Before I forget

From Matt Gleason: The other night, I came home from work exhausted. I just wanted to lay down on the couch before I took on my parental duties from Virginia, who is more exhausted usually than I will ever be. Anyway, the girls didn't take kindly to me lounging with my eyes closed, so they descended upon the couch like something out of Planet of the Apes. After the invasion, Darby told me to open my eyes, so I did, then she grabbed the sides of my face, like I would her to make a point about not hitting Georgia -- Again. Then she said, "Daddy. I want to bother you." At least she's honest.

Night night with D-Rae

From Matt Gleason: Sometimes, Darby just isn't tired when I put her to bed, so she gets, shall we say, creative when it comes to devising ways to get a bit more Daddy Time after I'm off reading about home runs or the status of some running back's sprained ankle. Tonight, Darby alerted me to her not-so-tiredness by hollering from her crib, and down the hall: "Daaaaaaddddddddeeeeeeeee! DAAAAADDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! DADDY!!! I. HAVE. SNOT!" She did, in fact, have snot, not much, but there it was, so I wiped it. Soon after, as I checked on my dorky fantasy teams, Darby once again got to hollerin'. I looked at Virginia, and, together, we decided to give Darby one more visit. I went in. This time, Darby told me she was scared of monsters. That's a new one. Thankfully, Darby has gotten over her fear of monkeys, so now she's apparently onto monsters. I assured D there was no such thing, while feeling very much like my father. Then I told her I would protect her from such horrible things, even if they did exist. I'm very tough and macho when it comes to battling all imaginary creatures. Eventually, I was just a few kisses away from heading back to the computer, when Darby tried one last attempt to prolong the visit. "Daddy, raccoons scare me." That kid melts me. I told her raccoons live outside and, actually, at the aquarium, too. So Tuesday night, when the aquarium stays open until 9 p.m., me and the Gleason girls will go see the object of Darby's great fear and maybe watch it eat carrots.

Finding a Rhythm

We are slowly adjusting to life with 3 girls. I will say, without trying to sound down on my other 2, this baby is a dream. I don't know if I am just more relaxed or better at parenting, but Mera is so pleasant to be with and care for. My only problem with her a this point is she won't sleep at night if she is not next to me. I can live with that right now. Once her sleep patterns get more regulated we can work on getting her out of my bed and into her co-sleeper next to my bed. At this point I am just allowing myself to enjoy it since she is my last baby.

In the evenings she naps in her Ergo most of the time. I used a ring sling with G and a Moby with D and I am now loving the Ergo. We still use the ring sling when out at the store and such but the Ergo is great for naps at home. Here she is with her little arm hanging out.

We gave her her first bath this week even though her umbilical cord has been off for a couple of weeks. It has not been a huge priority. So here are her first bath pics.



And just for comparison, here is Darby's first bath.

And Georgia's first bath. I'd say we got our moneys worth out of the tub.

Mera already has great head control.

And G got to help give her a bath on Thursday night.

Such a great big sister.

All smiles.

And this is her this morning after she has successfully escaped the swaddle.