Eight weeks ago, I gave birth to my little girl. Tonight, I get ready to go back to work for the first time in nearly 3 months. Wow. I have been out of work for a quarter of a year. It is surreal. I am looking forward to being back at work, to Jay having a week alone with his daughter, but sad for how quickly the time has already flown by.

Mara is smiling on demand now and it is the cutest thing ever. She continues to be alert and attentive. She follows your every move and wants your attention. Last night she slept from 9 until 5:30. It was bliss (unlike the night before when she woke up every hour on the hour).

Thane is going through a defiant period. Yes, my sweet, well-behaved, mellow son is defiant. He will look at you while he is misusing his work. He will then gladly go sit in his thinking chair. Then come back and put the work away or maybe not. At school, he misuses the work, wanting to put everything, puzzles included, in the sink or throwing things or or or. This is fun.

At home, he is doing ok, some nights better than others but we have seen improvement. His world has been turned upside down so we are cutting him some slack, and so is school. We give him lots of love and attention but I guess it is still different.

He seems to be getting smarter every day though (which is probably to our detriment as well!). He can now say his name “Thane” (the TH sound was tough for him), knows all his animals and the sounds they make (his favorite sound is the roar of a lion and his favorite animal is a shark), swimming lessons have him actually kicking his legs and projecting forward, and he is helping get himself dressed and undressed, a huge help to us. He also continues his obsession with books, but seems to be getting bored with the younger books and wants more diversity, so if anyone has any faves, let us know!

Mara is also gaining. She has so much more alert and awake time every day. She smiles for real now, even giving us smiles when we just smile or play a game of head and shoulders with her. Her neck control is improving as well.

Here are some pics from Thane’s name day and some new clothes he got (now that he is in a size 3T!!!) as well as the whole clan in Steelers gear! Go Steelers—Super Bowl XLIII!!!

Mara turned 6 weeks old yesterday and had a busy week. On Sunday, we introduced her to Church for her 40 days. The priest came to the back of the Church and blessed her. She had such a smile on her face it was adorable. He then held her and took her to the front of the Church while Daddy, Thane and I followed behind. We had a great family shot that I cannot open on my computer.

Wednesday we returned to Greek class at night and she slept soundly through it. I can’t say the same for her big brother. He on the other hand had a ball looking at all the toys they had for the Sunday school kids. I did find out that he is now old enough for Sunday school so I think I am going to have him go starting Sunday. We shall see how that goes.

Yesterday was Mara’s 6 week checkup. She got 2 shots but seemed to do well. It was confirmed that she is a healthy eater (4-5 oz a sitting) and he said I should be thankful for the sleep I am getting, since most new moms would kill for 5-6 hours a stretch at night. I am exhausted though, but that is probably either the breastfeeding medicine I am taking (Reglan) or 6 week postpartum hormone letdown. Hopefully I perk up soon.

Here are Mara’s stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 10 oz 75th percentile
Height: 22 1/2 inches 75th percentile
Head Circumference: 37 cm 25th percentile

She gained 2 pounds and grew 2 inches in 6 weeks! She also moved up from the 50th to the 75th percent markers. Holy Macana!