What do you do when you have a new baby in the house and it’s 100+ degrees outside?

Give the kid a box...

Okay... maybe the pool is better.

Wow, what a crazy first week Katelyn had! We had lots of visitors, doctor’s appointments and family time!!

All in all, it went pretty smooth except for a small snafu in Katelyn’s eating habits. At her first doctor’s appointment on Tuesday 5/24, she only weighed 6lbs 14oz. Meaning she had lost quite a bit of weight in a couple of days. So, we left the doctor’s office with strict orders to feed every 2 hours… stripped down to her diaper with all the poking and prodding power that I had to keep her awake and eating well. So, that’s what we did. When we returned to the doctor on that Thursday, 5/26, she weighed 7lbs 5oz, gaining 7oz in a short amount of time. Go Katelyn! Dr. Sudha was very impressed. :o) Since she passed with such flying colors, we were able to leave to return for our regularly scheduled appointment – 1 week. We’ll see how it goes. So far, she’s never made it to the standard 30 minute eating time, but she seems to be getting full. When she’s done, she’s done….

This week, other than relaxing and eating, Katelyn also had many, many visitors. She got to meet her cousins, Jarod & Sydney, as well as her G. Aunt Karla and G. Gpa Crees–all the way from Montana! We had good visits with all! We were also lucky to have Evin and Vince home with us this week. It was a good time of family bonding and hanging out. Evin got to know his baby sister very well and is still thinking she’s super cute and fun. He likes to hold her every now and again, but only for a minute or two and then he says, “I’m done!” He’s also not sure about her belly button. What is that thing, anyway?!

Unfortunately, Vince still has a little bit of a cold, but hopefully he’ll kick that soon and be able to snuggle with our new little bundle. For now, I have to take on that horrible burden.. he he.

Here are some pictures of Katelyn’s first week….

(click an image below to open the gallery)

I know it’s hard for friends and family when a new little one joins the family and you’re so far away. So, I thought I’d be fun to introduce Katelyn the best way I know how… through my photos.

Meet Katelyn…

(click an image below to open the gallery)

Oh, what a fun day Thursday was! I’ve been dying to get out and get some little girly things for Katelyn, but haven’t really been able to leave the house yet. So, I was so surprised to get a bunch of cute, cute clothes delivered for Katelyn from Gma J, the Estey family and Ms. Mary. The girl has an instant wardrobe full of pinks, purples, blues and such. I’m so excited and so glad that I have little girly things of all shapes and sizes to put her in. I even have bows (of a small nature)! Thanks to everyone who sent stuff! I had a couple newborn girly things, but she can’t wear those forever! ;o)

Katelyn's new clothes... thanks!!!

Rex and Crab!!

Reading through his new fish tattoo book!

On Thursday, Katelyn got to met her cousins Jarod and Sydney. Gma J brought them over for a little snuggle time. I think Katelyn enjoyed it as much as they did. They also brought her some pretty fun toys that I know she’s going to love… once she can see… and control her arms.

Thanks for coming to meet Katelyn!

Cousin Sydney

Cousin Jarod

Sydney, Katelyn, Gma J & Jarod

Gma J, Sydney and Jarod

Snuggles

Poor Aunt Kim has been sick since last week and hasn’t been able to come by and meet Miss Katelyn. I have had a big talk with Katelyn and explained to her that her Aunt Kim loves her and will be over as soon as she can. I have also asked her not to grow or change until that time. :o)

So, dear Aunt Kim, Katelyn is excited to meet you whenever you feel better and we hope that you feel better soon!!

She wanted to do a little photo shoot for you this morning… I mean, I couldn’t say no to that, right?!

Strike a pose.

Waiting is exhausting!

Since Katelyn has arrived, I’ve been wanting to compare a photo of her with one of Evin at the same age. In my mind they look very much the same, but when I pulled up the pictures it doesn’t seem like there’s too much alike! It’ll be fun to watch Katelyn change over time and become her own little person. She’s seeming to favor a lot of Vince, I think.

