Darby

I have had a great week with Darby. We have spent some real quality time together while sister is in school and she is out (for another week I'd add). When I first had G I thought she was difficult and "spirited" so I started to read "Raising Your Spirited Child." Well I pretty quickly decided she was not spirited. I think I should give the book another try though because Darby is definitely spirited. She has no less than 5 melt-downs a day, which G never had, and if you don't make her eat every 2 hours you better get out your stun gun.

There is a scene in "The Lost Boys" where a little kid turns into a vampire and comes flying out from behind a door with his teeth showing and his hair standing on end and one of the vampire fighters, maybe Cory Feldman, says "It's the return of Eddie Munster!" Matt and I have come to know when a fit is approaching and will turn to each other and say just that. The resemblance between Darby and that little vampire kid is eerie.

But here are some pictures of her being sweet. Here she is nursing her baby.

And loving on baby sister.

If you ask Darby her sister's name she says Flower Mera Jane.

So Much for Naps

And I am talking about myself, not the girls. They are widening the road we live on and it has made it really hard to nap due to the rumble of heavy equipment up and down the street all day. I also get woken early because my German Shepard loves to bark as the crews arrive for the day between 6 and 7. The project is supposed to take about 5 months but I don't see that happening. The crew decided to burn all the trees they tore down instead of haul them off so all along the road there are piles of burning brush. Coming home is like entering a scene from The Road Warrior.

Needless to say, I am not a fan of any of this, especially the burning. There used to be trees clear up to the road and now it will just be naked.

I might add it is Saturday and I was so excited about sleeping in but alas, PSO is out there right now with two giant trucks rumbling away. Maybe these guys take Sunday off.

JBF Aftermath

Every six months Tulsa has a giant consignment sale called "Just Between Friends." Because my husband does what he does, we usually get a few media passes and are allowed into the sale before the general public. I am not a big shopper but I love this sale and always get my money out. It is probably the only time I spend money on the girls (thanks to Nanue and G-mama). So last weekend I went and found some great stuff.

Georgia got a new nap mat for her new school and when we went to get her up Sunday morning she had sneaked it in her room and slept on it on the floor all night.

I was also lucky to find some great dress-up clothes as well as some tap and ballet shoes, which the girls have wanted for a long time now.

G now can be about 6 different princesses.

I am also always on the lookout for bags of bows and I indeed found a couple that were reasonable priced. G did her own hair in this one.

And my favorite was this princess piano. Georgia loves it and dances and sings to it. She has also almost killed her sister over it a couple on times.

First Day of Pre-K

She is off to school, 5 days a week. I haven't cried yet!

My partners in crime from now on.

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.

3-month Hearing Check

Just to update, G had a hearing test last week and there has been no significant change in the last 3-months so that is really good news. Also, Mera passed her newborn hearing screening.

The Last 3 Weeks- Part 2

Nanue and Big Papa came on Mera's one week b-day to meet her.
Big Papa left on Sunday and Nanue stayed for a week to help out.

She looks concerned.

G had some pretty late nights while Nanue was here.

It is amazing how kids can fall asleep anywhere.

Sleeping beauty.


Nanue brought the girls matching shirts that indicate their order in the family.

I already have an idea of how impossible a group picture will be.

Big sister and little sister.

Counting toes.

And she is already smiling on cue. I guess they do the early stuff earlier when they are almost 2 weeks late.

This was this morning so you can call it her 3-week picture.

The Last 3 Weeks- Part 1

Debo came over the morning after I had Mera to meet her for the first time.
Darby has a hard time keeping her mouth off her sister.

They both want to hold her all the time.

These are the cupcakes the girls made with my mom to celebrate the baby's birthday.

We have had lots of visitors which means lots of attention for G and D. Here is Uncle Matt playing with some sort of balloon contraption he made.

Vivian holding her cousin.

When people do come over it always brings out the wild in my children.

Vivian as the tube worm.

This is Mera the Monday after she was born getting strapped in for her first car ride to the Dr.

Ruth came over Tues. after the birth for the postnatal visit.

Mera was not happy about this feet thing.

And here is Ruth with her other Gleason delivery.

Daddy trying to rest.

This baby does not look like her daddy. If so, I don't see it.