The caretaker

Anna continues to be Kate's biggest fan (ok, maybe not biggest...Clint and I are competing for that spot too), and just seems to love spending time with her. Kate is not exactly "fun" for Anna yet, so I can't wait to see how much Anna enjoys her once she starts really interacting!

Kate has had the "newborn fussiness" that tends to creep up around this time with little ones, and Anna is always anxious to help out. When Kate was fussing before dinner a few nights ago, Anna came up to me with what I assumed was going to be some request about something she wanted for dinner or not washing her hands, etc. But, instead, she said "Mommy, didn't you say that Mary Had a Little Lamb was Kate's favorite song?" When I agreed, she promptly went over to the swing and started singing it to Kate. Seriously, could she melt a mother's heart any faster??

I know these girls will have their share of sibling rivalry and "spats" over the years, but I can't help but think they'll also be the best of friends....

To Susan-

Well, since I missed both Susan's birthday and Mother's Day, I thought I'd put up a blog entry just to express our appreciation to the best wife/mommy in the world from Anna, Kate, and Clint. We love you!!!

Easter babe

Anna was very adamant about Kate needing to wear the rabbit ears that the Easter bunny left in her basket, so we obliged. Can't say I minded the cute photo op of my little Easter baby!

Picking strawberries

One of our first family "outings" after Kate's arrival was to a somewhat-local farmers' market to pick our own strawberries. We did this last year with Anna, and she loved it! She definitely had a great time again this year. Kate seems a little oblivious to the whole thing while hanging out in her sling, but I'm sure she'll join in the harvesting next year...

Playdate

Kate had her first playdate a few weeks ago with her "best friend" (parents can predetermine that, right?) Charlotte. Charlotte is the sister of Anna's future husband, Owen. How convenient is that? The girls played together beautifully...not a single fight during the entire event! Now let's just hope they get along this well as college roommates...

Toupee

If I hadn't just washed these dark brown locks myself, I would swear Kate was wearing a toupee in this pic...

Looking at this (this was taken a few weeks ago) confirms that Kate's hair is certainly starting to fall out now. :-( We'll just have to see what color it is when it comes back...will she keep this brown hair, or turn into a towhead like her sister? Only time will tell...

So sleepy...

Being a baby is hard work...

First bath

Not to worry--we didn't actually wait 5 weeks to give Kate her first bath. We've just waited 5 weeks to actually get around to posting the pictures! As you can see above, she wasn't necessarily a huge fan of her first bath. I guess you can't blame her for not loving the sponge bath. She did have her first "real" bath today (umbilical stump is finally off and healed!), and was much more pleased with the whole experience.

Even if the first bath itself was a little less-than-great, Kate certainly enjoyed the post-bath snuggles...

Computer geek

Anna's latest obsession is playing on our laptops (thank you taxpayers for the govt laptops for her to use!)...mostly games on the internet on PBSKids or Noggin. We've been seriously amazed at how quickly she's mastered the use of the touchpad, and how well she can navigate through all the pages without our help (especially given that she can't read!). I do have to admit that this new hobby has been a bit of a lifesaver with having a new baby in the house as well. While I ideally don't like her to spend lots of time on the computer, its been nice occasionally when I'm feeding Kate or otherwise have my hands full with her. This way I can still be neglect-o-mom without the FULL guilt of letting her watch hours of TV...

Out and about

Maybe its not a good sign for Kate's nutritional future that her first real outing was to a donut shop? Oh well. We had been to the doctor to have Kate's weight checked (for the 3rd time that week...), and decided we all deserved a little treat of some morning pastries. Sorry you couldn't really partake in the yummy goodness, Kate, but we sure enjoyed our first trip out with you!

Sisterly love

We have really been blessed with the bond that Anna and Kate already seem to have. Even though Kate is far from the "fun" stage for Anna (seeing that her main activities--eating, pooping, and sleeping--are not on Anna's list of top toddler fun), Anna still really seems to love her and loves spending time with her. Whenever Kate cries, Anna will come over to her and say "Its ok, Kate, your big sister is here now." So sweet. We know their bond will grow even stronger when they can actually play together (and I'm sure the fighting will greatly increase too! We're not kidding ourselves there...)...we are just so happy that they have each other!

First doctor visit

Kate had her first visit with her wonderful doctor, Dr. Binder, the day after we got home from the hospital. Dr. Binder has taken such great care of Anna for the last 3 years, and we're excited for him to be taking care of Kate now too. He was amazed at how big she was! While we had some trouble in the first week with her gaining weight, now that she's hit her stride there's no stopping her! This girl can eat! Dr. Binder was so impressed with her weight gain at her 2 week appointment that he took her "graph" of how much she's been eating and showed it off to his whole staff! He wanted to introduce them to the ways of the "new Baggerman". :-) We're hoping and praying that Kate will continue her great eating and not have all of the struggles that poor little Anna had her first year with eating...

Inspector Sister

Checking out the new "goods" on one of our first days home from the hospital with Kate. Inspector Anna approves...

Snuggling with Grammie

We were very blessed to have Grammie come spend the week with us the week after Kate was born. Kate and Grammie enjoyed some serious snuggle time, and the rest of us enjoyed some of Grammie's great cooking, lots of help around the house, and just spending time together...

Coming home

Well, we're already a few weeks behind on updating our new blog, but I'm going to try to do better in the coming days and catch up a bit...

Here, Kate takes her first ride in her carseat as we get ready to leave the hospital. And, look at her already holding in her own pacifier...how advanced! :-) While she had some mixed feelings about the carseat on this first ride, she's become quite fond of it in recent weeks...

Welcome to Anna and Kate's blog!

Welcome to our new blog to chronicle the adventures of Anna and Kate! We know they have a lifetime of fun times and experiences together as sisters, and we hope to capture as many of them here as we can.

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life." -Isadora James