at a family friend's store in Utah to talk about some merchandise and maybe partnering up for some shipping and supplying later on.

He saw the Very Large Array in New Mexico, and the Hoover Dam, and took some pictures.

I hope I have everything ready for him to have a nice hot bath, Southern style tea and a good steak dinner when he gets home, oh -- and a crushing bear hug from me ;)

Heard on the News: I heard something interesting on the radio (NPR) yesterday. Think you've seen more babies this year? (I was surprised to hear my brother's wife was pregnant, but so were they) and Rhiannon is expecting a baby boy, after her sister also had a baby last year. Quote: "For the first time since 1971, the nation’s overall fertility rate rose past the replacement rate, increasing 2 percent in 2006 to 2,101 births per 1,000 women. Women of almost every age had more children last year than the year before, except girls under 15 and women over 45." From this news article

Mark's family's friend Bert had a beautiful thing to say when he heard about Esme: 'You're replenishing the Earth, that is the way it should be.' Those words resonated in me when I looked at Esme today. Someday, she'll have her own baby perhaps. I'm sure my mother thought the same thing when she held me nearly thirty years ago ;)

Dentist appointment

I had a dentist appointment today, which meant leaving Esme with Grandpa and Grandma, as Daddy was meeting with an old family friend at his store in another city. I was in a rush just to get to the dentist on time -- and barely did make it.

About ten minutes after I had left Esme with Grandma I was already missing her -- and had to call on them just to hear about her before my appointment. The dentist office staff have been following along on the blog here and there so they already knew about her and I brought pictures for the lady who doesn't have a computer :) It turned out the pictures were kind of for me too, since I was missing Esme I stared at them in the waiting room until everything was ready to go into the dentist's chair.

I was thinking I had a bad cavity on one side - but apparently it was several small cavities that could be sealed before they got deep enough for a filling - so, no novacaine! yay! They did do a thorough cleaning though, and after pregnancy hormones gums bleed a LOT, and boy mine did. So, glad I'm not having a thick lip for the rest of the night and that it wasn't as bad as it felt!

(I do have one other filling they want me to come in for later this month, if we're still here and haven't moved)

This would have been the first time since her second day home Esme would have had a bottle instead of me feeding her. However, she slept almost the entire time at her grandparents -- which was good for them but a product of her keeping me up all night last night. I swear she knows when I'm worried or anxious - she can feel it in my arms, hear it in my voice. She knew I was worried about leaving her, and about getting places on time - so she had a hard time relaxing enough to sleep. Now at home tonight she was fussy after she woke up, but got to eat and is happy again.

In other news: Esme's birth certificate came today - so, does that mean we get to keep her now that she's 'official'? ;) just/kidding! *snuggles Esme tight*

Birth certificates here & now look SO different than mine from Minnesota. I remember the DMV guy here when I changed my license looking all over mine for a number and having to call somebody because it didn't have one. To me, it's weird that this one DOES have a number - and even a barcode. Wow, I find that a bit scary actually!

More on Elizabeth

My mom and the rest of the family got to see the little one in Minnesota this weekend. She is gaining weight - but still can't come home until she is 6 lbs. The nurses have nicknamed her 'Peanut' and she keeps pulling all her wires out, grabbing their fingers when they tend to her and taking off her hat and mittens. She sounds like an active little fighter ;) My brother and SIL haven't gotten to hold her much yet - as she is in that incubator, but I think the way they describe her grabbing at the nurses means she wants some human contact. My mom also said my brother's voice makes her stop in her tracks and look around - she wants to know where that familiar voice, daddy's voice, is coming from.

Esme loves to hear her Daddy's voice as well, and stare at his dark eyebrows and sharp nose. I think she stares harder at him than she does me because his dark hair makes such a contrast. She loves lights too, and will focus on a bright light in the room when she is quiet and happy. As for human contact - besides all of our other mommy and baby time I'm making sure to take a half-hour or an hour here and there (when I can get it) to hold Esme tummy-to-tummy. She watches me for a bit, then curls up like a little frog and goes to sleep very happily.


Esme having 'tummy time' on Daddy last week
She is 1 month old now, and weighs 9 lbs, 7 oz today.

Daddy and Esme

Mark and Esme on Saturday morning