the first "first" we've missed

i can't tell you how relieved i am that marianne is adjusting so easily to daycare. it really takes a load off of the mind but in its place is a burden on the heart. i know that from this point on there are going to many "firsts" that we won't get to have...and it has already begun. yesterday at daycare marianne rolled over from her back to her tummy. she's been working on it for a few days and almost did it for her daddy and i on wednesday evening. i just knew it was inevitable that yesterday would be the day and as i looked over her "report card" when she got home last night, there it was in the notes: "rolled over on tummy!" i bawled. my first real cry since she started on wednesday.

i know that daycare is a great thing for kids. i know we're doing the right thing and that it will be so good for her socially and in many other ways but it just hurts so much to know that i'm not the one anymore who will be blessed with her many milestones to come. argh.

it does give me comfort that her daddy and i were the first to see her roll from tummy to back a few weeks ago. she's yet to do it again but no one can ever take that one away from us! AND when we played with her last night, she rolled over from back to tummy for us. it was still the sweetest thing i've ever seen, even if i wasn't the first to see it.

flying colors

marianne made it through surgery and has had a very speedy recovery. her urologist was extremely pleased with everything and we were discharged on time to go home friday afternoon. we did take marianne to the e.r. on monday evening because she was running nearly a 101º temperature and the on-call nurse thought it would be best to take her in and have her checked. they didn't find anything alarming, her fever subsided and she's been doing great ever since.

today was her first day of daycare and my first day back to work. i was so worried that she'd be upset and cry all day. our daycare is wonderful and the girls taking care of her are awesome but i just can't believe i'm not going to see her during the day...i'm going to miss her so much. i was really strong when i dropped her off. she was content but looked a little confused as i walked away. i called at noon to check in and they said she was doing great. when jer picked her up they said she was an absolute doll, was full of smiles and had fun playing all day. i am so relieved that day one went so well. i have a feeling tomorrow will be even more difficult. someone tell me when they start getting easier...

here are a few photos from the surgery:

PRE-OP:

the pants and smock were way too big but i love these little white scrubs.

daddy was holding and entertaining her so that she didn't smell momma and milk and decide she was hungry (we had to fast her 4 hrs prior to surgery).

RECOVERY:

the first 10 minutes with her in recovery weren't even close to this relaxed. she had a hard time coming out of anesthesia so they gave her a bit of morphine and this is once it had set in.

POST-OP OBSERVATION:

we stayed overnight for observation. her nurse is checking her out as we got settled into our patient room.

friday and finally wire- and tube-free after they removed the catheter, heart rate monitor and i.v.

fathers day weekend in co

full plate

we sure do have a lot going on. i think it's set in that i WILL finally be going back to work next week. we've been transitioning marianne to the crib in her room for the last couple of nights. it's actually been going great...i don't think she notices a difference. but i do! i don't hear her every slightest movement so i'm not waking up as much. we also started an actual bedtime routine AND have started putting her down for bed at 7ish (we're still working to figure out the best bedtime).

we are as ready as we're going to be for her surgery on thursday. i'm confident but ready for it to be over! daddy is taking the day off tomorrow to spend with us - marianne is really excited for that. she is getting baptized on sunday and we'll have grandparents and aunts in town for the weekend. then i go back to work next wednesday. it's going to be a really heavy week.

after the first night she rolled over, she did it twice the next night and hasn't done it since. she did almost make it over again this morning though. she has to throw her butt and head a little harder and she props out one arm like a kick-stand so it gets in her way.

well...she's awake from her nap. gotta go.

field (read: garden) trip

marianne and i toured the denver botanic gardens with some friends, cathy + irlynd and gretel + sonoma, today. it was a beautiful day and the gardens were in full bloom. we saw a lot of gorgeous flowers. well, at least i did. marianne was asleep in the wrap for most of it.

l-r: marianne, momma, cathy, irlynd, sonoma, gretel

during a nursing + diaper pit-stop we made time for a little goofing around

peanut is under wraps. we had to borrow an extra sun hat from irlynd because marianne insisted on keeping her head poking out. i guess the breeze felt nice.

tall tales

marianne is already telling tales. very riveting...if you speak 'baby', that is.

i'm still working on getting a clip of her rolling over.

roll over

on saturday night marianne rolled over! she was having some tummy time with momma and daddy and rolled over from her belly to her back within seconds of us putting her down. we were both so proud and cheering her on so much but she just looked at us like she'd known how to do it all along and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. then, about 15 minutes later she almost rolled from her back to her belly but couldn't quite make the turn. i'm so glad that jerry and i were both there to see her in action. it was so exciting. it's amazing how much you rejoice in the small miracles of life!

this photo is actually from tummy time a few days earlier. she was getting frustrated because all of her kicking and pushing wasn't producing any results (and momma was too busy taking pictures instead of turning her back over to play).