My Heart Is Full

These pictures speak for themselves... taken in a perfect sweet moment at home.

First Bath

Finally that weird belly button thing fell off, making it safe for Ryan to have his first bath! He wasn't sure what to think at first, but calmed down with the sound of the running water. Dad was a pro, making sure not to drown the baby while getting all the hidden creases clean. The only wild card is Ryan's ability to pee the distance, a wee bit more difficult to manage in the bath than a baby girl like me! Mom has trouble with the area called "The Grundle" (you'll have to ask Dad where that is).After a warm bath, it's time to practice modeling faces with Dad...And check in on the progress of our latest Art Project. I am a big girl now, and my parents let me use scissors. I can happily sit and cut paper with my trademark concentration for 30 minutes to an hour. One day I will master the elusive "snowflake" that Dad taught me.

First Two Weeks

My brother has been home for 2 weeks, and the biggest surprise has been the fact that he doesn't do much. Mostly he just sleeps, eats, and cries. He is cute and smells really good, but he isn't big enough to play with me yet. When he is awake, he looks at us with his giant eyes. He seems to like us so far, and especially loves being cuddled. He has the adorable habit of squishing himself into a tiny ball when he sleeps.Since Ryan spends most of his day like this, I have been forced to entertain myself. Mom and I talk about all the things I can teach him when he gets bigger, like how to play with his toys, how to pee in the potty, and how to eat squeeze yogurt. And every day I ask Mom, "Is Baby Ryan bigger yet?". We celebrated his first Fourth of July at home, watching the Boston Pops In The Park on TV. He slept right through the neighborhood fireworks (in contrast to poor Maggie, who hid in Mom and Dad's room).
He's good at sharing so far, letting me use his bouncy seat for Rapunzel and other dolls. And he loves Story Time, when I read him my favorite books. I think I am going to like this Big Sister, Little Brother thing.

Nana and Papa's Visit

This week my Nana and Papa came down from Boston to meet Baby Ryan. They got some cuddle time with my brother, Dad introduced Ryan to the concept of male bonding,and I introduced Nana to the world of princesses.One of my favorite parts of their stay was visiting their hotel pool. I showed them how I can dunk my head under water like a big girl! It was great to see them, and we hope to see them again for Thanksgiving!

Ryan's Room

My new favorite room in the house is Ryan's nursery. I was the chief design consultant during the planning stages, and my number one rule was that boy rooms must have blue. Lots of blue. No pink. That's a girl color. Mom and Dad love sail boats, so that theme was okay with me. Mom took these pictures of Ryan in his rocking chair- she said we can take more pictures in the same spot over the next year to see how much he grows.This was my room when I was a baby, and I still like to bring my favorite toys in here for story time. I call this corner The Library, because it's stocked with my old baby books.Ryan seems to like his room pretty well.
Mom says he likes anything as long as he has his trusty pacifier. As a former Friend of The Binky, I advised him to find his thumb instead. It is much easier than waiting for your parents to come to your crib in the middle of the night to recover a lost binky. Plus, you get to keep your thumb for life, rather having your parents take away all of your binkies and blame it on the neighbor's cat when you get too old. I am happy to help him keep up with his binkies, and I've even offered to let him play with my dolls. Mom says that he will probably want to play with boy things, like trucks and dirt, instead of dolls with pink hair. Either way, she says that I am very good at sharing, and that makes me a really good big sister.

Going Home

After a fun-filled 48 hours in the hospital, it was time for Mom and Ryan to break free! I was the happy tour guide, introducing my brother to his car seat. I even taught him about my favorite Disney princess songs on the way home. He seemed to like them, especially the ones from Tangled. He got a grand tour of his new home, and then we spent some quiet time with Buddy in the bouncy chair. That night, Doe and Bud came over for dinner. Good Times!
For the rest of the weekend we plan to simply relax and get to know the new little man in the house. He seems to like us so far, and stays content as long as he is curled up on our chests. It's good to have him home!

Big Sister

This Big Sister thing is great, I am smitten with our sweet baby. Every time he moves or grunts or looks at me, I say "Aww, he's so cute!". Mom says that I have natural maternal instincts. These pictures are from the first time I held him- I went straight to work checking for a wet diaper, "feeding" him with my doll's bottle, and covering him up with the blanket. The sweetest thing was when I looked at him and said, "Hi, I'm your big sister".Mom says that he is "our" baby (rather than just hers, like I thought). So, now when he cries, I ask, "What does 'our' baby need?". I am going to be such a good helper when we get him home!

Baby Ryan

He made it! Baby Ryan decided to skip his scheduled induction on Friday and start working his way out two days early. He arrived in the middle of the night, and Mom and Dad's immediate reactions were simultaneously: "Wow, he looks so much like Kelsey!". He is healthy and perfect, and we are all completely in love with him! His first day of life was a blur, starting with introductions to Mom and Dad, The Bath,and The Hospital Photo Session. Those crazy people showed up 4 hours after his birth, ready to do a family portrait, catching Mom in a less-than-friendly state of mind. It had been a fairly overwhelming and sleepless past 24 hours, and she told them to GET OUT. But, she admits that the pictures from later in the day turned out well:
This is one of our favorites, because his expression is like a little old man:In the afternoon I got to come to the hospital to meet my new little brother. It was love at first sight. But his cry was very upsetting... and loud!My Aunt Doe and her fiance, Bud, came to the hospital to meet him, too. They stayed at my house for a fun sleepover while Mom and Dad were at the hospital with Ryan. Mom was so happy to see me, and I was thrilled to find her belly deflated, making it easier to cuddle! She said the hardest part of having Baby Ryan was being stuck in the hospital away from me. I made her cry when I said "I missed you alot, and I cried, and I looked for you really hard". I am a sweet girl, and already the best big sister!