Move Over Princess Kate!

A new Royal Princess. A Royal Wedding. Does anyone really care when we have our own princess 'round these parts. Let's compare the two, shall we?

I heard it said that Princess Kate was called 'Beautiful Kate' at her University. Good thing she didn't have to contend with this shana punam.

One of the wedding commentators was thrilled that Kate wore her hair half up and half down - because Kate is noted for her gorgeous hair. I will try to make sure that Kate doesn't catch a glimpse of A's hair. How many people do you know who can boast of hair that is both curly and straight? Hm?Notice that nobody had any commentary on Princess Kate's wedding shoes. All I can make of it is that her feet must be unworthy of public display...unlike these stunning examples of bipedal glory.

Prince William and Kate are going off to a land far far away for the first few years of their wedding bliss. They say they aren't going to have any servants. Hmph. Good Grief! I consider that proof of the depreciating wealth of the British Royal Family. Even our Princess has servants 'round the clock. Here she is shown ensconced by her Royal Carrier.


The dress, the dress, the dress. That is all we hear about these days. And yeah. I'll admit that the new Princess Catherine did, indeed, have a gorgeous dress. But it was so...white. A little bland, wouldn't you say? I much prefer Analiese's Easter Dress, which boasts a bit more color. It is Spring, after all!

Regardless of which Fairytale is your current favorite, I would have to say that our favorite fairytale these days is Sleeping Beauty. I love to kiss mine each night before we fall asleep.

Analiese and The Fam!

The addition of a brand new baby in a household means that people have a sudden interest in visiting. I've never felt so popular! But wait...it's not me who is popular. It's (no surprise) our Analiese who has inspired this influx of guests! I am gradually growing accustomed to greeting my favorite family and friends - noticing that their gaze doesn't come anywhere near to meeting mine. They have a glazed adoring look in their eyes, their arms are already slightly outstretched in anticipation, and they begin speaking several octaves above their normal tones. Ah! They connect with the target, take her out of my arms, and then remember that there was someone else they were here to visit...."Oh! Hello Carrie. She is beauuuutiful..." and then it's right back to Analiese.

But that's okay. That is as it should be. Babies are like magnets. Who can stay away? So here are some pictures from family visits.

Here is the first day of Analiese's life. She was visited by Uncle Jared, Great Nana Norma, Grandma (still waiting for official title) Nancy, Tia Alejandra & Tio Adam.

Here is Uncle Jared holding his first Niece.

Uncle (Tio) Adam & Aunt (Tia) Alejandra have had lots of Analiese time...as they live about 1 mile away!

My Grandfather, Analiese's Great Grandfather, lives in Sun City, California. He is not doing as well as we would like these days so we headed down there last week to pay him a visit. It was very special to see Analiese in the arms of her adoring Great Grandpa. Adam and Alejandra drove us down there so that Analiese didn't have to be by herself in the back seat of the car for her first 3 hour-long drive. Rear facing car seats, in hot desert weather, are decidedly not our friends!

Here are Marci, Tobey (the guard dog), Analiese, Carrie, Adam and Alejandra

As my grandfather and Marci live a little more than an hour away from La Quinta, Kevin was able to pick us up and we spent the rest of the week in our soon-to-be new home. It was so nice to spend some more solid time with him. We can't wait to be moved down there and get back to normal life!


That same weekend, our Aunt Kathy and cousins arrived from Texas to visit Grandpa as well. They drove all the way to Tehachapi to spend a very fun day with the rest of us. We always have a great time when they are around. We laughed, ate, drank, and reenacted favorite SNL skits into the late hours of the night. Analiese was a trooper and was held by everyone, even Clayton! We look forward to when we can all hang out again.

Here we are with our Texas Cousins. Unfortunately Aunt Kathy is the photographer so she didn't make the picture with Clayton, Austin, Adam, Analiese, Carrie and Jennifer Rose.

And the winner of the "Who Visits Analiese the Most?" contest is....(drum roll please)

...my mom. Thank goodness for retirement. Her last day of work happened to be the very day that Analiese was born. She has been so helpful, especially in Kevin's absence, by coming over whenever I need a couple of hours to get stuff done!

And honestly, there is one more member of our family that is always a presence from dusk until dawn (and even next to us as we sleep at night)...the ever loyal and devoted Marshall. He has adjusted well to the new addition (or is it just that he is in denial??)

We are so lucky to have such a wonderfully supportive, fun, and loving family. It has been special to have so many of them living close by during this unique "newborn" phase. However, we miss our Kentucky family very much. I can't wait for the future blog post that will include pictures of our upcoming visits with them.

First Outing....Henry's Cafe!

