Josie's "Baby"

Josie received a "Congratulations on becoming a big sister" gift from our dear friend, Aleksandra and family - her very own baby!  It gave Josie the perfect opportunity to showcase her favorite word of the moment, "Baby":  

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Papa's in town!

The past few weeks have been very exciting for Josie!  All of the new baby sister commotion has left a wake of visitors eager to meet Merryn but since she sleeps all the time, Josie is the true beneficiary.  As luck would have it, Papa happened to be in town on business and he came over to spend some quality time with us.  Josie was especially happy to see him!

Papa is so much fun.  He let Josie wear his watch...

...and he helped her practice her walking.

Then Josie got to introduce Papa to her baby sister.

Papa was the perfect audience for Josie to show off her new skills and abilities - particularly her rapidly growing vocabulary.  Papa decided now was the perfect time to teach her a new word: "Papa".  However, Josie wasn't interested in learning that word.  But she did offer up another word instead; "YaYa".  Ha!  Papa promptly called YaYa and let her hear as Josie enthusiastically chanted her name. 

She's practicing because she knows her YaYa is coming to help out soon! 

Speaking of helpers, Aunt Leanne will be joining us next week to lend a hand to help care for the girls.  She has agreed to provide child care assistance in exchange for Starbucks.  Talk about a shrewd negotiator...but she's worth it!

Maternity Leave

I now realize why maternity leave exists - you need at least 6 weeks to get your bearings after adding a new member to your family.  Hence, I've been on a little unanticipated maternity leave from blogging.  There is rarely a spare moment in the day in which both kiddos are occupied/sleeping and there are not 100 other household chores to attend to.  I'm a very schedule oriented person - just ask Mama Hop.  I left her an hour-by-hour schedule of Josie's daily activities while I was hospitalized.  She promptly disregarded it and used it as scrap paper but anyway...I'm working on revising my rigid but effective schedule that worked with Josie to include little Merryn.  We're getting there but until then, we may be noticeably absent from the blogosphere.

Several people have inquired about the origin of Merryn's name.  Being notoriously indecisive Libras, Travis and I struggled to come up with ideas.  It was important to me to have an established name (at least 100 years old) but I didn't want anything too popular.  That's when my friend, Leslie, suggested I check out the list of saints for inspiration.  That's where the inspiration for her daughter, Genevieve's, name came from.  So I did and I stumbled upon Merryn...and I Googled some more and I found this lovely coastal village in England named for St. Merryn:

It instantly earned a spot on my bucket list of vacation destinations. 

Josie is absolutely fascinated by her baby sister.  She says "baby" proudly and has shown no signs of jealously. 

This can likely be attributed to the fact that she has had 100% of her daddy's attention for the last week and he is oodles of fun!

Daddy's Girl

In a nutshell, it's been a wild ride at our house but we're loving every minute.  Thanks for all your kind words and well wishes.  Hang in there - we'll be back with lots more adventures from Catfish with Ketchup, Banana Split, and of course, Aunt Leanne!

Josie is FINALLY a big sister!

Introducing...

Merryn Elizabeth
Born August 5th at 2:34 am
8 lbs 2 oz
20 inches long

Josie arrived at the hospital this morning with an entourage of loved ones to welcome Merryn into the family.

Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne came to town in plenty of time to watch Josie while Travis and I went to the hospital. Good job hurrying, Leanne!

 

Grandpa Hop couldn't wait to meet his newest granddaughter. He was especially excited to discover that she has his trademark long, skinny fingers and toes.

The Divas rolled out the red carpet for Miss Merryn and welcomed her with open arms and a round of applause!

Josie could not wait to give her baby sister a big kiss - it was love at first sight!

Thanks to sheer exhaustion, further details will have to wait but we want to thank all of our wonderful friends in the blogosphere for your kind words and support. We will update you again soon!

Josie's New Signature 'Do

Thanks to her new wheels, Josie's mobility is improving daily!  Josie decided she needed a new look to go with her new ride.  It had to be cute, sassy, and aerodynamic!  Some may call them pigtails, or even antennas (she gets excellent reception) but around here, we call 'em Catfish Whiskers: 

The best part is, when you take the bows out and sleep on it, the style is downright unpredictable!  We can't wait to see what kind of crazy hair awaits us every morning!

Of course Josie knows how to work the crazy hair!  Check out our glamour girl pose: 

Work it, Girl!  Vogue!