They have the same face shape and I think their eyes are similar, but some things are different…

• ~ Her hair is a lot darker and there’s a lot more of it!! I wonder if she’ll have Vince’s color hair?
• ~ Their noses are different
• ~ Their ears are different–Katelyn has Vince’s ears, I think
• ~ I think their lips are different, but you can’t tell from these photos

Evin ~ 2 days old

Katelyn ~ 2 days old

That is all… I promise I won’t be comparing them like this their whole lives! Just thought it was interesting and fun… ;o)

I have to admit that our stay at Chandler Regional hospital was quite enjoyable this time around. We were given a huge room as opposed to the tiny, claustrophobic room that we had when we were there with Evin. Quite nice. And the nurses were much nicer and more capable than last time. We were offered to stay another day and I can’t say that I didn’t think twice before declining! But, as comfy as it was and as helpful as the nurses were, it was still pretty boring…

So, we headed home on Monday around 1pm or so. I put Katelyn in her coming home outfit–the only newborn girl outfit we own–as well as the crazy hat and we headed out the door! Evin was still with Gma and Gpa J, and after his nap, they brought him home to be with his new baby sister and welcome her home. He’s still keeping up his reputation and being an awesome big brother. He loves to see “that baby” and always wants to smother her with hugs and kisses… one of his favorites is to give her “noses”–some of you may know them as Eskimo kisses. :o)

He’s also taken to bringing his baby around a lot more. She gets changed, cleaned, brushed and takes naps in the pack-in-play. It’s funny how his baby has suddenly come back into the picture!

Overall, we’re settling in quite nicely. Katelyn is doing what newborns do… eat, sleep and poop.

Here are some pics of her homecoming…

(click an image below to open the gallery)

Aww… our Little Stingray has arrived and she’s a SHE!!!

Katelyn Anne Walsh
born: 5/22/2011 at 3:17am
weight: 7 pounds 10 ounces
length: 20.5 inches

She cried for the first two hours of her life and scared the heck out of us… what kind of diva did we have?! But, since her bath and a little heat lamp action she has been a perfect little angel, getting rest and enjoying being cozy in her 2-layer swaddle.

Evin came by the hospital with Gma and Gpa J today to meet his new baby sister! He wore his “I’m the big brother!” t-shirt and was so proud! He was a great big brother, giving her LOTS of kisses on her nose and saying how much he loved her. He even talked about his plans to take her swimming at Gma J’s house today. :o) He’s going to be a great big brother!! :o)

(click an image below to open the gallery)

Monday was my first official day on maternity leave. So, I decided to keep Evin home from school so that we could spend the day together. We had a fun time!

First, we had plans to meet Gma J at the aquarium for some fish fun. So, after we fixed up Evin’s spiky hair, we headed out. Thank goodness she was there because by the time we got there I was exhausted. I think I did too much around the house before heading out, and these days I can’t do much before being physically exhausted. It’s sad, really. So, it was really great that she was there to help show Evin the exhibits and lift him up. I pretty much just hung back and snapped a photo here and there.After the aquarium we headed to the food court for a bit to eat, where Evin got a cool crown from Burger King and nibbled on his pizza.

After lunch, Gma J and Evin rode the carousel! I gave him the option of getting ice cream or riding the carousel. To be honest, he always wants to ride carousels, but doesn’t really like them for some reason. He never wants to get on the animals and usually ends up on the bench. So, trying to get him to pick ice cream, I said, “I really want some ice cream…mmm… yum.” And to that, he said, “Okay. I’ll ride the carousel and you get some ice cream!” Little stinker. So, he rode the carousel with Gma J and we left to get some frozen yogurt over by our house–I wanted ice cream!

Evin loves the frozen yogurt places. Lately he’s been stuck on the mint flavor, which I think is odd until I realize that my favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip (Vince’s too, I believe). But whatever he wants… it’s his ice cream! Honestly, I think it’s really about adding all the toppings anyway. There’s really no rhyme or reason to what he picks. He just piles in all the stuff he wants and then picks through it when we get to the table. He adds everything from gummy bears (a must) to various chocolates and fruits. He’ll try it all. I really don’t even know if he gets to any of the yogurt, but he doesn’t seem to mind!

Here are the pics from our fun day…

(click an image below to open the gallery)