Today was our first 'real' outing. I say, 'real', because we had to go to the Pediatrician at day 5. But that outing was business so I am not counting it. Anyway! Today, Analiese and I set off to meet Nana (or I should say, "Great Nana") and my mom, who we'll refer to as "Grandma," because she still hasn't decided what she officially wants to be called yet.

We went to Henry's Cafe - the little restaurant I used to work at prior to Analiese's birth. It was so fun to show her off to my friends at the Cafe. I thought Analiese was a champ! If I had to be strapped into one of those seats I would throw a fit. She didn't fuss the whole time (more or less) until it was time for her to eat. And that was miraculously after I had finished my food - hurray for that!

While we were there, several of the 'regulars' were there too. It was a real treat to see the wonderful people I got to know so well during my time at Henry's. And they seemed to feel it was a real treat to see the little baby they had watched growing inside of their waitress over the past several months.

One of our customers, Marge Sheppard, is a quilter. She found out that I was pregnant early on and immediately started work on a quilt. Her task was made slightly more difficult since Kevin and I had opted not to know the gender of the baby. She found out Analiese was born and finished this beautiful quilt in time to bring it in to the Cafe today. It is so special and we are very honored by her generosity. Thanks Marge! You have created an heirloom.




















Before I left the house this morning, I made a "List of Things To Do". I had grand visions of going to "So Childish" (a wonderful gently used children's clothing store), the bank, the post office, the library, and the Dollar Store. Well - we made it to two of the five intended stops. I still need a little more practice in Baby Schlepping before we can check all of the "To Do" items off of our list. But, I am sure you will be thrilled to know that we did make it to "So Childish," and picked up a few cute GIRL items. We are headed down south this weekend to visit Great Grandpa & Great Grandma, Bob and Marci, and to stay with Kevin to get the scoop on our new future home. Now Analiese can relax and know she will travel in style - with nary a gender neutral outfit in sight!

Our So Childish Shopping Spree Loot - this is only the beginning!

Memoirs of The First Two Weeks

...or, as a dear friend aptly referred to them: "The Soggy Days." Whew! Well - two weeks ago at this very moment, I was in the last wonderful stages of labor (truly exhilarating - if that's what you want to call it) and Analiese was 2 hours and 25 minutes away from introducing herself. The time has flown by, of course. But as they say, "You learn something new every day" and that is most definitely the truth with new parenthood.

(this is Analiese being weighed by our Midwife, Justine, the day she was born)

Yesterday, Kevin held Analiese while I took a luxurious shower. I had always heard that showers were a precious resource for new mothers but you don't ever realize the true impact of things until you are actually experiencing them. Showers are worth their weight in liquid gold. I got in, closed my eyes and sighed deeply as the warm water ran over me from head to toe. I was fully present in that glorious sensation. I turned around and opened my eyes - to discover I still had my glasses on. Just another 'You are now officially a (sleep deprived) Mother' milestone for me.

Here are a few things I have learned over this past two weeks:

1. Not that this is a surprise but babies require much more care and attention than dogs. My sweet friend Pat sent me this picture a few weeks back with the caption, "Your First Baby". I remember when I used to stress out about getting home from work in time to let Marshall out. Now I worry that I can't get the baby to the diaper changing arena before the pee or poo comes out...



2. You can walk around with a spit up cloth over your shoulder for 23 hours and 57 minutes of every day and your baby will absolutely not spit up. But there will be the remaining three minutes that you got up to get a drink of water, and that will be the three minutes that your baby spits up all over you. It never fails.

3. If you are not expecting guests, or generous food deliveries, your baby will be like clockwork on a 2 hour nursing/sleep schedule. Her little face will be beatific and she will coo lovingly. But should people want to stop by, or should you have a tutoring client that comes for just one little hour of an afternoon, your baby will then become very uncharacteristically fussy and want to nurse every 15 minutes. She will grimace horribly with a beet red face, as if to say, "How on earth did I arrive on this mother's breast?" You will find yourself insisting to people how cute she really is and how this is just not normal....


4. It can take you fifteen hours to balance your checkbook. And that is spread out over 3 days. Checkbooks don't stay open while you breastfeed and try to write with one hand. They have a life of their own. The bowl of cereal which once took 20 seconds to pour and adorn with milk, now takes a good 5 minutes to get assembled from start to finish and will not be eaten for about 25 more minutes when the contents are soggy and coagulated into some kind of cold processed porridge.

5. There is absolutely NOTHING that has made me want to be the very best human being I can be than the birth of our daughter. When I hold that precious little bundle of innocence and spirit, I want nothing but to guide her and protect her in the most humble, open-minded, and unconditionally loving way. It is the opportunity of a lifetime, to be sure.