2 years old

Happy birthday Scott-man!  You are so big and brave.

Now I'm going to go fix some chocolate milk and give it to you for breakfast, because it is a special day.

Meet Mark

Mark is now 6 days old. To me, he seems more like a 6 week old. He's pretty filled out (gorgeous plump cheeks!), he nurses amazingly well, and he appears to have sorted out his days and nights (meaning I get one 1.5 hour and two 2.5 blocks of sleep, and another 1 to 1.5 hour nap, which equals EIGHT HOURS and is sustainable!!). This morning he started rolling over from his tummy to his back.

Luke and I are both charmed by his newborn-ness: the smells, the sounds, the skin that is so soft and warm that it takes great will power to put him down in the cradle (which we do, because we're trying very hard to start good sleep habits). How do newborns smell so good? I can feel the happy brain chemicals release and wash around my skull when I inhale the scent off his round little head. The bliss of babyhood.

Scott is also doing well with Mark. He mostly continues about his own happy toddler life, but when he hears Mark awake he's very excited to tell us, and he runs to pat his brother or bring him toys. I'm excited for the time when Mark is big and walking and they can play together for real; he's going to love that. Scott has spent a lot of play time with our neighbors this week, who have a 4 year old boy and a 5 year old girl and he LOVES them. LOVES. I hope Mark will love Scott just that much when he's 2.

A little "footnote": Mark was born with clubfeet, which means the bones around his ankle formed in such a way that his feet were bent in toward each other. Happily this is a correctable thing. We went to Stanford on Wednesday and he got his first set of casts. He'll have them changed once a week, and after 4-10 casts the bones should be straightened. He'll wear braces until he starts crawling and then only at night once he's standing, and by 2-4 years old, not at all. No expectations for any long-term issues, and plenty of people with club feet have gone on to be dancers and marathoners and Kristi Yamiguchi and Troy Aikman.

THANKFUL

We are so blessed!

Don't feel weird that I'm not wearing much in this picture.  It's natural.  Plus, it kind of looks like a baby+blanket bustier dress.  Maybe Bjork will wear one to the Grammys.

A few quick thoughts this morning:

Mark Lawrence is amazing. He's really huge, and he's eating like a champ. It is like having a 6 week old instead of a newborn.  He's adorable in little blue cap that hospital volunteers hand-knit for the babies.

The natural birth was just incredible. It was so INTERESTING! I will tell you about it later, but I'd like to recommend to all pregnant women that you get to labor in the shower, surrounded by candles, and with your selfless husband spraying warm water on your back and your soothing midwife rubbing scented oils on your arms. It was not like a hospital. It was like a spa. (Mom, how things have changed in L&D in the last 25 yrs, huh?) Things got a little more, um, intense? during the last 30 minutes, but it was quite an experience.

Also, ladies, you should wear pigtails for delivery. They keep your hair out of the way but you can still lay back without a ponytail bugging you.

I'm full of love and energy and can't wait for everyone else to wake up and play!

Finally, I love nurses. They are wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL people.

Mark Lawrence Wagner is here!

Hi friends and family!  This is one of the proud aunts, Karen, and I've hacked into Jennifer's account to bring you all wonderful news!

Mark Lawrence Wagner is here at  9.5 lbs and 20.? inches.  Apparently he's an awesome nurser (keeping up with that 9.5 lbs birth weight!) and is just awesome.  My phone is not fancy enough to upload pictures, but I'm sure Jenn and Luke will be uploading some soon.

Jenn looks gorgeous and did it with no epideral, just Luke's encouragement!  :)
Luke is on his way to pick up Scott to introduce him to his new baby brother now.

CONGRATULATIONS [California] Wagner Family!  We love you!

From all the Aunts (and Uncles!) ... please post pictures! :)

Lazy days

I'm done with work (pretty much).  Aside from spurts of cleaning where I madly scrub the bathroom floor and steam clean the carpets, Scott and I are enjoying long, lazy days.  Want to see?

10:14 pm

Scott was born at 10:00 pm a week before his due date.  I'm now more pregnant than I've ever been, which is exciting new territory for a second pregnancy.

Why do I get so anxious for the little guy to show up NOW?  He should go ahead and wait another 3 weeks; we'll enjoy our time in the well-cleaned, nested house!

Sunny Days

This morning I felt like I lived on Sesame Street.  Scott and I left the house, him on his (borrowed) quadricycle -- it's a funny little bike thing -- to walk across the street and get his first real haircut.  We stopped and talked to 2 neighbors.  We ran into a friend and her son, heading over to the park.  He got a haircut without fussing once (though when the hairdresser tried to use the buzzer, he turned and looked at her and said "Stop it. Please." very politely, but very firmly).  On the way home, he ate his lollipop and waited patiently at the crosswalk, where a man in a van called out "Hello! We just found out my wife here is pregnant! She would like to know where you got your maternity dress!"

What an adorable neighborhood morning.

Fast asleep for a nap -- I'm going to miss being able to carry both of my sleeping children at the same time.