More Bath Time.

I love her little rolls. At 11 lbs, she's already much chunkier than she was at her first bath.


Chunky froggy legs.


So fresh and so clean!


All tired out and sleeping in her new vibrating bouncy chair.


She seems to really love the water. I wonder where she gets it.

...and then there was pink.

Added later: Just to clarify, this is a picture of a load of laundry that turned pink after washing on warm with a very red tablecloth. Oops.

Two extra cycles with lots of oxyclean, and this is as good as we got.

The white onesie is just for contrast. It wasn't actually part of the load of laundry.

Faces

6 weeks old.

Sleeping with Daddy. Sleeping with Daddy gets a Thumbs Up. Adorable when sleeping. Hard to focus when you first wake up. Need to do some eye rubbing. Looking at Mama. Making funny tongue face. Doing some slack-jaw breathing. Looking out the window.

Port Wine Stain

Update from October 2010: We now know that isn't a true Port Wine Stain, but a Hemangioma. See the next post about this here.


When Chloë was 8 days old, I noticed she had what looked like a dark purple splotchy bruise behind her right ear. The only thing I could think of was that she must have pulled on her ear really hard during the night and broken a blood vessel.

But after a few days, the bruise wasn't fading. In fact, it seemed like maybe it was even darker and slightly bigger. It crossed my mind that it looked a bit like a port wine stain, but I couldn't imagine that I would have missed it for the first 8 days of Chloë's life.

After a couple of weeks, I came to terms with the fact that I really must be that oblivious, that that it really must be a port wine stain. But the two blotches kept slowly changing, and I kept meaning to take a picture or two.

So I finally got a few pictures over a week ago, and already they have changed. The rounder spot was once flat, and now has a good height to it, kind of like a mole. Of course I worry because the spots are on her head... close to her brain.

Fortunately, both her Grandpapa Doctor and her Family Practice Doctor think that the growing should slow down, and that the spot shouldn't cause her any problems in the future. If the spots do continue to grow, there are options out there for laser treatment or even plastic surgery. We are praying that we won't have to worry about the potentially painful and expensive treatments.

Fussy Noises

Chloë sometimes makes cute little noises when she's fussy. The faces she makes are pretty darn cute, as well. Here she is waiting for a diaper change. She was trying to be so patient.

Wedding in Oregon

Last weekend we drove to Oregon for one of my best friend's wedding. The 8 hour drive took 10, but Chloë was a trooper and really did well, considering it was approximately 782 degrees.


Thursday. On our way we had to stop at Multnoma Falls. We even dipped her feet in the cold water, which she didn't seem to appreciate.


Friday. The site for the Rehearsal Dinner; a vineyard in Southern Oregon.


The Blakeys!


Saturday. The morning of The Big Day. Manicures and pedicures, of course!


We had at least a thousand dollars worth of flowers, almost all given by neighbors and friends. My mom spent all day Friday, and all of Saturday morning doing amazing work making them into bouquets, and I spent a chunk of time helping with the table bouquets. We had almost 30 sizeable bouquets when we were done.


Me and my beautiful little family.


The wedding was in the Ewers' back yard. It was beautiful.


Tim and Leah!


Botkins and Ewers! It's quite a story. The parents were friends in college, and then got married and each couple had five children. And we're all best friends. My sister was one of the beautiful bridesmaids.


Me and Shannon. She is my Ewers. Even though she's a Harlin now. And now we're starting the next generation: The Blakeys and Harlins. Shannon is expecting a boy in October.


The Reception!


I sure do love these two people. Chloë was a bit worn out, I think.


Dancing the night away!

We relaxed on Sunday (and helped with some of the post-wedding clean up), and then drove back on Monday. It was a great trip.

One Month Old

Our beautiful baby girl is one month old as of yesterday. Seriously? Cliche as it may sound, where has the time gone? She is so alert and responsive, it is fun to see her using her eyes and focusing on her surroundings (especially when those surrounding are myself), although she still goes cross-eyed occasionally. She gets a little fussy in the evenings now, but we can usually console her with a full tummy, clean diaper, swaddling, patting, and walking around.

We're adjusting to being parents, doing everything in shifts, and always being tired. But we love every second of it. I still just want to stare at her all day long. But now that I'm somewhat recovered, I'm learning how to do things with half an arm.


The day she was born, versus one month later.
She has already changed so much.

4th of July

Going to my parent's house for the 4th of July has been a tradition now for many years. They live up past Bonners Ferry in the Kootenai Valley near the Canadian border. They live on 50 beautiful acres of field and forest, complete with mature cherry, apple, pear, plum and apricot trees, a winding brook, and a pond with fish and the occasional otter. There is so much beauty there; even the wildlife seem to appreciate it. Deer constantly grace the front yard (and my mother's garden, much to her dismay), and we've seen many other creatures, including elk and cougars and bears and rabbits and skunks and raccoons, and all kind of birds and water foul. Without the smog and light of a city, the sky is crystal blue and the stars at night are surprisingly bright. There is always lots of sleeping and resting and relaxing at my parent's house. It really is a little piece of heaven on earth up there.


Taking Chloë out for her first adventure; to see Chloë Trail.


The Woodland Princess.


The best smells on earth. Baby and Seringa.


Papa and Nana telling Chloë about the important things in life.


Uncle Samuel and Uncle Daniel, after an argument about who got to hold the baby.


Friends and family on the patio, enjoying the bit of sunshine we saw.