3 Week Report

Life is good.

We survived the week with Grandma and Grandpa Breyen! Their flight arrived from Minnesota without incident on Tuesday, April 15th (Tax Day--we've already spent our refund!) We welcomed them to San Antonio with a traditional supper of Indian take-out from our favorite local hole-in-the-wall. Amelia seemed to enjoy the ethnic flavors of Lamb Korma, Saag Paneer, and Kashmiri Nan at her next feeding!

Wednesday morning I went to BSF to show off pictures of Amelia to my friends in class (Amelia won't be able to attend the children's program until she's 2 years old); but I also wanted to get Nate back into his "Bible class" routine. He always talks about his friends Samantha, Kate, Kaitlyn, William and Joshua (of course, I've never met any of these little playmates...I suppose the separate life away from Mommy's bubble starts young). While I was gone (for only 2 hours and 20 minutes!), Grandma gave Amelia her first bottle (a bittersweet moment for Mommy)! Grandma reported she was a little hesitant at first, just letting the nipple hang in the side of her mouth; but after a few sucks, the 2 ounces were gone. That's why I left the milk in the refrigerator, I suppose! She breastfed as eagerly as usual when I got home, so everyone was happy in the end! :)

Thursday we took Mia to Martha's Mexican Restaurant--her first dinner out! I think she likes the flavor of chili rellenos, too! On Friday, we laid low and used the down-time to get some more projects done around the house. Saturday, we took the kids to their first Fiesta! event--the First Annual Fiesta de los Ninos. Nate had fun playing mini golf (for the first time--it looked more like polo the way he hit the ball with the club!), jumping in the bouncy castle and riding the spinning rabbit ride with another little boy he was standing next to in line. Mia slept through most of the cacophony. Then on Sunday, Amelia's name was announced in front of our congregation to welcome her as the newest arrival to First Baptist Church San Antonio. She had a little pink rose next to the preacher's chair to commemorate her birth. Grandma and Grandpa were there for the event.We completed a lot of back-burner projects while my parents were in town. Dad cooked almost every night, installed a screen door, fixed our laminate trim, hung a cabinet to increase storage in the master bath and finished several miscellaneous handyman tasks that didn't get done before baby arrived. Mom sewed a khaki Mei Tei carrier with pink insert, a "Hooter Hider" for nursing, and Mia's eclectic-shabby-chic valences for her pink & black nursery.

My mom was amazed at how much more alert Amelia became in just the short week that they were here. She is. She's unfolded a lot, so she's not always bundled in her newborn-cocoon stance. Her neck strength is increasing, so she doesn't bobble around as much. She maintains eye contact with you for short periods of time and seems to really observe her surroundings when she's awake--especially ceiling fans, windows, mirrors and anything with sharp contrast. Nate is still in love with his sister and wants to make sure she's happy at all times. He's an avid "helper" grabbing diapers, trying to assist Mia onto the breast, piling toys into the swing for her to play with "when she wakes up" or "when she gets bigger," and singing songs or kissing her when she's fussin' (that's his word).

On a side note, we'd put no pressure on potty training before Mia arrived. Everything we read and the stories we heard said there will only be regression when the baby arrives. However, Nate now has an increased interest in potty training! He's using the toilet for poopy at least twice a day! I think he is proud to be a big brother. In his mind, with the new title comes new responsibility. He's been letting us know in many subtle and not-so-subtle ways that he is no longer the baby of this house. Besides potty training, he now wants to put his diaper on standing up; he will not let me or Jason brush his teeth, "you stay out there;" he wants to pick out his own clothes, "that shirt is not good," "I don't like those shoes," "I want to be silly with one blue shoe and one brown shoe;" he prefers to take a shower "like Daddy" over bathtime with toys (and he's always loved bathtime!); and he doesn't want us to provide direction during clean up time before bed, "[frustrated grunt-scream]...you don't talk words, I know what to do" he tells us when we ask him to start with the cars or take apart his train tracks first. All of this behavior is new since Amelia's arrival.

That's the story of Amelia's third week of life. This weekend, my sister and her brood arrive from Iowa. (Hmmm...five kids under 4 running around the house--sounds relaxing!)